None of the stuff I found about the card mention the software, as it definitely did not exist when the card was released, because anyone who bought the card and wanted MIDI with it was supposed to also buy one of their FM or Wavetable add-on boards for the header. The software was developed after Windows 95 had taken hold and was released several months before Windows 98 was released, when we were already seeing soft-synth options from Yamaha, CASIO, and other players. It obviously never made it out of "beta testing" because the cards were already considered to be "old junk" by the time it was released for testing and PCI cards from Creative Labs, Yamaha, and others - which had soft-synth options and hardware wavetable - rapidly took hold in the new PC market after 98 was released. That's why you don't find anyone having talked about the experimental soft-synth.

https://theretroweb.com/drivers/1178

I mean all of that is true, but from a 2026 standpoint you might want to tick as many retro boxes with a single card (SB Pro, SB16, FM synthesis that is or sounds like a Yamaha OPL3 chip, General MIDI) and if you only have 1 ISA slot or are on a tight budget - even the cheapest ISA sound cards often cost upwards of 30€ / $ USD nowadays - then it would be cool to know whether that is a good software wavetable synthesizer for the card, or if it sounds like ass.
I would expect the latter, but I also didn't expect the card to sound so clean or 100% like an official Yamaha OPL3, so maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised once more.

That's why my question was if anyone here already tried it, or is currently using the card and could maybe record a track or two, so I don't have to assemble a whole system and set it up just to test it and probably tear it apart right afterward.

The problem of your request is that someone would have to be using it on a 95/98/ME system, which isn't likely. Most people running a 98/ME system won't be using that card and it'd be an absolute lucky draw that you find someone here or elsewhere running a 95 system with that card, which is more likely, but still very unlikely.

RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2026-05-25, 11:19:

The problem of your request is that someone would have to be using it on a 95/98/ME system, which isn't likely. Most people running a 98/ME system won't be using that card and it'd be an absolute lucky draw that you find someone here or elsewhere running a 95 system with that card, which is more likely, but still very unlikely.

I disagree: it is period correct for a 95 rig, and lots of people use a single machine for both DOS and Win98 gaming, often with two soundcards.

Actually, I do have a system right now with homebrew ALS120 card installed.
I can install win98, but I barely have any idea what to test it with.

UPD:
I made two recordings using ALS120, using stock and software wavetable.
ALS sounds a bit muffled - it's because of my design, not the cards fault.
Software is just a crude midi player.

just to confirm: this softsynth is only for als100+ cards, not als100?

stanwebber wrote on 2026-07-09, 02:17:

just to confirm: this softsynth is only for als100+ cards, not als100?

Does not matter. It is just a software midi player synth, like YXG50.
Audio card is used for output only.

Paul_V wrote on 2026-07-10, 17:29:

Does not matter. It is just a software midi player synth, like YXG50.
Audio card is used for output only.

i would challenge that. it goes against the trend of software licensing for wavetable softsynths bundled with hardware. i would state that none of the softsynths packaged with crystal, opti, aztech or ess cards have any special reliance on the actual hardware, but the drivers still check for the physical presence of the chip/card or else disables the wavetable. i'm sure this is driven by licensing agreements if nothing else.

i would love to be wrong here in this particular circumstance. i notice that 86box lists the als120 as an emulated device so maybe i will play around with it and find out.

stanwebber wrote on Yesterday, 04:02:

Paul_V wrote on 2026-07-10, 17:29:

Does not matter. It is just a software midi player synth, like YXG50.
Audio card is used for output only.

i would challenge that. it goes against the trend of software licensing for wavetable softsynths bundled with hardware.

I specifically swapped the ALS120 sound card for the ES1869 to check before making my statement.
Unless I'm missing something or just not aware.

you are correct sir. this beta is just a player. i was expecting a full blown windows midi device. you can install this anywhere.