This would go well with a USBC dock that has power delivery. That way with one cable you could charge the phone and use the audio out and MIDI at the same time.
Phil, what would we do without you :D I had no idea something like this is even possible. I still like the OPL2/3 sound the most, but this is very - very cool. Thanks!
I've been using FluidSynth to play back MIDI files on my phone for a while now and I can confirm that it's a great app with quality sound output. This use of it is something that had never even occurred to me. What a great idea. You could also connect your phone to a cheap MIDI keyboard and use it to play back a whole orchestra of high quality sounds.
Glad I bought my SC-55 when I did. I must say though, this kind of alternate solution is much needed for DOS enthusiasts. I just hope midi ends up becoming popular enough to see some more products like this.
I've been meaning to try this out with the Mister FPGA system as I've just gotten the 486 core running. Wild that it's currently cheaper to find an old smartphone than hunt down a raspberry pi.
I do my retro gaming from this era on a Windows 98 machine with an Athlon XP 2400+ in an ECS K7S5A motherboard with 512MB DDR RAM running off an IDE to SD adapter. The sound card I put in this is an original Sound Blaster Audigy (SB0090). You've done a video on this sound card in the past, and one of the best features it has in this regard is the ability to load SF2 files directly into the card using the Creative control panel. I have it load Archano by default which works great for most games. When DOS games output general MIDI on port 330, the Creative driver automatically plays that MIDI using the soundfonts you have loaded. It also supports stacking of soundfonts like you showed in this video. While this is a great solution, I don't have 100% compatibility with all DOS games because of having to run them under Windows 98. An example of a game with issues is Star Wars Dark Forces. This game supports GM music, but whenever I set that as the music output the setup utility crashes. GM works fine on most other popular games that I've tried like Duke 3D, DOOM games, etc. Now, the Audigy does have native DOS drivers so I could set up a separate SD card with DOS 6.22 and load that up with all of the DOS games that have issues running under Win98. The issue there is that the Audigy doesn't have a built in game port connector. I actually have what I think is a pretty rare expansion module for the SB0090 which is the "Audigy External Drive" that seemingly connects with a DB44 cable. It has audio ins and outs on it as well as MIDI in and out. However, even though the connector on both the expansion board that goes inside the PC and the external drive itself are DB44, it seems to need some kind of proprietary cable as none of my DB44 cables are working. Either that, or my expansion card / external drive are busted. The reason I wanted to get this working is because the "external drive" has MIDI in and out, however, they also seem to be proprietary "mini DIN" connectors and not the standard MIDI DIN connectors. What I'm wondering is; if I can find the standard ribbon cable to joystick port adapter for the Audigy, does that break out into MIDI? I believe it should, but if not the built in sound card on the motherboard has a joystick port that I might try using. I wanted to try and get this working to try sending MIDI to another computer running MUNT but I'm also interested in trying FluidSynth as you've done here. I also want to try piping the MIDI into a DAW and play with building general MIDI patches out of VST instruments because I think that would be cool. I also have a hobby of taking VGM MIDI and doing musical arrangements using modern virtual instruments as well as performing parts with real instruments and this would be a great way to get MIDI for some of the more esoteric VGM that isn't just available online.
Seems like it wouldn't even need a soundcard as long you as you had a joystick port, this would be the best ever music you could get on a 286. I wonder what the sonic pc collection would sound like on it.
I bet there is a raspberry pi project for this too. There are already many great DAC's for the Pi. It would make for a great desktop midi audio box. Some pi-hats even have an audio amp built in, so you could drive your fav bookshelf speakers. Edit: lol I googled and found your site as the first result for this! Great minds!
There is. In fact, I have a RPi clone (Rock64) running Armbian, and set to emulate both a SC55 and a MT32. It gets input from the MIDI interface using a USB-to-serial adapter, and a software switch directs the MIDI stream to either Fluidsynth or to Munt, with output through the headphone jack. It works fine. I have made the whole setup custom, but there are turnkey solutions too (MT32-Pi for instance, but that only works with genuine RPIs not with clones).
