From my understanding, the two options can be summarized like this:

• "True MT-32" --> pass the game's MIDI data to ScummVM's integrated Munt MT-32 emulator.
  • When properly configured with official Roland ROMs, this sounds fantastic and closer to what the game intended
  • The Roland MT-32 does not use standard MIDI instrument mappings because it predates the General MIDI standard
• "Roland GS device" --> translate the MT-32 instrument channels to match the General MIDI standard
  • This uses the default General MIDI device configured in ScummVM which is typically the built-in Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth
  • The Microsoft GS Wavetable synth uses similar (lower quality) samples from the Roland SC-55, which explains why this option sounds like what you grew up with.
  • This is an approximation of what the game music should sound like but if it's what you remember and like, there's nothing wrong with that.

As for why these options are suddenly appearing? Maybe it's a new feature in ScummVM to be transparent about when those remappings are enabled? I recently played through Simon the Sorcerer myself using a proper MT-32 synth (mt32pi in my case, but Munt works just as well) and the difference in music quality was stunning. I grew up listening to this game on an ESS FM Synth.

t3hbeowulf wrote on 2026-09-29, 17:17:

From my understanding, the two options can be summarized like this: […]
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From my understanding, the two options can be summarized like this:

• "True MT-32" --> pass the game's MIDI data to ScummVM's integrated Munt MT-32 emulator.
  • When properly configured with official Roland ROMs, this sounds fantastic and closer to what the game intended
  • The Roland MT-32 does not use standard MIDI instrument mappings because it predates the General MIDI standard
• "Roland GS device" --> translate the MT-32 instrument channels to match the General MIDI standard
  • This uses the default General MIDI device configured in ScummVM which is typically the built-in Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth
  • The Microsoft GS Wavetable synth uses similar (lower quality) samples from the Roland SC-55, which explains why this option sounds like what you grew up with.
  • This is an approximation of what the game music should sound like but if it's what you remember and like, there's nothing wrong with that.

As for why these options are suddenly appearing? Maybe it's a new feature in ScummVM to be transparent about when those remappings are enabled? I recently played through Simon the Sorcerer myself using a proper MT-32 synth (mt32pi in my case, but Munt works just as well) and the difference in music quality was stunning. I grew up listening to this game on an ESS FM Synth.

Thanks for the explanation. To be honest, I didn't realise ScummVM uses MUNT for its MT-32 emulation. Or I did, but just forgot, so that could be a reason. I'm still not understanding why one of those MT-32 options would need enabling to get the music we're familiar with. A standard Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth in a native Windows 98 environment doesn't use any MT-32 mappings or instruments, does it? Or does it include some of them? I would have thought they'd be considered 'dated' once General MIDI came out?

I've recorded a couple of samples. Originally, it was going to be a video with audio, but for some reason OBS didn't capture anything of ScummVM, so I edited it down so it's just the two audio samples back-to-back. The first is the default I get with selecting Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth and nothing else. Or if I load in one of the Soundfonts, whether Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth or SC-55. There are slight variations depending. It's definitely in-line with the SC-55.

The second is what my brother and I are familiar with and that's with Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth and one of the MT-32 options selected.

https://gofile.io/d/n84Wlbvm

I quite like the music of the game's main theme in the second example. But in the bar, I can tell it's lacking in instruments compared to the SC-55 version.