Can anyone recommend an intermediate quality (quality of a PSR2000 say ) vst or soundfont sellers? Not Kontack high quality or low quality free soundfonts.
Is there a forum that discuses soundfonts, vst, dxi instruments?
Find it a little difficult to find good quality soundfonts/vst's on the web.
Has anyone tried Utopia Live GM soundflonts.
Starkeeper

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 03-11-2005).]

Starkeeper, I am very surprised that you cannot find free soundfonts which are much better than a PSR2000. I find almost any soundfont out there is better - but it might be my sad ears.

As I pointed out in the past you can always start with a reasonably good soundfont wavetable and replace the instruments you do not like.

Here are some wavetables which are (in general) much better than most arranger wavetables:

GM500 (can be converted to soundfont)
Papelmedia SF2 1.22
Titanic 200
Plus many many many many many many many - and then some others.

I think what it is you like the Yamaha sound and therefore anything that does not come close is not so good. If you for example like Yamaha 4mb softsynth then you just simply like the Yamaha sound.

Whereas when I do A & B comparisons on my high quality audio system professional musicians will more often pick my enhanced sYnerGi GS wavetable over anything Yamaha has to offer (Motif, Tyros). That is not to say that Yamaha is not good enough for live performances. I use as my criteria the ability to come as close as possible to sound like real acoustic instruments.

The reason I take you up on this issue is that if you like the Yamaha sound then I strongly recommend you stay with their hardware based solutions. You will not succeed until someone makes a wavetable using as its source a Yamaha keyboard or sound module.


[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 03-11-2005).]

Have you tried any of these? http://www.personalcopy.com/home.htm



[This message has been edited by Vquestor (edited 03-12-2005).]

Vquestor, yes I have and they to are of reasonably good quality. I have about 12 CDs full of soundfonts and Soundfont wavetables. I acquired these when the Soundsite was still up and running. This site collected all the available soundfonts out there and provided them at a price to cover the cost of the CDs and Postage. So - I have no trouble finding good soundfonts - it is just a matter of time. Some of the soundfont wavetables (GM/GS, etc.) which I use/have are:

Akai GM
Cadenza
Fluid 3 GM/GS
Genevoice
Hubbe64
Nytonx
PC51d
SGM180 v1.5
Sonic Implants
Utopia 2.0
Titanic 200
GM500
sYnerGi GS (modified)
(plus many others)

I also use the following:
Edirol VSC
Edirol HyperCanvas
Cakewalk TTS-1
(plus others)


Plus I have thousands of soundfont instrument sounds. So I have no trouble finding high quality soundfonts - quality that equals or exceeds anything you will find in any hardware based solution. Plus for my melody/lead voices I use top of the line samples with Kontakt. I have no trouble making beautiful noises - music is another matter!!!


[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 03-11-2005).]

Sorry Frank, I was actually addressing this
to Starkeeper.
But your information is always very helpful.
Thanks.

Hi Frank,
I have found free soundfonts on the internet, but I don't like them. I should have mentioned in my original post that I am looking for lead/melody/right hand voices. I am happy with SynergiGS/AnotherGS for playing arranger styles. I do like Yamaha voices, especially the sweet voices, but I also own a Roland and like the quitars, vibraphone, brass, and strings on the Roland over Yamaha. I don't think that I am tied to the Yamaha voices IMO. I appreciate your suggestions. Will look into them.

Vquestor,
No I have not tried personal copy. Will check that out. Would these be good for lead voices or would you recommend anything else? What do you use for lead voices?
Starkeeper
P.S. I am now using the left hand split of my Roland to play Yammy styles using OMB software and AnotherXG soundfonts and will never play the Roland styles again. I am half way to a totally softsynth arranger.
I have recently purchased a 2.1 speaker system and it sounds great.

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 03-14-2005).]

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 03-14-2005).]

Starkeeper, I guess I don't understand. If you like Yamaha sounds why not stay with them. Even I think they are very good given the size of their wavetables and the quality of their effects. The longer you use a given wavetable the harder it will be to change to something else. I would hate to see you spend a pile of money and then be unhappy with the result. I still say - stay with Yamaha.

