Andy,

I've been messing more with your ANDY10 file. I enjoy doing this sort of thing. Recovering data from damaged accounting system files was something I did 'professionally', so this is 'fun', with the added pleasure of listening to the results.

Firstly, I used the option within SynthFont to save the sound to a .WAV file. Your 'song' is 2m 58 secs, and this creates a .WAV file of 31 Mb, and when I check the file I note that the parameters indicate that it's CD quality (1411 Kbps, 16 bit, stereo, 44 KHz). Unfortunately, the max file size for the forum is 2Mb, and using zip reduces the .WAV only a little (to 29 Mb). I could reduce the quality a LOT, but this would spoil the effect.

SynthFont shows that ch 4 and 9 have multiple Program Changes, but when I check the detail I find that this is an illusion. There is I think one only real change, the other changes are repeats of the original setting, and there are also invalid Bank Selects that will probably have no effect on my system (but MIGHT have done something on your setup). Under GM, a Bank select requires the Bank commands (controllers 0 and 32) to be followed by the Program Change, and it's the PC which effects the change using the previously set Bank settings. The data in your file shows the PC, followed by the BS data which means that the BS will have no effect.

Apart from that, your file shows a text description for the instruments used, and these are NOT always the same as the GM spec, so I do not know how different the sounds might actually be. Of course, they may just be different names for very similar sounds? For example, Channel 0 uses patch # 95 (0 to 127 numbering), called 'Polar Pad' in your midi file, but 'Pad 8 (sweep)' by SynthFont using the GM name ('Sweep Pad').

Anyway, I'm fairly sure that I am NOT listening to the music that you created - this is not YOUR fault, it the different settings between your setup (30 years ago) and my setup. Even so, it mostly sounds very good.

Geoff

Hi Geoff

Hey, this is so cool! Thank you so much! I really enjyoed already to listen to the rough midi-Version of the file recognizing exactly what I composed long time ago even though the sounds didn't really fit to what I was playing back in the 90s with a Roland Sound Canvas SC-88 (that's what I used). This song I wrote to present a product we designed and produced at the university with my student peers. In fact I have somewhere a minidisc recording of it - I'm sure I'll be able transform it to mp3.

Right now I opened the midi-file in Cakewalk maybe getting some Synths in from Propellerhead Reason. On the other side I'd be really curious how the version sounds that you've reworked (which I appreciate a lot and I actually feel honoured knowing that somebody takes the time to do this :-). To be honest I don't really remember exactly what I did with all the program changes and special midi commads. Let me investigate a bit further as well to find it out. Regarding the sounds I assume I saved in fact same or similar sounds with different adjustments within the Roland SC-88.

Andy

Hello everyone, good afternoon. I stumbled on this thread, and I hope that I can find a solution to my quest. I have many .sng files of music I created using Voyetra software back when it was a dos system. Although I had converted many of my .sng files to .mid when Digital Orchestrator Pro came out for Windows, I still have the ones I never got around to converting. My hope is that there is someone out there who has a setup to accomplish this or knows of a tool that actually works. I have seen some tools offered online, but I am concerned that they might infect my computer with malware. I am attaching one of the files I have to see if it works.

If anyone can help me, please let me know.

Regards,
Jon

Hello Jon,

Just found your posting.

I've downloaded your file, and unzipped. I note that it contains a file 1.sng, this is dated 26/02/1995, and it's 9,419 bytes.

I've had a look inside, and it certainly appears to be what you say, I see reference to 'Tracks' and date, some of which could well be midi.

My DOS Voyetra system is still loaded on my old computer, and hopefully it's still working. I need to transfer your file to that computer, load it into Voyetra, and if all is OK, then export the file again as a midi. No problem, just fiddly.

How many files are you asking about?

I'll see how the first one goes!

Geoff

Jon,

Your file has loaded into Voyetra OK, things seem OK.

I've saved the file as .mid, and the result seems OK. I've played the file via my VST setup, and it seems OK.

I cannot tell if it's correct, but it could well be. Please confirm that it is as you remember it from 18 years ago!

Geoff

Hi Geoff,

I also have .ORC files, but I'm most interested in extracting the WAV stems. The files are considerably bigger than the 2MB limit here. If this something you can do, I have a file uploaded here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ce3x1rsk2os5cjzj5iyxe/test-ryan.orc?dl=0&rlkey=wle7hlxlwk1xceynig3nygban

Please let me know, thanks.

- Ryan