This card works with almost any SIMM. I actually used an EWS64XL to test and weed out my EDO 72-pin modules, because my 486 mainboard barfs at them.

Here is an 'inventory' of the 94B soundfonts I have found on several pages on the internet:

104/10/1997  12:24 PM           476,720 005 EP2.94B
211/02/1999  03:30 PM           201,294 010-012Vibraphone.94b
301/30/2002  01:01 AM           116,116 013-014-015 clavionde.94b
405/23/1997  02:57 PM           376,790 023 HarmoG.94b
503/18/1997  02:09 PM           426,782 040 DIZOBASS.94B
604/06/1997  10:46 PM         1,833,062 057 TRUMPET.94B
703/03/1998  05:28 PM         1,043,784 066 SAXALTO.94B
804/08/1997  04:32 PM         1,422,788 067 SAXT.94B
904/17/1999  10:24 PM           914,936 074 flauta.94b
1004/15/1998  10:58 AM            62,592 1-010PercSyn.94b
1101/10/1997  08:57 PM         1,347,528 12STRGTR.94B
1212/27/2001  03:36 PM           660,728 17BASS.94B
1301/30/2002  01:14 AM            56,056 94bworld.94b
1408/09/1996  06:38 PM           519,516 94SBK040.94B
1507/15/1996  09:59 AM         1,021,666 94SBK080.94B
1604/08/1997  04:36 PM           600,010 ABASS.94B
1710/28/1999  12:33 AM           692,212 accordion.94b
1810/21/2002  08:35 PM         3,554,116 AcDrumsPOLMUZ03.94b
1901/10/2003  05:21 PM         6,693,818 AcDrumsPOLMUZ12.94b
2006/02/1997  02:59 PM         1,888,910 AcGtr.94b
2103/18/1997  06:19 PM           424,588 AFRICA.94B
2211/01/1997  09:32 PM         3,022,376 ANALOGS.94B
2301/09/1997  10:42 AM           330,426 ANLPAD01.94B
2401/09/1997  12:19 PM           647,184 ANLPAD02.94B
2501/09/1997  06:34 PM           440,508 ANLPAD03.94B
2601/09/1997  06:22 PM           427,230 ANLPAD04.94B
2701/09/1997  06:57 PM           327,188 ANLPAD05.94B
2809/16/1996  03:58 PM         3,865,508 BANK4M.94B
2906/09/1997  10:06 AM           493,014 BassFender.94b
3010/26/2002  11:14 AM         2,176,762 BASTON-P3-01.94b
3109/11/1997  04:49 PM         3,635,580 BLUES.94B
3203/13/1997  02:32 PM           984,650 BREAK1.94B
3303/13/1997  02:32 PM         1,034,234 BREAK2.94B
3402/09/1999  10:48 PM           680,950 CASIO_CZ.94B
3512/03/2000  02:01 PM           891,112 cello-dvh.94b
3601/30/2002  01:01 AM         1,459,966 Choeur +.94b
3703/04/1997  11:43 AM         2,434,540 CHORDFLK.94B
3810/22/2000  12:46 PM         1,170,066 church organ.94b
3902/03/1999  02:25 PM            51,700 CLASSIC2.94B
4003/13/1997  05:53 PM         1,945,684 CLEANGT.94B
4102/02/1999  09:20 PM           128,776 CLSSICS1.94B
4201/27/2004  03:45 PM         1,050,019 cmpiano.zip
4303/12/1997  02:07 AM           228,442 Crowds.94B
4405/01/2002  03:37 PM         4,124,198 Deivh org+vox.94b
4505/21/2001  09:04 AM         2,330,780 Djembe.94b
4606/18/2001  03:38 PM               310 djembe.txt
4702/04/1999  01:59 PM           382,974 dpm48.94b
4802/26/1997  12:12 PM         1,961,064 DRDANCE.94B
4912/26/1996  10:38 PM         1,844,080 DREAMCTR.94B
5003/06/1997  12:06 PM         1,078,300 DRKIT_AC.94B
5101/05/1997  09:09 PM            65,536 DRKIT_AR.94B
5201/03/1997  03:33 AM           648,928 DRKIT_DC.94B
5310/25/2004  10:25 PM        28,001,940 DrumKit4.94b
5410/25/2004  11:03 PM             3,373 DrumKit4.txt
5502/20/1997  11:58 PM         1,243,084 DXEP_1.94B
5612/30/1996  06:28 PM           633,850 EFFECT01.94B
5704/07/1997  04:51 PM         1,574,818 EP1.94B
5801/19/2002  10:39 AM           657,808 FIDDLE.94B
5908/20/1997  04:03 AM         2,318,310 FILTER.94B
6003/04/1997  04:45 PM           603,874 FingerBass.94B

