Roland Sound Canvas SC-55: 90s MIDI Excellence 

general midi reporting for duty

The Sound Canvas is apparently also one of many sources that SNES sound programmers used to create instrument samples!

I'm learning a lot about stuff I didn't know I wanted watching these videos.

Fun fact: ZUN used the Sound Canvas to compose the music for the older Touhou games.

I love the SC-55. Its tone is nostalgic, and it has this awesome balance between "cool 80s keyboard" and "uber-realistic digital piano". The samples weren't just borrowed (and downgraded!) for Windows PC's, but also for SNES and GBA games! The professional model (JV-1080) was in so many iconic 90s songs. Many of the sounds hold up today, and they're "vanilla" enough to not be distracting when they're overused. I have a Roland Fantom-8, and while it's chock-full of modern-sounding presets and many sound design possibilities, it still has the old Sound Canvas banks as well.

Man, you make me want one of the Roland's and I don't even have a compatible PC right now.

God I love that digital screen. There's nothing I love more than an 80s or 90s digital display with an equaliser or some rudimentary movement on it. I really love that Boss (roland's guitar division) has moved back to those big, two-tone low pixel count screens in their new 500 series pedals (like the boss DD-500 or RV-500). It's also half the reason I'm looking at Rack gear for the guitar now.. there's something so cool and sci-fi about a unit like the TC2290 Delay or any of the Lexicon rack gear. It reminds me of the picture Alien painted of what future technology would look like.

5:10 Awww, you gained a love of stickers from Christina Aguilera! (I bet Roses is so proud, too. ;->)

This shit blows my mind. So fascinating as its completely alien to me.

Nice! Please do more pro sound stuff, it's a very under appreciated topic!

Roland sound devices are such a fascinating topic... especially when you keep in mind that for example the mt-32 came out in 1987 when adlib and pc speakers was the standart. It's astonishing how far ahead of their time they were.

I still have the same SC-55mkII that I bought back in 1996, and I love it! It made the sound tracks from games like Doom / Doom II, Warcraft II, King's Quest, and so many more so amazing! I bought it mostly for it's intended use a MIDI synthesizer to learn how to play and compose music, but having it as a superior sound system for my PC games was a nice added bonus.

The reveal at 9:20 was a big 'OMG that's why all those examples sounded so familiar to me' moment !

As a composer and musician, I absolutely LOVE finding any reason to use the Sound Canvas(es) whenever possible. Just a classic sound all around.

The SC-55 is essentially a slightly upgraded rack-mount version of the SC-33 I have. I love that thing and still use it today. I'll never forget the first time I played Duke Nukem 3D through that thing. Ah, memories...

Fascinating stuff. Glad to see you covering more sound hardware from the 90s! Also, I've never heard Tyrian's music played the Sound Canvas before....very nice!

In the 90s, I had an AWE 32 and loved it, only now realizing what I missed not having an SC-55.

The SC-55's rendition of the Betrayal at Krondor theme is amazing. Load it up. Turn it up.

MIDI for MID-90´s (I could experience this goodness later on, beacuse in that time i wasn´t able to calibrate those hellish settings - ignorance of youth). Impressive review, as always!

The Sound Canvas was also used heavily in Nintendo games and still is. For example, the steel drums in the overworld theme from Super Mario World and the bandoneon accordion in the windmill hut theme from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is from the Sound Canvas.

An LGR video? On MIDI?? On my BIRTHDAY?? Best present ever, Clint!

Sound Blaster was king back in the day, I loved mine!!☺️

I finally got my very own OG SC-55 and SC-88 Pro and I'm loving it. I also got the Sound Canvas VA, but even though it's great, the original hardware is something else.

Oh man, I am a massive audiophile and as soon as I heard those Rolan Secret of Monkey Island tunes, I was immediately immersed in greatness. MIDI systems are so cool!

