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soundblaster-based MIDI modulean idea I've been rolling around in my head for a number of years has been to write a standalone app (using RTEMS perhaps) that would turn a PC with a soundblaster into a standalone MIDI-driven synthesizer for some FM and low-fi sample action. the combination of the two was used to good effect by the Renaissance demo group for a few of their productions. I purchased my first soundblaster shortly after they were available for sale, saving up my paper route money. I think I paid ~$220 in 1990 for the 8-bit wonder, but it was worth every penny. I had a serial number in the 6000-series, and the custom creative chip had a blobby epoxy top on it, which dissapeared in later versions of the card. the soundblaster was originally installed in my family's leading edge model D. I spent endless hours listening to Adlib tunes when I wasn't BBSing at 1200 baud or playing games. I even used to cart it over to my friend's house to play games (he had a government-issue Zenith '286) since his machine was faster than mine. when my father finally broke down and got a 386DX20 in 1992, the soundblaster made its it way there, and with the help of trakblaster, I discovered amiga tracker music which was my own push into tracking as "The Finn". that would've been the end of the soundblaster story, but in a fit of nostalgia, I replaced it in 2001 with a soundblaster 1.5, which made the creative music synthesizer (CMS) chips optional. the audiometer built at work just happens to use the Philips SAA1099 synthesizer chips, so I was able to stuff them into this new soundblaster to get an equivalent to my soundblaster 1.0. the project would have:
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