MSX Village forum

What software supports the MSX-Audio?



* Almost all software which contains music composed in SoundTracker, Moonblaster or Oracle (or Super Music Editor, see the MSX-Music section) or Magic Music Module Combi, etc.). All these editors support the ADPCM sample unit of the Philips NMS-1205 Music Module. Some even support the keyboard. Only FAC Soundtracker supports the keyboard of the Toshiba cartridge.



* Other software which makes use of the ADPCM sampler. E.g. Trax Player by NOP (a program to play songs (samples) directly from disk, while loading). Very nice piece of software! You can find some songs recorded with TraxPlayer in FuNet FTP archive



* Most of the Disc Stations by Compile

o Supports mainly the Panasonic MSX-Audio and since the Philips Module doesn't contain an Audio BASIC ROM the Compile software assumes there is no MSX-Audio present. But it can be fixed by typing

POKE -54,35:POKE&HF346,1:_SYSTEM

before you put a disk in the drive.



* Some of the MSX2/2+ disk games by Compile (look above what to do if you don't have a Panasonic MSX-Audio module):

o Golvellius II

o Gorby's Pipeline

o Rune Master II

o Actually, probably all Compile software that supports FM-PAC also supports MSX Audio



* Software which requires the 256kB of sample RAM. E.g. the demo Unknown Reality by NOP

o Contact MSX-Club West-Friesland or other local hardware people for an upgrade kit

Panasonic FS-CA1 MSX-Audio



* the original MSX-Audio cartridge, fully implementing the MSX-Audio standard

* connector for Toshiba HX-MU901 Music Keyboard

* 4kB SRAM buffer for playing ADPCM samples

* 64kB sampleROM with ADPCM demo samples

* 2 tulp mono Audio-out connectors

* 1 big jack plug (microphone in)

* 1 switch to turn off the internal software

* 32kB Synthe Music Editor built in program (CALL SYNTHE)

* 32kB MSX Audio BIOS/BASIC (FM-BASIC is a simplified version of it, but this original BIOS doesn't cost you any user RAM); try CALL AUDIO

* Only sold in Japan.

compared to the MSX-Music standard: all instuments can be used at any time; there is not that stupid limit that we all hated in the MSX-Music, allowing you to choose only one of the instruments marked with a "*" on the manual. No boring asterisks on the MSX-Audio, just fun.

MSX-Music is a standard for FM-based sound-generation on MSX. It came later (1987) than the MSX-Audio standard (1985), as a Panasonic proprietary extension, the FM-PAC. It is using a more limited version of the MSX-Audio BIOS, patched to use the much cheaper and incompatible Yamaha YM2413. This means it blocks ADPCM commands explicitly and that only 1 user-instrument can be used at a time. The size is also smaller: only 16kB.



It's obscure why Panasonic did choose the YM2413 to build an incompatible cheaper sound cartridge for the MSX when they could have chosen the YM3526, which was 100% FM compatible with the Y8950 (MSX-Audio), lacking only the ADPCM registers. The ADPCM commands could then just be blocked, as they did on the MSX-Music BIOS.



Being incompatible with the MSX-Audio, the MSX-Music was not designed to be used for direct OPLL access, but many games did it. ASCII got even further on weakening the standard when made the terrible mistake of choosing the MSX-Music as the standard for the MSX turboR spec, after already having it built in in some MSX2+ machines. Again, they could have chosen to build a cheaper MSX-Audio using the YM3526.



Next to the Panasonic FM-PAC (FM Pana Amusement Cartridge), also other versions, based upon the FM-PAC, were produced. For the sound they are practically the same as the FM-PAC. Although some had some extra features, like a seperate audio output, or "stereo" output (one channel the FM drums, the other channel the other FM sound; cartridges like this are the FM Stereo PAK and was made by Checkmark, the Netherlands and the FM Sound Stereo by Tecnobytes, Brazil). In the rest of this section I'll talk mainly about the FM-PAC, the original MSX-Music.



The Yamaha YM2413 is a low-cost OPL2, thus named OPLL, for "OPL Light". This means its core is a striped-down version of the YM3812 (OPL2), while the Y8950 core has a YM3526 core (OPL1) internally. The only advantage is that the YM2413 has two types of sound waves, while the Y8950 has only one. This doesn't seem to be much, but is enough to get a good advantage on the synthesis, resulting in more complex and nice instruments.



The OPLL was especially made for the MSX system. It provides 9 channels of FM sound without drums or 6 channels FM sound with 5 FM drums (same as MSX-Audio). The aforementioned supplied FM-Basic (BIOS) gives the user opportunity to make their own music. There are approx 64 preset voices to choose between and more can be made. As already mentioned: ony one user instrument can be used at the same time.

C'est interessant, je ne savais pas que le véritable " MSX Audio " était de Panasonic :

C'est la cartouche MSX la plus moche que j'ai jamais vu mais ça doit être sympa de s'en procurer une !

Dommage que le music module et son equivalent de chez toshiba et panasonic n'aient pas été mieux utilisés et/ou utilisés de façon massive.

Si ça t'intéresse, je vais bientôt mettre en vente un Music-Module de chez Toshiba, avec son clavier dédié, quasi neuf dans son emballage.