Make EQ's music (MIDI) sound Significantly Better.

[mcoy]

I can't get eax to work with my sound blaster x-fi usb either. Not sure if it's a limitation of the usb devices compared to a pci card or what...

-Mcoy

[Guids]

Originally Posted by Arkaan [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Noticed you are suggesting to load 1MGM.sf2.

This is a compacted 1MB soundfont with GM fonts only. This was the ROM preloaded in the AWE32 line of cards from Creative.

There are several, much more rich fonts available. 1MGM.sf2 has larger variants such as 4GMGSMT.SF2 or CT4MGM.SF2. These are copyright, but if you can get your hands on an old school AWE64 Gold installation CD you will find them there.

If your goal is to make EQ music "sound like it used to in 1999" then it depends on what you were hearing. Windows 98 defaulted to MS GS Wavetable Synth regardless of soundcard. You may want to search the web for a better version of the built in windows soundbank, gm.dls.

If your goal is to make the music not have issues such as skipping and clipping then you need another synthesizer. I wont recommend building a computer with ISA slots and getting a 20 year old AWE64 Gold. Software can fix these issues nicely.

In either event, I recommend OmniMIDI https://github.com/KeppySoftware/OmniMIDI

This software allows you to load various soundbanks. It is a fork of BASSMIDI but is more updated and robust.

Once you have loaded the soundfont you can change the default midi device in Windows 10 by editing the registry under Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\M icrosoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Drivers32 for 64 bit OS or Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Win dows NT\CurrentVersion\Drivers32 for 32 bit OS

There will be a REG_SZ key named "midi" which points to wdmaud.drv by default. This is the default windows audio driver which also contains Microsoft's software synth.

You should see your custom synth listed as "midi1" with the registered driver name.
Just copy the string from "midi1" and paste it into "midi"

To revert to default just make sure "midi" says "wdmaud.drv"

Heya, first off wanted to thank you for the info you provided on that comment. Secondly, I wanted to ask if you still use OmniMidi, and if you've noticed any issues with it. After testing a ton of sf2 files and messing with the settings, i've gotten the sound where I want it, but I'm noticing that regardless of sf2 or settings, its cutting off certain notes (like Qeynos entrance theme the quick high notes near the beginning, or in the vendor music, the single high note about 6 seconds into the track). Did you ever notice these issues, and if so, any idea how it can be fixed?

[Nedala]

Originally Posted by Qaedain [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Necrobumping to highlight Merlin_GMV32 as a sound font. It's extremely balanced instrumentation and sounds great on EverQuest midis. Kelethin sounds like itself... but better. Just got back into EQ again and spent hours trying different SF2s to retain the same feel, but improve it.

Available here: https://archive.org/download/free-so...ts-sf2-2019-04

I jst did this and it's awesome. thanks

[Nedala]

Quick how to for guildies:

1. download and install this: https://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/virtualmidisynth (click download on top and choose version)


2. Go here: https://archive.org/download/free-so...ts-sf2-2019-04 and download Merlin_GMV32

3. run virtualMIDISynth (the one you installed at 1.), click on the "+" symbol and choose the "Merlin_GMV32" you just downloaded, click on "Apply" - start eq and enjoy improved music

[first]

Originally Posted by Nedala [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Quick how to for guildies:

1. download and install this: https://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/virtualmidisynth (click download on top and choose version)


2. Go here: https://archive.org/download/free-so...ts-sf2-2019-04 and download Merlin_GMV32

3. run virtualMIDISynth (the one you installed at 1.), click on the "+" symbol and choose the "Merlin_GMV32" you just downloaded, click on "Apply" - start eq and enjoy improved music

Thank you!! This worked really well for me. Sound is noticeably better. Following a different guide, my midi sounds got completely broken and I had no music. But this fixed it

[Chris1479]

Hi all,

Just wanted to drop in and talk about soundfonts in EQ for a sec.

As someone who has played EQ/P99 for a very long time but never REALLY given too much thought to reproducing the music as it was in the original game in 1999 - I have to say I am BLOWN AWAY by what these soundfonts can do.

I literally only managed it with a lot of assistance from Grok on Linux but standing in the Bard's guild in Qeynos and hearing music I've never heard before is absolutely insane.

I've ended up sticking with Merlin_GMV32 as it feels pretty balanced but the other thing I'd say is that it's also insane how DIFFERENT the music is in EQ depending on what MIDI soundfonts you're using.

People must have almost completely different memories of the music just because it depended on whether you were using SoundBlaster or whatever else.

I've tried so far:
1mgm.sf2 (seems to be a super stripped back basic one, i think this is what i remember from back in the day)
FluidR3_GM.sf2
FluidR3_GS.sf2
merlin_gmv32(v3.2).sf2
Roland.SC-55.sf2
CHAOS12M.sf2

Some were subtly different some were wildly different, I really couldn't say which was best but the differences are quite dramatic and for anyone on the fence:

TRY IT. It is so worth it and adds so much to the game - I mean, a Bard's Guild at The Wind Spirit's Song with no music?

Music is a HUGE part of EQ and I wish it got more attention.

Thanks everyone.