It does works and could be an option, but result strongly remind me Sound Blaster Live, or Audigy. Despite I loaded even 150MB bank, it didn't sounds as good like for example Yamaha MU100r, or SW1000XG, which have only 20MB of ROM, but much much much better filters and fantastic effects units. This could theoretically sound as SC-55, if it could load GM.DLS, which is licensed bank from Roland by Microsoft, but only problem is if Fluid can interpret same effects commands as SC-55 (change type and settings of REVERB and CHORUS). Most of people don't realize it, but effects are extremely important, otherwise everything sound absolutely flat and dry.
I remember I managed to get some wireless/network MIDI solution working between my iPhone with the official Roland Sound Canvas app and my PC with Dosbox. Played Doom and some other games with it and it worked quite well.
Wow rise of the triad soundtrack absolutely slams I had no idea! These all sound great even on my phone :D I saw a few people mention how it's unfortunate phones have ditched the 3.5mm, could you maybe use a pigtail or dock off the USB C to get an extra port for a usb/c to 3.5mm adapter/dongle simultaneously with the midi??
I'm so lucky I bought my SC55 and my MT32 back when they were treated like old garbage. "Cheezy, generic, crappy old synth modules peoples dad's used back when they thought they had a musical carreer." People practically threw them at you if you showed up with a 20 dollar bill. However, now that the retro and vintage buzzwords has completely taken over common sense, even actual junk is sold as some sort of "vintage/retro" treasure at a ridiculous premium price. I feel less bad now that there are so many other, affordable alternatives to proper High-End MIDI devices avaliable to those who missed out on the good days. EDIT: I can totally relate to that, since I never grabbed any Voodoo or GUS cards back when they were dirt-cheap. So very unfortunate...
Roland made a SoundCanvas app for iOS, and I paid for it, love it very much. But it’s been discontinued now… so probably won’t be updated past iOS15. It took them ages to update from one version of iOS to the next. Being discontinued makes me irrationally angry.
Hey Phil, glad to know of this alternative to the Roland. I'm using a Samsung Galaxy A50 with high quality headphones. That Wing Commander and DOOM soundtrack rocks! I plan to use your scheme for playing the original Tomb Raider for DOS this summer 2022. YOU GO GIRL! (Lara,😍 ).
Good video, but a word of warning for anyone using one of those cheap silver MIDI interfaces from China: a lot of them are terrible, and I don't know how to tell if you're getting a good one. In fact I was seriously dreading the reveal because of this. I made the mistake of buying one recently, and when I tried it with TIE Fighter (1994) in DOSBox I got all sorts of issues with random notes just hanging because it lost the "note off" commands due to its small buffer size which makes it unusable for more complex tracks. I had the same problem on different PC's trying to play the "Canyon" song from Windows 3.1. I hear they also take shortcuts when soldering the internal circuitry together, so you may also run into compatibility issues if you try using them with other synthesizers. Arvydas has a pretty good write-up on his blog about what's wrong and how he fixed one, but honestly you'd still probably be better off spending a little more on a better cable in the first place.
Great advice as always! Shame about the Roland USB midi not working yet. Out of curiosity are you including Rise of Triad at the end there as Civvie has made the tunes so popular now? 😉
How about a video on DosBox and the two(?) ways possible to setting up glide wrapper for it? (I read about it last night, and it seems to have become a thing back in December/January 2021/2022)
Someone would need to write drivers for it but it would be cool to just be able to plug the phone into the PC via USB on something like freedos or windows 98 and just have it work as a USB midi module. As of Android 6.0 devices can act as both midi in and out devices over usb with basically no configuration on the PC side. The app on the phone or tablet just needs to make use of it.
This is very cool that it can be done. Definitely a budget solution but one that at least will get people with no GM into the game. ROTT sounded on target, but the others not so much. I guess I am just too used to the Roland SC soundfonts. Anything else to me just sounds..weird. I have an SC-50 which is great of course and a Dreamblaster XSGS on order only because of its licensed Roland GM/GS.
Just tried my cheap USB Midi interface (same as in the video, just different branding) which gets power but Fluidsynth states "Input port not connected". I'm using a USB-C hub without an extra OTG adapter and USB + mouse are working.
I'm gonna try to go full USB, I guess I'll still need an OTG adapter, I use DOSBox on a 2004 eMac. Edit: everything works without an adapter. You just have to mess with the developer options while you're connected. That made me realize I didn't need a GM device though. I use a real MT32 for 99% of the games I play. Source ports for GM games mostly.
