Hey Phil, you said there is a reset bug that defaults the device to the SC-8820 when it receives a MIDI reset command. Well, if you use the SAVIHost, you can filter out MIDI messages under Plugin/Filters. There check "System reset". That should be a good workaround.
You can avoid all the VST Host and MIDI Loop procedure by using mulord's VST MIDI driver. Works like a charm. You can also use the Yamaha SyXG50 VST synth if you want XG instead of GS sounds.
Oh, just saw that this was posted before. Well then, I'll leave it still for the info with the XG synth. Fans of Final Fantasy 7 will be happy about it. :D
Still working as of today, just getting or buying the canvas VA is a PITA. Since Roland took down all the trial downloads, you either have to sail a bit (there should be plenty of old download links), or navigate their confusing mess of a launcher that is Roland Cloud Manager software to purchase it (there's an option for a lifetime key so you don't need to subscribe just to use this) and download through that. In my case the launcher puts the plugin in c:\PROGRA~1\Vstplugins\Roland\Sound Canvas VA once installed, and Sound Canvas VA.dll is still included as usual. From the looks of it the last update it ever received is Nov 14th 2019. At least the price is now $69.00 instead of like... $109 previously?
@@philscomputerlab Nothing much other than the usual settings of SC-55 with GS module. Some games like DOOM don't seem to differ between GS vs. GM (probably because the original composing uses GM only), but it's pretty noticeable in Duke Nukem 3D for example. I've also tried x68000 version of Gradius II with SC-55 sound module, and it definitely favors SC-55 in GM mode, since the Now Loading soundtrack in GS mode is just... off, to say the least (the timpani are replaced by the sparkling effects, which definitely isn't the case in the official soundtrack release). This is out of my knowledge though. Perhaps the more sound enthusiasts might be able to give more insight on proper settings for this. Though it definitely depends on the game and its soundtracks in question.
Roland's just announced they're discontinuing SCVA in Roland Cloud (though apparently it's already announced in JP 4 days ago). Can't say I'm surprised since they haven't touched the thing since 2019. VST2 being deprecated for awhile now certainly doesn't help. Though if all you need is to emulate SC-55 for the early 90s games, there are already decent emulators for it now, like Nuked SC-55 and emusc (the latter still needs a lot more work).
Great vid, and another great find. Nowadays, I fine with just using soundfonts for my DOS games, but it's always neat to see something like this being made.
I got it fully working in DOSBox, but it doesn't work when I try to play MIDI files in MPC. Luckily I got a workaround by using the Sound Canvas VA VST in FL Studio and I play the MIDI files in FL Studio with that. I still don't know if I like more the SC-55 sounds or the SC-8820, both sound so much different, I like both, but I think I like the SC-8820 more because it sounds more "rich", even better if in the options of the VST I set it as "GM2" instead of "GS", it sounds much better and richer than in GS mode, but since I never heard a real SC-55 or SC-8820, I dunno which is more appropriate for DOS games, although if I must go with what I like more, then it's definitely setting Sound Canvas VA in "GM2" mode and as soundfont using the SC-8820.
Ohhh, my god!! The price is hefty, but it is totally worth it. This is way too cool and I can hook it up to guitar pro. Thanks Phil for introducing me to this wonder, it is going to be a very good part of my little home studio in a few month.
+PhilsComputerLab I'm trying to build a pc you run the Infinity Engine games like Baldurs Gate and Icewind dale etc. What would your opinion be on that?
+PhilsComputerLab I'm trying to build a pc you run the Infinity Engine games like Baldurs Gate and Icewind dale etc. What would your opinion be on that?
+PhilsComputerLab I'm trying to build a pc you run the Infinity Engine games like Baldurs Gate and Icewind dale etc. What would your opinion be on that?
Don't know if it's a recent regression or a misconfiguration on my part, but ScummVM and SCVA don't play nice with General MIDI games. The correct notes are sent to the soft synth, but the decay seems disabled and most instruments are cut short (like the percussions and electric guitars in the intro of Quest for Glory 4). The same software setup (LoopMIDI > VSTHost > SCVA) works perfect in DOSBox. My CM-500 has no problems either.
nice video. now i use loopMIDI and SAVIHost too, to play mid files with vanBasco's Karaoke Player. some midi squenzers are not fully compatible with sound canvas va (for windows only cubase 7 and 8 are) i used cakewalk music creator 7 but gs midi files were played like normal gm files with it because bank and programm changes were not send to the vst properly. (only normal 128 gm sounds were used) with these 2 tools (loopMIDI and SAVIHost) everything is working now :-)
I know it's an old video but, I can't no longer download the free trail nor buy it, it has been replaced with "join" do I have to buy a membership or what is it?
You can purchase the SoundCanvas from retailers like Sweetwater, which offer the permanent license at 24 month financing via Synchrony. No more free trial, sadly.
This is really great Phil! This has got me thinking though. If I get the Serdashop MIDI adapter board, I may be able to run my Dreamblaster X1 in Windows 10 with ScummVM or DOSBox somehow.
Roland Sound Canvas VA: Roland sound for your 25+ year old games for the same price of your entire GOG collection of the games you'd be using it on!! yay.
Hi @PhilsComputerLab, I've been looking into purchasing Sound Canvas VA, but with the move to 'Roland Cloud' these are now only sold by a handful of online retailers as 'lifetime keys', no longer by Roland themselves. Reading up on their new cloud model, it seems like everything needs to be online at least every 30 days to 'renew' the license... is this the case with the VA as well? Have you noticed needing to reactivate or reconnect every once in a while? Seems pretty inconvenient if intending to use this on a dedicated, mostly offline mini-pc... :(
@@philscomputerlab The official reply from Roland support: 'Yes, you'd need to connect to the internet once a month to authorize the plugin.'. Probably not a big issue for most, but I'll be sticking with SF2-files and waiting for EmuSC then...
Great video again Phil and playing with it myself, I only have one major complaint about it so far. Compared to the actual unit, some aspects of it seem a bit off, namely the drums being a bit flat compared to the real unit. As far as Roland SC-55 emulation is concerned... this is the best it has gotten so it is worth looking into.
+SpooferJahk Yes, you have a good ear and observation skills. Check the Vogons thread in the description for more details. Currently it falls back to one of the other units, not SC-55 when receiving a MIDI reset. The way I see it at the moment it's basically a really awesome Roland SoundFont :) In the Vogons threads are some workarounds, but when I did the video this wasn't yet knows I'm afraid.
I have a problem, for me it wont change to sc-55, it always sounds like one of the sc-88 options no matter what i choose, damn and roland expect $115 for a buggy emulator no thanks
Do you have any instructions or a link to get Sound Canvas VA set up properly with MidiPlayer 4.2? Seems that has more appropriate functionality for this purpose, like automatically loading the SC-55 mode of the VSTi on launch without having to configure it each time. Thanks for your awesome guides on getting this stuff set up for some proper emulation. It really has made the process a lot less painful than the alternative of pouring through manuals and forums.
I got a notification about your other post in the MIDI Player video? Did you manage to get it going? I haven't purchased Sound Canvas VA, in the end I found the price quite rich.
Yes, I got it working! Just dont know about many of the options in that program so was hoping someone had a tutorial on what exact things to change or look out for, when using MidiPlayer along with Sound Canvas VA specifically for DOS gaming emulation purposes. Ever since I found your channel you've kinda been my go-to for that kind of stuff so I figure it wouldnt hurt to ask. If you already own SC hardware, I absolutely understand not really wanting to shell out for such an expensive VSTi, the cost is truly quite prohibitive. I think it's been priced that way mainly because of the Japanese enthusiast market, which probably finds the cost much more reasonable than someone just trying to emulate dos game midi. Your videos rock. Thanks!
Thank you for the very helpful video! Which is better for music the MT-32 or the Sound Canvas VA? Im a noob just re-discovering all my old dos games again. Cheers!
Well it depends on the age of the game! Games from late 80s to very early 90s supported the MT-32, but in the 90s more and and more games started supporting General MIDI (Sound Canvas) and MT-32 support was an afterthought. So yea, you really need both 🙂
Thank you for the great tutorial. I am able to get (very nice) MIDI output in Windows ports like GZDoom and Blood: Fresh Supply. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get output from DOSBox, even with the .CONF file edit from your video. Any thoughts?
To be honest, this MIDI stuff can be quite complex to configure. Also the details escape me, I haven't used DOSBox in a long time. There is a command, LISTMIDI I think, it tells you the windows MIDI devices. That's a good starting point to configure DOSBox.
Awesome video as always, Phil. Will this work what that Roland USB to MIDI device? I just finished my own Retro4 in 1 last weekend but right now I've only got a Sound Blaster 16 in it. I want to step up my midi game and deciding the best way to do so.
Hi Phil! Thank you for this great Video. I am testing the VA right now, but found out that the volume output level is way to low. In most games there is a big volume gap between Soundblaster sounds while playing MIDI Music in the backround. Do you have any ideas how to raise the volume?
+PhilsComputerLab Yeah i guess this new version has clearer /native sound! Check my random midi recordings i have made with older Roland VSC from my other channel search - You Spin Me Round (Roland VSC SC-88 pro) I will get and try the limited trial of the new one on my modern machine :D , Thanks for another great video.
I have a bunch of channels for every category, retro gaming, music, modern stuff! (roksoundtracker, roksgames, thriftweeds (that's me, main) :)) and since it's now so much easier to open new channels from the tab with youtube/google+ migration..
FYI, if you are installing Savihost 64 bit edition you need the Visual studio 2008 redistributable files which have many broken links, here is a working link www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=15336
I use the roland sound canvas va plugin. In the plugin itself, I set up the sound in the tone editor, but when I re-enter the project, the settings are reset to default. Moreover, all the knobs that I screwed up are in the same place, but the sound itself is default. What to do, I don't want to adjust the preset every time
I ended up passing on this. I was able to find an SC-55 sound font that was as close as I felt it needed to be (EmperorGriferus 113 MB). I know it isn't exactly the same thing and some people really want full accuracy. I didn't grow up with any of these devices, though-- I was finally able to afford a hand-me-down Sound Blaster 2.0 when I was 20-- so I have no nostalgia for 100% accuracy, and I was trying to build out my MIDI synth emulator for as close to $0 as I could. Roland has also switched to a subscription model, and I just can't see paying for the rest of my life for 100% accuracy when there's a 95% solution readily available. Don't get me wrong, it's a cool offering, but FWIW if I were going to spend real money on this project, I would want real hardware.
Yet, according to Roland: "The Sound Canvas VA is not designed to play Standard MIDI Files. Depending on the data in your music files and how it’s processed with the host application, the mix balance, tone, and timing may vary slightly from the sound of the original hardware."
+RarefoilB There is a new version out, and yes there are some bugs. Best to check the VOGONS thread I linked in the description, it's quite complex all that MIDI stuff :)
I followed all the instructions you gave in your video, I downloaded all the software and installed it, I created the virtual MIDI port and set LoopMIDI to start whenever I turn the computer on, I checked the device ID and according to DOSBox the ID was 1, so that's what I set up in the DOSBox config file for Hocus Pocus. I've set Hocus Pocus to General MIDI, but when I run it, Hocus Pocus is still sending out data to the Microsoft Windows GS synth, I do have SAVIHost running and I can play notes in SAVIHost and I hear sound coming from the sound Canvas plugin. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I've heard there's also another way to map MIDI to various devices and that's using MIDI Mapper, I wonder if I should give that a try. I've only tried with one game so far, I've yet to try this in SCUMMVM.
Only $125US for the full synth package? That is only twice what I paid used for my actual SC-55 at the local pawn shop! :D If only they could realize the entirety of their LA-synthesis line as a VST.. Same for Yamaha with their XG synth line.
+PhilsComputerLab Yeah, read it on the forums (where I found this video at). Still, the price of softsynth is a far greater value than the four GS modules.
I know it's a little late but if you click the ALL button then it only maps the instruments from the selected synth, even if the VST receives a reset signal.
Ay Phil i just tried this Technique with the X68000 emulator XM6 typeG and now the sound is on friggen point especially with the capcom games like daimakaimaru. im using munt for mt-32 and CM-32l/64 sound. Thank you so much for posting this id never had known the difference.
