"Conquests of the Longbow" Complete Soundtrack Prb

[Macready]

Hello -

I've finally gotten around to downloading some of the Roland MT-32 complete MIDI soundtracks that are available on this site.  I started with "Conquests of the Longbow."

Everything works fine, but when playback reaches title 10 ("The Widow" -- 00:17:12), one of the shrill notes toward the very beginning holds indefinitely, and I have to pause/resume playback in order to get it to stop.  This happened both times I've listened in exactly the same spot on exactly the same note.  It also happens consistently near the beginning of title 16 ("The Castle" -- 00:28:57), although on not-so-shrill a note.  Any idea what causes that sort of thing?

If it helps, I'm using Windows Media Player 10 on Windows XP, with my MT-32 hooked into the MIDI port of my SB Live.

On another note: does anyone have any advice about which "dumping" utility to use in a WinXP environment to send SysEx data to the MT-32?  There are a couple of soundtracks which lack embedded versions of the patches (or whatever it is) required for proper playback.

Thanks in advance!

[Kaminari]

http://bome.com/midi/sendsx/

[Macready]

Thanks!

[Macready]

Hello again -

Actually, that program didn't work for me.  The readme warned that it is prone to random errors on XP, and sure enough, it errored out about 1/3 of the way through the dump.

Just for fun, I tried opening a DOSBox window and using the DUMP.EXE program found on this site.  Bingo!  Worked like a charm.  DOSBox saves the day again.  If Sierra still existed I'd advise them to contribute some development money to that project, it's been a godsend for Sierra gaming (and now MT-32 music listening!) on XP.

[Kaminari]

I have no problem with SendSX under XP. Make sure you're using the latest beta available on the forum, and that you're not throttling the MIDI messages too fast for your interface (DOSBox will likely have no problem since it's capped at 1 KB/s).

[Ari]

There's a great little program called vanBasco's Karaoke Player that let's you dump sysex to the MT-32 as well as play MIDIs. It's freeware works just fine on XP and you can find it at http://www.vanbasco.com

[Macready]

Hello -

I have no problem with SendSX under XP. Make sure you're using the latest beta available on the forum, and that you're not throttling the MIDI messages too fast for your interface (DOSBox will likely have no problem since it's capped at 1 KB/s).

Are you talking about the delay setting?  I experimented with values between 0 and 250 ms before deciding there must be something better and moving on.  What value works for you?

I'm just as happy using DUMP and DOSBox, though.  Given my very limited need (I just want to send the .SYX files for soundtracks that don't already have the data embedded), that works fine.

Thanks for taking the time to make the suggestion though.

There's a great little program called vanBasco's Karaoke Player that let's you dump sysex to the MT-32 as well as play MIDIs.

How do you like it as a MIDI player?  Win Media Player works fine, but it is a PITA when I'm in the middle of a soundtrack and then need to listen to a WAV file for work reasons -- when I'm done I have to reload the soundtrack and try to click back to where I left off.  Having a dedicated MIDI player would probably be very convenient.

[Alistair]

I use, and have always used, WSysEx for sending SysEx in Windows (available on QuestStudios) which is an awesome tool. I also use WinAmp for MIDI. Doesn't get much easier than that

- Alistair

[Macready]

Hi Alistair -

Thanks for your input as well.

May I ask if your eBay handle is somewhat similar to your forum name here?  I was watching a CIB KQ7 up for auction recently and there was an Alistair-type name bidding at it.  I remembered the name from here and wondered if that was you.

[Alistair]

Hi Alistair -

Thanks for your input as well.

May I ask if your eBay handle is somewhat similar to your forum name here?  I was watching a CIB KQ7 up for auction recently and there was an Alistair-type name bidding at it.  I remembered the name from here and wondered if that was you.

Well, if you want to play the Conquests MIDI Soundtrack, just load it in WinAmp. In XP it works fine. You can skip ahead and go back with relative ease, if you have a track sheet handy.

Yes, it is! Both my name. I'm 'Spikey' almost everywhere else.

And yes, I bid on that item. I wanted it! When I saw it, it was cheap and I thought a steal! Rare players guide and that. I didn't want to be paying upwards of 20 US though. I bought a Kyrandia auction instead.

- Alistair

[Kaminari]

Winamp's MIDI plugin is seriously botched up. I prefer Yamaha's MidRadio (the Japanese version is more advanced but, you guessed it, it's in Japanese). VanBasco's never worked for me.

Are you talking about the delay setting?  I experimented with values between 0 and 250 ms before deciding there must be something better and moving on.  What value works for you?

Hmm, there's no delay setting in 1.30, but a MIDI speed throttle which you can set in kylobytes per second. The standard MIDI speed is 3 KB/s, which should work for any recent MIDI interface (Midisport, etc). Older interfaces like the good old joystick port will probably choke at more than 1 KB/s, which is why DOSBox doesn't transmit faster than this.

[Ari]

How do you like it as a MIDI player?  Win Media Player works fine, but it is a PITA when I'm in the middle of a soundtrack and then need to listen to a WAV file for work reasons -- when I'm done I have to reload the soundtrack and try to click back to where I left off.  Having a dedicated MIDI player would probably be very convenient.

I've been using it as a MIDI player for 4-5 years. I really like it. It allows you to control lots of parameters while playing, and it's extremely light weight in tems of resource and disk space. I recommend it whole heartedly. IMO, it's the last MIDI player you'll ever need.

P.S.
Did I mention it was totally free?  :wink: