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Over the past month in cooperation with Falcosoft, I have been working on an MT-32 editor interface for MuntVSTi which is a multi-timbral virtual instrument VST plugin that uses the MUNT emulation core. MUNT is the popular Roland MT-32 emulator that's been around for decades. MuntVSTi has been available for a while, but it was never meant to be used in a DAW scenario and instead for use with playing old games. It didn't include a synth editor/programmer of its own. But now it can!Download MT32edit4v from GitHub (https://github.com/MusicallyInspired/MT32edit4v)
Download MuntVSTi V3.0 (required) (https://falcosoft.hu/softwares.html#munt_vsti)
(MT-32 Control and PCM ROMs are required and not included in either download)
It's a bit ugly using only Windows' typical generic window UI scheme, but in the future I plan to replace all that with prettier graphics. It's built in Delphi and the source is available on the GitHub repository linked above. MuntVSTi emulates two MUNT synths (originally for the purpose of better compatibility with GM MIDI files and for increased polyphony). MT32edit4v has access to both of them in real time. That means you get twice the polyphony and two Timbre Memory banks (64 each) to store custom timbres. MuntVSTi also has the ability to double the available polyphony from 32 partials to 64 which means that with the two emulated synths you can have a veritable "MT-128".
To launch the editor, make sure the DLL is in the same folder as MuntVSTi and when launched MuntVSTi will detect it automatically and expose a launch button for the editor:
Synths are toggled between via the top right buttons. The colours of the controls signify which synth is currently being accessed (blue for synth 1, green for synth 2). The editor has full access to all 9 Parts of the synth (8 melodic and 1 rhythm, per synth). You can load a timbre from Timbre Memory or any of the other 3 preset banks that the MT-32 has (including the Rhythm bank). You can also save a timbre to Timbre Memory. Importing/Exporting SYX files is also supported but is currently simplistic and will be fleshed out more as development continues. Currently SYX importing just checks whether it's a proper Sysex file with a proper MT-32 sysex command header (the Unit ID is always assumed to be 17 (0x10) since there's no way to change the Unit ID in MuntVSTi currently) and just dumps the whole thing into the emulator's memory even if there are multiple commands in the SYX file. Exporting only exports the current Timbre being edited and always exports it as Part 1. The resulting SYX file can be used with real MT-32 hardware or another implementation of MUNT.
There are more planned features like a more complete Timbre Memory and Patch Memory librarian/organizer, Rhythm Setup controls (for customizing the timbres for each Rhythm key), and the ability to export sysex data for all aspects of the MT-32 (not just individual Timbres) which will allow you to make a full sysex backup of the current state of a synth. The controls currently are not able to be mapped in a DAW environment and controlled externally. That may come in the future. But since the editor functions by sending sysex messages to the emulated synth core (like a real MT-32) there could be issues if controls are operated too fast and too frequently simultaneously. Data could get dropped or missed.
One nice aspect about this editor is that to date (as far as I'm aware) it is the only implementation of MUNT that is able to access the synth's memory and retrieve data (MUNT currently does not respond to Data Request sysex messages and has no MIDI output port). The editor also has a Debug Options menu (hidden by default, but can be activated in the System Tab) that allows direct access to reading synth memory address offsets and sending custom sysex strings for testing. That can be an alternative way to get full dumps from a synth's memory by copying and pasting the retrieved data.
I'd appreciate feedback for what kinds of things can be done better and what people would like to see! Also if there are any issues please report them on the repository. In the meantime, enjoy the first actual MT-32 emulator with editing controls as a virtual instrument plugin! And spread the word!
