Tempest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 I have a few questions about the Roland MT-32. 1. What Atari ST games supported the Roland MT-32? I see there are a handful of Sierra titles that did, but is that all? 2. How did you hook one up to an Atari ST? I see them all the time on ebay, but I don't see how they interface with the ST. 3. Does the MT-32 work on an Mega STE? I thought the STE series already had increased sound capabilities, would the MT-32 make those better or worse? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 I'm sure someone with more knowledge will know better. But the MT-32 has standard MIDI in and out connectors on it. So if the ST has an MIDI out plug, you could simply connect the MT-32 off that and all the code would passthrough the ST and into the MT-32. Then the MT-32 would of course be connected to your external sound source to deliver the sound. And since I have seen people with IBM PCs connected to MT-32s...I have to assume the MT-32 has some sort of serial bus type connection as well? I honestly can't answer with certianty as I had/have a LAPC-1 installed in an old P1 based system. That connects internally using any 8-bit ISA slot. As for games that used the MT-32. I can only state, that Sierra, Activision, Interplay and a small group of others were among the first to use the MT-32 modules for gaming. Ahh..LucasArts was another... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarian1 Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Ah yes. I still have my MT-32. Now that you've mentioned it, it's time to play. But first... 1. I'm pretty sure the Sierra games that used the SCI interpreter were the only games on the ST that exclusively used the MT-32 to its fullest. I remember gaming magazines pointing out that while the PC version of a game supported the MT-32, the ST version did not, yet the ST has a built in MIDI port already. I hated that! I wanted the cool music that comes out of the PC version via the MT-32 instead of the crappy ST soundchip! 2. Just connect the MIDI OUT of the ST to the MIDI IN of the MT-32. That's it! Too easy. The Sierra games will configure the MT-32 itself when the games load. Oh, be sure the hook up the audio outs to your ghetto-blaster. (especially my fav - the Police Quest 2 intro tune ) 3. Yes, the MT-32 is just a standard MIDI synthesizer module, so it can hook up to any computer with a MIDI interface (all STs have them built-in ). To take advantage of the STE sound, Sierra would have had to program a new sound system into their SCI interpreter. This would be time consuming, costly and may take up too much of the system resources to implement. The SCI interpreter is why ST versions of Sierra games came out. The data files for all the games were interchangable as long as you have the SCI interpreter. So it's a matter of sticking in an ST reference manual, ST floppy disks, and an ST system requirements sticker on the box - there, instant ST version of a Sierra game! Sierra did the same for other platforms too (Mac, Amiga, etc). The MT-32 didn't have a serial port. All communication was through MIDI. I have a few questions about the Roland MT-32. 1. What Atari ST games supported the Roland MT-32? I see there are a handful of Sierra titles that did, but is that all? 2. How did you hook one up to an Atari ST? I see them all the time on ebay, but I don't see how they interface with the ST. 3. Does the MT-32 work on an Mega STE? I thought the STE series already had increased sound capabilities, would the MT-32 make those better or worse? Tempest 973612[/snapback] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted November 30, 2005 Author Share Posted November 30, 2005 So something like this would work? http://cgi.ebay.com/Roland-MT-32-Sound-Mod...1QQcmdZViewItem Which Sierra games used the SCI interperter? All the ST versions? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 As long as you got MIDI cables to connect to the MT32 from the ST's MIDI out your good to go. The MT-32 wasn't built for specific computers. The entire MIDI format is a standard that is for the most part shared for all computer systems. So the MIDI music code going into the MT-32 would be the same whether it was coming from an IBM, Amiga, Mac, or Atari... As for those listed in your auction Matt...the first link comes up and seems to be fine minus the fact there aren't any cables with it. The MT-32 has audio out on it so connect to standard audiophile equipment. So again, besides power, the only other cable you need is a MIDI cable to go from the ST's MIDI out to the MT-32's MIDI in. This is all knowledge from what I remember about the MT-32 from 20 years ago...but should be accurate..heh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted November 30, 2005 Author Share Posted November 30, 2005 Are MIDI Cables expensive? I assume they're still easy to find. I wonder if any other ST games are able to use the MT-32? It could be interesting to find out. EDIT: Second link fixed. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 I actually don't know how much MIDI cables run these days. You can get them from just about any Music store I would assume since Keyboards of any real professional use will likely have MIDI cables. Sometimes they were included with the Keyboard but I'm sure they can still be had separately. I even found a place once not all that long ago (6months of so) that still sold the original MIDI cable for the older SB16 and SB AWE 32 cards?! Those were special cables since they used the sound cards joystick port to run the MIDI signals through. The other end had the standard size DIN MIDI IN and MIDI OUT for connecting to keyboards and sound modules like the MT-32. BTW...second link still doesn't work for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junosix Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 As far as I know, Delphine's graphic adventures did too. Fairly confident that at least Operation Stealth and Cruise for a Corpse has specific MT32 code in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmutzpuppe Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 