Roland PC Midi Interfaces Compared

[Great Hierophant]

The following Roland products support some or all of the MPU-401 standard:

MPU-401 + MIF-IPC

Benefits:
Breakout box can be used with non-IBM PCs if you have the proper interface board.
Supports 1x Midi In, 2x Midi Out, Sync Out, Metronome & Tape Sync
Half-size ISA board
Portable MPU-401 Interface

Drawbacks:
Need to solder and damage card to select non-default I/O Ports or IRQ Channels.
Does not work properly in AT-class or better systems if MPU-401 has a ROM lower than 1.5a. 
Difficult to use without Breakout Box and Interface Card.  
Breakout box has large footprint.
No support for 2nd Midi In

MPU-IPC

Benefits:
Small breakout box
Supports 1x Midi In, 2x Midi Out, Sync Out, Metronome & Tape Sync
Half-size ISA board
Useable on XT or AT Bus

Drawbacks:
Need to solder and damage card to select non-default I/O Ports or IRQ Channels.
Virtually useless without Breakout Box and Interface Card.  
No support for 2nd Midi In

MPU-IPC-T

Small breakout box
Supports 1x Midi In, 2x Midi Out, Metronome & Tape Sync
Half-size ISA board
6 IRQ & 128 I/O Port Settings
Useable on XT or AT Bus

Drawbacks:
Virtually useless without Breakout Box and Interface Card.  
No Support for Sync Out
Official Roland I/O Port settings 332h, 334h & 336h unavailable
No support for 2nd Midi In

LAPC-I

Benefits:
CM-32L Sound Source on card
Supports 1x Midi In, 2x Midi Out, Sync Out, Metronome & Tape Sync w/MCB-1 Breakout Box
6 IRQ & 4 I/O Ports Settings
Small breakout box
Useable on XT or AT Bus

Drawbacks:
Full Length ISA board
Did not come with MCB-1 Breakout Box
Official Roland I/O Port Settings 300h, 320h  not supported
No support for 2nd Midi In
Requires -5v rail, not found in all computers

MPU-IMC

Benefits:
Usable on 16/32-bit Micro Channel PS/2 Bus
Supports 1x Midi In, 2x Midi Out, Metronome & Tape Sync
Small breakout box
6 IRQ & 2 I/O Settings on Later Boards

Drawbacks:
Not useable on non-PS/2 Bus
Virtually useless without Breakout Box and Interface Card.  
No Support for Sync Out
No way to select I/O Ports or IRQ Channels on Early Boards
Default Roland Setting of IRQ2 conflicts with PS/2 Hard Drive Interrupt
Official Roland I/O Port settings 300h, 320h, 332h, 334h & 336h not supported
No support for 2nd Midi In

SCC-1

Benefits:
SC-55 Sound Source on card
Supports 1x Midi In, 1x Midi Out on card
6 IRQ & 4 I/O Ports Settings
Small breakout box
Useable on XT or AT Bus

Drawbacks:
No connectors for Sync Out, Metronome & Tape Sync
Requires DIN-to-Mini-DIN Adapters for Midi In & Midi Out
No support for Official Roland I/O Ports 300, 320.  
No support for 2nd Midi In or 2nd Midi Out

S-MPU/AT

Benefits:
Supports Super MPU Midi Interface
Supports Native/Intelligent Midi
Supports 2x Midi In, 2x Midi Out, SMPTE Timecode
Small Breakout box
2/3 ISA Card Length
5 IRQ & 32 I/O Ports Settings Support

Drawbacks:
No Support for Sync Out, Metronome & Tape Sync
Almost certainly unusuable in XT Bus
Virtually useless without Breakout Box

RAP-10AT

Benefits:
SC-7 Sound Source on card
16-bit digital audio record & playback up to 44,100 kHz
Supports 1x Midi In, 1x Midi Out through MCB-10 Breakout Box
5 IRQ & 8 I/O Ports Settings
Works with standard Gameport-to-Midi adapters
Supports PC Joystick
Small Breakout Box, but No Breakout Box Required
16-bit IRQs available
Full Support for Win 3.1/9x

Drawbacks:
3/4 Length ISA card
Official Roland I/O Ports 332h, 334h & 336h not available
Native/Intelligent MPU-401 Mode unavailable
Midi-only support for Win 2K/XP

MPU-401AT

Benefits:
Waveblaster-compatible connector
Short ISA card
Supports 1x Midi In, 1x Midi Out on card
6 IRQ & 16 I/O Ports Settings

Drawbacks:
May not work on XT Bus
No connectors for Sync Out, Metronome & Tape Sync
Requires DIN-to-Mini-DIN Adapters for Midi In & Midi Out
No support for 2nd Midi In or 2nd Midi Out
Daughterboards may extend card length and may be partially unsupported physically

SCP-55

Benefits:
SC-55mkII Sound Source on card
16-bit digital audio record & playback up to 44,100 kHz
PCMCIA Type II card
Can work in PCI ot ISA slots with adapter
Supports 1x Midi In, 1x Midi Out, Line In and Mic w/MCB-3 Breakout Box
Plug'nPlay Support
Full Support for Win 3.1/9x

Drawbacks:
Didn't come with MCB-3 Breakout Box
Useless without Line Out Connector or MCB-3 Breakout Box
Native/Intelligent MPU-401 Mode unavailable
Midi-only support for Win 2K/XP at best
Unknown supported settings
PCMCIA to PCI or ISA adapters not the most reliable
Uncertain DOS Support
May or may not work with games supporting RAP-10AT

