Just bought my own Roland SC-55mkII, noticed I wasn't getting all the instruments. The part in your video where you cover the reset resolved my issue and a chance to check the battery, much appreciated Phil! Thanks for the video!
My dad and I have owned the SC-155 since about 1990. It is the same module but physically designed more as a tabletop version with theadditional features of nine physical volume faders to control separate volumes of each part. It still functions 100% although I have not used it for music production in a number of years. But after watching this video makes me want to hook it up and play with it.
I still use it today, as a daw plugin, it is absolutely amazing, I run it on FL Studio, and its free ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-t0t6V3yQrs4.html
Thanks for a tip. I bought my SC-55 back in 1991. And your video made me realize it's time to change the battery before it leaks and destroys this lovely unit.
@@DhinCardoso 😃 No. I wasn't a rich kid. I just worked my ass off (while also studying in the university) in order to support my hobby of making music.
Thank you for the guide. I just received an SC55 today and with your help I tested and set it up. It has transformed my retro gaming experience. It’s awesome. Got it working in Windows as well with cakewalk express
Thank you Phil! After couple of years watching your videos, I started to get retro PC stuff (not to collect but to use of course :) ). Yesterday I finally purchased one of these more and more rare sound modules and I don't regret it at all (it is the mkII). Somehow didn't work in the beginning (I have an awe64 in the PC - Win98 installed), after disabled the sound cards midi from device manager it started to work. I need to play still or I need to revive my DOS PC which stopped working suddenly so I cannot test with that (would be easier). Anyway I am very happy that maybe still in time I woke up to enjoy these old gems until they completely dissappear. Of course I will be in the hunt for the MT-32 for reasonable price but there is big chance that I need to pay much if I really want it...Until then enjoying the '90s era. And all because of you :P (Thank you, really!)
Thank you very much for posting this very helpful video. I just bought on of these interesting little sound devices, and it came with a manual that does not do near the job of explaining as well as you did. You solved my problem and saved me the time and expense of shipping it back. Cheers ,
Thank you for posting this. I have a Roland P-55 that I bought decades ago but never tried to use until now. It is clearly similar to the SC-55 but it makes only piano (or piano-like) sounds and it does not have the SC-55's screen. The p-55's manual dives in to talking about "parts" but without giving a clue what a part is. You explain that it is 'like a musician' but I am still trying to get my head around what that means. If I plug my midi keyboard into the P-55 and play it works fine.
I have a Roland UM-ONE mk2 cable now and a Dreamblaster X1 on the way so my MIDI needs are pretty well taken care of. Unfortunately these videos make me want MORE! I really want an SC-55 now and am struggling not to buy one off of eBay.
Hi Phil, I really like your channel. Your videos are very informative and well done! Keep up the good work. I recently acquired a MT-32 in a mint condition and now looking for one of the Roland Sound Canvas and the Yamaha MU80 modules that works great in DOS so I could switch between all three units at will according to what sounds best for me in each particular game. I've found some deals on eBay for what appears to be successors(?) of the SC-55 unit which are the SC-55mkII that looks very like the SC-55, and the SC-88VL which also looks the same apart from having 2 additional buttons on the front panel, which are 'SC-55 map' and 'EQ'. So I just wondered what would you pick if you had to choose between these 3 Roland units, and if there is any significant difference for DOS gaming between the 3 units that you're aware of? Regarding the Yamaha MU80, would you recommend this unit for DOS gaming versus newer MU models of it like the MU90 or MU100? Many thanks!
Thanks for the reply. :) And what about the different Roland Sound Canvas modules? Is there any significant difference between the 3 units I mentioned that you're aware of? Which one would you pick if you had to choose?
SC-55 should do. 99.9 % of games will sound fine on any of them. For some reason people love to focus on what doesn't work, so yea, I focus on what works and don't worry about a few games. If the issue is more severe, than I care, but it's a non issue for me.
Thanks again for the quick reply. Currently I can't find the original SC-55 in a good shape on eBay. But I did found the SC-55mkII and the SC-88VL. Thought about purchasing the SC-88VL as it's a newer model that probably have more instrument sets, but what's more it has the 'SC-55 map' button that maps the instruments accordingly to the SC-55 and SC55mkII setup. But up until now I didn't find any significant information about the comparison between all 3 models. If you're aware or get aware later of any significant difference for DOS gaming between the three units (the original SC55, the SC55mkII and the SC-88VL) it would be much appreciated to know. :) Many thanks!
