How to connect Roland SC-88 to my Macs?

[9646gt]

Hey guys. I have an SE, Quadra 700, And Performa 466 that I want to use with a Roland SC-88 (not all at the same time obviously lol) for MIDI in games. 
 

The manual online seems to be saying that I can directly connect it to my Mac using a cable from one of the serial ports on my Mac to the computer port on the SC using just a standard 8 pin serial cable. 

Is this correct for my usage? Or will I have to purchase a midi interface device and connect it to the Mac first and then the midi cables to the SC? I see the MacMan mentioned on here quite often but wasn't sure if that was a requirement or just a recommendation or what. If I need an interface, what are someothers I can look for that are decently easy to find and affordable? Thanks for any help. 

 

[Mu0n]

I'm in the same boat. I have both a Roland MT-32 and a Roland SC-88ST (same as yours, but no screen and only a volume knob + sc-55 map button). If it's anything like vintage PCs, connecting to a serial port would allow you to use it in UART (aka dumb) mode. For intelligent  mode, you'd need an interface box like the crazy MPU-401 which goes for hundreds of dollars on ebay. I definitely do not know if the mac has software to mimick everything that interface does, though.

modern PC: a USB to midi cheap cable is fine for some programs, but glitches in some programs. a M-Audio small midi in+midi out box is perfect.

vintage 486: usually you get a joystick port adapter from DB15 to midi only if you can accept only UART mode (some games will run fine in it, like Secret of Monkey Island). You need a hardware interface like a MPU-401 for intelligent mode *OR* a recently made TSR (terminate stay resident) program that takes a few kb of RAM and does all that work in software (that's what I plan on using when my adapter ships here)

vintage mac: I definitely recall my father having some sort of little MIDI interface for when he tried his Korg synth. I don't recall which mac port he used with it. It could have been for his LC 575, or Powerbook 170. The Midiman macman is supposed to do the job. Next time I see him, I'll try to borrow it from him and test it out on my SE/30. He was interested in sequencing and not really in Sierra games.

 

[cheesestraws]

I believe @Dimitris1980 is probably the person to talk to here, if they are still around.  They had a Roland MT-32 set up for gaming purposes (hooked to an LC475, if I remember correctly) and it looked really nice.

 

[9646gt]

Thanks for the replys so far. Its much easier to find info for using these devices on my 486 PC that I also have. I have a Gravis midi device for the PC so it's easy to get it setup on there. I would think because the sc-88vl has a dedicated serial connection built in to connect directly to the Mac that it would possibly avoid the need for a device between the two but I have not had an opportunity to test anything at all yet. Hopefully we can get a good solid response

 

[9646gt]

Well, I found a mini MacMan midi for only $5 on reverb.com with a couple serial cables included. It only has one midi out port so hopefully that doesn't matter for my use case scenario. I still welcome replies and will let you guys know what happens when I receive it. Now to figure out if I need any extensions or anything installed to use it

 

[Mu0n]

nice find! I was searching for those in the last weeks in reverb.com and could only find $40+ ones with another $40+ in shipping. Who knows how much more gouge I would have gotten since it would have to cross the border.

I'll just casually wait to meet my father, hehe.

 

[9646gt]

nice find! I was searching for those in the last weeks in reverb.com and could only find $40+ ones with another $40+ in shipping. Who knows how much more gouge I would have gotten since it would have to cross the border.

I'll just casually wait to meet my father, hehe.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/324246868136

There is one for $20 shipped or best offer. Better act quick

 

[Mu0n]

Thanks, but I'm good messing around with my 486 or inside LMMS on my modern windows machines. Using concertware or cubase on the ol' mac is purely optional for me. I can wait.

 

[9646gt]

not a problem, just hoping to help. I still plan to play with my 486 as well. I picked up a Roland UM-ONE MK2 for $39 online that lets you hook midi up from a PC or Mac to USB on a modern Mac and plan to use MUNT or FALCO to emulate MT-32 Playback. I had a MT-32 But literally just sold it on eBay because I figured the $250 bucks could be spent on other areas of the hobby lol

 

[Mu0n]

I got the cheapo USB cable on FB marketplace, the one with 1 USB leading to a tear shaped black box with a white musical note printed on it and 2 midi cables (in and out). It must have a shoddy design because it didn't allow everything I wanted. It's the knockoff model you can see everywhere on eBay and Alibaba. 

Works: 

-simple dosbox playback with a hardware MT-32

Semi-works:

-simple dosbox playback with a hardware SC-88ST, it occasionally glitches with quadrupled notes seconds into a playback and the reverb just piles on, creating an awful mess

Fails:

-sending any data from a midi keyboard (my rock band 360 keytar) to a modern PC and DAW. Nothing gets through

The second interface (M-Audio Midisport 1x1) works everywhere so far where the other doesn't. It's supposed to be cheap but it was bought on Amazon for a beefy price, but I got it as a gift. 

 

[NJRoadfan]

The SC-88 supports direct connection to a Macintosh via the 8-pin MiniDIN port, no additonal MIDI interface needed. Just plug it in and see if it works.

 

[9646gt]

The SC-88 supports direct connection to a Macintosh via the 8-pin MiniDIN port, no additonal MIDI interface needed. Just plug it in and see if it works.

Yeah I saw this in the manual. Just want sure if that was the proper method to use it for games or if it was intended for a different use. 

 

[Torbar]

What are some Mac games that are MT32 compatible?  I currently have my Roland synth hooked up to my Pentium PC for DOS games, but I do have an Apple serial to MIDI interface too

 

[Byrd]

The SC-88 supports direct connection to a Macintosh via the 8-pin MiniDIN port, no additonal MIDI interface needed. Just plug it in and see if it works.

Is it just the SC-88 that does this?

 

[NJRoadfan]

A few Roland and E-MU Systems sound modules have Macintosh serial ports on them.

http://www.os2museum.com/wp/e-mu-soundengine/

All Macintosh MIDI adapters are very basic, they just clock the port at the required 31250bps speed and have a few passives in them. Adding the hardware to an already expensive synth module is trivial.

 

[9646gt]

A few Roland and E-MU Systems sound modules have Macintosh serial ports on them.

http://www.os2museum.com/wp/e-mu-soundengine/

All Macintosh MIDI adapters are very basic, they just clock the port at the required 31250bps speed and have a few passives in them. Adding the hardware to an already expensive synth module is trivial.

Awesome. Thank you and I will try and see how the SC-88 does connected directly!

 

[9646gt]

Thanks to you guys I got it working perfectly! BUT, how would I hook this up to my MDD PowerMac G4 867mhz dual processor with no serial ports and just USB. Do I need to purchase a serial pci card?

 

[davidg5678]

Thanks to you guys I got it working perfectly! BUT, how would I hook this up to my MDD PowerMac G4 867mhz dual processor with no serial ports and just USB. Do I need to purchase a serial pci card? 

In theory, you can just use a cheap USB midi adaptor for this application.

 

[9646gt]

In theory, you can just use a cheap USB midi adaptor for this application.

Thank you! I actually found and bought a MOTU Fastlane On eBay that looks like it will do the trick perfectly and is a quality period correct piece from what I have found!