While the Roland sounds so much better, my nostalgia and memories of the games sound exactly like you showed them with the ESS AudioDrive. That being said, it's fantastic that such a device with genuine Roland soundfont exists in a modern form and thank you so much for making these videos!
I've purchased multiple Serdaco products and have been very happy with them. These Dreamblasters are fantastic, and they have become a standard addition to any soundcards I own with the capability to add the wavetable board. Great video... the audio examples you highlighted really demonstrate the value of these.
I've got a dreamblaster since a few months and it rounds up my retro machine. Can highly recommend it! Have paired it with an Ess1868 soundcard, and this combo is making all your favorite DOS games sound great. I haven't even played with different banks yet, because the roland bank sounds so good to me.
I remember doing stuff like this in the late 90's, hooking up dedicated Roland / Edirol sound modules to my PC for high end music. The first time I played Final Fantasy 7 was actually on the PC port, and piping music through a Roland SC-880, or JV-1010, and boy was that ever an experience!
@@bruce_just_ Wish I could, but this was way back in the late 90's, and I haven't had the equipment in decades. At the moment I'm not in a position to get any of it back. But maybe one day, I definitely miss it :)
@@bruce_just_ I can record it on Yamaha MOTIF-RACK (Rack version of Yamaha's high-end keyboard from that time), even XG version of FF7 sounds on it great, as it understands some XG instructions.
Thanks for the review. I appreciate the compactness of these solutions after having bought vintage midi devices (ra90 modded to mt-32 and sc55). It gets cumbersome quickly!
I literally just received mine yesterday. And I will say to my ears it is perfect, just perfect. Nothing else other than a real Roland Sound Canvas compares. And even there, it is just as good...maybe better? Certainly better in not taking up desk space! I actually sold my SC-50 to buy this and I don't regret that at all. It sounds superb and licensed Roland sound samples really make it perfect.
Im happy to see that Serge is getting better licence deals than the full Roland licences, Amazing product and nice review! I had the chance to se him a few times, and just like you, he's pasionate about what he's doing!
I don't think Serdaco have a direct Roland license, and if Roland ever took one look at their website, they'd probably get a very nasty letter and be forced to change their marketing a bit. The licensed samples on this board are probably resold from Dream.
Love these - I have two of these with my Orpheus 2 cards, and will get a third when my red version ships. Nice compact "all-in-one" retro audio setups. I still like a period-correct build and have MT32, SC55 and SC88 units, but this new equipment is great for max-out/period-incorrect PCs where everything is "wrong."
I have no interest in this product (I'm sure it's great) but I recently realized I just enjoy your videos regardless of the topic. Don't get me wrong I love your vintage hardware stuff!!! What I mean is if this was another channel with the same content I would have never clicked on it. I find your accent and style soothing, it's rare (For me) that the host is more compelling then the content. You could review a Big Mac and I'd watch it, lol.
Another bit of history is that these Roland sounds are also used in Apple QuickTime on older Macs (until they finally depreciated MIDI playback support), and is also the Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth that started coming with Windows at some point and even appears in this video when Phil is playing with the Uploader utility on his modern machine. I can't remember what OS they started including it in, but it was at least XP! I was a Mac user, and by early to mid 2000's I was doing a bunch of MIDI work, and was installing the Yamaha XG wavetable software. There were some particularly good sounds on those!
I'm having split brain here. I love the better sound, yet original is there in my memory, making it hard to choose. It's not like Glide and Voodoo making visuals amazing, sound is different for me as I can remember some 25+ year old moments hearing those old sounds. Crazy I know, but my brain has it limitations... :) :O Great video as always! Thanks!
Hey Phil-- I'm not quite the audio aficionado that you are, but I greatly admire your passion for it. I love the content and always look forward to learning something new. Also, I couldn't help but notice what appears to be a wedding ring. In case you are recently married, congratulations! I also really like the new lab setup... it's inspirational.
@@vardekpetrovic9716 You are wrong !!! Serda made standalone version with normalized DIN connectors. There is also possibility to connect it via paraller port with diy add on board. There was article about it in polish Amiga magazine in the 90's. Problem lies in amount of software that can use it. Autor was playing .mid with player. Midi playback in games was ultra rare., despite system Midi library exist. I think it's because amiga audio chip is still good enough :D. Can't wait to see how it will develop in future !
@@vardekpetrovic9716 HI. You are wrong. You can plug midi daughterboard via paraller port with add on circuitry or use standalone MIDi-fied version that Serda already made. Problem lies in lack of great software to use it. Maybe because that amiga audio chip is still good enough :D
Well cover ESFM soon, but I disagree, while it's a nice upgrade over regular FM, it's not on the level of a nice General MIDI synth and fame support is limited...
@@philscomputerlab sure, of course it's not technically on the level of true wavetable synth. It's FM synth after all. But I love it. More than the OPL.
@@philscomputerlabfor me FM sound always will have its own aesthetic and I don't really feel it's super necessary to compare it to wavetable-based music. After all it's a matter of taste of course.
I think the ESS Audiodrive might be the best overall DOS sound card there is. It has better compatibility than the Sound Blaster 16 series, It's easy to set up despite being an early PnP card, its MIDI output works a whole lot more reliably than any Sound Blaster I've tried, and it's still relatively cheap. Its OPL emulation ain't the best, but now that wavetable cards are being made again, who cares?
