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

[Qaedain]

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

Titanic 200 GM-GS is also good, and better in horns (imo) than Merlin: https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/1720 -- the string on nro3 sound fantastic with this. Literal goosebumps when I heard it the first time.

[Knuckle]

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

Titanic 200 GM-GS is also good, and better in horns (imo) than Merlin: https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/1720 -- the string on nro3 sound fantastic with this. Literal goosebumps when I heard it the first time.

Dude sweet I am gonna test this out.. Its been a year since I had MIDI since I built a new PC and got EQ up and running recently... Do you recommend using this with the coolsynth program or do you use something alternative?

EDIT: Listened to that F-Zero sample.....It definitely sounds way different from the original SNES version, as I have an original SNES cartridge plugged into my CRT right next to the PC here, haha. But it's not bad...It's just, way less "crunchy" than the retro sound I am used to, a bit too high on treble I think with certain instruments.

[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

[Nori]

I recently purchased a modular (MIDI) sound canvas to bring life back to vintage game music. Does anybody know how I might be able to route the original EQ midi music playback through my external sound canvas via MIDI? I'm using a USB-to-MIDI adapter to my Roland SC-55.

I think it's what you guys are doing with system sound fonts, but instead of the system generating the sound, the external MIDI device would create the sound.

Any thoughts?

[Knuckle]

If I got an actual soundblaster 32 awe woudl it even be possible to run on a modern PC? i run a modius DAC from my studio speakers to USB on the PC. Is there a way I could funnel a soundblaster to run only on EQ to give native MIDI sound with no emulation?

[Knuckle]

I cant even get the coolsynth midi to kick in at ALL even using the built in mapper as well as the seperate download. I also made sure the midis were set to kick out to my speakers which I know is obvious but I am at my wits end of troubleshooting on this new pc with win11. Going to try the emt overwrites and ignore the midi player i guess.

[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

[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.