what are the wavetabe boards available for isa sound cards these days,
i know the dreambalaster v2 but that is costing nearly as much as the pc, are there any others?
Build a WavetablePi?
Or ditch the existing soundcard and wavetable header and just build a PicoGUS?
Are aware of the cheapest DreamBlaster, the S2 model?
konc wrote on 2024-11-02, 10:11:Are aware of the cheapest DreamBlaster, the S2 model?
x2
amadeus777999 wrote on 2024-11-02, 18:07:konc wrote on 2024-11-02, 10:11:Are aware of the cheapest DreamBlaster, the S2 model?
x2
No, he’s right, the S2 is cheaper than the X2, about half the cost.
paradigital wrote on 2024-11-02, 19:05:amadeus777999 wrote on 2024-11-02, 18:07:konc wrote on 2024-11-02, 10:11:Are aware of the cheapest DreamBlaster, the S2 model?
x2
No, he’s right, the S2 is cheaper than the X2, about half the cost.
"x2" meant "times 2" as in "I second that".
That's not confusing at all 😀
I've never seen "x2" used like that. The usual is "+1"
I/O, I/O,
It's off to disk I go,
With a bit and a byte
And a read and a write,
I/O, I/O
caver99 wrote on 2024-11-02, 09:19:what are the wavetabe boards available for isa sound cards these days,
i know the dreambalaster v2 but that is costing nearly as much as the pc, are there any others?
Unless you somehow get lucky and find an old wavetable add-on board in a PC scrap pile for free or hardly anything, you're gonna have to pay to play.
RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2024-11-04, 14:11:Unless you somehow get lucky and find an old wavetable add-on board in a PC scrap pile for free or hardly anything, you're gonna have to pay to play.
Over the years, I came across multiple "TerraTec Mini WaveTable System" cards. They were budget wave-table modules back in the day. Keep you eyes on Base1 and Base64 sound cards (especially the Base1 was a common budget sound card, and the OEM version of it being very widespread if the requirements were "give me any SB Pro compatible ISA soundcard in 1998 for the lowest price possible"). If I remember correctly, both Mini WaveTable Systems I came across were installed on Base1-like cards, and sold for quite cheap on local garage sales.
Don't put your expections too high, though. The TerraTec Mini WaveTable System is clearly a step up from OPL3 if your goal is to play MIDI tracks not specifically composed for being played back on an OPL3, but it gets nowhere near a Roland card in perceived sound quality. It might be in the same league as the AWE32 ROM Sound Font (which in my oppinion is just begging for you to put at least 2MB RAM on the card and load a better Sound Font), though. The sound quality of low-end wavetable cards also is very different dependant on what instrument combinations are used, so some MIDI files may sound great on one budget card, and other MIDI files may sound gread on other cards, so there is no easy way to rank those modules.
And as a final note: While I mentioned the Base1 card as "carriers of a potentially interesting budget wave table module", the Base1 itself is not desirable for gaming if you also care about OPL3. The AD1816 integrates one of the worst OPL3-"soundalikes" ever made. The Base1 is SB Pro compatible, and you can use it for full-duplex 16-bit audio recording/playback in Windows and Linux, so if that's what you're after, you get a lot of bang for the buck. If you want OPL2/OPL3 music to sound right, get anything else (ESS 1868 for example).
I actually prefer the S2 to the X2GS for certain soundtracks. It's more beep boopy, so synthy music sounds superb. And unlike a lot of the synthier sounding midi modules I've played with, the drums don't sound like complete anus
Also, I have a Yamaha TG300 that's gathering dust after acquiring an mu1000. I could be persiaded to part with it for the cost of shipping if you dm and ask nicely
RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2024-11-04, 14:11:caver99 wrote on 2024-11-02, 09:19:what are the wavetabe boards available for isa sound cards these days,
i know the dreambalaster v2 but that is costing nearly as much as the pc, are there any others?
Unless you somehow get lucky and find an old wavetable add-on board in a PC scrap pile for free or hardly anything, you're gonna have to pay to play.
No i have found out that there is a dreamblaster s2 which is only 40 thats well acceptable for me over the x2 at 85 and the x16fs for 145, i will pick up a couple of them for my sound cards
