The 'Very Best of GUS MIDI' Collection
- the quality MIDI collection -

IMPORTANT NOTICE :

All MIDI files in my collection are provided for personal use only.
It was always and is still my intention not to violate any copyrights by offering this service for MIDI fans. If you find any MIDI files in my collection that must not be distributed please inform me. I am sure that we can settle any conflict peacefully.
All these MIDI files are freely available in various places on the Internet. All I did is compiling a collection of the very best. My sources are all freely accessible for every Internet user. I certainly did not take commercial MIDI packs or rip MIDI files from games software.
Music companies should note that these MIDI files cannot replace professional recordings on CD or MC. I think that MIDI files are actually a kind of free advertising for your music. Why else would so many people ask for song titles and artists of these MIDI files.

General Info :

The 'Very Best of GUS MIDI' collection (aka BESTMID collection) comprises more than 650 public domain MIDI files that sound great on the Gravis Ultrasound (GUS) and (probably) any other General MIDI soundcard/synthesizer. I select only the very best tunes from the thousands(!) of MIDI files available on the Internet. Only about 5-10 % (!) of the MIDI files I try out are good enough for my collection.
I distinquish between Classic, Piano and Pop tunes, where "Pop" is everything that doesn't fit into "Classic" or "Piano".
New Add-On Packs are released roughly twice a year. Watch this space for details!

Collection file names, file sizes and contents :

The Collection consists of 7 Files so far:

• Classic (BESTMID1.ZIP 178.1 KB): 19 classical tunes
• Piano (BESTMID2.ZIP 337.9 KB): 44 piano tunes
• Pop I (BESTMID3.ZIP 1282.4 KB): 105 pop tunes
• Pop II (BESTMID4.ZIP 892.5 KB): 87 pop tunes
• Add-On Pack I (BESTMID5.ZIP 1367.9 KB): 16 classical, 30 piano, 83 pop tunes
• Add-On Pack II (BESTMID6.ZIP 1407.5 KB): 34 classical, 25 piano, 88 pop tunes
• Add-On Pack III (BESTMID7.ZIP 1385.8 KB): 29 classical, 13 piano, 107 pop tunes

Special Edition:

• The TV & Movie Collection (TV&MOVIE.ZIP 525.5 KB): 75 TV and movie themes (all part of the BESTMIDx.ZIP files!) - Last updated on April 11th 1996
• The X-Mas Collection (XMAS.ZIP 268.4 KB): 16 Christmas songs (all part of the BESTMIDx.ZIP files!)

MIDI file names and descriptions :

Text files inluding filenames, (known) song titles and authors are available as extended directory lists or as 4DOS/NDOS DESCRIPT.ION files.
If you are looking for a specific MIDI file use the Search Form.

• Extended directory lists: All files, Classic files, Piano files, Pop files; TV & Movie files, Christmas files
• 4DOS/NDOS DESCRIPT.ION files: All files, Classic files, Piano files, Pop files : 4DOS/NDOS users: Copy these files to your MIDI file directories and rename them to DESCRIPT.ION!

Directory lists last updated on April 11th 1996.

Attention : There are a lot of files with '?' (question marks) in the description. Anyone who can tell me the song title and/or the author of one of these files gets - a honorable mention on this page ...
Thanks in advance.

Searching the Collection :

You can now search for a string in the filename and/or description of the MIDI files.

Search the collection right away: or use the detailed Search Form.

Configuring your browser to play MIDI files :

Macintosh users please read the information on this site: BigSky MacEzine Issue 22 (page 4)

The following steps are for Netscape 2.x for Windows and may vary on other platforms.

1. Select General Preferences from the Options menu). A dialog box appears.
2. Select the Helper Apps card from the menu at the top. The appearence of the dialog box changes accordingly.
3. Click on the button Create New Type.... A new small dialog box appears.
4. Type in 'audio' as Mime Type and 'midi' as Mime SubType (without the quotes!). Click on the OK button.
5. Type in 'mid' in the File Extensions field.
6. Select Lauch the Application and type in 'mplayer /play'. (Windows 95: type '"Mplayer" /play' (with the double quotes!))
7. Click on the OK button and try it out with one of the MIDI files in the Try-Out Section!

Note: If you want to offer MIDI files for immediate play on your own page, you'll have to ask your server administrator to add the MIME type "audio/midi" to the default configuration of the httpd server.

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A step-by-step guide how to configure Netscape to play these MIDI files can be found in the Info Section!

• from "Classic" (BESTMID1.ZIP) :
  "5th Symphony" (23.2 KB) : the beginning of Beethoven's 5th
  "Toccata" (54.0 KB) : the well-known church organ
  
• from "Piano" (BESTMID2.ZIP) :
  "On the Wings of Love" (13.3 KB) : Bob Mace on the piano
  "The Dance" (7.6 KB) : Bob Mace on the piano
• from "Pop I" (BESTMID3.ZIP) :
  "Moonlight Shadow" (54.0 KB) : Mike Oldfield song
  "Hey Jude" (46.9 KB) : Beatles song
  "Das Boot" (49.0 KB) : U96's techno version of the movie theme
  "Go West" (60.8 KB) : the Pet Shop Boys version
• from "Pop II" (BESTMID4.ZIP) :
  Austrian Folk (28.0 KB) : for "Schuhplattln" ;-)
  "Opus #1" (27.2 KB) : Big Band music
  "Pink Panther Theme" (5.4 KB) : theme from the movie
  "King George's Stomp" (32.6 KB) : Charleston music
  "Twin Peaks Theme" (7.2 KB) : theme from the TV series
• from "Add-On Pack I" (BESTMID5.ZIP) :
  "Silent Night" (22.7 KB) : Christmas music
  "Cats in the Cradle" (32.6 KB) : piano only version
  "Chi Mai" (16.6 KB) : Ennio Morricone song from the movie "Le Professionnel"
  "Halloween Theme" (28.7 KB) : theme from the movie
  