Do they have a Sound Canvas version that can run on Mac Classic or even Mac Power PC? I have an old Sound Canvas emulator version but think it is just for PC.
Thinking of purchasing this for both my retro gaming and experimental music purposes. Does the software have an activation limit on how many machines you can run it on? I assume Roland makes it available as a download with an activation key, but I'd like to know if it will cause any trouble if I possibly will install it on multiple machines at once.
NICE VIDEO. I INSTALLED IT PROPERLY BUT IT TAKES ONLY 10 MINUTES PLAYING. THE TRIAL VERSION EXPIRED. WHAT SHOULD I DO TO MAKE IT RUNNING. TNX IN ADVANCE
I managed to make it work on ScummVM. Although, using ScummVM some midi notes seems to cut short. It is doing it on games like Leisure Suite Larry 6 or King's Quest VI. But if I use DosBox on the same games, all the notes are played correctly. Do you know what could be causing the problem?
The problem I have - it is so damn quiet (only tried ScummVM for now > Windows 10). But its the same with other games as well which use midi output. I also noticed that with other software synths like VirtualMidiSynth.
Found the problem - Some of my ScummVM games which had custom per game-audio settings. After I removed the individual settings, the midi volume was normal. And man, the sound this software produces is great. I checked the registration process of this synth, unfortunately the license appears to be PC bound :/
This has got me thinking.. Windows 10 Tablet (Not RT) + Sound Canvas VA + Roland UM-ONE.. Any similar ideas for making this external with visual interface?
+PhilsComputerLab Yes, the official Roland Sound Canvas VA app is very cool looking but not practical at this point. Heck, if I'm patient enough I can get the actual SC-55 for that price! I noticed they have a $20 iOS app for iPhone 5 and iPad equivalent. If you already have one of those $300-$600 devices you can grab the app and attach the UM-ONE adapter. Pretty sweet!
Great video, as usual :-) Sound Canvas VA Sounds good ! How much CPU does it take? Any native XP games that support General MIDI music ? I wonder if it would work on your windows XP gaming pc ? And Win 98 ? According to Roland, it will not : The Roland website says : SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (WINDOWS) Operating System : Microsoft® Windows® 7 SP1, Microsoft® Windows® 8/8.1, Microsoft® Windows® 10 * This does not work with the Windows® RT., * This does not work with the Windows® Phone., * This does not work on the virtual machines such as Hyper-V, Virtual PC, or Boot Camp. But as this is a VST, maybe you can get it to work on earlier OS, if it makes sense ?
+electrotinkerer I'm thinking more along the lines of using this with a separate, spare, notebook and Roland UM-One USB MIDI adapter. Basically turning this into a MIDI device that you can then plug into a real 486 for the old DOS games. Or just use it with DOSBox and ScummVM like shown in the video. Yea, XP support is getting rarer, good that I'm doing projects on building XP machines :) Not sure about XP games that use General MIDI, but there are likely some older Windows 98 SE games.
Trying to get this to work with System Shock Enhanced Edition from GOG. I installed loopmidi, and the VST host. I see my loop midi sound canvas in the audio menu of the game, but the audio doesn't switch I think. Any ideas?
How accurate it to a real device? is it 100% sounds like real SC-55? I have in my collection Yamaha DB60(actually it's NEC 385 - clone of Yamaha DB60 which I buy after I saw your old video General Midi Roland vs Yamaha on your old TH-cam channel where you show this NEC. It's sounds great and I wanted to thank you for that video :)) and I have Sound Blaster AWE32(CT2950 I think best revision of AWE32 when Sound Card was big like modern high end video cards :)) and bunch of other sound cards but I still haven't Roland SC-55. Today I looked on eBay and there not so much of them so I think to buy Roland SC-55 while I can buy. They costs exact the same 100$ (sometimes shipping costs 50$ too in some countries. So I wonder which best - this Sound Canvas VA or real one?
I've been messing with Sound Canvas VA again.. and for some reason can't get the GOG version of Duke Nukem 3D working with it. It seems to be defaulting to something other than what I specify in actual settings (Sound Canvas) No bits coming thru loopMIDI even. I set the correct midi device in dosbox conf file. Any thoughts?
What about DooM source ports where I can't change midi driver or it's just thereisn't Sound Canvas VA? Cause they play default midi device and in my case it's soundfont in CoolSoft VirtualMidiSynth and because of Windows 10 I can't choose default midi device :)
With SaviHost(64 bit), the { SC-8820 > Ensemble > Jazz Scat } instrument crashes my stuff for some reason. The ones before and after don't, and it also works when I load it as a regular VST instrument in OpenMpt... weird Hope it's just me or that not too many old games use { SC-8820 > Ensemble > Jazz Scat } lol
Oh the Enhanced Edition. In the Tweak Guide video I made, I got it to work with Coolsoft VirtualMIDISynth. This device takes over as default MIDI device, which is something you cannot do with Sound Canvas VA. So System Shock Enhanced must have a setting to tell it what MIDI device to send the music to. Or you can use Vista, there was a MIDI selector tool. Or under XP you can also select the MIDI device.
So would you recommend this versus using VirtualMIDISynth? Is there a sound font that VirtualMIDISynth can use that come pretty close to the SC-55? I wish Roland would come out with a MT-32 emulator. I know there is MUNT but Roaland would make a better emulator I think.
Oh I'm not dismissing it, MUNT is great which is maybe why Roland hasn't done an MT-32 emulator of their own? It is like if you play Super Mario Bros. using most NES emulators, including Nintendo's own, you would not know that the sky is not as blue as it was originally. I personally cannot judge MUNT vs. the real MT-32, maybe someday, but for now, I'm happy with the Dreamblaster and MUNT and now this. Works great! Thanks!
It's one of those things, quite easy when you know how, but hard if you don't. Firstly, the game needs to be configured to use General MIDI. Next you need to tell DOSBox to use the USB MIDI interface that you have the Roland connected to: www.dosbox.com/wiki/Configuration:MIDI
To me this is Roland trying to rip-off retro gamers with a buggy software especially considering that guy from Belgium producing very good MIDI-hardware for half the price.
