philscomputerlab.com
  • Home
  • Hardware
    • Thin Client Retro PCs >
      • Wortmann Terra / Termtek TK-3772
      • HP t5710
      • HP t5720
      • MS-DOS PC Classic
    • Audio >
      • Sound cards >
        • PCIe sound cards >
          • Review of Sound Blaster Z
          • Disabling the red LED light on Creative Sound Blaster Z
        • PCI sound cards >
          • Sound Blaster Audigy
          • Aureal Vortex 2
          • C-Media CMI8738
          • ESS ES1938S Solo-1
          • Sound Blaster Live!
          • X-Fi SB0770 Dell / Alienware OEM
          • Yamaha YMF744 PCI Sound Card
          • Santa Cruz
        • ISA sound cards >
          • Aztech >
            • HP MM Pro 16V-A
          • BTC 1820 Mozart OAK OTI601
          • Creative Labs >
            • SB 32 CT3670
            • Sound Blaster 16 >
              • CT1740
            • Sound Blaster 1.5
            • Sound Blaster AWE 32
            • Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold >
              • Drivers for AWE64 Gold
              • Games played with AWE64 Gold
              • Review AWE64 Gold
              • Tutorials and guides for AWE64 Gold
          • Crystal based Sound Cards >
            • Crystal CX4235
          • TERRATEC Promedia Base-1
          • ESS AudioDrive ES1868
          • OPTi Sound Cards >
            • 82C929A
          • Audician 32 Plus
      • External MIDI devices >
        • Roland MIDI Emulator Project 2.0
        • Roland >
          • Ultimate Roland MT-32 Tutorial
      • Wavetable modules >
        • DreamBlaster X1
        • DreamBlaster S1
    • Graphics cards >
      • ATI >
        • Rage 128 Pro / Rage Fury Pro
        • ATI Rage Fury MAXX
        • Radeon 7200
      • 3Dfx >
        • Tools for Voodoo cards
        • Voodoo >
          • Drivers for Voodoo
        • Voodoo 2 >
          • Drivers for Voodoo 2
        • Voodoo 3 >
          • 3dfx Voodoo 3 retro review
          • Drivers for Voodoo 3
        • Voodoo 4 >
          • Drivers for Voodoo 4
        • Voodoo 5 >
          • Drivers for Voodoo 5
      • Nvidia >
        • GeForce2 >
          • GeForce2 MX
        • GeForce3 >
          • GeForce3 Ti 200
        • GeForce4 >
          • GeForce4 MX 460
      • Gamma settings
      • Drivers for Matrox
      • Savage4
      • SIGMA DESIGNS REALmagic
    • Motherboards >
      • 386 motherboards >
        • FORCOM M396F
        • FOREX 386 / 486
        • FX-3000
      • 486 motherboards >
        • Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4
        • Biostar MB-1433
      • Socket 7 motherboards >
        • AOpen AX59 Pro
        • ASUS SP97-XV
        • DFI K6XV3+/66
        • Gigabyte 586ATX
        • Gigabyte GA-5AX REV 5.2
      • Socket A / 462 Motherboards >
        • ECS K7S5A Pro
      • Socket 370 motherboards >
        • AOpen MX3S-T
      • MS-7199 VIA C7 Eden
    • Storage >
      • SCSI2SD
      • Hard Drives >
        • Seagate SSHD
        • Hard Drive Tools
      • Floppy >
        • GOTEK Floppy Emulator
        • External USB GOTEK FDD Emulator
      • Controllers >
        • Promise Ultra66
        • Adaptec 1542B
        • Silicon Image Sil311x
        • USB 2.0 in Windows 98
    • Processors >
      • 486 CPUs >
        • 486 DX2 66
        • Cyrix 486DLC
        • IntelDX4 Overdrive 100
        • Pentium Overdrive 83
      • Slot 1 CPUs >
        • Celeron 266 and 300
        • Celeron 266 OC
        • Celeron 300A OC
        • Celeron 433
        • Pentium II 233
        • Pentium II 266
        • Pentium II 300
        • Pentium II 333
        • Pentium II 350
        • P II 450 vs P III 450
      • Socket 7 CPUs >
        • 136 in 1 Pentium MMX
        • Cyrix MII-300GP
        • MMX 233
        • Pentium 200
        • K6-2 400
        • K6-2 500
        • AMD K6-2 vs K6-2+ vs K6-III+
      • Socket 478 CPUs >
        • Pentium 4 3.2 Northwood
        • P4 3.4 Northwood
        • P4 3.4 Prescott
