Bad Gear - Roland MT-32 - The OG Retro Gamers Synth
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ค. 2021
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Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world's most hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about the Roland MT-32. Is it every DOS gamer's dream? - เพลง
Please forgive me: Monkey Island 2 is OF COURSE a Lucasarts game (how could I)😞
Apologies accepted.
Right now it would've been a lot better if MI was actually a Sierra game, because the evil ghost pirate Micky Mouse will never ever give Ron back his game :(. Ps: have you seen Peter Jackson's ''Avengers'' yet? ;) ;) ;)
Monkey Island 2 couldn't be a Sierra game if it wanted to, there are no softlocks.
Ach so. Zuerst hab ich gedacht, die Zuordnung zu einer falschen Firma wäre einer von deinen besonders ausgefeilten Witzen, die regelmäßig right over my head gehen.
It's doubly funny because Lucasarts even made a jab at Sierra games in said Monkey Island 2
This show is literally the highlight of my Fridays
Empty-32 🤣
Agreed. It’s either nostalgia or g.a.s. with this series.
Thanks!
The Bad Gear Friday's + Ricky Tinez Saturday's combo keeps me happy every weekend.
I always have a meeting Friday mornings at work and towards the end i'm sitting there like "HURRY THIS ALREADY NEW BAD GEAR VID IS UP"
The sheer number of obscure, hellishly complex sound boxes Roland made never fails to amaze me.
Yeah, it's mindboggling
That's basically Roland's thing. They're the Pinhead of... well... everything that produces a noise.
The more boxes the better
That’s not even counting their many, many worthless gimmicky video products! Such a weird company at this stage lol
@@feelingevaporated2912 at this stage? which stage wasnt weird?
I want a whole album of your Monkey Quest Space Commander in the Prehistorik Land of LeChuck’s Steel Sky Digital Marble Machine mockups!
Thanks, Mr. Booxle!!!
fantastic tunes in this one...as usual! I just like the cheese that drips from the Mt-32 😂
👌🏼+1💥🎯
+ me too ❤
Dammit! You have my favorite gear, you've played my favorite video games, and currently you're making my favorite music! That title alone though brings back sooooo many memories
I didn't know I need a painting of the legendary war hero General Midi until this episode
He's from Mexico ;)
The production value on these videos is absolutely insane. Quick editing, hilarious memes, and original music throughout! Can't wait for the next one already.
Thank you!!!
I agree, very good. I bet it's still vey entertaining if you're not in to synthesizers
Yeah, this dude is good at this.
So true- that digital marble machine Tron thingy was absolute knockout ❤
I hate the fact you used meme. Mainly because Meme and Joke are actually pretty different in definition. I'm being a bit of a Karen right now aren't I?
the amount of Monkey Island 2 references in this episode went out of the roof and straight to my heart, oh.
You fight like a dairy farmer!!!
@@AudioPilz how appropiate, you fight like a cow!
You'd better stop waving that synth around like a feather duster!
People fall at my feet when they see me coming...
Even BEFORE they see your synth?!
Imagine the Fairy Tale Adventure on that.
Ooh, that Wing Commander communications screen rendition of your face hit me right in the nostalgia center.
Thanks! That one had many floppies!
The original release was only on three floppies, I still have that. But I can imagine that the later versions with the speech pack and extra missions may have used up more floppies, the original version had no speech.
@@fisk0 I've still got it in the box, and I even have a 1.2mb 5-1/4" floppy drive on hand, but I seriously doubt I have a computer with a floppy controller any more. :|
OMG a reference to “Beneath a Steel Sky”?! I programmed a good chunk of that. While Co-Designer, Script Writer and Composer (as well - yeah!) Dave Cummins wrote the soundtrack with his Atari ST and Yamaha SY35 or 55 (bit hazy, I’ve had a beer or two since I last saw that) 🙏
Wow, great! I was totally fascinated by that game as a kid
@@AudioPilz Ah (blush) they were good times. There are some frighteningly old-looking pictures (and words) about it at www.game-nostalgia.com/non_flash/steel_sky/the_making_of_beneath_a_steel_sky1.html (up to page 8). I used to hear the words "sound blaster" a lot back then ;)
I remember when the MT-32 was first released: 8 channels of "D-50 style sounds" with reverb, plus a "realistic" sounding drum section, for under $500? Unreal!
