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Seeking help for book on Sierra MIDI music

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First post, by Spikey

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Hey folks,

Hope everyone is well (and sane) after a crazy year. No, I won't say the number. 😉

I'm working on a book on Sierra music in my spare time, and although I've got it mostly covered, it would be silly of me not to ask for contributions from those who have knowledge. After all, noone knows everything! 😀

So, if you have:
- knowledge of Sierra MIDI music (1986-1995 primarily)
- knowledge of Sierra's pre-SCI0 music (i.e. PC Speaker, Apple II, etc)
- knowledge of the technical side (drivers, implementation)
- knowledge of Sierra music devices beyond the MT-32 and SC-55 (i.e. Tandy 3 voice, Yamaha FB-01, etc etc)
- interviews you've done with Sierra people (not just music people)
- anything else you think might be useful, pertinent or interesting

On the flip side, if you find this interesting but aren't able to contribute, send me a PM, and I'll add you to the mailing list (coming soon).

Any questions, queries, or anything else, just post here or PM me. 😀 Cheers!

Reply 1 of 3, by Pierre32

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Intrigued 😀

I'm just a dumb user, not a source for technical information. But I did dive into the world of Sierra music on the Yamaha FB-01 this year (and by extension, the IBM Music Feature Card) after buying an FB-01. It was possible for an idiot to do this thanks to Great Hierophant's blog, a TSR by Scali and additional help from Carlostex. I saw that recordings of the music were scant online, so I set about filling some gaps in this thread: The Yamaha FB-01/IBM Music Feature Card support thread!!

If having the hardware here means I can help to answer any questions, let me know. I'll PM you my email address.

Reply 2 of 3, by Spikey

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While those sorts of modules won't be any more than a footnote, my current knowledge of how they sound is basically zero, so it's still good to know/learn. 😀 I guess all I know about the device is that it uses a form of FM Synthesis, right?

Reply 3 of 3, by Pierre32

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Yep, it's based around one of Yamaha's pre-OPL FM chips that mostly went into their mid-80s synths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_YM2164

The Yamaha YM2164 a.k.a.OPP (FM Operator Type P), is an FM synthesis sound chip developed by Yamaha, an enhanced version of their YM2151 a.k.a. OPM. The OPP was used in various MIDI-based synthesizers by Yamaha - DX21, DX27, DX100, SFG-05, FB-01 (= a standalone SFG-05) - plus several licensed products: the IBM Music Feature Card (effectively an FB-01 on an ISA card) and Korg's DS-8 and Korg 707.

Definitely an obscure piece of computer music history. But on the other hand, the list of supported games makes the IMFC a completely Sierra-centric device, so as footnotes go it's an interesting one.

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