@root42 first was some 8-bit Ad Lib clone that my dad bought off a guy at a trade show. Worked pretty well, and I remember almost crying at finally hearing the Sierra games music in polyphony again.
Second was a SB16, but I also saved my money and bought a Roland LAPC-1 (basically the MT-32 on an ISA card), thinking I was gonna be an electronic synth musician like Gary Numan one day.
@root42 Why not ? Can't recall exactly why but I wanted to do better than three voices and three chips was sanely controllable behind the 6820/8255. I recall I had fun programming the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah, all vocal parts and the piano accompaniment, as my test piece.
@root42 Our family computer in 1995 had some manner of Sound Blaster 16 in it according to the HP reference manuals I've seen - unfortunately that machine has long since ceased existence. I don't remember what PCI card our family computer in 2000 had, though I know I still have it - I believe it's currently installed in one or another of my machines. The first PC that was mine and mine alone in 2002 had a SoundBlaster Live! in it, one of the Dell OEM versions. I still have it, too.
@root42 Orchid Soundwave 32, with 8Mbit wavetable ROM. It was great when it worked but I had endless issues with motherboard compatibility meaning it would crash randomly when used in the soundblaster compatible mode. The midi was generally pretty reliable.
@root42 My first computer that wasn’t a Mac was a AST 486 that I bought at a government surplus sale for something like $50 in 1998. It didn’t come with a sound card, but I purchased a Sound Blaster 16 PCI to use with it shortly thereafter.
@root42 MediaVision (I see their logo on that card!) Pro Audio Spectrum 16. I'm...not sure if I still have it, but I hope I do. Was a gift to the family from my uncle, and it ran excellently for years.
I don't know lol. That was our family PC and I was like 3 years old at the time we got it. But the first computer I had completely to myself had some sound chip built into the motherboard. It just worked on XP with no drivers or configuration.
@root42 My first soundcard was a SoundBlaster 16 Value that had a Panasonic CD-ROM drive controller. Payed a hundred and twenty bucks U.S. in the early to mid Nineties for it so I could have sound in my 80386DX40.
@root42 I had to have it after watching a demo of Wing Commander at a software shop at the mall. It blew my mind that a game could have such great music throughout.
@root42 I can’t remember what was in my 386DX40, I think it also had a volume control wheel. But I do still have my Sound Galaxy Pro 16, which is currently in my P166MMX AT machine, which is in the 386’s original case.
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