So I just bought a Roland SC-8850 from eBay, an American model. Already got some RCA to 6.35mm audio jacks and a Cakewalk UM-1G MIDI to USB cable, but what else should I definitely take care of before trying to get it to work when it arrives? Living in Belgium, Europe, thanks for your time.
Hoping to find one of these (or a mk2 or SC-88) and a MT-32 for the DosBox battle station I hope to put together some day. The plan: CRT monitor IBM Model M keyboard Original Microsoft ps/2 mouse Already have: A classic "basic" set of 90s pc speaker's (a in like new condition Labtec speakers I found thrifting) and the multimedia pc speakers we used in the 90s A Roland Um one mk2 usb to midi adapter (found it on FB market still sealed in the box) Usb to game port adapter and a small army of 90s joysticks logitech and Garvis and a original Garvis game pad and two game pad pro's one of which is complete in the box with the box which still had the opened shrink wrap and price tag on it (removed the wrap but kept the price sticker)
@Love made in Japan :-( But I love the Lands Of Lore: Throne of Chaos, where the music of Yvel City is the best, because I could not hear the choir in the background without SC. On Sound Blaster: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SWQ2kx8BWL4.html And SC: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pPxzdGtX_Q4.html Can you hear the aaaaahhh...? And the Bass next to the drum?
Hi Phil, I see that you have the SC-55 with both the GS and GM logos. Saw your posts on Vogons forum and that you suggested to go with the first release of the SC-55 which is without the GM logo over the one with, as many old games were actually composed on the very first release of the SC-55. Any significant difference in games that you're aware of between the two? Thanks!
Having just driven and hour and a half to pick up a 1st-gen SC-55 [no General MIDI] for $100, my feelings are kinda hurt that nobody ever replied to this question!
@@hadamana I almost forgotten that I ever asked this. Since I posted I managed to obtain both, and also the SC-55 MkII and the SC-88VL. Both 1st and 2nd SC-55 modules sound very similar to me. The MkII has small differences in sound. And the 88VL sounds best of all of them for my ears - it has much richer and cleaner sound set. But it's really a matter of taste. You can't go wrong with any of them as they're all Roland sound canvases. :) Unlike MT-32 which is a whole different story. Enjoy your 1st gen SC-55! If I recall correctly each of the sound canvases that I bought off eBay costed me about the same before shipping, so you didn't over paid. :)
@@goldeng Wow! I didn't actually expect anything close to this detailed a reply! Thanks for that! I am thoroughly enjoying this SC-55, and actually have plans to acquire another pair of them [those are $75 each], for use on my primary gaming PC [cuz DOSBox is just too freakin' cool] and in a weird DOS arcade cabinet I'm working out the design for, now. Should be pretty neat! Is the SC-88VL noticeably nicer sounding? I guess I mean is it a night&day difference?
@@hadamana I can't describe the differences in words but I'll try. It sounds somewhat cleaner and more pleasant to the ear in my opinion compared to the old models. Keep in mind that these modules weren't just for composing computer game soundtrack, but also served as professional piece of equipment for making music playbacks in studios. So their sounds only got better and richer from predecessor to successor. There's also a Pro version of the SC-88 which is a little taller and it has more professional features for artists who take music more seriously. Of course, these are old technologies and we speak here of what they used to be. Now they're just retro items with nice sounds and feel from the past. :) It's not necessarily that a newer sound module model should be better over old models for DOS gaming. It's the other way around, actually; the MT-32 which is the oldest of all of them sounds the best, and there's no newer module, expensive as it may be, that matches the MT-32 sounds that were intended for DOS games - that once composers realised back then its potential and began composing soundtrack for computer games with it.
What a great informative video! I came across a Roland Sc-88 Pro once but I couldn't figure for the life of me what's it for. Now I totally get it. Have you ever tried the Sc-88? You think it's as good as the Sc-55?
Hi Phil, I just got a Roland SC-88VL and tried holding both the part buttons down while powering it on to try the demo mode but it didn't work, so perhaps it is a different button combination for the SC-88VL or maybe it doesn't have a demo mode? If you have any info on this, it would be much appreciated. What a fantastic video! Keep up the great work.
These newer modules use completely different key combinations. I recommend you to download the manual from the Roland website. Most probably the demo songs were supplied on a diskette.