+armorgeddon I think retro gamers weren't even a consideration for this product. But I hear you, the price is indeed a lot. You mean the Dream Blaster? Yes, what a cool product. Cheaper than most second hand wavetable boards too.
This isn't actually a buggy piece of software. In fact, it's actually one of the most faithful software-based synthezisors out there; not even its direct predessors can properly mimic the original synthesizor. Besides, it's not designed to be used in the manner as described in this video. It is, after all, a VST instrument, something designed more for composing rather than playback. The advantage of this over something like Waveblaster is that you'll get the official sounds. Within the more budget-like options, you'd either have to do with an alternate soundset or make way with a poorly-thought through imitation.
Max Email Roland, themselves, has confirmed the VST to not work with Digital Performer (in other words, "incompatible"). It's right there within the product's description.
Karjam, thank you for your reply but I must correct. On Rolands website it states clearly it was tested with Digital Performer 9 and "works only as an AU." Well, I have been loading it as an AU with no luck!
I use the roland sound canvas va plugin. In the plugin itself, I set up the sound in the tone editor, but when I re-enter the project, the settings are reset to default. Moreover, all the knobs that I screwed up are in the same place, but the sound itself is default. What to do, I don't want to adjust the preset every time
Any video starting off with one of the best sounding tracks ever made for a DOS game is going to be awesome! Privateer!
Hey Phil, you said there is a reset bug that defaults the device to the SC-8820 when it receives a MIDI reset command.
Well, if you use the SAVIHost, you can filter out MIDI messages under Plugin/Filters. There check "System reset".
That should be a good workaround.
I just got this working the Steam Version of X-Wing Collectors CD. Pretty awesome.
100% pure nostalgia! 😢 Excellent video, very very well explained! Congrats and regards from Buenos Aires, Argentina! Gabriel.
You can avoid all the VST Host and MIDI Loop procedure by using mulord's VST MIDI driver. Works like a charm. You can also use the Yamaha SyXG50 VST synth if you want XG instead of GS sounds.
Oh, just saw that this was posted before. Well then, I'll leave it still for the info with the XG synth. Fans of Final Fantasy 7 will be happy about it. :D
Dont work for me, selected the dll, it doesnt appear as a Midi device
I just manged to get the VST to run under Linux, with Dosbox. I had to use Reaper, a full fledged DAW to get it working but I am so glad.
Still working as of today, just getting or buying the canvas VA is a PITA.
Since Roland took down all the trial downloads, you either have to sail a bit (there should be plenty of old download links), or navigate their confusing mess of a launcher that is Roland Cloud Manager software to purchase it (there's an option for a lifetime key so you don't need to subscribe just to use this) and download through that. In my case the launcher puts the plugin in c:\PROGRA~1\Vstplugins\Roland\Sound Canvas VA once installed, and Sound Canvas VA.dll is still included as usual. From the looks of it the last update it ever received is Nov 14th 2019.
At least the price is now $69.00 instead of like... $109 previously?
Thanks for the update, good to see that they dropped the price! Do you know what settings are the best to use?
@@philscomputerlab Nothing much other than the usual settings of SC-55 with GS module. Some games like DOOM don't seem to differ between GS vs. GM (probably because the original composing uses GM only), but it's pretty noticeable in Duke Nukem 3D for example.
I've also tried x68000 version of Gradius II with SC-55 sound module, and it definitely favors SC-55 in GM mode, since the Now Loading soundtrack in GS mode is just... off, to say the least (the timpani are replaced by the sparkling effects, which definitely isn't the case in the official soundtrack release).
This is out of my knowledge though. Perhaps the more sound enthusiasts might be able to give more insight on proper settings for this. Though it definitely depends on the game and its soundtracks in question.
Wait, 1.16 is still the latest version?
This is a fantastic synthesizer. This was also a very good & easy to follow tutorial.
+Enthusicastically Silent Thank you :)
Roland's just announced they're discontinuing SCVA in Roland Cloud (though apparently it's already announced in JP 4 days ago).
Can't say I'm surprised since they haven't touched the thing since 2019. VST2 being deprecated for awhile now certainly doesn't help.
Though if all you need is to emulate SC-55 for the early 90s games, there are already decent emulators for it now, like Nuked SC-55 and emusc (the latter still needs a lot more work).
@@protossshuttle Oh snap. I wonder what that means to existing purchases...
@@philscomputerlab You can still download it if you've got the lifetime key beforehands.
Great vid, and another great find. Nowadays, I fine with just using soundfonts for my DOS games, but it's always neat to see something like this being made.
+Code1D10T Totally, it's good to have another choice :)
I got it fully working in DOSBox, but it doesn't work when I try to play MIDI files in MPC.
Luckily I got a workaround by using the Sound Canvas VA VST in FL Studio and I play the MIDI files in FL Studio with that.
I still don't know if I like more the SC-55 sounds or the SC-8820, both sound so much different, I like both, but I think I like the SC-8820 more because it sounds more "rich", even better if in the options of the VST I set it as "GM2" instead of "GS", it sounds much better and richer than in GS mode, but since I never heard a real SC-55 or SC-8820, I dunno which is more appropriate for DOS games, although if I must go with what I like more, then it's definitely setting Sound Canvas VA in "GM2" mode and as soundfont using the SC-8820.
Ohhh, my god!! The price is hefty, but it is totally worth it. This is way too cool and I can hook it up to guitar pro. Thanks Phil for introducing me to this wonder, it is going to be a very good part of my little home studio in a few month.
+feamatar Thanks for the feedback!
I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL! AMAZING STUFF ON HERE!!
+andrewgeg1 Thank you, means a lot to me!
+PhilsComputerLab I'm trying to build a pc you run the Infinity Engine games like Baldurs Gate and Icewind dale etc. What would your opinion be on that?
+PhilsComputerLab I'm trying to build a pc you run the Infinity Engine games like Baldurs Gate and Icewind dale etc. What would your opinion be on that?
+PhilsComputerLab I'm trying to build a pc you run the Infinity Engine games like Baldurs Gate and Icewind dale etc. What would your opinion be on that?