@@philscomputerlab Indeed but it's a PowerPC, 1,25ghz single core, I see the difference when I use external hardware. Munt is not even an option, It could be less powerful than a Pi zero, lucky for me my father gave me his MT32 years ago... ^ I used your tests suite, 386 at 50hz If I remember well, jit activated. I can play Elite II, Epic pinball etc... so it's ok!
Very interesting. How was the battery usage on your phone? Do you think you could you charge your phone using a dodgy USB hub that backfeeds the power input, instead of the OTG adapter?
Hey Phil, try launching vst plugins with wine and a vst host on a raspberry pi. So in theory you have munt, sound canvas va, yamaha s-yxg, juce opl and bassmidi for sf2. I could not try it out yet, I am waiting for my usb midi dongle for the pi.
Hm, my wife's old phone still works fine, so could use this instead of my old laptop with Falcosoft Midi Player. But I also use the Roland Sound Canvas VA which needs the Roland Cloud. :/ The USB Midi interface looks like the one I got first but didn't work properly (got a UM One mk2 afterwards). Maybe it will work with this setup as the UM One needed drivers under Windows (edit: ah, you adressed it later in the video, so it's as I thought), so I don't know if it will work on a phone. Also still have Midi joiners lying around. Will be a nice project again to try out and I can use some stuff that is just lying around, collecting dust. :D
After all these years of testing. What is your favorite ISA sound card MIDI setup to use in a retro DOS computer ? That provides a clean balanced sound.
Hi, the roland sound canvas sc-55, seems to be the ultimate in midi, so is it the base line, for midi game music? it expensive, ok right, so is there say PC, sound card, which could be a match to it out put, i have just watch your video, and like a clash high and hi-fi gear (the stuff with gold plugs) and recording studio stuff, with all that going it look raider point less the end product coming out of 3.5 mini head phone jack socket, isn't that missing part of the hole point of the ultimate in sound?
The internal sound card does the digital sound effects and speech. That has to be mixed together. You can mix it with the soundcard, the sc-55 or an external mixer.
I want to ask a noob question - is it possible to use a digital MIDI keyboard as MIDI synth for DOS/Win games? I do have an old keyboard at home, Yamaha PSR 640. I do know that it supports has MIDI IN and OUT ports, but I’m unsure how to use it as GM device for DOS/Win games.
It's pretty curious how the SC-55 is regarded as "high end" in the DOS gaming world when in music production, it was perceived as the lowest. I understand the nostalgia value for those who played that certain combination, but as a professional instrument, was surpassed very quickly both in hardware and software (See the current Roland Integra family, or a more contemporary Roland JV-1080, for example). Anyway, enjoy it in any form that suits you. Nice video!!!
This is the thing that causes confusion. It is not that we say Roland SC sounds the best, that is simply not true. But in the context of DOS games, it was the defacto standard and used by most game music creators and that's why most games sound very natural and balanced with it, whereas if you use something else you will often hear a tone that sounds off or a feeling of it falling apart or not balanced.
thanks for making a video on this method. I still prefer mt32pi which in addition to the usb midi adapter can support midi connectors or serial port. The serial port is quite useful for laptops. It also can emulate mt32 with munt. The phone method might do this as well if theres an app.
Hmm, now thinking that might be a good use for my old Rpi, the single core model doesn't do so well with more modern stuff - or maybe I should run Retropie on a retro Pi?
re: Midi gender changer. "Female/Female" adapter aka "joiner" as mentioned ;O) Small oversight - the "pins" always determine the gender, not the body or housing - just saying. If I am incorrect please let me know. BTW -> You RoCk!
Have you tried it out with Android on a Pi4? If the Pi has enough juice to give realtime (or, at least, very low latency) performance, it would be a great use for retro gamers to have a dedicated Pi for. That said, I do find something hilarious (in a good way) about using a $1,000 smartphone as a replacement for a $200 - $300 vintage device for playing 30 year old games. 🤣
Depends on your phone. With USB-C you can likely get a dock/dongle that has power delivery and has usb + audio out port. Not many micro usb phones allowed charging with a OTG cable plugged in even if it was wired correctly.
