I just recently purchased (and received) a Roland SC-55 SoundCanvas, as well as a MIDI to USB plug. I was told that plug n' play MIDI-to-USB cords should work just fine. So I got everything hooked up and test with D_E1M1.MID from Doom 1 (of course) and I see music playing on the SC-55 but I can't hear it at all. So is there something I'm missing or did I pick up a bad cable?
you uh, have the audio line outs on the sc55 hooked up to an amp right?
--/\-[ Stu : Bloody Cactus :: [ https://bloodycactus.com :: http://kråketær.com ]-/\--
BloodyCactus wrote on 2021-10-26, 00:28:you uh, have the audio line outs on the sc55 hooked up to an amp right?
Oohhh....
No, no.
The way I have it configured is MIDI-in/outs plugged into Roland SC55 MIDI in/outs and the USB plugged into PC USB port.
Is there a guide I can use to set it up properly?
well you just need to send its lineouts back to the soundcard input or to an amp.
--/\-[ Stu : Bloody Cactus :: [ https://bloodycactus.com :: http://kråketær.com ]-/\--
Where are you expecting the sound to come out?
BloodyCactus wrote on 2021-10-26, 01:57:well you just need to send its lineouts back to the soundcard input or to an amp.
Or plug headphones into it .
BloodyCactus wrote on 2021-10-26, 01:57:well you just need to send its lineouts back to the soundcard input or to an amp.
I don't have an amp, any recommendations?
Do you have any speakers in your house at all?
kolderman wrote on 2021-10-26, 02:14:Do you have any speakers in your house at all?
Not really, no.
I'm just trying to use this for MIDI playback on my PC, which entails being able to output it to my headphones (HyperX Cloud II Wireless Headset w/ USB receiver)
RetroWolf92 wrote on 2021-10-26, 02:18:kolderman wrote on 2021-10-26, 02:14:Do you have any speakers in your house at all?
Not really, no.
I'm just trying to use this for MIDI playback on my PC, which entails being able to output it to my headphones (HyperX Cloud II Wireless Headset w/ USB receiver)
I should also clarify I'm trying to use this on my main (modern) PC.
Your motherboard should have a line in Jack -- find it, and get an RCA stero -> headphone jack cable to connect from Roland to PC. You probably dont have one of those lying around, but they are pretty cheap and easy to find most places.
kolderman wrote on 2021-10-26, 02:42:Your motherboard should have a line in Jack -- find it, and get an RCA stero -> headphone jack cable to connect from Roland to PC. You probably dont have one of those lying around, but they are pretty cheap and easy to find most places.
You're talking about a 3.5mm Audio Jack-to-Red n White RCA stereo cord?
I actually do have one of those.
Bought it originally for my old Toshiba Satellite 225CDS so I could send it's audio right to my TV for when I used to play Doom on it.
Then it stopped booting up.
I still have it and would love to repair it, I just haven't looked it up yet.
Well if you have one, give it a try. You may need to adjust your windows mixer settings to accept line-in.
kolderman wrote on 2021-10-26, 03:03:Well if you have one, give it a try. You may need to adjust your windows mixer settings to accept line-in.
Holy crap it works!!
YESSSS!!!
That was a helluva suggestion! Thank you!!
No probs. Have fun.
So uh, new problem.
I dunno if it's because of the cheap converter cord I am using or what but the SC55's playback stutters on some MIDIs.
For example I was just listening to the test music from Fate (via DOSBox) and it stuttered.
So I used DOSBox's inbuilt MIDI capture and dumped the RAW midi file and tried and it still stuttered.
It's weird, it does it on some and not on others.
Using my VirtualMIDISynth in the same scenarios there is no stutter to speak of.
If a MIDI file stutters when played via a MIDI DIN connector but not through VirtualMIDISynth, it's either the MIDI cable is operating at a slower speed than normal, or the MIDI file itself is not timed properly for communication overhead.
If you're talking about the Build engine game Fate, the test music works just fine for me on my Roland CM-300, so you can rule out the latter. (It's more likely your MIDI-to-USB cable)
ericvids wrote on 2021-10-28, 02:42:If a MIDI file stutters when played via a MIDI DIN connector but not through VirtualMIDISynth, it's either the MIDI cable is operating at a slower speed than normal, or the MIDI file itself is not timed properly for communication overhead.
If you're talking about the Build engine game Fate, the test music works just fine for me on my Roland CM-300, so you can rule out the latter. (It's more likely your MIDI-to-USB cable)
Another thing that flew over my head to mention is with some MIDIs the SC55 isn't choosing the correct instruments or effects.
RetroWolf92 wrote on 2021-10-28, 03:25:Another thing that flew over my head to mention is with some MIDIs the SC55 isn't choosing the correct instruments or effects.
Yup, it's a bad USB-MIDI cable; it's probably got one bit shorted out, or its firmware just doesn't handle some midi messages properly (especially System-Exclusive messages, since you say the effects are broken). The only other possibility is if your SC55's midi-in port itself is broken, but try the less expensive option first. 😉
