Controllers, Roland MIDI, Duo backups, and randoms

[Domino]

Well after a little while my five-year old laptop is cleaned with a new petition and of course it is running good now.

The first thing I realize is how meh is my PS2 USB converter is. It's the old EMS one that has two controller ports and a Guncon connector to use the PS1 Guncons on a PS2 system. It's a little old this converter and it does have some noticeable lag. Plus as we all know the PS2 D-Pad is shit after using it in long sessions.

I want to use a Saturn USB but there are too many clones out there. Like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Genuine-Original-SE ... 20b3911ccf

So more or less I want to find out for controllers what are good controllers to use for emulators? I really want to get a Saturn one but the clones are bugging me and I'm trying to avoid the PS2 controllers if possible.


Now I play a lot of x68000 stuff and old DOS games on my computer. I'm curious to see if anyone uses the Roland MIDI devices like the MT-32 and the SC-55 on any computer? There's the MT-32 emulator for Windows but honestly it doesn't work well (it lags pretty bad on x68000 emulators for some reason). My plan is pick up both the MT-32 and the SC-55 and get a USB to MIDI cable to connect the devices to the laptop. I'm curious to see if anyone have any experience using USB to MIDI?


And my last question that I can think of is running backups on the PC Engine Duo. I know for a fact that the Gray Duos (both US and Japan) aren't the most realiable units around and people say that don't run CD backups on them or else you can screw them up. Well I might pick up the Duo-R/RX from Doujindance on ebay sooner or later and I'm curious if the R/RX can run backups without any problems?

Well those are my questions for now, I'll think of more when I get around to it.

[Ed Oscuro]

You might be able to get a plug-in soundcard (PCMCIA, ExpressCard, USB even, depending on your laptop) with a MIDI interface. I have a spare MT-32 if you decide to go that route, actually.

[Domino]

Well Ed about USB to MIDI I was looking at this:

http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Converter-M ... 093&sr=8-1

I'll PM you the MT-32.

[Fudoh]

I was actually just yesterday looking for a MT-32 / SC-55 combo. I've got a ESI Julia soundcard which has Midi in/out, so connection shouldn't be a problem. But while we're on topic, I'd like to throw in a question: can I chain midi devices ? I would like to connect the SC-55 to the Julia and the MT-32 to the SC-55. I assume Midi Out of the Julia is connected to the Midi In on the SC-55. But where gets the MT-32 connected to ? Midi Out on the SC-55 or Midi through ?

[Fudoh]

Well I might pick up the Duo-R/RX from Doujindance on ebay sooner or later and I'm curious if the R/RX can run backups without any problems?

yes, that works well. You should use slow burning speeds (4x,8x) and use 74min/650mb media if possible. They've become kinda hard to find, but it's worth it, since they are supposed to put less stress on the laser pickup compared to 80min/700mb media.

[nZero]

I was actually just yesterday looking for a MT-32 / SC-55 combo. I've got a ESI Julia soundcard which has Midi in/out, so connection shouldn't be a problem. But while we're on topic, I'd like to throw in a question: can I chain midi devices ? I would like to connect the SC-55 to the Julia and the MT-32 to the SC-55. I assume Midi Out of the Julia is connected to the Midi In on the SC-55. But where gets the MT-32 connected to ? Midi Out on the SC-55 or Midi through ?

Yes, MIDI devices can be chained, but... anything on the chain is going to respond to any events it understands on any channel it's set up to receive on (the MIDI thru port passes through all data received via MIDI in, while MIDI out rebroadcasts data not intended for the device). Not so bad for a few keyboards, but not great for things designed to use a bunch of channels like the MT-32 paired with something designed to use all 16 MIDI channels like the SC-55. You could send SysEx data setting all channels Rx to off on the device you don't want playing and then send a reset after you're done but... sounds like a pain to me. I'd recommend either just plugging in one at a time, or getting an interface with multiple MIDI I/O (or a USB→MIDI as a complement), or if the Julia has a Waveblaster connector, getting an SCB-55 (a.k.a. SCD-15) for SC-55 duty and hooking the MT-32 up to the MIDI ports.

[Arasoi]

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[blazemore]

I was really into the Roland MT-32 for a while with old DOS games. I got one several years back off eBay. I think I tried using one of the USB to MIDI type adapters for it at one point but USB sends data too quickly for the MT-32 and it causes buffer errors, which means no music. Even connecting the MT-32 to certain "newer" and faster midi ports can cause this to happen sometimes. I've got a dedicated DOS computer (p75, 90mhz, 32mb ram, sb16) that works pretty well with it. I had it hooked up to the SB16 through the game/midi port on the card using one of those gameport to midi cables (has the gameport plug on on end, then has midi in and midi out on the other end), but some DOS games send data in a certain mode that the SB16's midi interface doesn't support, which is where the MPU-401 comes in. The MPU-401 is an ISA card that requires no drivers (games load their own drivers for this) and supports all transmission modes of the MT-32. The card has a wide plug that sticks out of the computer, which has a breakout box that plugs into that. The box has midi in and out plugs on it. I'd absolutely love to get a real X68000 some day, but they're too freakin' expensive. I haven't bothered trying the MT-32 on an emulated X68000 because it would probably just error out due to the buffer thing.

Also, I was just checking eBay and it seems there are a few of the breakout boxes on there with the connecting cable, but they don't have the ISA card included. As far as I know, you can't use the box without the card.