Author Topic: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were intended to be heard (100% COMPLETE)  (Read 260488 times)

1: Introduction
Here's an era of Touhou history that doesn't get talked about much. In the years between the release of Mystic Square and Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, ZUN graduated from university and got hired by Taito. It's normal for young japanese programmers to completely cease their doujin activities once they get hired, but ZUN continued to contribute to the Seihou Project as a music composer. He also made some arranged versions of his old compositions which were posted at his site, on a (now hidden) page called "東方幻想的音楽". At the time, most simple doujin games were distributed in low capacity floppy disks and download speeds were very slow, so his music had to be distributed as MIDI files, which are much smaller than recorded audio files such as WAV, AAC and MP3.

MIDI files contain no audio information. Instead, they function like a script for a synthesizer, containing not just the notes to be played but also control messages, allowing composers to use model-specific features such as the ability to heavily edit how an instrument is played and activating effects such as reverb or guitar distortion. Almost every model of synthesizer responds differently to these messages (if they respond at all) on top of having different sounds, so playing a MIDI file on a synthesizer other than the one specified by the composer will often result in the music sounding completely different from intended. Like most japanese MIDIs you'll find on the internet, the MIDIs made by ZUN were meant to be played on a Roland Sound Canvas, more specifically the SC-88Pro.

Released in the second half of 1996, the SC-88Pro is the successor to the SC-88 (1994) and the SC-55 (1991). The 88Pro became extremely popular among japanese desktop musicians for including many instrument samples from expansion boards for the JV-1080, a highly regarded synthesizer used by almost every professional composer that worked with MIDI in the 90's. While the sounds in the 88Pro lack the depth and expression that they have in the JV-1080 due to simplified instrument programming  and some samples being cut down, they still sound familiar enough to fool people into thinking that many game soundtracks made with a JV were actually made with a 88Pro. Some commercial game soundtracks were indeed made with a SC-88Pro though: a few well known examples are Thunder Force V, Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim, Ys Complete (also in Ys Chronicles as an alternate soundtrack), Kanon, Mother 3 and the Pokemon games for the GBA (RSE and FireRed/LeafGreen).

ZUN used the SC-88Pro from 1999 to 2001. In mid-2001 he got the newer SC-8850, which he quickly got rid of (compared to the 88Pro it's just more of the same... but with compatibility issues). In late 2001 he got another new hardware synthesizer, the same one he uses to this day. However, before he got this new synth he had already finished pretty much all of the tracks for Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, Kioh Gyoku and Dolls in Pseudo Paradise using the 88Pro. Since this new synth sounds very different from the 88Pro, he decided to arrange what he had done so far, which became the WAV versions of the music. In other words, the MIDI versions of the EoSD and Kioh Gyoku soundtracks are ZUN's original compositions, while the WAV versions are arranged and sound pretty different.

2: Recording & technical details
The following was used for recording:

Synthesizer: Japanese Roland SC-88Pro, firmware Ver 1.02 (the most common)
Software: Steinberg Cubase Pro 8.0.30/8.5 and Wavelab Pro 9
Audio and MIDI interface: Edirol SD-90
Cable: KnuKonceptz Krystal Kable 2 Channel 1M Twisted Pair RCA Cable
Original file format: FLAC, 44100 Hz, 24 bit

I took special care to ensure that these recordings sound as close as possible to actually listening to the 88Pro in person: All of the annoying loud hiss and distortion you may have heard in other recordings of this synth aren't present in mine. The file names are the same name as the original MIDI files, but they're tagged with the japanese names of the tracks.

There are about 150 tracks in total, about 10 hours of music.

----------------
Important: These files are big. If you have download speed or stability issues, try using a download manager such as Free Download Manager. Also note that these have none of the processing that ZUN does to his current music, so this will sound way quieter than usual. Increase the volume on your headphones or speakers. BTW you should totally get foobar2000 to listen to these.
----------------

3: The Music

YouTube
Do you appreciate the time spent on this and want to help these recordings show up higher in YouTube search than the stock Windows MIDI synth stuff? Read this post.
^^^^

Games where the SC-88Pro MIDIs are the original soundtrack:

-秋霜玉 (Seihou Project 1: Shuusou Gyoku) (OST/original)
-稀翁玉 (Seihou Project 2: Kioh Gyoku) (MIDI original)
-トルテ ル マジック (Torte Le Magic) OST
-東方紅魔郷 ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (MIDI original)
-秋霜玉 (Seihou Project 1: Shuusou Gyoku) (C58 Trial)

