I would get the old one (without the GM logo) for old games and a MKII for newer games that make use of the extra polyphony.

You can't "turn off" GS mode on those units. It's the factory default. A seperate GM mode was added only later. A GM reset should just act as a GS reset and set back all the instruments, effects etc. GM MIDIs should not have any issues I believe. The SC-55 also has capital tone fallback, so MIDIs from the internet that use some unavailable variation banks should play back a tone in any case.

Since GM is using 128 instruments, are those instruments lined up in the first 128 spots on a first batch SC 55 just like on a GM only device with the whole extra GS stuff added in higher number "slots" that can only be accessed by games that were written for Sound Canvas/GS? I did a cross check with a SC 55 manual (no mention of GM anywhere in there but I can't tell for sure if it's a Rev. 0 manual or not) and the General Midi article on Wikipedia and the sounds seem to line up.

What I don't get is this whole variation stuff. Is GM also using variations or is it GS only?

I also thought about getting an extra unit (or two) for dedicated GM playback. For the first couple of years worth of DOS games after the SC55 release in 1991 I'm probably pretty well equipped with a first batch SC55. But later on the files got more and more complex and the polyphony is quite low on those early units. Also, from what I've heard early GM support seems to be almost always inferior to directly selecting Sound Canvas and sometimes even MT32.

What's your opinion on a Roland SC 88 Pro and maybe a Korg NS5R with an added XG compatible daughterboard for GM? This combination would cover a lot of the sounds that were en vogue back in the day. Or is a SC55 MK2 still preferable to a SC 88 Pro for GM?

I don't wanna get anything that's more recent since the price tag will probably be a lot higher and it will be very far away from the stuff that composers actually worked with.

dragonfly13 wrote:

Since GM is using 128 instruments, are those instruments lined up in the first 128 spots on a first batch SC 55 just like on a GM only device with the whole extra GS stuff added in higher number "slots" that can only be accessed by games that were written for Sound Canvas/GS? I did a cross check with a SC 55 manual (no mention of GM anywhere in there but I can't tell for sure if it's a Rev. 0 manual or not) and the General Midi article on Wikipedia and the sounds seem to line up.

Yes. Just check out the neighboring thread for more details...

What I don't get is this whole variation stuff. Is GM also using variations or is it GS only?

Both variation tones and also extra drums are part of the GS spec. The SC-88 will use capital tones on all channels in GM mode but will still take all drums. This may and will differ for other synths.

I also thought about getting an extra unit (or two) for dedicated GM playback. For the first couple of years worth of DOS games after the SC55 release in 1991 I'm probably pretty well equipped with a first batch SC55. But later on the files got more and more complex and the polyphony is quite low on those early units. Also, from what I've heard early GM support seems to be almost always inferior to directly selecting Sound Canvas and sometimes even MT32.

You are set with the SC-55 for DOS games really. No need to worry about polyphony, generally game soundtracks weren't that complex. Most really just used a bunch of capital tones and no custom reverb/chorus values, not to speak of even more advanced features. 24-voice polyphony is enough for most games I believe.

What's your opinion on a Roland SC 88 Pro and maybe a Korg NS5R with an added XG compatible daughterboard for GM? This combination would cover a lot of the sounds that were en vogue back in the day. Or is a SC55 MK2 still preferable to a SC 88 Pro for GM?

Results will vary widely with those higher SCs. There are some DOS game SC-88ST Pro recordings on youtube which you can listen to. Some songs will sound great, some mediocre, some will sound broken. Don't forget that the SC-88/88Pro/8850 maps were not designed to be compatible with SC-55 material. For that there is a SC-55 map, but its accuracy will vary. On the SC-88 it's relatively good, as in you get all drums, strings, cheesy guitars etc back that are responsible for the characteristic SC-55 sound. I'd say it's about 80% accurate on this device, only considering the samples themselves. Models starting with the SC-55 MkII also have a better DAC. Chances are if you only care about DOS games the SC-55 may be enough for you.

The answer to the original question is yes, for the most part. Some odd games were composed for something different, some even Sierra games were composed using a SC-55mkII (e.g. QFG4, GK1) and need it for 100% of tracks to sound correct.

I've owned a more advanced SC device and if you want one of those for a non-gaming reason, you'll be happy with them for the SC-55 map or even playing GM games with the 8850, it has a great GM map. But if it's just to play games, that's a lot of money for nothing.
Same sort of answer with the Korg NS5R.

Thanks for the replies so far. Well I guess I'll just try a regular SC 55 then for a start.

I wonder when (and if) most of the game music composers switched to a SC 88 or SC 88 Pro for creating their music and thus making use of the increased polyphony. This will probably be the most noticeable drawback in later games when using a first generation SC 55.

The first generation SC 88 came out in 1994 already, barely 3 years after the SC 55 hit the market. But with the development time for games I think it wasn't before 1995 that the first games written on those devices got released.

Since I don't really want to dish out the money for both a SC 55 MK2 and a SC 88 Pro the decision will be between those two I guess for my 3rd Roland module. Too bad the SC 55 maps on the SC 88 Pro aren't really 100% spot on. That would have been pretty comfortable. But I know those devices weren't really meant for playing games but for creating music. And there 100% accuracy in terms of backwards compatibility just wasn't necessary and most likely not wanted by most of it's users.

Hello, I'm new here and I was wondering if someone can help me. Someone on Synthfreaks forum recommended this page.

My problem. I bought a Roland Sound Canvas SC-88ST module from a Roland Music shop (in Madrid, Spain) with a guarantee but don't know how to use it. Let me explain... I had seen it briefly, but got a friend to buy it for me as he lives near the shop. However, when I got it, it was after I had been away on holiday and it was too late to take back. The thing is that the SC-88ST has no built in screen! I have to either use it with a controller keyboard with up/down buttons or number buttons that go up to 999 or over 1000, or with a computer. I have an E-MU Xboard 61 but can only get 16 sounds form it. I also have a cheap non-sensative Yamaha keyboard and can get more sounds but the same ones as on the Yamaha. My questions are these: 1) Which controller keyboards will be able to get all the sounds? 2) How can I use this through a computer? Which OS and programmes do I need? Someone has told me not to send it back to the shop as you can change and modify the sounds through a computer. You can personalise the sounds. It has about 654 sounds. Is it true that you can load in other sounds from the Roland XP or other keyboards and modules? Thanks for any help. Best regards

My recommendation is to ask these questions on a synthesizer forum. Roland Clan / Synth Zone / Roland Forums for example.

CuBase could be used I guess and Roland utilities as well.

For GM you only need a SC-7. I have a SC-55ST that works fine but I only use it for MIDI IN to play MIDI files and games.

*Moved to Marvin