::|CONTENTS
- Specifications
- Development
- Competition
- Tools
- See also
The AdLib sound card was a PC sound card released in 1987. It featured the Yamaha YM3812 sound chip—also known as the OPL2—which supported nine channels of two-operator FM synthesis. By 1992, the new Sound Blaster card had wiped the AdLib off the market by copying its features and adding additional ones such as digital sound and a gameport. The AdLib is known as the godfather of PC game music.
Specifications
The sound card features the Yamaha YM3812 sound chip (also known as the OPL2). This chip supported nine channels of two-operator FM synthesis.
See
Yamaha YM3812 on Wikipedia for more detailed information.
The Yamaha OPL series of sound chips (FM
Operator ty
Pe-
L) utilized FM synthesis and were used in a variety of home computers and other devices.
YM3526 OPL
The first OPL chip had nine channels of two-operator sine-wave FM synthesis. It saw limited use in home computer expansions and a few arcade games.
YM3812 OPL2
The OPL2 saw a very wide distribution on the Adlib and Sound Blaster PC sound cards of the mid 1980s through early 90s. It had nine channels of two-operator FM synthesis like the first OPL, but also included three additional waveforms (all variations of the sine wave). For PCs, the Sound Blaster cards were generally preferred to the Adlib cards because Sound Blaster cards had digital audio support while Adlib cards did not. Later on, Sound Blaster cards would use the improved OPL3.
YMF262 OPL3
Popularly used on later Sound Blaster cards, the OPL3 had several improvements over the OPL2. These improvements include: 18 channels of two-operator FM synthesis, eight waveforms (including square and logarithmic saw), stereo support, and the ability to combine channels to create four-operator FM synthesis.
YMF278 OPL4
Though not as widely distributed as the OPL2 or OPL3, the OPL4 had all the capabilities of the OPL3 as well as sample-based synthesis abilities.
Development
OPL programing information
Competition
The Adlib sound card can be utilized in the following formats:
-
adlib (format)
-
allgear (format)
-
wildchip (format)
Tools
Adlib Tracker II (Windows, DOS) (*.a2m)
link
AMusic v1.12 (*.amd)
Reality Adlib Tracker (DOS) (*.rad)
link
Faust Music Creator (DOS) (*.fmc)
link
Scream Tracker 3 (DOS) (*.s3m)
link
Schism Tracker (Windows, Linux, OS X, BSD) (*.s3m)
link
Scream Tracker 3 modules are ordinarily sample-based, but the format also supports the AdLib soundcard.
Huge list of OPL trackers
See also
adlib (format)