SC-88Pro arrangements and miscellaneous compositions from ZUN's site:

-その他の作品 ~ ZUN's Strange Works (original music)
-ZUN's PC-98 Touhou MIDI arrangements
-秋霜玉 (Seihou 1: Shuusou Gyoku) (arranged OST)

Games where SC-88/SC-88Pro MIDIs are included as a bonus:

-東方封魔録 ~ the Story of Eastern Wonderland (MIDI version)
-東方妖々夢 ~ Perfect Cherry Blossom (MIDI version)
-東方永夜抄 ~ Imperishable Night (MIDI version)
-東方花映塚 ~ Phantasmagoria of Flower View (MIDI, trial tracks only)

Bonus:
-Official SC-55, SC-88, SC-88Pro, SC-8850, SD-90, Super Quartet, SD-20 MIDI demos and information
-Kioh Gyoku original SC-88Pro MIDI soundtrack vs WAV arrange


If possible, please use the playlists when sharing these videos with others.
This makes it easier for people to listen to other tracks from the same game if they want to. YouTube's recommended videos feature has unfortunately become useless for this.

Tip: Looking for a recording of a specific file but don't know the track's name? Just search for the filename between "quotes", like this: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22th5_06.mid%22

Full Download

-FLAC (16-bit):
Dither: MBIT+, Noise Shaping: Medium
4.56 GB: Google Drive | Mega

-AAC (VBR, Highest Bitrate):
MP4 lossy audio. Official closed source Fraunhofer IIS encoder.
1.37 GB: Google Drive | Mega

The 16-bit FLACs should sound the same as the original 24-bit recordings for as long as no further audio processing is applied.
This includes dynamic range processing, equalizing and encoding to a lossy format such as AAC/OGG/MP3. If you downloaded the 24-bit versions previously and you don't plan to do any of that, feel free to delete them and download the zip file above.
« Last Edit: June 26, 2017, 02:05:05 PM by Romantique Tp »

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2015, 10:30:52 AM »
Original 24-bit recordings

The colored dates mean the following:

Black: These are average SC-88Pro MIDIs. The instruments aren't very heavily edited and the use of 88Pro-exclusive stuff is kept to a minimum.
Brown: These are MIDIs for the older "vanilla" SC-88. The 88Pro is able to reproduce these perfectly, as it comes with all of the old instrument samples and the same synth engine as the SC-88.
Red: Also for the SC-88Pro, but the instruments are edited and there's heavy use of 88Pro-exclusive features. These sound off on any other synthesizer. The closest to PCB-era music.
Purple: These tracks were originally composed for another synthesizer, but ZUN also made a quick SC-88Pro version. Quality may vary.

秋霜玉 (Seihou Project 1: Shuusou Gyoku) (arranged)
Polished and arranged versions of the first Seihou's soundtrack. Posted on ZUN's site.

2001/05/02  Shuusou Gyoku ~ Clockworks      Title screen Theme      ZUN's comment
2001/03/05False StrawberryStage 1 ThemeZUN's comment
2001/03/08Primrose ShiverStage 1 Boss - Milia's ThemeZUN's comment
2001/03/11Illusory Imperial CapitalStage 2 ThemeZUN's comment
2001/03/13Disastrous GeminiStage 2 Boss - Mei and Mai's ThemeZUN's comment
2001/03/23Illusion of Flowers, Air of Scarlet DreamStage 3 ThemeZUN's comment
2001/03/07Firmament ArmyStage 3 Boss - Gates' ThemeZUN's comment
2001/03/06Illusionary Sputnik NightStage 4 ThemeZUN's comment
2001/03/17Mechanical Circus ~ ReverieStage 4 Boss - Marie's ThemeZUN's comment
2001/03/14Illusionary Girl from CanaveralStage 5 ThemeZUN's comment
2001/03/27Magical Girl's CrusadeStage 5 Boss - Erich's ThemeZUN's comment
2001/03/30Antique TerrorStage 6 ThemeZUN's comment
2001/04/10Dream Machine ~ Innocent PowerStage 6 Boss - Vivit's First ThemeZUN's comment
2001/04/16Illusory Science ~ Doll's PhantomStage 6 Boss - Vivit's Second ThemeZUN's comment
2001/04/29Girl's Divinity ~ Pandora's BoxStage 6 Boss - Vivit's Third ThemeZUN's comment
2001/05/13Silk Road AliceExtra Stage ThemeZUN's comment
2001/05/23The Witches' Ball ~ MagusExtra Stage Boss #1 - Marisa Kirisame's ThemeZUN's comment
2001/05/31Dichromatic Lotus Butterfly ~ AncientsExtra Stage Boss #2 - Reimu Hakurei's ThemeZUN's comment
2001/05/02HerselvesEnding ThemeZUN's comment


