LGR - Roland MT-32: Retro PC MIDI Music Revisited

[@AlexCBrandon]

You are correct! Tyrian was specifically written on an Ad Lib and converted to the Loudness sound system by Andreas Molnar as well as MIDI spec for the MT-32, but the MIDI aspect was all translation into the MIDI standard and not intended for the original soundtrack instruments. In addition one song for Tyrian was written as a MOD file and also converted by Andreas. I love seeing Tyrian show up in so many Retro videos. Great info you have here. Thanks again LGR!

[@FishfingerRmx]

Wow you're the guy behind Tyrian soundtrack ! I never play the game but I'm listening to the music some time to time . Exellent work . And I just saw you made a lot of .mod songs , I have to check this out , I'm more familiar with the crack/keygen .xm and .mod scene .

[@LGR]

Thank you for the extra info, sir! :D

[@AlexCBrandon]

Anytime. If and when you do a feature on MODs, definitely get in touch!

[@AlexCBrandon]

Thanks! There's some great cracktro / intro music in that scene. I have a Bandcamp page with two MOD collection albums on it. :)

[@VEC7ORlt]

Wait, are you THE Alexander Brandon? Thanks for the GREAT OST!

[@jasonblalock4429]

Funfact: Sierra didn't go half-assed when they debuted Roland support. They hired William Goldstein, a professional TV composer and electronics wiz, to do the music. He certainly wasn't a household name, but he was a legit pro composer and it was the first time a computer game had done that. Later, they also hired the keyboardist from Supertramp to do the soundtrack to Space Quest 3.

[@TheEmeraldMenOfficial]

It shows. Those are some AWESOME soundtracks.

[@bmhater1283]

Damn, they're genius for doing these.

[@MasterZebulin]

The title screen music for Space Quest 3 is *_fucking awesome._*

[@AndersEngerJensen]

Great work Clint! You managed to cram in about everything I hoped you would say about the MT-32 in under 12 minutes! Only one word: Awesome! Pleasure to watch! :)

[@LGR]

Happy to hear it! And thank you once again for helping make this episode happen :)

[@pyrobison2002]

Lazy Game Reviews this was just posted. How did you comment from the future past

[@jenjenneration]

Anders Enger Jensen thank you for making this wonderful video possible :)

[@larsiparsii]

Norsk én også! 😊

[@WeekendWarrior92]

Patreon backers have early access to videos, they become available to the masses later

[@Accursed_Farms]

Great video, it shows what a night and day difference the right equipment can make. I'm on a perpetual quest to find the best conversions of MIDI music, I feel like different hardware and soundsfonts all have different pieces of the puzzle.

[@LGR]

Thanks, Ross! And I wish you luck on your journey, it is seemingly a lifelong one.

[@Accursed_Farms]

Also if my mother was a pianist, I think I would have bugged her to play the Gabriel Knight credits theme.

[@GRAFICHEDAZ]

Hey guys, I have a MT-32 Roland to sell for anyone interested

[@GRAFICHEDAZ]

[e-mail]

[@racer927]

Interesting to see you commenting on this video and even more so when he made a music comparison of Tyrian 2000, which I can not thank you enough for getting me into that game.

[@fen4554]

When you think about it, it's amazing that so many of these games had musicians that cared enough to program full songs.

[@philscomputerlab]

MT-32 is so awesome! Thanks for spreading the word, more should know about it and enjoy DOS games at their best!

[@Heru3005]

Knew the moment i saw this posted you'd leave a comment on it Phil lol

[@LGR]

For sure, and I'm glad you're doing your part to spread the word as well!

[@philscomputerlab]

Thanks! That was a great video, I thoroughly enjoyed it :)

[@philscomputerlab]

LOL :D

[@spongeyperson]

Phil

[@matthewrice4419]

I was so happy to see Tyrian 2000 featured in this video. Many hours of my childhood were spent with the shareware version of that game! Another fun video, thanks Clint!

[@ModernVintageGamer]

great video. the Amiga also supported the MT-32 (albeit in very limited fashion). i made a video about it if you were interested. cheers!

[@TechDeals]

I remember having a Roland General MIDI add-in card that installed on my Sound Blaster 16, this hardware predates that and I never saw one, but I do remember how much better music was once the add-on card was installed!

[@wowdogeful]

Holy shit, not even the Secret Of Monkey Island remastered version from 2009 sounds that good

[@detaart]

Clint, your channel is just downright excellent.