Super MPUII

Benefits:
Supports Super MPU Midi Interface
Supports Native/Intelligent Midi
Supports 2x Midi In, 2x Midi Out
Small Breakout box
2/3 ISA Card Length
Plug'nPlay

Drawbacks:
No connectors for Sync Out, Metronome & Tape Sync
No SMPTE Timecode Support
Unusuable in XT Bus
Virtually useless without Breakout Box
Uncertain DOS Support

[Cloudschatze]

S-MPU/AT

Benefits:
Supports Super MPU Midi Interface
Supports Native/Intelligent Midi
Supports 2x Midi In, 2x Midi Out, SMPTE Timecode
Small Breakout box
2/3 ISA Card Length
5 IRQ & 32 I/O Ports Settings Support

Drawbacks:
No Support for Sync Out, Metronome & Tape Sync
Almost certainly unusuable in XT Bus
Virtually useless without Breakout Box

I bought a brand-new one of these a couple of years ago when I was first getting into the "computer music stuff". Annoyingly, the S-MPU would drop the first note of a musical piece if used without the supplied drivers, such as when used in DOS. Supposedly, this is due to the automatic switching from S-MPU to MPU-401 mode. A huge drawback, needless to say. I boxed the thing back up, and it's been in the closet ever since.

[Great Hierophant]

I assume then that the Super MPUII would do the same thing or have other problems like it in DOS.  Too bad Roland didn't allow you to keep the unit in MPU-401 mode all the time with a DOS driver or a jumper on the card.

[Ari]

One of the cool things about the MPU-401AT, is that it's jumber system comes in the form of a small blue box with 4 switches that can change easily and make available 16 different IRQ and I/O settings.

Of course the drawback in this, is that if you actually want to change one of those settings, you have to open up your PC and remove the darned thing...  :wink:

[Great Hierophant]

Of course the drawback in this, is that if you actually want to change one of those settings, you have to open up your PC and remove the darned thing... Wink

Another drawback is that a DOS program must support those settings, and many don't go beyond IRQ2 & I/O 330h.

[Galahad]

The following Roland products support some or all of the MPU-401 standard:

MIF-IPC

Benefits:
Breakout box can be used with non-IBM PCs if you have the proper interface board.
Supports 1x Midi In, 2x Midi Out, Sync Out, Metronome & Tape Sync
Half-size ISA board

Drawbacks:
No way to select I/O Ports or IRQ Channels.
Does not work properly on AT Bus.
Useless without Breakout Box and Interface Card.  
Breakout box has large footprint.
No support for 2nd Midi In

I actually have two MIF-IPC cards (1 MIF-IPC and 1 MIF-IPC-A), as well the 2 accompanying "large-footprint" breakout boxes to connect to the MIF-IPCs.  However, I was unaware when I acquired that they cannot be used on AT-bus (i.e., ISA slots of modern PCs) computers.

Quick question though:  would the large breakout boxes still be able to successfully connect to an MPU-IPC card, or would that not work either?  The reason I ask is because I know from previous research that the MCB-1 breakout box for LAPC-I can be used interchangeably with the MPU-IPC box.

If connecting the large breakout boxes to MPU-IPC cards is not viable, would anyone possibly need an MIF-IPC and/or MIF-IPC-A card along with breakout boxes that they would be interested in purchasing (includes original MIF-IPC box)?

[Great Hierophant]

I actually have two MIF-IPC cards (1 MIF-IPC and 1 MIF-IPC-A), as well the 2 accompanying "large-footprint" breakout boxes to connect to the MIF-IPCs. However, I was unaware when I acquired that they cannot be used on AT-bus (i.e., ISA slots of modern PCs) computers.

Quick question though: would the large breakout boxes still be able to successfully connect to an MPU-IPC card, or would that not work either? The reason I ask is because I know from previous research that the MCB-1 breakout box for LAPC-I can be used interchangeably with the MPU-IPC box.

As you know, I made those statements about the MIF-IPC before Cloud made his recent tests.  His tests, as documented in a nearby thread, prove that many MIF-IPCs will work in AT bus systems.  The interface card is fast enough to handle the faster bus speed.  It is the actual breakout box that is in question.  Early MPU-401 boxes may handle midi messages too slowly for the AT bus, which is faster and would transmit data over the bus more quickly.  We arte still waiting for results with the early boxes.  

You cannot use the large breakout box, the MPU-401, with the MPU-IPC, MPU-IPC-T, LAPC-I or MPU-IMC.  The MPU-IPC and MPU-IPC-T breakout boxes use a DB-25 cable while the LAPC-I uses a DB-15 cable, so while they are functionally identical (with the exception of the missing SYNC DIN of the MPU-IPC-T), you would need a pin converter.  The reason why the MPU-401 box is so much larger is because it contains the midi processing hardware inside the box, compared to the later products that put it on the cards.  The signals transmitted on the cables are vastly different.

[Galahad]

Great Hierophant:   thanks very much for the info.  Will definitely be looking forward in the future to seeing the results of the remaining tests for the large MPU-401 boxes!

[menkau_ra]

I assume then that the Super MPUII would do the same thing or have other problems like it in DOS.  Too bad Roland didn't allow you to keep the unit in MPU-401 mode all the time with a DOS driver or a jumper on the card.

Well, my S-MPUII works absolutely fine under DOS What you need is just to install Win31 drivers under DOS. No problems at all with Intelligent Mode.

I guess now we can delete "Uncertain DOS Support".