# 4.2. Do I need a midi map ?

Quickly, if you don't have an external synth, NO.

If you only have a sound card, midi maps are not needed because all the sound cards are GM compliant (this include AWE cards, GUS cards, FM devices and so on).

If you are playing music through an external synthesizer, and it is not GM compliant, you will need to make a midi map for your midi keyboard . Although you will perhaps be a whole afternoon doing your map file and trying different values for all the options, you will be fully rewarded when you finish it, because then you will find all the hidden possibilities of your keyboard. For example, I have a low-cost Yamaha PSS-790, which is not GM compatible, and doesn't has as many instruments as a GM synthesizer, but with KMid's midi mapper, it sounds even better than many soundcards (including AWE :-)), due to the sound quality found in external synths (even on non GM compliant ones).