Hahaha. Well.. If I could buy a Sweet soprano sax or a sweet flute, then maybe I would, but this is not available. Unless Yamaha releases some sweet voices via Steinberg or something like that.
I have a Roland keyboard (with full size keys) that I use for a controller, I have a good speaker system, I have an arranger (OMB), I have a computer and a soundcard. I don't want to buy all this equiment all over again, in a Yamaha keyboard package, just to get a few new voices. You made this same comment in another thread.
Kevin

Starkeeper, I forgot to ask whether you use good quality effects (reverb, chorus, equalizer) when you test soundfonts. These effects can improve the sound of soundfonts. Plus this would make for a more apples to apples comparison with your PSR sounds.


[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 03-15-2005).]

Actually no. You are right of course. Yamaha Sweet voices have "natural vibrato" added.
The organ voices demos at Sonic Implants sound very good (haven't purchased any though), some on slow tremolo, fast, and off. I prefer to hear the Leslie sim spin up & down. Is there an effect that could do this?
I have asked this iin another thread: Can I buy a flute voice from you?
Starkeeper

Starkeeper, I am not certain but I believe the Sonic Impants' B3 samples do not spin up or down as you wish. They are as you have noted. If you want that feature there may be other virtual B3s that can do so.

All the Soundfont flutes would be accessible at the following site (and many others):
http://www.hammersound.net/

I would not beable to sell you the high priced high quality versions, e.g.,
http://www.dandeanpro.com/
plus others (VSL, EWQSL, etc.)


[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 03-16-2005).]

Smart Flute from Musiclab might be something to look at as well. If it is anywhere near the quality of their multisampled "Real Guitar", my guess is that it will surely at least match if not exceed any hardware based sounds you can find.

For my ears, B4 does some of the best organ sounds on the planet, that don't actually come from a real B3 or C3. There are some decent alternatives though. ZR3 is a freeware that does some pretty cool organ w/ leslie simulations. Linplug "daOrgan" does a good job too, at less than half the cost of B4.

Then there is the NI Express kb package. If you dont need to tweak, you can probably get it for less than B4. It's a scaled down version of B4, Pro53 ( Prophet 5 emulator ) and FM7 ( DX7 emulator ) all in one package. A friend of mine has this and it's very good. Scaled down means far less parameters that can be tweaked, and less preset voices, but not at a reduction in quality of staple sounds for each instrument. I know because I have both B4 and Pro53, but if I didn't, I oould be happy with Xpress.

BTW, when I play "neutral" styles in OMB ( those not made specifically for Korg ), I find that the free soundfont sgm128 sounds better than my PA80 in almost all cases.

I did an A/B comparison using SD1 and KN7000 styles ( converted to Yamaha .sty with both the PA80 and Live synth pro with sgm128 as my sound modules for OMB through the same soundsystem. Of course I added some chorus and reverb effect to the sgm128 soundfont in order to make it a fair comparison.

Frank makes an excellent point. I think in many cases people listen to soundfonts "dry", and then think that they can't compare to hardware modules. Try this.. Turn off all of the effects in your favoriite hardware arranger or synth / module. Now how does it sound when you play a style ? Not so good is my guess.

AJ



[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 03-16-2005).]

Hi AJ, Frank,
Thanks for replying. I will check out smart flute. The XG voices on my Yammy are dry and don't sound good at all (never use them). This begs the next question. How do I add reverb, chorus, etc? Can I do this with OMB or is there some other software that will do this?
AJ,
I will check out NI Express, ZR3, I will be testing daOrgan this weekend (if I have all the software required )
I am searching for sgm128 on Google - lots of links, but haven't found the actual download site yet. Any chance it has changed name to sgm180? Great info.
Thanks
Starkeeper

Starkeeper, usually you add the effects within the host (forte, Cubase, Sonar, etc.). Soundfonts have these built in and can be turned on by a VST such as LiveSynth Pro. The built in effects for soundfonts are only of moderate quality. Other VST have better effects included (NI Kontakt). The higher quality reverbs are very demanding on your CPU power. So again it will be a balance of quality vs costs.