秋霜玉 (Seihou Project 1: Shuusou Gyoku) (original)
The music as heard in-game. These have a heavier feel than the arranged versions.

2000  Shuusou Gyoku ~ Clockworks      Title screen Theme      ZUN's comment
2000False StrawberryStage 1 ThemeZUN's comment
2000Primrose ShiverStage 1 Boss - Milia's ThemeZUN's comment
2000Illusory Imperial CapitalStage 2 ThemeZUN's comment
2000Disastrous GeminiStage 2 Boss - Mei and Mai's ThemeZUN's comment
2000Illusion of Flowers, Air of Scarlet DreamStage 3 ThemeZUN's comment
2000Firmament ArmyStage 3 Boss - Gates' ThemeZUN's comment
2000Illusionary Sputnik NightStage 4 ThemeZUN's comment
2000Mechanical Circus ~ ReverieStage 4 Boss - Marie's ThemeZUN's comment
2000Illusionary Girl from CanaveralStage 5 ThemeZUN's comment
2000Magical Girl's CrusadeStage 5 Boss - Erich's ThemeZUN's comment
2000Antique TerrorStage 6 ThemeZUN's comment
2000Dream Machine ~ Innocent PowerStage 6 Boss - Vivit's First ThemeZUN's comment
2000Illusory Science ~ Doll's PhantomStage 6 Boss - Vivit's Second ThemeZUN's comment
2000Girl's Divinity ~ Pandora's BoxStage 6 Boss - Vivit's Third ThemeZUN's comment
2000Silk Road AliceExtra Stage ThemeZUN's comment
2000The Witches' Ball ~ MagusExtra Stage Boss #1 - Marisa Kirisame's ThemeZUN's comment
2000Dichromatic Lotus Butterfly ~ AncientsExtra Stage Boss #2 - Reimu Hakurei's ThemeZUN's comment
2000HerselvesEnding ThemeZUN's comment
2000Titled MaidName Register ThemeZUN's comment


秋霜玉 (Seihou Project 1: Shuusou Gyoku) (C58 Trial)
The music for the trial is slightly different from the final version. The boss themes have the most noticeable differences.

2000  False Strawberry      Stage 1 Theme      ZUN's comment
2000Primrose ShiverStage 1 Boss - Milia's ThemeZUN's comment
2000Illusory Imperial CapitalStage 2 ThemeZUN's comment
2000Disastrous GeminiStage 2 Boss - Mei and Mai's ThemeZUN's comment
2000Illusion of Flowers, Air of Scarlet DreamStage 3 ThemeZUN's comment
2000Firmament ArmyStage 3 Boss - Gates' ThemeZUN's comment


東方靈異伝 ~ Highly Resposive to Prayers

2000/03/05  Eternal Shrine Maiden      Theme of Levels 1-4, Hell Levels 16-19       ZUN's comment
2001/09/27Eastern Strange Discourse Theme of Hell Levels 6-9 ZUN's comment
2001/01/07The Legend of KAGE Theme of Makai Levels 16-19 ZUN's comment
2000/10/29Iris Ending theme ZUN's comment

東方封魔録 ~ the Story of Eastern Wonderland

1999/10/15   Hakurei ~ Eastern Wind      Stage 1 theme       ZUN's comment
1999/12/12 Love-Colored Magic Stage 4 Boss - Marisa Kirisame's theme ZUN's comment
2001/07/21Complete Darkness Final Boss - Mima's theme ZUN's comment

東方夢時空 ~ Phantasmagoria of Dim.Dream
Reincarnation makes the 88Pro run out of polyphony...

