Thomas J. Hamman wrote: > Is there any way to get midi to work with es1371 sound cards (e.g. the > Soundblaster PCI 128, which is what I have), without having to use a > software synth like timidity? > > Specifically, I'm trying to use music notation editing programs like > NoteEdit and Rosegarden, which have options for playing the music but > depend on working drivers for midi playback. I have tried Alsa drivers, > but even with all the midi-related modules loaded I can't seem to use > anything midi-related. > > -- > Thomas J. Hamman
I have been trying to get this going for over 2 years on the same card, and Timidity is the only reliable & reproducable method I have found. Theoretically, it CAN be done using the "softoss2" module, and I HAVE done it...once. Unfortunatley, I had a system crash shortly thereafter and have not been able to reproduce my changes :( As I recall, I had to re-define some of the /dev/dsp links to make it work, PLUS install a soundbank file and activate the softoss2 module. The weird thing about this card is the dual dsp channels that must be used. The synth/sequencing is done on one channel and its output is fed back into the second channel to be processed for sound...or something like that. There is some documentation from the Commercial OSS site as well as some in the kernel docs for this card that provides a general outline of how this "should" be done, but these docs were basically teasers to this "backyard mechanic" in Linux...just enough to keep my hopes up but not enough to tell me how to do it exactly. The midi synth program that comes with the Commercial OSS drivers for this card DOES work (gmidi??), but is a command line interface and you need to add an exteral soundbank file....a GUS set, I believe. This is more of a demo program than anything useful IMHO. My solution here is to pull the card and install a SB-AWE64, which is better supported and produces just as good sound as the PCI 128, IMHO. Cheers, -Don Spoon-
