Roland MT-32 Problems...

[Megane67]

Hello all,

I just received a Roland MT-32 off Ebay a few days ago and after hooking it up to my computer through a MIDI to USB cable and attaching the L/R Outputs to the Line-In of my soundcard with a splitter wire, I tried it out with DosBox 0.73 and ScummVM 1.0 using LucasArt and Sierra Games to start.  The MT-32 did play music, but many of the instruments were either wrong or missing and sounded horrible compared to the Quest Studio tracks.  (I don't have a Sound Canvas but I'm hoping the difference between that and just using a Roland MT-32 module alone isn't quite THAT dramatic.) 

Anyway, I then downloaded a Space Quest IV .mid file with .syx file and played the .mid file with WinAmp and it sounded identical to the flawed music coming out of the MT-32.  I then attempted to load the .syx file into the MT-32 with the DUMP utility, first within DosBox and then on the desktop.  The music sounded exactly the same in Dosbox, no difference, and when I tried it on the desktop, the file wouldn't play anymore on WinAmp or anything until I rebooted the computer.  Plus when it did play, it was at 90000 kbps(!), which I figured wasn't an encouraging sign.  I'm guessing the MT-32 isn't loading the .syx files needed but I can't seem to figure out why.  Just in case my generic soundcard, SoundMAX Digitial Audio, was somehow causing the trouble, I took the wire out of the Line-In and listened to the sound with just headphones in the MT-32 but the problem was still there.  I'm really hoping I didn't get stuck with a bum MT-32.

Any help or suggestions for this problem would be greatly appreciated! 

[endre1952]

I have a cheap brandless Chinese USB-to-midi interface, which does not seem to transmit any sysex to the MT-32. So perhaps that's your issue aswell.

Does the "midi message" led light up for about 5-10 seconds when you start a Sierra game (before the intro starts to play?)

There's nothing I can suggest expect getting a better USB-to-midi cable.

[jharris01]

A few things I would try:

* Turn off and on your MT-32.
* Reset your system (Master Volume + Rhythm buttons followed by button 1)
* Just in case, make sure the MIDI cable is properly connected (MIDI OUT of the cable to MIDI IN on your Roland).
* Is the game MT-32 compatible?
* Did you select MT-32 as your MIDI device in the game's setup program?
* Did you setup ScummVM properly?
* What OS? DOSBox will communicate to the default MIDI device reported by Windows.
* If you are comfortable with DOSBox's command line you can test to see if DOSBox can see your midi cable with the 'mixer' command. Search the forums for more info.
* Use VanBasco's midi player instead of WinAmp. Configure it properly and test again.
* Test a midi with the syx patch embedded and one with the syx file separate from the midi song.
* MIDI devices can only be accessed by one program at a time. If you fired up a program, left it open and then ran another then it's likely it will not play anything (because the device is still in use).
* Try the usual USB troubleshooting. For example, check for yellow icon or system tray notifications for unrecognized USB devices. Move the cable to a different port on your hub or connect it directly to your PC.
* If your soundcard or PC has a joystick port you can always try connecting the MT32 through that with the appropriate cable.

[Megane67]

First off, thank you both for your quick responses.  I appreciate the help.

I have a cheap brandless Chinese USB-to-midi interface, which does not seem to transmit any sysex to the MT-32. So perhaps that's your issue as well.

Does the "midi message" led light up for about 5-10 seconds when you start a Sierra game (before the intro starts to play?)

No, it doesn't!  There's no messages on the MT-32 module either and I did buy a cheap $14 MIDI-to-USB cable so perhaps that's been the problem all along.  Another thing I noticed is when I plugged the Midi cable into the computer, it shows up as USB Audio Device and USB Audio Device [2] in MIDI Music Playback despite only ONE cable being plugged in for audio.  (I tried both options and plugged the cable into all 6 USB ports in my computer but no difference.) 

Rather than risk getting another dud, I'll buy a more expensive model.  I have two choices in the music store closest to me.  One is the M-Audio Uno for $39 and the other is the Roland Cakewalk for $54.99  I'd rather not spend that much if I can help it but if you know of any problems with the Uno, please let me know and I'll bite the bullet.  (I don't ever plan to compose music with the MT-32, just use it for gaming.)

