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| shponglefan:
Anyone else here use MIDI sound modules for playing older games? I picked up a Roland MT-32, SoundCanvas SC-55 and SC-88 a little while back. Playing older games it's remarkable how much more modern they feel with upgraded music. Old Sierra games in particular sound incredible. And playing Doom with the SC-55 makes its music sound the way it was meant to be. I've thought about picking up a Yamaha MU80 and maybe an MU2000. Although it looks like you can only find those on Ebay from Japan. Anyone have experience with those? Couple examples of the awesomeness of MIDI modules: |
| shponglefan:
I'm the only one here interested in MIDI modules? I'm a bit surprised given the retro enthusiasts on this site. Oh well, here's some more MIDI module music just because. ;D |
| Justin Z:
I had an MT-32 back in the States on my HTPC. Before that, when I had a dedicated old PC running DOS/Win 98, I had an LAPC-I card in it. Full size ISA card, barely fit in the tower case! Ultima VI sounds amazing with the Roland hardware. Betrayal at Krondor has excellent music as well, and there's a patch made by hobbyists out there somewhere that'll still play the digitized Sound Blaster effects (which you normally can't do). |
| Howard_Casto:
If you want an honest reply, I just never saw the point. When they were relevant they were ridiculously expensive and now that they are more reasonable you can use software-based samples that often sound comparable to the hardware units. I won't deny that they sound better, I just can't remember the last time I wanted to fire up Ghouls and Ghosts....on the pc. |
| shponglefan:
--- Quote from: Howard_Casto on September 12, 2016, 12:41:10 pm ---If you want an honest reply, I just never saw the point. When they were relevant they were ridiculously expensive and now that they are more reasonable you can use software-based samples that often sound comparable to the hardware units. I won't deny that they sound better, I just can't remember the last time I wanted to fire up Ghouls and Ghosts....on the pc. --- End quote --- It comes down to authenticity. The same way some people prefer to use real arcade monitors for authentic visuals, a real sound module will recreate the authentic music of many older games. Personally, I grew up playing mostly 80's and 90's era PC games and I love to go back and replay them even to this day. A lot of them had soundtracks composed on things like the MT-32 or Roland SoundCanvas modules. So to get the best music for those games means using a real sound module. And while there are soundfonts and emulations that try to recreate them, I find they don't generally sound the same; not necessarily bad, but just different. Plus there's something intrinsically appealing about using real hardware. Just firing up Space Quest III and seeing "insert buckazoid" on the MT-32 brings a smile to my face. |
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