2 questions? How do I use this with a midi keyboard? It doesnt do anything for me when I hit the keys on the keyboard? I have a axiom. Maybe I must shut off the axiom 1st?
Thanks. Reason is that I would like to redo the themes for Durandal and Infinity from the Marathon series as part of a project porting it to either the Doom or Quake engine and felt it would fit.
Great video! I have a SC-55mk2 that i purchased years ago. It sounds great with dos games, but I wonder if I also could use the original version. I'm not sure if these patches they share in common use the same samples or not. Judging from the demo''s you played, I can't hear any difference there. Anyway enough of my rambling, thanks again for posting this.
Hey Phil. So I'm planning on making a 4 in 1 based on your other video and I'm trying to decide on audio. would you go with an sb16 with one of these or your fav awe64 gold? Trying to get the best midi I can, mainly with Sierra games. Just found your channel and have been binge watching. Awesome videos!
+opticburn Well thank for your kind words :) If you're going to use external MIDI devices, then it doesn't really matter much if you go for a SB 16 or AWE as you will use it mostly for a speech / sound FX only card. You can even save money and get a very late model Sound Blaster 16 Vibra. They go for little money and are very quiet with few components on them. They all have a MPU401 interface, but the early Sound Blaster 16 do have hanging note issues in some games. So here the AWE64 or a Vibra are better options. For Sierra you will need a Roland MT-32 for the early games.
I've found an untested sold as-is Canvas SC-55 on eBay. It doesn't seem to come with any cables or accessories. And it's not the mkII version. He asks 47 euros, is that a good deal? The seller is from France, and it says "Pas de son, pas d'eclairage du vu mètre" which translates to "No sound, no lighting of the meter" with google translate. The pictures does show the lighting, no pictures showing if the vu meters works or not. The auction description is in english which says: " Nice item! Not tested , i bet it works, Sold WITHOUT 9v power supply."
@@philscomputerlab Thanks anyway, I had a look on eBay, they sell for around 130 USD from japan. I also found a SC-88VL looks similar to the SC-55. Have u heard of SC-88VL before?
I try to get my Roland 50 connect to my Roland FR1V accordeon. Buit it is not clear how to get to make a set up. Nothing to find a clearly manual about to solve this problem
Hi Phil, could you please help me? i'm setting it up just like you did in the video, but i'm not getting sound from the Roland. The soundcard is a CT3600, and the game is Lands of Lore. The unit is working fine, as i tested it with the demo songs.
I am looking at getting an SC-88 Pro. Would the cable go from the sc-88 into the rs-232c serial port or would it go into the gameport on the soundcard? Or would I have to go down the route of a Super MPU. This would be connected via a Soundblaster Live Platinum PCI.
I'm having a heck of a time looking for drivers to this system. There was one for sale on eBay with all the original windows 98 / dos drivers and programs. Roland drivers page does not have them perhaps it's too old, it just has the virtual controller program of it. Has anyone here have the drivers / programs for a 98/Dos system?
So I've been playing around with electronic music instruments for about 10 years now, both hardware and software. But I've never tried GM or Sound Modules. Can the SC-55 be used for composing music or is it just used for playing midi files and old games?
The Roland SC line is basicly a MIDI Module, yo connect it on a MIDI Controller like a Keyboard or Pad, and you can play the SC sounds with it. It gives "sound" to a MIDI Instrument.
Could you make video tutorial about how to setup these kind of modules with the gameport in windows 98? I recently got a Yamaha MU50 and trying get it work with Yamaha YMF719e-s or SB16 CT2900. I've seen you have MU80 and YMF718-s, which are similar to my hardware? You could use those for demonstration? I can't seem to find any tutorial in the internet.
+oldzscoolgamer Maybe we can sort it out without a video? Now Windows 98 is always a bit special, because it's Windows, but also MS-DOS 7.1. So I need to know exactly what you want to do. Let's start with something simple. Do you want to play a MIDI file in Windows 98 (like with Media Player), and have it play on the MU50?
+PhilsComputerLab Use it for game music, I already tried with SB16, but the games sound setups tell me that, MPU401 interface could not found in port330 etc. when choosing General Midi? I have made my own gameport to midi out cable, www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=38504&start=20 I tried those alexanrs tips, but in that multimedia applet, MIDI tab, there is just Creative-Synth220, if that is the correct place to do something?