Thanks for this Video, helped me very much. Doom with the SC-55 Music is just awesome.
the latest Version 1.1.6 sounds absolutely incredible
Don't know if it's a recent regression or a misconfiguration on my part, but ScummVM and SCVA don't play nice with General MIDI games. The correct notes are sent to the soft synth, but the decay seems disabled and most instruments are cut short (like the percussions and electric guitars in the intro of Quest for Glory 4).
The same software setup (LoopMIDI > VSTHost > SCVA) works perfect in DOSBox. My CM-500 has no problems either.
nice video.
now i use loopMIDI and SAVIHost too, to play mid files with vanBasco's Karaoke Player.
some midi squenzers are not fully compatible with sound canvas va
(for windows only cubase 7 and 8 are)
i used cakewalk music creator 7 but gs midi files were played like normal gm files with it because bank and programm changes were not send to the vst properly.
(only normal 128 gm sounds were used)
with these 2 tools (loopMIDI and SAVIHost) everything is working now :-)
+Peter Lohmann Very nice. You know a lot more about this than I do, I just use it to make old games sound nicer :)
I know it's an old video but, I can't no longer download the free trail nor buy it, it has been replaced with "join" do I have to buy a membership or what is it?
You can purchase the SoundCanvas from retailers like Sweetwater, which offer the permanent license at 24 month financing via Synchrony. No more free trial, sadly.
This is really great Phil! This has got me thinking though. If I get the Serdashop MIDI adapter board, I may be able to run my Dreamblaster X1 in Windows 10 with ScummVM or DOSBox somehow.
+AshtonColeman Yes, absolutely! I'm trying to send you a message through YT, but not having much luck.
YOU ROCK!!! Thank you so much for this video!
Thank you!
Many thanks ! It works perfectly !
Roland Sound Canvas VA: Roland sound for your 25+ year old games for the same price of your entire GOG collection of the games you'd be using it on!! yay.
It sounds nice. The going rate for a sound canvas device in the Netherlands is about 50 euro. seeing a real SC playing.. It just has something :-)
Hi @PhilsComputerLab, I've been looking into purchasing Sound Canvas VA, but with the move to 'Roland Cloud' these are now only sold by a handful of online retailers as 'lifetime keys', no longer by Roland themselves. Reading up on their new cloud model, it seems like everything needs to be online at least every 30 days to 'renew' the license... is this the case with the VA as well? Have you noticed needing to reactivate or reconnect every once in a while? Seems pretty inconvenient if intending to use this on a dedicated, mostly offline mini-pc... :(
Well my computer is always online, so no I haven't realised this...
@@philscomputerlab I'll check with Roland and see what they come back with.
@@philscomputerlab The official reply from Roland support: 'Yes, you'd need to connect to the internet once a month to authorize the plugin.'. Probably not a big issue for most, but I'll be sticking with SF2-files and waiting for EmuSC then...
Wonderful ... Thank you so much ..
Great video again Phil and playing with it myself, I only have one major complaint about it so far. Compared to the actual unit, some aspects of it seem a bit off, namely the drums being a bit flat compared to the real unit. As far as Roland SC-55 emulation is concerned... this is the best it has gotten so it is worth looking into.
+SpooferJahk Yes, you have a good ear and observation skills. Check the Vogons thread in the description for more details. Currently it falls back to one of the other units, not SC-55 when receiving a MIDI reset. The way I see it at the moment it's basically a really awesome Roland SoundFont :) In the Vogons threads are some workarounds, but when I did the video this wasn't yet knows I'm afraid.
Hey, Phil! Is there anyway of saving the config so Sound Canvas VA stays in SC-55 across reboots?
I'm not sure, I admit I haven't uses this software since doing the video as I have a real Sound Canvas.
Thank you so much! This works too with the emulator of Sharp x68000: XM6
I have a problem, for me it wont change to sc-55, it always sounds like one of the sc-88 options no matter what i choose, damn and roland expect $115 for a buggy emulator no thanks
+RHGames That's a known bug, unfortunately. Check this thread for some possible solutions: www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=46111&start=20
115 is bullshit you can get an oringinal one for 130 to 170
Do you have any instructions or a link to get Sound Canvas VA set up properly with MidiPlayer 4.2? Seems that has more appropriate functionality for this purpose, like automatically loading the SC-55 mode of the VSTi on launch without having to configure it each time.
Thanks for your awesome guides on getting this stuff set up for some proper emulation. It really has made the process a lot less painful than the alternative of pouring through manuals and forums.
I got a notification about your other post in the MIDI Player video? Did you manage to get it going? I haven't purchased Sound Canvas VA, in the end I found the price quite rich.
Yes, I got it working! Just dont know about many of the options in that program so was hoping someone had a tutorial on what exact things to change or look out for, when using MidiPlayer along with Sound Canvas VA specifically for DOS gaming emulation purposes. Ever since I found your channel you've kinda been my go-to for that kind of stuff so I figure it wouldnt hurt to ask.
If you already own SC hardware, I absolutely understand not really wanting to shell out for such an expensive VSTi, the cost is truly quite prohibitive. I think it's been priced that way mainly because of the Japanese enthusiast market, which probably finds the cost much more reasonable than someone just trying to emulate dos game midi.
Your videos rock. Thanks!
@@MordecaiWalfish the seven seas can help if you flow that way
Will you keep us up to date in case a fix arrives for the MIDI reset? This definitely went straight on my to-buy list, but gonna wait a bit and see.
+HaraDaya Best to check the thread linked in Vogons. A switched on user has found a workaround but also provided a lot more information.
Thank you for the very helpful video! Which is better for music the MT-32 or the Sound Canvas VA? Im a noob just re-discovering all my old dos games again. Cheers!
Well it depends on the age of the game! Games from late 80s to very early 90s supported the MT-32, but in the 90s more and and more games started supporting General MIDI (Sound Canvas) and MT-32 support was an afterthought. So yea, you really need both 🙂
Well, it seems that installing CoolSoft MIDI Mapper got it going in DOSBox for me, Rise Of The Triad never sounded better.
Glad you got it sorted!
Can you use it on a win98se machine?