Ok. Thanks Frank. Wil be trying this out this weekend.
Brainspawn forte as wrapper
Live synth pro as host
daOrgan as a vst.
Starkeeper

Sgm128 is different from 180. In spite of the lower number, sgm128 has more sample rom and I think it sounds noticeably better. Here is a link for it. It's a large file btw, on the order of 126 mb
http://www.sf2midi.com/index.php?page=sdet&id=5038

You might want to also look at Xlutop Chainer as a standalone host. One session can host a combination of up to 10 vst instruments and effects, and it couldn't be simpler to use. You can use Chainer alone, with no other Daw or host needed ( Cubase, Sonar etc ), or you can open it up in your favorite host as a vst.

I completely agree with`Frank about high quality effects. The built in ones for soundfonts are of fair quality at best. For starters I would recommend the freeware Kjaerhus Audio "classic series " a lot, as the quality is actually quite decent, and they aren't terribly hard on your CPU. You can find them here:

http://www.kvrau dio.com/get.php?mo...p=100&start=100


All of the ones on this page are freeware. Some are of lesser quality, but a few of the mda plugs and all of the Voxengo plugins ( go to the next page for Voxengo) are pretty decent as well.


AJ




[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 03-17-2005).]

Also check out the free VSTi called ORGANized_trio_v30 http://www.kvraudio.com/get/682.html

[This message has been edited by Vquestor (edited 03-17-2005).]

Ahh that's the one I keep forgetting. Organized trio might just be the best of all the freeware Organs. Actually, I thought it compared favorably with the commercial "DaOrgan".

Dirtbag is kinda cool too, for that almost excessively overdriven B3 sound.


AJ

[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 03-17-2005).]

Hi AJ,
thank you for the link. The sgm128 sounds great.
I'll have to check out some of those effects you mentioned also.

best wishes
Rikki


[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bluezplayer:
[B]

You're quite welcome Rikki. When I get time to do it, I plan to use much of SGM128 as the base for a "supersoundfont".

I will add, or actually replace the 128's guitars with the Sonic Implants Telecaster and PRS guitar sets. I'll add SI's Blue Jay and Session drums, and some better organ and ep samples. I'll then set it up in Chainer, and then assign acoustic guitar style patches directly to Dasample's Electroacoustic Vsti. If it gets a little too CPU intensive, I'll simply make multisamples from EA and assign them to the soundfont.

This should make OMB play very nice in the GM mode. I'm still only at version 6, but I am quite comfortable using it, and I've already used it in a live set. Eventually I'll probably upgrade.

The one thing that did not work so well was trying to use the Motif ES as my OMB module. It seems no matter how I set it up, I notice a slight hiccup when changing style variations. I've tried a number of fixes, including reworking patch and bank, and other controller data of entire styles to better fit the ES. Nothing I can do seems to help.

AJ



[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 03-17-2005).]

Wow. What a wealth of information.
I have downloaded the reverb "Classis Series", Xlutop chainer, Organized Trio (looking forward to this one), and found a flute on the KVR site . Will be trying these out this weekend. I am not going to be able to download the SGM128 soundset, it is way to big to download at work.
Thank you AJ, Frank, Vequestor.

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 03-18-2005).]

Which Telecaster combination did you purchase? Can these play lead lines as well? They discuss the chords quite a bit, can the chords be played live?
Starkeeper
I was able to download the SGM128.


[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 03-18-2005).]

Hi AJ,
wow, I'd thought about trying to edit one of the GM fonts and replace sounds so I could come up with my ideal font ( like Frank and you apparently) but I'd still be trying to get it right in 10 years time. I never know when to stop and say "well, I think I've finally got it right". haahaa.

I used to have glitches in the earlier version of omb/clavinova, I just put it down to my old laptop. By the time I got my new laptop I was up to version 7 and no more glitches, I just assumed it was because of the new laptop.

