All you need to do is edit the DOSBox config file. Consult the manual for details. Using the MIDI Picker was never necessary.

I was just giving warning.

Okay, do the above for DOSbox.

I've noticed that even on a fresh Windows 7 install, Vista MIDI Fix and the other numerous default MIDI device selector utilities would generally error out or just not work. I actually had to go in and edit the registry myself before they'd start working, strangely enough.

But if the registry option in question doesn't even exist under Windows 8...I really want to slap everyone at Microsoft now. First, the removal of DirectSound3D in favor of that XAudio2 crap, and now this? It's like they're doing everything they can to ruin video game audio.

Note that DOS games aren't the only reason we'd want to change the default MIDI device. Source ports of older games that don't allow you to set the MIDI device manually are another major reason.

NamelessPlayer wrote:

I've noticed that even on a fresh Windows 7 install, Vista MIDI Fix and the other numerous default MIDI device selector utilities would generally error out or just not work. I actually had to go in and edit the registry myself before they'd start working, strangely enough.

That is strange. I've never had any problems in my Win7 installs. I'm using the selector in BASS MIDI driver.

i'm surprised windows 8 even has midi support at all

vetz wrote:

NamelessPlayer wrote:

I've noticed that even on a fresh Windows 7 install, Vista MIDI Fix and the other numerous default MIDI device selector utilities would generally error out or just not work. I actually had to go in and edit the registry myself before they'd start working, strangely enough.

That is strange. I've never had any problems in my Win7 installs. I'm using the selector in BASS MIDI driver.

It was quite strange considering that my last Win7 install didn't give me any such issues on this system using Vista MIDI Fix the first time I ran it. (It did start having quirks with certain programs and the filesystem was having issues that chkdsk /r wouldn't fix according to GParted, so I reformatted.)

Note that I don't use BASSMIDI since my X-Fi cards already have hardware MIDI synthesizers with SoundFont support. Otherwise, I'd look into it a bit more.

If it helps, I never got BassMIDI working with Windows XP and a Sound Blaster Live 5.1 (w/ kX) either.

leileilol wrote:

i'm surprised windows 8 even has midi support at all

My first thought was to reply that MIDI as a standard still sees very wide usage by musicians and producers.... then I realized that this hardly negates the surprise factor. After all, Microsoft's approach to windows 8 is "if it ain't for casual users of social media on touch devices = break it on purpose, just because".

Today, I've discovered that there's now a registry entry related to the default midi synth.

There's a problem, though:

There's no other MIDI ID's in that folder.

That is, I can't see any synthesizers there.

Not even the Microsoft synth that comes with all the copies of Windows nowadays.

EDIT: Was following this website's advice to find out where how to change the default MIDI.

As it turns out, a person from another forums said to use Dosbox to find the ports numbers.

I did, and I can now see what port numbers correspond to which port.

Going to try it out to see if it works.

EDIT2: Didn't work.

What happens if you add the MidiOutId key and value to the registry?

The key you've mentioned is already there.

I've tried changing it, but that didn't work.

I guess it was added for better backwards compatibility even though it no longer works?

While I still think it's currently impossible to change the default MIDI by traditional means, I've discovered that, by examining the registry, the Coolsynth Virtual MIDI synth has somehow become synth#0, thereby effectively setting it as the default MIDI synth in Windows 8!

And here's Microsoft Synthesizer registry entry (note that it's now ID#1):

Perhaps we can make new default MIDI changer for Windows 8, only shifting around the ID's so that the default one would be ID#0 instead of changing the registry for the Default MidiOutput Device?

EDIT: Urgh, changing those variables did nothing.

Of course, I didn't try restarting.

Interestingly enough, Coolsynth DID in fact, replace Microsoft's Default MIDI in at least two software, so perhaps we can look into Coolsynth's setup to see what variables it changes in order to apply the "set as default MIDI" option when you install it?

In case you guys wondering why I keep necro'ing this thread, it's because I think it's a serious issue for those who want to play classic games, so I figured I'd try to help you by trying to figure out the problem.

The maker of VirtualMIDISynth had said that software are now explicitly required to select MIDI devices manually, as MIDI Mapper has been altogether removed in this version of Windows.

http://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/blog/2013/0 … apper-windows-8

Maybe we can make an application that would force the software to use a specific device instead of what it thinks is the MIDI Mapper (ie, a program that would "select" a synth for those MIDI programs)?

(I lack the skills to do it myself).

[Thread moved to DOSBox General Section]

This isn't only about DOSBox, you know. 😜

In fact, a lot of old applications and games used Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, etc.

yeah, nothing about dosbox, move it back please 😀

Not sure where this thread was before, but I moved it to the Windows forum and left a redirect in the DOSBox forum.

Vista MIDI Fix works for me in Win7 x64, but I rarely use MIDI for anything other than DOSBox, ScummVM and Cakewalk, which all let you pick which specific MIDI output you want to use anyways.

To make picking the desired synth for DOSBox easier, I would recommend using D-Fend Reloaded. It actually runs DOSBox to get a list of synth IDs, then populates a list in its GUI for you to pick from. I think it also runs DOSBox twice when launching a game that uses Windows MIDI, to refresh the list of IDs and pick the correct one before launching DOSBox with a configuration set to the chosen synth ID.

Part of my massive GOG.com DOSBox Video tutorial (It's a playlist). Here I cover using Roland MIDI gear with DOSBox and everything you need to do to get it going.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGxEgw4TE58

HunterZ wrote:

Vista MIDI Fix works for me in Win7 x64, but I rarely use MIDI for anything other than DOSBox, ScummVM and Cakewalk, which all let you pick which specific MIDI output you want to use anyways.

Just to let you know, Vista MIDI Fix doesn't work on Windows 8 (I've tried it).

Sure, nowadays, it'll allow you to pick a synth (in the past, nothing popped up there) , but that doesn't do anything, now that the MIDI Mapper's removed from that OS.

If the program you're using choosing a specific synth, like DOSBox, ScummVM and Cakewalk, take advantage of that feature if you want to choose something other than the synth you'd be stuck with.

This thread can still be used to discuss how we can get around the fact that most old games don't allow switching from the default MIDI devices.

And thanks for moving the thread here, HunterZ. 😀