[@LGR]

Thanks!

[@TrapNerdMusic]

"Just listen to some of these ..." *TURNS VOLUME UP* *CRIES TO BEAUTIFUL MIDI GOODNESS*

[@AgentTasmania]

I've never even played it and I get taken by surprise by the sheer beauty every time the Monkey Island main theme starts in the MT-32 perfection. I suppose that's what 'Timeless' means.

[@DailyFunFacts]

great and very informative! enjoyed every bit of this awesome video 😊

[@CougarBen02]

I feel the "couldn't afford the good audio options as a kid" SO MUCH! Thank you for fulfilling our common fantasy. I enjoyed it by proxy.

[@tonylancer7367]

The link to 8-Bit Keys blew my mind. The Roland MT-32 on Space Quest!!! ARE YOU FOR FREAKIN' REAL??? That sound is UNBELIEVABLE!!! If you had that(back in the 80s), you must have been the one. No more 1-bit square wave PC Speaker noise. Too bad that all our sounds are now 24bit/192KHz 4K Ultra High Fidelity 10.1 Auro-3D Fully Immersive Surround Sound. **sigh**

[@RetroGamingMuseum]

Finally !! Have been waiting years for you to make a video of Roland MT-32 :) I used to own the Roland LAPC card which I bought in a Musical Instruments Store, which puzzled the store owner, as he asked me why a kid would fork out all this money just to play games with it :)

[@BledWh1te]

As someone who grew up playing DOS games, I spent a fair amount of time as a kid wondering over all the different graphic and audio options, and your channel has officially cleared up the last of those old mysteries for me. Good stuff, as always

[@birdbrain4445]

Anders Enger Jensen! I was introduced to that name because Technology Connections has used his music to demonstrate audio playback of record players. Funny little connection there; nice of him to donate one of these amazing things to you.

[@ThetaReactor]

MT-32 vs FM synth is like the SNES vs Genesis of PCs. They both have their strengths, and good composition can make either sound superior.

[@PreciousAlpschindler]

ThetaReactor more like Genesis vs Sega CD lol

[@MatthewChristianMurray]

Eh…4-op FM without effects has never sounded realistic to me.

[@Reverend_Revenant]

That Monkey Island track hit my nostalgia so hard that I physically recoiled... and now I have an urge to play Monkey Island again.

[@JAMBONBALONEY]

That must have been quite frustrating for game music/sound creators. Create a rich sound track that (at the time) only a fraction of their customers could enjoy and the rests will have to settle for 'beep beep' music.

[@Notsbaby]

JAMBON BALONEY thank god I was born in the 21st century.

[@patlefofort]

It's kinda the same problem today. Music is made to sound good on cheap earbuds to the detriment of better options.

[@kunstsein]

I guess that this practice is prevalent with some kinds of Pop Music (?). It must depend on the style of music, since with the stuff i listen to, this is not the case for sure.

[@jpoortman]

I wonder... I kinda miss the old days, dealing with the limitations of the platform you're working on was a great deal of fun, at least for me. Graphics in my case, but I can imagine sound engineering offered similar challenges from time to time. The joy of getting something done that shouldn't be possible (without some ingenuity or insane amounts of work) or wasn't possible before this or that piece of tech came out... I miss that. Yeah, sometimes you would make something that wouldn't run properly on someone else's hardware, the more reason to invite them to your home :)

[@olafmuller4506]

JAMBON BALONEY pretty much, yeah 🤔

[@mdavis5826]

Thank you for always expanding my mental rolodex with your wonderful compendium of computers & their corresponding counterparts~ Your videos inspired me to actually get off my ass & fix up these old machines I've got laying around!

[@jozefnava8588]

It's the second time I've seen this video and it always seems great to me ... I don't understand how there are 68 people who don't like this video ... they don't know anything about old school videogames (retro).... Thanks for your videos my friend Clint I hope one day I can send you a Christmas gift

[@bohunkuspictures]

That. Was. Fascinating! I regularly watch you but this is a new favorite! I grew up always wondering what the MT-32 was on all those install screens. PS. -- Years ago you commented kind words on my Jill of the Jungle music cover -- at the time I don't think LGR was even fully up in running (2009). But a great honor to hear the kind words

[@mattalki]

That MPU-IPC 8-bit card is a freaking unicorn. I've been hunting for one for ages. Nice score! I've used my MT-32 with my soundblaster 16, and it does work, but using it with DOSbox and the USB->midi adapter works really solidly. Sierra had awesome support for the MT-32, and I've found that I've gone through most of my game library and played through the older games just to hear the soundtracks. Great video, Clint!