Some of the things I do when I edit styles is
try and have the tracks match up throughout te style ie I keep piano's on just say track 12, guitars on track 13, doesn't matter which track they're on , just where possible, I try match throughout the style.

I also try and use the "control data colum" for program changes, volume changes etc rather than having all this info in the events list where possible. Since it's a global setting, it doesn't always work out unless, as above, piano's are all on the same track throughout and they have same volume etc etc . I just figured that maybe having all this control data in the events list, could cause a glitch?

I also try and delete useless tracks within a style. Somebody sent me a korg conversion to psr style. Couldn't beleive the no. of tracks this style used. Realized that over half of them weren't needed for use in omb ie tracks for min variations, and 7ths variations.
I never delete tracks from a genuine psr style, though.

I also edited an .ins file for the clavinova ( only works in omb, not cakewalk)

Still prefer to use my clavinova as a sound source, it apparently has 36mb sample for it's piano voice alone, 54mb for it's 38 panel voices, but only 10mb for xg voices. ( can't have everything I suppose). The fonts are really handy though, because of the portability of the laptop. So I still persevere with both.

Might be worth while checking out the demo of version 8 and see if you still get gliches with the es, just in case it is the software version.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bluezplayer:
[B]The one thing that did not work so well was trying to use the Motif ES as my OMB module. It seems no matter how I set it up, I notice a slight hiccup when changing style variations. I've tried a number of fixes, including reworking patch and bank, and other controller data of entire styles to better fit the ES. Nothing I can do seems to help.

AJ

Thanks Rikki. I might try Version 8, but I'm not sure it will help. I pretty much have tried much of what you do btw, including replacing the OMB ins file with one I made for the ES. I've even preset the patches in the ES before I play the style and then turned off reception of external patch and bank data from within the ES. I also just tried using OMB in the GM mode, and then just using the Motif's GM patches. Nothing helps.

What's worse, the ES is different from most other GM apps. It uses 1-128 as it's steps for controller data. Pretty much everything else uses 0-127. Even in GM mode it receives the wrong data.

I suspect the ES just doesn't "like" the sysex data within the Yamaha styles, or OMB doesn't like the data that the ES`send back to it. Of course I need to output midi back into OMB, because I use the ES controllers to change variations, fills, etc.

I sent Jos a style I made strictly for the ES, and he could not reproduce the problem on any of his sound modules. I don't think he has an ES though.

I think the problem lies within the the ES, not OMB. I don't have the same problems with any of my software modules, nor does it happen when I use the PA80 as both the module and controller. I also have some issues with FL studio when I use the ES as both module and controler. Again, no issues with FL and the PA80 or any software modules. I can use the ES as a controller with no problems in both OMB and FL, as long as I use other modules, but even then, the ES sequencer doesn't always sync up properly with FL. Again, no similar problems with the PA80.

Starkeeper, I use the Tele Mutes and Tones soundfont, so yes I can play leads. I do have one Guitar "chord" soundfont, the Vintage Guild, and yes, I can play it live.

AJ

Here is the GM500 which I used to enhance the sYnerGi GS Soundfont Wavetable:
http://www.mtlc.net/main.php?a=scd&ShowCD=42&Type=&Format=

Hi AJ,
that really is such a pity to have such a great synth and not be able use it how you want.

The other thing I do, which I forgot to mention is,
on the voice page, I don't actually enable any of the voices 1/2/3/4, I normally just play piano, so I just pick the voice directly from the clavinova. (Not sure if it's something you've mentioned you tried? probably wouldn't help either)
Can you at leat use ES voices for melody ?
I quite often use the fonts for styles, and the clavinova for melody voice, and by not having ( voices1234 enabled) I don't get that perceived feelng of latency.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bluezplayer:
[B]
I've even preset the patches in the ES before I play the style and then turned off reception of external patch and bank data from within the ES.

Yes Rikki, that's exactly what I do. I use the lead voices from the Motif, and it's controller functions to change style variations.

