🎹🎶 mt32-pi

A work-in-progress baremetal Roland MT-32 emulator for the Raspberry Pi 3 or above, based on Munt and Circle. Turn your Raspberry Pi into a dedicated emulation of the famous multi-timbre sound module used by countless classic MS-DOS and Sharp X68000 games, that starts up in seconds!

🔖 Table of contents

• ✔️ Project status
• ✨ Quick-start guide
• 📝 Configuration file
• 🎹 MIDI connectivity
  • USB MIDI interfaces
    • Compatibility
  • GPIO MIDI interface
    • Schematic
    • Breadboard example
• 🔊 I2S DAC support
  • Setup
  • Compatibility
  • Finding the I2C address of your DAC
• 📺 LCD and OLED displays
  • Drivers
    • Hitachi HD44780 compatible 4-bit driver (hd44780_4bit)
    • Hitachi HD44780 compatible I2C driver (hd44780_i2c)
    • SSD1306 I2C driver (ssd1306_i2c)
  • Compatibility
• 🔩 Custom hardware
• 💬 Custom System Exclusive messages
• ❓ FAQ
• ⚖️ Disclaimer
• 🙌 Acknowledgments

✔️ Project status

• Tested on Raspberry Pi 4 Model B and Raspberry Pi 3 Model B & B+.
  • Pi 2 works, but only with concessions on playback quality.
  • Pi 0 and 1 are unfortunately too slow, even with an overclock.
• PWM headphone jack audio.
  • Quality is known to be poor (aliasing/distortion on quieter sounds).
  • It is not currently known whether this can be improved or not.
• I2S Hi-Fi DAC support.
  • This is the recommended audio output method for the best quality audio.
• USB or GPIO MIDI interface.
• Config file for selecting hardware options and fine tuning.
• LCD status screen support (for MT-32 SysEx messages and status information).
• Control buttons, rotary encoder etc. is planned.
• A port of FluidSynth is planned.
• Network MIDI and auto-update is planned.

✨ Quick-start guide

• Download the latest release from the Releases section.
• Extract contents to a blank FAT32-formatted SD card.
  • If you are updating an old version, you can just replace the kernel*.img files. The other boot files will not change often; but keep an eye on the changelog just in case.
• Add MT32_CONTROL.ROM and MT32_PCM.ROM to the root of the SD card - you have to provide these for copyright reasons.
• Connect a USB MIDI interface or GPIO MIDI circuit to the Pi, and connect some speakers to the headphone jack.
• Connect your vintage PC's MIDI OUT to the Pi's MIDI IN and (optionally) vice versa.

📝 Configuration file

mt32-pi tries to read a configuration file from the root of the SD card named mt32-pi.cfg. Please read the file for a description of all the available options.

Note: Don't confuse this file with config.txt or cmdline.txt - they are for configuring the Raspberry Pi itself, and you should not need to alter these when using mt32-pi.

🎹 MIDI connectivity

The simplest way to get MIDI data into mt32-pi is with a USB MIDI interface. More advanced users or electronics enthusiasts may wish to build a GPIO MIDI interface.

Here are some typical connection examples:

[ Pi ] --> [ USB/GPIO MIDI ] <===> [ USB MIDI ] <-- [ Modern PC ]
[ Pi ] --> [ USB/GPIO MIDI ] <===> [ Gameport MIDI cable ] <-- [ Vintage PC ]
[ Pi ] --> [ USB/GPIO MIDI ] <===> [ Atari ST or other machine with built-in MIDI ]
[ Pi ] --> [ USB/GPIO MIDI ] <===> [ Synthesizer keyboard or controller ]

USB MIDI interfaces

Any class-compliant USB MIDI interface should work fine - if the interface works on Windows or Linux PCs without requiring any drivers, there's a high chance it will work with mt32-pi.

Beware: cheap no-name interfaces are not recommended; they have reliability issues not unique to this project [1, 2].

Compatibility

If you're shopping for a USB MIDI interface, the following devices have been confirmed as working properly by our testers. Feel free to contribute test results with your own MIDI interfaces and we can list known working ones!

Manufacturer	Device	Comments
M-Audio	Uno	1 in, 1 out; male DIN plugs. Tested by @dwhinham.
M-Audio	MIDISport 1x1	1 in, 1 out; female DIN sockets. Tested by @nswaldman.
Roland	UM-ONE mk2	1 in, 1 out; male DIN plugs. Tested by @nswaldman.

GPIO MIDI interface

You can build a simple circuit based on an opto-isolator, a diode, and a few resistors. If mt32-pi does not detect any USB MIDI devices present on startup, it will expect to receive input on the UART RX pin (pin 10).

Tip: You can disable detection of USB MIDI interfaces by setting usb = off in the config file. This can shave off a couple of seconds of boot time as USB initialization is then skipped on startup.