6106/23/2001  01:05 PM         1,864,284 Fl-Rick.94b
6206/23/2001  01:15 PM               867 Fl-Rick.txt
6303/13/1997  05:58 PM           651,314 FolkGuitar.94B
6403/13/1997  05:37 PM           604,842 FRETLESS.94B
6503/18/1999  05:35 PM         1,729,346 FX.94B
6604/10/1997  02:58 PM         1,050,037 GMBK9708.94B
6710/20/1997  09:17 AM         6,187,664 GMSBK6MB.94B
6808/20/1997  11:12 PM         8,886,992 GM_9MB.94B
6911/21/1998  02:41 PM         9,364,892 gs10MB.zip
7010/03/1996  10:19 AM         1,023,230 GSSBK080.94B
7109/16/1996  07:58 AM         3,865,508 GSSBK320.94B
7201/27/2004  03:43 PM         7,037,361 gs_8mb.zip
7303/13/1997  05:41 PM         1,184,338 GTDIST.94B
7403/14/1997  11:26 AM         1,015,606 GTSTAGE.94B
7502/21/1997  12:35 AM           491,032 GT_CHORD.94B
7611/11/1997  01:32 AM         1,382,852 GT_JAZZ.94B
7711/18/1997  07:49 PM           405,832 HARMONC_.94b
7807/17/1997  11:27 AM           989,332 HonkyPno.94b
7902/28/1999  06:59 PM           707,480 HOUSE.94B
8001/10/1997  09:55 PM           784,650 HOUSEKIT.94B
8101/10/1997  02:45 PM         1,926,348 HOUSELP1.94B
8201/09/1997  06:24 PM         1,926,536 HOUSELP2.94B
8305/31/1999  11:41 AM           224,082 Hs vox.94b
8409/29/1997  01:11 PM           638,676 JAZZ gtr.94B
8501/09/2003  08:30 PM         5,507,736 JazzBassF01-2.94b
8601/09/2003  06:45 PM        12,036,286 JazzBassF02BM.94b
8702/22/1997  11:22 AM           382,330 JDCRYSTL.94B
8802/09/1999  10:21 PM         1,250,110 JX3P.94B
8907/14/1997  07:26 PM         2,690,058 KARAOKE1.94B
9005/11/2001  04:30 PM         6,290,282 KIELET.94B
9103/14/1997  11:25 AM         1,184,338 LIVEGT.94B
9201/30/2002  01:02 AM           131,200 lucy2.94b
9302/13/1997  11:47 PM         2,551,860 M1PIANO.94b
9401/30/2002  01:02 AM            79,284 mbox.94b
9502/03/1999  11:15 PM         1,342,790 MCRWVXT2.94B
9610/25/1999  01:46 PM             2,472 mono analog bass.94b
9707/11/1997  05:39 PM         3,843,420 MU80L.94B
9803/12/2003  10:34 AM         8,926,528 MwahDr3c.94b
9903/12/2003  01:29 PM             1,944 MwahDr3c.txt
10003/11/2003  01:09 PM        37,249,880 Mwah_3c.94b
10103/12/2003  12:56 PM             4,008 Mwah_3c.txt
10205/31/1999  11:30 AM           456,370 Organ rock.94b
10306/16/1997  01:50 PM           803,720 ORGAN2.94B
10403/11/1997  04:00 PM           609,878 OVEACC.94B
10503/13/1997  05:49 PM         1,015,606 OVERGT.94B
10603/13/1997  04:53 PM         1,486,646 PATPIANO.94B
10707/17/1997  11:26 AM           987,982 PIANO.94B
10803/07/1997  03:52 PM           679,562 PICKB.94B
10902/10/1999  09:14 PM           597,580 POLYSIX.94B
11003/14/1997  03:46 PM         1,415,838 POWDRM.94B
11101/07/1997  03:24 PM         1,215,984 POWERGTR.94B
11201/08/1997  12:21 AM           148,658 PWRMUTE.94B
11303/13/1997  02:29 PM           763,390 ROCBR.94B
11406/29/2004  04:57 PM         1,031,072 ROCST1.94B
11506/29/2004  04:57 PM         1,022,288 ROCST2.94B
11612/22/2010  08:48 PM                 0 sf.txt
11701/09/1997  03:25 PM           354,732 SFX02.94B
11805/31/1999  11:15 AM            53,170 SITAR.94B
11903/13/1997  02:32 PM         1,397,878 SLOROCK.94B
12003/13/1997  02:28 PM           836,984 SNABR.94B
12102/05/1999  07:16 PM           143,980 SOLINA.94B
12203/14/1997  03:33 PM         1,509,608 SPOWDRM.94B
12307/24/2002  10:40 PM        19,728,144 Steinway-0-1.94b
12401/08/1997  12:07 PM           376,810 STRINGOR.94B
12502/27/1997  02:35 PM           486,128 SULJANGO.94B
12601/10/1997  01:59 AM           229,376 SWELL.94B
12701/01/1997  02:35 PM            14,500 SYNBAZ#1.94B
12801/01/1997  04:57 PM            19,260 SYNBAZ#2.94B
12901/10/1997  11:59 AM            65,536 SYNFX.94B
13002/28/1999  04:41 PM         1,045,200 syntrack.94b
13101/27/2004  03:44 PM         3,277,696 syntvol.zip
13202/10/1999  08:45 PM         1,508,914 SYS100M.94B
13301/27/2004  03:40 PM            17,432 sysex.zip
13403/08/2003  11:08 AM           620,914 theKit.94b
13503/12/2003  01:28 PM             2,784 theKit.txt
13603/18/1999  05:49 PM           104,506 TIMO_FM.94B
13706/29/2004  05:10 PM           270,364 tr909drb.94b
13801/31/1999  08:06 PM           574,128 TRIPHOP2.94B
13902/03/1999  06:40 PM            35,032 VINTAGE1.94B
14005/20/2000  02:54 AM         8,806,686 VOCALS01.94B
14105/31/1999  03:15 AM           264,882 Voice of heaven.94b
14202/20/1997  06:06 PM           262,144 WORLD_01.94B
14306/20/1997  12:14 AM         1,223,314 XGSPIANO.94B
14401/09/1997  02:06 PM           868,744 ZAW.94B
14503/18/1997  02:55 PM           491,186 ZYNTHBSS.94B
146             145 File(s)    293,475,387 bytes

