First post, by SierraGamer
- Rank
- Newbie
I am here because I like playing old DOS games, and I bought some Roland sound modules to make them sound better. I'm VERY happy with the modules and the incredible music they produce in the games.
I bought an Edirol/Roland UM-880 USB MIDI interface/MIDI patcher because:
1) I didn't want to ever have to plug or unplug various sound modules when going from playing MT-32 DOS games to General MIDI DOS games and vice versa. It's a hassle to mess with cables all the time, and I'd only want to do that kind of grunt work once and then be done with it.
2) I didn't want to take up more USB ports on my computer at a time than I needed to.
3) I thought it would be cool to be able to, at the push of some buttons, blend together sounds from various modules playing at the same time. I wasn't as interested in the daisy chain method because it seemed like it would require ongoing plugging and unplugging grunt work, depending on how I'd want to use the modules.
Right now I have an MT-32 and a SC-55 set up at my computer. At the recommendation of people on this site, I bought a Behringer Eurorack Pro mixer, in order to be able to have RCA audio cables set up and never need to unplug and replug them again after the initial setup. This mixer has worked like a dream and also looks really cool. It's nice to know that, if I get more stuff in the future, I can plug them into that mixer.
My problem is that I can't get the UM-880 to do what I want it to. I have only been able to get the MIDI #2 output on the UM-880 to work when I choose "MIDI Indi." In D-Fend Reloaded I tried choosing all the various MIDI options (when the UM-880 is plugged in, I have 8 to choose from) for the games I want to play, but only output #2 ever seemed to work. Both the MT-32 and SC-55 play sound when I plug them into the #2 output on the UM-880. I don't get any sound when I try plugging in either device to any of the other 7 outputs. Because of this, I'm not able to have both devices plugged in at all times, kind of defeating the purpose of buying the unit in the first place. I wondered if maybe it was a defective unit, but, to be honest, it's more likely that I'm doing something wrong. My amount of expertise about MIDI patchers is not great; honestly, I still don't really understand what "patching" means.
Does anyone have any tips for setting up a UM-800 so that two (and maybe more in the future) Roland or other modules can be connected at all times? And how do you do the sound blending? I tried reading the manual and learning about the "merge" feature, but I was thoroughly confused by the whole thing.
I did install the latest UM-880 driver, and I have the UM-880 connected it to my computer via USB. I also have the necessary MIDI cables.
I'm actually wondering if there is another, simpler and maybe smaller unit which will do the things I'm looking to have done. Any recommendations? A friend of mine is interested in buying the UM-880 from me and I'm considering selling it. BUT, if I can get the UM-880 working, then I would stick with it and learn how to use it better.
Additional issue I'm having:
When I load MT-32 Sierra games through D-Fend Reloaded, sometimes the music's timing sounds off. What I mean is the tempo will slow down in parts and then speed up a few seconds later, as if to be trying to get caught up. I know it is wrong, since I am very familiar with the Sierra game themes. When I play the same games directly from DOSBox and without D-Fend, the music tempo is perfect. I don't know what part of the config file needs to be edited in order to correct this problem. Also, I don't know how to edit the config file in D-Fend. In D-Fend I can view each game's config file, but when I make changes and save, it seems like the changes don't take. The reason I use D-Fend is for the easy menus, but I'm wondering if maybe there's a better or alternative program that will make the process of launching these games and editing the various settings much easier. I like D-Fend, and I'd probably stick with it if I could fix these music slow-down/speed-up issues.
I appreciate any information or suggestions!