Roland MT-200 Pt2: Ultimate Desktop MIDI

Roland need a specific FAT and track layout, that’s why you must format the disk in the MT. You know I have a bunch of stuff available for General MIDI that you could have used. ;)

I've been trying to amass some good sounding Midi files for a jukebox type setup but as you mention, it can be so time consuming because of the multiple versions of everything. (And so many sound kind of .. terrible)

As a stagehand who has worked with multiple types of audio and video equipment over the last 30 years of my career, I can absolutely say that the disc issue is a feature, not a bug. In particular, at this time, this kind of equipment often used very specific parameters in their disk formatting, often within the FAT spec (eg cluster sizes) In a way that Windows/dos could read, and even write to most of the time, but in order to format on a PC, you needed to know those exact parameters and manufacturers were not always forthcoming with them. Not only can the parameters vary between brands, they can even vary between lines of equipment within a brand. This is why formatting on the machine works and it still is readable in a PC, but not the other way around necessarily.

Regarding the disk issue, there is likely a subtle difference in the way the MT-200 formats the disk versus a modern Windows version. Have a look at the first block of the disk in a hex editor, the Roland may be looking for a specific media descriptor (at offset 0x15) to determine the "correct" disk format, a value which is mostly ignored these days.

About tha Bad Touch remix, yes, is a euro dance remix. I had that song on a euro dance / house / techno music compilation album from 1999 and that's exactly how starts.

Descent 1 and 2 have always been underrated

Actually if you read the manual for this device it uses a special disk format that is different from a standard formatted disk. You can find further information on the Roland website. The device uses the ISM MUSIC DATA DISK FORMAT. A PC can still read them but you need to format them on the device. Also according to the manual the device is compatible with two MIDI formats. SMF or Standard format. This is probably the limitation with the Yamaha is it is only compatible with SMF or similar. There is not much further information about ISM MUSIC DATA DISK FORMAT online but thankfully the manual for this device is preserved.

You have a knack for finding and presenting hardware I've never heard of yet find incredibly desirable. But, I'm a bit of a MIDI fanatic who mostly missed the boat on the cool original hardware and am finding modern recreations for my experiences. The MT-200 sounds fantastic as well as an "SC-55” should. Descent is one of my jam soundtracks as well, though my experience was on a Yamaha SW60XG back then and it sounds "delightfully different" on the intended SC-55 hardware. Nice coverage!

It just labels the disk somehow. Check for extra partitions or labels with a disk inspector. If you are using Mac to format, it places hidden files on it. Remove them, maybe it's that.

Orange doom floppy disk is from Roland Atelier AT organ

I want a car stereo version of this, so I can shove floppies into my dashboard and jam out to some sweet MIDI tracks as I'm rollin'.

Those General MIDI sounds take me back to better and more fun times!

Reminds me of the handful of MIDI copies of What Is Love I have. So much variation.

Kudos sir. You got me to watch an entire video on midis... Something I was literally interested in for only about 3 minutes after hearing midi enter sandman and have thought they were horrible sense

Yes I'm Siskel yes I'm Ebert, and you're getting two thumbs up

Such a RAD video man - Being someone born in the mid 80s and growing up on older hardware and games, these midi sounds really produce an absurd amount of nostalgia. Cheers from Cape Town South Africa!

0:00 Now this make me think of an alternate timeline where music CDs failed to gain market, and listenting to MIDI floppies in your car is the standard thing, haha!

"Grab Bag" was the best way to start this.

Never seen a MIDI, synth, music software etc. that worked in a sane way.

Regarding the floppy formatting issues earlier in the video, I've often found that formatting on DOS 6.x or earlier seems to be the most compatible. Around the time of Win 95 / NT, just reading the contents of a floppy without the write-protect tab enabled would often mess with the boot sector.