olivil wrote:

Could you do Monkey Island 2's intro? 😁

That was one of my first recordings. Hearing it on a Roland was really fulfilling a childhood dream.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akXFh7nezjM

That's on a CM-32L though...

So, this would do?
http://cgi.ebay.ca/XR385-DB60XG-DB50XG-MIDI-W … 6#ht_2223wt_895

Now I just need a WaveBlaster compatible SB16, and I could get one with real OPL3! Any model numbers? Or anything to look for? At this point, I'm saving massive $$ instead of dropping it on a Sound Canvas, so I'm considering pretty much anything.

Thanks again for your help, it's very appreciated!

Yea, I believe most users here have one of those. Mine was faulty, but otherwise you can't go wrong.

Regarding SB16, the older ones tend to have OPL3.

But not that the Creative cards also have this hanging note bug. So once again, it's a compromise, just like with most decisions when it comes to Retro PCs 🤣

I don't like to compromise, so I just got the best parts I could find. Money didn't worry me so much, as once you have the gear, you are done. You only live once and I had to compromise as a kid, but not anymore...

I have a Roland MPU401AT interface and pretty much every external Roland Module from the DOS era.

My favorite Sound Blaster is the Pro 2.0, but I also like the AWE64 as long as you use MIDI for gaming,

Well for the moment I'm gonna get that daughterboard and the SB16, throw the AWE64 out of the case. Then I may (read will) get OCD about it and hunt down an SCC-1 which would be perfect. How much are they going for usually(the SCC-1)? Can I have multiple cards on the same system without swapping config/autoexec files? 😀

Well, another option is to use both the AWE64 and the SB16 with the XR385.... use the AWE64 for digital sound, and the SB16 for games that use OPL FM synth, and MIDI music.

The hanging note bug only occours if you use MIDI and digital sound on the same card at the same time. If you split the load this way you shouldn't run into it. Of course configuration can be a pain in the arse with 2 cards but that's half the fun of retro pc's and DOS 😀

I will try to get some recordings for you later today.

Yes you can have multiple cards, but you need to manage the resources (Address, IRQ and DMA).

With a Pro 2.0 and a MPU401AT there is nothing redundant, so it's very easy to configure.

SCC-1 won't be cheap and you are tied to the ISA bus. My external modules I can use with a modern PC via DOSBox and a USB MIDI adapter. It's a slightly more flexible solution.

What you say is true. People start off with something cheap, but then work their way up anway and in the end spend more than they would have if they had gotten the "good stuff" in the first place 🤣

The Roland stuff are without a doubt the most expensive parts for 386 - 486 era projects.

Just bought a SB16 ASP with OPL3 and a DB60XG for ~60$ with shipping.
Will re-post when everything gets here 😀
Is there anywhere besides eBay where I could watch for old soundcards?
As a part-time musician you guys got me hooked hehe 🤣

Good stuff, let us know how you go!

olivil wrote:

Just bought a SB16 ASP with OPL3 and a DB60XG for ~60$ with shipping. Will re-post when everything gets here :) Is there anywhe […]
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Just bought a SB16 ASP with OPL3 and a DB60XG for ~60$ with shipping.
Will re-post when everything gets here 😀
Is there anywhere besides eBay where I could watch for old soundcards?
As a part-time musician you guys got me hooked hehe 🤣

I love the DB60XG, but the hanging note bug is really, really annoying.
I hope your SB16 has one of the good DSP versions.

So what you guys are saying is, if I keep BOTH the AWE64 and the SB16/DB60XG, I could have digital sound effect on the AWE and MIDI on the DB60XG, thus eliminating the hanging note bug?
How would I go with managing IRQ and DMAs? I'm new to that stuff.

That should work seeing the "hanging note bug" manifest itself when music and digital sound effects are played at the same time.

You would need to set the SB16 to something other than the AWE.

e.g. AWE would be 220/5/1/5/300 and the SB16 what ever settings are available, but set the MIDI port to 330.

olivil wrote:

So what you guys are saying is, if I keep BOTH the AWE64 and the SB16/DB60XG, I could have digital sound effect on the AWE and MIDI on the DB60XG, thus eliminating the hanging note bug?
How would I go with managing IRQ and DMAs? I'm new to that stuff.

Yes that is correct. This also works for external modules as well.

Just have your MIDI only card set to different IO/IRQ/DMA settings than your digital-only card.

SB16's are cheaper and easier to find than a dedicated MIDI card. Of course you don't get intelligent MPU401 mode but that's a whole other discussion 😀

And there are no other cards with intelligent MPU401 than the MPU401AT itself? 😜

Well I'm not sure about digital sound cards, but I have a Music Quest MIDI card which does MPU401 intelligent mode. There are a couple of different brands of MIDI cards that do intelligent mode but they are all relatively hard to find (compared to SB16's anyway).

Most games with GM support that require intelligent mode have a patch available to make them work in UART mode (eg old Sierra games). The majority of games that use GM don't usually require intelligent mode.

Be aware that older titles usually support Roland MT32 or equivalent which is technically different to General MIDI, and many of these do require intelligent mode but many also have a patch to make them work in UART mode.

Therefore,
If I bought a SC-88PRO and a MT-32 tomorrow and use patches to make it work with my SB16, in parallel with the AWE64, I would pretty much cover the whole spectrum of game's audio.
- PC Speaker
- Sound Blasters (including AWE32)
- Adlib (+ real OPL-3)
- WaveBlaster (DB60XG)
- General Midi
- MT-32

With the exception of Gravis UltraSound, which, at this point, can't compete with the Rolands.

Wow, my friends, I found a new hobby.

Yes, pretty much... I believe Wing Commander (and perhaps some other games) require Intelligent mode for their MT32 support to work properly and I'm not aware of a patch for it (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

If I try to play Wing Commander with the MT32 on an SB16 it sounds all wrong, incorrect instruments etc but on the Music Quest card everything is as it should be.

This can quickly turn into an expensive hobby as you are no doubt discovering 😀

General MIDI games shouldn't need the intelligent mode at all. GM is very good compatibility wise. Pretty much any card with a MIDI interface on 330 will work.

It's MT-32 games that run into the issue with an intelligent mode capable MPU401 port. Interesting comment regarding Wing Commander, as I remember it simply not loading. I believe it waits for some sort of acknowledgement which never comes.

Can't remember 100% though, got a fuzzy memory 🤣.

Wait I just thought about something, If I have MIDI music on my SB16 and sounds on the AWE64, does that mean I need 2 speaker sets?

Nah, what you do is route the output of the SB16 into the line-in of the AWE64.

ohhhh this is what the line in is for