If you want to compose mid 90s "professional" music, then a Roland JV-1080 is a must. Used by just about every EDM band at the time, Faithless used it extensively, the famous pizzicato hit in Insomnia comes from the JV-1080. Not sure where you're based, but if you're patient enough, you can pick them up for less than an SC-55

Korg M1 was often used at the time.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jhezoIfHGSk&t=4m26s

Frank Klepacki - Red Alert - 'Snake' ! 😮

Scythifuge wrote on 2023-12-07, 21:28:

What I am asking is for information on midi controllers / keyboards and period-correct apps which support both the MT-32 and the SC-55, and be able to use it on any retro system, real and emulated.

Voyetra's Sequencer Plus GOLD is an early 90s MS-DOS application that supports loads of MIDI interfaces and (as a bonus) includes OPL2 / OPL3 support with a voice editor so you can create your own FM patches. Pretty sure it will run on anything from a 286 and up (it's a 16-bit real mode program).

The Roland PC-200 series of keyboards is specifically designed for use with a PC. (It even includes a serial-to-MIDI interface in the keyboard.)

I have a Quickshot "MIDI Composer" keyboard that's also specifically designed as a PC peripheral, to the extent that it has a 15-pin gameport connector that can attach directly to a sound card for MIDI and power.

Thank you all for the replies and I apologize for the delay in responding. The Roland Roland JV-1080 seems like a cool piece of tech (and I may try to grab one for my PC and MIDI items collection,) though outside of the scope for this project. By "professional," I mean as a 1990s teen with a 486DX2 with MPU-IPC-T, an old MT-32, and an SC-55, but is also a budding musician and aspiring game dev, and is starting out making "quality" music and sound effects for games and preparing to move on to better hardware coming into the early 2000s and into the early 20s ages. using these items as a starting point.

kdr wrote on 2023-12-09, 22:12:

Voyetra's Sequencer Plus GOLD is an early 90s MS-DOS application that supports loads of MIDI interfaces and (as a bonus) include […]
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Scythifuge wrote on 2023-12-07, 21:28:

What I am asking is for information on midi controllers / keyboards and period-correct apps which support both the MT-32 and the SC-55, and be able to use it on any retro system, real and emulated.

Voyetra's Sequencer Plus GOLD is an early 90s MS-DOS application that supports loads of MIDI interfaces and (as a bonus) includes OPL2 / OPL3 support with a voice editor so you can create your own FM patches. Pretty sure it will run on anything from a 286 and up (it's a 16-bit real mode program).

The Roland PC-200 series of keyboards is specifically designed for use with a PC. (It even includes a serial-to-MIDI interface in the keyboard.)

I have a Quickshot "MIDI Composer" keyboard that's also specifically designed as a PC peripheral, to the extent that it has a 15-pin gameport connector that can attach directly to a sound card for MIDI and power.

Many thanks! These are the answers I was looking for. I use Voyetra Audiostation in ALL WFW 3.11 and Windows 9x installs, both real machines and emulated through DOSBOX and 86Box (I LOVE 86box as I can recreate my real and physical 4DPS Tomato 486 to the almost exact same specifications!) My very first PC game with Audiostation and thus is is a required piece of nostalgia for all builds, so I am more than happy to check out more apps by Voyetra. Does Sequencer Plus and the keyboards you mentioned specifically support the MT-32? I have a feeling that finding support for the SC-55 will be easier, given the 80s dates for the MT-32, though it would be cool top learn how the composers at Sierra made all of those great MT-32 tracks.

What I am seeking to do is to create a soundtrack and sound effects and have different versions, each made with the MT-32, the SC-55, and a Sound Blaster AWE32 - both the SB 16 FM music and sounds and perhaps native AWE32 support, depending on whether or not I can acquire everything I need and if I can learn how to use it all, hehehe. As soon as I post this, I am going to research everything you mentioned. I am hoping to get my hands on a Roland CM-500 for my physical 486, and then move the MT-32 and SC-55 to my main rig and use them with the UM-ONE cable with DOSBOX and 86box projects. I may research using a SB Live! with a LIVE! Drive to make music and sounds, but I will only do that if I can accomplish these initial goals.

