Old FM MIDI Synth plays Touhou 08 (IN) MIDIs

[Margatroid]

Sounds cool.

[sweetgyy]

im surprised it didn't crash

[TrilbyArts]

:O wow



[elPatrixf]

Mmmmmmhhhhhhhhh... ISA Slots...

I have an old computer with an AWE64. Can't find a better midi synth xD

[flancakes93]

I had an old IBM with a very, VERY FM-Synth midi card, and windows 3.1. Unfortunately my dad sold it for $20 behind my back.

[SomethingUnreal]

@flancakes93 : That must have hurt...

[TheDJ3520]

Mouse keys...i thought i was the only one!

anyway, this comp is very comparable to my first, which still runs

[Coverguy88]

that's just fantastic :D

i'm going to look for old computer parts at dad's garage :D :D

i remember we had a 2.86 and a 3.86 somewhere :D

[TatharNuar]

Reminds me of my second computer, which I got in 1997. It had 32 megs of RAM at first, Windows 95, and an ISA sound card. 

[bradthegeeknet]

Its sounds like a 16-bit adlib/soundblaster LIVE! card. They are fun to play with =3

[jmw0284]

More midis for an even older computer. 386 from 1990! Still going strong to play midis.

[Jibes]

Ahahaha. Hearing Sakura Kiss on that old synth cracked me up.

All of your videos are always interesting, it's awesome, thanks.

Also, this one causes major cases of nostalgia, almost dangerous.

[HardbeatAcolyte]

Cool :P

[LubricatedBeat]

Ah sorry mate, misjudged you as one of the youtubers who run their favourite midi files through 16 bit/sega emulators. Sorry!

And i'm familiar with FM, i've got a yamaha dx7. I will admit, took so much time to learning how to program your own patches...well worth it though.

Not that i watched this again, it's awesome :) thanks for sharing

Cheers!

[LubricatedBeat]

that's not 8bit, at all.

16 bit :(

[SomethingUnreal]

@LubricatedBeat : That's why I said "8-bit-style". Unfortunately, not many people will know what you're talking about if you say "FM music" compared to "8-bit music". =/

[xan1242]

@SomethingUnreal Thats square wave.

[richardbirch2007]

Good ol' soundblaster 32. It has the classic Yamaha FM OPL synth but it also has a surprisingly powerful ROM sampler on the card too ;)

[ipaqmaster]

i Like the songs and the pc :P

[wicky615]

This brings me waaaaaaaaaaay back!

I think probably the oldest computer I used was a 386, not sure of the memory size or processor speed, but it was very much pre-pentium hardware. Couldn't even emulate a gameboy ;]

[Lishy1]

They seriously need to make some plugins and such for future computers. Things like FM Synthesis are awesome.

[Nicolai0Nerland]

HOLY SHIT YOUR VOICE SOUNDS JUST LIKE MINE (Or well did anyway) =0_ o=

Cool synth by the way

[TheDJ3520]

OMG That looks like my dinosaur I'm trying to revive. It's my first computer, 1999, floppy drive the only working removable media.This takes me way back. That was the best motherboard I had! Still have it somewhere *desperately looks*

[redtails]

I never quite understood why MIDI even existed. Modular music such as the fasttracker, protracker and impulsetracker have existed far longer than midi music and it is clearly superior because it uses its own samples instead of sounding different from machine to machine

[storerestore]

First of all MIDI has existed since 1982, much longer than the trackers you mentioned (or any tracker software I know). MIDI sound standards (which is probably what you are referring to) have existed since 1987 (MT-32), still before the trackers you mentioned. The idea of MIDI is to provide means to transfer music data reliably on a pretty low-bandwidth communication channel.

[storerestore]

Secondly, the General MIDI sound standard (what I think you refer to as MIDI) was made to be able to support many channels of music on relatively cheap hardware. Samplers at the time were very expensive, and sound was often produced by different means (such as FM in this example, or the wave table synthesis we hear on most modern consumer cards). If the standard included samples, it wouldn't have had the industry impact it had.

Hope this clears some things up! :)

[redtails]

All right good point that MIDI existed before trackers did. But I fail to see why MIDI is better than trackers because obviously the Hornet archive and the demo Scene in general was built around the entire idea of trackers, which is proof of their application, though rarely commercially used

[Stormtrooper595]

you didnt??? lol the psp version is a port of it practically. the first version was dos and then they made a 32bit version for windows.