        • P4 EE 3.4
      • Socket A CPUs >
        • Athlon XP 3200+
      • Socket 754 CPUs >
        • Athlon 64 3400+
        • Athlon 64 3200+
  • Software
    • Looking for drivers?
    • Tech Demos >
      • Tech Demos
      • ATI Radeon Tech Demos >
        • ATI Radeon 8500 Tech Demos
    • Benchmarks >
      • HDD Benchmarks
      • Futuremark 3DMark
    • Audio software >
      • General MIDI and Soundfonts
    • Sound >
      • Creative Labs Drivers
      • Terratec Sound Card Drivers
    • DirectX
    • Games >
      • Sound Blaster and MIDI for Sierra AGI games
      • Screamer 2 / Bleifuss
      • Installing GOG.com Games Windows on 95 98
      • Playing DOSBox games on DOS Retro Gaming PC
      • Tech Reviews and Tweak Guides Series
      • Tomb Raider
      • Tech Reviews and Tweak Guides Series
    • Windows Service Packs
    • Tools >
      • GPU tools >
        • Riva Tuner
        • PowerStrip
      • CPU tools >
        • K6-2, 2+, 3+ Resources
      • Storage tools >
        • Storage Tools
        • Virtual CD DVD >
          • Daemon Tools Windows 98
        • HDD Tools >
          • Dynamic drive overlay software >
            • Ontrack Disk Manager
            • Maxtor
            • Samsung
            • Seagate
            • Western Digital
          • Seagate SeaTools
          • WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostics
  • Drivers
    • Chipset drivers >
      • SIS Chipset Drivers
      • Intel Chipset Drivers
      • VIA Chipset Drivers
      • Cyrix MediaGx Cx5530
    • Graphics Card Drivers >
      • ATI Graphics Drivers >
        • ATI 9x driver archive
        • ATI XP Graphics Drivers
        • ATI Omega XP Graphics Drivers
        • ATI FireGL Drivers
      • Nvidia Graphics Drivers >
        • Nvidia 9x Graphics Drivers
        • Nvidia XP Graphics Drivers
    • Storage Drivers >
      • Windows 98 USB Storage Driver
  • Guides
    • Modding >
      • SLI on Chinese X58 and X79 Motherboards
      • Mod GF3 Ti 200 into Ti 500
      • Radeon 9500 to 9700 softmod
    • DOS guides >
      • DOS Graphics Boost
      • CD-ROM, Mouse, memory, start-up files
      • MS-DOS Starter Pack
      • DOS commands for beginners
    • Windows 98 guides >
      • Windows 98 unattended installation
      • MS-DOS Mode Super Easy
    • Storage guides >
      • Windows 98 maximum hard drive capacity
      • Hard drive options for Retro PCs
      • Opening external hard drives
    • Build guides >
      • Windows 98 DMA mode
      • 386 builds >
        • 386 with modern parts
      • 486 builds >
        • 486 with modern parts
        • 486 DX2 66 Sleeper
      • AM3+ builds >
        • Fallout 3 Retro Gaming PC
      • Slot 1 builds >
        • PII 300 RIVA 128
        • PII 450 V2 SLI
        • 1.1 GHz Slot 1
      • Socket 370 builds >
        • Voodoo 5 Gaming PC
        • V2 SLI Sleeper
      • Socket A builds >
        • A 1000 Kyro II SSD
      • Socket 7 builds >
        • 3 in 1 DOS Retro Gaming PC
        • 4 in 1 Retro Gaming PC
        • Building a MS-DOS Retro Gaming PC
        • Cyrix 6x86 PR200+ Build
        • ECS P5GX-M ECS P5GX-M
      • Socket 754 builds >
        • AMD Athlon 64 Gaming PC
      • Socket 939 builds >
        • A64 4000+ Benchmark Build
  • Benchmarks
    • How I benchmark
    • 486 Benchmarks >
      • Impact of RAM timings
    • Low Profile Video Cards (XP)
    • Phil's Ultimate VGA Benchmark Database Project
    • AGP GPU Benchmark System
    • 3dfx Voodoo >
      • 3dfx Voodoo shootout project
      • Voodoo 2 (and SLI) processor Scaling project
    • DOS benchmarks >
      • DOS Benchmark Pack
      • 386 Benchmark Pack
    • Matrox >
      • Matrox G200, G400, G400 MAX, G450 and G550 roundup
      • Expendable Matrox Environment Mapped Bump Mapping
    • Slot 1 / S370 >
      • Pentium III Tualatin 1.4 GHz Intel vs VIA Chipset
      • Voodoo 2 SLI sleeper PC
    • Super Socket 7 >
      • Best Sound Card for Super Socket 7

