VOGONS


First post, by sofakng

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I'm using a real Roland MT-32 connected to Windows 10 using the Roland UM-ONE USB-MIDI adapter. The MIDI files are from scummbar.com and appear to have different files for the opening song:

awmonkey.mid
mi_1.mid
gsmonkey.mid

I understand that the MT-32 doesn't use the General Midi (GM) standard but I'm still confused. mi_1.mid sounds correct (I think?) but I'm not sure. The other two (awmonkey.mid and gsmonkey.mid) definitely sound wrong.

Do I need "MT32" versions of the Secret of Monkey Island MIDI files?

Reply 1 of 2, by polpo

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I just tried playing MI_1.MID from the SCUMM Bar's MIDI pack on my MT-32 and it sounds exact to the game. The message inside the midi file says it for the MT-32.

I played it back in DOS with DOSMID on the MPU-401 interface on an ESS sound card, but that shouldn't really be any different than playing it from Windows. However, if it does sound off to you, make sure your MIDI player is not sending any SYSEX reset commands that are throwing off your MT-32. You can try playing the MIDI file with the MT-32's reset SYSEX command here first: Re: MT-32 and SC-55 system reset mid?

Reply 2 of 2, by Spikey

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The other two (awmonkey.mid and gsmonkey.mid) definitely sound wrong.

Do I need "MT32" versions of the Secret of Monkey Island MIDI files?

Judging by the Mi_1 filename, this was done by Tom from QuestStudios. He used underscores (_) for MT-32 tracks. So that one would be an MT-32 file.

The other two are:
awmonkey = Sound Blaster AWE (General MIDI)
gsmonkey = Roland Sound Canvas SC-55 (Roland GS)

So yes, it's correct that neither of those two versions would work with your device. They were converted to sound correct on other sound cards besides the MT-32.

Old MIDI is all about formats, so yes, if you're playing data on a MT-32, you can ONLY use MIDI files formatted for the MT-32. There is SysEx files that can make the MT-32 roughly General MIDI compatible, but it's better to get a program like CoolSoft Virtual MIDI Synth and use a GM/GS soundfont.