Wonderful. Thanks to watching you over the years I've developed an appreciation for such exquisite audio devices; I greatly appreciate the unintentional expansion of my interests.

The SC-55 is one of the few retro PC gaming hardware I still own. Sometimes I just put my midi files on a floppy and listen directly through it. Beautiful sound.

I have a Roland Sound Canvas SD 90 that I use to make game music with. I freaking love it and things of this nature overall. As for why I have the SD 90 in particular, thats because I love the music of The Touhou Project that also uses the SD 90 for its music. The sc-88 was used for the older Touhou games music though, and those songs are great as well. Also, great video Clint, keep up the good work!

I love your reviews of these big external sound devices. I was completely unaware of them at the time, and they sound amazing.

Had one of these growing up hooked up to a packard bell 386 through the db 15 to midi adapter. Loved it so much, this video just brings me back to my childhood. Thanks LGR.

What really amazes me about your videos is not only that you have all of this amazing hardware, but you have it all in mint quality. It's getting hard to find these devices these days and when you do they're usually pretty beat up.

Incredible stuff, Clint! I was always hypnotized with these items that I could never afford! Thanks for sharing!

So glad to see a video on the SC-55! It's by far my favorite MIDI module, and everyone seems to overlook it for the MT-32. Which is really weird, considering just how fantastic it sounds

OMG, that overkill setup on 10:16...my body wasn't ready. For me, some game are really shine on FMsynth rather than GS Midi, Tyrian is probably the most fine example of oustanding use of FMsynth. Alexander Brandon was amazing!

I loved the choice of the Monkey Island theme ;)

I know I'm late to the party - I've been enjoying your channel for awhile now, and for whatever reason didn't notice this one until now. You'd given me plenty of inspiration to start a retro PC collection with all your content, but being a musician myself this video has made me start looking into it in earnest. Thanks for sharing!

This is why I subscribe to you. Your personal interest in the topic bleeds over to my enjoyment watching it. Cheers! ^__^

I’m playing the Descent soundtrack the rest of the afternoon now. Thanks.

Vintage Roland? Check. MIDI? Check. LGR? Check. THIS VIDEO HAS EVERYTHING

Great video as always mate. This was the era I got into PCs, I started with an Epson in the early 80s but when dad brought home a new 286. Oh man. We split that HDD up and my brother and I had 5 megs each and dad had 20. All these games and all this hardware was my time. 87-92 was a shining period.

Being a Creative SB16 type dude, all I know is that there are a couple MIDI soundfonts out there that emulate this that sound very, very good for what they are and their file size. "SC-55.sf2" ~140MB and "Roland_SC-55_v1.1 full pack.sf2" ~10MB. I'm not sure of their authenticity, but they are what brought me here, I mean, you know, other than being a fan of the channel anyway, of course.

Love the music from late 80's-early 90's games

Wow! These sound great. I love that display on there too.

My Roland XP-10 synth in 1995 sounds exactly like your SC-55. Most GS synths uses the same set of sounds for the GM/GS mode. Thank you for the nostalgia, dear LGR

another great video, i had the soundblaster pro you showed on the video and never could listen the original roland sound, seems like an universe in between of both sound cards!

Thanks for the video ! How good midi can sound was always one of those unanswered questions for me, as a teenager I had to spend my limited money on trying to get a new 3D card or RAM upgrade usually, MIDI equipment was a far flung fantasy. I remember hearing a big improvement in the early 00s on some retro games after getting a new sound card and tinkering around with MIDI libraries, but I always wondered how a top of the line setup would have sounded.

Honestly, I don't think I knew a single person in the 90s rocking anything fancier than a Sound Blaster compatible. I remember seeing those General MIDI and Roland options and having not clue one what they were.

Another great LGR vid! I coveted (and still do) a Roland system of this sort, but I have to say I was happy with my old AWE32, and later AWE64 from Creative. They did a damned fine job of doing the Midi "thing" at a relatively affordable price - both back then and now!