Can confirm ESS Audiodrive is a great choice! And it's OPL3 FM isn't emulated it is implemented in hardware and sounds great as well, very minor difference to Yamaha OPL3. Plus you can enjoy more advanced ESFM in Windows and in (sadly just a few) supporting DOS games. But sure it depends on personal preference and I can understand if people want the original opl3.
great video! thank you for the extensive sound demos and overview, this is amazing! RE: 17:22 lol Roland can shove it, they don't make sound canvas boxes anymore and they discontinued their Sound Canvas VA VST as well. Who will know if you make music with it anyway? will they come to your house to check for an 88/55? so incredibly silly
@@philscomputerlab Wow, thanks! My channel is just a hobby and far less professional (not to say unprofessional) but I'm very happy if you /the community like it🙏
I love all these awesome devices but also love the flexibility of the McCake. Only wish the MicroSD card slot of the latter would be easily accessible without having to remove the sound card. My PC is stuffed full, so it's quite the pain. I'm just not really sure if I want to throw more money into Roland's throat after the money I already spent on the Sound Canvas VA and having to deal with Roland Cloud... PS: They should get rid of the drop down menu for swapping L and R channels, if they already have a check box in place. It's a bit redundant to have both, except you would add options like both channels getting sent over the same speaker, making it more or less Mono.
I saw that, but honestly I'm just glad it's not micro USB :) Mini USB's great for applications where the size of the connector doesn't matter, it's so much more dependable. Raw headers might be useful if you actually intended to service the board while it's connected, but I doubt that's the intended use case for having USB. I expect you'd take it out, or plug it into a different computer when re-writing the wavetable.
I find the choice in between midi wavetables to be one of taste rather than price, since there are many affordable options now and the experience varies greatly in between titles and games anyhow.
Most of those sound came from there sound canvas module series and also some of there sampler that use special formated CD Rom with 48khz 16 bit sample it's still possible to convert those on modern native instruments sampler even on Reason studio or New AKAI sampler , they are valuable soundbank like E-MU Proteus series they was on almost any SNES or N64 soundtrack game, i still have my hardware Roland stuff that have some of those sound as General MIDI player .
Wavetable sounds simply awesome ! I'm glad I had a sound card with just such a module in the 90s. Without it, the FM synthesis sound is flat and bland. Yes, it has its charm, but when you grew up playing Amiga games with beautiful music you didn't want it any worse on a PC. Wavetable gave you just that - real instruments.
I also go the Dosbox route. Just because it is only a double click away. The old ROMplers work over USB and the modern CRT Shaders do a good job. Also the modern Soundcards have a crystal clear output compared to something like an old SB16. I could use a room in my cellar for real oldschool Hardware. But I guess I wouldn't often go downstairs just to play an old game. I am old now and convenience is ranked higher. But then there are Videos like this... and the itch buying a CRT... must resist 😅
I can't believe this never occurred to me, but music is stereo... I just think of it as ambient noise. Never would have thought there was a correct channel for it to be coming out of :) I really wonder why the ESS swaps the channels?
Quite surprise that SC-55 ROM here takes 16MB, when in original one took only 3.3MB. I guess best compatibility test for GS is Inferno and TFX from DID, they are really using additional GS banks, and not stuck only with GM standard (Here is even toothless Roland Fantom XR with GM2 support, but Yamaha MU100r can handle it).
I was lucky a few years ago, and managed to get hold of an mk1 (pre GM branding) Roland SC-55, complete with the little remote control for the Norwegian equivalent of about $50 USD. It works perfectly. The idea was of course to use it for retro gaming and to try it out and see how well it can be used for music production as well. I have mixed feelings about it. I mean, on the one hand it sound good (relatively speaking) for old MS-DOS games. On the other hand, it's absolutely rubbish for any kind of music production beyond making nostalgic game style music. But for the price I got it for, I can't really complain ^^
roland GS have a nice melodious tone and the claps are realy nice, the drawback is the drums are dry. in other hand yamaha XG has a more strong drum and guitar however is not as good on melodious songs. There will be an argue for each side is better by the user personal preferences.
Great Comment because so on point. For not so musical people, you could also say for Rocking Soundtracks like Duke 3D most of the time Roland sounds better and for electronic Soundtracks like Descent, Yamaha sounds better. But sometimes I just want something different and use an alternative Soundfont in DosBox. That's the beauty of MIDI Game Music.
SoundBlaster AWE64 CT4500 have wavetable header ? I see on board some pins but i don't know if it is. With X2GS SE it will be propably the best soundcard with MT32 support.
i got my X2GS SE with PC MIDI CARD so i paid i think 60 eur instead 95. Using with my CT3900 AWE32. How i check there is "default dream preset" or "SC55 preset"?🤔 I changed default sound font because for me Descent menu or Duke3D also Doom 2 sounds weird. But i think i forgot make backup not sure. Or user memory was empty by default?
I'm a bit perplexed that the obvious comparison between the X2GS and a real Sound Canvas is missing in this video. Did they specifically ask you not to do that?