Schematic

Breadboard example

🔊 I2S DAC support

The Raspberry Pi's headphone jack is a simple PWM device, and not designed for high-fidelity audio. This becomes very obvious when you use mt32-pi - distortion in the sound is apparent when quieter sounds are playing.

Luckily, a plethora of inexpensive DAC (digital-to-analog converter) hardware is available for the Raspberry Pi, giving it true hi-fi quality audio output. These often take the form of an easy-to-install "HAT" board that you place onto the Raspberry Pi's GPIO pins. They make use of the Raspberry Pi's I2S bus for interfacing.

Note: We do not support any kind of USB DAC audio output device, due to the lack of drivers in the Circle baremetal framework that we depend on. Adding USB audio support to Circle would be a huge undertaking, although if that changes in the future and Circle gains USB audio support, we could certainly make use of it.

Setup

• mt32-pi defaults to PWM (headphone) output. Edit mt32-pi.cfg and change output_device to i2s to enable the I2S DAC driver.
• If your DAC requires software configuration, you may need to edit the i2c_dac_address and i2c_dac_init options to suit your particular DAC. Continue reading for further details.

Compatibility

Currently, we have been targeting DACs based on the Texas Instruments PCM5xxx series of chips due to their popularity, but other DACs could be supported quite easily. The NXP UDA1334 is also reportedly working well.

Some more advanced DACs are configured by software (normally a Linux driver), whereas others need no configuration as they are preconfigured in hardware. This will vary between manufacturers, and so some editing of mt32-pi.cfg may be required.

Note: If a DAC requires software configuration, they will not produce any sound until they have been properly initialized. This initialization is done by sending it a special sequence of commands over the I2C (not I2S) bus. For the PCM5xxx family, you can set i2c_dac_init = pcm51xx to enable this.

Feel free to open an issue if you'd like to help us support your DAC, or even just to report success or failure so that we can build a list of supported DACs.

The following models of DAC have been confirmed as working by our testers. Please note the necessary configuration file options.

Manufacturer	Device	DAC chip	Config file options	Comments
Arananet	PI-MIDI	UDA1334	None required	Stereo RCA output. Custom design by @arananet also with GPIO MIDI in. Tested by @dwhinham.
Generic	GY-PCM5102	PCM5102A	None required	Stereo 3.5mm output. Found very cheaply on AliExpress and other sites. Tested by @dwhinham.
Generic	Pi-Fi DAC+ v2.0	PCM5122	i2c_dac_init = pcm51xx, i2c_dac_address = 4d	Stereo RCA and 3.5mm output. Tested by @rc55.
IQaudIO	Pi-DAC Pro	PCM5242	i2c_dac_init = pcm51xx, i2c_dac_address = 4c	Stereo RCA and 3.5mm output. Tested by @dwhinham.

Finding the I2C address of your DAC

The i2c_dac_address configuration file option determines what address on the I2C bus that mt32-pi will send initialization commands to, if i2c_dac_init is not set to none.

If your DAC does not appear in the compatibility table above, you can help by carrying out the following:

• Connect the DAC to your Raspberry Pi.
• Insert an SD card containing the latest version of Raspberry Pi OS (aka. Raspbian) and boot the Pi.
• Run the command sudo raspi-config.
• Select "Interfacing Options", followed by "I2C" and "Yes" to enable the I2C kernel modules.
• Exit raspi-config, and run the command sudo apt-get install i2c-tools to install some I2C utilities.
• Run the command i2cdetect -y 1. The output should be like the following:

       0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  a  b  c  d  e  f
  00:          -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
  10: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
  20: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
  30: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
  40: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- UU -- -- 
  50: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
  60: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
  70: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --          
  

• In this example, the address is 4d. Make a note of this and set i2c_dac_address in mt32-pi.cfg.
• If your DAC now works, open an issue to let us know, and we can add it to the table! Otherwise, open an issue anyway, and we can try to work out how to support it.

📺 LCD and OLED displays

mt32-pi supports various LCD and OLED displays, both traditional character displays like the original MT-32, and modern graphical displays.

The MT-32 had a single row, 20 column display, but these are hard to find nowadays. 20x2 and 20x4 displays are common however, and mt32-pi can use the extra rows to display additional information.

To enable a display, you will need to edit mt32-pi.cfg accordingly, and correctly connect your display to the Raspberry Pi.

Drivers

There are currently three different LCD drivers, which are detailed in the following sections.

Hitachi HD44780 compatible 4-bit driver (hd44780_4bit)

This driver is for connecting a traditional HD44780 or compatible (e.g. Winstar WS0010/Raystar RS0010) character display directly to the Pi's GPIO pins in 4-bit mode. Currently, only 20x2 and 20x4 displays have been tested. In theory, other widths should work, but there is currently no special handling/scrolling for narrower displays.

