Moonsound
Encyclopedia
Moonsound was the name of a sound card
released for the MSX home-computer system at the Tilburg computer fair in 1995. The name Moonsound originated from the software Moonblaster that was written for people to use this hardware plug-in synthesizer.
home-computer system.
Based on the Yamaha YMF278
OPL4 Sound chip
it was capable of 18 channels of FM
sound as well as 24 channels of 12 and 16 bit
sample-based synthesis
. It arrived after the US branch of Microsoft abandoned the MSX system, focusing on the IBM PC.
A 2 MB
instrument ROM containing multisampled instruments was unusual for its time. From the factory it came equipped with one 128 kB
SRAM chip for user samples.
sound cards.
Moonblaster came in two versions, one for FM and one for sample-based synthesis.
Later on Marcel Delorme took over the software development.
.
Moonsound version 1.1 and 1.2 had 2 sockets for up to 1MB SRAM
.
Some hackers found out how to stack additional 2 SRAM chips resulting in 2MB of SRAM.
Being based on OPL4, Moonsound is compatible (FM register) with OPL1, OPL2 and OPL3. The MSX-AUDIO contains a chip which is also compatible with the OPL1. So some older software can make use of the Moonsound.
The 2 MB ROM
contained 330 mono samples, mostly at 22.050 kHz in 12 bits with some drums are 44.1 kHz.
The FM part of OPL4
chip can be configured in several ways:
Four-operator FM allows more complex sounds but reduces polyphony.
Eight waveforms are available for the FM synthesis.
The Moonsound audio power supply was isolated from its digital supply in an attempt to reduce noise. It had a separate stereo audio output and was not mixed with the internal MSX sound.
Additional softare tools were able to rip sound loops digitally from audio CDs inserted in a CD-ROM drive connected to any of the SCSI and ATA-IDE interfaces. This software was designed by Henrik Gilvad for MSX Club Gouda and Sunrise Swiss.
Today Moonsound is emulated in MSX emulators like blueMSX
and openMSX
.
Sound card
A sound card is an internal computer expansion card that facilitates the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs. The term sound card is also applied to external audio interfaces that use software to generate sound, as opposed to using hardware...
released for the MSX home-computer system at the Tilburg computer fair in 1995. The name Moonsound originated from the software Moonblaster that was written for people to use this hardware plug-in synthesizer.
History
Moonsound was a sound-card produced for the MSXMSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
home-computer system.
Based on the Yamaha YMF278
Yamaha YMF278
The Yamaha YMF278B, also known as the OPL4 , is a sound chip that incorporates both sample-based synthesis and FM synthesis.-Sample-based synthesis component:...
OPL4 Sound chip
Sound chip
A sound chip is an integrated circuit designed to produce sound . It might be doing this through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics...
it was capable of 18 channels of FM
Frequency modulation synthesis
A 220 Hz carrier tone modulated by a 440 Hz modulating tone with various choices of modulation index, β. The time domain signals are illustrated above, and the corresponding spectra are shown below ....
sound as well as 24 channels of 12 and 16 bit
Bit
A bit is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications; it is the amount of information stored by a digital device or other physical system that exists in one of two possible distinct states...
sample-based synthesis
Sample-based synthesis
Sample-based synthesis is a form of audio synthesis that can be contrasted to either subtractive synthesis or additive synthesis. The principal difference with sample-based synthesis is that the seed waveforms are sampled sounds or instruments instead of fundamental waveforms such as the saw waves...
. It arrived after the US branch of Microsoft abandoned the MSX system, focusing on the IBM PC.
A 2 MB
Megabyte
The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
instrument ROM containing multisampled instruments was unusual for its time. From the factory it came equipped with one 128 kB
Kilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
SRAM chip for user samples.
Hardware
It was designed by electronic engineer Henrik Gilvad and produced by Sunrise Swiss on a semi-hobby basis. Two generations were made. The first was a small size PCB without a box. Later, a larger size PCB which fit into an MSX cartridge was available. The later version had room for two sample SRAM chips resulting in 1 MB of compressed user samples.Software
Moonblaster was software designed by Remco Schrijvers based on his step-time sequencer software for other MSXMSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
sound cards.
Moonblaster came in two versions, one for FM and one for sample-based synthesis.
Later on Marcel Delorme took over the software development.
Sound effects
Sound effects like chorus, delay and reverb were omitted due to cost, size and usability reasons. The Yamaha effect chip required its own specialised memory and effect routing was basic. All 18 FM channels and 24 channels of sample-based sound shared the same effect setting. Creative step-time sequencer programmers made pseudo effects like chorus, reverb and delay by overdubbing or using dedicated channels to repeat notes with delay and stereo panning. This was effective but quickly reduced the musical complexity possible.Specifications
Moonsound version 1.0 had 1 socket for user sample RAMRam
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
.
Moonsound version 1.1 and 1.2 had 2 sockets for up to 1MB SRAM
Static random access memory
Static random-access memory is a type of semiconductor memory where the word static indicates that, unlike dynamic RAM , it does not need to be periodically refreshed, as SRAM uses bistable latching circuitry to store each bit...
.
Some hackers found out how to stack additional 2 SRAM chips resulting in 2MB of SRAM.
Being based on OPL4, Moonsound is compatible (FM register) with OPL1, OPL2 and OPL3. The MSX-AUDIO contains a chip which is also compatible with the OPL1. So some older software can make use of the Moonsound.
The 2 MB ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
contained 330 mono samples, mostly at 22.050 kHz in 12 bits with some drums are 44.1 kHz.
The FM part of OPL4
Yamaha YMF278
The Yamaha YMF278B, also known as the OPL4 , is a sound chip that incorporates both sample-based synthesis and FM synthesis.-Sample-based synthesis component:...
chip can be configured in several ways:
- 18 two-operator FM channels
- 6 four-operator FM channels + 6 two-operator FM channels
- 15 two-operator FM channels + 5 FM drums
- 6 four-operator FM channels + 3 two-operator FM channels + 5 FM drums
Four-operator FM allows more complex sounds but reduces polyphony.
Eight waveforms are available for the FM synthesis.
The Moonsound audio power supply was isolated from its digital supply in an attempt to reduce noise. It had a separate stereo audio output and was not mixed with the internal MSX sound.
Software
- Moonblaster for Moonsound FM
- Moonblaster for Moonsound Wave
- Moonsofts Amiga MOD file Player for Moonsound
- Mid2opl4 midi file player for Moonsound
- Meridian SMF midi file player
Additional softare tools were able to rip sound loops digitally from audio CDs inserted in a CD-ROM drive connected to any of the SCSI and ATA-IDE interfaces. This software was designed by Henrik Gilvad for MSX Club Gouda and Sunrise Swiss.
Today Moonsound is emulated in MSX emulators like blueMSX
BlueMSX
blueMSX is an open source MSX emulator that uses an emulation model to achieve the highest level of accuracy possible. It is available for the Microsoft Windows operating system. It has been translated into 14 different languages...
and openMSX
OpenMSX
openMSX is an open source MSX emulator which is free according to the Debian Free Software Guidelines, available under the GNU General Public License....
.