[Stormtrooper595]

i have to settle with timidity for fm synthesis that isnt real lol

[SomethingUnreal]

If you're talking about the MIDI synth for the PSP, that's simple wavetable synthesis. o_O

[Stormtrooper595]

well i have it for the pc and psp. I'm just saying im stuck with using soundfonts that sound like fm synth is all. Oh speaking of psp timidity i can only use pats not sf2 :P

[SomethingUnreal]

Oh, I see. I didn't even know Timidity existed for the PC, either. =o

[atan0k]

This is MIDI music being played through a card that uses FM Synthesis to render the sound.

Don't confuse that with pure FM Synthesis music.

Go listen to watch?v=-gYlDaYf44Y or any other track from Akyu's Untouched Score.

[SomethingUnreal]

Firstly, FM refers to the way the sound is generated. You seem to think that because the note data is stored in MIDI format this does not make it "FM music". The soundcard uses solely FM synthesis to make the sound, therefore this is music played by frequency modulation.

Secondly, the music in the PC-98 Touhou games is not "pure" FM music. The PC-98 has 6 FM channels but also 3 SSG channels which are used in music for beats, snares, hihats, triangles and some melodies depending on the theme.

[atan0k]

What I meant is that the PC-98 musics are, even if partially, composed using FM Synthesis specifically, whereas these you show here are originally MIDI and are incidentally being rendered using FM Synth.

The big difference resides in the abstraction caused by the MIDI format, in contrast with the lower level nature of direct FM Synthesis composition.

It's like a machine-printed canvas vs a hand painted one.

The support in which it's reproduced is the same, but the way it's created is not.

[SomethingUnreal]

Well, I suppose it all comes down to what format the FM music was created in (it is probably now compiled into the program, but effectively there will still be note on/off events, for example).

I'm sure ZUN put an awful lot of effort into creating the MIDIs as well, and I doubt he left much more of it to machine than he did in the FM ones. I didn't think it was known exactly what software he used to create the music, but I expect such simple things as copy/paste were possible back then too...

[atan0k]

MIDI in the Windows games has always been a fallback in case the PCM files are unavailable, such as with some of the demo versions.

When PCM is available there really is no reason to use anything else, other than saving machine resources.

[SomethingUnreal]

Are you serious? MIDI is anything but a fallback in my eyes, but perhaps that's because I like to play around with music software. MIDIs are like the "source code" of the music, while you can't do anything with the PCMs other than play them. If you don't like how the PCM sounds then you can't do anything about it. You can make the MIDIs sound however you want them to sound, plus you can look inside them to see exactly what the song is made of (e.g. exactly what note plays when).

[atan0k]

There is much that can't be done using MIDI, but putting that aside, the fact that it's simply a note descriptor means you are at the mercy of whatever is rendering the sound.

PCM has but one possible interpretation, and you can trust it is exactly what was intended by the author.

MIDI is useful as an input protocol, but is unfit for final music distribution.

As an analogy, it's like a recorded rendition of a singer versus the lyrics being sung by someone.

[4K4K1K0]

»As an analogy, it's like a recorded rendition of a singer versus the lyrics being sung by someone.«

I would prefer having a good singer + lyrics over a CD.

[atan0k]

A more precise analogy would have been versus text-to-speech software reading the lyrics.

In any case, there is room for improvement, but plainly playing back the fallback MIDI files is not one.

Related to the previous discussion, I must remark that FM synthesis is a sequence of mathematical operations that can be computed with 1:1 fidelity by any modern general-purpose processor. Hardware only makes a difference in the very final step: outputting an analogue signal.

[ThisIs2009]

the synth is the Yamaha OPL3 by the way. Creative put a piece of paper over the top with a fake model number on it to try and stop people finding out! lol

[SomethingUnreal]

Wow, that's lame of them. Thanks for the info!

[ThisIs2009]

no worries :-) i'm assuming your card is an SB16, in which case the info is correct.

[SomethingUnreal]

Yep, it is. =)

[ThisIs2009]

i think it's in some script-type font, is it?

[JingleJoe]

huzzah for 8 bit sounds and huzzah for ouran host club! :D Great video!

[KlonoaKawaiiDesu]

i can't access the site where you have the mp3s for these songs. :(

btw, my old computer used to have Soundblaster, and it had both Wavetable synth, and OPL3. it had windows 98 with the Plus! 98 pack on it. had very good sound compared to the wavetable midi that you hear nowadays.

[coffeehigh420]

what happend at 5:55 ??

[SomethingUnreal]

That's the joy of tape camcorders, lol. It was an accidental interruption of the recording because I thought a different tape was in the camcorder at first.

[coffeehigh420]

now THAT's "something unreal" !