[@LGR]

Thank you! And yeah, I was shocked when Anders sent me that IPC card, I'd never even come across one before.

[@novafawks]

Clint!!!! I'm so happy you covered this!! :D I've been wanting to buy one of these or the SC-55 for AGES, i really want to make some music with it!

[@ckynut]

Man, this is such satisfying content. I can't help wanting to continue to thank you, Clint, which is why I have no problem giving you some of my money each month! Keep it up, mate!

[@LGR]

Much appreciated, thank you!

[@wonframe]

Very interesting. Keep up the great work man, I love your videos!

[@LGR]

Will do my best!

[@iandavidwolfe]

This would have blown my mind as a kid!!! Awesome job Clint!

[@acemcjack]

Thank you for this, LGR! I've had an original MT-32 for some 15 years, and it still sounds awesome IMO.

[@Eos_Galvus]

it hit the music portion and I kind of hit the zone. This thing sounds FREAKIN' GOOD. Thanks for reviewing, and thank Andres for donating!

[@johnb4467]

I purchased an MT-32 while I was in grad school (around 2003-ish), having been curious all those years how much I was "missing out on" in not having one. Having always had Creative Labs' cards...was absolutely FLOORED at the difference it made! Compared to the 5 or 6 generations of Sound Blaster cards I went through, just having the one MT-32 from the get-go would have actually SAVED me money in the long run (albeit, too much $$$ up front for my young self). Even in old EGA games (like Quest for Glory 2), the usage they got out of it as amazing and really enhanced the settings and mood. I also used the MT-32 as a synthesizer for Cubase and some audio software (for fun); it was clear how flexible the device was. Many years later, I recently sold it on ebay during the pandemic -- and I hope it went to a good home that fully enjoys it to this day. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it...even though technology by 2003 had far moved beyond its capibilities.

[@Sama3L]

Wait... The 8-Bit-Guy AND LGR both got a MT-32 from Anders Jensen? How many of these does he have in storage?

[@dwarf365]

A quote from Anders "Well.. my original CM-32L from 1991, then I went a little crazy on eBay a couple of years ago so in total 3x MT-32 (incl the two I donated), 3x CM-32L (one which I recently sold to a friend), 1x CM-32P, 2x CM-64, 1x CM-300, 1x MT-100 and 1x SC-55 (plus the rest of my studio www.eox.no). I need more space really. 😜"

[@Sama3L]

nice quote, thank you. sounds like me and my crapload of multimedia devices... XD

[@MrJigssaw1989]

Pche its obvious. Step 1: Buy bunch of MT32 for next to nothing. Step 2: Donate some to tech youtubers to show it off and ignite the interest. Step 3: ???? Step 4: Resell and PROFIT !!!!

[@sirknight4981]

Genius!!

[@JaceCavacini]

I have two of these myself. One of them is even in a modded case to rack mount it. You can chain multiple MT-32 units together in “overflow” mode so that any voices that can’t play on one unit will play on the next unit. You’d think 32-voices would be enough, but not when you’re using it to play a game soundtrack. I couldn’t get one as a kid, so I bought two for $50 a pop as a 30-year-old. Played a few games with it on PC (with Scumm, and DOSBox) and Atari (built-in MIDI interface!). I’ve even used it in my own music a little (with lots of effects), and I keep meaning to play with editing custom sounds on it with a unique editor adaptation made for SoundDiver I found online years ago and still haven’t played with...

[@galaxyfox1230]

You dont know how long iv been waiting for you to do a video about this :D

[@MatSpeedle]

Always great to have some new LGR content, just what I needed to cheer me up! Thanks Clint! :)

[@Ryodakun]

lol the doom drums only thing was awesome. I wanna hear more of these with other games and other instruments.

[@ryanpascual9598]

Dtd Nt Fllow Instrctns

[@ThomasEdge]

Awesome video, Clint! Hearing Monkey Island on the MT-32 gave me serious chills.

[@nathanielbeven9052]

this the same guy who gave 8-bit keys his? does his channel music too? what a god damn trooper. big ups to this man!.

