I'm learning a lot about stuff I didn't know I wanted watching these videos.

@eaglewi

6 жыл бұрын

i am too, i thought Roland was a keyboard company, i would have bought one of these back in the day, i was totally into midi back then!

@spiff2268

6 жыл бұрын

metfan4l Yeah, join the club. I have zero interest in doing any of this myself, but it's so much fun watching somebody who does.

@proximitea

6 жыл бұрын

me too

@cassioamaral7096

6 жыл бұрын

Dude, you're everywhere! Glad to see another fan of LGR, I'm massive fan of your channel as well, cheers from Brazil.

@metfan4l

6 жыл бұрын

Right on! :D

general midi reporting for duty

@LKRaider

6 жыл бұрын

General Failure ready for action

@DeltaSquadist

6 жыл бұрын

General Public reporting for duty

@MrDrifterNL

6 жыл бұрын

General Electric reporting for duty

@meepk633

6 жыл бұрын

General midi for call of duty.

@AshRinNice

6 жыл бұрын

007 reporting for duty

The Sound Canvas is apparently also one of many sources that SNES sound programmers used to create instrument samples!

@rommix0

6 жыл бұрын

as well as some Korg keyboards. the M1 and 01/W come to mind.

@Vospi

5 жыл бұрын

Cool to know!

@geovani60624

4 жыл бұрын

i would like to see someone developing a midi out for the snes, it would probably be a pain in the ass and probably impossible since the games probably any common table for instruments, but it would be awesome to listen to those classic tunes through the sound canvas

@aquamidideluxe5079

4 жыл бұрын

@@geovani60624 If you want to hear classic tunes through Sound Canvas, convert them to MIDI using SPC2MIDI and then play those MIDIs back thru a Sound Canvas.

@urielc918

4 жыл бұрын

also the source of most instrument samples in the 3rd generation of Pokemon games.

Fun fact: ZUN used the Sound Canvas to compose the music for the older Touhou games.

@tchitchouan

4 жыл бұрын

amazing fact

@Miku01624

4 жыл бұрын

Roland SC-88 Pro and Roland/Edirol SD-90

@occultCapra

4 жыл бұрын

​@@Miku01624 ZUN wrote the original music from Seihou to PoFV along with other of his "strange works" in the SC-88 Pro, the SD-90 was used completely in DiPP and the .wav version of EoSD, while PCB, IN and PoFV used the SD-90 along with other VST (Like the drums)

3 жыл бұрын

That's why EoSD's wav music sounds werid. The midi is the intended one for EoSD

@dotumantaraye

3 жыл бұрын

@@occultCapra Instruments from the SD-90 are still used by ZUN to this day, including Romantique Tp. (zunpet!), Reed Romance, Blow Tenor, Altosoft Vib, St. Strings, etc. For example, Touhou 17's title theme uses JP-9 Lead and Chime Bells I believe.

Man, you make me want one of the Roland's and I don't even have a compatible PC right now.

@DMARtunes

3 жыл бұрын

Every pc is compatible if it has USB (not C), has software for it, and you can find MIDI to USB.

@kirschitz64

3 жыл бұрын

@@DMARtunes oh and VirtualMidiSynth exists as well

@DMARtunes

3 жыл бұрын

@@kirschitz64 almost forgotten vms.

@JustinEmlay

3 жыл бұрын

Munt for MT-32 and Sound Canvas VA for General MIDI.

@Synth_Dragon

26 күн бұрын

I own a SC-55 and if you have USB to midi cables it'll be fine.

I love the SC-55. Its tone is nostalgic, and it has this awesome balance between "cool 80s keyboard" and "uber-realistic digital piano". The samples weren't just borrowed (and downgraded!) for Windows PC's, but also for SNES and GBA games! The professional model (JV-1080) was in so many iconic 90s songs. Many of the sounds hold up today, and they're "vanilla" enough to not be distracting when they're overused. I have a Roland Fantom-8, and while it's chock-full of modern-sounding presets and many sound design possibilities, it still has the old Sound Canvas banks as well.

This shit blows my mind. So fascinating as its completely alien to me.

Roland sound devices are such a fascinating topic... especially when you keep in mind that for example the mt-32 came out in 1987 when adlib and pc speakers was the standart. It's astonishing how far ahead of their time they were.

The SC-55's rendition of the Betrayal at Krondor theme is amazing. Load it up. Turn it up.