Thanks for pointing out that it doesn't sound exactly like a SC55. I instantly noticed it on DOOM, DOOM2 and Raptor. BUT I don't think that this is bad. It is a great sounding Board. In my ears it does a better job in Descent than the SC55 does. And it also plays the distorted Guitars in Raptor quite good. That is where most alternatives lead to awful sound. But I really do not like the sound of the alternative DXB Files. They need some more love. If I had a real DOS Machine and would search for an easy to handle but also deep configurable Waveblaster Daughterboard, this would be on my List. Also a nice move from Roland to license the samples for such a niche product. Maybe they might think about a licensing model for the MT32 / CM32L ROMs... that would be great. I forgot to say please get System Shock 1 into the List of your Sound examples. It has some great tunes.
its an interesting concept of patch swapping, which mean you don't need to relay on a whole soundbank to sound balanced. it still a bit janky for my taste to run a midi program, but its better than nothing, a program that can be pre executed with a command before the game exe , sounds more elegant.
13:48 For a Moment I thought I was hearing a Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 song 😅 I'm curious how the MIDI Track No.12 from The Settlers II could sound like on this Wavetable. For me that sets MIDI to sound the way I love MIDI. (And obviously I don't mean FM Synthesis and such are worse, but I grew up with... I guess... General MIDI music that was put into the Open-Source version of The Settlers II, Called Return To The Roots? Sounds a bit funny, but it's true.) Descent sounds better IMO with this. I do love that more intense/more agressive sound of that music. Raptor and Dune II gave me some Super Nintendo Music Vibes for some reason, probably because I was really fascinated with Old Consoles as a kid as well.
@@32KOFDATA I prefer to have the exact original Roland sound but when you think about it, almost nobody had actual Roland hardware back then so do these small differences really matter ?
@@krz8888888 indeed I didn't have the luck to own a Roland system back then too. My first experience with PC sound was the PC speaker, then an adlib and from then on Soundblaster cards. Roland was always an exotic option I knew from game menus and which I first experienced when I got into collecting old systems. Small differences don't really matter regardless if I prefer to use original hardware too, just for the full experience. I'm just curious how close the community has come to re-producing old audio hardware like the Roland midi systems as I believe replications and emulation are future proof as sadly time goes by and our beloved old systems will degrade.
I'm curious, is this sound bank intended to work on older games that only support Roland mt-32 (and not GS/General MIID)? For example, Monkey Island 1&2. The games you demoed that I am familiar with have general MIDI or native GS support - and I assume that's what you used. I have the original XTGS, which appears (high-level) to be functionally the same as the SE, less the Roland Samples. If I use that with MT-32 games, the sound is all wrong.
@@mpettengill1981 For Roland MT-32 you should look at the McCake! I've reviewed it in a previous video. That's games like Monkey Island, Fate of Atlantis, Loom and many more. This DreamBlaster is indeed for General MIDI games.
the original X2GS also has the roland bank. There are a couple problems with using a GM device on MT32 games. 1. the instrument map isnt the same 2. games with custom instruments cant upload so they are wrong. (WC1/2) Some GM devices can load a mt32 mapping. i.e. the creative SBK for mt32. This could sound better for something like MI 1/2 but still wont help WC1/2. If you want perfect MT32 the McCake is the serdaco option. I use a wavetable form of the mt32-pi on a picogus (for hard mpu)
@@Pickle136 I know of only 2 games that use the default MT-32 instrument configuration. The MT-32 was all about custom patches. You really should be getting something different if MT-32 is what you're after...
Roland is not the best sounds you can get from MIDI, but it is the standard by which all other sound fonts are measured. When I'm testing new sound fonts, what do I compare them to? But a clone of the Roland sound fonts.
@@AncapDude Yes it's read only! That's the part of the Flash with the Roland samples. I upload the other other font into the other 48 MB area of flash, which can be programmed.
@@AncapDude Ah, got you. That's just the preset and it takes up tiny amounts of storage in the accessible area of flash. It sort of configured the synthesizer and doesn't touch the underlying samples at all.
I would suggest, Just use the Midi out to a Keyboard.. then you have the chance to have stereo. At least Split sound. Part of a problem with the cards is the Ambient FM inside the case caused by the other hardware, between Isolating and Shielding the Audio card, you dont want the extra heat.
The license isn’t cheap I’m sure. For new manufacture of something that will not sell by the millions AND includes an official Rolland license I think this is actually very reasonable.
@@philscomputerlab hi Phil quick question since I figured you may have insights. I've been working on building a pentium III system for my 9x era games and I've run into a few problems. The current issue is I'm trying to use sd to ide adapters for the hard drives I've just discovered why I've been unable to get the "C drive" formatted and prepared for 98se, everytime the adapter is power cycled it whips the sd card not just the data but the partition too so the card needs to be partitioned etc. I've confirmed it's not the card it's self removing it or power cycleing the computer its in doesn't do it. Any help would be appreciated
I see a lot of general MIDI videos, and I still dont get why everyone focuses so heavily on Doom. Maybe I am crazy, but I find the crunchyness of an FM synth to sound better to my ears. Probably nostalgia, since I would always use an FM synth while playing it.
