Hello.........Can someone please name some ISA soundcards that use Yamaha XG. The computer I have only has a spare ISA slot. I don't have room for a PCI card. I'm hoping to find one at eBay, but I don't know any specific models. Thanks in advance!!

You have several options:

1. If your existing sound card has a WaveBlaster connector, you can try to obtain a Yamaha WaveForce DB50XG daughtercard. It’s basically an MU-50 on a daughtercard, and has all the powers of the MU-50, including the less-documented ones such as the QS-300 and DOC sound banks.
   • Advantages: Uses no extra system resources (appears to the parent card’s MIDI driver as an alternative to the MU401 MIDI output), so no IRQ, DMA, etc. conflicts could possibly happen. Includes the QS300 sound banks and ability to make your own QS300-style sounds with up to four elements (oscillators) per note, using programs such as XG-Gold. The DOC banks allow you to play Yamaha Disk Orchestra Collection files without translation. Also, being a daughtercard, this would leave that last ISA slot still open.
   • Disadvantages: As I understand it, with this in place, you can either no longer use the sound card’s external MIDI port (MU-401 emulation), or else you have to switch between them via a control panel. You cannot use both in the same MIDI sequencer, just by specifying different MIDI ports as you can do with other solutions. Also, some host sound cards have been known to have various problems with this card, which is mainly because the WaveBlaster spec has too much “slack” in it. Finally, I don’t think either of these first two options are being sold new anymore — you’d have to try to track down a used one.
2. No WaveBlaster port, or you just want the extra power or not have to worry about potential interactions between the host card and the daughtercard? Check out the stand-alone ISA-slot version of the above, the Yamaha WaveForce SW60XG. It’s everything the DB50XG is, but on its own ISA card, and with a stereo audio input that can be routed to the powerful XG effects engines just like the MIDI channels can!
   • Advantages: stand-alone so existing sound card need not be compatible or have a WaveBlaster connector. Stereo audio input for real-time XG effects processing of any mono or stereo external audio source (use it as a very powerful mic or guitar effects unit, for instance). QS300 and DOC banks and all other features of the MU-50.
   • I believe it requires an available IRQ. Takes up an ISA slot. No longer available new, to the best of my knowledge.
3. If your CPU is powerful enough, why not dispense with hardware altogether and let your CPU do the work? Yamaha has three Soft Synthesizers, two of which may be suitable for your needs. You do need some sort of sound card to send the output through — DirectSound-capable PCI sound card is preferred for higher polyphony and lower latency. The SoftSynths lack the QS300 and DOC banks (as do the higher-end MU models: MU-80, 90, 90R, 100, 100R, 128, etc.) but have powers of their own (especially the S-YXG100plus model). S-YXG50 V3.0 has the XG and GS capabilities of the MU-50 or the above two cards. S-YXG100plus 1.0 adds SoftPLG-100VL, basically a software version of a PLG-100VL card (which in turn is the basic functionality of a VL-70m tone module).
   Advantages: no sound hardware needed beyond basic audio (USB speakers would do, for instance). DirectSound compatibility is preferred but not required. Being software, upgrades are much easier than with hardware options. No IRQ or DMA conflicts. Depending on CPU power, up to 129 (128 XG, 1 VL)-note polyphony in addition to any hardware MIDI you may have on your existing sound card (which you can access separately and simultaneously). S-YXG100plus with Soft-PLG100 is the second-cheapest way to get genuine VL/S-VA/Sondius-XG caability to experiment with: and this is one majorly powerful ability! (The cheapest requires a PCI sound card called a DS-XG card, available from a number of different manufacturers but all using a Yamaha YMF-724, 740, 744, or 754 chipset and VxD drivers for Win95/98/Me. Yamaha’ own version was called the WaveForce 192.)
   • Disadvantages: requires CPU horsepower. S-YXG50 V3.0 can get by with most any Pentium or better, of 166MHz or better. MMX preferred. S-YXG100plus V1.0 has the same requirements unless you want to also use the SoftPLG-100VL, which is the main feature it has over the S-YXG50. Unfortunately, Soft-PLG-100VL won’t even install if you don’t have a genuine Intel P6-core MMX-equipped CPU of at least 266 MHz: that means a Celeron, Pentium II, III, or 4, or Xeon. No AMD (not even Thunderbird Athlons), Centaur, or Cyrix chips, despite the fact that the Athlon should be able to do VL even better than the Pentium III can! Finally, being software, there will be some latency. With a DirectSound card, a powerful enough CPU, and/or lowering the polyphony and enabled effects options enough, you can get it down to as little as 80ms. Maximum is more like half a second.

Thanks so much for your informational reply. I have been using a S-YXG50 softsynth, but it sometimes snags up on my 350mHz AMD K-6. I'm hoping an ISA card will perform better until I can get a faster machine. I found a Turtle Beach TropazPlus. It's not a devoted XG card, but I have always likes Turtle Beach products. Thanks again.

Do you know anyone who has one of the DB50XG cards they wouyld like to sell?