As a composer and musician, I absolutely LOVE finding any reason to use the Sound Canvas(es) whenever possible. Just a classic sound all around.

5:10 Awww, you gained a love of stickers from Christina Aguilera! (I bet Roses is so proud, too. ;->)

God I love that digital screen. There's nothing I love more than an 80s or 90s digital display with an equaliser or some rudimentary movement on it. I really love that Boss (roland's guitar division) has moved back to those big, two-tone low pixel count screens in their new 500 series pedals (like the boss DD-500 or RV-500). It's also half the reason I'm looking at Rack gear for the guitar now.. there's something so cool and sci-fi about a unit like the TC2290 Delay or any of the Lexicon rack gear. It reminds me of the picture Alien painted of what future technology would look like.

@N64Guy

4 жыл бұрын

TimothyPage06 I just got the new boss sy-1

I still have the same SC-55mkII that I bought back in 1996, and I love it! It made the sound tracks from games like Doom / Doom II, Warcraft II, King's Quest, and so many more so amazing! I bought it mostly for it's intended use a MIDI synthesizer to learn how to play and compose music, but having it as a superior sound system for my PC games was a nice added bonus.

Nice! Please do more pro sound stuff, it's a very under appreciated topic!

@LGR

6 жыл бұрын

More sound stuff is in the works as we speak :)

@voidraven9772

6 жыл бұрын

Check out Techmoan, he’s good for that kind of stuff

@claudiolluberes111

6 жыл бұрын

Agree! I love it.

Fascinating stuff. Glad to see you covering more sound hardware from the 90s! Also, I've never heard Tyrian's music played the Sound Canvas before....very nice!

@GerbenWijnja

Жыл бұрын

Here's the complete Tyrian soundtrack on a Sound Canvas! Enjoy. 🙂 kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZGR_2cSknpW2pMo.html

The Sound Canvas was also used heavily in Nintendo games and still is. For example, the steel drums in the overworld theme from Super Mario World and the bandoneon accordion in the windmill hut theme from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is from the Sound Canvas.

MIDI for MID-90´s (I could experience this goodness later on, beacuse in that time i wasn´t able to calibrate those hellish settings - ignorance of youth). Impressive review, as always!

@GatorRay

6 жыл бұрын

+MiroslavZima LOLZ! That pun is Just2good

@miroslavzima8856

6 жыл бұрын

+tim5fl Hehe, thanks :) But i´m usually bad with puns xD

Wonderful. Thanks to watching you over the years I've developed an appreciation for such exquisite audio devices; I greatly appreciate the unintentional expansion of my interests.

What really amazes me about your videos is not only that you have all of this amazing hardware, but you have it all in mint quality. It's getting hard to find these devices these days and when you do they're usually pretty beat up.

I love your reviews of these big external sound devices. I was completely unaware of them at the time, and they sound amazing.

I have a Roland Sound Canvas SD 90 that I use to make game music with. I freaking love it and things of this nature overall. As for why I have the SD 90 in particular, thats because I love the music of The Touhou Project that also uses the SD 90 for its music. The sc-88 was used for the older Touhou games music though, and those songs are great as well. Also, great video Clint, keep up the good work!

Sound Blaster was king back in the day, I loved mine!!☺️

The SC-55 is essentially a slightly upgraded rack-mount version of the SC-33 I have. I love that thing and still use it today. I'll never forget the first time I played Duke Nukem 3D through that thing. Ah, memories...

I know I'm late to the party - I've been enjoying your channel for awhile now, and for whatever reason didn't notice this one until now. You'd given me plenty of inspiration to start a retro PC collection with all your content, but being a musician myself this video has made me start looking into it in earnest. Thanks for sharing!

Incredible stuff, Clint! I was always hypnotized with these items that I could never afford! Thanks for sharing!

Awesome :D Little tip regarding the coin battery, it can leak, so I highly recommend taking a look and replacing, or removing it. When you remove it, the unit is reset after turning on, which is not a bad thing for "just" retro gaming :)

@LGR

6 жыл бұрын

It was replaced just a week before this video was recorded, but thanks!

@stradlemonkey444

6 жыл бұрын

PhilsComputerLab that's the cmos battery, right? Super cheap but a Pc goes crazy without one? I think you had to use a paperclip to short/reset.

@philscomputerlab

6 жыл бұрын

Yes, Clint shows it at 02:29.