Total gamechanger back then!
Yeah, I can't see why people are slagging it off.
It was fantastic back then! The only way to get a cheap multitimbral Synth WITH sampled drums in it, ie for the first time making it possible to write a complete track with just one Synth/box (that didn't cost a fortune like some sampler workstations back then).
A true revolution!
At the same time it became associated with the very basic ROMpli-sh game background sound in the early 90:s and reminded a lot of what became the GM-based Romplers (the U20, some of the Emu Proteus etc). Ie, kind of what wasn't a Synth and more a "homeorgan/homekeyboard" for "lounge music".
Lot's of things happened between 1987 and the mid 90:s...
Also, I somehow associate the MT-32 with what became the "soundfont" standard when the soundblaster AWE-32 was released in 1994.
It seemed to have some very similar (even back then weak) sounding soundbanks with that generic "lounge music" vibe to it.
And that soundfont became part of most later soundblaster soundcards. They even had a special bank with MT-32 sounds (besides the GM and GS banks). And we know that the soundfonts was the king of generic sounds which focused on playing GM-compatible midi files made for cheesy karaoke backing tracks....
When you sequenced this ancient honorable brick from elektron I just died laughing. This show is something special
Thanks! Digitakt is a great sequencer for that kind of gear!
There are so many reasons to love these videos. I don't even make electronic music.
Thank you! It means a lot to me!
You managed to combine music production gear, retro video games, and nostalgia from my childhood! And the mockup was great despite working with "outdated" gear.
Well done, Kilrathi High Command approves!
Thank you!!!
Found one of these for $10 mixed in with clock radios at a thrift store. Traded it later for the worst midi control. Don't regret.
I'd take one for a tenner ;)
Good find! Sellers who don't know about the stuff they sell are the best. :o) I love thrift stores. One of the first places I'll go to when stores open again is a thrift store.
dam ... you traded in 500$ worth of shitbox.
These things are hella expensive where i live
And so I watched this video around 2022. I got so into dungeon synth scene that... I was featured on HDK tape this year (Goblinth ) ! Thanks mr. AudioPilz for bad gear inspiration :D
Thank you so much!!! Always a pleasure!!!
NOTE: If the following info is not enough for you, poking a solder iron in your gear is probably not what you should do anyway.
The rev1 model (no headphones) can quite easy be better gear-ed by installing memory back-up.
It takes 2 steps:
1) There are _unmarked_ places on the PCB for the missing components; a battery, a diode and a resistor. All three go in series. The holes for the diode and resistor form a square on the PCB and are easy to spot. The holes for the battery are more to the side of the board and are for a "upright" model battery.
2) The boot routine in ROM wipes the memory on startup. Therefore a patched version of the ROMs has to be installed. The SDIY list is a good place to ask for those.
There is a more complex battery back up schematic for the MT32 out there, but that one misses the fact that most of what is needed is already on the PCB.
Maybe this is of use to someone.
Great info, thanks!
MT-32, retro gaming and a Civvie shout out. Fantastic.
Thanks! Free Civvie!!!
"I think this synth is making my brain smooth."
I love this old box. I use it with almost every musical project I compose. The Soundtrack patch alone is to die for. But with some custom sounds this thing can really shine.
Soundtrack patch is a classic!
My Kawai GMega is sitting here saying ‘aren’t I shitty enough to be shown some love?’
There's an acute shortage of vintage Kawai gear around here but no worries, will happen
@@AudioPilz I’ve got an R50 a couple of days ago. The snare is EPIC ) Tbh it sounds suspiciously similar to the one on early Ministry albums. Now I wonder...
got 2 kawai XD 5 i could send you one...