Roland MIDI Emulator Project 2.0

We are revisiting the MIDI Emulator project! The Falcosoft MIDI Player that we are using in this project has been upgraded with a few handy features. It supports presets, so we can configure various MIDI configurations, like MT-32, or Sound Canvas VA, and save them under presets.

But most importantly the software now supports:

Keyboard shortcuts! With this you can use a mini wireless keyboard for example, and switch between presets. Such keyboards are readily available online and nice and compact.

Even better is the support for switching between presets using MIDI files! So this lets you create a bunch of batch files on your DOS Retro PC, which send MIDI information to the MIDI emulator. Falcosoft MIDI Player can process these special MIDI files and switch between presets. This is what I decided to end up using for this project as it's the most seamless and neat solution without  having to access another keyboard or monitor.


​Suitable computer for this projects

​I recommend a Thin Client with an G-Series APU, avoid older models with Atom, Sempron or VIA. For Mini PCs, I used an older model with the Atom Z8350 and it worked flawless, so such a model, and also newer models with the Apollo Lake and Gemini Lake chipsets will work for this MIDI Emulator project.

Resources for creating batch files

On the DOS Retro PC, I created a directory C:\MIDIEMU and added this directory to PATH in AUTOEXEC.BAT. By adding it to PATH, you can access files within the MIDIEMU folder from any folder location in DOS, rather than having to navigate to C:\MIDIEMU.

The batch files used MDF.EXE, a tool that can play MIDI files. There are 7 MIDI files (.SYX), which correspond to 7 preset slots in the Falcosoft MIDI Player software. So after  you have configured all your presets within Falcosoft MIDI Player, just create a bunch of patch files with more meaningful names to switch between the presets.
​@ECHO Roland MT-32
@ECHO OFF
MDF.EXE C:\MIDIEMU\PRESET_0.SYX
My BATCH file MT32.BAT, which will send PRESET_0.SYX out the MIDI interface and which Falcosoft MIDI Player on the MIDI Emulator receives and then switches to preset 0, which I have configured with the MUNT MT-32 plugin.
​Below are the batch files that I used in the video! I zipped up the MIDIEMU folder.
midiemu.zip
File Size: 31 kb
File Type: zip
Download File