@nevs333

6 жыл бұрын

Nice to see you around here Phil Especially because this is about retro gaming. @Clint/both which of these 2 do you reconcider as better, I have both Physically the SC-55 (MK1) and MT-32 (Mk1) Also Clint, Anders Jensen, you spoke to the 8-bit guy as well XD same supplier (and Anders Jenssen is visible in one of ihis video's

@RSRay

6 жыл бұрын

i tried searching if the SC-8820 uses a CMOS battery but i don't think it uses one at all (and unlike the SC-55 and SC-88 there doesn't seem to be a way to open it either so i am unable to check if there is a CMOS battery in my SC-8820 or not)

Had one of these growing up hooked up to a packard bell 386 through the db 15 to midi adapter. Loved it so much, this video just brings me back to my childhood. Thanks LGR.

In the 90s, I had an AWE 32 and loved it, only now realizing what I missed not having an SC-55.

The SC-55 is one of the few retro PC gaming hardware I still own. Sometimes I just put my midi files on a floppy and listen directly through it. Beautiful sound.

So glad to see a video on the SC-55! It's by far my favorite MIDI module, and everyone seems to overlook it for the MT-32. Which is really weird, considering just how fantastic it sounds

@nerdyneedsalife8315

11 ай бұрын

Late response but I think I get it. If you are only interested in General Midi, there were many modules that people chose over the SC55 like Yamaha's and Korg's. Even if you wanted Roland GS support there were other options so the SC55 wasn't the only option. If you wanted Midi sounds from games that used the MT32 you only had the MT32 or CM32, so you had fewer options for a specific use case

@anew742

11 ай бұрын

@@nerdyneedsalife8315 that makes sense, I was thinking of it in terms of present-day usage (from what I remember at least lol) Thanks for the info!

Vintage Roland? Check. MIDI? Check. LGR? Check. THIS VIDEO HAS EVERYTHING

Great video as always mate. This was the era I got into PCs, I started with an Epson in the early 80s but when dad brought home a new 286. Oh man. We split that HDD up and my brother and I had 5 megs each and dad had 20. All these games and all this hardware was my time. 87-92 was a shining period.

An LGR video? On MIDI?? On my BIRTHDAY?? Best present ever, Clint!

@ThrawnTheater

6 жыл бұрын

That's awesome, happy birthday.

Oh man, I am a massive audiophile and as soon as I heard those Rolan Secret of Monkey Island tunes, I was immediately immersed in greatness. MIDI systems are so cool!

I finally got my very own OG SC-55 and SC-88 Pro and I'm loving it. I also got the Sound Canvas VA, but even though it's great, the original hardware is something else.

@freeculture

3 жыл бұрын

Especially when you leave a note or many hanging and need a panic button (which was literally called that in software).

Thanks for the video ! How good midi can sound was always one of those unanswered questions for me, as a teenager I had to spend my limited money on trying to get a new 3D card or RAM upgrade usually, MIDI equipment was a far flung fantasy. I remember hearing a big improvement in the early 00s on some retro games after getting a new sound card and tinkering around with MIDI libraries, but I always wondered how a top of the line setup would have sounded.

This is why I subscribe to you. Your personal interest in the topic bleeds over to my enjoyment watching it. Cheers! ^__^

LGR's voice just sounds so badass. The dude needs to release a podcast, I'd listen to it. Also I learn something new every time I watch an LGR video. Probably the best channel on KZread at the moment!

another great video, i had the soundblaster pro you showed on the video and never could listen the original roland sound, seems like an universe in between of both sound cards!

My Roland XP-10 synth in 1995 sounds exactly like your SC-55. Most GS synths uses the same set of sounds for the GM/GS mode. Thank you for the nostalgia, dear LGR

Another great LGR vid! I coveted (and still do) a Roland system of this sort, but I have to say I was happy with my old AWE32, and later AWE64 from Creative. They did a damned fine job of doing the Midi "thing" at a relatively affordable price - both back then and now!

WOW! The part where you play game sounds with the Roland SC-55mkII sounds amazing with my Noisehush NX-80 Stereo earbuds. And even without them on my Microsoft Surface Pro 4's internal speakers! Truly Amazing sound!

Probably seen this one but pleased to see you of all people doing one on this. Looking into the MT-32 and SC-55 again and came across this

LGR is again a guided missile right into my nostalgia center. You're the man, Clint!

Thank you for the video. I've been fascinated by the different soundscapes provided by various sound devices of the 90s ever since I first heard AWE32 (after ages of mainlining with SB16, thinking it was the best it could get).