@@AntonNidhoggr I second that wondering
@@AudioPilz not really a shitty gear but could you do a video on the kawai q80
I just bought one and want to learn how to use it to sequence my synths
that last demo was just like, perfect. thanks for making me have to listen to nothing but DOS games MT32 soundtrack all day
Thanks! That's what I've been doing all week 😀
A lot of youtuber "musicians" will showcase their cringy music and i will skip through for the gear footage or whatever I am actually interested in seeing. Bad Gear on the other hand, just has the coolest damn gear centric music of all time. Fucking love this channel! Stay Hydrated!
Thank you, cheers!!!
Came home from work, sat down with my dogs and now the weekend begins again with the new bad gear ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you! Weekend!!!
How about episodes on:
- Korg microstation
- Akai MPK Mini Play
- Casio XWP1
- Casio XWG1
- Yamaha Reface DX, CS, etc.
- Yamaha Sonogenic SHS-500 and SHS-300
- Pioneer DJ Toraiz AS-1
- BOSS DR-01S
- Korg KR-55
- Korg KR-mini
- Korg KAOSS PRO+
- Alesis Harmony 54
- Roland Lucina AX-09
- Nord Modular G2
- Alesis CompactKit 7
- Fred’s Lab Tooro
- Korg Monotron series
- Korg Monotribe
Cheers :)
The Roland TB-3 makes yet another appearance! It must be love...
It has become one of my go to synths. It always delivers. And fast.
As a kid i saved all my money to buy my first synthesizer as an extension for my Clavinova CLP-30 with it‘s mushy FM-Piano-Sound. The MT-32 was the only device i could afford and i suffered all the time about the noisy output (which i directly put into the Clavinova). I was never sure, if the device was broken or if i broke the setup by wrongly connecting everything. When you turned on the reverb in the show i finally thought: ok, it was the crappy device.
To my surprise I didn't find it too noisy. Maybe an impedance thing
This was perfect timing. Just asked in the synth subreddit about gear for recreating that late 80s PC game sound. Between this and your D-110 video, I feel better prepared for the horrors that await me. Awesome video and so much nostalgia!
OMG I missed that you had a sc-55 video too?!
Cool! Don't forget about the U110!
@@AudioPilz Awesome! It's like you checked all the boxes!
This was also used for the Indiana Jones and the fate of Atlantis soundtrack. I loved that game and the music.
Ah, simpler times!!!
I fucking love that throwback on the end
Thanks!
You know you are getting old, when you see these retro game images and think: "That's actually quite advanced graphics". :) Yeah, it sounds a lot like the "D"-range from Roland. Thanks for another entertaining video.
Thanks for watching!
Lol'd at the 'Doom sounds weird on it' comment
That had me rofling too!
My late father gave one 20 years ago, I'm using it everyday, just for gaming now, Emac 1.25, Scummvm and DosBox jit, this is my gaming rig... Wonderful video as always and Hi from France!
Thank you!!!
The episode from 8-but guy about the MT-32 is a must watch. I had always heard about the MT-32 but had never actually seen the hardware myself. When choosing a sound card for computer games in the early 90’s it was always an option, I only had sound blaster card
Love that vid!
@@AudioPilz hell yes 🙌 I’m so glad you saw that as well!!! Rock on 🤘 MT-32
It’s amazing that you always make these horror boxes sound so good!
Thank you!
Excellent video! I am impressed with all of the production work you do for your videos. As for Roland, it is a veritable cornucopia of great, okay and bad synths that keeps on giving.
Thank you!!!
that mk reference
Thank you!!!
We used these at my school in 1990. Very nostalgic watching this
Wow, I wished my school had one of these!
It was a school in NYC called Center For The Media Arts. They had a video class, audio class and a MIDI class. I chose MIDI.
This thing has not aged well, but then a again I haven’t either😕
Even the Mona Lisa is decaying 😀
0:57 i lolled so loud
No Lars Ulrich reference today ;)
I really, REALLY want an extended version of the Monkey Quest Space Commander in the Prehistorik Land of LeChuck's Steel Sky Digital Marble Machine Mockup.