2001/10/30  Reincarnation      Mima's theme       ZUN's comment
2000/01/16 Tabula rasa ~ The Empty Girl Ellen's theme ZUN's comment
2000/07/23 Vanishing Dream ~ Lost Dream Kana Anaberal's theme ZUN's comment
2001/04/23 Eternal Full Moon Nighttime Ending theme ZUN's comment

東方幻想郷 ~ Lotus Land Story


2000/01/16   Witching Dream      Reimu's Stage 1 theme       ZUN's comment
1999/12/19 Spirit Battle ~ Perdition crisis ver 1.01 Stage 3 Boss - Elly's theme ZUN's comment
2000/01/16 Alice Maestra Stage 4 theme ZUN's comment
1999/10/13 Maiden's Capriccio Stage 4 Boss A - Reimu's theme ZUN's comment
2000/10/13 Vessel of Stars ~ Casket of Star Stage 4 Boss B - Marisa's theme ZUN's comment
2000/06/04 Sleeping Terror Stage 5 Boss - Yuuka's theme 1 ZUN's comment
2001/04/04 Faint Dream ~ Inanimate Dream Final Boss - Yuuka's theme 2 ZUN's comment
2000/02/28 The Inevitably Forbidden Game Extra Stage theme ZUN's comment

東方怪綺談 ~ Mystic Square
The TXT file for Dream Express says it was arranged for the SC-88, but the MIDI doesn't switch the synthesizer to SC-88 mode. I've recorded both 88 and 88Pro versions.

2001/05/10  Dream Express      Stage 1 theme       ZUN's comment
2001/05/10Dream Express (SC-88) Stage 1 theme ZUN's comment
2000/01/10Dimension of Reverie Stage 2 theme ZUN's comment
2001/06/28Romantic Children Stage 3 theme ZUN's comment
2000/10/22Maple Wise Stage 4 theme ZUN's comment
2000/06/18Forbidden Magic Stage 4 Boss - Yuki and Mai's theme ZUN's comment
2000/10/02Crimson Maiden ~ Crimson Dead!! Stage 4 Boss - Yuki's theme ZUN's comment
2000/01/04Treacherous Maiden ~ Judas Kiss Stage 4 Boss - Mai's theme ZUN's comment
2000/08/06the Last Judgement Stage 5 theme ZUN's comment
2000/04/02Legendary Illusion ~ Infinite Being Final Stage Boss - Shinki's theme ZUN's comment
1999/10/23Alice in Wonderland Extra Stage theme ZUN's comment
2001/09/05Peaceful Romancer Extra Ending theme ZUN's comment

トルテ ル マジック (Torte Le Magic)

2001/05/20  Witch of Love Potion      Stage theme       ZUN's comment
2001/05/20Magical and Hopeless Boss - Chou's theme ZUN's comment
2001/05/20Sacred Battle True last boss - Cointreau's theme ZUN's comment

その他の作品 ~ ZUN's Strange Works
The TXT file for some of these say they were made for the SC-88, but the MIDI doesn't switch the synthesizer to SC-88 mode. I've recorded both 88 and 88Pro versions.

2000/01/10  Magician of the Twilight      Violently in fantastica       ZUN's comment
2000/01/10Magic of LifeCruel Alice series ZUN's comment
2000/02/23Plastic Space Shuusou Gyoku '99 (named arbitrarily) Stage 1 ThemeZUN's comment
2000/02/23Plastic Space (SC-88)Shuusou Gyoku '99 (named arbitrarily) Stage 1 ThemeZUN's comment
2000/05/21Inventive City Shuusou Gyoku '99 Stage 2 theme ZUN's comment
2000/05/21Inventive City (SC-88) Shuusou Gyoku '99 Stage 2 theme ZUN's comment
2000/01/10Fantasy Corridor Slow-tempo wild music ZUN's comment
2001/01/14 Hourai Illusion ~ far East Shuusou Gyoku Extra stage theme (unused) ZUN's comment
2001/01/14Hourai Illusion ~ far East (SC-88) Shuusou Gyoku Extra stage theme (unused) ZUN's comment

東方封魔録 ~ the Story of Eastern Wonderland (original)
ZUN's first published MIDI work, made for the vanilla SC-88. Somewhat different from the FM versions.

