This is the original module, and it has 128 preset instruments and 30 rhythm sounds. However, a few games from Sierra and other companies exploit bugs in first generation devices to produce sound effects which the later generation devices will not play correctly. The first generation devices are noticeably noisier than the later generations. While this was fine on a 286 machine, the speeds of a 486 and higher 386s would cause the game to send messages too quickly, leading to Buffer Overflows, stuttering or wrong sounds and lockups. They required a 40ms delay between sending midi messages. The first generation devices are very speed sensitive. Having had personal experience with all but three of these devices in the past decade, I would like to give the pros and cons of each: The MT-32 and all compatible devices are based off Roland's LA32 chip and there are only eight devices that are truly compatible. But if you are committed to real hardware, let this post act as a guide. Moreover, it can also emulate the CM-32L/LAPC-I and its extra sound effects. While it is always in development, the current versions of the emulator sound very good and often indistinguishable from the real thing. No longer having to settle for Adlib music or having to pay extreme prices for the hardware, what is a lover of DOS games to do? There is an MT-32 emulator called Munt. Retro computer enthusiasts bypass the emulator and use a hardware MPU-401 interface. By connecting a physical unit to the modern machine's midi hardware (I use the USB Roland UM-1X), the music will play through the unit just as it would through a classic computer. The DOSBox emulator has long supported games which use the MT-32 by emulating an MPU-401 interface. The MT-32 and compatible modules may have been resigned to obscurity, and the games which used them to obsolescence, if not for the DOSBox emulator and the retro computing hobby. Once GM devices began to proliferate, companies quickly abandoned the prickly MT-32. The lack of standardization in the midi world in which the MT-32 was designed was solved when the General Midi standard became effective. Creative Labs' Sound Blaster cards quickly eclipsed the Adlib by using the same chip and adding a midi/joystick interface and digitized sound playback and recording at around the same price. Soon, however, there was competition in this area. The music quality generally was far more impressive on the MT-32 than an Adlib. Thus, there were choices for both types of computer user. What is more, the user could program his own sounds into the unit and make music with it from a physical keyboard. However, the synthesis method used, LA synthesis, produced sounds far better than the Adlib's chip. This device was intended primarily for computer composers and cost approximately $600 between the module and the interface. This was an external midi sound module that interfaced to the computer through an MPU-401 interface card and breakout box. On the high end, game developers had begun to support Roland Corporation's MT-32 multitimbral sound module. sound chip and could be installed in any computer with an available slot, it rapidly became the sound card of choice.
ROLAND MPU 401 WINDOWS 3.11 DOSBOX PC
As it was reasonably priced ($190) and offered far better sound than the PC Speaker or the Tandy/PCjr. This card contains a Yamaha sound chip that works via frequency modulation (FM) synthesis. Many early cards competed for a coveted expansion slot in a user's computer, but only two really gained any market acceptance. Also in 1988, sound cards finally began to be supported by the major gaming companies. While some games had appeared in the previous years, 1988 marks the first year when, unless you had a Tandy, you really should have bought a PC with EGA card inside it. In 1988 games that supported the sixteen color Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) began to really emerge in the marketplace. and Tandy 1000 line, had less than 100% compatibility with the IBM PC. The special systems, most typically the IBM PCjr. If these games supported more advanced graphics or sound options, the user needed a special system to enjoy these features. Games generally supported the Color/Graphics Adapter (CGA), most often capable of four colors, and the PC Speaker, a mono device without a volume control that could change the frequency of a simple square wave. Most games published prior to that time did not require DOS to run, they booted off a floppy disk when the machine was turned on. Before that time, most games published for the IBM PC platform were ports from other systems. My principal interest in PC games generally begins at the "true" DOS games era, which began roughly in 1987.