LGR - The AdLib Gold

Alex

That was really fascinating to learn about, thank you!

The 8-Bit Guy

This was interesting. I actually didn't know anything about the Gold.

AJPRIME TECH

I wish I could find one of these!! It looks like a dream soundcard without being even the best at the time lol!!

electricitynerd

Beautiful sound card and excellent video as always! (I’m a sucker for these hardware retrospectives) And thanks for all the excellent audio samples... I enjoy sound card reviews in particular because it’s so interesting to hear the differences on familiar games. 👍👍

LGR

Haha, indeed. I know Jim has another AdLib Gold already opened, though I don't know why he didn't send me that one to use instead of the unopened one. I'm grateful though 😊

LGR

Heh, I could imagine AdLib actually running things out of an apartment at the end there. Just a pile of unsold Gold cards in the kitchen.

LGR

Yeah I'd actually planned that whole section as its own video, like a Tech Tales on AdLib, but it felt like such an integral part of the Gold story. I'd still like to expand on it someday as its own own video!

LGR

Thank you!

LGR

The Aztech cards deserve some attention on LGR in the future. Some of them did bonkers stuff with combining multiple sound standards in one card.

LGR

I'm happy to hear it, Jim! And thanks once again for hooking me up with this beautiful card, it's been a treat.

LGR

Yeah I'm really curious when the bubble will burst. I'd wager there's another decade of rising secondhand prices, but we'll see!

LGR

Ooof, good point. Strange serendipity.

LGR

Indeed. Much as I enjoy many of their products, Creative has that undeniable history of making brutal moves in the business. They sure left a lotta corpses along the way.

Bryan McIntosh

Between the Adlib Gold and the GUS, it seems that Canadian sound card companies couldn't catch a break in the 90s. That, and Creative being incredibly monopolistic over its entire lifetime. Adlib Gold coming down the pipeline? Bully the chip supplier, and push your standard on developers HARD. A3D sounds better than EAX? Buy 'em out, boys! Windows Vista breaks your hardware EAX HD extensions? Release software that turns the soundcard into a fancy dongle while all the EAX processing is moved to software only!

Uncleawesome

That is one awesome loan! LGR I love you, but I would certainly have broken the seal and enjoyed the card myself before loaning it to you :P But great video :D

Billy Coore

How appropriate the song "End of the Road" being a hit at the time AdLib went under...

TroyTakesPhotos

An interesting note (since I love doing this when I see videos about old tech): Ad Lib Inc at 220 Grande Allee Est. Suite 850 is... an apartment. (There may have been actual offices there, but the building definitely looks like they were built to be apartments - and the building is older, so it's not like they put new construction there.)

Valora Inverse

Aw yeah, review with a bonus tech tales-esque backstory! That's the good stuff. 👍

Instead it will be scalped as "as seen on LGR". I wonder if this will increase or decrease its value?

Jan-Marten de Boer

You gave it a well deserved, LGR style awesome video, like I know only you could do. Well done! Really loved watching it :)

Joe Arax

The OPL3 synthesis on this card reminds me of the textures of the AZT2320 OPL chip, which to me was the closest sounding OPL chip to what I remember from my childhood years playing Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. These days I'm happy using an emulator, but man I would love to get a setup that has either the Crystal OPL chip or the Aztech OPL chip design!

Jim Leonard

You nailed it. I could not have done a better job myself. I was also happy to see that you treated it fairly (meaning, you called out the dumb stuff that should have been called out, like the size of the ROL2 driver, and the disappointing software support). Couldn't be happier.

RetroSwim

The fact that this card will never be scalped for "OMG RARE UNOPENED" prices ever again, and has instead been unboxed and enjoyed by human senses, brings me insane joy. The sound card itself is pretty cool too! :D I said once on Twitter that if I was a millionaire, I'd buy up sealed things, unseal them, and re-sell them opened up so they are more likely to be enjoyed. Great video as always! :D

Adam Christensen

Loved the video. Great stuff, as usual. I can't wait for vintage hardware prices to fall. Heck, I got a couple early 90s PCs and stack of big box games for free on Freecycle not too long ago. One of those PCs even had a Pro Audio Spectrum 16 in it. Capitalism? In my hobby? It's more likely than you think. 😂

Tim J

Really enjoyed this! As a young'un who knew nothing about sound cards, I remember stumbling on Prince of Persia's audio settings and seeing the Adlib option, which naturally resulted in silence on our Tandy 1000 RL. My family jumped straight from DOS to Windows 98, so it wasn't until I found your channel that I discovered this OPL2 thing that could've made my PC sound like a Sega Genesis. Twas quite the revelation, haha.

LGR

Thanks, I'm glad to hear! Though that's not really how it works with the current algorithm in my experience, and splitting videos often leads to one part doing worse than the other while taking away from both. Plus I'm personally more concerned about telling a complete story than gaming the system for short term gains.

LGR

Seriously though. Gotta wonder what might've happened if AdLib somehow knew about the shenanigans and got the cash for some good legal action.

This is a great video. I wonder if it might be worth splitting into two- one on the history and another on the card’s performance. Might help with the retention. Great content as usual.

Pietro Gagliardi

God, this backstory should've ended with an antitrust lawsuit...

LGR

Hm just double checked and nothing's different in this audio mix, at least on my end. My project templates always output to -3db.

Joe Rafferty

Fantastic video, Clint. I love this type of content from you. One thing , is the audio clipping on this or is it just an oddity with my casting it to a TV. I don't mean to be critical just letting you know. The release date slides seem to be a good example of whem it happens, again, it could just be casting.

LGR

Easy enough to do! But personally I find those kinds of effects rather cliché :)

Brian Lawson

Great video. It might look cool to add a Flashback effect when you go back in time to speak about the history. I know nothing about whether that is easy to do or not.

LGR

And also too bad Creative Labs were a buncha corporate bullies, haha. AdLib deserved so much better.

LGR

Thank you, Michael!

Frederic St-Georges

Great video as usual Clint! Nothing brings a rush of nostalgia like an AdLib soundtrack from the late 80s, early 90s. I've discovered recently that those cards were made in my home province of Quebec, too bad the company couldn't compete with Creative Labs

Mya Crosbie-Styles

As someone born in 97, never really knowing that soundcards were even a thing until watching your channel. This was a brilliant video for building the backdrop. You clarified key things ive been trying to understand for years. On top of the great explanations you just showed off perfectly the reasons why that card is such a collectable and also why it was never popular in its day. Also that mood lighting on Dune and KGB was killer. Absolutely beautiful video

LGR

I'm curious what you think once you watch it! It's always a tug of war between wanting to make videos for hardcore retro nerds and wanting to appeal to a wider audience who may not be as familiar with these things. Really tried to balance this one :)

Aggs

Now THAT is a delectable looking sound card. My goodness. 😍 I know almost nothing about sound cards, so this should be particularly enlightening.