1997  Eastern Sealing Magic Record ~ Pure Land Mandala      Title screen theme       ZUN's comment
1997  Hakurei ~ Eastern Wind      Stage 1 theme       ZUN's comment
1997  She's in a temper!!      Stage 1 Boss - Rika's theme       ZUN's comment
1997  End of Daylight      Stage 2 theme       ZUN's comment
1997  Power of Darkness      Stage 2 Boss - Meira's theme       ZUN's comment
1997  World of Empty Dreams      Stage 3 theme       ZUN's comment
1997  Bet on Death      Stage 3 Boss - The Five Magic Stones' theme       ZUN's comment
1997  Himorogi, Burn in Violet      Stage 4 theme       ZUN's comment
1997  Love-Colored Magic      Stage 4 Boss - Marisa Kirisame's theme       ZUN's comment
1997  Eastern Sealing Magic Record ~ A Phantom's Boisterous Dance      Final Stage theme       ZUN's comment
1997  Complete Darkness      Final Boss - Mima's theme       ZUN's comment
1997  Extra Love      Extra Stage theme       ZUN's comment
1997  The Tank Girl's Dream      Extra Boss - Rika's 2nd theme       ZUN's comment
1997  Forest of Tono      Ending theme       ZUN's comment
1997  Legendary Wonderland      Staff Roll theme       ZUN's comment


東方紅魔郷 ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
ZUN's original compositions for EoSD, with different instrumentation and other differences compared to the WAV versions. (Increase the volume for the intended sound, even if it sounds loud enough.)

2001  A Dream That Is More Scarlet than Red      Title screen theme       ZUN's comment
2001  A Soul as Red as a Ground Cherry      Stage 1 theme       ZUN's comment
2001  Apparitions Stalk the Night      Stage 1 Boss - Rumia's theme       ZUN's comment
2001  Lunate Elf      Stage 2 theme       ZUN's comment
2001  Tomboyish Girl in Love      Stage 2 Boss - Cirno's theme       ZUN's comment
2001  Shanghai Teahouse ~ Chinese Tea      Stage 3 theme       ZUN's comment
2001  Shanghai Alice of Meiji 17      Stage 3 Boss - Hong Meiling's theme       ZUN's comment
2001  Voile, the Magic Library      Stage 4 theme       ZUN's comment
2001  Locked Girl ~ The Girl's Secret Room      Stage 4 Boss - Patchouli Knowledge's theme       ZUN's comment
2001  The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Blood      Stage 5 theme       ZUN's comment
2001  Lunar Clock ~ Luna Dial      Stage 5 Boss - Sakuya Izayoi's theme       ZUN's comment
2001  The Young Descendant of Tepes      Stage 6 theme       ZUN's comment
2001  Septette for a Dead Princess      Stage 6 Boss - Remilia Scarlet's theme       ZUN's comment
2001  The Centennial Festival for Magical Girls      Extra Stage theme       ZUN's comment
2001  U.N. Owen Was Her?      Extra Stage Boss - Flandre Scarlet's theme       ZUN's comment
2001  An Eternity That Is More Transient than Scarlet      Ending theme       ZUN's comment
2001  Crimson Tower ~ Eastern Dream...      Staff Roll theme       ZUN's comment

東方妖々夢 ~ Perfect Cherry Blossom (Trial)
Originally composed for another synth. ZUN didn't put much effort into the SC-88Pro MIDI versions.

2002  Mystical Dream ~ Snow or Cherry Petal      Title screen theme       ZUN's comment
2002  Paradise ~ Deep Mountain      Stage 1 theme       ZUN's comment
2002  Crystallized Silver      Stage 1 Boss - Letty Whiterock's theme       ZUN's comment
2002  The Fantastic Tales from Tono      Stage 2 theme       ZUN's comment
2002  Diao Ye Zong (withered leaf)      Stage 2 Boss - Chen's theme       ZUN's comment
2002  The Doll Maker of Bucuresti      Stage 3 theme       ZUN's comment
2002  Doll Judgment ~ The Girl Who Played with People's Shapes      Stage 3 Boss - Alice Margatroid's theme       ZUN's comment

東方永夜抄 ~ Imperishable Night (Trial)
Originally composed for another synth. ZUN didn't put much effort into the SC-88Pro MIDI versions.