I don't mind this all that much anyway. With the sgm128 soundfont running with some added effects thru Xlutop chainer, I use OMB in the GM mode, and it all sounds rather good.

AJ

Bluezplayer & Rikki, what changes do you make to the Yamaha styles so that using them with a GM Wavetable (SGM128) sounds good or excellent? Do you use the Drum conversion in OMB or M. Bedesem's programs?

Hi Frank,
I do drum conversions via OMB. It actually allows me to save the conversion tables, so I can use it again & again, plus I can alter them if required. Can save as many as I like. Best part you can also alter the velocity of individual drums by +/-. So if for instance you find your bass drum is playing too loud, put a -10 velocity against the bass drum in your table and it will alter it on just that one drum track or through out the whole style with one simple click.

best wishes
Rikki

Thanks Rikki.

Here is another GM Soundfont wavetable. I don't know how good it is.
http://www.reasonbanks.com/pvitamin.html

Hi Frank,
just had a brief look. Haven't tried it either yet. I had a quick squizz at the drum mapping. It appears to have the same drum mapping as my clavinova (xg). If so, it'll do away with the problems of incorrect drums being triggered when playing notes lower than the b1 bass drum ( note 35 ).

I'm downloading the demo. I'll let you know how I go.


best wishes
Rikki

I was loading & unloading fonts in my SB Live card over the weekend and noticing that it doesn't make any difference whatsoever. So I removed all the fonts, although 1.75MB remains, and the styles continued to play??? So I changed synths from B to A and loaded SynergiGS. Hahaha. What a difference. Doh! I have been using the wrong fonts all along. I feel really dumb. No wonder it didn't sound good.
I don't have to do any tweaking to play OMB in GM mode. I prefer SynergiGS to AnotherXG.
I was unable to test out SGM128, because it required Sfpack, which I don't have on my system.
Starkeeper

Frank,

I really don't have to do much if anything to many of the styles if I use OMB in it's GM mode with a GM module or soundfont. If I need to adjust velocities or effects, I find it to be much quicker to do using the tools in OMB vs Michael's software.

I still like Michael's software for making new styles though.


Starkeeper - sfpack is available here:
http://www.soundfont.de/english/download/

Regards,

AJ

Hi Starkeeper,
no wonder you couldn't hear any difference between the different fonts. You had me wondering why I could hear a difference in the Synergi & Another XG Piano sound, I was starting to think I was imagining things haahaa.
best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Starkeeper:
[B]I

Hi AJ,
you haven't come across those nuisance
Brush swirl,tap,slap drums ( Note no's 25,26,27) that I seem to find in every other psr style I want to use. Fortunately they don't seem to crop up in converted styles.
The other one I find cropping up is A1 Bass drum ( note 33 ).

Haven't thought to check, but maybe your sgm128 font actually plays them correctly.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bluezplayer:
[B]Frank,

I really don't have to do much if anything to many of the styles if I use OMB in it's GM mode with a GM module or soundfont.

Rikki, my experience is similar to yours including with SGM128. I think the only sure bet is to do the conversions as you suggest and combining the various drum channels (9, 10, etc.) to one channel (GM format- I think that is 10). What I find is that if you just use OMB with XGtoGM.con file there are some drum instruments missing (sYnerGi GS comparison vs GM).

Rikki,

I have come up with a few of them with the same issue, but I also use very few of the newer Yamaha styles at this point. I had some issues with some of my older ones in XG works, and I modified some of them, and none of these have given me trouble in OMB.

I use more PA80 and KN7000 styles then anything else. These all seem to play fine in OMB in GM mode. I did the PA80 conversions myself though and if I nremember right I did assign all of the drum parts to ch 10.

AJ

[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 03-21-2005).]

Hi Frank,
I've been spending some time today with the sgm128 font. It's really nice, ( I can hear why AJ likes it) but, unfortunately, it appears to have have problems with those pesky brush placings.
Another xgfont and Synergi ( from memory )plays them correctly, but to my ears, they're a harsher sound.
I'm still dithering about which font to use as a basis for the styles.