Love this shit, Clint. Keep doing this and I'm happy! Thank you very much, goodbye! 🌷🌷🌷

Probably seen this one but pleased to see you of all people doing one on this. Looking into the MT-32 and SC-55 again and came across this

WOW! The part where you play game sounds with the Roland SC-55mkII sounds amazing with my Noisehush NX-80 Stereo earbuds. And even without them on my Microsoft Surface Pro 4's internal speakers! Truly Amazing sound!

I'm just glad my Dad got a Roland SCC-1 back in 1992. Yes I still have it and use it all the time. Amazing Card

This timing, just in the week that I started to learn about MIDI's and soundfonts, LGR puts this vid online. Sweet

Thank you for the work you are doing and being a time machine back into our dreams! We are heavily inspired by the music of video games!

Thank you for the video. I've been fascinated by the different soundscapes provided by various sound devices of the 90s ever since I first heard AWE32 (after ages of mainlining with SB16, thinking it was the best it could get).

The panning it produces is mesmerising. I wish I had one of these just to play game OSTs on!

Loving these videos about midi! Please keep making these videos.

Bonus points for using "polyphony" in a video about computer technology. The computer music community appreciates you!

I love when you talk about midis! Thanks for the video!

I love waking up to "LGR" and "MIDI" in my RU-vid notifications. Even better that Anders helped to make this episode possible. Rockin!

That USB adapter and dos box basically sold me and I bought a Roland SC-88VL because it! I look forward to its arrival!

Amazing. I wish I had one of those Canvas back then. Thanks a lot for the video.

I love you for emphasizing the technology. General MIDI is so overlooked today, but everyone who has ever used a DAW will find their way to VSTs and controller surfaces. It really has stood the test of time. Do tell me you cable managed with velcro straps, eventually! :j Funny story, a friend of mine said my DAW GUI looks very much like a bomb-deactivation device. Haha.

LGR's voice just sounds so badass. The dude needs to release a podcast, I'd listen to it. Also I learn something new every time I watch an LGR video. Probably the best channel on RU-vid at the moment!

Hell yeah. Been waiting for this sorta video.

Dang, It is mind blowing to listen to my childhood sound tracks in such awesome renditions.

The music samples, takes me back to my rebellious music age. Thank you.

Before I saw your video I want a Roland MT-32... but now I want Roland SC-55mk II. Thank you Clint, excellent video as usual!

Just bought one of these. Freaking love it

So much nostalgia in these videos! I still have my old MT-32, but my SC-55 is long gone. A couple of good music showcases you might consider for your videos: Ultima 7 on the MT-32, and Ultima 8 on the SC-55. Really good, dark music for Ultima 8, despite how... ungood the game may have been. ;)

Awesome :D Little tip regarding the coin battery, it can leak, so I highly recommend taking a look and replacing, or removing it. When you remove it, the unit is reset after turning on, which is not a bad thing for "just" retro gaming :)

I had one of those SC-15 daughter cards. It was functionally equivalent to the SC-55MkII. Great card, great sound. I composed a lot of music for that thing over the years.

That sick advertisement that plays on the LCD when you boot the unit up. Glorious. Also pretty much just says "Hey, I'm a Sound Canvas. Let's MIDI some shit in glorious 18bit output."

I don't know why, but the "grant them Magical Roland Powers" bit really struck my funny bone. Sure wish I had had the jacks to own the SC-55 or SC-88 back in the day! It's delightful to see your take on them!

I still have one of these sound canvases. :) Still the very best MIDI sound you can get in my opinion. I didn't know about the modern usb interface cables though, so thanks so much for showing that in your video! Going to order one.

The prices of the Roland SC-55 mkII on online auction sites just went up... Thanks for this one, Clint, it is certainly a great addition to any DOS gamers setup - I had the keyboard variant back in the day, Roland's JV-30 - 'cause I was I wannabe muso at the time...sadly that never came to pass, but it provided much greatness to my DOS gaming.