Consult your display's datasheet to determine the correct LCD pins to connect to the GPIOs. The current pinout is as follows:

LCD signal	Physical Raspberry Pi pin	BCM pin
RS	19	10
RW	21	9
EN	23	11
D4	27	0
D5	29	5
D6	31	6
D7	33	13

You will also need to connect a power source and ground to your display. Consult its datasheet to see if it requires 3.3V or 5V. You should be able to use the Pi's 3.3V, 5V, and ground pins as necessary, but check the datasheet to ensure the display doesn't draw more current than the Pi can deliver safely.

Note: The GPIO assignment could change in later versions as more functionality is added, so BE WARNED if you are thinking about designing hardware.

Hitachi HD44780 compatible I2C driver (hd44780_i2c)

This driver is functionally equivalent to the 4-bit driver, but instead of using GPIOs to drive the LCD's data signals directly, the Pi communicates with the display via an I2C-connected I/O expander. Some vendors refer to these as an "I2C backpack".

These displays are very convenient as they only need 4 wires to connect to the Pi. Your display will connect to the Pi's SDA and SCL lines (pins 3 and 5 respectively), as well as power and ground. As always, check your display's datasheet for power requirements.

As with all I2C devices, you must know the LCD's I2C address in order for it to work. You should be able to find its address on the datasheet, or the "backpack" may have jumpers to configure the address. In case of doubt, you can connect the display and use Linux to discover your display using the same procedure described in the DAC section.

SSD1306 I2C driver (ssd1306_i2c)

The SSD1306 controller is found in mini 128x32 and 128x64 OLED displays, which are well-known for their use in FlashFloppy/Gotek devices. They can be found for very little money on eBay and AliExpress.

Currently, only the 32-pixel high version is supported, although if someone were to send me a 64-pixel high model, I'd be glad to test it and add support!

These displays usually have an I2C address of 0x3c.

Compatibility

The following displays and configurations have been confirmed as working by our testers. Please note the necessary configuration file options.

Manufacturer	Device	Config file options	Comments
BuyDisplay.com	2002-1 Series	type = hd44780_i2c, width = 20, height = 2, i2c_lcd_address = 27	Very bright and inexpensive 20x2 LCD. Tested by @dwhinham.
Generic	128x32 OLED	type = ssd1306_i2c, width = 128, height = 32, i2c_lcd_address = 3c	Extremely cheap yet nice and bright mini OLED. Widely available on AliExpress and eBay. Tested by @dwhinham.
Raystar	REC002004B	type = hd44780_4bit, width = 20, height = 4	High-contrast 20x4 OLED display. Tested by @dwhinham.

🔩 Custom hardware

The community has been designing some excellent custom hardware for use with mt32-pi. The PI-MIDI by @arananet is the first example, which provides an OLED display, MIDI input, and a DAC for a complete plug 'n' play experience!

If you have created something cool with mt32-pi, please get in touch if you'd like to share it and have it featured here.

Note: If you are designing custom hardware for mt32-pi, and want to add features that are not documented here, open an issue so we can work together on supporting it.

💬 Custom System Exclusive messages

mt32-pi responds to MT-32 SysEx messages as you would expect, but it can also respond to its own commands. mt32-pi listens for manufacturer ID 0x7D, or the "non-commercial/educational use" special ID. Therefore, a complete mt32-pi SysEx message looks like:

F0 7D { command } F7

Currently there is only one implemented command, although more will probably be added in the future. Please note that these commands are subject to change until the project reaches a mature state.

Command	Description
00	Reboot the Raspberry Pi.

❓ FAQ

• Q: Why do I only see a rainbow on my HDMI-connected monitor or television? Doesn't this normally mean the Pi has failed to boot?
  A: This is completely normal - mt32-pi is designed to run headless and therefore there is no video output. For troubleshooting purposes, it's possible to compile mt32-pi with HDMI debug logs enabled, but these builds will hang on a Raspberry Pi 4 if no HDMI display is attached due to a quirk of the Pi 4 and Circle. Hence, for regular use, video output is disabled.
• Q: What happened to the old mt32-pi project that was based on a minimal Linux distro built with Buildroot?
  A: That's been archived in the old-buildroot branch.

⚖️ Disclaimer

This project, just like Munt, has no affiliation with Roland Corporation. Use of "Roland" or other registered trademarks is purely for informational purposes only, and implies no endorsement by or affiliation with their respective owners.

🙌 Acknowledgments

• Many thanks go out to @rc55 and @nswaldman for their encouragement and testing! ❤️
• The Munt team for their incredible work reverse-engineering the Roland MT-32 and producing an excellent emulation and well-structured project.
• The Circle and circle-stdlib projects for providing the best C++ baremetal framework for the Raspberry Pi.
• The inih project for a nice, lightweight config file parser.