Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

That and a MT-32 (Old) for Sierra games and Wing Commander. That's why I got two CM 64s, as a backup in case the CM-32L dies or something like that. CM-64s basically has 2 PCBs inside, a CM-32L board and CM-32P).

Now I saw some CM-32Ps up for auction, but not much point for DOS games...

do the MT32(old) and CM32L sound different in said games??

Well thanks all of you, even you, Mau1wurf1977. I wanted to get this project done for a long time, being a retro freak. Hey can I ask you a bit of a favour? Have you played an old game called "Deathtrack"? I was wondering if you could compare the soundtrack between a 1G MT-32, an MT-100 and a CM-32L just to see if there are any differences? Thanks in advance! 😉 I was only curious because the in game race music sounds a bit terrible.

Never heard of that game. When was it released?

keropi wrote:

do the MT32(old) and CM32L sound different in said games??

Yes they do! There are quite a few games which only sound 100% correct on the very first generation MT-32s.

In Heart of China when you step on the plane, there is a short animation where a stamp goes into your passport. On the MT-32 (Old) you hear a "THUMP / PUNCH" sound, on the newer units it's usually a "CLICK" and sometimes a cutoff "THUMP / PUNCH"

My recording with the MT-32 (Old): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1GTr-27Ah8

It was released in 1989, and it was developed by Dynamix (before Sierra bought them out) and published by Activision.

wocko1 wrote:

It was released in 1989, and it was developed by Dynamix (before Sierra bought them out) and published by Activision.

Well the CM-32L was also released in 1989, so we can rule out the use of the extra sound effects.

Leaves us with MT-32 (Old) vs. (New). Seeing it's Dynamix I would put my money on MT-32 (Old)..

PS: I make it a point calling them MT-32 (Old) because that's how Roland refers to them in their Service Notes!

EDIT: Happy to make a recording of Deathtrack on the MT-32 (Old) considering you have a MT-32 (new). Just let me know what you are looking for.

Hey, cheers for that mate! I'm looking for a recording using an MT-32 (old) so I could put up against my MT-100.

wocko1 wrote:

Hey, cheers for that mate! I'm looking for a recording using an MT-32 (old) so I could put up against my MT-100.

Well no custom patches for this game it seems. Give me sec...

http://www.mediafire.com/?d26880qprwdrbzd

There's a list of old Roland MT-32 games that includes notes about which games sound correct on what type of Roland hardware you are using:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_MT-32-co … _computer_games

In this list, there are 9 games with a "(3) note marker" next to them. (3) = "Exploits software bugs of MT-32 (Old) modules' firmware; will on some occasions sound wrong on later-generation modules." I am confused about something: The (3) note above says "...sound wrong on later generation modules". Is an ISA LAPC-i considered to be a 1G or a 2G device?

retro games 100 wrote:

Is an ISA LAPC-i considered to be a 1G or a 2G device?

Roland timline:

OLD:
MT-32 without headphone socket
MT-32 with headphone socket / MT-100
CM-32L / LAPC-I / CM-64
CM-500 / CM300
NEW:

LAPC-I is a CM-32 on an ISA card. CM stands for computer music and that was the module that Roland wanted you to buy (CM-32L or CM-64 or LAPC-I) if you where into playing games. CM-64 is a CM-32L + CM-32P.

I'm actually behind some changes to the Wikipedia article. Initially they had first, second and third generation. However when I got the Roland service notes I found no mention of a third generation units. So I cleaned it up.

There was MT-32 (Old) and MT-32 (New) and then there where the CM (Computer Music) devices...

And within the CM series LAPC-I, CM-32L and CM-64 are all identical when it comes to the MT-32 playback. The CM-500 is the only one which has a new bug, a faster vibrato. CM-300 is General Midi only.

So keropi is correct in saying the CM-32L is the module to go for, in terms of most games working 100%. It has the extra sound effects and no buffer overruns.

However I;m a big Sierra / Dynamix / Wing Commander fan, so for me a MT-32 (Old) is a must. The MT-32 also displays cute messages when you fire up a game. As seen here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV8VvLRV3fA

Both of my MT-32 units are 2G. Oh well. I have a CM-32L. I'll have to tolerate any musical imperfections if I play any of those 9 1G MT-32 games. One of them is Dune 2 and is a classic. I remember the FM music option sounded a bit pathetic. BTW, a CM-300 exists!

retro games 100 wrote:

BTW, a CM-300 exists!

Updated! CM-300 is General Midi only...

I also added a (3) to Wing Commander on the games list. The fireworks scene will clip on all later units. I put a detailed explanation in the YouTube video I linked above (in the notes section).

@Mau1wurf1977: Well I put your recording of good ole' Deathtrack on your MT-32(old) to my MT-100, and to be honest I couldn't pick the difference at all, so that answers that. Thanks heaps for the recording! But anyway, at least it sounds better than PC Speaker!

So it looks like a SC-55mkII and a MT-32(MT-100/LAPC-I/CM-32L) seems to be all you need for an ideal setup.

Well you all ready got a MT-100. The good thing as that you won't see the Buffer Overrun issue. Unfortunately a handful games won't sound 100% right either because they are meant for MT-32 (Old) or they use the extra sound effects of the CM series...

Bottom line is that whatever module you go for, 98% of games will work just fine, while a handful of games will sound good, but not 100% perfect.

Mau1wurf1977: Holy crap that's a nice synth collection.

When I decided to buy synths for DOS games a few years ago I knew I needed an MT-32 family and a Sound Canvas family synth for best compatibility. I ended up with an MT-32 (Old) and an SC-88 (with SC-55MkII compatibility mode), and I'm 100% happy with both.

I was most torn between getting an MT-32 (Old) for Sierra games and the cool messages and a CM-32L/CM-64 for extra sounds in some LucasArts games, but ended up with the former because it was easier to find.

The wikipedia page probably ought to be reformatted as a sortable table that lists all of the current info as column entries, plus which games support General MIDI but are composed primarily for the MT-32 family (e.g. the Xeen games). Maybe I'll look into that sometime when I'm bored.

A few people from QuestStudios are mostly looking after that article. They are quite "protective" and often just undo whatever changes you suggest 🤣

I wonder if I should give them a heads-up first or just do it and hope they like it better enough to leave it alone 🤣.

HunterZ wrote:

I wonder if I should give them a heads-up first or just do it and hope they like it better enough to leave it alone 🤣.

Nah just edit away and see what happens. Note that the article tries to keep it simple and not go to much into depth / technical details.

It would mostly be a formatting change of the current annotated game list, to instead present the same information in a table format.

Sounds good!

Here is my DOS rig so far... I'm waiting on the SC-55mkII atm

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