Ok, first things first :) Configuring MS-DOS mode of Windows 98, let's leave that for later. Let's get basic MIDI in Windows 98 first. You have a SB16? Download and install sbw9xup.exe from here: www.philscomputerlab.com/drivers-for-awe64-gold.html Once this is installed, go to device manager and check the resources of the Sound Blaster 16. It should be address 220, interrupt 5, DMA 1 and 5 and address 330 for MIDI. Now go into control panel > audio settings and change the default MIDI device so that it uses the MPU401 interface of the Sound Blaster, not the internal FM chip. Play a midi file, the MU50 should now play. If it doesn't then you need to sort this out first before going further.
I've been wondering, how does it work if you're using headphones but want to hear both the sound effects/voices and the midi music? You connect your sound card to the SC via the RCA input and plug your headphones on the SC?
Alright, I'm considering getting a sound canvas (SC-55 or an MkII, or even a SC-88 depending on what I can find at a reasonable price) and since I'm primarily using headphones I was wondering if it was simple to get both digital and midi sources through them. Apparently it is, thanks.
Very new to these, interested in buying one. Curious, can i hook this up to the game port / midi output on my Soundblaster AWE 64, or do i need to have an additional card? thanks!
phil, what do you need to connect to the output? I hooked up 2 RCA cable to a set of powered speakers and no sound was heard.... Tried headphones and I can hear the sound fine.
Can you tell me how you manage to get the SC-55 to work paired it with a SB AWE 64 gold? when I select Sound Canvas or General midi the game utilizes the awe 64 midi synth instead of the SC-55, its happens to me with Duke Nuken running from Windows 98 SE, but I assume it will do the same if I restart in DOS mode.
Hey Phil i just got this one, can you please guide me on how i can attach this to my pc :) i only have the unit now with a psu. nothing else.. In my pc i have a Sound Blaster CT-1350B with Line in, Mic in and spk out and ofc the Joystick port.. how do i proceed? :D thanks in advance
+Jan Pedersen No problem. You will need a joystick to MIDI cable. There are two types, one with joystick passthrough, the other one without. So if you want to keep using a joystick, get the one with the joystick passthrough. And then you need an RCA to headphone jack cable connecting the output of the SC-55 with the line-in on the sound card.
I'm looking at picking up a sc-55 locally but the unit I'm looking at does not have the "General Midi" badge on the front. I'm guessing it is an early unit. does this effect its ability to play midi in DOS games?
Just got a Roland MT-32 and looking into getting an sc-55. If I'm setting these up on the same system how do I set them up? Do I need another Gameport to Midi cable or do I attach them to each other?
Cool that you're getting a SC-55 :) You have a few options. What you can do is go from the MIDI-THRU of one unit to the MIDI in of the other unit. So both will play, and you just got to mix the audio output that you want, or mute the other unit. The other option is to either manually unplug an plug-in the MIDI cable, this is what I do, or you can buy a MIDI hub or splitter. I have 3 MIDI units, and in the end it was just cable spaghetti, so I just plug in whatever I need.
Thanks. I bought the SC-55 and a short midi cable to run between the two. I'll see if I can get that setup working and if it works better just swap them back and forth. One last question, does swapping them out require a reboot?
Hi Phil, I'm looking online for a Joystick to MIDI cable (with the joystick pass-thru) but my concern is getting the right cable. Do you know if the cable you have has the required IC's as per MIDI specifications? (e.g. OptoIsolator on the MIDI IN to your sound card?) I don't want to fry my AWE64 nor my Roland SC-55/MT-32.
+Leon Kiriliuk I doubt it, it was the cheapest one I could find :D I didn't connect the MIDI IN anyway, it will cause issues in some games. I only connected the MIDI OUT into the SC-55.
@@krunge Ah ok. So for DOS, most Sound Cards have the game port act as MIDI port. So you need a game port to Midi cable. Unless you use a dedicated Midi ISA cards like Roland MPU401AT, they have their own cables. Yes Windows supports it also, under 98 and XP you go into the Midi settings and change the Midi device from OPL to MPU Midi port.
bro I hope you can help me my sound canvas has a problem if I press a on my midi controller the instruments goes back to the main logo which is Sound Canvas I did all the factory resets and still same result. here is the video 1. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qfDDVahT_SE.html 2. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EhsvgjzN_d0.html