@@StompySan Same, we grew up on FM and nintendo so it will always have more charm to us. Midi sounds really nice and modern, maybe too modern for the game graphics. Shows what a feat it was at the time
It's well known, and it's a good test for Soundcanvas based hardware/software as it sounds slightly different on original SC-55 based devices compared to the SC-55 sample set used virtually everywhere afterwards.
Good news for old DOS farts 😀 I'm happy Win95 + enthusiast. Mmx, 3D was a real game changer mid 90s Compared to tiny bump with dx2-66 To see still 2D games 1fps faster. Don't take this as criticism you need midi more than air
@@Conradlovesjoy bought my last pair for 17€ shipped (new old stock). Deskspace? do you live in a caravan? :D just put it under your screen, next to it or whereever. there's always some space
For me, OPL2/OPL3 sound is the most authentic for DOS games. This is how I remeber the games. The quirky synthetic sound goes so well with the pixelated VGA visuals and 8 bit digitized sounds.
@@krz8888888 OPL sound is part of the charm of the old games. I think the Roland support in games was there mostly for completeness. Most people were using OPL so the developers had to make sure the music sounds good on OPL as well.
Sorry, but I have to say that I like the original ESS audio sound card. That DreamBlaster sounds too weak and very soft. It is just my personal opinion.
Ich hatte mir damals das Yamaha DB-50XG Wave Table Daughter Board für XG zugelegt. Ich könnte auch meinen Yamaha SynthyRompler CS1X oder CS2X, die im Prinzip dem DB-50XG entsprechen als MIDI Out vergewaltigen. Da kann man noch nach Gusto den Sound tweaken. Aber auch meine Roland PMA-5 Sequenzer für GS MIDI Sound.
@@VShuricK Yes, this isn't intended to be mass market product. The current software is generally "good enough" for most people, this is for folks that have the cash and want the experience. Also, sound cards used to be rather expensive to begin with and having the Roland support wasn't included as far as I can remember.
the milking of uninformed retro-pc-enthusiasts continues... especially, considering there is now Nuked-SC55 - done in such an elaborated way with de-capping the Roland chips, etc and not to mention that Dream received that "Roland GS"-license as part of a court order, i.e. after Roland sued them for stealing their sounds.
I see that 95€ is much money for some people. It sure depends on where you live and what your income is. But I see people spending that much money for anything and mostly it is just a matter of preference and priorities.
While the Roland sounds so much better, my nostalgia and memories of the games sound exactly like you showed them with the ESS AudioDrive.
That being said, it's fantastic that such a device with genuine Roland soundfont exists in a modern form and thank you so much for making these videos!
I've purchased multiple Serdaco products and have been very happy with them. These Dreamblasters are fantastic, and they have become a standard addition to any soundcards I own with the capability to add the wavetable board. Great video... the audio examples you highlighted really demonstrate the value of these.
Just noticed the new ‘hardware’ on your left ring finger. Congratulations Phil 😊
I've got a dreamblaster since a few months and it rounds up my retro machine. Can highly recommend it! Have paired it with an Ess1868 soundcard, and this combo is making all your favorite DOS games sound great. I haven't even played with different banks yet, because the roland bank sounds so good to me.
I remember doing stuff like this in the late 90's, hooking up dedicated Roland / Edirol sound modules to my PC for high end music.
The first time I played Final Fantasy 7 was actually on the PC port, and piping music through a Roland SC-880, or JV-1010, and boy was that ever an experience!
wow - sounds great. Make a video to share how it sounds if you’re able!
@@bruce_just_ Wish I could, but this was way back in the late 90's, and I haven't had the equipment in decades. At the moment I'm not in a position to get any of it back. But maybe one day, I definitely miss it :)
@@bruce_just_ I can record it on Yamaha MOTIF-RACK (Rack version of Yamaha's high-end keyboard from that time), even XG version of FF7 sounds on it great, as it understands some XG instructions.
Thanks for the review. I appreciate the compactness of these solutions after having bought vintage midi devices (ra90 modded to mt-32 and sc55). It gets cumbersome quickly!
I literally just received mine yesterday. And I will say to my ears it is perfect, just perfect. Nothing else other than a real Roland Sound Canvas compares. And even there, it is just as good...maybe better? Certainly better in not taking up desk space! I actually sold my SC-50 to buy this and I don't regret that at all. It sounds superb and licensed Roland sound samples really make it perfect.
@@eightbit1975 Awesome 😎
Im happy to see that Serge is getting better licence deals than the full Roland licences, Amazing product and nice review! I had the chance to se him a few times, and just like you, he's pasionate about what he's doing!
I don't think Serdaco have a direct Roland license, and if Roland ever took one look at their website, they'd probably get a very nasty letter and be forced to change their marketing a bit. The licensed samples on this board are probably resold from Dream.
@@hikari_no_yume yeah you're right Dream is probably the reseller of the license
Love these - I have two of these with my Orpheus 2 cards, and will get a third when my red version ships. Nice compact "all-in-one" retro audio setups.
I still like a period-correct build and have MT32, SC55 and SC88 units, but this new equipment is great for max-out/period-incorrect PCs where everything is "wrong."
The red is beautiful in person lol. I want to open my case and look at it
LOVE this card. I got this packaged with my Orpheus II. I currently have this attached to my PicoGUS, and it sounds great!
