Harlock wrote on 2024-07-03, 08:04:

Hi, I'm aware that this is a bit of a noob question, but what I'd like to understand is if a SB16 (CT2890) is able to "emulate" different MIDI modes in a Win95 environment or DOS?

To make an example with Daggerfall and its music, back in the days I remember I was able to select MPU-401 or similar to get a better MIDI sound out of it, and I'm pretty sure I didn't have any AWE64 (maybe AWE32 😀 ), or external MT-32 or similar, so I wonder if is it a matter of soundfonts or anything that can help "improving" or changing the MIDI options for a SB16?
Not sure if that's clear, thanks!

Were you using the card in windows by any chance? , Microsoft licensed Rolands midi sounds and put a software synth in windows , that might have been what you heard.
I'm pretty sure that card is a bog standard cost reduced sb16 so there's no on board midi or emulation, just the gameport which functions as a "mpu 401" interface if you connect something to it via a midi to gameport cable
but it can be a bit buggy depending on the card.

Hmmm, it could be, but in that case shouldn't I have more options in Control Panel -> Multimedia -> MIDI output?
So far I got "Creative Stereo Music Synthesizer" and "External MIDI Port".

Or actually, I was thinking, is there a way to "emulate" General MIDI with an SB16 CT2890 and Windows 95?
I read about WMD drivers, eventually, but is this a viable way to make it work, or better to get another sound card altogether?

From what I'm reading wdm might be windows 98 only , so you might not be able to use the Microsoft GS Software Wavetable Synthesizer on 95.

If you want better MIDI in DOS, then I would suggest grabbing a wavetable card of some kind to go with your SB16. Serdashop has some good options, including the DreamBlaster S2 (https://www.serdashop.com/waveblaster), the E-Wave (https://www.serdashop.com/EWave), or the X2GS SE if you want a Roland GS-compatible instrument set (https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE). Any of those would be a good complement to your current sound card, aside from the usual issues that the Sound Blaster 16 has in certain games like TIE Fighter. In that case, a PicoGUS set up as a MPU-401 with its output looped into the SB16's Line In is one solution that I've found works for me.

That can be an option, thanks for that, I think I might go for a Dreamblaster S2; for the SB16 then as I understand there's no way to achieve a better sound, or have different sound fonts.

Unfortunately, I can't remember what card I had used back then, I start to think it was an AWE32, definitely not AWE64, but I'm sure I had General MIDI support 😀