[ChibiFighter]

When ever I listen to these tunes in this chip tune style or this 8-bit style I just feel all warm inside awesome video good sir

[Wyrmnax]

Heh, thats wonderful. Been looking for a while for MIDIs from the Touhou, that works really well. Thank you.

[vitralizer]

Touhou on the Sega Genesis. lol.

[betomembrane]

what happened at 05:55 lawl,,, jk jk =]

[malgez]

wow that's epic! brings back the old memories of playing Lemmings 95 on the trusty old 95.

[SVL0RM00N]

that's not that old. and it sounds about the same as standard on-board sound today

[SomethingUnreal]

I'd like to know where you're getting your motherboards from then, if they have FM synthesis built into their on-board sound chipsets. FM synthesis is not actually commonly used nowadays - companies are more concerned with making the instruments sound more realistic by using wavetable synthesis (playing different actual recordings of instruments at different speeds) rather than generating the sound from scratch internally.

[SomethingUnreal]

But I agree with you that it isn't "ancient". =P

From the 90s, though.

[Enysvar]

that box would do really good with linux

[shalambraxy]

in 2002 my computer was a pentium 2 333mhz with 512mb ram, 40gb hdd, 32mb gpu, and a creative sound blaster live, running windows XP.

in 1998 that same computer was a pentium 2 333mhz with 64mb ram, 4gb hdd, 8mb gpu, and an "avance sound chip" running windows 98.

guess which sound card sounded like the one in your video :P

[VideyoJunkei]

I have an old toshiba notebook computer that has an opl3 synth that sounds similar to this in that sounds are generated vs. a wave-table. Playing old games on it (King's quest 6) the synth does sound effects too, like tweeting birds, and ocean surf. It sounds better than the general MIDI thing windows has...

[Keijz74]

Ad Lib? Sounds like a Yamaha OPL-? sound chip! Makes me want to boot my Atari 7800 ProSystem Emulator. Or plug in my Namco joystick. Or play Atari Anniversary Pack. My in-laws have my old Win98 Pentium II PC which seems to be almost identical. It has a, quite nice, Turtle Beach Montego Wavetable card. I replaced it mostly for getting Internet at home, actually. Every time I stay for a few days I can't resist using it.

[SomethingUnreal]

Heh, sounds interesting - you should record it some time! ;)

Actually, this sound card is Creative Sound Blaster. It has 2 synths on it, but this is the most 'electronic-'sounding of the 2.

[Keijz74]

Why not. It sounds much like my new PC, by the way.

[Keijz74]

Oh, the Turtle Beach card has a reverb and chorus option, my new wavetable card hasn't. I'll try to get my digital camera set up as webcam. It worked (but sluggish) on the Win98 Dell PC using Micro$oft Media Player, my new PC doesn't seem to grasp the idea. I am thinking of fiddling around with uploading things.

[linsparky]

Where did you get all these MIDIs?

[SomethingUnreal]

I'm putting the link in the video description - enjoy ;)

[linsparky]

Oh, I see you put them up. Thanks for that.

[masterofall66]

I love this soundfont...

I love it!

[SomethingUnreal]

It's not a soundfont, but making some from this synth had crossed my mind a couple of times...

[breadrack]

I made a soundfont to 'emulate' FM ... while it doesnt emulate it to the T... it does things the way FM did, with more body and feel to it... but im always interested in the input of others... its 5 megs and yeah you can play loads of VG music on it... everything from guitarou.mid to Streets of Rage II... sega bass, opl style brass, it's GM compat... for those who want a go at it, works best on KX driven SOUND BLASTER LIVE and up soundcards- Will work w/audigy and x-fi also. AIM me@ Shananegin.

[SomethingUnreal]

That sounds cool. If you're talking about SF2 soundfonts then they should work with any compatible program, including VST plugins and MIDIG, though. Also, I don't have AIM. =/

A link to a site in your profile would probably be a better choice of spreading it around.

[Marisueksu]

Hey, so did I. :O Though it was made with the sound of the YM chips in mind. It's not even complete and I don't feel like finishing it.

I'd like to see yours to compare with my work of 2003. :D

[breadrack]

My work is almost complete, compatability is very high and most of the instruments sound better then the GM equivelant. It doesnt have the sound of a genuine FM card but it's close. I remade FM sounds from squares/sine/saws/triangle/ combinations of those... some are spot on others are a bit different - but all sound proper on a GM midi. If you'd like to try it and have a soundblaster card with soundfont capability, let me know via youtube message. Always looking for advice!

