Computing Innovations

People and organizations that made history...

Computing Innovations

←1940→

  • ENIAC, the 1st generally-programmable computer by the US Army (1946)
  • PLANKALKUL, the 1st High-Level Programming Language by Konrad Zuse (1948)

←1950→

  • SIMON, the 1st Personal Computer by Edmund Berkeley (1950)
  • AN/FSQ-7, the 1st computer with RTG Display by IBM (1951)
  • HD, the world's 1st computer hard disk drive (IBM, 1956)
  • FORTRAN, the 1st High-Level Programming Language by John W. Backus (1957)
  • BELL 101 MODEM, the first commercial-use modem (Bell Laboratories, 1959)

←1960→

  • PACKET SWITCHING (theory) by Leonard Kleinrock (MIT, 1961)
  • BASIC PROGRAMMING language by John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz (Dartmouth College, 1964)
  • SIMULA, the 1st Object-Oriented Programming Language by Ole-Johan Dahl & Kristen Nygaard (1967)
  • PEROTTINA (Programma 101), the 1st commercial desktop computer by Pier Perotto (Olivetti, 1965)
  • ARPANET, the father of today's internet by the US Army (1967)
  • FD (Floppy disk drive), invented by IBM (1967)
  • DRAM (Dynamic Random-Access Memory) by Robert Dennard (1968)
  • UNIX, the large-scale networking OS by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and other developers (Bell Labs, 1969)
  • LASER PRINTER, invented by Gary Starkweather (Xerox, 1969)

←1970→

  • INTEL 1103, the 1st DRAM chip (1970)
  • TCP/IP protocol suite by Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn (1970)
  • INTEL 4004, the 1st CPU on a single chip by Federico Faggin, Ted Hoff, and Stanley Mazor (1971)
  • eMail, invented by Ray Tomlinson (ARPANET, 1971)
  • C Programming language, invented by Dennis Ritchie (1972)
  • ETHERNET, invented by Robert Metcalfe (Xerox, 1973)
  • XEROX ALTO, 1st personal computer with a mouse-driven GUI (1973)
  • SEQUEL (later SQL), invented by Donald Chamberlin and Raymond Boyce (IBM, 1974)
  • APPLE 1, the 1st computer with a single-circuit board and ROM by Steve Wozniak (Apple, 1976)
  • COMMODORE PET, 1st widely-available educational computer (Commodore, 1977)

←1980→

  • VRAM (Video RAM), by F. Dill, D. Ling, and R. Matick (IBM, 1980)
  • MIDI, the 1st MIDI interface designed by Dave Smith and Chet Wood (1981)
  • ARM1, the 1st commercial RISC processor by Sophie Wilson and Steve Furber (Acorn, 1985)
  • AMIGA, the 1st multimedia personal computer (Commodore, 1985)

←1990→

MT-32 Midi

"Roland MT-32.. the Orchestra inside your PC or Home Computer"

Released in 1987 by the Japanese manufacturer Roland Corporation, the MT-32 was the standard MIDI device for PC games in the 80s. Hundreds of video games support the MT-32 on various platforms (IBM PCs, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, MAC, etc.) Notable mentions include several adventure games from Sierra and Lucasfilm.

  • The MT-32 Multi-Timbre Sound Module is a MIDI synthesizer module featuring a preset library of 158 sounds and 9 channels
  • Several platforms used the MT32, including PCs, Mac, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Apple IIGS, PC-8800 series, NEC PC-98, and Sharp X68000
  • In 1987, the device cost $695 (equivalent to $1,700 in 2022)

 

Boxed Roland RA50 Midi from my collection...Technical Specs

  • The MT-32 features 128 synth and 30 rhythm sounds that are playing on 8 melodic and 1 rhythm channel (drums)
  • The device also features a digital reverberation effect
  • There are 6 buttons on the front of the MT-32 module for changing patches within a part
  • Like the prior Roland D-50, the MT-32 uses Linear Arithmetic synthesis (sample-based synthesis combined with subtractive synthesis)
  • The device cannot perfectly play acoustic piano, as it doesn’t include a piano attack sample
  • The MT-32 was made before the General MIDI standard (1991), and thus, it features its format for playing MIDI files
  • In 1993, Roland released the "GM2MT" SysEx pack. This pack can be used for the re-programming of MT-32 to match General MIDI specs (as released in 1991)

There are two main MT-32 models:

(1) The original MT-32 (called Old MT-32 / without headphones)

(2) Th later MT-32 (called New MT-32 / with headphones)

 

Other Roland MIDI Devices Compatible with MT32

For those seeking to buy an MT-32 device, these are some good alternatives:

Fully-Compatible with MT32 Devices from Roland

  • Roland CM-32L (The CM-32L is fully compatible, but note, that CM-32P is NOT compatible with MT-32)

