Yamaha SW1000XG review - The Quest For The Ultimate DOS Sound Card Part 9 - Best DOS sound card yet?
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- Опубликовано: 16 окт 2024
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Another part of my DOS sound card series. But this review is a bit different. 
Игры
I recently purchased a MU100R and I must say it sounds really good.
The identical core tone generator chip ("Sound Wave Processor") on the SW1000 was used as the core of Yamaha's top professional synthesizers/music workstations/samplers from about 1996-2005.
OMG this card!!! oh and where is Descent's MIDI test???? lol Great review and demo's i couldn't believe some of the sounds and clarity i was hearing. give me some midi demo's from descent if you have the time. thanks again, and oh yes i subscribed!
You want Descent, yea? Well, I may upload some demos later today.
Here you are, enjoy: ruclips.net/video/yO8v71xrVl4/видео.html
@@KITR-UK Thanks for adding, was thinking the same thing. Most other midi synths butcher these songs, but the XG is the best I've heard so far.
So here's an idea how one might be able to put the card to use - you can use a computer that runs 2000 or XP, whatever NT based 32-bit system is compatible; then use VDMSound for Sound Blaster emulation, and on top of that, you get MIDI to this card. The games would be running in the DOS environment of Windows, and the CPU is not emulated unlike DOSBox the software, not dynamically recompiled, it's real, it doesn't stall when you don't expect it to and it doesn't run faster than whatever the real CPU runs at. It's trapped for sound related port writes, wave audio is emulated, MIDI is diverted. Video card is not emulated, it's real, and the video modes are all correct. You can connect CRT via VGA etc. It can be quite an authentic experience in a way as playing early mid 90s games on a late 90s machine - once you fullscreen the DOS Box, you don't have to even think about Windows running in the background. Besides MIDI, the card has several Wave Out devices that can be used by VDMSound.
VDMSound was at the time in the early 2000s why i didn't feel too terrible building a PCI only computer without ISA slots, i continued playing DOS games that way with SBLive doing the MIDI duty.
My first proper sound card for production.
How was it, for actual sound production?
Dude your channel is soooo good :)
Thanks mate :)
Really fantastic piece of XG hardware, i'd love to own this. Sounds really pleasant in some of these games, but in some others (like DOOM) it's debatable whether it's nicer than, say, SC-55.
The issue is not the card itself, but the fact that nearly all of DOS games use GM or GS standard, and the ones sending XG-specific messages can be counted using one hand. XG modules are capable of performing outstandingly if the song is made specifically with that system in mind, but running standard GM sequences through them is a gamble of pure luck, with some tracks sounding better, and others sounding significantly worse than on GS/GM synths.
I think that the real strenght of XG lies outside of old games, mostly in music production, even though nothing is stopping anybody from using them that way (personally i have S-YXG50 set as the system default MIDI synth).
Just to give a general idea of how much better the guitars in DOOM could have sounded on any piece of Yamaha's hardware, this video is a nice example of making use of internal distortion effects native to XG (the mix is a bit too bassy here imo, but it's irrelevant in this particular case) ruclips.net/video/w8qfXEpifvI/видео.html
You're sort of right, all DOS games use GM or GS standard. However, XG is compatible with GM and almost all Yamaha MU generators and sound cards can emulate GS with their TG300B. Of course, it's my personal opinion, this card really sounds like it's an actual soundtrack, rather than a MIDI reproduction. Except for Doom, it did sound a bit off to me, but it may be, because I'm used to SC-55 version too much.
Yeah, i'm aware of the compatibilty, my point was more about not making use of the full XG potential. Some of these games sound really good on it though (Gabriel Knight and TFX especially)
@@MidoriMizuno Yeah, you're right. For example Flashback. PC version sucks, but when you get a .mid made specifically for XG, it sounds amazing, check it out: ruclips.net/video/TpmVXMd7spU/видео.html
I'm waiting for a video from you with the title "The Quest For The Ultimate windows ISA Sound Card"
I will make it one day.
@@KITR-UK I'll wait
Your card seems to be missing a heatsink on the voltage regulator, right next the the PCI bracket. There is a bolt the that the heatsink should be attached to. It would be a good idea to have it on as the voltage regulator gets quite hot.
You're right. I've got two of these cards and one is certainly missing the heatsink.
I've been told this is only an issue when using the external PLG synth boards since they're aquiring a lot of extra power.. I additionally created, or rather re-produced one myself as I had one as an example.. It's just a simple piece of aluminium they created for later versions due to the problems with the extensions.. I own all 3 available synth versions.. But using it as a GM soundcard I wouldn't worry using it without heatsink. 😉
You can definitely hear the quality of the individual instruments, but it doesn't sound as balanced as the RAP-10 in my opinion. Really nice to hear it though!
I noticed this only in the case of Doom 1.
Well you can save some space if you will utilize thin client with internal PCI slot like a Fujitsu Siemens S400, and with some additional configuration you can probably make it work without any external devices like display, mouse or keyboard. This should be only slightly bigger than Roland SC-55.
You can get Yamaha MU100/R, which is in general SW1000XG in box, or rack module, as bonus you can switch modes from front panel (XG, TG300b(GS), MT-32 map (don't remember now naming)), or you can try Yamaha MOTIF-RACK classic in GM mode, that is soundwise totally different galaxy.
Yeah, you're right about that. But it's fun making it working like that :)
@@KITR-UK Yeah, I have got your point, anyway back in that time I was really dreaming to have that card :-)
Would have loved to hear more Warcraft 2 playback. Beautiful sound.
