Yamaha PLG100 in games

[menkau_ra]

Did anybody try the plug in boards form Yamaha like PLG100 or PLG150 to play MIDI games? PLG100DX is a FM board, and I've read sometimes it could be even better than a wavetable in music. There was a PLG100XG - regalar MIDI board.
Are those good for games?

[Cloudschatze]

Are those good for games?

Not really.

The PLG100DX is essentially a (monotimbral) DX7 on a card, and while there are some rather neat things you can do with it, it isn't at all useful for existing games.

The PLG100XG can conceivably be used for game playback, but unless you happen to have a Motif, or other upper-end, PLG-compatible Yamaha synth lying around, it would make more sense to go with an XG-compatible MU or SW/DB solution for the same result.

[menkau_ra]

I have a MU50, and ready to spend some money for MU90 + PLG100XG. So you say my MU50 is the same for games as PLG?

[Cloudschatze]

...MU90 + PLG100XG.

As far as I'm aware, the MU90 cannot host PLG boards. Furthermore, unless you're simply after more polyphony, it doesn't make much sense to add an XG tone generator to an XG tone generator.

So you say my MU50 is the same for games as PLG?

More than likely, yes. For games, you're mostly looking at use of just the capital and GS-compatible TG300B tones, which, to my knowledge, are the same across all XG tone generators (until you get to MU100 and successors, which feature both "Basic" and "MU100 Native" capital-tone maps).

[menkau_ra]

More than likely, yes. For games, you're mostly looking at use of just the capital and GS-compatible TG300B tones, which, to my knowledge, are the same across all XG tone generators (until you get to MU100 and successors, which feature both "Basic" and "MU100 Native" capital-tone maps).

I've heard that MU128, MU500, MU1000 and MU2000 have the same General MIDI bank. Is it?

[Cloudschatze]

More than likely, yes. For games, you're mostly looking at use of just the capital and GS-compatible TG300B tones, which, to my knowledge, are the same across all XG tone generators (until you get to MU100 and successors, which feature both "Basic" and "MU100 Native" capital-tone maps).

I've heard that MU128, MU500, MU1000 and MU2000 have the same General MIDI bank. Is it?

As far as I am aware (having only tested an MU100 and MU2000), yes.

[Alistair]

The difference between a MU100 and 2000's GM banks being that one has digital output (2000), versus one having only analog (100). So although they share the same timbres and overall sound the analog 100 is (IMO) vastly inferior sounding to the digital 2000.

Of course, for gaming, it's not really relevant unless you have a nice speaker setup.

[Stefan_L]

As i found a midi that uses only the PLG150DX i thought i would post a recording of it so you can hear how music using it would sound like.. and as said earlier it can only play one intrument at a time.
http://www.ym2149.com/mu/xanadu_scenario_2_(shop)_PLG150DX.mp3