I have noticed that the card will not accept double sided SIMMs. The chips on the back of the memory stick PCB section get in the way of the SIMM socket on the sound card, and it does not allow the SIMM stick to sit comfortably in the SIMM socket.

I did a recording of Duke Nukem 3D, using the 10 meg soundset file. It's here. 😀

it sounds real nice ... 😁

Well this still sounds a bit dry. Why not enable some FX:
(rename to ttm and run ewsinit -m test.ttm after your usual init)

To analyze the setting:
[EWS64 MIXER SETTING]
VERSION=EWS64 CONTROL CENTER
VERSION_NR=2.12
DESCRIPTION=EWS64 MIXER SETTING
SAVE_FLAGS=0111101111011111111111111110111110111110110111011111111100
This means to set only a few settings

[MIXER_SETTINGS]
REV_ON=1
Reverb On

CHR_ON=1
Chorus On

REC_ON=1
Record activated

REVERB_TYPE=4
Hall 2
List is probably like this:
0 Room 1
1 Room 2
2 Room 3
3 Hall 1
4 Hall 2
5 Plate
6 Delay
7 Pan Delay

CHORUS_TYPE=2
Chorus 3
List is probably like this:
0 Chorus 1
1 Chorus 2
2 Chorus 3
3 Chorus 4
4 Feedback
5 Flanger
6 Short Delay
7 Feedback Delay

GM_POST_FX=1
send Midi to FX

FX_POST_FX=1
Not sure can be FX activated on In-1 ?