Scythifuge wrote on 2023-12-14, 13:18:

Does Sequencer Plus and the keyboards you mentioned specifically support the MT-32? I have a feeling that finding support for the SC-55 will be easier, given the 80s dates for the MT-32, though it would be cool top learn how the composers at Sierra made all of those great MT-32 tracks.

From the perspective of a MIDI sequencer (such as the Voyetra software) the MT-32 is just like any other hardware synth: send it program change messages (to select a patch/sound) and note on/off messages along with CC parameter messages (to change modulation/pitch bend/etc.) at particular points in time. If you want to make custom MT-32 patches -- and I think this is what you have in mind -- then you'd need special MT-32 patch editor software.

It's possible that those great Sierra tracks were composed on a machine like the Atari ST and not on a PC. Since the Atari had built-in MIDI ports it ended up with a lot of music production software including patch editors for various hardware synths.

kdr wrote on 2023-12-14, 19:50:

Scythifuge wrote on 2023-12-14, 13:18:

Does Sequencer Plus and the keyboards you mentioned specifically support the MT-32? I have a feeling that finding support for the SC-55 will be easier, given the 80s dates for the MT-32, though it would be cool top learn how the composers at Sierra made all of those great MT-32 tracks.

From the perspective of a MIDI sequencer (such as the Voyetra software) the MT-32 is just like any other hardware synth: send it program change messages (to select a patch/sound) and note on/off messages along with CC parameter messages (to change modulation/pitch bend/etc.) at particular points in time. If you want to make custom MT-32 patches -- and I think this is what you have in mind -- then you'd need special MT-32 patch editor software.

It's possible that those great Sierra tracks were composed on a machine like the Atari ST and not on a PC. Since the Atari had built-in MIDI ports it ended up with a lot of music production software including patch editors for various hardware synths.

I have a lot to learn, midi-wise.

The Amiga was also commonly used for midi composition. MIDI wise, anything that supports MIDI can use anything else that supports MIDI. You can still plug a modern keyboard’s MIDI out into an mt32 and it’ll work.

Scythifuge wrote on 2023-12-07, 21:28:

A bonus question: Were there any home recording ISA or PCI cards from the early to mid 90s with multiple inputs/outputs? Many thanks!

-Scythifuge

ADAT AD/DA + PC Interface

https://web.archive.org/web/19970204203646/ht … gn.com/pr01.htm

midicollector wrote on 2023-12-16, 06:02:

The Amiga was also commonly used for midi composition. MIDI wise, anything that supports MIDI can use anything else that supports MIDI. You can still plug a modern keyboard’s MIDI out into an mt32 and it’ll work.

Using any midi keyboard with the MT-32 will play mt-32 sounds? I have some sort of Yamaha with midi ports, I just have to find a power adapter for it, and I can test that out! I will probably hunt down a "period correct" keyboard for the project, but if I can use the Yamaha to play the sounds the mt-32 and the sc-55 can make, that will be great!

fjardest wrote on 2023-12-18, 11:34:

Scythifuge wrote on 2023-12-07, 21:28:

A bonus question: Were there any home recording ISA or PCI cards from the early to mid 90s with multiple inputs/outputs? Many thanks!

-Scythifuge

ADAT AD/DA + PC Interface

https://web.archive.org/web/19970204203646/ht … gn.com/pr01.htm

Awesome! Thank you for this information.

Sierra composers used controller keyboards like the Roland A-80 hooked u[ to the MT-32 or SC-55, with software like Sequencer Plus Gold.

There's also MIDI Orchestrator Plus for WIn 3.1/95, the first Win version of Voyetra's software.

Spikey wrote on 2024-01-08, 12:08:

Sierra composers used controller keyboards like the Roland A-80 hooked u[ to the MT-32 or SC-55, with software like Sequencer Plus Gold.

There's also MIDI Orchestrator Plus for WIn 3.1/95, the first Win version of Voyetra's software.

Perfect, thank you! This is what I am looking for!