Re: Most realistic sounding sound module for General MIDI games?

Posted on 2023-09-05, 03:12

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

i want to throw out an alternative idea. Getting one of these box midi solutions locks you into one sound set usually and its likely going to be expensive. For about $50 for a roland UM-ONE and a computer you can play any soundfont from a MPU-401. Another very versatile solution is mt32pi ( …

---

Re: Most realistic sounding sound module for General MIDI games?

Posted on 2023-09-04, 04:57

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Be warned, it's really easy to fall down the midi module rabbit hole. I fell pretty hard. Currently the owner of an MT32, SC55, SC88Pro, MU90, JV1010 and JV1080, and a digital piano. All I wanted was a sound canvas! Honestly, any midi module is pretty cool to have, I could talk about one or the …

---

Re: Most realistic sounding sound module for General MIDI games?

Posted on 2023-09-04, 03:32

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

I've been trying to improve the static articulation just by changing patches from GM to SuperNATURAL on the INTEGRA-7 (and SysEx Editing) by using my qmidiroute patch (live MIDI editing, tuned for the INTEGRA-7, applied generically for every song). I agree that it's hit-and-miss, especially with …

---

Re: Most realistic sounding sound module for General MIDI games?

Posted on 2023-09-04, 03:10

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

The SC-D70 has S/PDIF output , so if you don't like the integrated switch mode PSU's effect on the unit's analogue output, why not just use an external DAC of your choice with it ? That's well said, and another aspect worth mentioning is that if true MIDI inputs are used in favor of the USB-MIDI …

---

Re: Most realistic sounding sound module for General MIDI games?

Posted on 2023-08-28, 06:04

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

The sound of SC8850/8820 are not as good as SC55/88/88Pro, don't buy them just because of their bigger model number.. I think that's rather subjective. I own an Sc55mk2 and an 8820 and in most things arranged for 55/88 the standard mode of the 8820 is actually very, very good and clearly higher …

---

Re: Roland SC-88 Pro (hopefully) helpful hints

Posted on 2023-07-09, 01:22

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Thank you so much for that! Mine operates the same, but I hadn't spent enough time with it to figure that out. The manual doesn't seem too useful in the pertinent pages, because I tried to follow them when it wasn't working as well as the SC-8850 using its remapping all method. The second press of …

---

Re: Apparently not all GS-only sc-55s are the same, some are GM

Posted on 2023-06-11, 06:03

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

That CTF lawsuit by Yamaha really mucked things up for Roland. It's an unfortunate casualty. It's perpetually unfortunate for users, yes, but Roland probably gained by people wanting the later generations for new polyphony and variations, and those old game bugs made us still want the earliest …

---

Re: Roland SC-88 Pro (hopefully) helpful hints

Posted on 2023-05-02, 02:45

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Well, of course a MIDI file can do the same and change the mode, but that's not the point. Besides, you can also switch modes while playback is already running. Doing it during playback after program changes have already occurred, will set every channel to pianos, but that can be fun in its own way …

---

Re: Most realistic sounding sound module for General MIDI games?

Posted on 2023-04-25, 22:50

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

This was a hard lesson to learn back in the 2000s. I had been chasing the holy grail with AWE32 and Live! Sound Fonts for years, and finally got a real synth module: An Ensoniq MR Rack. The demos sounded amazing. GM files sounded... not amazing. As it turns out, to get spectacular results, you have …

---

Re: Sound Canvas (and related) comparison project (UPDATED: 22nd March)

Posted on 2023-03-31, 04:07

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Just found this thread, and would like to find some time to contribute some recordings. Is there a list of particular midis or should I use whichever I would like? I have SC-155, SC-55mkII, SC-88 ST Pro, SC-880, and an SC-8850 to throw in for comparisons. I also have a Serdaco Yucatan Fx which has …

---

Re: Fixing the Roland CM-500 Vibrato Bug

Posted on 2023-03-25, 18:45

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

It's just the opposite, rather. There's an occasional behavior that I'm experiencing in Mode A with my v1.00 units that is presumably resolved with ROM version 1.02 (based on some vague information I'd received from Roland Japan a couple of decades ago). When you receive your ZE80482 unit, can you …

---

Re: Fixing the Roland CM-500 Vibrato Bug

Posted on 2023-03-18, 21:54

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

This is the best outcome. :) I agree! :) It's just the opposite, rather. There's an occasional behavior that I'm experiencing in Mode A with my v1.00 units that is presumably resolved with ROM version 1.02 (based on some vague information I'd received from Roland Japan a couple of decades ago). …

---

Re: Fixing the Roland CM-500 Vibrato Bug

Posted on 2023-03-18, 20:10

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

The last four digits of the serial number seem to loop based on some predetermined counter, and are probably only meaningful concerning production comparisons within the same month or year. In other words: ZD83743 < ZE13000 < ZE80482 Unless it was swapped for reasons unknown, the ZE80482 model you …

---

Re: Fixing the Roland CM-500 Vibrato Bug

Posted on 2023-03-18, 04:21

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Separate from the LFO/vibrato issue, I am currently troubleshooting yet another errant CM-500 behavior, this time related to the MIDI switching/handling function of the Mitsubishi 7702 MCU. If anyone happens to have a CM-500 with a serial number greater than ZE13000 (with corresponding "CM-500 1.02 …

---

Re: Sound Canvas (and related) comparison project (UPDATED: 22nd March)

Posted on 2022-12-15, 04:29

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

As for hearing Jaffa, the only time you can really hear MT-32 noise is when a MT-32 recording is normalised without noise reduction - something you rarely hear in casual operation of the unit, perhaps with the exception of speakers turned up loud and MT-32 powered on outside of a game or while no …

---

Re: Sound Canvas (and related) comparison project (UPDATED: 22nd March)

Posted on 2022-12-09, 04:59

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Here's an almost fifteen-year-old thread regarding the Roland FG-10, including recordings of all of the demonstration sounds/tunes common to it and the FG-1000: https://web.archive.org/web/20140910062731/www.queststudios.com/smf/index.php/topic,2457.0.html Thanks for the info :) Made a small video …

---

Re: Fixing the Roland CM-500 Vibrato Bug

Posted on 2022-11-27, 00:46

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

holy _this will rattle out and short something_ batman I like to think that I took precautions for that, and so I highly doubt it. These are stiff wires and solid solder connections, but my modules mostly stay put and we don't get earthquakes in Wisconsin. A tornado could occur, but then my CM-500 …

---

Re: Fixing the Roland CM-500 Vibrato Bug

Posted on 2022-11-26, 23:22

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Here's my CM-500 modification, which should allow for easy reversion for posterity and the original vibrato bug. I put the oscillator crystals on a switch, although it's a tight spot, so I probably should have insulated the oscillators' exteriors with heat shrink tubing too. I used my Hakko FR-300 …

---

Re: Fixing the Roland CM-500 Vibrato Bug

Posted on 2022-11-16, 08:07

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

For anyone interested in performing this modification, I am willing to send, at my expense, the requisite 8 MHz crystal, IC socket (where needed), and modified ROM IC; just provide me with a shipping address via PM. You are so generous! I've already been sourcing everything for the modification, …

---

Re: Apparently not all GS-only sc-55s are the same, some are GM

Posted on 2022-10-29, 19:13

by

by jaffa225man

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

The AWE64 should have the same hardware synthesizer as the AWE32, but in a single chip. There were a few revisions of the AWE64 EMU itself as a separate chip, but these were just minor hardware revisions. I also thought that this CTF revelation was interesting. Maybe the patent didn't apply in the …

---