How do I access the DOSBox configuration file to set sound=tandy? I cannot find the config file from the Space Quest 1 install.

Depends where you installed the game. I think the default location is is under C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG.com\Space Quest 1-2-3\Space Quest 1. There you should find a file called dosboxsq1.conf. Edit the file and change the "machine=" to tandy.

I've had to add the following for another game.

[dosbox]
machine=tandy

[speaker]
tandy=on

[sblaster]
oplmode=none

Personally, I prefer to use:

[dosbox]
machine=svga_s3"

[speaker]
"tandy=on"

Then in the "single" conf file that starts the game, add a "-t" parameter to the executable that starts the game.

For example, in the file "dosbox_SQ1_single.conf", change:
cls
sq.com
exit

to:
cls
sq.com -t
exit

This will result in having Tandy sound but not forcing Tandy graphics.

@Banjo
Thanks a Lot for this! I managed to get it to work just by editing "tandy=on" and adding "-t" parameter to executable. After that one can simply remove the "-t" to switch back to PC speaker if desired. Speaker certainly has its charms but Tandy raises the sound to a new level. It's overwhelmingly amazing for me to be able to breathe new life into 30 year old games like this.

Found this topic after discovering Munt emulator (for MT-32) only yesterday... then trying it out with Space Quest 3. Mind blown. So I got an idea to check if similar can be done with prequels and I'm glad I checked.

Btw, same trick works on Space Quest 2.

The same trick will work on all the old AGI games. They all supported the TANDY sound

Just curious... what is the gain of not forcing Tandy graphics? For AGI games, it's just trading one 16-color standard for another. I cannot find any visible difference in either configuration, and I find the "machine=tandy" approach to be less work, requiring modification of one file instead of two.

Again, just wondering what the gain is. Maybe I'm overlooking something.

Graphically, you're probably not going to notice a difference in most AGI games. The biggest difference is the sound. Tandy sounds A LOT better than the PC speaker

That is understood. My point is with respect to the second approach's claim that it achieves Tandy 3-voice sound without forcing Tandy graphics, asking what is gained by not forcing it.

For Sierra AGI games there is no visual benefit. There is a page (link at the bottom) that explains all the details about AGI versions and the hardware it was designed to run on.
For Tandy hardware it comes down to the better 3-way sound and technical (but not visual) differences for graphics display.
I play all AGI games with the machine=tandy switch. Maybe you'll see differences between EGA and Tandy in games from other vendors, but I haven't seen any with Sierra.

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.nl/2012/09/sierras-agi-evolution.html

The only Sierra game I've ever seen a graphical difference between EGA & Tandy is Thexder (developed by Game Arts)

I've observed this difference for this game as well, both on the title screen and in-game. In my opinion, Tandy looks cleaner than EGA.

If you can get SQ1 VGA, it's fantastic for sound--best sound setting is the "MT32 plus Sound Blaster." Used with VirtualMidiSynth, the MT32 midi is great and all of the Sound effects play perfectly. A real treat!

http://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/virtualmidisynth

(sorry for the late reply!)

Purely personal preference. Tandy graphics look slightly "different" to my eyes (mainly the text), and I prefer EGA due to nostalgia. Also, since first emulating these games in DoxBox, I've always just used "-t" so that's what I'm used to as an adult, too.

In terms of "less work", I usually play these games with my own pre-made shortcuts or D-Fend Reloaded (front end), so changing files isn't a concern of mine. I'm very happy that we have all these *choices*, even with the official GOG releases now, though!

Amusingly, when I first played these games as a kid, I only had a CGA monitor and played them in black and white (looked better than 4 colours!), so my oldest memories of the early Sierra AGI games are always of looking like that. Obviously, it's nicer to have colour now, but the Manhunter series (one of my favourites) does have a rather nice noir feel in B&W, compared to the rather garish gore colours of EGA. :)

PC speaker is also how I experienced these first, but I love the 3-voice Tandy music too much to sacrifice that! With the later games, I often lend to go with AdLib even when better is available because that just sounds "right" to me, again purely due to how I first experienced these games as a kid and teenager.

just fyi: in ScummVM you can switch around with graphic modes
You can use the hires font (meant for Hercules hires mode) with EGA graphics.
You can use Apple II-gs graphics (primarily slightly different palette + screen transitions) also with hires hercules font.
Or play it usine CGA graphics with an Amiga font.
You can also switch on parser-pause (this means as soon as you enter something, the game will pause and wait until you are done, that happened for Hercules mode) for any other graphics mode.
and and and.

The best versions of those games were imo the Apple II/gs versions, because on Apple II/gs Sierra added quite a few voice samples. Sadly GOG hasn't gotten the rights to those (rare) versions.

And yes, in ScummVM you can play those and change graphics to original EGA. So it will look like on PC, but with added samples and a way better font.