• from "Add-On Pack II" (BESTMID6.ZIP) :
  "Indiana Jones Theme" (29.5 KB) : theme from the movie
  "Willhelm Tell Overture" (28.1 KB) : the famous first part
  "Suicide is painless" (2.7 KB) : piano only theme from "M.A.S.H."
  "Take a Bow" (28.1 KB) : Madonna song
  "Striving for Glory" (56.3 KB) : used at the presentation of MS Windows
  "Rhapsody In Blue" (43.0 KB) : excellent rendition by Andy Haveland-Robinson
  

  This MIDI file is Shareware! Please send around 10 pounds and/or a postcard as a token of your appreciation to:
  

  Andy Haveland-Robinson
  17 Williams Way
  Pondtail, Fleet
  Hampshire, GU13 9EU
  England
  

  The completed version of this wonderful tune will then be mailed to you!

• from "Add-On Pack III" (BESTMID7.ZIP - OUT NOW!) :
  "Video Killed the Radio Star" (59.1 KB) : great song by Buggles
  "The Final Countdown" (36.9 KB) : Europe's powerful song
  "(Everything I do) I Do It for You" (36.8 KB) : Brian Adams' love ballad from "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"
  "Hero" (41.0 KB) : brilliant Gravis demo
  "X-Files Theme" (13.6 KB) : theme from the TV series (improved version!)
  

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OUT NOW:Add-On Pack III can also be downloaded from:

• St. Louis, Missouri, USA
• Walnut Creek, USA
• Toronto, Canada

Download individual files :

• Canada :

  • Gatineau, Quebec : On this site, all MIDI files are available in uncompressed format! Check out the FTP directory.

• Europe :

  • Vienna, Austria (my account) : Special Edition : TV & Movie Collection

  • Bremen, Germany : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I, Add-On Pack II
  • NEW: Prague, Czech Republic : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I, Add-On Pack II, Add-On Pack III
  • Gdansk, Poland : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I
  • Pisa, Italy : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II
  • Utrecht, The Netherlands : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I, Add-On Pack II, Add-On Pack III
  • Paris, France : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I, Add-On Pack II, Add-On Pack III
  • Valladolid, Spain : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II
  • Helsinki, Finland : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I, Add-On Pack II, Add-On Pack III
  • Trondheim, Norway : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I
  • NEW: Stockholm, Sweden : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I, Add-On Pack II, Add-On Pack III, Special Edition:TV & Movie, Special Edition:X-Mas

• Australia :

  • Melbourne : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I, Add-On Pack II, Add-On Pack III

• Asia :

  • HsinChu, Taiwan : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I, Add-On Pack II, Add-On Pack III

• America (US) :

  • ???, Minnesota : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II
  • ???, North Carolina : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I

• America (Canada) :

  • Gatineau, Quebec : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I, Add-On Pack II, Add-On Pack III, Special Edition:TV & Movie, Special Edition:X-Mas

• Africa :

  • NEW: Cape Town, South Africa : Classic, Piano, Pop I, Pop II, Add-On Pack I, Add-On Pack III

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"Your Web pages are better than sex... well, as good as sex... almost as good as sex! :-)" - Stefan L.

Ah... whatever you think about my collection - please send me email ...

• to tell me what you think about the new appearance of this page
• to give me feedback (whether you like the collection or not)
• if you know another server that would like to carry my collection
• if you have some great MIDI files for my collection
• if you identify an "unknown" MIDI file

Attention Online Service users: If you're using an Internet email gateway you must specify your exact Internet address (e.g. xyz123a@prodigy.com) in your emails or I won't be able to reply!

A big Thank You to all the people who sent me feedback, especially

Carles Perello: for his infos about the French und Spanish sites

Steve Balogh: for the correct address of the Australian FTP server

Scott Benson: for the infos about configuring Netscape for the audio/midi MIME type

Marty Ross: for correcting some bad English

Bud Henley: for the MIDI information page in his BigSky MacEzine (issue 22, page 4)

Philip Taylor: for the infos about configuring Netscape 2.x for Windows 95

Special Thanks for telling me song names or authors go to:

Don Perkins, Erich Neuwirth, Leigh Koven, Pedro Augusto Zaniolo, Art Hernandez, Brian McNally, Evelyne ?, Brendon Sutton, Ewokboy, Bruce Smith, Jason A. Cortright, Mark Canterbury, Bob Glenn, Greg Mulert, Paolo Tealdi, Luke Galea, Arne Lofthus, Robert Kacsich, Mark Carpentier, Ng Cheng Kiang, Stephen "F." Levinson, Vincent Van Acker, Kevin Moot, David Ross, Victor Boyko, Istvan Horvath, Roger Veltens, Frederic Pinson

You want to be on this list, too? Identify one or more MIDI files that have a question mark ('?') in the file description and send me the song name(s) and/or author name(s) per email.

Very Special Thanks go to all FTP server admins and to the "people behind the mirrors" Evan Champion from Synapse Internet in Canada, Giovanna Murtas from Video On Line in Italy and Rhon Slack from ALD Productions in the USA.

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Original site address: http://stud1.tuwien.ac.at/~e8925292/bestmid.htm
Last modified: April 12th 1996. Access count to the American Mirror since March 23, 1995

This page is always under construction. Please report any errors via email.

Visit my Personal Homepage - finally in version 1.0 !!