What sound card are you using?

Some sound cards require additional steps to enable/configure MIDI out.

kickloch wrote on 2026-03-08, 20:26:

Hi folks, […]
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Hi folks,

Trouble every day, this time around I wanted to use the TG100 as General Midi device for games. I connected stuff the way I was thinking it had to work but obviously I failed.

What I did was using a DB15 to 2x Midi (In/Out) splitter cable, connected to the gameport of the soundcard and the other end (Midi Out) to the Midi In Port of the TG100. Then I connected the Audio Out of the TG100 to the soundcard's Line in. Then I selected GM for games like Descent, DN3D... But in the end I can't get any music out of it. Am I missing something here? Can somebody tell me if there are any settings to be done on the TG? What am I doing wrong?

Help appreciated

Cheers

Does anything appear on the screen of the TG100 when MIDI data is being sent to it?

Here's the user manual. The unit has three different MIDI modes, one for GM and another for MT-32/CM, along with a Disk Orchestra mode.

https://usa.yamaha.com/files/download/other_a … 087/TG100E2.PDF

The MT/CM mode on TG100 is quite awful. Stick to GM. It's worth noting that the X68000 version of Asuka 120% is probably the one and only game with a music option designed specifically for the TG100.

kickloch wrote on 2026-03-08, 20:26:

What am I doing wrong?

Trying to diagnose the whole chain at once is going to make things take much longer - take it step by step. Confirm there is data transfer between the sound card and the TG100, confirm the TG100 appears to be playing MIDI data, confirm the TG100 is outputting audio, confirm the line input on the card is functioning correctly

That’s a classic VOGONS-style mystery. Usually, when those old boards act up like that, it's either a tiny trace corrosion issue or a jumper setting that isn't quite documented right. Have you tried swapping out the RAM or checking if any of the caps are starting to bulge? Sometimes a quick BIOS reset or reseating the controller card fixes those "ghost" boot issues too.

Does the TG100's screen show anything? If not it's likely not seeing MIDI signals.

You said you connected MIDI Out on the cable to MIDI In on the TG100. But sometimes the cables have weird labeling and they are "to" so you really want to connect the cable's MIDI In to the MIDI In port of the MIDI module.

Hey,

thank you for all the replies. First of all I have to say that the TG100 does NOT display anything on playback, so it really seems to not get any midi signals. My first step now was to check the DB15 midi adapter cable I'm using. I got the cable and the TG from a musician who never used this cable so it's basically new old stock. Measuring between pin12 of the D-Sub and pin 5 of the Midi Out shows no continuity. However I can measure a resistance of 1k2 here. Is that normal? I mean, I checked it, there are 1k2 SMD resistors inside the housing of the adapter, but why is there no continuity??

Edit: I made a picture of the inside of the adapter. Between Pin12 and "MP1" there is 1k2 resistance. Between MP1 and Pin5 of the Midi Out cable there is continuity.

Currently I am using an OPTI 929 sound card from Terratec, the TT-929. MPU interface is enabled via the OPTI control panel. The connection to the sound cards Line-in is working, as I can playback the demosong from the TG100's internal ROM.

kickloch wrote on 2026-03-09, 16:26:

Hey, […]
Show full quote

Hey,

thank you for all the replies. First of all I have to say that the TG100 does NOT display anything on playback, so it really seems to not get any midi signals. My first step now was to check the DB15 midi adapter cable I'm using. I got the cable and the TG from a musician who never used this cable so it's basically new old stock. Measuring between pin12 of the D-Sub and pin 5 of the Midi Out shows no continuity. However I can measure a resistance of 1k2 here. Is that normal? I mean, I checked it, there are 1k2 SMD resistors inside the housing of the adapter, but why is there no continuity??

Edit: I made a picture of the inside of the adapter. Between Pin12 and "MP1" there is 1k2 resistance. Between MP1 and Pin5 of the Midi Out cable there is continuity.

Currently I am using an OPTI 929 sound card from Terratec, the TT-929. MPU interface is enabled via the OPTI control panel. The connection to the sound cards Line-in is working, as I can playback the demosong from the TG100's internal ROM.

Is there anything on the other side of the board? Quality MIDI cables should have optocouplers, that could mess up your continuity testing.

To confirm you have continuity from the physical pin 12 of the d-sub plug and the point you have labeled pin 12 on the board?

Yes there's a Sharp Opto coupler on the backside of the PCB. The other question of yours I cannot confirm right now, I took that for granted. Guess I'll have to open it up again....
Anything else I can check while I'm at it?

kickloch wrote on 2026-03-09, 16:26:

but why is there no continuity??

Multimeters typically use 50 ohms as the threshold for continuity beep. So if there is more than 50 ohms resistance (as you have confirmed) continuity mode will not beep, even though there is an electrical connection.