MIDI_VOL=127
MIDI_PAN_LR=63
Left Right
MIDI_PAN_FB=64
Front Back for 4 Speaker setup
MIDI_REVERB_SEND=40
Amount of Midi send to Reverb FX
MIDI_CHORUS_SEND=40
Amount of Midi send to Reverb FX

Now Reverb Settings follow
REVERB_VOL=127
REV_TIME=42 0-127
REV_FBACK=0 0-127

Chorus Settings....
CHORUS_VOL=127
CHR_DELAY=63 0-127
CHR_FBACK=9 0-127
CHR_RATE=3 0-127
CHR_DEPTH=19 0-127

This setup is somewhat similar to the AWE32, so the effects applied are already quite strong. So the Dream Synth does not have to sound as dry and clean as usual.

Hmm maybe Swaaye should add this as note on his comparison page.

Thanks a lot for the mixer settings! 😀 I altered my .TTM mixer settings file, so that the values in your .TTM were included. Now, the music does not sound dry, and as you say, it sounds more like an AWE32. I re-recorded Duke Nukem 3D, with these updated mixer setting values. The new recording can be downloaded here.

Roland SC seems to set by default on Reset
Reverb Send to 40 and Vol 127
Chorus Send to 0

This could be a good starting point.

At the moment it is not quite clear if the Reverb/Chorus algorithm on the Dream Synth is identical to the Roland SCs.
I have also not tested if you can influence the amount that is send (or the other parameters) if effects are enabled per single midi track when playing a song.

5u3 wrote:

This card works with almost any SIMM. I actually used an EWS64XL to test and weed out my EDO 72-pin modules, because my 486 mainboard barfs at them.

5u3, please can you tell me if you have tried an EDO 72-pin module that matches this description: 64MB stick, with 4 chips on one side of its PCB, and 2 chips on the other (reverse) side.

I have tried a 32MB SIMM stick, but the chips were "tightly packed together" on both sides of the memory stick's PCB. There were 8 chips on each side, making a total of 16. The bottom of all of these 16 chips were positioned closely to the "tin lead" section, and consequently, the SIMM stick did not fit correctly in to the EWS SIMM socket, because the chips "hit" the sound card PCB close to the SIMM socket. Thanks a lot for any info!

retro games 100 wrote:

5u3, please can you tell me if you have tried an EDO 72-pin module that matches this description: 64MB stick, with 4 chips on one side of its PCB, and 2 chips on the other (reverse) side.

Nope, sorry. I have some modules with chips on the reverse side (mostly 16 and 32 MB sticks), but all of these fit onto the SIMM connector. Maybe I was just lucky. 😉

If you just want to test a module that doesn't quite fit, you can help yourself with adhesive tape and/or matches to wedge the module into the socket. The module only needs to have contact on one side. Be very careful though, because the plasic of old SIMM connectors is often brittle and will break easily.

I just noticed that the recording available for download in my original post has been downloaded 48 times. Unfortunately it's crap. The download link immediately to the right of this link, near the blue "Edit:" word sign, is a better recording. The original recording was made with the EWS sound card in a shared ISA slot, and the card's odd behaviour and sound may be due to this factor.

Hi everybody,

Great post from Elianda concerning the FX section of the EWS64!

I always thought the reverb on the EWS64 was a bit weak, but it appears that I didn't even have it turned on so far 😀

I used Elianda's instructions above and edited my config file (which he kindly gave to me in the first place). I experimented a bit with the settings and got pretty good results with the following:

REVERB_TYPE=3
CHORUS_TYPE=2
MIDI_REVERB_SEND=50
MIDI_CHORUS_SEND=40
REVERB_VOL=80
REV_TIME=80
REV_FBACK=10
CHORUS_VOL=127
CHR_DELAY=63
CHR_FBACK=9
CHR_RATE=3

I find these setting to be somewhat close to the default settings of my SCC-1 and in fact, when I use the sound bank containing the SC-55 samples for the DREAM synthesizer (GSSBK320.94b) , the sound is not all that different from my actual SCC-1A card.