  • Roland CM-64 (Combines the CM-32L with the CM-32P)

  • MT-32 Raspberry Pi (check below)

Other devices offering MT32 Compatibility

  • Roland MT-100 (Some compatibility issues with Sierra games)

  • Roland RA-50 (Basically includes the CM-32L, but needs some modifications to work 100% as an MT-32)

  • Roland CM-32LN (Sound module for the NEC PC-98 series)

  • Roland CM-500 (Combines the CM-32LN with the GS-compatible Roland CM-300)

  • Roland LAPC-I Card (IBM PC internal ISA card, also consists of the MPU-401 interface)

General Midi-Compatible Games:

For general MIDI compatibility, you can use a Roland Sound Canvas (SC) device or other:

  • Roland SC-50
  • Roland SC-55 (nice)
  • Roland SC-88
  • Yamaha (MU50, MU80, MU90, MU1000, etc.)
  • Many others (Casio, Korg, etc.)

 

VIDEO GAMES FEATURING MIDI/MT-32 MUSIC

These are the computers and games that support Roland MT32:

 

IBM PCs

There are hundreds of old PC games that support MT32. However, to connect an MT-32 to an old PC, you need to find a Roland MPU-401 or a compatible card. The Roland MPU-401 is very difficult to find, so you need to buy a fully compatible card that offers both "Intelligent" and "UART" modes of operation.

  • There are more than 650 PC video games that support MT-32

  • The full list of IBM PC MT-32 games can be found on Wikipedia here

Useful Links: 

 

Apple Macintosh

Macintosh games that support Roland MT32:

  • Castle of Dr. Brain
  • Freddy Pharkas
  • Gabriel Knight
  • Hoyle Official Book of Games, Volume I & II
  • King's Quest VII
  • King's Quest V
  • Leisure Suit Larry I (Enhanced)
  • Leisure Suit Larry V
  • Leisure Suit Larry VI
  • Police Quest Open Season
  • Quest for Glory 1 (Enhanced)
  • Space Quest I (Enhanced)
  • Space Quest III
  • Space Quest IV
  • Thexder

 

Commodore Amiga

Amiga doesn't offer a built-in MIDI interface, however, you can easily find a serial-to-MIDI cable.

  • Castle of Dr. Brain
  • Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood
  • Hoyle's Official Book of Games: Volume 3
  • King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown (1991 remake)
  • King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!
  • Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (1991 remake)
  • Leisure Suit Larry V: Passionate Patti Does a Little Undercover Work
  • Mixed-Up Mother Goose (1991 remake)
  • Police Quest III: The Kindred
  • Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire
  • Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter (1991 remake)
  • Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon
  • Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers

Useful Links: 

 

Atari ST/STE

Roland RA-50The Atari ST, STE, TT, and Falcon computers all offer a built-in MIDI device. Therefore, you don't have to buy any interface for connecting MT32 to a 16-bit Atari computer.

  • Codename: Iceman
  • Conquests of Camelot (MT-32 and Casio CZ-101)
  • Cruise for a Corpse
  • Hero's Quest/Quest of Glory (MT-32 and Casio CZ-101)
  • Hoyle's Official Book of Games: Volume 1
  • King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella (MT-32)
  • Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love
  • Leisure Suit Larry III (MT-32)
  • Operation Stealth: The Stealth Affair
  • Police Quest II: The Vengeance (MT-32 and Casio CZ-101)
  • Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon
  • The Adventures of Maddog Williams
  • The Colonel's Bequest
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Plus support for general MIDI on Atari ST/STE:

  • Aliants
  • Arkanoid
  • Albedo (Casio CZ-101 & Generic MIDI device)
  • Bomb Jack
  • Dragonlord
  • Eco by Ocean (1987)
  • Gold of the Realm
  • Metropolis
  • ST Karate
  • ST Protector
  • Space Station
  • War Zone
  • Fire Blaster
  • Karate Kid part 2 (Casio CZ-101)
  • Lost Dutchman Mine (Casio CZ-101)
  • Pirates !
  • Sappiens (Casio CZ-101 & Generic MIDI device)
  • Ultima III Exodus
  • Ultima IV Quest of the Avatar

 

Roland MT-32 with Raspberry Pi

Recently, the British engineer Dale Whinham revealed an open-source MT-32 project based on Raspberry Pi. The hardware perfectly emulates Roland MT-32 by using a 128 x 64 OLED screen and featuring two buttons and a thumbwheel. The software used by the device is based on the Circle, Munt, and FluidSynth engines, and is programmed in C++. » Find the software on Github

  • The MT32-Pi is compatible with general MIDI, Roland GS, and MiSTer FPGA
  • The user needs to find his MT-32 ROMs (due to copyright)
  • 3d parties have created their versions of MT32-Pi, based on Mr. Whinham’s work

 

■ Roland MT-32

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