I have no interest in this product (I'm sure it's great) but I recently realized I just enjoy your videos regardless of the topic. Don't get me wrong I love your vintage hardware stuff!!! What I mean is if this was another channel with the same content I would have never clicked on it. I find your accent and style soothing, it's rare (For me) that the host is more compelling then the content. You could review a Big Mac and I'd watch it, lol.
@@SOLIDNecro Thank you ☺️
Great video as always Phil!
Tempted to buy the McCake too!
Love audio and soundcards stuff! Very nice product! 🎶🎧🎶
Another bit of history is that these Roland sounds are also used in Apple QuickTime on older Macs (until they finally depreciated MIDI playback support), and is also the Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth that started coming with Windows at some point and even appears in this video when Phil is playing with the Uploader utility on his modern machine. I can't remember what OS they started including it in, but it was at least XP!
I was a Mac user, and by early to mid 2000's I was doing a bunch of MIDI work, and was installing the Yamaha XG wavetable software. There were some particularly good sounds on those!
I'm having split brain here. I love the better sound, yet original is there in my memory, making it hard to choose. It's not like Glide and Voodoo making visuals amazing, sound is different for me as I can remember some 25+ year old moments hearing those old sounds. Crazy I know, but my brain has it limitations... :) :O
Great video as always! Thanks!
Hey Phil-- I'm not quite the audio aficionado that you are, but I greatly admire your passion for it. I love the content and always look forward to learning something new. Also, I couldn't help but notice what appears to be a wedding ring. In case you are recently married, congratulations! I also really like the new lab setup... it's inspirational.
Thank you 😊
Looks (and sounds) great =D
Might be a very nice addition to the Llama ITX which I have jumped on the group buy for!
I have the Dreamblaster S2 for some years and now I might want to upgrade to the X2SE because of you......thanks 😊 now how do I tell my wife?
Can't wait to plug it in my Amiga !!!
@@vardekpetrovic9716 You are wrong !!!
Serda made standalone version with normalized DIN connectors.
There is also possibility to connect it via paraller port with diy add on board. There was article about it in polish Amiga magazine in the 90's. Problem lies in amount of software that can use it.
Autor was playing .mid with player. Midi playback in games was ultra rare., despite system Midi library exist. I think it's because amiga audio chip is still good enough :D. Can't wait to see how it will develop in future !
@@vardekpetrovic9716 Anothe rgreat A500 demo
th-cam.com/video/iD9xk3SDSYc/w-d-xo.html
@@vardekpetrovic9716 HI. You are wrong. You can plug midi daughterboard via paraller port with add on circuitry or use standalone MIDi-fied version that Serda already made. Problem lies in lack of great software to use it. Maybe because that amiga audio chip is still good enough :D
Say what you want, but ESFM is already just beautiful.
And Roland sounding WaveTable synth only completes it into a perfect sound system. :)
Well cover ESFM soon, but I disagree, while it's a nice upgrade over regular FM, it's not on the level of a nice General MIDI synth and fame support is limited...
@@philscomputerlab sure, of course it's not technically on the level of true wavetable synth. It's FM synth after all.
But I love it. More than the OPL.
@@philscomputerlabfor me FM sound always will have its own aesthetic and I don't really feel it's super necessary to compare it to wavetable-based music. After all it's a matter of taste of course.
To me ESFM never sounded as good as the original Yamaha OPL. My favourites are: CMS, AWE32, MT32, XG
Sounds fantastic Phil! I wonder how it compares to Creative's midi, saludos.
I think the ESS Audiodrive might be the best overall DOS sound card there is. It has better compatibility than the Sound Blaster 16 series, It's easy to set up despite being an early PnP card, its MIDI output works a whole lot more reliably than any Sound Blaster I've tried, and it's still relatively cheap. Its OPL emulation ain't the best, but now that wavetable cards are being made again, who cares?
Can confirm ESS Audiodrive is a great choice! And it's OPL3 FM isn't emulated it is implemented in hardware and sounds great as well, very minor difference to Yamaha OPL3. Plus you can enjoy more advanced ESFM in Windows and in (sadly just a few) supporting DOS games. But sure it depends on personal preference and I can understand if people want the original opl3.
great video! thank you for the extensive sound demos and overview, this is amazing! RE: 17:22 lol Roland can shove it, they don't make sound canvas boxes anymore and they discontinued their Sound Canvas VA VST as well. Who will know if you make music with it anyway? will they come to your house to check for an 88/55? so incredibly silly
Happy Friday Phil!
Another fine release from Serdaco🎉 Great little module. Optically it will fit perfectly to a dark-colored Terratec soundcard.
Your channel is awesome 👍😎
@@philscomputerlab Wow, thanks! My channel is just a hobby and far less professional (not to say unprofessional) but I'm very happy if you /the community like it🙏
I love all these awesome devices but also love the flexibility of the McCake. Only wish the MicroSD card slot of the latter would be easily accessible without having to remove the sound card. My PC is stuffed full, so it's quite the pain. I'm just not really sure if I want to throw more money into Roland's throat after the money I already spent on the Sound Canvas VA and having to deal with Roland Cloud...
PS: They should get rid of the drop down menu for swapping L and R channels, if they already have a check box in place. It's a bit redundant to have both, except you would add options like both channels getting sent over the same speaker, making it more or less Mono.
