Heh - figured it out. I was using the 64-bit SAVIHost. I tried the 32-bit instead, and now it loads, and I can play VSC on the virtual keyboard!
A few other things, though -
1:
I take it that I need to find a way to redirect games' MIDI output to SAVIHost. What's the easiest way to do this? I am about to experiment with MIDIYoke, but if there's an easier way (or if MIDIYoke is the easiest then if there's a straightforward tutorial), I would rather hear it than guess.
2:
This thread here:
Roland Virtual Sound Canvas - VST sysex tune-up
suggests that the VST has "problems" with sysex commands. What problems exactly? Would this affect games, and should I apply this patch? Any IPS ROM patcher will do it, right?
3:
It sounds like SC-88/SC-88Pro sound maps to me. That's fine and dandy - most games sound better to my ears this way, but some only sound right with the SC-55 sound maps. Is there a way to change it? The VSC is configurable. Thread browsing suggested that you can change it in VST by switching .dat files, but it looks like the VST 1.6 dll has the mappings data embedded inside, and does not use any .dat file.
4:
Any other downsides to the VST that I'm not aware of?
5:
Any advantages to getting a REAL sound canvas? I was briefly tempted to pick up a SC-55 mkII (I hear you need one for later Sierra games), though this cooled down a bit now that I got SAVIHost working.
Running:
Windows 10
Core i5-6600
Geforce GTX 970
8GB RAM