First post, by MrRaf
Hello everyone,
I've recently gotten back into toying around with older General MIDI equipment and software, for both gaming and music composition purposes. I'm going to be in the market soon for an older PC (running maybe Windows 95 or 98), but as far as sound, there's this specific sound "set" that I've searched for ages trying to identify, but I'm unable to find it or anyone who can help me identify it and it's bugging me. It all started with a series of recordings from the PC version of Sonic & Knuckles (entitled Sonic & Knuckles Collection). The entirety of that soundtrack is MIDI, with two modes — one for "General MIDI" wherein the compositions are a bit colorful; then there is the "FM Synthesizer" mode, in which the compositions are a little less colorful in spots, and sound more faithful to their original SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive counterparts (with certain soundfonts, these compositions actually sound nearly identical to the Genesis). Anyway, these specific recordings are from the "General MIDI" batch of compositions and the songs themselves are being played through a soundfont or soundcard that I don't recognize and can't find anywhere else.
Now, years ago I was able to track down the gentleman who actually recorded them. You would think that would be the end of it, right? I thought so too, but the soundfont (8MBGMSFX.sf2) he provided me didn't produce the same results — at least not as far as the drums. All of the other presets sound on point, but it's those drums that I want.
So anyway, I'm not sure if this is the proper section. Forgive me if it isn't. But I wanted to know if maybe someone else has heard this set before and can help me identify where it comes from? Here's a few examples, all from S&K Collection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WD9b1EnE28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfF78Wjxwjw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGb50xDIk7E
Does anyone recognize if this is from a specific sound card or a soundfont? The gentleman who recorded them told me that it was with a Sound Blaster AWE 32 with the 8MBGMSFX soundfont loaded, but when I had such a setup, I never could replicate what was heard above. For me, it's a very nostalgic sound, and I'd like to be able to figure out how it was done.
Thanks!