I loved the choice of the Monkey Island theme ;)

Loving these videos about midi! Please keep making these videos.

I’m playing the Descent soundtrack the rest of the afternoon now. Thanks.

This timing, just in the week that I started to learn about MIDI's and soundfonts, LGR puts this vid online. Sweet

The panning it produces is mesmerising. I wish I had one of these just to play game OSTs on!

Thank you for the work you are doing and being a time machine back into our dreams! We are heavily inspired by the music of video games!

Love the music from late 80's-early 90's games

I love when you talk about midis! Thanks for the video!

So much nostalgia in these videos! I still have my old MT-32, but my SC-55 is long gone. A couple of good music showcases you might consider for your videos: Ultima 7 on the MT-32, and Ultima 8 on the SC-55. Really good, dark music for Ultima 8, despite how... ungood the game may have been. ;)

Wow! These sound great. I love that display on there too.

Before I saw your video I want a Roland MT-32... but now I want Roland SC-55mk II. Thank you Clint, excellent video as usual!

I own that! Super proud to see you make a video about that!

I still have one of these sound canvases. :) Still the very best MIDI sound you can get in my opinion. I didn't know about the modern usb interface cables though, so thanks so much for showing that in your video! Going to order one.

Amazing. I wish I had one of those Canvas back then. Thanks a lot for the video.

I love waking up to "LGR" and "MIDI" in my KZread notifications. Even better that Anders helped to make this episode possible. Rockin!

OMG, that overkill setup on 10:16...my body wasn't ready. For me, some game are really shine on FMsynth rather than GS Midi, Tyrian is probably the most fine example of oustanding use of FMsynth. Alexander Brandon was amazing!

Those midi devices sounds really warm and crystall clear and they both look professionsl.

I have an SK-88 Pro which is a keyboard version of the SC-880, and man, it's amazing. Functions in the same way as the modules, but has a built in keyboard. It's my favorite keyboard.

That USB adapter and dos box basically sold me and I bought a Roland SC-88VL because it! I look forward to its arrival!

The prices of the Roland SC-55 mkII on online auction sites just went up... Thanks for this one, Clint, it is certainly a great addition to any DOS gamers setup - I had the keyboard variant back in the day, Roland's JV-30 - 'cause I was I wannabe muso at the time...sadly that never came to pass, but it provided much greatness to my DOS gaming.

Thanks for this great video. Another approach was soundfonts with Creative AWE-64, some games had their own custom soundfonts, but the headaches of "soundblaster-compatible" soundcards made for big puzzles during setup for some specific games, including having to know IRQs and port numbers by heart. One thing is certain, the huge gaming industry propelled this technology very quickly for musicians, Creative later purchased E-MU systems, they had their expensive "Audio production studio" or APS for writing MIDI with top quality samples, again with soundfont wavetable architecture. Hardware units like Sound Canvas, MT-32 and Proteus simplified MIDI setup, many of the software sequencers like Cakewalk had tough learning curves, so it made this process bearable.

Honestly, I don't think I knew a single person in the 90s rocking anything fancier than a Sound Blaster compatible. I remember seeing those General MIDI and Roland options and having not clue one what they were.

YES a Soundcanvas video! Thank you Clint!

Excellent video! That clip of Descent's soundtrack makes me nostalgic like crazy. Now, how about a review of that amazing series?

Hell yeah. Been waiting for this sorta video.

Those are such 90s looking things. I have such a soft spot for black boxes covered in rectangular buttons and finished with an LCD data screen.

@LittleRichard1988

16 күн бұрын

That's part of the reason these midi sound moduels appeal to me. That and the classic PCM digitized instrument sounds.

Nice video. I recently found myself in a position that I needed a synth. Well, I *always* needed one, but recently I acquired a MiST computer which has MIDI ports and can use one so I went on the hunt. I saw this video and this is exactly what I needed. I love the fact that standard RCA L/R audio can be mixed through this...just saves me working with a mixer or some cable madness. Simple. I found an SC-55 (earlier model, not MKII) for $140, so I hope it does what I need it to. EDIT: SC-55 did not pan out. The battery as it turns out destroyed it! So, I found an SC-50...and it works...and the battery did not leak. And...it is GOOD!

There were quite a lot of MIDI soundtracks released on CD in Japan. Konami's MIDI Power and MIDI Power Pro CDs being good examples. They mainly used the SC-88 and SC-88pro though, IIRC.