I suggest Serdaco X2GS then. Has USB for modern PC but can connected to a retro soundcard with wavetable header and MPU401 interface as well, and it has genuine Roland GS Soundbank.
No, but it did work with another App, but that App doesn't support loading Sound Fonts. I've used it with heaps of other projects before, so the setting is all good :D
You can buy another device to lower the signal to line level from amplified level. Plug headphone cable into it and plug the other side into the soundcard line in.
Real MIDI maniacs know that since many years ;-) However those cheap MIDI Interfaces are not reliable, especially when you gonna connect MIDI Keyboard. I recommend to use some better staff. You don't need OTG to load SF2 to smartphone, other solutions are better and simplier (WiFi).
Just hang on to older phones. Never know when you might need them as a stop gap to retro projects in the future lol. Doesn't need a sim to use wifi at least with my older androids
This is a perfect solution for low budget midi solutions as the prices of these modules going insane!
Glad this application is getting more recognition. Been using it for a while for various stuff. All of their MIDI applications are top notch.
8203R😊
Hooh Nersher
This would go well with a USBC dock that has power delivery. That way with one cable you could charge the phone and use the audio out and MIDI at the same time.
funny enough the dell USB-C docks WD19 work with android right out the box, every port works inc the HDMI/DP ports/Audio out
Phil, what would we do without you :D I had no idea something like this is even possible. I still like the OPL2/3 sound the most, but this is very - very cool. Thanks!
Great midi solution. Unfortunately a lot of smartphones have ditched the 3.5 mm headphone port.
Zenfone 8. There might be others on the cheap end of the spectrum. Or dedicate an old smartphone to this task.
Tablets generally kept them. So that's an option.
give mid range smartphones a shot
Also, for those interested in authenticity there's a soundfont by Patch93 that mimics the Roland SC-55, and you can find it on Musical Artifacts.
I've been using FluidSynth to play back MIDI files on my phone for a while now and I can confirm that it's a great app with quality sound output. This use of it is something that had never even occurred to me. What a great idea. You could also connect your phone to a cheap MIDI keyboard and use it to play back a whole orchestra of high quality sounds.
Glad I bought my SC-55 when I did. I must say though, this kind of alternate solution is much needed for DOS enthusiasts. I just hope midi ends up becoming popular enough to see some more products like this.
I've been meaning to try this out with the Mister FPGA system as I've just gotten the 486 core running. Wild that it's currently cheaper to find an old smartphone than hunt down a raspberry pi.
i think the SB Live makes it easier to use SF2 files by using system RAM or page file to load any SF2 you want, by using a software of course.
I do my retro gaming from this era on a Windows 98 machine with an Athlon XP 2400+ in an ECS K7S5A motherboard with 512MB DDR RAM running off an IDE to SD adapter. The sound card I put in this is an original Sound Blaster Audigy (SB0090). You've done a video on this sound card in the past, and one of the best features it has in this regard is the ability to load SF2 files directly into the card using the Creative control panel. I have it load Archano by default which works great for most games. When DOS games output general MIDI on port 330, the Creative driver automatically plays that MIDI using the soundfonts you have loaded. It also supports stacking of soundfonts like you showed in this video. While this is a great solution, I don't have 100% compatibility with all DOS games because of having to run them under Windows 98. An example of a game with issues is Star Wars Dark Forces. This game supports GM music, but whenever I set that as the music output the setup utility crashes. GM works fine on most other popular games that I've tried like Duke 3D, DOOM games, etc.
