From: fisher@decwin.enet.dec.com ()
Subject: Re: Help with soundcards
Reply-To: fisher@decwin.enet.dec.com ()
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 17:15:30 GMT


In article <1id4icINNbb@ua.d.umn.edu>, dcole@ua.d.umn.edu (david cole) writes:
|>
|>In article <scham_ta.8.726256156@slab.unt.edu> scham_ta@slab.unt.edu (Linda
|>Schamber's TA) writes:
|>
|>
|>
|>>
|>>1.  Is the SBPro substantially different in terms of the sound it produces?
|>|>>    By that I mean will the sounds in a game be different with the pro 
|>>    than with the regular board?
|>>
|>>2.  I have heard the Roland LAPC-1.  It is wonderful for music but how does
|>|>>    it work on sound effects?  How does the MT-32 stack up in comparison,
|>if 
|>>    a comparison can be made.  How does manufacturer support stack up for 
|>>    either of the Roland Boards?
|>>
|>
|>
|>There is very little difference between the LAPC and the MT32.  The LAPC is
|>just an MT-32 on a card with some additional sounds and RAM.  
|>Thus the only comparison between the two that is very important is that the
|>LAPC is internal and the MT32 is external (along with the fact that the
|>LAPC
|>is current while the MT-32 is discontinued).  
|>I don't know what you mean by "manufacturer support".  Roland is a major
|>synthesizer (and plotter) company.  As a rule, however, all software for
|>their cards is third-party.  Since the support you usually need for a
|>soundcard is software, you get it from the software makers.
|>
|>Contrary to some reports I have seen on this group, the Roland LAPC is very
|>good at sound effects -- much better than the Soundblaster/Proaudiospectrum
|>on the games I have heard.  It has some builtin effects, and others are
|>created by the game soundeffects writers.  Lots of explosions, crashes,
|>laser
|>cannons, engines, footsteps, dog barks, etc.  Plus both Roland cards have
|>reverb and echo built in and under software control, unlike the SB class of
|>card.

It depends a lot on what you mean by effects.  The SB and GUS kinds of cards
are
essentially 3 things in one:  Synthesizer, D/A, and A/D.  MT32/D110/LAPC is
"only" a synth.  You can program it to do lots of neat sounds as mentioned
above
but you won't find it doing voices.

|>
|>There is, in my opinion, no strong reason to upgrade from the SB to the SBPro
|>or the PAS cards.  There is a very good reason to get a Roland LAPC -- it
|>sounds alot better on both games and music.  
|>
|>I have not heard the GUS, but I doubt that it sounds as good as the LAPC.  I
|>have no doubt that it sounds better than the SB/PAS cards.  

Don't be TOO sure.  The Roland synths have built-in reverb and other kinds of
processing that are not available on the GUS.  However, the basic synthesizing
works differently.  The GUS plays samples and sounds quite realistic.  The
Roland cards that we are talking about blend samples (usually only for the
attack) with sustain sounds formed from various combos of square, sawtooth, etc
waves.  (Drums mostly samples, I think).  Thus the basic sound made by the GUS
is better, but the Roland can do fancier stuff with the poorer sounding stuff
it starts with.  In addition, it would not surprise me if the Roland were
better in terms of S/N and other things that pros care about, though I don't
know this.

The Roland SCC1 is completely different, from what I understand.  While it does
not do A/D and D/A, I am told it plays samples, so it may well sound better
than the GUS since it has all the fancy processing too.

Burns (GUS and D-110 owner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard