AWE64 gets my vote. Unless you really want OPL3 as well. But now that you are equipped with Roland gear...

I'd recommend the Ensoniq Soundscape. Its MIDI-interface has better MPU-401 compatibility than that of the other cards, so more games will work with the CM-64. This doesn't matter for the CM-300 though.

Good point!

Ensoniq should work with 99% of all games...

All right, Ensoniq Soundscape it is. I just need to find a diagram I could use to put together the joystick to MIDI cable and find a cable to run the audio outputs of the CM-64 and CM-300 into the Line In of a sound card.

Here is the schematic of a Gameport to MIDI-cable.
http://home.roadrunner.com/~jgglatt/hardware/pc_intfc.htm

I had actually found this schematic for a Game port to MIDI cable: http://web.singnet.com.sg/~lau0cy/pc_midi.gif

One question: do I absolutely NEED the MIDI out? I put this circuit together and omitted the MIDI out, but on my Soundscape, I get absolutely no sound of the CM-300(I'm testing with this first). I would assume MIDI out must be used along with MIDI in?

EDIT: Is something wrong with the schematic I linked? Even with the MIDI out portion of the circuit wired up, I don't get any sound out of either the CM-300 or CM-64. I've also got no 74LS00 to build the other linked circuit. 😒

EDIT 2: THIS CAN'T BE F***ING POSSIBLE!!! 😠 😠 😠

Even with the other circuit provided by Paddan, I can't get the damn CM-64 and CM-300 to output a single sound! WHAT THE HELL!?

EDIT 3: D'OH! I'm an idiot. I had the MIDI in and out cables reversed. *facepalm*

Ah... the sweet sound of the Roland Sound Canvas. Sounds awesome, much better than Microsoft's software wavetable or even Virtual Sound Canvas, which I have installed on my Windows XP computer. Doom sounds awesome and X-Wing isn't too shabby. I'd like to try out Red Baron with the CM-64. That should be nice.

Now to get a USB interface so I can grab some music off a few Sharp X68000 games(using a Sharp X68000 emulator, obviously).

In the meantime, I'll get a few samples from the CM-64 and CM-300 for all of you.

Bump for a sample from the Roland CM-300. I hooked up the CM-300 to my SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 model CT4780 to see if would work under Windows XP on a Sharp X68000 emulator, and it does. While at it, I took the opportunity to record a song from a Sharp X68000 game - A Journey to the Start from Nemesis '90 Kai: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F7V0QuFcpw

Sure beats Roland's Virtual Sound Canvas and Microsoft's software wavetable.

I'll get some more samples from other DOS and X68000 games in the near future.

X68000 aparently had some games, which supported the CM-64 to its full capabilities. As you know, the CM-64 is a CM-32L and a CM-32P in a single unit. AFAIK no DOS games used the CM-32P part, but some X6800 games did.

If you can list some of those games, I'll be sure to check 'em out.

You know, I find X68000 games sound better with MT-32 sound than DOS games. X-Wing in particular sounds damn weird with MT-32 sound. Dynamix games such as Red Baron, on the other hand, sound phenomenal with MT-32 sound. I'll get a sample of Red Baron's intro played on my CM-64 whenever I can.

We had a similar discussion on German dowforum.de

The "cut-off" line seems to be 1993. This is when games switched to General Mid, and MT-32 support was only, using the MT-32 to play as a GM device.

Earlier games from Sierra and Dynamix, made abundant use of custom sounds, and, as you found out, sound fantastic on a MT-32. One of my favourite games is The Heart of China, simply because it has such unique and rich sounds...

GM games, kinda sound all the same, but The Heart of China, or Space Quest 4, boy, they sound totally unique. Same goes for Wing Commander / Strike Commander.

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

GM games, kinda sound all the same, but The Heart of China, or Space Quest 4, boy, they sound totally unique. Same goes for Wing Commander / Strike Commander.

Massive +1 to that.

Before I got an MT-32, I thought the Amiga was the best way to hear Sierra games... How wrong I was...

Yea, MT-32 FTW...

The old Sierra adventures are an exception however. E.g. Space Quest 1,2 or Kings Quest 1,2,3. These games sound best on a Tandy (3 Voice speaker), or even better, on an Apple II.

The Apple II had a very capable sound chip, even in Stereo. Space Quest 1 even has a digital sound sample right at the beginning. So these games are best enjoyed on a Apple II emulator...

Haha yesh, ANYTHING sounds better than PC Honker.

Even when the poor thing can be coaxed into this kind of thing: