So I'm really new to this MIDI thing. When I was a kid, all I had was some cheap SB 16 ISA. While it is great that people have recorded MIDI from sources like the S2/X2/Roland's, what does something pedestrian like a SB Live, Audigy, or Vortex2 sound like?

When you enter PCI soundcard territory it means you have moved passed DOS gaming and windows games of the era use digital audio in music (or CDDA) . The Creative series install a software synth with their drivers, similar to the Microsoft GS one that comes with windows. They are pretty basic and a hit-and-miss 50% of the time IMHO, one can install way better software synths , Phil's Computer Lab made a great video about it.
So it's no surprise noone cared to record some live!/audigy midi playback , it's kinda basic and nothing special. You can get a taste with the Microsoft one.

Now when it comes to either using the default synths or S2, personally I'd pick S2. But keep in mind these midi devices shine on older DOS games.

keropi wrote:

When you enter PCI soundcard territory it means you have moved passed DOS gaming and windows games of the era use digital audio in music (or CDDA) . The Creative series install a software synth with their drivers, similar to the Microsoft GS one that comes with windows. They are pretty basic and a hit-and-miss 50% of the time IMHO, one can install way better software synths , Phil's Computer Lab made a great video about it.
So it's no surprise noone cared to record some live!/audigy midi playback , it's kinda basic and nothing special. You can get a taste with the Microsoft one.

Now when it comes to either using the default synths or S2, personally I'd pick S2. But keep in mind these midi devices shine on older DOS games.

With some notable exceptions (that sometimes have very useful features).

Currently my audician has a Midi Joystick Adapter with softmpu and a mt32, but Midi Sounds terrible with it. i think i Will Go for an s2 because Land of lore Sounds brillant.

I just ordered a s2.

^ MT-32 needs MT-32 stuff to sound great, GM on it is just wrong. Even with the special midi that remaps and programs missing GM sounds the result is not that great.

keropi wrote:

^ MT-32 needs MT-32 stuff to sound great, GM on it is just wrong. Even with the special midi that remaps and programs missing GM sounds the result is not that great.

Agreed. There are patches, for example, to convert Ultima Underworld MT-32 files to GM. I tried this briefly, but found it sounded worse than FM.

S2 will be a much improvement I think.

keropi wrote:

So it's no surprise noone cared to record some live!/audigy midi playback , it's kinda basic and nothing special. You can get a taste with the Microsoft one.

Now when it comes to either using the default synths or S2, personally I'd pick S2. But keep in mind these midi devices shine on older DOS games.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but that's precisely what I would want. I have a SB Audigy/Vortex 2 PCI. I know the software synth will probably be subpar. However, I really don't know how much better S2 sounds in comparison to having software synth. Only after I installed Final Fantasy VII last night, listened to it on my Audigy and compared it to Phil's, did I realize how terrible it sounds in comparison.

so why not use Phil's video and then play some stuff on your soundcard to decide if it worths it for you or not? Just play the same stuff and you'll be set 😀

The S2 is a BIG! improvement for my audician32plus THX!! I still have another Retro-PC with audician32plus so I am currently thinking about to buy another S2 or something different.

Do you think a Dreamblaster S2 would work with a Yamaha YMF719-S?

i have an ISA card with that chip and a 25 pin wavetable connector

dr.zeissler wrote:

The S2 is a BIG! improvement for my audician32plus THX!! I still have another Retro-PC with audician32plus so I am currently thinking about to buy another S2 or something different.

I'd get something different - the beauty of GM devices is that they all sound different, and I love switching b/w my various GM hardware for a given game to see what sounds best.

Carlos S. M. wrote:

Do you think a Dreamblaster S2 would work with a Yamaha YMF719-S?

i have an ISA card with that chip and a 25 pin wavetable connector

Yes it would.

It's actually a very good combo considering the S2's size and the lower clearance common with Yamaha OPL-SA cards. Most daughterboards are too tall to fit.

badmojo wrote:

dr.zeissler wrote:

The S2 is a BIG! improvement for my audician32plus THX!! I still have another Retro-PC with audician32plus so I am currently thinking about to buy another S2 or something different.

I'd get something different - the beauty of GM devices is that they all sound different, and I love switching b/w my various GM hardware for a given game to see what sounds best.

so what do you recommend if it should be a small unit?

You can always use an external module, including emulation.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/general_midi_sound_modules.html

expensive stuff 🙁

It can get expensive if you're buying Roland, Yamaha, and E-MU modules. The cheapest and most flexible way is to emulate.
Roland MT-32, CM-32L + General MIDI for $50 Building a MIDI box

I am more in real hardware 😀 Emulation needs a much bigger amount of different cables and other hardware.
And newer hardware like USB interface etc. My Retro-Machines mostly do not have USB support because I don't need it,
what I need is network-support and that do indeed have all my machines from 286 on.

I thought about a different MIDI-Interface module.

dr.zeissler wrote:

so what do you recommend if it should be a small unit?

These are small and sound good I think:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Diamond-Monster-Sound … vQAAOSw4GVYNtY0

Or here's a nice ESS based card with an interesting GM onboard:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/166575-001-Compaq-CPQ … rYAAOSwA3dYbpen

This is way over priced but I bought a Crystal based DB like this a while back for ~10 bucks and it rocks too:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Terratec-Promedia-SY- … rQAAOSwnDxUhY1d