A few things I would try:

 I tried all of your suggested ideas, I’m using a Compaq Intel Celeron 1.29 GHz with 512 Megs of Ram and running Windows XP, no joystick port.  As far as I can tell, everything is setup and configured properly with the games, ScummVM and DosBox.   The SQ4.mid file sounded exactly the same on the VanBasco Player, both with and without the .syx patch.  I used Dump and then MidiEX to transfer the .syx to the MT-32 but while the green midi light fluttered, it still didn't make any difference when I tried the file or the game.  I'm guessing the MT-32 just plain won't accept any .syx data right now.

[jharris01]

Rather than risk getting another dud, I'll buy a more expensive model

You can always do that. Personally my experience with the generic ebay usb cables have been great. Using three at the moment and never had a problem with them (I use XP same as you). You say you see "USB Audio Device" listed so that's a good sign. Keep your hopes up.

Alright you say you don't see the MIDI Message light blinking when starting a Sierra game. Lets start by making sure your MIDI cable is properly connected. On the midi plugs or your USB cable you should see the words "IN" and "OUT" carved on the sides of each. Check that the "OUT" plug is connected to the "MIDI IN" jack of the MT-32.

[Megane67]

You can always do that. Personally my experience with the generic ebay usb cables have been great. Using three at the moment and never had a problem with them (I use XP same as you). You say you see "USB Audio Device" listed so that's a good sign. Keep your hopes up.

Yeah, I usually go for the cheaper generic cables because the expensive ones are no better in quality from my research and personal experience, this one may be an exception but we'll see. 

Alright you say you don't see the MIDI Message light blinking when starting a Sierra game.

Nope, the MIDI Message light doesn't start fluttering until the opening screen comes up and the music starts to play, before that, nothing.

Lets start by making sure your MIDI cable is properly connected. On the midi plugs or your USB cable you should see the words "IN" and "OUT" carved on the sides of each. Check that the "OUT" plug is connected to the "MIDI IN" jack of the MT-32

Yep, I've got the 'Midi-to-USB OUT Plug' plugged into the 'MIDI-IN jack' of the MT-32.  I don't have a keyboard so I left the 'Midi-to-USB IN plug' unplugged although I tried it in the 'MIDI-OUT jack' of the MT-32 just to see if anything changed (it didn't.) and the 'MIDI-Thru jack of the 'MT-32 is empty too.

[jharris01]

When you send a syx file to the MT32 with VanBasco: Do you see an error message on the MT32's LCD screen?

[Megane67]

When you send a syx file to the MT32 with VanBasco: Do you see an error message on the MT32's LCD screen?

No error message of any kind on the MT32 LCD screen.  It just starts playing the notes and flashing the titles of instruments being used.  I hope I'm using VanBasco right.  I went to the setup, to the midi tab and made my output device 'USB Audio Device' (USB Audio Device (2)) showed up there as a option as well, I tried both of them seperately but no dice) Then I clicked '.SYX' in Reset Mode, selected the sq4.syx and pushed the 'apply' button.  Then I pushed okay, added the sq4_1.mid in playlist and it sounds the same as before.  Am I missing a step or did I load the .syx incorrectly?  This is the first time I've used this software and .syx files in general.

[dvwjr]

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Then I clicked '.SYX' in Reset Mode, selected the sq4.syx and pushed the 'apply' button.  Then I pushed okay, added the sq4_1.mid in playlist and it sounds the same as before.  Am I missing a step or did I load the .syx incorrectly?  This is the first time I've used this software and .syx files in general.

Go back to that same VanBasco Karaoke Player Setup page and for the SYSEX Delay (ms) value use 51 as the MT-32 delay value and repeat your playing of the MT-32 MIDI file.


dvwjr

[Megane67]

Go back to that same VanBasco Karaoke Player Setup page and for the SYSEX Delay (ms) value use 51 as the MT-32 delay value and repeat your playing of the MT-32 MIDI file.

Just tried it and no change, either to the SQ4_1.mid file with .syx file added to reset mode, nor a SQ3_1.mid file with SYX already embedded I got from jharris01.  I pushed Master Volume and Rhythm button + 1 to reset the console before each try.  The MIDI light flashed on the MT-32 when the .syx file was being uploaded for SQ4.syx but there were no messages on the LCD screen of any sort other than the instruments being played when I played the flawed music on the VanBasco.

[Cloudschatze]

The MIDI light flashed on the MT-32 when the .syx file was being uploaded for SQ4.syx but there were no messages on the LCD screen...

Just for grins, if you hold down the Master Volume button and press the Sound button, is the Unit Number listed as being 17?