Thank you for the great tutorial. I am able to get (very nice) MIDI output in Windows ports like GZDoom and Blood: Fresh Supply. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get output from DOSBox, even with the .CONF file edit from your video. Any thoughts?
To be honest, this MIDI stuff can be quite complex to configure. Also the details escape me, I haven't used DOSBox in a long time. There is a command, LISTMIDI I think, it tells you the windows MIDI devices. That's a good starting point to configure DOSBox.
Awesome video as always, Phil. Will this work what that Roland USB to MIDI device? I just finished my own Retro4 in 1 last weekend but right now I've only got a Sound Blaster 16 in it. I want to step up my midi game and deciding the best way to do so.
+opticburn Yes it will. So you can run Sound Canvas VA on a desktop or notebook and hook up a retro PC with the Roland UM-One MK II :)
Hi Phil! Thank you for this great Video. I am testing the VA right now, but found out that the volume output level is way to low. In most games there is a big volume gap between Soundblaster sounds while playing MIDI Music in the backround. Do you have any ideas how to raise the volume?
+CromlechDE What you can do is lower the Sound Blaster level. You can do this through the Windows volume icon, or set the volume in DOSBox.
I have been using an older Roland Virtual Sound Canvas software (v3.2) for ages now it also works with W95/98, XP and on Pentium III and DOSbox too :D
+Guybrush Threepwood Yes but it doesn't sound that good, or what do you think?
+PhilsComputerLab Yeah i guess this new version has clearer /native sound! Check my random midi recordings i have made with older Roland VSC from my other channel search - You Spin Me Round (Roland VSC SC-88 pro) I will get and try the limited trial of the new one on my modern machine :D , Thanks for another great video.
RockSoundTracker :) How come you have a second channel?
I have a bunch of channels for every category, retro gaming, music, modern stuff! (roksoundtracker, roksgames, thriftweeds (that's me, main) :)) and since it's now so much easier to open new channels from the tab with youtube/google+ migration..
I see, good to know.
FYI, if you are installing Savihost 64 bit edition you need the Visual studio 2008 redistributable files which have many broken links, here is a working link www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=15336
I use the roland sound canvas va plugin. In the plugin itself, I set up the sound in the tone editor, but when I re-enter the project, the settings are reset to default. Moreover, all the knobs that I screwed up are in the same place, but the sound itself is default. What to do, I don't want to adjust the preset every time
Thanks for this guide. But is there any way to force dosbox to output sound blaster music to the sound canvas?
does it with with windows 98 or me
psychoticgiraffe No
It does not work with Windows XP and below
But it does work in wine emulation in Linux
Thank You for this tutorial!
+Roberto Fleury No problem!
I ended up passing on this. I was able to find an SC-55 sound font that was as close as I felt it needed to be (EmperorGriferus 113 MB). I know it isn't exactly the same thing and some people really want full accuracy. I didn't grow up with any of these devices, though-- I was finally able to afford a hand-me-down Sound Blaster 2.0 when I was 20-- so I have no nostalgia for 100% accuracy, and I was trying to build out my MIDI synth emulator for as close to $0 as I could. Roland has also switched to a subscription model, and I just can't see paying for the rest of my life for 100% accuracy when there's a 95% solution readily available. Don't get me wrong, it's a cool offering, but FWIW if I were going to spend real money on this project, I would want real hardware.
I use the Sound Canvas VA as a Plugin instrument on my DAW, You can get it for free as well
th-cam.com/video/t0t6V3yQrs4/w-d-xo.html
Yet, according to Roland: "The Sound Canvas VA is not designed to play Standard MIDI Files. Depending on the data in your music files and how it’s processed with the host application, the mix balance, tone, and timing may vary slightly from the sound of the original hardware."
+Ryusennin Yes. I think best is to think of this as a SoundFont from Roland. It definitely has that Roland sound and IMO it sound amazing.
Doom 2 seems to be missing that classic RSC guitar in your video. Is that something that can be fixed via tinkering with Sound Canvas VA?
+RarefoilB There is a new version out, and yes there are some bugs. Best to check the VOGONS thread I linked in the description, it's quite complex all that MIDI stuff :)
I followed all the instructions you gave in your video, I downloaded all the software and installed it, I created the virtual MIDI port and set LoopMIDI to start whenever I turn the computer on, I checked the device ID and according to DOSBox the ID was 1, so that's what I set up in the DOSBox config file for Hocus Pocus. I've set Hocus Pocus to General MIDI, but when I run it, Hocus Pocus is still sending out data to the Microsoft Windows GS synth, I do have SAVIHost running and I can play notes in SAVIHost and I hear sound coming from the sound Canvas plugin. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I've heard there's also another way to map MIDI to various devices and that's using MIDI Mapper, I wonder if I should give that a try. I've only tried with one game so far, I've yet to try this in SCUMMVM.
Hello Phil. Does this roland sound canvas va has a midi to mp3 converter?
Only $125US for the full synth package? That is only twice what I paid used for my actual SC-55 at the local pawn shop! :D If only they could realize the entirety of their LA-synthesis line as a VST.. Same for Yamaha with their XG synth line.
+NightSprinter Yea fair enough. At now there is a bug too. When a DOS game sends a reset, it resets into SC-8820, doesn't stay in SC-55 mode.
+PhilsComputerLab Yeah, read it on the forums (where I found this video at). Still, the price of softsynth is a far greater value than the four GS modules.
I know it's a little late but if you click the ALL button then it only maps the instruments from the selected synth, even if the VST receives a reset signal.
Are you sure those loopmidi and savihost programs you downloaded are safe to use on Windows operating systems
This is awesome!! You've just been subbed sir.
Ay Phil i just tried this Technique with the X68000 emulator XM6 typeG and now the sound is on friggen point especially with the capcom games like daimakaimaru. im using munt for mt-32 and CM-32l/64 sound. Thank you so much for posting this id never had known the difference.
That's awesome :D
Is it possible that the product is now no longer available as standalone version and you have to subscribe to the Roland Cloud service?
I use the Sound Canvas VA as a Plugin instrument on my DAW, You can get it for free as well
th-cam.com/video/t0t6V3yQrs4/w-d-xo.html
I really miss the point and click adventure games!
There are actually still modern games released on a regular bases!
Do they have a Sound Canvas version that can run on Mac Classic or even Mac Power PC?
I have an old Sound Canvas emulator version but think it is just for PC.
Thinking of purchasing this for both my retro gaming and experimental music purposes. Does the software have an activation limit on how many machines you can run it on? I assume Roland makes it available as a download with an activation key, but I'd like to know if it will cause any trouble if I possibly will install it on multiple machines at once.
Best to ask Roland I only used the trial version.
NICE VIDEO. I INSTALLED IT PROPERLY BUT IT TAKES ONLY 10 MINUTES PLAYING. THE TRIAL VERSION EXPIRED. WHAT SHOULD I DO TO MAKE IT RUNNING. TNX IN ADVANCE
Buy full version!
i want one sooo badly! where can i find one? it has put a big smile 2 my face :D
Herman Seib's VSTHost is powerful tool for MIDI enthusiast and is free :-)
I use it with Yamaha XG - at least have no time limitation ;-)
hey man ! is this better than VirtualMIDISynth
I managed to make it work on ScummVM. Although, using ScummVM some midi notes seems to cut short. It is doing it on games like Leisure Suite Larry 6 or King's Quest VI. But if I use DosBox on the same games, all the notes are played correctly. Do you know what could be causing the problem?
I am trying to build a pc to run the Infinity Engine games like Baldurs Gate and Icewind Dale and Arcanum etc. what would be your opinion.
Hi Phil! Could i hook my computer with sound canvas va installed, with my mister fpga? All two are usb...
Thank you!
The problem I have - it is so damn quiet (only tried ScummVM for now > Windows 10). But its the same with other games as well which use midi output. I also noticed that with other software synths like VirtualMidiSynth.
Found the problem - Some of my ScummVM games which had custom per game-audio settings. After I removed the individual settings, the midi volume was normal. And man, the sound this software produces is great. I checked the registration process of this synth, unfortunately the license appears to be PC bound :/
Great that you got it sorted out :)
Wyrm Talk PC bound? Come on, Roland!
This has got me thinking.. Windows 10 Tablet (Not RT) + Sound Canvas VA + Roland UM-ONE.. Any similar ideas for making this external with visual interface?
+simbin Check my video "Roland MT-32 for $50" or something like that. I use a second PC as a MIDI box to connect to a DOS retro gaming PC.
+PhilsComputerLab Yes, the official Roland Sound Canvas VA app is very cool looking but not practical at this point. Heck, if I'm patient enough I can get the actual SC-55 for that price! I noticed they have a $20 iOS app for iPhone 5 and iPad equivalent. If you already have one of those $300-$600 devices you can grab the app and attach the UM-ONE adapter. Pretty sweet!
Is there way there to do with old games threw stream?
Great video, as usual :-) Sound Canvas VA Sounds good !
How much CPU does it take? Any native XP games that support General MIDI music ?
I wonder if it would work on your windows XP gaming pc ? And Win 98 ?
According to Roland, it will not : The Roland website says :
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (WINDOWS) Operating System :
Microsoft® Windows® 7 SP1, Microsoft® Windows® 8/8.1, Microsoft® Windows® 10
* This does not work with the Windows® RT., * This does not work with the Windows® Phone., * This does not work on the virtual machines such as Hyper-V, Virtual PC, or Boot Camp.
But as this is a VST, maybe you can get it to work on earlier OS, if it makes sense ?
+electrotinkerer I'm thinking more along the lines of using this with a separate, spare, notebook and Roland UM-One USB MIDI adapter. Basically turning this into a MIDI device that you can then plug into a real 486 for the old DOS games.
Or just use it with DOSBox and ScummVM like shown in the video. Yea, XP support is getting rarer, good that I'm doing projects on building XP machines :)
Not sure about XP games that use General MIDI, but there are likely some older Windows 98 SE games.
***** Not sure how this is relevant :) The games I demonstrated ARE from the DOS era.
@@philscomputerlab Seihou
Great content!
+Necr0manceR Thank you :)
0:02 Music Name???
Trying to get this to work with System Shock Enhanced Edition from GOG. I installed loopmidi, and the VST host. I see my loop midi sound canvas in the audio menu of the game, but the audio doesn't switch I think. Any ideas?
Use CoolSoft MIDIMapper. This will change what device 0 points to
Hi thanks forthe help..my question is that , Can i play Midi files with this software?
Use something like Falcosoft MIDI Player to play MIDI files to Sound Canvas VA.
How accurate it to a real device? is it 100% sounds like real SC-55? I have in my collection Yamaha DB60(actually it's NEC 385 - clone of Yamaha DB60 which I buy after I saw your old video General Midi Roland vs Yamaha on your old TH-cam channel where you show this NEC. It's sounds great and I wanted to thank you for that video :)) and I have Sound Blaster AWE32(CT2950 I think best revision of AWE32 when Sound Card was big like modern high end video cards :)) and bunch of other sound cards but I still haven't Roland SC-55. Today I looked on eBay and there not so much of them so I think to buy Roland SC-55 while I can buy. They costs exact the same 100$ (sometimes shipping costs 50$ too in some countries. So I wonder which best - this Sound Canvas VA or real one?
it's not that accurate to the sc-55, but that's because SCVA emulates the sc-8820, and the sc-8820's sc-55 map isn't accurate.
cosa this work with JACKserver?
I've been messing with Sound Canvas VA again.. and for some reason can't
get the GOG version of Duke Nukem 3D working with it. It seems to be
defaulting to something other than what I specify in actual settings
(Sound Canvas) No bits coming thru loopMIDI even. I set the correct midi
device in dosbox conf file. Any thoughts?
+simbin Check, or post here, the parts of the config file to do with MIDI, I'll take a look.
+PhilsComputerLab Thanks. It was definitely something in the config file. I just renamed my Doom config file and I'm using that without issue.
Nice :)
I know of some GOG games that don't have the word MIDICONFIG in the config file. It's an easy fix though.
+PhilsComputerLab You're right. Comparing the config files, I just needed to add "midi" in front of "device=default" and "config=1"
Why you dont use the SC-55 package by eduke32 / HRP ? They're recorded from the real device.
