Benefits of MIDI files:

MIDI files are petite, often 10K or less. They download from a web page in no time and fit easily on a USB flashdrive. MIDI files are ideal any time you want music to start playing right away.

Limitations of MIDI files:

Because they sound a little different when played on dissimilar sound cards or tone generators, there is no guarantee that those heavenly horns won't sound like tooting trumpets on the next person's (or your next) instrument. Finding and/or making good ones can be difficult for some, if they aren't proficient arranger players, or they can't find (or are able to edit) a suitable style.



Pros of audio files:

They can reproduce exact sounds with CD quality, including all the tiny details like ambient noise, squeaks etc., although Yamaha's Mega and Korg's DNC are gaining ground in that area.


Cons of audio files:

They are large! They can take up 10MB or more per minute of sound. Even with high-speed Internet connections, a simple audio file can take several minutes to download. They are difficult (sometimes impossible) to edit.

Of course, you can use MP3 instead of Wav, but, sometimes the quality of MP3 files makes some recording engineers and performers hesitate, and they are still larger than MIDI files, but, overall they seem to provide a good compromise that most people are happy with.


Just like one's choice of arranger or workstation, or pick of manufacturer, it all comes down to determining and using the tool that best suits one's needs.

Some performers, including a few SZ'ers, use a combination of MIDI and Audio(usually MP3).

Ian