So, while this setup probably isn't perfect, I think it makes a pretty good starting point. It's actually amazing how much some chorus or reverb helps to make the sound more enjoyable (if you don't overdo it).

If anybody has any suggestions, I'd be happy to try them. I think I may have a little too much chorus right now.

I admit that I'm not 100% sure what all of the settings do, but my speculation would be:

MIDI_REVERB_SEND
MIDI_CHORUS_SEND

determine the overall volume level of the Dream synth's output sent to the FX sections that generate chorus and reverb

REVERB_VOL
CHORUS_VOL

Volume level of the FX sections' output that is sent to the main mixer

REV_TIME

not exactly sure what this does. One would think that the reverb time is determined by the reverb type (e.g. ROOM, HALL, etc.). Maybe this is a kind of cutoff/fadeout after a certain amount of time or maybe it actually changes the duration of the reverb while "type" only determines the "character".

REV_FBACK
CHR_FBACK

Probably determine how much reverb and chorus output is fed back into the reverb and chorus processor, thus feedback. Maybe this is used in order to make the reverb and chorus stop less abruptly?

CHR_DELAY
CHR_RATE
CHR_DEPTH

Probably tweak the parameters of the chorus. I didn't change any of these.

Maybe I'll post some recordings soon... I'm really surprised by how good the EWS sounds now (and I do have an SCC-1 and a DB50XG in my machine).

I have uploaded swaaye some new recordings. So the samples for comparison should be updated soon.

I think I have found settings that sound better than the ones I posted above.

I think a little less reverb and far less chorus make the sound a lot more balanced.

This is what I used:

REVERB_TYPE=3
CHORUS_TYPE=2

MIDI_REVERB_SEND=50
MIDI_CHORUS_SEND=50
REVERB_VOL=70
REV_TIME=80
REV_FBACK=0

CHORUS_VOL=32
CHR_DELAY=63
CHR_FBACK=9
CHR_RATE=3
CHR_DEPTH=19

I have made some recordings, using the gssbk320.94b and mu80l.94b sound banks which use Roland Sound Canvas and Yamaha XG samples.

DOOM on EWS64XL, Roland GS sound bank:

http://cptklotz.dosforum.de/doom_e3m1_ews_gssbk320.mp3

DOOM E3M1 on EWS64XL, Yamaha XG sound bank:

http://cptklotz.dosforum.de/doom_e3m1_ews_mu80l.mp3

Sam&Max intro on EWS64XL, Roland GS sound bank:

http://cptklotz.dosforum.de/samnmax_ews_gssbk320.mp3

Sam&Max intro on EWS64XL, Yamaha XG sound bank:

http://cptklotz.dosforum.de/samnmax_ews_mu80l.mp3

For the same tracks, recorded on genuine Roland and Yamaha devices, check our sound card comparison page:

http://sound.dosforum.de

For a Roland and Yamaha "fanboy" like me, I think these recordings are frighteningly close to the real thing. I'd say that with this source material, the EWS easily delivers 80 to 90% of the sound quality of an actual SC-55 or MU-10 which is an excellent performance.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the fact that the reverb and chorus seem to be applied selectively, depending on the settings for each channel in a song. For example, in the Sam&Max recording, some instruments, such as the cymbals seem to be "dry" while other instruments clearly have reverb.

As for the differences, the original synthesizers seem to have a little more treble and the stereo balance seems to be slightly different in places. These are pretty minor complaints I guess. If you really miss treble on the EWS's output, some EQ settings should probably cure this.

If you already have GS and XG synths, using those samples with the EWS probably won't be too exciting.

I've tried some of the other sound banks and the quality seems to vary a *lot*. There are some sound banks that are quite good but also some real turds. I may post a little review soon.

CptKlotz wrote:

I think I have found settings that sound better than the ones I posted above.

I really like the Doom Roland GS sound bank music. Thanks a lot for posting your EWS settings! The next time I am testing this sound card, I'm going to enter those values, so it's really useful to have those settings in your post.