Great review
Muy bueno!!
Sounds great wish I had something like that in the day. One nice to have would be USB C connector or pin headers instead of mini USB
I saw that, but honestly I'm just glad it's not micro USB :) Mini USB's great for applications where the size of the connector doesn't matter, it's so much more dependable.
Raw headers might be useful if you actually intended to service the board while it's connected, but I doubt that's the intended use case for having USB. I expect you'd take it out, or plug it into a different computer when re-writing the wavetable.
I find the choice in between midi wavetables to be one of taste rather than price, since there are many affordable options now and the experience varies greatly in between titles and games anyhow.
Most of those sound came from there sound canvas module series and also some of there sampler that use special formated CD Rom with 48khz 16 bit sample it's still possible to convert those on modern native instruments sampler even on Reason studio or New AKAI sampler , they are valuable soundbank like E-MU Proteus series they was on almost any SNES or N64 soundtrack game, i still have my hardware Roland stuff that have some of those sound as General MIDI player .
Yamaha!!! :P
In Indiana Jones Fate of Atlantis, is possible to have GM output for the music but have digitized sounds and speech as well?
No, it supports Roland MT-32.
Wavetable sounds simply awesome ! I'm glad I had a sound card with just such a module in the 90s. Without it, the FM synthesis sound is flat and bland. Yes, it has its charm, but when you grew up playing Amiga games with beautiful music you didn't want it any worse on a PC. Wavetable gave you just that - real instruments.
Wish it existed 30+ years ago....these days I play oldies with dosbox
I also go the Dosbox route. Just because it is only a double click away. The old ROMplers work over USB and the modern CRT Shaders do a good job. Also the modern Soundcards have a crystal clear output compared to something like an old SB16. I could use a room in my cellar for real oldschool Hardware. But I guess I wouldn't often go downstairs just to play an old game. I am old now and convenience is ranked higher. But then there are Videos like this... and the itch buying a CRT... must resist 😅
I can't believe this never occurred to me, but music is stereo... I just think of it as ambient noise. Never would have thought there was a correct channel for it to be coming out of :)
I really wonder why the ESS swaps the channels?
Quite surprise that SC-55 ROM here takes 16MB, when in original one took only 3.3MB. I guess best compatibility test for GS is Inferno and TFX from DID, they are really using additional GS banks, and not stuck only with GM standard (Here is even toothless Roland Fantom XR with GM2 support, but Yamaha MU100r can handle it).
I was lucky a few years ago, and managed to get hold of an mk1 (pre GM branding) Roland SC-55, complete with the little remote control for the Norwegian equivalent of about $50 USD.
It works perfectly. The idea was of course to use it for retro gaming and to try it out and see how well it can be used for music production as well. I have mixed feelings about it. I mean, on the one hand it sound good (relatively speaking) for old MS-DOS games. On the other hand, it's absolutely rubbish for any kind of music production beyond making nostalgic game style music. But for the price I got it for, I can't really complain ^^
Great price 😊
roland GS have a nice melodious tone and the claps are realy nice, the drawback is the drums are dry. in other hand yamaha XG has a more strong drum and guitar however is not as good on melodious songs. There will be an argue for each side is better by the user personal preferences.
100% agree with this!
Great Comment because so on point. For not so musical people, you could also say for Rocking Soundtracks like Duke 3D most of the time Roland sounds better and for electronic Soundtracks like Descent, Yamaha sounds better. But sometimes I just want something different and use an alternative Soundfont in DosBox. That's the beauty of MIDI Game Music.
SoundBlaster AWE64 CT4500 have wavetable header ? I see on board some pins but i don't know if it is. With X2GS SE it will be propably the best soundcard with MT32 support.
No it doesn't. You could use the gameport with a Chill Adapter...
@@philscomputerlab Ok, thanks.
This concert was performed by Buran Buran.
What sound card do you recommend to pair this with ?
Beat would be a non Creative card like ESS, Yamaha, PicoGUS, PC MPU card...
i got my X2GS SE with PC MIDI CARD so i paid i think 60 eur instead 95. Using with my CT3900 AWE32. How i check there is "default dream preset" or "SC55 preset"?🤔 I changed default sound font because for me Descent menu or Duke3D also Doom 2 sounds weird. But i think i forgot make backup not sure. Or user memory was empty by default?
Beat to just upload the presets again and then you're 100% sure 😊
I'm a bit perplexed that the obvious comparison between the X2GS and a real Sound Canvas is missing in this video. Did they specifically ask you not to do that?
Any way to get the Roland samples as a sound font?
Not legally, but there are SoundFonts that try to do this.
Is it a new sc-55?
So it this same as wp32 mcake?
Do you know if the X2GS SE works with the PicoGUS v2? Or should I be looking at something like the S2? Thanks.
yes this works fine
Yes!
Thanks for pointing out that it doesn't sound exactly like a SC55. I instantly noticed it on DOOM, DOOM2 and Raptor. BUT I don't think that this is bad. It is a great sounding Board. In my ears it does a better job in Descent than the SC55 does. And it also plays the distorted Guitars in Raptor quite good. That is where most alternatives lead to awful sound. But I really do not like the sound of the alternative DXB Files. They need some more love. If I had a real DOS Machine and would search for an easy to handle but also deep configurable Waveblaster Daughterboard, this would be on my List. Also a nice move from Roland to license the samples for such a niche product. Maybe they might think about a licensing model for the MT32 / CM32L ROMs... that would be great. I forgot to say please get System Shock 1 into the List of your Sound examples. It has some great tunes.