2004  Eternal Night Vignette ~ Eastern Night      Title screen theme       ZUN's comment
2003  Illusionary Night ~ Ghostly Eyes      Stage 1 theme       ZUN's comment
2004  Stirring an Autumn Moon ~ Mooned Insect      Stage 1 Boss - Wriggle Nightbug's theme       ZUN's comment
2004  Song of the Night Sparrow ~ Night Bird      Stage 2 theme       ZUN's comment
2004  Deaf to All but the Song      Stage 2 Boss - Mystia Lorelei's theme       ZUN's comment
2004  Nostalgic Blood of the East ~ Old World      Stage 3 theme       ZUN's comment
2004  Plain Asia      Stage 3 Boss - Keine Kamishirasawa's theme       ZUN's comment

東方花映塚 ~ Phantasmagoria of Flower View (Trial)
Originally composed for another synth. ZUN didn't put much effort into the SC-88Pro MIDI versions. The drums play the wrong notes

2005  Flower Viewing Mound ~ Higan Retour      Title screen theme       ZUN's comment
2005  Spring Lane ~ Colorful Path      Reimu Hakurei's theme       ZUN's comment
2005  Oriental Dark Flight      Marisa Kirisame's theme       ZUN's comment
2005  Flowering Night      Sakuya Izayoi's theme       ZUN's comment
2005  Adventure of the Lovestruck Tomboy      Cirno's theme       ZUN's comment
2005  Deaf to All but the Song ~ Flower Mix      Mystia Lorelei's theme       ZUN's comment
2005  The Mound Where the Flowers Reflect      Pre-Battle Conversation theme       ZUN's comment


稀翁玉 (Seihou Project 2: Kioh Gyoku)
ZUN's original compositions for Kioh Gyoku. Most of these tracks are very different from the final WAVs.

2001  Jingle      Seihou Project logo       Yep
2001  Kioh Gyoku ~ Fairy Dance      Title screen theme       ZUN's comment
2001  [url=http://www.mediafire.com/download/qk9ryy651mw9tkz/kog_01.f
« Last Edit: June 05, 2017, 03:26:12 AM by Romantique Tp »

Mеа

  • catnapping
  • three dots connect to rectangles
Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2015, 03:17:21 PM »
Oh oohh these are such a treat, wonderful job with these! Missing a few personal gems, but I'll keep them to myself until you seem finished with your project. I'm curious, how were you able to determine which version of the synthesizers they were meant to be played on?
This is a substantial contribution to the fanbase.
Naked expression; purple raspberry flavour

Leon゠Helsing

  • 0 - The Fool
  • Pave your own path
Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2015, 03:24:51 PM »
Ooh, voting for EoSD... Because vampires. :V

By the way, is 24-bit FLAC really needed? Most of the guys I know just go with 16-bit FLAC.

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #4 on: October 26, 2015, 04:30:58 PM »
Oh oohh these are such a treat, wonderful job with these! Missing a few personal gems, but I'll keep them to myself until you seem finished with your project. I'm curious, how were you able to determine which version of the synthesizers they were meant to be played on?
This is a substantial contribution to the fanbase.

Thanks. The MIDIs from most japanese sites come in a .lzh file (it's like a zip or rar) which include both the MIDI and a text file. The text file will usually tell you which synth/playback mode the MIDI was made for.
The manual for the Windows Touhou games actually list the SC-88Pro as a system requirement if you want to play with MIDI music.

By the way, is 24-bit FLAC really needed? Most of the guys I know just go with 16-bit FLAC.

16 bit FLAC is more than enough for stuff like CD rips and distributing your own finished, mastered tracks online, yes. In these cases 24 bit is just a waste of space. Since these tracks are unprocessed (they aren't "mastered", making them quieter than average), I decided to record them in 24 bit to give people the freedom to do the processing themselves if needed for stuff like danmakufu projects.

xJeePx

  • Danmaku Aesthete
  • 夢幻王子
Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #5 on: October 26, 2015, 07:56:46 PM »
Man, this is amazing. Good job!

My vote goes for Shuusou Gyoku.

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #6 on: October 26, 2015, 11:23:21 PM »
This looks very interesting. I can't wait to listen for myself.
Shuusou Gyoku please! :)
Feel free to poke me on Discord. Inubashira#2738

Failure McFailFace

  • I'm h...a...p...p...y...
  • Impor
Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2015, 11:25:47 PM »
This is neat.