  • Home
  • Hardware
    • Thin Client Retro PCs >
      • Wortmann Terra / Termtek TK-3772
      • HP t5710
      • HP t5720
      • MS-DOS PC Classic
    • Audio >
      • Sound cards >
        • PCIe sound cards >
          • Review of Sound Blaster Z
          • Disabling the red LED light on Creative Sound Blaster Z
        • PCI sound cards >
          • Sound Blaster Audigy
          • Aureal Vortex 2
          • C-Media CMI8738
          • ESS ES1938S Solo-1
          • Sound Blaster Live!
          • X-Fi SB0770 Dell / Alienware OEM
          • Yamaha YMF744 PCI Sound Card
          • Santa Cruz
        • ISA sound cards >
          • Aztech >
            • HP MM Pro 16V-A
          • BTC 1820 Mozart OAK OTI601
          • Creative Labs >
            • SB 32 CT3670
            • Sound Blaster 16 >
              • CT1740
            • Sound Blaster 1.5
            • Sound Blaster AWE 32
            • Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold >
              • Drivers for AWE64 Gold
              • Games played with AWE64 Gold
              • Review AWE64 Gold
              • Tutorials and guides for AWE64 Gold
          • Crystal based Sound Cards >
            • Crystal CX4235
          • TERRATEC Promedia Base-1
          • ESS AudioDrive ES1868
          • OPTi Sound Cards >
            • 82C929A
          • Audician 32 Plus
      • External MIDI devices >
        • Roland MIDI Emulator Project 2.0
        • Roland >
          • Ultimate Roland MT-32 Tutorial
      • Wavetable modules >
        • DreamBlaster X1
        • DreamBlaster S1
    • Graphics cards >
      • ATI >
        • Rage 128 Pro / Rage Fury Pro
        • ATI Rage Fury MAXX
        • Radeon 7200
      • 3Dfx >
        • Tools for Voodoo cards
        • Voodoo >
          • Drivers for Voodoo
        • Voodoo 2 >
          • Drivers for Voodoo 2
        • Voodoo 3 >
          • 3dfx Voodoo 3 retro review
          • Drivers for Voodoo 3
        • Voodoo 4 >
          • Drivers for Voodoo 4
        • Voodoo 5 >
          • Drivers for Voodoo 5
      • Nvidia >
        • GeForce2 >
          • GeForce2 MX
        • GeForce3 >
          • GeForce3 Ti 200
        • GeForce4 >
          • GeForce4 MX 460
      • Gamma settings
      • Drivers for Matrox
      • Savage4
      • SIGMA DESIGNS REALmagic
    • Motherboards >
      • 386 motherboards >
        • FORCOM M396F
        • FOREX 386 / 486
        • FX-3000
      • 486 motherboards >
        • Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4
        • Biostar MB-1433
      • Socket 7 motherboards >
        • AOpen AX59 Pro
        • ASUS SP97-XV
        • DFI K6XV3+/66
        • Gigabyte 586ATX
        • Gigabyte GA-5AX REV 5.2
      • Socket A / 462 Motherboards >
        • ECS K7S5A Pro
      • Socket 370 motherboards >
        • AOpen MX3S-T
      • MS-7199 VIA C7 Eden
    • Storage >
      • SCSI2SD
      • Hard Drives >
        • Seagate SSHD
        • Hard Drive Tools
      • Floppy >
        • GOTEK Floppy Emulator
        • External USB GOTEK FDD Emulator
      • Controllers >
        • Promise Ultra66
        • Adaptec 1542B
        • Silicon Image Sil311x
        • USB 2.0 in Windows 98
    • Processors >
      • 486 CPUs >
        • 486 DX2 66
        • Cyrix 486DLC
        • IntelDX4 Overdrive 100
        • Pentium Overdrive 83
      • Slot 1 CPUs >
        • Celeron 266 and 300
        • Celeron 266 OC
        • Celeron 300A OC
        • Celeron 433
        • Pentium II 233
        • Pentium II 266
        • Pentium II 300
        • Pentium II 333
        • Pentium II 350
        • P II 450 vs P III 450
      • Socket 7 CPUs >
        • 136 in 1 Pentium MMX
        • Cyrix MII-300GP
        • MMX 233
        • Pentium 200
        • K6-2 400
        • K6-2 500
        • AMD K6-2 vs K6-2+ vs K6-III+
      • Socket 478 CPUs >
        • Pentium 4 3.2 Northwood
        • P4 3.4 Northwood
        • P4 3.4 Prescott
        • P4 EE 3.4
