I unplugged and reset everything and Might and Magic IV intro now sounds great on my Soundcanvas using softmpu off of a SBPRO. It sounds like ass on this xg QY70 module I picked up a long time ago though. Maybe it's not GM compatible or needs to be set up properly.

As the game is from the early time when the GM standard was being hammered out, it's more of an MT-32 title than a GM one in many people's opinion, but it does work with GM. Given that, you definitely have a config or hardware issue, as the QY70 should sound pretty darn good. That being said, it's entirely possible that the QY70 is not compatible with SoftMPU, as the software doesn't work well with Yamaha gear and the unit was only intended to be used with Windows/Mac software for low-end composition work and was never intended (or should be) to be used for DOS or Windows gaming.

Yeah I don't know if the QY-70 will work as an external MIDI module or not . It was an impulse buy some time ago, looked like a neat little device for a cheap price.

Indeed, the reason why there is an endless supply of QY-XG modules available is that they are simply useless to anyone who isn't going to dabble in music composition. For gamers, the line offers nothing really, since it has no GS mode/compatibility in any of the products and the polyphony is capped at 32. Anyway, here is the QY70 manual, which might help you sort out your problem, which seems like a host connectivity issue.

https://www.deepsonic.ch/deep/docs_manuals/ya … qy70_manual.pdf

I don't think SoftMPU is required for external modules that don't require intelligent mode? My understanding is that SoftMPU is for use with the MT-32 only. You should be able to just connect your Sound Canvas (without running SoftMPU) and games should play fine on it, unless the game is configured incorrectly, etc.

[Edit] I stand corrected! Thanks.

newtmonkey wrote on 2022-05-18, 03:48:

I don't think SoftMPU is required for external modules that don't require intelligent mode? My understanding is that SoftMPU is for use with the MT-32 only. You should be able to just connect your Sound Canvas (without running SoftMPU) and games should play fine on it, unless the game is configured incorrectly, etc.

Using any external MIDI module with a real SBPro requires Sound Blaster MIDI mode since it doesn't have any MPU-401 compatible interface onboard.

SoftMPU has a command line switch which is /OUTPUT:SBMIDI for that purpose, but compatibility is decreased in that mode. Same goes for DOSMid which has the /sbmidi parameter, eliminating the need for SoftMPU for this application.

Tangentially related: when I use SB-MIDI on my SBPro 1 I get some really ugly noise through the digital audio in the sound blaster. Not a dealbreaker since you can't use the PCM and MIDI at the same time anyway, so you can just turn down the volume on the card. But I found it odd

I have one of the repro MPU401 cards to install on my 386 (alongside sbpro) but what's the fun of these cool utilities if you don't try them out?

What exactly (or generally?)) does reduced compatibility mean? Some games won't work that normaly would? Missing/incorrect sounds? Both?

The QY-70 does seem to work perfectly as an external midi module if set up correctly.

From an external forum:

ON QY70 and QY100:
1) Press Menu->F4 (Utility)
2) Press Menu->F2 (MIDI)
3) Move cursor to ‘ECHO BACK’ and turn it off (using +/- buttons)
4) Press Exit
THEN
1) Press Menu->F4 (Fingered Zone
2) Move cursor to MIDI Channels and change to ALL (using +/- buttons)

I'll test it out with softmpu and sbmidi mode this evening, but it sounds DAMN good on a sb16 mpu currently.

Decreased compatibility with Sound Blaster MIDI mode is what maxtherabbit exactly said: no digitized sounds effects (not counting the ones coming from the MIDI device) and MIDI at the same time.

Edit: Removed statement related to dedicated MPU-401 card as the OP doesn't have it installed.

Gmlb256 wrote on 2022-05-18, 21:26:

Decreased compatibility means that intelligent mode won't work and like maxtherabbit said you can't use both digitized sounds and MIDI at the same time. This only applies when the MIDI device is connected to the SBPro gameport and you can disregard the statement that I mentioned since you have a dedicated MPU-401 card (this is something that you should have pointed out in your first post on this thread).

The first post on the thread was regarding using my sbpro. I didn't have the MPU installed at that point, I was exploring how softmpu worked. It had no bearing on the first post.

keenerb wrote on 2022-05-18, 21:35:

The first post on the thread was regarding using my sbpro. I didn't have the MPU installed at that point, I was exploring how softmpu worked. It had no bearing on the first post.

Ok, then what I said about Sound Blaster MIDI mode still applies in this thread.