Well, here you go, then: ruclips.net/video/sGLxnhuh5z0/видео.html
I purchased SW1000XG recently and installed it on GA-G41MT-S2 with Windows XP SP3 as its OS. But when I play MIDI files every time GM/GS/XG reset is sent the song sounds interrupted for about 1-2 seconds. For any song without MIDI reset, if I examine carefully, at first second the tempo seems a little bit increased before it's back to normal. Those experiences are so annoying and I unable to find the solution.
Is that due to the Windows XP with its WDM driver? Because SW1000XG in nature was Windows 95/98 with VxD driver. I don't have old computer to prove it yet, though.
To be perfectly honest, I haven't noticed this kind of behaviour. What MIDI player do you use? You can try different player or these drivers:
www.karlsitretro.com/sound-card-drivers/
I don't now if I understood - Why to work it needs another computer? Can't you just use some MPU-401'ish interface in the same computer?
Monkey Island sounds like some sort of christmas song lmao.
Oh shit it does
Seems a bit too janky to me. And I have a SCSI to IDE plugged into an IDECF plugged into an SD to CF card.
I want one even in 2020, though external version would be better for my needs (for example, MU128 or 1000). Probably best MIDI wavetable i heard. Better than GUS or even AWE with large banks.
It's definitely better than GUS or AWE. And even though I love how Roland modules sound, this card trumps them as well.
It was an amazing card / synth
what does the roland mcb-100 do?
Need drivers for my card, I'm trying windows xp now apparently this works
Sounds pretty good, but I still love my combo best: the MT-32 for older games and the SCC-1 newer ones (General Midi). I got a GUS MAX as well to see how it works, but it was mostly a waste of money, music-wise. Maybe just for demo scene stuff. When something happens not to sound right, I switch to the AWE 64. They all coexist nicely in one old PC :)
Nice setup. As for the GUS, I believe you tried different patches, right?
@@KITR-UK I dont think I did try them on my own, but games tend to load custom patches. Its of course better than FM synthesis, but its mostly meh compared to anything wavetable like the AWE let alone Sound Canvas.
While I agree with you on the Sound Canvas bit, I can't on the Awe bit. When I was a kid a mate of mine had the Awe 32 and I had the SB16, naturally, it sounded much better pretty much in every department. But when I got GUS PnP, it was on an entirely different level. But you know what they say, thousand people, thousand opinions :)
@@KITR-UK Probably that, yes. And probably also my bitterness as I expected more from this famous soundcard :) And I have to reconnect the speakers when changing to the GUS as normally either the MT-32 or SCC-1 go into the AWE64 so its a little more hassle. And unless its directly supported by the game, GUS just emulates SB Pro which < SB16.
Surprised no-ones mentioned DOSbox, it's able to pass through Windows MIDI devices so you can use a single machine for your DOS gaming.
Only drawback is that the machine is going to need to be powerful enough to run DOSbox (e.g. Pentium 4, Later Athlons).
Windows 9x's own DOS frontend does the same, but the same drawbacks are there on period correct machines - I'm more partial to DOSbox on 9x, as it works better with MIDI - had all sorts of problems with MIDI detection on motherboards from 2000 and later.
Well, I tried running DOSBox on Pentium 4 3.4GHz and the performance wasn't exactly stellar, so I didn't feel the need to include it here.
@@KITR-UK Yeah for 3D games, most PCs from the early 2000s struggle to run them well under DOSBox (Descent, AITD, Duke3D, etc)
2D games tend to run fine, but that's a given, It's pretty difficult to find a machine that is the right balance of compatibility and power for applications like this.
I tend to run source ports for games like Duke3D on machines with DOS issues.
Nice, im owner of the sw1000XG a brilliant all allrounder, by the way: the Monkey Island Title Song is played in MT32 mode and wrong,, the right playback you will get with ScummVM, Dosbox and the original start in Dos Box of Monkey Island I has no gm playback.
I just wish could start the Sw1000XG in my modern Win10 system :-/
I made it work in Windows 10, but only in 32-bit version, unfortunately.
@@KITR-UK you mean you have the Sw1000XG running in Win10, how that?
@@systemuhr It's been a while since I made it to work, but I remember I used drivers for Win XP.
@@KITR-UK ok, the sw1000XG is installed in my XP System but it would be better, if i can use the Sw1000XG in my Win10 system
Hello what are the games at 7:57 ,9:58 and at 13:57 called?
Hi,
7:57 is I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, 9:58 is Time Commando and 13:57 is a wrong timecode :)
@@KITR-UK Ah sorry 10:54 :)
it sounds TOO good, all the roughness of most midi or fm is gone, sounding more like 80s/90s movie soundtracks than computer games lol
Does it mean it's good or bad? :)
@@KITR-UK it's great
is this sound card for musicians?
Not sure if it still is, but it certainly used to be.
@@KITR-UK I read about it, people agree that yes it is for musicians, and there are also sound cards only for musicians? They are, as I understand it, of higher quality.
Shite....that sounds so much better than my sw60xg.. not bad card tho 😊
Your SW60XG can be used in DOS unlike the SW1000XG :)
@@KITR-UK thats true, i use it in all kinds of games :)
Does anyone have the drivers for this?
Sure.
www.karlsitretro.com/sound-card-drivers/
This is way too powerful for DOS...like using a V8 engine in a gokart! It's 24bit multi bus Digital spdif out Multi Effects & up to 64track recording. For DOS you want 12bit ...way more authentic for vintage 80s DOS games...nice video though✨👌
Professional?
you took this card TO PLAY DOS GAMES?! I used to make music using such soundcards thanks to XG MIDI standart but I couldn't afford sw1000, as it was too expensive. well.... now I know why I can't find any sw1000 used. morons pumped all of them for DOS GAMES. DOS games must sound OPL2/3 everything else is out of devil. you know. get yourelf Yamaha Montage and connect via midi. for DOS games. and hire Elon Musk to clean your house after all.