SC-55 vs SC-55MK2 vs SC-88 for Wing Commander

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Darkmage

Vice Admiral
Hi Guys,

Just looking to get some advice/recommendations from the guys that have used the midi modules. I'm looking to purchase one on ebay/gumtree to take my Wing Commander experience to the next level. I'm more concerned with the Wing Commander 1/2/Privateer era games as I have the Kilrathi Saga/WC4 DVD versions which have WAV sampled audio. What is the preferred MIDI module to use? I've heard the SC-55 Is great and the SC-55 MK2 can have compatibility issues, but this may not apply to Wing Commander and that would be what I play on it. I think from an older forum post the SC-88 was used in either WC3/4 for composing?
 
This is a tough one! Unfortunately, the series straddles the transition to General MIDI... meaning that Wing Commander I and II would like an MT-32 (or equivalent) while Privateer would like an SC-55 (or equivalent.) If you have to get just one, the SC-55 is the better choice as it tries to recreate the MT-32 (and Privateer sounds incredible)... but it's not perfect in that respect.

Wing Commander III was composed on a Kurzweil K-2000 and intended for any General MIDI card.
 
There is something to be said for owning your own vintage Midi module, and if that is what you want, then great. Then your answer is whatever one you can get your hands on for a reasonable price, if not all of them! :)

But if all you want is something to make your old games sound nice, then I highly recommend a free softsynth like Fluidsynth or Coolsoft VirtualMidiSynth, plus the plethora of great .sf2 files floating around the internet.
Timbres of Heaven is always my goto general soundfont and supports the SoundCanvas's GS standard.

An actual MT-32 would be nice for WC1-2 but people have become more and more interested in them lately, and a good price is hard to come by.

Munt has been making excellent strides lately, and definitely worth looking into.
 
I've found an MT-32 for a reasonable price which I will probably buy. My SC-55 came today. I was NOT prepared at all. The sound is MIND-BLOWINGLY AWESOME. Privateer sounds insane. Best $160 I've ever spent ~ $120 USD. 10/10 would buy again.
 
Darkmage said:
I've found an MT-32 for a reasonable price which I will probably buy. My SC-55 came today. I was NOT prepared at all. The sound is MIND-BLOWINGLY AWESOME. Privateer sounds insane. Best $160 I've ever spent ~ $120 USD. 10/10 would buy again.
Click to expand...

If you haven't already, wait till you get to Perry! The drums are rad.
 
I've been playing around with WC1/2 on the SC-55 it's interesting that the music seems to sound better when I run the soundcanvas in SC-55 mode rather than the MT-32 mode. The weapon sounds are all broken though because they mapped them to instrument effects on the MT-32.
 
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