Is DOSBox Staging better than real Retro PC? Part 2 Audio Sound and Music

Fun fact: Dune uses the HERAD (HERbulot ADlib) sound system created by Remi Herbulot, and the soundtrack was written by Stephane Picq. These two were absolute technical masters of FM synthesis. HERAD is the only sound engine which implements the full feature set of the OPL2 chip, there is functionality which HERAD exposes that just isn't possible anywhere else. The games KGB and MegaRace also use HERAD. The only other person who I think even approaches this greatness is Bobby Prince who wrote the Doom soundtrack, he really knew his way around the Roland SC-55 and Yamaha OPL, being one of the very few PC music composers who bothered to vary the instruments instead of using the pre-made instrument set.

I'd definitely be interested in a comparison between DOSBox Staging vs. DOSBox-X vs. original DOSBox.

That was a great comprehensive overview of the main audio enhancements we've introduced to DOSBox Staging lately! Congrats again, and I'm glad to see you enjoy using "our product" 😎🎧 I particularly liked that you mentioned the mighty Roland D-50, and I've finally learned what the number 32 in the name of the Roland CM-32L represents! I got a good chuckle out of watching the Elite Plus example; not only do we get SOUND in space, now there's REVERB too! 🤯 I 100% agree on the need for the ability to easily adjust the mixer levels while playing a game; it's one of my long-standing pain-points. Well, I guess it's not much of a secret anymore that OSD (On-Screen Display) and On-Screen Notification support is coming to DOSBox Staging in the foreseeable future (think of the user interface of a TV, a modern console, or one of the more polished console emulators). That will include many exciting things, such as a vastly improved keymapper and (drumroll! 🥁) a brand new mixer! Yikes! Stay tuned! 😎🤘

I'm very grateful for dosbox staging, it's so much better ! Especially love the Adlib Gold with Surround Module support. It sounds so good, so rich !

Great showcase Phil! I love my old hardware, but I also love where we are at with emulation. The work of all these devs is how the DOS era will be preserved forever.

11:30 ... damn, just awesome. What a great combination of the well known tune with the C64 "sound".

I had the Tandy 1000EX, and at the time had no idea most IBM compatible computers sounded so bad. When Sim Earth came out and required a hard drive, a family friend helped us build a clone to get us on the standard parts path. For a few months games sounded worse, but when the Sound Blaster came out we ordered one.

Its awesome how passionate you are about audio. As always, great to see a vid of yours pop up on the feed 🎉

I emulate my DOS games and I have to say the future is looking bright. Now, I wish there was some technology that perfectly emulated the CRT experience.

I've been following your videos for many years and this is the first time I've seen you in person. (or at least its image). you are a legend of retro computing. Greetings from Brazil

GODS uses those 33 extra effects on channel 10.

No matter how many times I hear the Roland MT-32 I'll never get over how incredible games sound with it. It's my dream dos hardware piece, but I would need to win the lottery to be able to afford one. Dosbox staging has made some enormous improvements, massive kudos should go to the team working on it cause these new features are amazing.

Thanks, Phil. This video has taught me two things: One, DOSBox Staging is excellent; And, two, I need a real MT-32.

You are committed to the community as far as you can go, thank you! Install on Mint doesn't work but I'll give it a go this weekend. It may have solved my dosbox issues.

Loving your retro content lately, Phil! 🍻

Discovered this channel and your videos about DosBox (which I've used in the past) and your ultimate 386 gaming PC.. Great! So much fun to watch. Gives me a warm and nostalgic feeling inside.. ; ) When I was young, 486 was my main childhood computer. Space Quest, Quest for Glory, Commander Keen, etc.. We only had PC Speaker sound, but I loved it. But was always a bit jealous when I came over at friends with glorious Sound Blaster and speakers. Makes it sound extra nostalgic and mysterious now.

thanks for all your hard work this is amazing i can't wait for tinkering and experiment with many of my childhood games especially Descent i have some old hardware but this sure helps to preserve so many memories and the spirit of the time

Just disovered your 2 part video on Dosbox, loved it, subscribed !

There is a free and legal (but not open source) alternative to the Roland Sound Canvas VA software. Cakewalk is free and includes a MIDI synth called TTS-1 which just so happens to have licensed the real Sound Canvas instrument set from Roland, it sounds identical. Expect to spend 30-60 mins getting it up and running though. I installed it a few years ago thanks to a YouTube video I saw, I tested it with DosBox and PrBoom-plus and it worked great. NB: This synth and parts of Cakewalk are really old, my retro gaming PC runs Windows 7 x64 so YMMV. If you have any problems consider running it in a virtual machine.

Great video Phil! I would say this is the best way to experience the old software we still love without the issues and cost of having original hardware. As much as I love my old equipment it is such a lovely experience having the games and music applications (trackers) load exceptionally fast and work and sound great. I also liked the comment regarding the lifetime key with the Roland VA SoundCanvas VST "How long will that lifetime key last", this is exactly what I said to them as it needs to keep reauthorizing every 30 days, if they turn the server off I am left with nothing... With regards to the sound, the DOSBOX Staging team are going to keep upgrading the sound so that if you select a SB1.0 or SB16 etc it will sound as close as possible to that card as possible (filter/frequency curve), something to look forward to but it already sounds more or less perfect.