      • Socket A CPUs >
        • Athlon XP 3200+
      • Socket 754 CPUs >
        • Athlon 64 3400+
        • Athlon 64 3200+
  • Software
    • Looking for drivers?
    • Tech Demos >
      • Tech Demos
      • ATI Radeon Tech Demos >
        • ATI Radeon 8500 Tech Demos
    • Benchmarks >
      • HDD Benchmarks
      • Futuremark 3DMark
    • Audio software >
      • General MIDI and Soundfonts
    • Sound >
      • Creative Labs Drivers
      • Terratec Sound Card Drivers
    • DirectX
    • Games >
      • Sound Blaster and MIDI for Sierra AGI games
      • Screamer 2 / Bleifuss
      • Installing GOG.com Games Windows on 95 98
      • Playing DOSBox games on DOS Retro Gaming PC
      • Tech Reviews and Tweak Guides Series
      • Tomb Raider
      • Tech Reviews and Tweak Guides Series
    • Windows Service Packs
    • Tools >
      • GPU tools >
        • Riva Tuner
        • PowerStrip
      • CPU tools >
        • K6-2, 2+, 3+ Resources
      • Storage tools >
        • Storage Tools
        • Virtual CD DVD >
          • Daemon Tools Windows 98
        • HDD Tools >
          • Dynamic drive overlay software >
            • Ontrack Disk Manager
            • Maxtor
            • Samsung
            • Seagate
            • Western Digital
          • Seagate SeaTools
          • WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostics
  • Drivers
    • Chipset drivers >
      • SIS Chipset Drivers
      • Intel Chipset Drivers
      • VIA Chipset Drivers
      • Cyrix MediaGx Cx5530
    • Graphics Card Drivers >
      • ATI Graphics Drivers >
        • ATI 9x driver archive
        • ATI XP Graphics Drivers
        • ATI Omega XP Graphics Drivers
        • ATI FireGL Drivers
      • Nvidia Graphics Drivers >
        • Nvidia 9x Graphics Drivers
        • Nvidia XP Graphics Drivers
    • Storage Drivers >
      • Windows 98 USB Storage Driver
  • Guides
    • Modding >
      • SLI on Chinese X58 and X79 Motherboards
      • Mod GF3 Ti 200 into Ti 500
      • Radeon 9500 to 9700 softmod
    • DOS guides >
      • DOS Graphics Boost
      • CD-ROM, Mouse, memory, start-up files
      • MS-DOS Starter Pack
      • DOS commands for beginners
    • Windows 98 guides >
      • Windows 98 unattended installation
      • MS-DOS Mode Super Easy
    • Storage guides >
      • Windows 98 maximum hard drive capacity
      • Hard drive options for Retro PCs
      • Opening external hard drives
    • Build guides >
      • Windows 98 DMA mode
      • 386 builds >
        • 386 with modern parts
      • 486 builds >
        • 486 with modern parts
        • 486 DX2 66 Sleeper
      • AM3+ builds >
        • Fallout 3 Retro Gaming PC
      • Slot 1 builds >
        • PII 300 RIVA 128
        • PII 450 V2 SLI
        • 1.1 GHz Slot 1
      • Socket 370 builds >
        • Voodoo 5 Gaming PC
        • V2 SLI Sleeper
      • Socket A builds >
        • A 1000 Kyro II SSD
      • Socket 7 builds >
        • 3 in 1 DOS Retro Gaming PC
        • 4 in 1 Retro Gaming PC
        • Building a MS-DOS Retro Gaming PC
        • Cyrix 6x86 PR200+ Build
        • ECS P5GX-M ECS P5GX-M
      • Socket 754 builds >
        • AMD Athlon 64 Gaming PC
      • Socket 939 builds >
        • A64 4000+ Benchmark Build
  • Benchmarks
    • How I benchmark
    • 486 Benchmarks >
      • Impact of RAM timings
    • Low Profile Video Cards (XP)
    • Phil's Ultimate VGA Benchmark Database Project
    • AGP GPU Benchmark System
    • 3dfx Voodoo >
      • 3dfx Voodoo shootout project
      • Voodoo 2 (and SLI) processor Scaling project
    • DOS benchmarks >
      • DOS Benchmark Pack
      • 386 Benchmark Pack
    • Matrox >
      • Matrox G200, G400, G400 MAX, G450 and G550 roundup
      • Expendable Matrox Environment Mapped Bump Mapping
    • Slot 1 / S370 >
      • Pentium III Tualatin 1.4 GHz Intel vs VIA Chipset
      • Voodoo 2 SLI sleeper PC
    • Super Socket 7 >
      • Best Sound Card for Super Socket 7