Old School Sound?

[jbltecnicspro]

I have a couple of old Roland sound modules. The MT-32 and Sound Canvas SC-8850. MT-32 is used to play old Sierra games, and SC-8850 is used for MIDI listening, GM game playing, composing, etc. Any of you guys out there rocking some old sound card hardware?

PS - I'll take pics soon.

 

[djoye]

I was hoping that you were selling the stuff.

Back in the days of MIDI in games I had to settle for Gravis Ultrasound and SB AWE32 but they at least got me away from FM synth.

 

[jbltecnicspro]

I am going to be selling some of my stuff soon, actually. But first, I have a honeymoon next week. Which one did you want? The MT-32? If you're only playing games, the SC-8850 is a little bit of an overkill (read - extreme overkill). You'd want to spend less on an SC-55 or SC-88. PM me if you want.

 

[450]

I want both, but they are both expensive. :/

 

[Sycraft]

I have an SD-20 but I'm probably going to dump it because I don't have any good way to integrate it in to my current sound system.

 

[jbltecnicspro]

I have an SD-20 but I'm probably going to dump it because I don't have any good way to integrate it in to my current sound system.

Try and sell it. They aren't bad sound modules. But yeah, most Roland GS purists skip the SD line altogether.

 

[jbltecnicspro]

I want both, but they are both expensive. :/

Roland MT-32's aren't expensive. Overpriced? Yes, but not expensive.
EDIT: Just checked Ebay. WOW! Man, have they gone up in price or what?

 

[Sycraft]

By dump it I mean sell it. It is just sitting in a box right now. Great sound module and great for old games since it can also do XG, which most Roland ones can't, great sounds but I just can't easily integrate it with my new sound setup. I can make it work, but not in any way that satisfies me and since I don't use it much, I think I'll just get rid of it.

 

[jbltecnicspro]

By dump it I mean sell it. It is just sitting in a box right now. Great sound module and great for old games since it can also do XG, which most Roland ones can't, great sounds but I just can't easily integrate it with my new sound setup. I can make it work, but not in any way that satisfies me and since I don't use it much, I think I'll just get rid of it.

Believe it or not the 8850 has an XG lite mode (similar to your SD-20), but it's undocumented. Other MIDI geeks who have both Yamaha and Roland have confirmed it. What happens is that when you play a proper XG file (with an XG initiation or reset command), the unit displays the instruments and drums in a different font than normal, and all the kits and instruments map to the XG standard. There is one caveat - if you touch the front panel, it COMPLETELY resets the unit, and all instruments become the default "Piano 1" patch. Quite annoying. And there's no way (that we know of) to access the XG tones. But, since it's not really XG (just renamed instruments that sound close to the real thing), I don't care. If I want an XG module, I'll get a real Yamaha.

 

[magnetik]

not that old school but I still use an emu 1212 w/ breakout board in my studio pc.. I also have an awe32 w/ rca's and a gus sitting around in one of my bins.

 

[450]

Roland MT-32's aren't expensive. Overpriced? Yes, but not expensive.
EDIT: Just checked Ebay. WOW! Man, have they gone up in price or what?

Yeah. Prices skyrocketed. One day... I will get one.

I'll settle for less for now.

 

[PurduEE]

I have a couple of old Roland sound modules. The MT-32 and Sound Canvas SC-8850. MT-32 is used to play old Sierra games, and SC-8850 is used for MIDI listening, GM game playing, composing, etc. Any of you guys out there rocking some old sound card hardware?

PS - I'll take pics soon.

I have both a Roland SC and a Yamaha XG waveblaster card. I keep meaning to build an interface circuit to use them with a USB midi adapter or something (there are some designs floating around). I used to have an ISA MT-32, but I chucked it long ago - I don't have a system with PCI, let alone ISA.

 

[450]

I have both a Roland SC and a Yamaha XG waveblaster card. I keep meaning to build an interface circuit to use them with a USB midi adapter or something (there are some designs floating around). I used to have an ISA MT-32, but I chucked it long ago - I don't have a system with PCI, let alone ISA.

I would have bought it.

 

[jbltecnicspro]

I have both a Roland SC and a Yamaha XG waveblaster card. I keep meaning to build an interface circuit to use them with a USB midi adapter or something (there are some designs floating around). I used to have an ISA MT-32, but I chucked it long ago - I don't have a system with PCI, let alone ISA.

You mean the LAPC-I. Great sound card. Ridiculously expensive these days as they are rare. Believe it or not, it's the ISA version of the CM-32L, not the MT-32. The CM-32L was a sound module (CM stands for "computer music") that is largely identical to the MT-32, but it doesn't have a screen or any buttons other than a power button and a volume knob. It also has 33 additional sound effects in the rhythm section. Some games actually used these sound effects (running water, laughing, punch sounds, etc). It's too bad you chucked it, because you could easily get the original price for one these days. The value has gone up to near MSRP from back in the day.

EDIT: For anyone interested, I belong to a forum called Queststudios, which is a fan site for old Sierra music. The members there put together a comprehensive list of games that support the MT-32, and games that further support the CM-32L (LAPC-I). It can be found on Wikipedia with the Roland MT-32 stub.