Now, the Audigy does have native DOS drivers so I could set up a separate SD card with DOS 6.22 and load that up with all of the DOS games that have issues running under Win98. The issue there is that the Audigy doesn't have a built in game port connector. I actually have what I think is a pretty rare expansion module for the SB0090 which is the "Audigy External Drive" that seemingly connects with a DB44 cable. It has audio ins and outs on it as well as MIDI in and out. However, even though the connector on both the expansion board that goes inside the PC and the external drive itself are DB44, it seems to need some kind of proprietary cable as none of my DB44 cables are working. Either that, or my expansion card / external drive are busted. The reason I wanted to get this working is because the "external drive" has MIDI in and out, however, they also seem to be proprietary "mini DIN" connectors and not the standard MIDI DIN connectors. What I'm wondering is; if I can find the standard ribbon cable to joystick port adapter for the Audigy, does that break out into MIDI? I believe it should, but if not the built in sound card on the motherboard has a joystick port that I might try using. I wanted to try and get this working to try sending MIDI to another computer running MUNT but I'm also interested in trying FluidSynth as you've done here. I also want to try piping the MIDI into a DAW and play with building general MIDI patches out of VST instruments because I think that would be cool. I also have a hobby of taking VGM MIDI and doing musical arrangements using modern virtual instruments as well as performing parts with real instruments and this would be a great way to get MIDI for some of the more esoteric VGM that isn't just available online.
Aww man just stumbled upon this. Def gonna go this route as well. Liked and subbed my dude 👍🏼
Nice solution. I have a real SC-55 and MT-32 now but used an MT32-Pi with my MiSTer to emulate both devices prior to that for
Seems like it wouldn't even need a soundcard as long you as you had a joystick port, this would be the best ever music you could get on a 286. I wonder what the sonic pc collection would sound like on it.
Thumbs up for using ROTT for testing! :)
Fun one, Phil! Thank you!
I bet there is a raspberry pi project for this too. There are already many great DAC's for the Pi. It would make for a great desktop midi audio box. Some pi-hats even have an audio amp built in, so you could drive your fav bookshelf speakers.
Edit: lol I googled and found your site as the first result for this! Great minds!
>many great DAC
All DACs sound the same.
And why in Gods name would you use an amp in the Pi if you cared about audio quality ...
There is. In fact, I have a RPi clone (Rock64) running Armbian, and set to emulate both a SC55 and a MT32. It gets input from the MIDI interface using a USB-to-serial adapter, and a software switch directs the MIDI stream to either Fluidsynth or to Munt, with output through the headphone jack. It works fine. I have made the whole setup custom, but there are turnkey solutions too (MT32-Pi for instance, but that only works with genuine RPIs not with clones).
Just got an android tablet and all the cords (save the joypad midi cable) from Amazon for under $100. Works like a charm!
good job Phil😎
It does works and could be an option, but result strongly remind me Sound Blaster Live, or Audigy. Despite I loaded even 150MB bank, it didn't sounds as good like for example Yamaha MU100r, or SW1000XG, which have only 20MB of ROM, but much much much better filters and fantastic effects units. This could theoretically sound as SC-55, if it could load GM.DLS, which is licensed bank from Roland by Microsoft, but only problem is if Fluid can interpret same effects commands as SC-55 (change type and settings of REVERB and CHORUS). Most of people don't realize it, but effects are extremely important, otherwise everything sound absolutely flat and dry.
definitly a great way to utilize old smart phones that are no longer in service as long as it can download the free version
At first I thought this was an April fools prank.
I remember I managed to get some wireless/network MIDI solution working between my iPhone with the official Roland Sound Canvas app and my PC with Dosbox. Played Doom and some other games with it and it worked quite well.
BTW the SC-VA VST works on a Raspberry Pi running Windows. That would be a really good replacement similar to this.
Always learning something new from you. Thanks!
Well done! Love it!
Wow rise of the triad soundtrack absolutely slams I had no idea! These all sound great even on my phone :D
I saw a few people mention how it's unfortunate phones have ditched the 3.5mm, could you maybe use a pigtail or dock off the USB C to get an extra port for a usb/c to 3.5mm adapter/dongle simultaneously with the midi??
I'm so lucky I bought my SC55 and my MT32 back when they were treated like old garbage. "Cheezy, generic, crappy old synth modules peoples dad's used back when they thought they had a musical carreer." People practically threw them at you if you showed up with a 20 dollar bill.
However, now that the retro and vintage buzzwords has completely taken over common sense, even actual junk is sold as some sort of "vintage/retro" treasure at a ridiculous premium price.
I feel less bad now that there are so many other, affordable alternatives to proper High-End MIDI devices avaliable to those who missed out on the good days.
EDIT: I can totally relate to that, since I never grabbed any Voodoo or GUS cards back when they were dirt-cheap. So very unfortunate...