[@AndersEngerJensen]

Nathaniel Beven Indeed it is and thanks. ;) You'll find my music on www.eox.no (link to my SoundCloud on the front page).

[@susst5562]

@@AndersEngerJensen ty for providing us the chance to hear this.

[@auroramartell]

I love this neat little device, Clint. Thanks for showing it to us!

[@djlobb]

Wow!!! The Monkey Island title screen on the MT-32 is just phenomenal

[@fallingwax7290]

This is weird synchronicity i was messing around with Roland MT-32 emulation last night and was wondering if LGR has ever done a video on the subject and blow me when i check you posted an hour before, freaky stuff!

[@summitap1]

TYRIAN I have been trying to remember this game for a long time thank you!

[@vinnyolmsted8018]

Thank you for pronouncing Timbre correctly.

[@noeuro]

There's a reason why the Atari ST became the MIDI controller of choice for many. Excellent choice Atari :)

[@Bcbud420]

Had the Atari ST 520 and 1040 and a mt-32 was so amazing playing King's Quest and other Sierra games back in the day :)

[@barbarianbros]

"Background music is from Adventures of Willy Beamish" : thanks for the link to my video :) About the LA devices : there are 3 versions of the MT-32 : Rev.0, Rev.1 old, Rev.1 new. Only the latter has the phones jack and no 'buffer overflow' bug. This later model also introduce a preset duration for 'sustain' (with earlier models, composers had to stop the sustain or to use a fade-out to avoid 'stuck notes' ) -CM-32L is a MT-32 with 32 new sound effects, no screen nor buttons on the front panel. -LAPC-I is a soundcard. It's basically a CM-32L and a MPU-401 combined on an ISA card. -CM-64 is a CM-32L and a CM-32P (a 'patches' or samples module) in one only module. -CM-500 : combines a LA CM-32L and a GM/GS CM-300 (the CM version of the SC-55) in one module. Note that many european games have problems with the original MT-32. As PC MS-DOS games was a tiny market in Europe until 1991 (because Amiga and Atari ST computers ruled the marked), European developpers composed their music for MT--32 'new' or later models. So many european games have buffer overflow bug or stuck notes.

[@DavidGalich77]

Always find something good on LGR! THX!

[@paulgascoigne5343]

my friends brother is a superb musician/composer. he had a whole stack of gorgeous midi boxes of magic, gorgeous gorgeous sounds.

[@Zizzily]

I've been waiting for you to cover this for a long time. And I've always wanted to get one, especially for those Sierra soundtracks. Great video as always.

[@eastcoasteric]

Man...over 500k subs...that's insane! I remember first subbing when you had under 1k subs, which was way before the epic beard too! So nice to see worth while channels growing this much. Keep on keeping on man. Keep on keeping on.

[@LGR]

Yeah, things are moving so fast these days, it's awesome. Thanks for sticking around this long!

[@0ne323]

Glad to see another review on an amazing piece of hardware, and by such a good reviewer. Excellent!

[@LGR]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@lrochfort]

Cracking video as always. I always loved the Monkey Island theme, it sounds much more cinematic than many others to me.

[@SuperMew98]

You don't know how long I've been waiting for LGR to make a video on the MT-32. Wonderful job, man!

[@LGR]

Thank you!

[@SuperMew98]

No problem! :D

[@simulatedcreated1108]

I had a similar childhood of wandering around music shops. When I was learning to play piano, I would regularly go into the shop just to play the Roland synth which at the time was over £1000. I dreamed about that thing. Fast forward to my thirties, and I bought one. I actually wrote a whole musical on it which was performed in London two years ago :)

[@rayforceaddict]

SoftMPU really is a lifesaver. For soundtracks I've gotta recommend Firehawk and Rob Hubbard's masterful shredding on the Ski or Die intro song. Great video \o/

[@oopus4]

This is what i have been waitning for! Thanks LGR :D!

[@MarkyShaw]

Great video. I'm a MIDI fanatic and love seeing stuff like this.

[@TheIwanttoapologize]

I always had a soft spot for the Police Quest soundtracks. Jan Hammer did the score for Police Quest 3: The Kindred. The score is awesome. Some people might not know, but Police Quest 4: Open Season's score by Neal Grandstaff was in General Midi format and was intended to be played back on the Roland SC-55.

