VOGONS


Reply 160 of 420, by aitotat

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

I didn't have enough time for testing last weekend but I'm really impressed so far. MT-32 emulation sure sounds nice and I really like how easy it is to change modes with mt32-pi command line utility. Soundfont support is very nice also so this one little internal MIDI-device really does it all.

I'm having hard time deciding to what retro system I'm going to leave it. Since there was three XG midi soundfonts listed here, I decided to try them all with Final Fantasy 7. Here are some recordings from FF7 configurator.

I didn't adjust any reverb or chorus so defaults are used. I included Yamaha DB50XG recording as well for comparison. I also included recording of Phoenix XG.sf2 soundfont used with Sound Blaster Live. There are two recordings with it, one without EAX effects and other with FF7 preset that is included with Live Win 98 drivers. Recording was done with Sound Blaster live. Yamaha DB50XG was connected to SB16 CT2290 and SB16 line out was connected to Live line in. McCake was tested with Orpheus and again line out was connected to Live line in.

So can I replace Yamaha DB50XG with McCake on my Super Socket 7 system ? Maybe I could (I'd like to do more testing first, like different reverb/chorus settings with Omega soundfont etc) but McCake would be so great on any of my retro systems so it is really hard to decide...

Reply 161 of 420, by Salient

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
JimWest wrote on 2021-07-04, 08:53:

Thank you for testing and providing your results.
Perhaps you can also check Dune 2 in MT32 mode when the time comes?

I can confirm Dune II works pefectly in both General Midi/Sound Canvas mode as wel as MT-32 mode, without the need of using SoftMPU.
I used the altenative setup files to combine MIDI for music and SB for effects.

MIDI comparison website: << Wavetable.nl >>
(Always) looking for: Any Wavetable daughterboard, MIDI Module (GM/GS/XG)

Reply 162 of 420, by Joseph_Joestar

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
Salient wrote on 2021-07-03, 21:52:

- Duke Nukem 3D : Music: Sound Canvas / SFX: SB16 -> Failed, works but severe stuttering in sfx and framerate

This is likely due to the MPU-401 + high sampling rates stutter bug. It affects all SB16 and AWE cards.

More info here: Sound Blaster 16 Bugs and Deficiencies Summary

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 163 of 420, by mihai

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
aitotat wrote on 2021-07-12, 11:02:

I'm having hard time deciding to what retro system I'm going to leave it. Since there was three XG midi soundfonts listed here, I decided to try them all with Final Fantasy 7. Here are some recordings from FF7 configurator.

I didn't adjust any reverb or chorus so defaults are used. I included Yamaha DB50XG recording as well for comparison. I also included recording of Phoenix XG.sf2 soundfont used with Sound Blaster Live. There are two recordings with it, one without EAX effects and other with FF7 preset that is included with Live Win 98 drivers. Recording was done with Sound Blaster live. Yamaha DB50XG was connected to SB16 CT2290 and SB16 line out was connected to Live line in. McCake was tested with Orpheus and again line out was connected to Live line in.

not sure if there are any differences in the recording itself, but for my ears the DB50XG sound is in a completely different, better, league.

Reply 164 of 420, by aitotat

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
mihai wrote on 2021-07-12, 19:59:

not sure if there are any differences in the recording itself, but for my ears the DB50XG sound is in a completely different, better, league.

I too think that DB50XG is the best of them but the Phoenix soundfont is a good alternative for real Yamaha. I tested the Phoenix soundfont more with some GM games and it sounded well balanced so it is a good general purpose soundfont worth a try even if XG is not needed.

There was one mistake I made while recording. To make sure correct soundfont is selected I only had one soundfont at a time on the card. But that would make the only soundfont as soundfont 0 that uses GeneralUser GS soundfont reverb and chorus parameters by default, and not the default ones meant for other soundfonts. But it is very easy to change soundfonts with the command line utility so it was completely unnecessary to store only one soundfont on the card.

Reply 165 of 420, by bnz99

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Just got my custom panel PCB. Not the prettiest 3d print, but looking forward to test this once I have my McCake.

Attachments

  • Image 2.jpg
    Filename
    Image 2.jpg
    File size
    124.98 KiB
    Views
    1893 views
    File license
    Public domain

Reply 166 of 420, by 2Mourty

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

Does anybody have any recordings of the MUNT emulation? I'm really excited about the MT-32/CM-32L emulation possibility with this product. I have a real CM32L (lucked out and got it before prices soared), but I would love to have an excuse to not put as much wear and tear on my device!

Reply 167 of 420, by SScorpio

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
2Mourty wrote on 2021-07-16, 21:37:

Does anybody have any recordings of the MUNT emulation? I'm really excited about the MT-32/CM-32L emulation possibility with this product. I have a real CM32L (lucked out and got it before prices soared), but I would love to have an excuse to not put as much wear and tear on my device!

Do a Youtube search for mt32 pi and the name of whatever game. That's the same software the RasPi CM4 is running.

Here's a short video comparing it to a real MT-32.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYOk2CSc798

Reply 168 of 420, by Salient

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
2Mourty wrote on 2021-07-16, 21:37:

Does anybody have any recordings of the MUNT emulation? …

Check my website (see footer). There are lots of recodings from Munt and the MP32L, which is basically the same as the McCake but as a stand alone unit.