Nice video!
How can I set up the MT-32 mode in Sound Canvas VA?
Patricio Aumedes download scmode.exe and run it in dosbox
...if you are looking mt32 it is best you go for munt
What about DooM source ports where I can't change midi driver or it's just thereisn't Sound Canvas VA? Cause they play default midi device and in my case it's soundfont in CoolSoft VirtualMidiSynth and because of Windows 10 I can't choose default midi device :)
+mr3dx Contact the author to implement this feature. Microsoft has changed this, so that developers need to include this functionality.
Thanks!
where can we donload de programs?
Buy from Roland site.
What was the song at the start of the video?
+Enverex That is from the DOS game privateer. I believe when you land on an agricultural base.
With SaviHost(64 bit), the { SC-8820 > Ensemble > Jazz Scat } instrument crashes my stuff for some reason. The ones before and after don't, and it also works when I load it as a regular VST instrument in OpenMpt... weird
Hope it's just me or that not too many old games use { SC-8820 > Ensemble > Jazz Scat } lol
'sup, me again. I tried on a stronger laptop and it doesn't crash anymore on the Ensemble > Jazz Scat. Same version of SaviHost and everything
How am I just finding out about this now? Would love to try this on my Dosbox setup... $125 😱
The price for the SoundCanvas VA has been halved recently. Not too bad.
@@Wourghk half is not bad but not good ether...
I've also discovered usb to midi is a thing. So I might try to find and actual midi device
How do you get System Shock Enhanced edition to work with this?
+fossilfern Just like any DOSBox game. Configure the game to use General MIDI, configure DOSBox to use Sound Canvas VA.
PhilsComputerLab is the Enhanced Edition not some sort of source port? Im guessing the only way to get it to work is to use the DOS original ?
Oh the Enhanced Edition. In the Tweak Guide video I made, I got it to work with Coolsoft VirtualMIDISynth. This device takes over as default MIDI device, which is something you cannot do with Sound Canvas VA. So System Shock Enhanced must have a setting to tell it what MIDI device to send the music to. Or you can use Vista, there was a MIDI selector tool. Or under XP you can also select the MIDI device.
Any version that doesn’t require a ****ing monthly/annual subscription to Roland’s cloud service?
You can buy a life key for any Roland Cloud VST instrument.
@@LittleRichard1988 that still requires a sub. I don’t want a sub/service. I want software I can ****ing OWN!
Strange, SAVIHost gives me an error stating its side-by-side configuration is incorrect. Am I doing something wrong?
+NightSprinter Forgot to mention it's the x64 version that gives the error. The x86 one is fine.
www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=2092
@@death2all79zx Thanks! This helped a lot!
does this work with windows games?
no.
So would you recommend this versus using VirtualMIDISynth? Is there a sound font that VirtualMIDISynth can use that come pretty close to the SC-55? I wish Roland would come out with a MT-32 emulator. I know there is MUNT but Roaland would make a better emulator I think.
Not at all. You can load ANY SoundFont with VirtualMIDISynth. Munt is pretty much perfect, you should use it before dismissing it like that.
Oh I'm not dismissing it, MUNT is great which is maybe why Roland hasn't done an MT-32 emulator of their own? It is like if you play Super Mario Bros. using most NES emulators, including Nintendo's own, you would not know that the sky is not as blue as it was originally. I personally cannot judge MUNT vs. the real MT-32, maybe someday, but for now, I'm happy with the Dreamblaster and MUNT and now this. Works great! Thanks!
I can't figure out for the life of me how I can have DOSbox setup to play the games midi to my Roland sk88
It's one of those things, quite easy when you know how, but hard if you don't. Firstly, the game needs to be configured to use General MIDI. Next you need to tell DOSBox to use the USB MIDI interface that you have the Roland connected to: www.dosbox.com/wiki/Configuration:MIDI
@@philscomputerlab got it working, thanks man 👍
@@koinpusher Awesome
It's too quiet for the games I play
I want to play touhou 2 and 6 with Sound Canvas VA but it's too quiet
with nukem and doom games u will need coolsoft midimapper
I downloaded the trial and it never stops playing xD
*Is it still working now?*
cool! that does not suck at all :)
lets all see if these sound fonts etc can improve these wavesynths formats
grazie
It has been removed :(
When you try to download it you get 404 message , Anyone having any luck was hoping there was a torrent but there is nothing.
+Michelle L What has been removed? From the Roland site? Still works for me.
PhilsComputerLab I well check again i keep getting file removed.
th-cam.com/video/cDPCf_LdYnI/w-d-xo.html The previous version 3.2.x of Sound Canvas archived and reviewed.
+8bitguy, have you seen this?
I found this to be totally incompatible with Digital Performer, on multiple computers and multiple versions of DP. Sucks!
To me this is Roland trying to rip-off retro gamers with a buggy software especially considering that guy from Belgium producing very good MIDI-hardware for half the price.
+armorgeddon I think retro gamers weren't even a consideration for this product. But I hear you, the price is indeed a lot. You mean the Dream Blaster? Yes, what a cool product. Cheaper than most second hand wavetable boards too.
This isn't actually a buggy piece of software. In fact, it's actually one of the most faithful software-based synthezisors out there; not even its direct predessors can properly mimic the original synthesizor. Besides, it's not designed to be used in the manner as described in this video. It is, after all, a VST instrument, something designed more for composing rather than playback.
The advantage of this over something like Waveblaster is that you'll get the official sounds. Within the more budget-like options, you'd either have to do with an alternate soundset or make way with a poorly-thought through imitation.
Its super buggy on Digital Performer. Unplayable in fact.
Max Email
Roland, themselves, has confirmed the VST to not work with Digital Performer (in other words, "incompatible"). It's right there within the product's description.
Karjam, thank you for your reply but I must correct. On Rolands website it states clearly it was tested with Digital Performer 9 and "works only as an AU." Well, I have been loading it as an AU with no luck!
I use the roland sound canvas va plugin. In the plugin itself, I set up the sound in the tone editor, but when I re-enter the project, the settings are reset to default. Moreover, all the knobs that I screwed up are in the same place, but the sound itself is default. What to do, I don't want to adjust the preset every time