[@eluzai]

Each kind of synth has their own use, be FM, sampler, analog, additive, and so forth. It's just the manner of how you use it. Still though, this tickles my music producer senses. Love the vid LGR!

[@vashtanerada100]

I really love just how clear the sound is.

[@aphex4000]

It's a shame audio of this quality was not accessible to the masses in the early days of PC gaming. The demo clips you played sound amazing, and would completely have changed the game play experience. Thanks so much for making this video; it's just great!! :D

[@zummone]

It's so cool that you're enjoying it so much, and it's also in pretty good shape (functionally speaking), that Anders guy must really love you! But seriously now Clint, I'm going to be honest to Christ about this, DO NOT overuse your MT-32 and if you do ALWAYS mind your indoor temperatures and the ones on the unit! I got burned (figuratively) because of my negligence, and unfortunately the second unit I bought from Japan was in a similar state to my first one. Basically, hardware failure from overheating is a serious concern, you notice when some notes eventually seem to miss (not trying to sound alarming here, there are other non-dangerous reasons the notes might miss) but what happens is that the channels (internally known ad partials) start to break down because either the pins melt or because something inside the LA chip screws up (I'm very knowledgeable about how the unit operates, but very ignorant on the physical, hardware side). I also downloaded a library of custom sounds and a librarian to make them, let me find it and post it here soonish, it runs on 3.1, and it's lots of fun to be had!

[@jfwfreo]

The MT-32 is by far the best way to enjoy the music from the first Space Quest game (best sound of any version of the game period)

[@barbarianbros]

I'm fond of the Space Quest III music by Bob Siebenberg (drummer of Supertramp). kzbin.info/www/bejne/hn_FiYeBqrSVebM

[@saxman112]

Man, that is an impressive sounding synth! It was truly advanced for its time! Amazing how much of a difference it made for the soundtracks of games that supported it.

[@ja-qwellin]

8-Bit Keys brought me here, it's cool to see you bring him up in this video

[@Thepurplem0nkey]

Loved the video and REALLY loved the Willy Beamish intro music :-)

[@LohTec]

Tyrian! Awesome soundtrack, great game. :)

[@Desmaad]

Speaking of which, the founder of Roland, Ikutaro Kakehashi, died recently.

[@jiddro33]

Beautiful work, Clint!

[@excrono]

7:39, Funny you featured the MT-32 Zeliard soundtrack Clint. Your old review had inspired me to play with MIDI/MT-32 emulation, and I used this as a test. My conclusion was that the MT-32 version still couldn't even approach the greatness of the Tandy version. That is the ultimate weakness of synthesized soundtracks.

[@sweetpeachnectar]

0:56 instant like! you've got one of your own. roland & yamaha are making sounds out of heaven. :D also love how the volume knob is kinda worn out. :)

[@billlumburgh8272]

Awesome review, hope to see some more sound card stuff on LGR!

[@randomango2789]

Watching your vids after a science test is always relaxing

[@nickwallette6201]

Just got one recently myself, and now they're blowing up on KZbin. :-) Good to see these things getting some love. They sound great even today, and especially for their time. So, next up - Sound Canvas?

[@gordlord561]

Nothing beats waking up to an LGR vid in the morning!

[@Rapi2]

Always been super curious about this! Thanks :)

[@Lewmania]

Good to hear Willy Bemaish in MT-32 in the background sir!

[@CrapDad]

Thanks for mentioning SoftMPU!

[@robintst]

Wow, when it's a game that takes advantage of it specifically, the MT-32 sounds amazing! I definitely would still go with Yamaha FM synth though... mostly due to my undying love for the SEGA Genesis and it's YM2612 sound chip. It's big brothers included on PC sound cards of the day shared that similar sound which has always been appealing to me. That might be something you'd find interesting Clint, there are some folks have modded the Genesis with higher end sound chips from the same family that are closer to or the same as the ones used on Ad-Lib cards. Makes games like Sonic sound even more amazing.

[@macesteffy2066]

As a long time owner of a Roland TD-12 drum-kit/module and TD-20 module, I'm really happy to see this. From my experience, Roland hardware never comes cheap, user controls can be complicated as hell, but in the hands of a master, it's one of the best audio hardware companies.

[@andycristea]

Awesome! Always wanted one of those! Thank you!

[@SSteelification]

Excellent video, simple and thorough explaining MIDI as well as those classic tunes playing through it. While the Soundblaster is my nostalgia choice in gaming the MT-32 is awesome too.