Roland made a SoundCanvas app for iOS, and I paid for it, love it very much. But it’s been discontinued now… so probably won’t be updated past iOS15. It took them ages to update from one version of iOS to the next. Being discontinued makes me irrationally angry.
If I worked for those companies, I would've gotten drivers put in. :P
Nice solution ! good purpose for old phones :-)
Hey Phil, glad to know of this alternative to the Roland. I'm using a Samsung Galaxy A50 with high quality headphones. That Wing Commander and DOOM soundtrack rocks! I plan to use your scheme for playing the original Tomb Raider for DOS this summer 2022. YOU GO GIRL! (Lara,😍 ).
Sounds good!
Good video, but a word of warning for anyone using one of those cheap silver MIDI interfaces from China: a lot of them are terrible, and I don't know how to tell if you're getting a good one. In fact I was seriously dreading the reveal because of this. I made the mistake of buying one recently, and when I tried it with TIE Fighter (1994) in DOSBox I got all sorts of issues with random notes just hanging because it lost the "note off" commands due to its small buffer size which makes it unusable for more complex tracks. I had the same problem on different PC's trying to play the "Canyon" song from Windows 3.1. I hear they also take shortcuts when soldering the internal circuitry together, so you may also run into compatibility issues if you try using them with other synthesizers. Arvydas has a pretty good write-up on his blog about what's wrong and how he fixed one, but honestly you'd still probably be better off spending a little more on a better cable in the first place.
Great advice as always! Shame about the Roland USB midi not working yet.
Out of curiosity are you including Rise of Triad at the end there as Civvie has made the tunes so popular now? 😉
Nope, just tried a few games in the search for new music and really liked that into music!
@@philscomputerlab All of ROTT's soundtrack is great! =)
This is epic, thanks!!!
I suppose this would consume less power than the full XP computer I was thinking about using as my MIDI synth among other things.
Hard to find either MT32 or SC55 too. Only managed to snagged the CM300 for cheap.
How about a video on DosBox and the two(?) ways possible to setting up glide wrapper for it?
(I read about it last night, and it seems to have become a thing back in December/January 2021/2022)
Someone would need to write drivers for it but it would be cool to just be able to plug the phone into the PC via USB on something like freedos or windows 98 and just have it work as a USB midi module. As of Android 6.0 devices can act as both midi in and out devices over usb with basically no configuration on the PC side. The app on the phone or tablet just needs to make use of it.
Excellent idea - God! If I could back in time I would certainly choose the programmers path, so many possibilities -_-
In a word, neat!
Very nice one.
This is very cool that it can be done. Definitely a budget solution but one that at least will get people with no GM into the game. ROTT sounded on target, but the others not so much. I guess I am just too used to the Roland SC soundfonts. Anything else to me just sounds..weird. I have an SC-50 which is great of course and a Dreamblaster XSGS on order only because of its licensed Roland GM/GS.
Just tried my cheap USB Midi interface (same as in the video, just different branding) which gets power but Fluidsynth states "Input port not connected". I'm using a USB-C hub without an extra OTG adapter and USB + mouse are working.
I'm gonna try to go full USB, I guess I'll still need an OTG adapter, I use DOSBox on a 2004 eMac.
Edit: everything works without an adapter. You just have to mess with the developer options while you're connected. That made me realize I didn't need a GM device though. I use a real MT32 for 99% of the games I play. Source ports for GM games mostly.
Well with DOSBox, yea you can just run MUNT and Fluidsynth on the computer running DOSBox :)
@@philscomputerlab Indeed but it's a PowerPC, 1,25ghz single core, I see the difference when I use external hardware. Munt is not even an option, It could be less powerful than a Pi zero, lucky for me my father gave me his MT32 years ago... ^ I used your tests suite, 386 at 50hz If I remember well, jit activated. I can play Elite II, Epic pinball etc... so it's ok!
are you on my mind? I just gathered all midi cables adaptors and usb-midi adapters to do this on pc. I even have the exact same ones. hahaha
Awesome 😎
the mt32-pi can also do it haven't used it myself for midi using the computer.but i seen videos of it.
Very interesting. How was the battery usage on your phone? Do you think you could you charge your phone using a dodgy USB hub that backfeeds the power input, instead of the OTG adapter?
