From the QuestStudios forums very recently:

"The music uses all 16 channels indeed, but it also uses a pitch bend sensitivity of 12, while General MIDI uses 2 by default.

Selecting "General MIDI" in the install program, then running the game, correctly sets the appropriate RPN controllers to set the pitch bends to 12, but due to a bug in the TIM.EXE file, no music data ever gets sent after that. (How bad was their QA department anyway, that they didn't spot this obvious bug?)

Selecting "MT-32" in the install program, then running the game, sets the GM-emulating MT-32 patch bank, but then plays the music on channels other than 2-10, which you'll miss with an MT-32. You can use the SC-55 with this install program selection, but the pitch bends will be wrong, because the General MIDI init wasn't sent, since we selected MT-32....

Therefore, the ONLY correct way to hear the music as intended is to use a SC-55, first select "General MIDI" so that the proper RPN controllers get sent, exit the game, select "MT-32", then run the game with the SC-55 attached. Of course, you'll have to do this every time you want to play.

And that is why Dynamix is stupid.

That and their lack of "MT-32 plus Sound Blaster" option, even going so far as disabling MT-32/General MIDI completely in one game."

By the way, the reason the MT-32/GM MIDI both 'work' is because there is only one set of MIDI files for TIM- the SC-55 General MIDI ones. The MT-32 gets sent the 'Chris Stevens' SysEx bank and so it tries (badly) to emulate the SC-55. Quite sad when you think what the ol' MT was capable of.

Regards,
- Spike

The cycles thing about soundblaster detection is a known bug...

Back when I had a 486DX4 I had to press the TURBO button to make the computer slower to get those Sierra games to identify my sound blaster, after I moved to Pentiums that trick stopped working (but, if you were an owner of an ESS, it WOULD detect it... I remember how that ticked me off...)

And for the life of me I have no idea why SIERRA never fixed this...

They did. Updates sound drivers for Sierra adventure games were posted on the Sierra FTP site (and they're still available). Not for TIM though, since the drivers are not separate files.

I remember using some update, but it didn't solve my problems with the Audio detection for my original Creative AWE64 card on a pentium.

Doesn't really matter anymore now that I have DOSBOX 😀

Sorry for grave digging this thread, but has anyone tried Even More Incredible Machines? That one apparently fixes the GM problem.

GM works, but even though the setup splits digital sounds from music, some sound effects, such as the little "Whew" fur ball in the opening screen, can only be heard with SB selected for music, not when GM is selected.

I've just found out about a TIM patch, you can get it here:
Re: Sierra/Dynamix sound driver hacking

It fixes the missing MT-32 instruments, General Midi plays and SoundBlaster works on high cycle configuration.

I've asked the original contributor if he could do a fix to the sequel, TEMIM.