Also: Best TH-cam thumbnail ever. :)
Thanks! There is a full track on Patreon (no plug;)
I bought an MT-32 new way in the past and quickly dug deep into the sysex manual; it's the same engine as the D-50 and just a one-byte difference in the sysex messages (the model ID). The manual indicated the MT-32 would actually accept sysex from the D-50 without that byte change, but I didn't have a D-50 to try it out. I wrote my own sysex patch editor/librarian from scratch. The synth engine has massive capabilities buried behind that sysex wall but packing all that in there at a bargain price meant some sacrifices. The biggest sacrifice is the audio output: it's simply flat and full of noise. It's a sound module that belongs on your bookshelf playing through computer speakers, not on a stage.
👍👍👍
If you think MT32 is impressive, wait until you try JD-990, JV1080, Motif XF, Krome EX, or any modern Roland rompler. Blows the antique stuff like MT32 and D-50/D-05 out of the water, and Zen-core takes it all even further.
Ooooh... The wonderful times when I played the original Monkey Island for the first five times... It was magic! Games nowadays are fun but there was something special about those old gems...
Yeah, instant throwback!
Nothing says Friday like hotdog water on my pants and a new Bad Gear.
bon appetit!!!
I picked up a MT-32 back when I was fixing up my Japanese Sharp X68000 computer. There was a ton of games for that system and the music written for the MT-32 (vs SC-55) was some of the best. Thankfully the X68000 doesn't need an MPU-401.
Didn't know that machine, interesting!
Was on vacation away from the internet the last couple weeks. I love how much “bad gear” there is out there. Now let’s try to get Audiopilz a Prophet-5! 🤣🤣😍
I should visit Alex Ball and try his!
@@AudioPilz That sounds just like the next awesome crossover :-D
Oh jeez the nostalgia is so real. I love this sound so so so much
Classic 80s sounds❤️❤️❤️
I can already tell that you're going to get a lot of unexpected use of that Roland A-01 in this series...
Yup, the swiss army knife with a banana dispenser
Blown away that Casio is not even on that list of frequent suspects. If you haven't done an episode on Casio's last 2 synths they made, around 2012-2014 I believe, The Casio- XW-P1 & XW-G1, then you definitely should (the 2 are essentially the same synth, I think 1 might have had slightly better specs for say an extra 100$ new).Super underrated full sized but yet battery powered plastic beasts. They've got a very powerful & unique arp/ sequencer/ phase looping setup going on. + Some rather complex Synthesis engines+ 9 Drawbar Organ style sliders+there "Hex Synth" engine+ an IPad app for controlling/ programming/& playing+ a super neat little nonslip rubber pad on the top of the synth made for setting the iPad on (or if you don't want to use an iPad, any other FX pedals or gear).
Had the Trackformer on the show, currently searching for the other two. Thanks for the suggestion!
MI2 and AudioPilz content in one package! Jay!
Goes together well!
This was my first digital synth! Ticking no boxes whatsoever
It got a Shakuhachi patch;)
The sound is nice. When I heard the piano it brought me back to 1991.
I really enjoyed the pic of you from a bygone era. It's a good look, perhaps due for a reprise
Thanks!
Going note 0 with neg. p bend is a worthy exploration of this one✌️
I have to try that!
nice one again, some great tracks in there
a friend and I discovered a bunch of the LucasArts and Sierra games on his old Mac LC, finally upgraded to an LC III - we always red bout the MT32 game support and saw the units in Guitar Center - a while later my friend got a Roland JV-30 for his birthday and we used the GM/GS mode of it on Space Quest IV and King's Quest V and man what a difference :-)
the only flaw was that the games wanted to use MT32 mode or sound mode, so when certain sound FX came up the game would substitute some close enough general MID sound for the sound effect - that was odd but the music sounded great
back then a lot of games on PC using SoundBlaster or GUS were pretty crappy sounding when it came to game music but when id, Interplay, or LucasArts ported their big titles to Mac they either leveraged the superior sounding Mac sound engine for the music or they played Red Book CD quality audio straight off the CD-ROM (multi-format) right into the game - great stuff
thanks again
Hey, thanks for watching!
Every boddy seemed to own one of these here in Holland at the time and there where a lot of spin off's later like the soundcanvas and others, so they must have been doing something right.
Multitimbrality of that kind was unheard of back then
i would have never assumed that mr.pilz is a fellow watcher of Civvie11
PLAY THE GAME CIVVIE!!!