MIDI comparison website: << Wavetable.nl >>
(Always) looking for: Any Wavetable daughterboard, MIDI Module (GM/GS/XG)

Reply 169 of 420, by cde

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

In the hope that it can be useful to others, here's my collection of SC-55 related soundfonts:

Re: Soundfonts that mimic old hardware (SC-55, DX50XG, AWE64 Gold) => https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7ntR7VRcUec … iew?usp=sharing => deemster soundfonts.zip (Roland SC-55 Presets.sf2)

https://archive.org/details/SC55EmperorGrieferus => Roland SC-55 v3.7.sf2 (Patch93 version fixed by EmperorGrieferus)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J8-CgvC-As => https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G53wKnIBMONg … lJaXsyaKml/view => SC-55.sf2 (Patch93 version fixed by EmperorGrieferus, older release?)

https://github.com/trevor0402/SC55Soundfont/r … eases/tag/v1.2b => SC-55.SoundFont.v1.2b.sf2

https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/1228 => https://archive.org/download/sc-55/SC-55.sf2 (Patch93 original)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKqDpR2q4W0 => https://mega.nz/file/YBh2iQIA#jW2uLvI6b5a17QY … cUK_y0ZNCm-hies => Roland Sound Canvas Sound Set Soundfont (RLNDGM.SF2 / RLNDGM_VAR2.sf2, Windows MIDI)

https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/713 => gm.sf2 (Default Windows MIDI Soundfont)

https://midis.fandom.com/wiki/Eawpats.s ... ltrasound) => https://www.dropbox.com/s/4hftbg8e0erf4fj/eaw … =%2Feawpats.sf2

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/111665- … font-release-12 => "Miracle" soundfont

https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/1549 => https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders … -kXb-jcwQYeSLEI => GM.dls Remastered

EDIT: after further testing of the WP32 McCake, I have to say it is certainly one of the best retro purchases I have made, it is second to none. Highly recommended! Also very useful: https://github.com/gmcn42/mt32-pi-control

Last edited by cde on 2022-02-25, 09:18. Edited 6 times in total.

Reply 170 of 420, by appiah4

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++
cde wrote on 2021-07-18, 13:36:

I swear by this for mimicing a Sound Canvas now. Superior to the others in almost every way IMO.

Retronautics: A digital gallery of my retro computers, hardware and projects.

Reply 171 of 420, by cde

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
appiah4 wrote on 2021-07-18, 18:44:
cde wrote on 2021-07-18, 13:36:

I swear by this for mimicing a Sound Canvas now. Superior to the others in almost every way IMO.

I believe this particular soundfont was created from actual SC-55 samples decrypted from the ROM, following last year's reverse engineering efforts (Re: About Roland Virtual Sound Canvas 3)

Last edited by Stiletto on 2021-07-19, 23:24. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 172 of 420, by Salient

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
cde wrote on 2021-07-18, 13:36:

https://archive.org/details/SC55EmperorGrieferus => Roland SC-55 v3.7.sf2 (Patch93 version fixed by EmperorGrieferus)

This is my favourite SC-55 soundfont. It's a bit large (100MB) compared to some others, but I find the volume balance for most (game) tracks the best.

MIDI comparison website: << Wavetable.nl >>
(Always) looking for: Any Wavetable daughterboard, MIDI Module (GM/GS/XG)

Reply 173 of 420, by DNSDies

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
dreamblaster wrote on 2021-05-16, 07:39:
mihai wrote on 2021-05-16, 06:10:

Would this board be compatible with CHILL II?

Yes, there are solder bridges at the bottom to select between floppy power and header power
if powered through header, it works fine on CHiLL II, which can provide the needed current

I'm assuming these are the 5V EXT and 12V EXT bridges?
How should they be configured if I want to use this on a Chill 3?

Reply 174 of 420, by dreamblaster

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
DNSDies wrote on 2021-07-23, 05:02:
dreamblaster wrote on 2021-05-16, 07:39:
mihai wrote on 2021-05-16, 06:10:

Would this board be compatible with CHILL II?

Yes, there are solder bridges at the bottom to select between floppy power and header power
if powered through header, it works fine on CHiLL II, which can provide the needed current

I'm assuming these are the 5V EXT and 12V EXT bridges?
How should they be configured if I want to use this on a Chill 3?

in general 12V EXT can be closed without issue, mccake doesnt need much current there,
but 5V EXT can only be bridged if the host can supply enough power.
CHiLL III and CHiLL II can do that, but it is risky if you'd place such
-5v bridged- mccake on a regular soundcard.

So I would advise on Chill III to also use the floppy power outlet, to avoid the risk :
so powering from CHiLL III ---floppy cable---> McCake .

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 175 of 420, by dreamblaster

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

3.5inch McCake panel proto ready,
i mounted in a 3.5inch to 5.25inch adapter for testing

Attachments

  • panel_top.jpg
    Filename
    panel_top.jpg
    File size
    274.44 KiB
    Views
    1473 views
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception
  • panel_side.jpg
    Filename
    panel_side.jpg
    File size
    195.22 KiB
    Views
    1473 views
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception
  • panel_front.jpg
    Filename
    panel_front.jpg
    File size
    197.53 KiB
    Views
    1473 views
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 176 of 420, by dreamblaster

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

I am stocking for next production batch
what display text color would you prefer for mccake OLED screen ?
white or blue ?

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 177 of 420, by matze79

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

White!

https://www.retrokits.de - blog, retro projects, hdd clicker, diy soundcards etc
https://www.retroianer.de - german retro computer board

Reply 179 of 420, by dreamblaster

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

well ok then, 100% votes for white...

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !