It depends...

I know it is not what you wanted to hear, but for that price its not a real bargain. It will boil down to if you have a genuine interest in playing the games that the MT-32 shines in. I know from my personal experience that spending money on my MT-32 was kind of wasteful as I have very rarely used it. I prefer newer DOS games with general MIDI support and my SC-55 have been perfect.

A Pentium 3 with an MT-32 seems like a mismatch to me. An early 90s system would be a lot better.

I haven't used my MT-32 a lot, since there arent that many titles (and even less that I like to play) for it. However, I'm really into the aesthetic of the machine. Having it sit on my desk with its green LCD screen just makes me happy looking at it 😄 and can you put a price on happiness?

So, for me it was worth it! (Got it for 125 EUR about 3 years ago). They're listed for 200 to 250 now.. 😳

Also: you can daisy chain the MT-32 to your SC55 with the MIDI THRU. You can connect up to 4 devices this way. More is not recommended because of signal loss. I've set up a mini RCA mixer to mix the inputs from the modules and the soundcard. Works fantastically.

You can use your PC also as MT-32 you just need a USB to MIDI Adapter Thingy.

matze79 wrote on 2021-03-03, 16:34:

You can use your PC also as MT-32 you just need a USB to MIDI Adapter Thingy.

Yes, as I mentioned previously, that is *exactly* what I am using now (Roland UM-ONE USB adapter).

The advantage that I have With MUNT is the flexibility to change CM32 and MT32 ROMs on the fly for specific games.

I am indeed aware that my P3 is a bit overkill for this setup, however with clever use of SetMUL, I have been able to play 99% of DOS games (including CPU sensitive ones) successfully, plus all the Win9X games of later part of 90s, and even early 2000's.

Hezus wrote on 2021-03-03, 16:34:

Also: you can daisy chain the MT-32 to your SC55 with the MIDI THRU. You can connect up to 4 devices this way. More is not recommended because of signal loss. I've set up a mini RCA mixer to mix the inputs from the modules and the soundcard. Works fantastically.

Wow, I wasn't aware of this! It means that on my current setup, I can also daisy chain my SC55 and Roland UM-ON adapter, right?

EDIT:

Tried daisy chaining my SC55 and Roland UM-ONE adapter, and it did not work.

As you can see from the attachment, I am using a 'double-ended' adapter to facilitate the MIDI OUT connection (you know, the one that is coming OUT from AWE64 MIDI Port) to either the SC55, or the Roland UM-ON (for MUNT).

This is how I did the daisy chaining:

I completely bypassed the 'double-ended' MIDI adapter, and connected the SC55 end to my SC55, and the UM-ONE end to the MIDI THRU port.

sorry, I know I am getting side-tracked from my original question, but this option seems very intriguing as it eliminates the constant plugging and unplugging the MIDI cables from the back of my SC55.

There are tons of great MT 32 titles if your interests are games from the late 80s through early 90s. Even later era DOS games support the MT 32, although at that point they are pretty lazy general midi hacks or just he SCC-1 interface with the MT 32 in general midi mode. All of my favorite DOS music are MT32 synths thought, and I think for the games that did it well it sounds way better than general midi personally.

With that said, the use case for a an old MT32 is even more narrow than a patched MT 32. There are a few seirra adventure games that sound their best on an old MT 32 (like space quest III which exploits its bugs for a snare drum effect), but there are also some games that will crash with it. You will also need softMPU to get around the required intelligent mode on a lot of those games too.

The ebay prices I have seen for MT 32 and CM32L are usually around 400$-500$ but I haven't done more than casual browsing. Those prices don't make a lot of sense for me. I am looking to use MDF with a roland USB interface and MUNT emulation for my setup. I have it set up in DOSbox now, and the ability to switch between the old MT 32, new MT 32 and the CM32L really breathes a lot of life to those old DOS games.

A great reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_MT-32-c … _computer_games

C0deHunter wrote on 2021-03-03, 16:46:

Wow, I wasn't aware of this! It means that on my current setup, I can also daisy chain my SC55 and Roland UM-ON adapter, right?

In theory, yes. Connect the gameport midi out from your AWE64 to the MIDI IN of your SC55. Then connect a midi cable from the SC55s MIDI THRU to the Roland UM-ON.

The SC55 will just pass the midi signal it receives on to the Roland UM-ON. It doesn't alter the signal, so the UM-ON should be able to read it just as if it's receiving it directly.

Hezus wrote on 2021-03-03, 17:35:

C0deHunter wrote on 2021-03-03, 16:46:

Wow, I wasn't aware of this! It means that on my current setup, I can also daisy chain my SC55 and Roland UM-ON adapter, right?