I found a nifty way to use virtual CDs under DOS, so System Shock will be in the menu! I'll make sure to include it when reviewing the X16.
its an interesting concept of patch swapping, which mean you don't need to relay on a whole soundbank to sound balanced.
it still a bit janky for my taste to run a midi program, but its better than nothing, a program that can be pre executed with a command before the game exe , sounds more elegant.
So just put it into a batch file, easy. The MIDI player will drop back to DOS and the game launches...
13:48 For a Moment I thought I was hearing a Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 song 😅
I'm curious how the MIDI Track No.12 from The Settlers II could sound like on this Wavetable. For me that sets MIDI to sound the way I love MIDI. (And obviously I don't mean FM Synthesis and such are worse, but I grew up with... I guess... General MIDI music that was put into the Open-Source version of The Settlers II, Called Return To The Roots? Sounds a bit funny, but it's true.)
Descent sounds better IMO with this. I do love that more intense/more agressive sound of that music.
Raptor and Dune II gave me some Super Nintendo Music Vibes for some reason, probably because I was really fascinated with Old Consoles as a kid as well.
I wonder how this would sound with a PCI sound card like the aureal vortex 2 🤔
Fully compatible, although PCI sound cards aren't as good of an option as ISA. However the Vortex 2 is one of the better options...
What would be the best sound card to pair the Wavetable with?
Essex YAMAHA, PicoGUS, PC MIDI are great options!
@@philscomputerlab Thx's. Been out of the retro screen for a bit lol.
How does the DreamBlaster X2GS SE compares to the original Roland hardware? can you tell the difference?
What do you think 🤔 Keen to hear your opinion, there are heaps of Roland recordings online 🙂
The SC-8820 unit is the closest thing to this daughter board.
@@32KOFDATA I prefer to have the exact original Roland sound but when you think about it, almost nobody had actual Roland hardware back then so do these small differences really matter ?
@@krz8888888 indeed I didn't have the luck to own a Roland system back then too. My first experience with PC sound was the PC speaker, then an adlib and from then on Soundblaster cards. Roland was always an exotic option I knew from game menus and which I first experienced when I got into collecting old systems.
Small differences don't really matter regardless if I prefer to use original hardware too, just for the full experience.
I'm just curious how close the community has come to re-producing old audio hardware like the Roland midi systems as I believe replications and emulation are future proof as sadly time goes by and our beloved old systems will degrade.
@@krz8888888yeah people really love to chase the dragon of “perfect” dos sound when it was never that good even in the best of times.
I'm curious, is this sound bank intended to work on older games that only support Roland mt-32 (and not GS/General MIID)? For example, Monkey Island 1&2. The games you demoed that I am familiar with have general MIDI or native GS support - and I assume that's what you used.
I have the original XTGS, which appears (high-level) to be functionally the same as the SE, less the Roland Samples. If I use that with MT-32 games, the sound is all wrong.
@@mpettengill1981 For Roland MT-32 you should look at the McCake! I've reviewed it in a previous video. That's games like Monkey Island, Fate of Atlantis, Loom and many more. This DreamBlaster is indeed for General MIDI games.
the original X2GS also has the roland bank. There are a couple problems with using a GM device on MT32 games. 1. the instrument map isnt the same 2. games with custom instruments cant upload so they are wrong. (WC1/2)
Some GM devices can load a mt32 mapping. i.e. the creative SBK for mt32. This could sound better for something like MI 1/2 but still wont help WC1/2.
If you want perfect MT32 the McCake is the serdaco option. I use a wavetable form of the mt32-pi on a picogus (for hard mpu)
@@Pickle136 I know of only 2 games that use the default MT-32 instrument configuration. The MT-32 was all about custom patches. You really should be getting something different if MT-32 is what you're after...
@@philscomputerlab i use the wavetable mt32-pi with a picogus so i have perfect mt32 emulation
Ok, good information. Thanks!
Roland is not the best sounds you can get from MIDI, but it is the standard by which all other sound fonts are measured. When I'm testing new sound fonts, what do I compare them to? But a clone of the Roland sound fonts.
You said first Bank is read only but later write to it?
@@AncapDude Yes it's read only! That's the part of the Flash with the Roland samples. I upload the other other font into the other 48 MB area of flash, which can be programmed.
@@philscomputerlab But you modified the Roland Samples with your Stereo fix and reuploaded it to the first Bank or did I misunderstand something?
@@AncapDude Ah, got you. That's just the preset and it takes up tiny amounts of storage in the accessible area of flash. It sort of configured the synthesizer and doesn't touch the underlying samples at all.
Same as roland SCB-7?
@@rallyscoot No, but similar. The video explains it quite well I hope...
I would suggest, Just use the Midi out to a Keyboard.. then you have the chance to have stereo. At least Split sound.
Part of a problem with the cards is the Ambient FM inside the case caused by the other hardware, between Isolating and Shielding the Audio card, you dont want the extra heat.
Still loved the Amiga..Stereo audio.