The MT-32 wasn't build for computer games but a lot of (PC) games supported it. Some where really brilliant I just remeber Heart of China or Monkey Island. The MT-32 was very often supported by Sierra, Dynamix and Origin. It was build before the GM standard so the sound banks where specific. The "better" music track programmed their own sound (the MT had LA Synthesis). At a time with speaker sound or in best case adlib theMT-32 was the holy grail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarian1 Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 (edited) Tempest, The MT-32 you have linked looks fine to me. You just need a MIDI cable. The best place to get them are professional music stores like Guitar Center (look in your local yellow pages under Music). I think any brand of MIDI cable should be fine, but if you can spend a few extra $$, you might want to get a premium cable that has all five pins seperately wired. They usually have silver metal plugs instead of cheap plastic plugs like these: Rapco 5-pin wired cables - the QPM and MF series The reason is that Atari cut costs by combining the MIDI OUT and THRU into the OUT port. This might cause some communication problems between the ST and some synths out there (like the Casio CZ101 and Yamaha DX100), but I don't believe the MT-32 was affected by this. Just in case I guess. The later and last Sierra games used the SCI interpreter. Off the top of my head, they are: Kings Quest IV Police Quest II Space Quest III Leisure Suit Larry 2 and 3 Hero's Quest Colonel's Bequest Conquests of Camelot Hoyle's Book of Games 1 and 2 Codename: Iceman Hmm. I think that's it. Another great thing about these games is that they are hard disk installable and not copy protected. I strongly recommend a hard disk as you will wonder how you lived without it. The games are huge by ST standards (3-4 double sided floppies), so they take forever to load by floppy. Enjoy! Edited December 1, 2005 by atarian1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serblander Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Excellent read! Thanks guys. I was thinking of getting one myself to try out with the Sierra games i have. Can someone provide a list of all known games that are confirmed to support it? Now for the search of an actual Roland MT-32. I wonder if they were ever released in Australia... Btw, what is the power source like? Is it built in (like the ST) with a single cable, or does it have an external power source? I'm curious to see if i could import one if i find it for cheap from International eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krupkaj Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 It has external power source. I think it needs 9V/800mA, but have to check it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeun Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Pirates! would send game music to any available midi device as well. I seem to recall the game would crash if you were sending the music to a midi keyboard and happened to hit one of its keys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jens Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Pirates! would listen to the midi port and crash when receiving data? Would be interesting with a DX7 attached to the midi setup, as it sends data all the time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightSprinter Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I know that Bombjack also sends music out via MIDI, which is wierd because it plays music from whatever MIDI device in addition to to the PSG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggn Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 As far as I know, Delphine's graphic adventures did too. Fairly confident that at least Operation Stealth and Cruise for a Corpse has specific MT32 code in. You can grab Cruise for a corpse here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I seem to remember the Karate Kid also supported midi music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CyranoJ Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Sapiens has really cool MIDI music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogma Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Finally picked up a Roland MT-32 for my ST... Paid $20 + shipping and it is complete and in the original box. Looking forward to getting it all up and running soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Finally picked up a Roland MT-32 for my ST... Paid $20 + shipping and it is complete and in the original box. Looking forward to getting it all up and running soon! I'd like to get a setup just to hear some of the games that use it. Do any of the soundtrackers/music players output to these devices? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatta Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Wow, that's a great price for an MT/32. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+rdemming Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Finally picked up a Roland MT-32 for my ST... Paid $20 + shipping and it is complete and in the original box. Looking forward to getting it all up and running soon! I'd like to get a setup just to hear some of the games that use it. Do any of the soundtrackers/music players output to these devices? SoundTrackers use digital samples and as far as I know there is none that will have midi output because using midi instruments will sound completely different than the original digital samples. But some trackers like Audio Sculpture (I think also Quartet and some chip composers) support midi as input so you can play the note on a keyboard to compose a tracker song. Non-tracker software like Music Construction Kit (and probably Music Studio) output midi but those are not digital trackers and not focused on creating the best AY music. There are quite a few games that output midi like the Siera adventures and Paradox games (Bomb Jack). Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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