In theory, yes. Connect the gameport midi out from your AWE64 to the MIDI IN of your SC55. Then connect a midi cable from the SC55s MIDI THRU to the Roland UM-ON.

The SC55 will just pass the midi signal it receives on to the Roland UM-ON. It doesn't alter the signal, so the UM-ON should be able to read it just as if it's receiving it directly.

Thanks for the explanation, it makes sense. Now, if I buy that MT-32, it would connect the same way, correct? I just replace my Roland UM-ONE with it?

C0deHunter wrote on 2021-03-04, 01:26:

Hezus wrote on 2021-03-03, 17:35:

C0deHunter wrote on 2021-03-03, 16:46:

Wow, I wasn't aware of this! It means that on my current setup, I can also daisy chain my SC55 and Roland UM-ON adapter, right?

In theory, yes. Connect the gameport midi out from your AWE64 to the MIDI IN of your SC55. Then connect a midi cable from the SC55s MIDI THRU to the Roland UM-ON.

The SC55 will just pass the midi signal it receives on to the Roland UM-ON. It doesn't alter the signal, so the UM-ON should be able to read it just as if it's receiving it directly.

Thanks for the explanation, it makes sense. Now, if I buy that MT-32, it would connect the same way, correct? I just replace my Roland UM-ONE with it?

You could connect all 3 of them at the same time 😊 IN to the MT-32, THRU to SC55 and THRU to the UM-ONE.

Try being from, say, New Zealand.

Nobody offers a shipping option to here. So if I want an MT-32, the only option in the world is literally a tiny handful of ebay listings which offer worldwide shipping.

My current options including shipping and import duties are: USD $502, $509, and $605. There are 2 others at similar price, so that makes 5 in the entire world that I can buy today, if I could afford it, which I can't. It's almost a whole week's wages!

And that's it, end of story. I've basically given up on the hope of ever having a real one. Thank God for MUNT.

Point being, OP, that while I understand there are no shortage of people here who purchased them a mere 1-2+ years ago when they were <half the price they are now, and/or hedonistically writhe in their steaming spa baths full of cheap sultry winking MT-32s while howling, film-noir style, "what's da big DEEAAALL!?" - <to accurately portray exactly what is happening here /s - if *I* personally were in your shoes I'd be leaping on that $250-and-it's-actually-in-my-hands-o-m-f-g faster than Larry Laffer on a Copacabana chorus line, know what I'm saying?

(what I'm saying, seriously, is that the 1987-1993 period of PC gaming means a lot to me, and if it equally does to you too, then I don't think you should consider a $250 price to be excessive)

Does munt require a modern system or can you run it on period hardware?

maxtherabbit wrote on 2021-03-05, 01:54:

Does munt require a modern system or can you run it on period hardware?

I think it needs somewhere in the vicinity of 1Ghz systems to be comfortable. Just off vague memory there. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

Shreddoc wrote on 2021-03-05, 01:27:

Try being from, say, New Zealand. […]
Show full quote

Try being from, say, New Zealand.

Nobody offers a shipping option to here. So if I want an MT-32, the only option in the world is literally a tiny handful of ebay listings which offer worldwide shipping.

My current options including shipping and import duties are: USD $502, $509, and $605. There are 2 others at similar price, so that makes 5 in the entire world that I can buy today, if I could afford it, which I can't. It's almost a whole week's wages!

And that's it, end of story. I've basically given up on the hope of ever having a real one. Thank God for MUNT.

Point being, OP, that while I understand there are no shortage of people here who purchased them a mere 1-2+ years ago when they were <half the price they are now, and/or hedonistically writhe in their steaming spa baths full of cheap sultry winking MT-32s while howling, film-noir style, "what's da big DEEAAALL!?" - <to accurately portray exactly what is happening here /s - if *I* personally were in your shoes I'd be leaping on that $250-and-it's-actually-in-my-hands-o-m-f-g faster than Larry Laffer on a Copacabana chorus line, know what I'm saying?

(what I'm saying, seriously, is that the 1987-1993 period of PC gaming means a lot to me, and if it equally does to you too, then I don't think you should consider a $250 price to be excessive)

If you don't have to have the "old" version, keep an eye out for an MT-100. Won't have the nice display output but you get a real MT-32.

Edit: Or an RA-50:
Roland RA-50, RA-90 and RA-95 doubts about purchase or not

Shreddoc wrote on 2021-03-05, 01:56:

maxtherabbit wrote on 2021-03-05, 01:54:

Does munt require a modern system or can you run it on period hardware?

I think it needs somewhere in the vicinity of 1Ghz systems to be comfortable. Just off vague memory there. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

Munt can be run on a Raspberry PI (2 or newer).