$162 AU seems steep for something so relatively cheap to produce
You are more than welcome to design your own then negotiate a license deal with Roland ;-)
The license isn’t cheap I’m sure.
For new manufacture of something that will not sell by the millions AND includes an official Rolland license I think this is actually very reasonable.
@@zuldanfpv4634 No need I own all the original hardware before youtubers started driving up the prices circa 2014 ish.
Presumably Roland's licensing fees are still quite high for this.
With the Aussie price inflation e.g. Colesworth this is a bargain IMO 😊
Cool.
Wouldn't it be nice if such a board existed that was a bolt on mt32 for sound cards if only ;)
That's the McCake, check one of my other recent videos!
Man I wish I had a vintage SoundBlaster card so I could buy this...
Sooo can it flip a table aswhile as wave it around?
😅
@@philscomputerlab hi Phil quick question since I figured you may have insights.
I've been working on building a pentium III system for my 9x era games and I've run into a few problems. The current issue is I'm trying to use sd to ide adapters for the hard drives I've just discovered why I've been unable to get the "C drive" formatted and prepared for 98se, everytime the adapter is power cycled it whips the sd card not just the data but the partition too so the card needs to be partitioned etc. I've confirmed it's not the card it's self removing it or power cycleing the computer its in doesn't do it.
Any help would be appreciated
skill issue?
I see a lot of general MIDI videos, and I still dont get why everyone focuses so heavily on Doom. Maybe I am crazy, but I find the crunchyness of an FM synth to sound better to my ears. Probably nostalgia, since I would always use an FM synth while playing it.
@@StompySan Same, we grew up on FM and nintendo so it will always have more charm to us. Midi sounds really nice and modern, maybe too modern for the game graphics. Shows what a feat it was at the time
everyone knows what doom sounds like to compare. But it is nice to hear something different.
Doom is a universal benchmark. It will always be used to compare dos hardware.
It's well known, and it's a good test for Soundcanvas based hardware/software as it sounds slightly different on original SC-55 based devices compared to the SC-55 sample set used virtually everywhere afterwards.
It burn into your brain the way you used to play it back in the days, and for me it was FM as well. BUT that doesn't mean I can't enjoy GM today😊
Good news for old DOS farts 😀
I'm happy Win95 + enthusiast.
Mmx, 3D was a real game changer mid 90s
Compared to tiny bump with dx2-66
To see still 2D games 1fps faster.
Don't take this as criticism you need midi more than air
lol wtf are you having a stroke? none of what you said makes any sense nor is it relevant to the video.
waiting for those getting extremly cheaper. For 95 money you can get Roland SC55 devices etc.
Then you also need all the cables ($20-$40) and the desk space. This is cheaper and uses zero desk space. That’s a big deal to a lot of people.
In my area you don't find sound canvases for reasonable prices anymore.
@@pc-sound-legacy import them from japan. 50 bucks for a yamaha on mercari.
@@Conradlovesjoy bought my last pair for 17€ shipped (new old stock). Deskspace? do you live in a caravan? :D just put it under your screen, next to it or whereever. there's always some space
For me, OPL2/OPL3 sound is the most authentic for DOS games. This is how I remeber the games. The quirky synthetic sound goes so well with the pixelated VGA visuals and 8 bit digitized sounds.
@@JendaLinda with this on an opl3 card you get both options on the same package. When your kids laugh at OPL music you switch it to Roland goodness
@@krz8888888 OPL sound is part of the charm of the old games. I think the Roland support in games was there mostly for completeness. Most people were using OPL so the developers had to make sure the music sounds good on OPL as well.
Sorry, but I have to say that I like the original ESS audio sound card. That DreamBlaster sounds too weak and very soft. It is just my personal opinion.
Ich hatte mir damals das Yamaha DB-50XG Wave Table Daughter Board für XG zugelegt. Ich könnte auch meinen Yamaha SynthyRompler CS1X oder CS2X, die im Prinzip dem DB-50XG entsprechen als MIDI Out vergewaltigen. Da kann man noch nach Gusto den Sound tweaken. Aber auch meine Roland PMA-5 Sequenzer für GS MIDI Sound.
Da hast du ja ein paar tolle Geräte in deiner Sammlung!
This changes everything: th-cam.com/video/ogHqmjn6sY4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=usF4E1_bivG0OHXv
$100 is a ridiculously price. I'll pass...
Go build a cheaper one with an official Roland licence 😅
95 euros. LOL!
small batches + Roland license. I think 95euro is more than adequate.
@@VShuricK Yes, this isn't intended to be mass market product. The current software is generally "good enough" for most people, this is for folks that have the cash and want the experience. Also, sound cards used to be rather expensive to begin with and having the Roland support wasn't included as far as I can remember.
What’s funny about it? It’s funny when poors lawl at reasonable prices
the milking of uninformed retro-pc-enthusiasts continues... especially, considering there is now Nuked-SC55 - done in such an elaborated way with de-capping the Roland chips, etc and not to mention that Dream received that "Roland GS"-license as part of a court order, i.e. after Roland sued them for stealing their sounds.
I see that 95€ is much money for some people. It sure depends on where you live and what your income is. But I see people spending that much money for anything and mostly it is just a matter of preference and priorities.