Bad Gear video wishlist:
Novation Bass Station 2
Novation Circuit
Moog Minitaur
Moog Sirin
Arturia Microfreak
Korg Volca Keys
Korg Volca FM
Korg Volca Modular
Love the channel, very informative and hilarious.
Thank you, great input!!!
Really enjoying this channel!
Thank you!!!
Was my first external module back in the early 90s! I programmed the snot out of it on my Atari ST. The first song of mine that was released was almost 100% mt-32: K-Lab: Hungarian Wave.
Also, the wolf howl in K-Lab: Midnight was the MT-32
Perfect combination with an ST!
Another case of "The manual: You'll need it, but it won't help much."
So true. It seemed to be outright wrong in this case
Nowadays that seems to be enough for Roland :p
Probably the best Bad Gear vid yet. Thank you Florian, top work. So much cheese and music / gaming nostalgia in one hilarious video.
Thank you!!!
I have been waiting for the MT-32 to appear on here! Loved this one as I am a big game junkie and getting on a bit in age. Keep up the amazing work.
Thanks!
You almost reinvented Vaporwave in your retro game jam. Nice!
Thank you!!!
Nothing to start the weekend like (almost) general midi flashback nightmares
Thanks! Lieutenant Midi!!!
Best track you've made so far! Triplet half-notes with the tonal bells were very tasty!!
Thank you so much!
I really enjoy your videos... Especially when you bring back these great 8 bit memories
Thank you!!!
Now the only thing that remains from the MS-DOS era sound systems is the OPL-2 and 3, with their underutilized features, with the OPL-3's 4 operator mode being rarely utilized besides of some South-Korean demoscene devs at the time.
Those oldschool FM chips were really nice
Several Lucas Arts games use 4-op to some degree. Dark Forces sounds pretty cool, for example.
This was a huge improvement to game music circa 1988. Holy crap @5:50 you got it to sound good. and again at @8:00.
Thank you!!!
The split-second cutaway gags are somehow getting better every time. Not only is that comfy 16-bit Millennium Falcon pretty sweet on its own, but the embedded picture on the right takes it to the next level.
I can only imagine how much time and effort goes into your video editing.
Thank you!!!
My Roland E-20 , I believe uses the same drum samples as the MT-32. Both use the LA synthesis. Love the drum kit.
Wow, had one of these as a teen. I'll take a closer look! Thanks for the input!
How is this sold for $474 on Ebay? What a crime.😋
It's crazy!
“Honey I shrunk the vcr” had me laughing out loud. Great show!
Thanks!
Well done, you actually found a use for the A-01!!
Thanks! Yup, swiss army knife with a banana dispenser😂
Civvie reference in Bad Gear? I knew you were a man of taste! 👌
One of my favorite YT channels!!!
Cheap alternatives are the early Roland E series keyboards. They have a built in MT-32 and can be picked up for around 50-euros.
Nice, I had one of these as a teen
No, no no no no. Lucasfilm Games made monkey island. You monster! :)
Yes!
Isn't it Disney now (like, erm, everything;)?
@@AudioPilz That means Leia is now a Disney princess?!?! The horror, the horror
Guybrush, what are you doing here? 😂
" . . . for having a terrible ui but at least, it has one." :D
that is the classic *bad gear* one-liner i keep coming back for, thanks.
Thanks!
Again a very nice video!
I really like these "history lessons". :D
Have a nice weekend!
Thank you!!!
5:20 I think even making synth sounds with only your mouth is more convenient
It's actually the most convenient way of making synth sounds 😂
The real trick is using my mouth to make _other people_ make synth sounds.
"At least it has one..." 😂
It's kinda tragic😅
80s were the "UI austerity" days.
My band director from city college composed the soundtrack for Leisure Suit Larry 3 and, upon finding that out, that was my first exposure to the MT-32. Pretty huge fan.
Wow, that's some proper education!
"Semper Malum Apparatus" lmao
Always love all the little pics in your video, all your content is so perfect !
Thank you so much!