See
Emulating MT-32 on an RPi2
MP-32 : Pi based MT32, GM, ... module
WavePi: Use Raspberry pi (2/3/4) as a AIO MIDI synth

UPDATE:
Went ahead and bought the unit for USD $225 (cash): He was nice enough to throw in couple of short MIDI cables that I needed free of charge.

CONNECTION ISSUE:

Hezuz was nice enough to suggest the following:

"Connect the gameport midi out from your AWE64 to the MIDI IN of your SC55. Then connect a midi cable from the SC55s MIDI THRU to the Roland UM-ON."

Well I followed this connection suggestion, but my SC55 starts to decode MIDI codes as well, and can clearly hear "double" of any instruments being played when I run a game, as if both devices are encoding MIDI signals simultaneously (Space Quest 3)
If I STOP Roland UM-ONE, it sounds as if SC55 is encoding the MIDI signal;, however it sounds really off and awful!

C0deHunter wrote on 2021-03-05, 03:32:

UPDATE: Went ahead and bought the unit for USD $225 (cash): He was nice enough to throw in couple of short MIDI cables that I ne […]
Show full quote

UPDATE:
Went ahead and bought the unit for USD $225 (cash): He was nice enough to throw in couple of short MIDI cables that I needed free of charge.

CONNECTION ISSUE:

Hezuz was nice enough to suggest the following:

"Connect the gameport midi out from your AWE64 to the MIDI IN of your SC55. Then connect a midi cable from the SC55s MIDI THRU to the Roland UM-ON."

Well I followed this connection suggestion, but my SC55 starts to decode MIDI codes as well, and can clearly hear "double" of any instruments being played when I run a game, as if both devices are encoding MIDI signals simultaneously (Space Quest 3)
If I STOP Roland UM-ONE, it sounds as if SC55 is encoding the MIDI signal;, however it sounds really off and awful!

Why not just turn the volume down on the SC-55 or on whatever mixer input into which you are feeding the SC-55's audio output ?

As a cleaner long-term solution, I suggest getting one of these https://www.serdashop.com/DB15MIDI , connecting it to the AWE64's gameport and run one MIDI cable from it to the SC-55's MIDI-IN and another MIDI cable to the MT-32's MIDI-IN .
If you still wish to use Munt with that setup, you can connect the MT-32's MIDI-THRU into the UM-ONE . Then, if you want to hear both MT-32's (real and Munt) at the same time, you can and if you only want Munt, you can set volume to 0 on the MT-32 (or whatever you are feeding its audio output into).

EDIT: Edited for clarity

Even cleaner would be a MIDI patchbay, or - if you only want to connect this one system to MIDI devices - a selector. These things actually seem to be getting cheaper rather than more expensive as the number of musicians using DIN MIDI is dropping and (if they don't just throw their stuff away) they sell them cheaply or even give them away. A good small patchbay is the Edirol UM550 (5 in, 5 out), and as for selectors, the Roland MPU-105 MIDI Output Selector is very nice. But "cheaper" is relative and one would probably set you back around EUR 100 (or whatever equivalent in local currency), unless you find something a local musician is offloading. With a bit of luck a musician offloading this sort of stuff might even have a MusicQuest or even one of the MPU-401 range (ISA MIDI adapters supporting intelligent mode) he's not using, so it pays to ask.

dionb wrote on 2021-03-05, 13:57:

Even cleaner would be a MIDI patchbay, or - if you only want to connect this one system to MIDI devices - a selector. These things actually seem to be getting cheaper rather than more expensive as the number of musicians using DIN MIDI is dropping and (if they don't just throw their stuff away) they sell them cheaply or even give them away. A good small patchbay is the Edirol UM550 (5 in, 5 out), and as for selectors, the Roland MPU-105 MIDI Output Selector is very nice. But "cheaper" is relative and one would probably set you back around EUR 100 (or whatever equivalent in local currency), unless you find something a local musician is offloading. With a bit of luck a musician offloading this sort of stuff might even have a MusicQuest or even one of the MPU-401 range (ISA MIDI adapters supporting intelligent mode) he's not using, so it pays to ask.

I thought of suggesting a thru box or a patch bay, but cost seemed too high online . Pawn shops in my area used to have (maybe still do) for rather cheap. I agree that it would be even cleaner .

For reference, I got a Midisport 2x4 (which I looped into a 1x3) for 40 CAN$ maybe 4 years ago .

Hezus wrote on 2021-03-03, 16:34:

A Pentium 3 with an MT-32 seems like a mismatch to me. An early 90s system would be a lot better.

I think it's not just a mismatch, but quite a few MT-32-capable games might simply not work on a P3. I remember that some Legend Entertainment titles (like Superhero League of Hoboken) didn't really work on a fast system for me, and I think I've read that some Sierra/Dynamix titles might have issues, too. 386DX33-486DX33 should be optimal to showcase MT-32 music.