I want more, and perhaps try the EoSD-IN MIDIs with your SC-88Pro? I'm curious as to what it sounds like.
1cc Easy: DDC (all) | 1cc Normal: UFO (SanA autobomb),  DDC (ReiA, SakA) , LoLK (Sanae PD)| EX clears: DDC (MarB Ultra) | Puzzle Games: StB: 10-X, DS: Hatate unlock, ISC: All clear

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #8 on: October 28, 2015, 06:24:07 PM »
EoSD will be done, but I'm unsure about recording PCB and IN. That would be another day or two of recording/editing/tagging files but ZUN obviously made the 88Pro MIDIs for the two games in just a few minutes so they don't sound very great. Maybe I'll just record the tracks from web trial. We'll see.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2015, 06:26:25 PM by Romantique Tp »

LunaWillow

  • >Everyone: Pose as a team
  • The world is real.
Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2015, 03:31:17 PM »
Oh me, oh my, this is amazing, the sound is so clean!

I voice for PoDD, it has best ost from PC-98 era in my opinion, and I don't really care about Seihou.
Normal 1cc: EoSD, PCB, IN, PoFV, MoF, SA, UFO, TD, DDC, HSiFS
Hard 1cc: PoFV
Extra Clear: PCB, IN, PoFV, MoF
Other Stuff: ISC all clear

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #10 on: October 31, 2015, 12:07:38 AM »
Just to clear things up, what's being uploaded here comes from:

-ZUN's site: http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/music_old.html This is all done except for the arranged Shuusou Gyoku tracks around the middle of the page.
-The games that come with a MIDI version of the soundtrack: SoEW, Shuusou Gyoku, Kioh Gyoku, EoSD, PCB, IN, PoFV trial.

There's nothing left to record from PoDD since it doesn't come with a MIDI version of its soundtrack, sorry. Around the time ZUN was making music for the PC-98 games and Shuusou Gyoku, he was using a bad japanese MIDI sequencer (sequencers are the precursors to today's DAWs, the kind of software that everyone uses for MIDI these days, unless they're clueless) which made making MIDI versions of his music very slow and awkward, so he just didn't bother. The only PC-98 Touhou game that came with MIDI music is SoEW.

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #11 on: October 31, 2015, 12:17:18 AM »
Oh man these sound so good. Well done.

Your recording of The Legend of KAGE has a slower tempo than the in-game & untouched score versions, is this expected? Still sounds awesome, but just curious.
Playing Touhou since 18 March 2012. Playing video games since 19XX.
Normal 1CC: EoSD, PCB, IN, PoFV, MoF, SA, UFO, TD, DDC, HSiFS, CtC.
Extra 1CC: EoSD, PCB+Phantasm, IN, PoFV (K&S), MoF, SA, TD, HSiFS, CtC+Phantasm.
Hard 1CC: EoSD, PCB, IN, MoF, TD, CtC.
Lunatic 1CC: EoSD

LunaWillow

  • >Everyone: Pose as a team
  • The world is real.
Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #12 on: October 31, 2015, 06:07:37 PM »
Ah, that's too bad. Well, I'll guess I'll just stay with other stuff you upload.
Normal 1cc: EoSD, PCB, IN, PoFV, MoF, SA, UFO, TD, DDC, HSiFS
Hard 1cc: PoFV
Extra Clear: PCB, IN, PoFV, MoF
Other Stuff: ISC all clear

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #13 on: November 01, 2015, 06:07:17 AM »
Oh man these sound so good. Well done.

Your recording of The Legend of KAGE has a slower tempo than the in-game & untouched score versions, is this expected? Still sounds awesome, but just curious.

ZUN arranged most of these to varying extents, so expect to hear little changes such as that one. In Legend of KAGE's case, recordings of instruments are more complex than the simple modulated sine waves used in the PC-98 games, so he had to slow the tempo down to prevent the track from sounding like a mess.
« Last Edit: November 01, 2015, 06:17:34 AM by Romantique Tp »

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #14 on: November 07, 2015, 01:23:06 AM »
I have uploaded the original soundtrack for the first Seihou Project game, Shuusou Gyoku. It's at the top of the list. Note that these are different from the arranged versions from ZUN's site (not uploaded yet).

Like all of ZUN's music, these have more of an impact if heard while you're playing the game. Since this game only supports MIDI music, the closest you can get to that is changing the music manually while watching someone's (muted) run on YouTube or Niconico, keeping in mind that all 3 of the final boss' forms has its own theme. Try that if you have some free time.

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #15 on: November 07, 2015, 02:05:21 PM »
I just downloaded the Witches Ball ~ Magus file and it sounds so much softer ( in a good way ) and clearer than the one you can find on youtube!!

