Any way to adjust MIDI playback volume? MIDI playback way to loud!

[crackshot91]

Hello. I am playing a game which uses midi files for background music. Unfortunately, the midi playback volume is ALWAYS maxed out, such that it drowns out voices. Is there a way to adjust the audio balance so that the midi volume is quieter than other sounds? I remember windows XP had a bunch of audio balance options (left/right speaker, wave, midi, etc...):

http://i.imgur.com/9BdlE.png

but win7 only has left and right balance. Help?

 

[carwiz]

Haven't heard the term MIDI used for a long time.
Did you scroll down in the speaker volume popup? If you have more than two speakers defined, there should be a scroll bar on the right.

 

[crackshot91]

Speaker volume popup? I'm not sure what you mean... I have two speakers defined: My 5.1 surround sound and my headphones. There's no scroll bar that I see. I can raise the master volume, but the midi volume is linked, so it always overpowers voices and sound effects. In XP, there was the option to lower the midi output volume independent of the master volume. I can't figure out how to do this in Windows 7.

I found a program called "TiMidity++" which seems to be an alternative to the default windows midi synth, but I can't figure out how to lower it's (Timidity's) volume either.

I tried another program called loopBe internal midi, but I get no midi sound at all while using it. Right now though, that's actually preferable to the midi volume overpowering every other sound in game. The in game volume control for the background music (midi) has no effect whatsoever. I't really like to halve the midi volume because no background music is definitely hurting the experience.

 

[Dwarf]

Do you have SW Synth (or similar) as a volume control option? If so, try lowering that.

 

[crackshot91]

I don't see an option like that but it's exactly what I'm looking for! Do you have that option? Where would I find it?

 

[carwiz]

Right click the speaker in the lower right of the screen, select Sound.
On the Sound pop-up, select Playback tab.
Select Speakers, then click on Properties.

On the Speaker Properties pop-up, click the Levels tab.
The scroll bar should be on the right for all speakers and input the system recognizes.
Line-in, Microphone, Side, Front, Rear, Center and Subwoofer or whatever you have. Each of those have a slider to adjust level.

But...I don't know how you're getting 5.1 if you only have two speakers. :shock: And, I'm assuming you're using the Realtek drivers.

 

[crackshot91]

Oh, crap. Sorry. I have two sets of speakers. My headphones (stereo) and my Logitech X540 speakers (5.1)

For my stereo headphones, the only level option I have is master volume. For my 5.1 set, I have Master volume, CD Audio, Microphone, FrontMic, Line In, Side, Center, Subwoofer, Rear and Front. No option for SW Synth volume for either set of speakers.

And yes, I am using Realtek drivers. There's no SW Synth volume setting in the Realtek control panel either.

EDIT: I just tried playing a MIDI sample. With WMP, I can adjust the volume of the midi in the program, but with MPC-HC, I can't. Maybe that's related to my problem?

 

[carwiz]

Did you try adjusting the Line-in slider? Just guessing though.

 

[crackshot91]

It's already muted and at 0%

I tried every slider with no luck. If they do lower the midi volume, they lower every other sound as well, which doesn't help at all.

 

[carwiz]

And there's no volume control in the game? Well, I can't help any more--Sorry. Well, there may be one more place to look. Instead of the Playback tab, click on the Recording tab on the Sound window. What do you show there? If Stereo Mix is not showing as a device, right click anywhere in the center box and check-mark both boxes.
What have you got there?

 

[crackshot91]

Thank you for your help so far. I appreciate it!

In game, there is indeed a slider for "BGM" (The midi background music) But it literally has no effect whatsoever. I can't even mute the sound in game!

In the "recording" tab, there is indeed a "Stereo Mix" device. It was disabled and I enabled it. I fiddled around with it's properties, and the only effect I've been able to produce is an "echo" when I max out the volume slider under "Levels" tab and check "listen to this device". This echo effects every sound, not just midi. Setting the volume slider to 0 does nothing to lower the midi volume.

I'm at a loss... O_O

 

[Sardonicus]

Unfortunately, I think that the control of midi volume using it's own slider has been abandoned.
You really have to control the volume with the WMP volume slider or third party player in Windows 7.

 

[crackshot91]

How would that work, exactly? I ran Windows media player and set it's volume to 25%, but the midi music in the game was as loud as ever. I have LoopBe installed, and the description of the program is "Basically LoopBe1 is an "invisible cable" to connect a MIDI outport of an application to any other application´s MIDI inport."

Is there a way to connect the midi outport of the game to the midi inport of WMP, so that the WMP volume slider will control the midi volume of the game? ...Does that even make any sense? :O

 

[carwiz]

One more try.
Go back to the Playback tab on Sound.
Select the Speakers then click Properties.
Select the Advanced tab.
At about the middle of window, check both boxes under Exclusive Mode. (Be sure to click Apply, OK)
Go back to the game and see if the game can now control the volume.

 

[crackshot91]

Both boxes are checked. No luck.

 

[Sardonicus]

What game is it?

 

[carwiz]

Well, I'm tapped out. Sorry.

 

[crackshot91]

Thanks anyway.

The game is called "The Sagara Family". It is an... ahem... "eroge" or H-Game Visual Novel...

<.<

BUT. This problem is concerning midi files. Any game/program that uses midi files has this problem. If I play a midi file with Media Player Classic Home Cinema, the player's volume bar does nothing. Similar to the game's volume bar for BGM (background music) doing nothing.