[Megane67]

Just for grins, if you hold down the Master Volume button and press the Sound button, is the Unit Number listed as being 17?

Yes, it does.  Is that significant in some way?

[Cloudschatze]

Just for grins, if you hold down the Master Volume button and press the Sound button, is the Unit Number listed as being 17?

Yes, it does.  Is that significant in some way?

If the unit had been modified with a battery backup, then perhaps, but it doesn't sound like this is the problem...

Does the driver for your USB-to-MIDI interface have any user-changeable settings that may be related to SysEx handling?

Depending on how much effort you want to put into troubleshooting, you might try downloading MIDI-OX and setting up a MIDI loop to monitor exactly what the MT-32 is receiving. If you want to go with a different interface altogether, I can recommend the M-Audio Uno.

[andrew603]

I apologize and admit I have not read every post int his thread yet, but wanted to confirm, that I have an M-audio UNO and it does send SYSEX properly.

I use it when I take a synth on the road on my MacBook, or just want to plug in an extra synth to my main machine.

If you havn't picked one up, I'd suggest it. 

Also, I would (after resetting the MT-32, and unplug/replug your USB Adaptor), try playing a QS.com midi that contains EMBEDDED sysex in plain old Windows Media Player...  like The Complete Space Quest 3 Soundtrack (MT-32) If you still have problems I would definitely try a different usb adaptor.  MT-32's are pretty resilient, I doubt if there's anything actually wrong with it if it's playing sounds at all.

[Megane67]

Hey guys,

Well, I finally had a chance to get my new Midi-to-USB cables yesterday and now the Roland seems to work just fine with only an occasional Exec. Buffer Overflow error (The music still plays though)  The cheap cables were the problem all along apparently as when I plugged in the new cables, it only showed one USB Audio Device connected to my computer instead of two and the SYX data loaded in just fine with all manner of games I tested.  Thanks to everyone here again for their suggestions and advice and I'm just so glad the Roland is working properly now.   

I did have one additional question regarding Legend Entertainment games that I wondered if anyone knew the answer for.  'Eric the Unready', 'Gateway 1 & 2' and 'Spellcasting 301' have the option in their respective setups to have Roland music playing with Sound Blaster for the RealSound effects.  However when I chose this option, the digital sound effects were horribly distorted and inaudible.  I managed to fix this issue with another game "Martian Memorandum" by choosing RealSound for the digital sound and the speech distortion went away but when I tried the same thing with the Legend games, I found I could either have Roland music or RealSound but not both at once.  I tried both the install menu and typing out the sound options but it only seems to recognize the last option being typed in.

c:\ s301 mt32 2 real 220 7 = Digital Effects only
c:\ s301 real 220 7 mt32 2 = Roland Music only

If I have to choose between the two, I'd rather have the music, of course, but is there any way to get both working at the same time?  Also, of possible note, Spellcasting 101, 201 and Timequest work just fine with Roland and RealSound together with just the 'MT32 2' command line.

[Doctor Creep]

Works for me using these settings (Winxp + Dosbox (Roland LAPC-I + SB)):

S301 SVGA XMOUSE BLASTER 7 220 MT32 2 330

BTW: Do you run the game using Dos or WinXp +Dosbox?

Perhaps you have a sort of irq conflict?

Doc

[Megane67]

Works for me using these settings (Winxp + Dosbox (Roland LAPC-I + SB)):

S301 SVGA XMOUSE BLASTER 7 220 MT32 2 330

I tried using command lines and editing the legend.bat file with various combinations of the above for all four of the games.  I either get Roland music only, Roland with inaudible Sound Blaster effects, RealSound Effects only or the game simply crashes.

BTW: Do you run the game using Dos or WinXp +Dosbox?

WinXP + Dosbox.

Perhaps you have a sort of irq conflict?
Doc

That's possible.  I checked the IRQ on my SoundMAX Digital Audio card and it was listed as 17.  I tried changing the settings with Soundblaster and RealSound to that number and it either crashed the game or produced no sound effects at all.  I also tried changing the IRQ to 5 in DosBox and adjusting the game settings to that, no difference, still distorted.  Since Roland and RealSound seem to work just fine together with earlier Legend games, I'm stumped as to why it's not working here.   

[Doctor Creep]

BTW: I use the frontend DBGL (Dosbox Game Launcher) for Dosbox - much easier to config dosbox with that tool IMO.

Doc