Hey Phil, try launching vst plugins with wine and a vst host on a raspberry pi.
So in theory you have munt, sound canvas va, yamaha s-yxg, juce opl and bassmidi for sf2.
I could not try it out yet, I am waiting for my usb midi dongle for the pi.
Too good to be true. It's April Fool's Day video ;)
I didn't even notice the date 🤣
It even works with a simple cable if you have USB ports on your machine, on my really old Mac at least...
I thought or sure this was an April Fool's prank LOLZ!
I have an old phone i run on wifi that supports usb otg and has a 1/8th headphone.. I think i just found a new use for it!
LOL you are genius.
Wow! I have to try this now! It's a pity there isn't an Android app like this but for Munt (mt32)
Hm, my wife's old phone still works fine, so could use this instead of my old laptop with Falcosoft Midi Player. But I also use the Roland Sound Canvas VA which needs the Roland Cloud. :/
The USB Midi interface looks like the one I got first but didn't work properly (got a UM One mk2 afterwards). Maybe it will work with this setup as the UM One needed drivers under Windows (edit: ah, you adressed it later in the video, so it's as I thought), so I don't know if it will work on a phone. Also still have Midi joiners lying around. Will be a nice project again to try out and I can use some stuff that is just lying around, collecting dust. :D
Hey Phil just to let know you can't get that app for the I-phone.
Bs-16i
I still like the PC based MIDI emulator project way better!
After all these years of testing. What is your favorite ISA sound card MIDI setup to use in a retro DOS computer ? That provides a clean balanced sound.
Roland MIDI card + awe 64.
@@philscomputerlab So it is possible to add the Dream Blaster X2 GS to an AWE64 ?
@@computerenthusiast402 yes is is but you need the phil n chill adapter, i run this setup.
Hi, the roland sound canvas sc-55, seems to be the ultimate in midi, so is it the base line, for midi game music? it expensive, ok right, so is there say PC, sound card, which could be a match to it out put,
i have just watch your video, and like a clash high and hi-fi gear (the stuff with gold plugs) and recording studio stuff, with all that going it look raider point less the end product coming out of 3.5 mini head phone jack socket, isn't that missing part of the hole point of the ultimate in sound?
The internal sound card does the digital sound effects and speech. That has to be mixed together. You can mix it with the soundcard, the sc-55 or an external mixer.
I want to ask a noob question - is it possible to use a digital MIDI keyboard as MIDI synth for DOS/Win games? I do have an old keyboard at home, Yamaha PSR 640. I do know that it supports has MIDI IN and OUT ports, but I’m unsure how to use it as GM device for DOS/Win games.
It's pretty curious how the SC-55 is regarded as "high end" in the DOS gaming world when in music production, it was perceived as the lowest. I understand the nostalgia value for those who played that certain combination, but as a professional instrument, was surpassed very quickly both in hardware and software (See the current Roland Integra family, or a more contemporary Roland JV-1080, for example).
Anyway, enjoy it in any form that suits you. Nice video!!!
This is the thing that causes confusion. It is not that we say Roland SC sounds the best, that is simply not true. But in the context of DOS games, it was the defacto standard and used by most game music creators and that's why most games sound very natural and balanced with it, whereas if you use something else you will often hear a tone that sounds off or a feeling of it falling apart or not balanced.
I strongly recommend downloading an sc-55 v3.7.sf2 sf for doom.. it sounds 99.99% like if it was played direcly by sc-55
Rise of the Triad soundtrack is amazing!
Edit: is It possible to change the soundfont with the SB16 emulation driver on a Sound Blaster Live!?
Yes but only when running from Windows.
What's the benefit to doing this over using a sound card without extra hardware for midi?
thanks for making a video on this method. I still prefer mt32pi which in addition to the usb midi adapter can support midi connectors or serial port. The serial port is quite useful for laptops. It also can emulate mt32 with munt. The phone method might do this as well if theres an app.
Hmm, now thinking that might be a good use for my old Rpi, the single core model doesn't do so well with more modern stuff - or maybe I should run Retropie on a retro Pi?
@@matthewday7565 You need a Pi3 for Munt if I remember well.
re: Midi gender changer. "Female/Female" adapter aka "joiner" as mentioned ;O) Small oversight - the "pins" always determine the gender, not the body or housing - just saying. If I am incorrect please let me know. BTW -> You RoCk!