[@kcrules1234]

That is a huge sound improvement! I would have been blown away if I was a kid!

[@BCSchmerker]

+LGR *Many PCI sound cards packed MIDI hardware.* Creative Technology supported MIDI in the Sound Blaster line up through the SB0350 Audigy2 ZS, which could use a buffer-isolator for the on-card 15-pin header or alternately the optional SB0250 I/O Drive. The last external multitimbral synth that Roland built for the PC market is the SC-880 rackmountable GS/General MIDI 2 sound module, which supported direct EIA-574 communications with the host 'puter.

[@CarfDarko]

This little machine is a true time capsule for writting late 80's/early 90's soundscapes. I really want to add this one to my midi studio now. Not sure but if I would trigger this one from a DAW would it listen to 8 different Midi channels just like my trusty Roland MC505 Groovebox? Got a feeling this device can also can help to get close to those good ol' Konami arcade sounds! How is the music studio doing nowdays?

[@thomaspleacher2735]

I feel bad that this video has so few views compared to some of your others, cause it's one of my favorites.

[@captainsemicolon]

I had one of these in a cupboard for about 10 years before I realised actually what it did. I received it with a bunch of other music stuff, and I just couldn't work out what it did. So glad I kept it as playing DOTT now with the MT-32 is an incredible experience!

[@joshuapettus6973]

Thank-you so much for mentioning munt! Truth is there just aren't enough mt32s to go around. Still it would be great if you could do a comparison video between munt and the actual mt32. I'm betting it's really close these days. Still sad you didn't do any of the early origin titles that made use of it. Wing Commander especially. :)

[@JimmyGunawanX]

Great 👍 review, totally brought back nostalgic feeling.

[@CrimFerret]

The only downside is the sound quality is so much higher quality than the game graphics there there's a little bit of feeling of there being a mismatch.

[@Abu_Brandino]

Yeah, but music is always been ahead of visual media so it’s fine to me

[@alexale8540]

In "Boxer" app for Mac (it is free Dosbox emulator, the most easy and intuitive to use GUI) they even made a special place for Roland sound emulation - it graphically added with adding ROMs and also makes messages showing like original Roland display.

[@alexale8540]

i mean the Boxer developers DRAW the original Roland device and it is added on your virtual table when you install ROMs in settings

[@jayxeno]

Holy shit that was incredible. I can't believe it could get that good. I have a relatively nice 5.1 system and the MT-32 had such depth in its audio.

[@gamophyte]

For sure hit me in the nostalgia. I remember always trying to get the best midi.

[@TheRetroRaven]

Aww, that sweet MT-32 sound , especially in Monkey Island, and the old Sierra games. I've got an MT-32 at home as well, but I haven't configured or tested if it works (yet). First I need to assemble a "retro" gaming PC - or find a USB-MIdi interface that works together with the MT-32 , so I can use it with my newer machines and DosBox. Great video!

[@Seawolf.Gaming]

Oxygenic Any USB midi made by Roland will work.

[@gray-hairedgamer799]

A few years ago I was able to pickup a MT-32 and a SCC device and I'm so glad I did. Sierra really supported the heck out of it and some of there games sound amazing when using said device.

[@Zucadragon]

Hey, I have the same speakers! Cool, I now feel so much more in touch with LGR :O

[@AmyraCarter]

7:16 That DOOM DRUMS bit was SICK. Seriously, that's some Metal awesomeness going on there.

[@RetroPowerUp]

I love the way the screen looks on the front of it. I always wished I had one of these as a kid. It sounds SOO much better!

[@paulnash9851]

Nice video for a nice piece of kit. Nice one LGR.

[@CraigRodmellMusic]

I got one in 1990, second hand. I still have it and occasionally still use it. I've never used it for games though - I use it purely as a synthesizer. I played it, and other modules, from an A-80 MIDI master keyboard, through an AKAI note splitter (which meant I could get four-part polyphony from it while only gobbling up one MIDI channel). Using that set-up I could get awesome drone bass sounds from this, along with some pretty good 80's synth sounds, by combining up to four of its sounds at once. This only got more or less retired July 2017 when the A-80 got replaced by an RD-2000 Stage Piano.

[@Trusteft]

I am glad you mentioned the Atari ST, a cheaper way (back then) to use the MT-32. Not all games supported it, but there were plenty. Great video, thank you for sharing.