The one thumbs-down is from the president of the MT-32 Fan Club. Brilliant as always, Florian. You're my production hero.
Thank you!!!
D-110: "At least it has a UI"
...which is indeed atrocious;)
The intro song for Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, was my cellphone ringtone for several years.
I just love the way it sounds.
What a great soundtrack!
Ah. The first piece of music gear I made a moderate living with making backing tapes for pup singers!
Nice, not a bad job!
The Atari ST plus a Roland MT32, what else do you need? Well as it turns out, quite a lot, actually.
I'll have a double espresso please ;)
Cracked Cubase?
@@mrudo8663 lol. Was there any other kind?
@@lairdkilbarchan :) well I was happy back in....2002 or so, that beside a cracked version I also had the Cubase Atari v3.1 in a Box cause with that I got a special price for Cubase SX on PC (crossgrade). I was happy about that box again a year ago cause I sold it for 130€. tbh, I also regret selling it cause it's still a very powerful software even with things like sysex but I don't have the space for an Atari setup.
Didn't the 8-bit Guy do an episode with this unit, on his 8-bit Keys channel?
Yes,He did.
Sure.
@@emuplayers5942 I thought so. He was super excited about it too if I remember right. Love his channel too.
Yup, great video!
@@AudioPilz I just listened to his after this. I think you may have borrowed a sample there! Lol
Ranzee has an excellent channel, is a great technical resource for sure. Is awesome he had a hand in helping with this Bad Gear 👍😎
Absolutely, his videos go so deep!
Awesome final track and Video montage!
Thank you!!!
Wow first time first
I love being one the first people able to comment and suddenly lose the ability to form opinions about anything, so I have nothing.
Nice!
I was just watching some awesome late 80s/early 90s Egyptian Ramadan videos with a friend who's from Jordan, and I was like "I'd bet you top dollar all of this music was done with a Roland MT-32!" I'm not sure if I'm correct, there are so many sound module ROMplers like this, but it had this classic sound and was absolutely incredible.
Doesn't this kind of music mostly require non-western scales?
@@AudioPilz hmmm. Well it was mostly imitations of Western pop from the era (80s and 90s Egypt were pretty different than now!), but there were some Egyptian style tunes as well. I don't remember how much microtonal stuff they were doing.
Another great show dude.
Thanks!
The reference to Rise Of The Triad was just gold. ROTT is probably my favourite classic PC game of all time.
Love that game!
Awesome episode as usual!
Thanks!
Damnit, that evokes some melancholy. I bought that box when it was new, 87-88ish and I think used it well into the 90's. I digitized my old tapes a while ago and the MT-32 is all over it. And gosh was I bad. I mean, Jesus Christ. I should have gotten myself a new hobby :-) I never knew that it could do sysex and that the sounds could be modified extensively, so I was stuck on the factory sounds. I used it mainly with Dr. T's KCS, a sequencer software for Amiga and Atari. Think I used KCS for more than ten years. If you want to review bad software as well... this one's a winner :-)
You should hear my music from the 90s;) Never had an Amiga or Atari back then, very interesting!
SYSEX dumps using Prism in Dos back in the day - We created a library from all the Sierra games like Space Quest... and so on. The patches even worked on the Roland D10 with a little tweaking.
How we discovered this was we accidently left the D10 plugged into the MPU401/joystock port on the soundblaster card and the screen on the D10 lit up with Sierra Games - Space Quest IV on the little LCD screen then ist started playing. We later on progressed to storing the sounds on Voice Crystal Memory Cards which we could plug into the D10 directly for live work.
Great work!!!
Dang, oh wow
Wie immer ein großartiges Video. Congrats.
Danke!
Super Arbeit-danke dafür!
Danke fürs Zuschauen!!!
I am gassing for that Roland D2? I love it’s speak & spell chic.
It's orange!!!
Once again, great video. If we've learned anything at all from this series, it's that there is no such thing as bad gear. Be blessed!
Thank you!!!
After seeing your "Heretic" visual gag, I'm now convinced you have a secret Warhammer 40k channel. I'm going to start by looking for "Bad Minis".
Great stuff as always. Keep up the good work!
Thank you!!!