In your opinion which sounds better the real sound canvas or the iphone?
Does "Eye of the beholder" on dos sound any better with midi? Is it Supported?
Thanks Phil! The joiner is more often known as 'gender changer' :)
Have you tried it out with Android on a Pi4? If the Pi has enough juice to give realtime (or, at least, very low latency) performance, it would be a great use for retro gamers to have a dedicated Pi for.
That said, I do find something hilarious (in a good way) about using a $1,000 smartphone as a replacement for a $200 - $300 vintage device for playing 30 year old games. 🤣
FluidSynth will run under regular Linux on a Pi4 (or a regular x86 PC). You don't need Android for it.
How can you add power so the Phone or Tablet won't turn itself off?
It consumes very low power. Some phones support OTG with power.
Depends on your phone. With USB-C you can likely get a dock/dongle that has power delivery and has usb + audio out port. Not many micro usb phones allowed charging with a OTG cable plugged in even if it was wired correctly.
Search for "charging OTG cable"
@@simeonjohnston5941 The cable has to support it.
So does the phone. Before usb-c it is really hit and miss.
Could this emulate any Roland Soundfont accurately?
How low can you get the latency? Would this work as an upgrade for an old keyboard?
Wait, this isn't an April Fool's video?!
Real.
Those Roland boxes are expensive and hard to find today. Is there another good modern solution for Roland sound on a computer ?
I suggest Serdaco X2GS then. Has USB for modern PC but can connected to a retro soundcard with wavetable header and MPU401 interface as well, and it has genuine Roland GS Soundbank.
mt32pi is cheapest all around solution ive found.
What about modern machines? I would like to have fun with midi files played with winamp on my modern machine
You can use something like CoolSoft's VirtualMIDISynth or Un4seen Developments XMPlay wich supports SF2 and SFZ soundfonts.
Aww man my Pixel 5 doesn't have a headphone jack. Will this work with a powered USB hub and a USB to 3.5 adapter?
That could work. But you can test with Bluetooth first, to see if everything is compatible.
How about testing on one of them android boxes out there? Or some SBC running Android.
Boils down to processing power I guess.
@@philscomputerlab How about RaspberryPI 4 or one of them TV boxes? Some are faster than smartphones.
Did you flip the switch on the UMII on the bottom from the COMP to TAB?
No, but it did work with another App, but that App doesn't support loading Sound Fonts. I've used it with heaps of other projects before, so the setting is all good :D
I HAVE PET NAMES FOR MY GRENADES!
with the alternative soundfont for SB Awe how work the app?
Is it in SF2 format?
What about Mistrr fpga?
Windows98 has roland midi authoring built in
O RLY?
While I've got a headphone jack on my phone, it doesn't support line-in! What a bugger.
What do you mean? The soundcard needs the line in.
You can buy another device to lower the signal to line level from amplified level. Plug headphone cable into it and plug the other side into the soundcard line in.
Nice. Thanks! PS. Too bad most modern smartphones do not have audio jack anymore... :/
I made sure my last few do. Xiaomi A3 and Poco X3 Pro.
Is that phone a Redmi Note 9s/Pro?
Poco X3 Pro.
Real MIDI maniacs know that since many years ;-)
However those cheap MIDI Interfaces are not reliable, especially when you gonna connect MIDI Keyboard. I recommend to use some better staff.
You don't need OTG to load SF2 to smartphone, other solutions are better and simplier (WiFi).
"Everyone these days has a smartphone." Not me, and I never want one.
🙄
You are protected from the NWO...
Lol welcome to the 0.1%, lol why tho
@@langstonbelin When I'm out and about, I really like just being away from the internet and all. That's the main reason.
@@thepirategamerboy12 ok that makes sense
Wait what? :O
This was uploaded on April Fools, so was this a joke or not?
DOOD!
Damn iPhone doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack…you suck Apple for taking it away lol
Just hang on to older phones. Never know when you might need them as a stop gap to retro projects in the future lol. Doesn't need a sim to use wifi at least with my older androids
@@warpedmetalhead time to hunt down an old phone 👍
Fr???
April Fools?