[masterofall66]

I would enjoy that Muchly.

[sanderrodijk]

it isnt acient, just some years old thats all

[SomethingUnreal]

Yes, at least 3 people have said that now.

It is just the oldest which I have, and I wanted to share its sound with people...

[jazzmunky]

This isn't ancient at all, unless you're under 12 or something...

Still sounds nice and chippy tho

[Zraty]

This soundcard may be old but I think that the MIDI rendering is still better than those of the integrated Intel chips that are on every modern motherboards.

[c0v3n4n7]

That's a SoundBlaster ASP16 or AWE32 without Wavetable / GeneralMidi module. If you want to deal woth real old school souncards, get a ADLIB.

[SomethingUnreal]

Yes, it's an AWE32. I don't specifically go out and buy these things; I just happened apon it a long time ago and held onto it, and thought I'd share a bit of its sound here.

I know there are much, much older cards, but I don't have one, and don't know where to get one from, even if I was willing to pay ludicrous money for it.

[c0v3n4n7]

Just wanted to say that if you want to try really good FM sounds (Frequency Modulation like those from Sega Genesis) look for a Adlib card or any OPL3 chip card. If you can find any garage sale, those usually for for almost free.

Monkey Island 1 and Dune 2 have7 the greatest FM tracks ever made.

[cardboardsnail]

Almost makes me wish I didn't throw out my old Compaq Presario with some old 8-bit ISA sound card.

Of course, I don't have good music composing skill so even if I kept it, I probably couldn't do much with it :/

[DavidEwin]

Everything up until 8:12 did NOT destroy my ears... 8:12 - 8:30 actually hurt. another great vid though, gj.

[Kasatome]

Wow i haven't heard sound like that in a while. Kinda makes me want to throw one of my old computers back together.

[Jivemaster2005]

That card isn't so ancient...it's a 16bit Soundblaster 32 PnP or some late model Soundblaster AWE32

If you want to talk about ancient 8bit cards..you should get a Soundblaster 1.0 or 2.0 which were 8bit cards and produced mono sound

[SomethingUnreal]

Yes, I believe it shows itself as SB AWE32. I did make sure to say '8-Bit-style', though. ;)

I know it's not exactly 'museum-style' ancient, but with modern cards and soft-synths coming out, I expect it does sound very old-style to a lot of people.

I'd really, REALLY love to get my hands on an older soundcard such as one which you mention. Any ideas on where one of these could be obtained from? I expect they're pretty rare nowadays.

[coondogtheman1234]

the midi sound i liked the best is the music of doom and doom 2 played back thru a SBAWE32 sound card i had that in my old 486 can you get some doom music and play it on this card

[SomethingUnreal]

Yeah, I could do that. ;)

There are 2 synths on this card - the older-sounding one you hear here, and a kind of more realistic, trebbly one with a reverb on it. Which one's the one you used?

[coondogtheman1234]

the older one the SB AWE 32 sound, i dont like the realistic instrument sounding midi cards in newer pcs the wavetable ones i dont like them, im trying to find mp3s of all the doom and doom 2 midis sampled on an old soundcard, i did find a site but its like they put them on there and then deny ppl access to them when they are clearly up for download. all I get when i try to dl one is a junk mp3 file that wont play and clicking on the link to the file gives a forbidden error.

[isaaccade]

8bit can be Verrry dramatic! lol

[DevotedAnimeSharer]

Wow that music was amazing. It sounds so cool. ^^

[eaglecreek123]

Wow! Nostalgic!! Love t!

[Axl4002]

lol, some songs sound very Megaman-ish. Really cool!

[falzaabi]

very cool as aloes i enjoy your vid

[bf0189]

Haha that's neat, do Touhou 7 =O. Touhou 7 had the best music.

[SomethingUnreal]

Thanks, but really? I thought IN's music was better, but maybe that's since I've played IN more than PCB so I've become 'attached' to it.

I do already have all the TH07 (and 06) MIDIs though so I'll probably make MP3s of them later today. =D

[SomethingUnreal]

* * * I've done Touhou 07 (PCB), tracks 01 to 12 now! ^^ * * *

There really are some good ones (gotta love tracks 06 and 07). Please check the download page (same) in the description to get to the ZIPs. =)

[bf0189]

Awesome, thanks!

[t3hkirbz0rz]

Wow, I haven't seen Windows 98 or floppy discs in a really long time. Anyway, most of the songs actually sound kinda normal to me. But this is still cool.

[SomethingUnreal]

Heh, thanks... it actually has a sticker on the front saying "Designed for Windows 95". xD