VOGONS


Recreate MT-32

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First post, by Scythifuge

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Greetings,

I see other projects to use a Raspberry Pi to replace an MT-32. I have to give those threads a real good read. However, what I really want is to use a Roland usb-midi cable and a raspberry pi 4 to replace the MT-32 in such a way as to be able to connect it to something like a MPU-IPC-T on old machines, and/or to new machines via usb, and to have a little screen display sysex messages like "Insert Buckazoid." Is this possible?

Scythifuge

Reply 1 of 4, by gdjacobs

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Scythifuge wrote on 2020-02-28, 23:51:

Greetings,

I see other projects to use a Raspberry Pi to replace an MT-32. I have to give those threads a real good read. However, what I really want is to use a Roland usb-midi cable and a raspberry pi 4 to replace the MT-32 in such a way as to be able to connect it to something like a MPU-IPC-T on old machines, and/or to new machines via usb, and to have a little screen display sysex messages like "Insert Buckazoid." Is this possible?

Scythifuge

Yes. MIDI interfacing has been done both with USB to MIDI adapters and by adapting the onboard serial UART of the Pi. LCD output has been done via GPIO pins.

See the following threads:
Raspberry Pi 3 SoftSynth Box [Buildlog]
WavePi: Use Raspberry pi (2/3/4) as a AIO MIDI synth
(shameless self promotion) Emulating MT-32 on an RPi2

All hail the Great Capacitor Brand Finder

Reply 2 of 4, by Scythifuge

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gdjacobs wrote on 2020-02-29, 00:36:
Yes. MIDI interfacing has been done both with USB to MIDI adapters and by adapting the onboard serial UART of the Pi. LCD output […]
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Scythifuge wrote on 2020-02-28, 23:51:

Greetings,

I see other projects to use a Raspberry Pi to replace an MT-32. I have to give those threads a real good read. However, what I really want is to use a Roland usb-midi cable and a raspberry pi 4 to replace the MT-32 in such a way as to be able to connect it to something like a MPU-IPC-T on old machines, and/or to new machines via usb, and to have a little screen display sysex messages like "Insert Buckazoid." Is this possible?

Scythifuge

Yes. MIDI interfacing has been done both with USB to MIDI adapters and by adapting the onboard serial UART of the Pi. LCD output has been done via GPIO pins.

See the following threads:
Raspberry Pi 3 SoftSynth Box [Buildlog]
WavePi: Use Raspberry pi (2/3/4) as a AIO MIDI synth
(shameless self promotion) Emulating MT-32 on an RPi2

Does this mean that I can build an MT-32 box, and that is all that it does without having to further fiddle with it, and the sysex abd other MT-32 messages will appear on the screen and nothing else?

Reply 3 of 4, by gdjacobs

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You can fiddle if you want to, but if you build the same hardware in mcobit or Clint's threads and connect hardware the same way it should be a drop in solution.

All hail the Great Capacitor Brand Finder

Reply 4 of 4, by Scythifuge

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gdjacobs wrote on 2020-02-29, 20:13:

You can fiddle if you want to, but if you build the same hardware in mcobit or Clint's threads and connect hardware the same way it should be a drop in solution.

Coolness, thank you. I read that earlier Pi's may struggle with munt, but now we have the Pi 4, and I saw some little strip screens online that I thought would be cool to use for the sysex messages. I havbe two MT-32's but one is missing the volume knob and the other is missing the lid, and with how pricey they are, I want to put one together with the lid and knob, but use it sparingly, especially if I can recreate it and use it with a breakout box on a 486, or through DOSBox and/or 86box with the Um-One.