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #16 on: November 10, 2015, 02:29:15 AM »
I uploaded the music for the C58 trial version of Shuusou Gyoku. Yaaaaay.

I also added where each track is played, and turned the ugly track list into an ugly table. That took a while to do (and lots of trial and error to get it to look the way I wanted it to) but hopefully it will make things less confusing to look at.

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #17 on: November 10, 2015, 03:41:04 PM »
Just signed up here to say thanks for the effort put into this. Great job!

Alfred F. Jones

  • Estamos orgullosos del Batall?n Lincoln
  • *
  • y de la lucha que hizo por Madrid
Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #18 on: November 11, 2015, 08:10:56 PM »
Oh man, this project is great! Thanks for your hard work.

Sedrife

  • Amateur Touhou Piano Player
  • *
  • イケメンFlan is the new hype
    • Touhou Piano Project
Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #19 on: November 12, 2015, 04:19:13 AM »
This is great.  Excellent job and keep'em coming.  東方封魔録 ~ the Story of Eastern Wonderland (TH2) MIDI with SC-88Pro should be very interesting.  For the sake of completeness, if you can tackle PCB, IN, PoFV midis, that would be super special awesome.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2015, 04:35:15 AM by Sedrife »

xJeePx

  • Danmaku Aesthete
  • 夢幻王子
Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #20 on: November 22, 2015, 10:39:38 AM »
SoEW next, please!

7TC7

  • In best company
Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #21 on: November 24, 2015, 02:12:31 PM »
I am in love with this thread and have been sharing it around.
The sound of these files is amazing and as a lover of pc98-Touhou and the other ZUN songs of that time in general I felt like it was early Christmas.

Like this, I finally get myself to actually comment on this, but because of what else but a complaint. It seems Primrose Shiver (the C58 Trial version) has been deleted from mediafire or is otherwise not available. If you could re-up it, that would be great!
< picture leads to my YouTube channel

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #22 on: November 24, 2015, 02:25:46 PM »
Looks like mediafire was having some minor server issues a few minutes ago, but hopefully everything should be back to normal now.

7TC7

  • In best company
Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #23 on: November 24, 2015, 10:13:11 PM »
Yes, it works perfectly now!

Also, I'm voting for Kioh Gyoku because nobody else does and I really wonder how different these versions of the tracks are.
< picture leads to my YouTube channel

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #24 on: December 05, 2015, 04:24:02 AM »
The link to Girl's Divinity ~ Pandora's Box says it was removed.

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #25 on: December 05, 2015, 04:58:58 AM »
Thanks for the heads up. No idea why mediafire keeps doing that, but it seems that simply reuploading the track makes the original link work again.

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #26 on: December 06, 2015, 02:17:21 AM »
Thanks for updating it.

These are great! I really appreciate hearing the original intent ZUN had in mind for these songs. I've played the PC-98 games and some of the songs are good in-game but ultimately suffer due to the disk space.

To bad there aren't more original MIDIs of Mystic Square. I love the music form that game (like Plastic Mind).

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #27 on: December 22, 2015, 04:48:44 AM »
Here's the MIDI version of the soundtrack for the second Touhou game, Story of Eastern Wonderland. It's kinda rough around the edges since ZUN didn't have much experience with MIDI back then. The MIDIs for this game were made for the vanilla SC-88 rather than the SC-88Pro, and sound noticeably different from any of his future styles.

A lot has been happening lately so this took a lot longer than usual. Sorry about that. I recently got a really good new keyboard, Cubase Pro 8.5 was released, I've been reading two nice books, I've been learning a lot of new things... And soon I'll be getting a Roland U-220 along with most of its expansion cards and maaaaybe a Roland JV-1080, because what's responsible spending? Hopefully I'll be able to finish recording all of this before 2017.

Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #28 on: December 22, 2015, 04:37:30 PM »
Alright, next person to post gets to pick what gets recorded next, Kioh Gyoku or EoSD. :V

As stated in the first post the MIDI versions of these soundtracks were originally going to be _the_ OSTs, and they both sound quite different from the final WAVs. Not only were recorded recorded from a different synthesizer, they also have different instrumentation and use of effects.

Leon゠Helsing

  • 0 - The Fool
  • Pave your own path
Re: SC-88Pro: ZUN's MIDIs the way they were meant to be heard.
« Reply #29 on: December 22, 2015, 04:45:55 PM »
For the glory of House Scarlet, I pick EoSD! :V