The MT-32 mode should be a mapping, not a true emulation. A lot of MIDI devices can do that. You should notice a difference in games that create custom sounds. (Sorry, don't know any example for that. Monkey Island 1 is an example for game that sounds good on such devices.)
Since one chip carries the GS-label I suppose the module will support GS. Maybe that is the difference between "General Midi" and "Sound Canvas"?

I see, thank you. So it seems like it would be similar to the GUS or AWE32 in MT-32 mode mapping MT-32 instruments from its internal banks, only without the need for a TSR. I'll have to listen a little more carefully to the music in Duke 3D to see if I can tell a difference between GM and GS.

I don't know if any game that supports Roland GS.
Most games (in terms of MIDI support) either supported the MT-32 or General MIDI.
Most General MIDI devices (including the Roland Sound Canvas) had a patch map for the MT-32 but, didn't sort the sysex commands of the MT-32. Games that utilised this, will not sound correct on such devices (try Space Quest 3).

boxpressed wrote:

1. This card can do MT-32. I'm not sure if this is emulation or the real thing, but the music sounds pretty close to my real MT-32. Is this common among MIDI daughterboards?
2. When I do the sound setup on Duke 3D, I can use the "General Midi" or the "Sound Canvas" setting. Both sound about the same. Should there be any difference?

idspispopd explained it well. Games such as Wing Commander or Space Quest III, that program custom sounds, will not play correctly on MT-32 compatible GM devices. But games such as Monkey Island that stick with the default MT-32 instruments, will sound rather good.

Sound Canvas vs General MIDI option in SETUP is purely cosmetic. I believe they wanted to avoid confusion as some people knew about Sound Canvas, but didn't know what General MIDI is. Doom has this, as does Wing Commander III and many other games.

I'll have to disagree, GS/GM is not always cosmetic... look at tilakat's GM driver fixes for example, there are plenty of drivers that needed fixing so that you get the same result as GS when using a GM synth.

keropi wrote:

I'll have to disagree, GS/GM is not always cosmetic... look at tilakat's GM driver fixes for example, there are plenty of drivers that needed fixing so that you get the same result as GS when using a GM synth.

What I was referring to was the options you can choose in SETUP, Doom for example, where it lets you choose between General MIDI and Sound Canvas.

Meaning that if you select Sound Canvas, it doesn't give you extra instruments compared to choosing the General MIDI option.

Thanks for all the clarification. It would be nice to have a list of games that, like Monkey Island, that did not program custom sounds for the MT-32.