#Sound Cards
5 messages in this thread
Greetings, all you music oriented 3DSers:
I currently use a Roland SCC1 sound card in my PC as a MIDI device, and judging
by what happened the last couple of days, this card is not "Weendows"
compatible for multimedia, games, etc. At least, I cannot get it to work as
such. If any of you know whether or not the SCC1 can function with MPC Windows
software (reference software, newer games, etc.), please let me know.
Otherwise, what are your recommendations for a good quality sound card? I am
curious about the Turtle Beach Monterey, as I have heard it's predecessor, but
I don't know if it works with Weendows, CD-ROM, etc. The other board I have
seen in a catalog is the Turtle Beach Tropez, but cannot tell what the
difference is. I definitely want wavetable sounds.
Also, is it possible to run the Roland card as a MIDI device and another card
for the game/multimedia sounds? I welcome any and all responses/opinions!
Thanks, Bob Keefer
Hi Bob,
I called Turtle Beach the other day about just this subject. They told me the
Monterey is a professional sound card and does NOT have the SoundBlaster
compatibility that DOS games and multimedia applications generally require.
However, they said it would work for all Windows programs that used the Windows
drivers, which should include games and multimedia applications. In addition,
the card does not require all the system resources, specifically a DMA channel,
that a SoundBlaster compatible card needs. The card also does not have a cheap
amplifier inside, as it is intended to provide line-level inputs and outputs to
external sound equipment. The Monterey requres a $25 "cable" for external MIDI
in and out. (Internal MIDI support is built-in)
They said the Tropez (much cheaper) is their lower-level card which is
SoundBlaster compatible.
If I can read my scratch paper properly, Turtle Beach is at 1-800-645-5640.
The best price on the Monterey ($255) is at Computablily (1-800-554-9950)
I'm thinking of getting one of these myself to try to use with the PAR/RazorPro
and to run a couple of Kurzweils I have. I'm afraid I know zilch about the
Roland. I would suspect you would quickly run into computer resource conflicts
with two soundcards in a system. I have a couple of Roland MPU-IPC dedicated
MIDI interfaces which I think are real cheap now – you might consider one of
these to try along with a game soundboard if your primary goal is external
MIDI.
JKJ
John:
Thanks for all the info! I had seen an ad in PC Connections catalog that led
me to believe that the Monterey was not quite game compatible. I had seen a
Multisound, which was the predecessor to the Monterey. It has very nice sound,
but was not oriented for other applications (multimedia, games).
I already have a small MIDI studio in another room, so I don't really need a
lot of MIDI capability in my main computer, although I keep waiting for the
right software/hardware combination to be able to tie all of this (3DS and
MIDI) together. How are you planning to use the Monterey with Razor Pro and
PAR to run the Kurzweils? (mmm, Kurzweils… -spoken in a Homer Simpson
voice).
I found out yesterday that the Roland SCC! is strictly a MIDI card with no MPC
compliance. Trying to run it in addition to another sound card would surely
anger the IRQ gods! I found a couple of press releases last night in the
MIDI-A forum under Turtle Beach that described the features a little further of
the Monterey and Tropez, as well as their other products. They have introduced
an interesting feature called "SampleStore" in both of these cards that
supposedly allow the user to add and modify sounds, if I understand it
correctly. The Monterey has effects (reverb, etc.), but I don't think the
Tropez does. If I get the Tropez, I will be $100 closer to a PAR someday,
right?
I also have an old Music Quest simple MIDI interface card that I can throw back
in the machine if I need to – maybe it would work with the Turtle Beach card?
I think someone in town has a Tropez, so I will try to run out and "read the
box" at lunch. I will also call Turtle Beach and the vendor you listed.
Thanks again for the help!!
Bob
>>RazorPro, PAR, & Kruzweils…
Actually, I had two independent things in mind. The first was to see how a
sound card would work with Razor Pro and the PAR. The second was to use the
MIDI with a general purpose sequencer and music printing program.
My synths are currently not connected to a computer (I gave away the computer
that was driving it so all I've got left are the MIDI interfaces), but to a
couple of keyboards (Kurzweil Midiboard and Yamaha KX-88) and all I use them
for is fun. When I had a sequencer hooked up, I did some composition and
arranging for some church vocal groups, and printed out sheet music. Recently,
I took up the French Horn (after 25 years!) and could really use the MIDI to
create horn parts – just compose the part on the keyboard, transpose to F and
print. I could stick one of the Roland MIDI interfaces in, but I'm really
short on slots. Another possiblity would be one of those serial port MIDI
interfaces, then I could plug it into the laptop.
I wanted to use the sound board mostly for digital recording and editing. From
what I read and what Turtle Beach told me, the Monterey also functions as a
general purpose sampler, probably the SampleStore that you referred to. If
you've never played with one, a sampler is a LOT of fun, in that you can record
sounds/pitches and assign them to a MIDI note number for MIDI playback.
However, to be useful, acquiring and fine tuning the samples to make them
usable, with proper looping for sustain, etc., is almost more effort than it is
worth, especially since there are samples you can buy that are ready to use.
(Sorry if I'm repeating the basics here that you may already know.)
I just ordered the Monterey so I can probably tell you more about it next week.
I also ordered the Cambridge SoundWorks speaker system to plug it into, as it
came recommended from three independent sources.
JKJ
John:
Congrats on the Monterey purchase – let me know how you like it, as well as
those speakers! I never did get through to Turtle Beach, so I went with the
Tropez. Got a call about an hour later from TB, so I talked with the guy about
it. The Tropez also has the SampleStore, which is the same as on the Monterey
for sampling, but it is a little higher quality on the Monterey, I think.
>>If you've never played with one, a sampler is a LOT of fun
Nope, never played with one, but boy do I WANT one! The TB card will have to
suffice for now, though. The latest version of Cakewalk supports including and
triggering .WAV files in sequences, so I can't wait to try that out. The
Tropez requires additional memory to operate the SampleStore – I don't know if
the Monterey does, so you may want to check that out.
>> Another possiblity would be one of those serial port MIDI interfaces, then I
could plug it into the laptop.
I am using a Music Quest 2SE? (external MIDI interface box that plugs into
parallel port) on my music computer – it works great. I got it because of the
easy portability and laptop possibilities. They make about 3 different models
now, according to a recent magazine ad.
Let's stay in touch on the TB cards and applications – I am interested in how
you will be using the card for fun and work. I am also interested in how it
works with the PAR/Razor Pro.
>>Recently, I took up the French Horn (after 25 years!)
That's great! Someday I plan to do the same with the sax – just walk around
the backyard honking blues licks and annoying the neighbors <g>.