I actually just ordered mine, for a mere 70 bucks here in Romania :) Can't wait to get it... Also got a USB to MIDI cable, can't wait to fire up Tyrian in DosBox on this config... That game has marked my childhood, and I do a playthrough at least once every 6 months anyway :) Thanks for the GREAT insight, Clint!

I was going to say that is so awesome I wish I would listen to that on cd, then you whip out the cd! Rad!

The reveal at 9:20 was a big 'OMG that's why all those examples sounded so familiar to me' moment !

I love you for emphasizing the technology. General MIDI is so overlooked today, but everyone who has ever used a DAW will find their way to VSTs and controller surfaces. It really has stood the test of time. Do tell me you cable managed with velcro straps, eventually! :j Funny story, a friend of mine said my DAW GUI looks very much like a bomb-deactivation device. Haha.

Holy crap, that brings back memories. I think I actually still have the first version in a closet somewhere along with my Roland GP-16 guitar effects. I seem to remember that I had some Roland midi demo files as well that turned the screen into a simple Scramble game animation. I think I have lost those files a long time ago though. :/

Excellent video as always! Glad I pulled the trigger on a Yamaha MU100 a week ago (which is overkill for gaming, but I plan to use it mostly for composition as well as playing random MIDI files and DOS games 'cause why not?) before the inevitable MIDI sound module price boom. That's the good and bad with public and collector exposure to old stuff, but it can't be helped.

Fantastic! I've had one for a few years now and absolutely love it. (Plug: I used it to write the theme tune to David M. Green's VHS Revue... That brass section screams 1990's.)

Oh BOY, that SC-55 sure sounds good to my ears :) And I also like the way it looks. Damn!

The music samples, takes me back to my rebellious music age. Thank you.

Dang, It is mind blowing to listen to my childhood sound tracks in such awesome renditions.

I had one of those SC-15 daughter cards. It was functionally equivalent to the SC-55MkII. Great card, great sound. I composed a lot of music for that thing over the years.

sounds great! awesome quality (referring to your video and the sound canvas)

I really want to get my own Roland Sound Canvas device. I never grew up with hardware like this, but it is still super interesting to see and definitely something I want to collect.

It's crazy how much of an impact Midi has had over the past 30 years, I'm a Synthesizer man so when i hear midi i think pure Synths But this i had no idea existed for gaming back in the day. So cool thanks for this cool bit of knowledge.

man I heard the SC-55 rendition of Gradius II's music, it's a huge step up from the standard version! such a neat little add-on, must have been amazing for PC games back in the day!

Bought my own SC-55 straight from Japan on the back of this video. One of, if not the best, retro computing purchase I've made I've got to say. The quality it adds to the games that support it is beyond belief.

Man I would have killed to have that kind of device when playing PC games as a kid. Very cool and great video!

Awesome how you show the equalizer while playing iconic game music.

That was a great unit. Helped me write many songs!

Awwwww, I was really hoping you were going to review a retro DAW ;(. Either way, this video was great! Keep up the good content my guy!

I don't know why, but the "grant them Magical Roland Powers" bit really struck my funny bone. Sure wish I had had the jacks to own the SC-55 or SC-88 back in the day! It's delightful to see your take on them!

great video LGR

i was unaware of the existence of these devices, but they sound AMAZING. they must make a huge difference in playing the games that support them.

Fun fact: Nobuo Uematsu recorded the Final Fantasy VII and VIII soundtracks using an SC-88. The soundtracks are full of classic 90s Roland ROMpler sounds.

@KuraIthys

6 жыл бұрын

That's rather ironic knowing that the PC version of Final Fantasy 8 is one of the only games I know of to explicitly support Yamaha XG synthesizers. Plus, the game's primary platforms are Playstation consoles, which have Sony sound hardware. You would think considering those things combined with the Japanese tendency to favour other Japanese companies that he'd be using Yamaha stuff, not Roland... But you never can tell. XD

@davidfosterwalrus6294

6 жыл бұрын

Roland is a Japanese company! They picked the name while leafing through an American phonebook because the CEO thought that a Western sounding name would set them apart from their other Japanese competitors iirc. In the late 80s and 90s they were the preferred company for a lot of musicians and composers.

when i got the notification & saw the title I just *had* to drop what I was doing & watch. there aren't nearly enough good vids on great midi stuff

Just bought one of these. Freaking love it

This stuff is so awesome :S I'm like 90% sure at some point i'm going to end up with one of these for my old computer.. thanks for covering this stuff :)