Those midi devices sounds really warm and crystall clear and they both look professionsl.

There were quite a lot of MIDI soundtracks released on CD in Japan. Konami's MIDI Power and MIDI Power Pro CDs being good examples. They mainly used the SC-88 and SC-88pro though, IIRC.

LGR is again a guided missile right into my nostalgia center. You're the man, Clint!

Doom, exactly the way I heard it back on my pc! Love it!

Thanks for this great video. Another approach was soundfonts with Creative AWE-64, some games had their own custom soundfonts, but the headaches of "soundblaster-compatible" soundcards made for big puzzles during setup for some specific games, including having to know IRQs and port numbers by heart. One thing is certain, the huge gaming industry propelled this technology very quickly for musicians, Creative later purchased E-MU systems, they had their expensive "Audio production studio" or APS for writing MIDI with top quality samples, again with soundfont wavetable architecture. Hardware units like Sound Canvas, MT-32 and Proteus simplified MIDI setup, many of the software sequencers like Cakewalk had tough learning curves, so it made this process bearable.

Those are such 90s looking things. I have such a soft spot for black boxes covered in rectangular buttons and finished with an LCD data screen.

Nice video. I recently found myself in a position that I needed a synth. Well, I *always* needed one, but recently I acquired a MiST computer which has MIDI ports and can use one so I went on the hunt. I saw this video and this is exactly what I needed. I love the fact that standard RCA L/R audio can be mixed through this...just saves me working with a mixer or some cable madness. Simple. I found an SC-55 (earlier model, not MKII) for $140, so I hope it does what I need it to. EDIT: SC-55 did not pan out. The battery as it turns out destroyed it! So, I found an SC-50...and it works...and the battery did not leak. And...it is GOOD!

PC speaker and FM synthesis where what i had for the longest time. I did end up with a Yamaha XG card way later on. Holy crap! lol

Fantastic! I've had one for a few years now and absolutely love it. (Plug: I used it to write the theme tune to David M. Green's VHS Revue... That brass section screams 1990's.)

Bought my own SC-55 straight from Japan on the back of this video. One of, if not the best, retro computing purchase I've made I've got to say. The quality it adds to the games that support it is beyond belief.

Always enjoyable Clint

man... that tyrian part sounded marvelous!!! EPIC!

That was a great unit. Helped me write many songs!

Holy crap, that brings back memories. I think I actually still have the first version in a closet somewhere along with my Roland GP-16 guitar effects. I seem to remember that I had some Roland midi demo files as well that turned the screen into a simple Scramble game animation. I think I have lost those files a long time ago though. :/

I was going to say that is so awesome I wish I would listen to that on cd, then you whip out the cd! Rad!

YES a Soundcanvas video! Thank you Clint!

great video LGR

I really want to get my own Roland Sound Canvas device. I never grew up with hardware like this, but it is still super interesting to see and definitely something I want to collect.

sounds great! awesome quality (referring to your video and the sound canvas)

I actually just ordered mine, for a mere 70 bucks here in Romania :) Can't wait to get it... Also got a USB to MIDI cable, can't wait to fire up Tyrian in DosBox on this config... That game has marked my childhood, and I do a playthrough at least once every 6 months anyway :) Thanks for the GREAT insight, Clint!

Awesome how you show the equalizer while playing iconic game music.

I own that! Super proud to see you make a video about that!

Man I would have killed to have that kind of device when playing PC games as a kid. Very cool and great video!

It's crazy how much of an impact Midi has had over the past 30 years, I'm a Synthesizer man so when i hear midi i think pure Synths But this i had no idea existed for gaming back in the day. So cool thanks for this cool bit of knowledge.

man I heard the SC-55 rendition of Gradius II's music, it's a huge step up from the standard version! such a neat little add-on, must have been amazing for PC games back in the day!