I downloaded the demo for that link you gave me yesterday. All but useless as they only give you a few sounds to try. I don't know how you're supposed to test it properly with only a few orchestral sounds and a drum set.
I need to hear it within a sequence to be able to tell how it sounds. I was quite interested, mainly because of the link to it's drum map. It appears to have those brushes that xg drums have, but unfortunately I couldn't try it. I'm still debating on whether it's worth spending 22 euro's, and then maybe still being dissapointed.

Actually OMB I think defaults track 9 to channel 10 automatically. The tracks stay seperate ( 9 & 10 ) but they both are set to channel 10.

If you're referring to the xg gm conversion that can be downloaded from the site, I don't use it as I think it does leave out some of the instruments. I think it's more like the original gm drum table . Michael sent me an actual gm drum set list a while back , and I had forgotten how limited early gm really was. No brushes at all from memory.
At the moment sgm128 is my favourite of the 3 fonts. Conversion tables are going to be a bit tricky because of those brushes.

Maybe an option would be to import an xg set into the font, or if possible , edit the existing drum set by adding the brushes. ( hypothetical of course as I haven't a clue how to do it (haahaa)

It's got me thinking though.

best wishes
Rikki

Rikki, it is entirely possible to remove the drums from one wavetable (SGM128) and replace these drums with those from another wavetable (sYnerGi GS). In the past I used Vienna to do this but with these large wavetables (greater then 32mb) I am not certain whether you could use this software. You could use Soundfaction Alive together with LiveSynth Pro.

One should keep in mind that if you use the Yamaha approach in the styles (drums in channel 9, 10 and others as well as utilizing bank 127) then the synth you wish to use must be able to find these drums, etc. If the VSTi/DXi is strictly GM compatible it will only see drums in Bank 128 and on channel 10. This could get your Yamaha styles to play pianos instead of drum kits.

I might not know how to work OMB properly but I find my creations usually missing some drum instruments playing.


[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 03-22-2005).]

1) I have unzipped and unpacked SGM128. Looking forward to tying it this weekend.
I must be lucky not to have hit those styles with the weird drum tracks.
2) I have some slight latency on Organized Trio B3 software. You problably going to tell me to get some drivers right? What drivers would I use with a SoundBlaster Live card?
3) daOrgan does not have an application (I guess that's why I need a host). How do I bring up the GUI so I can access the application (using Chainer)?
Starkeeper

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 03-22-2005).]

Hi Starkeeper,
it happens with styles that use notes below B1 (note 35) Bass drum. That's one group of notes where gm & xg drums differ in the mapping. More likely to occur in a genuine psr style, rather than a style that has been converted to a psr.
Also if you're using Synergi, it has xg drum mapping, so you shouldn't have problems.


best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Starkeeper:
[B]1) I must be lucky not to have hit those styles with the weird drum tracks.

Hi Frank,
I splurged and bought that 200mb Reason Font. It does appear to have correct mapping for the xg styles. Haven't had time to compare it to the sgm128 yet. ( what the heck, it's only money)

I have the Alive software ( haven't really used it yet) so I may spend a bit of time working it out. I like the idea of mixing the fonts around.

I don't use midi channels 9 & 10 for drums. From memory , my clavinova couldn't handle channel 9 drums either, so it was easier to just use channel 10.

Frank, I gather you have omb, but since your preffered arranger is Live Styler, you probably haven't explored all of omb's style editing features. ie I've had Alive software for months, but haven't bothered learning it's functions, till the desire arises.

If you like, I could do a an omb xg to gm conversion table for you. I won't be able to do the velocity adjustments for them because to a certain degree it's personal taste & depends on the source of the style, plus it also depends which drum font you're using
( I've noticed individual drum velocities are all over the place depending on the font).
At least I should be able to get brushes playing instead of handclaps or whatever. Just be a simple one that can be expanded upon.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Frank L. Rosenthal:
[B]Rikki, it is entirely possible to remove the drums from one wavetable (SGM128) and replace these drums with those from another wavetable (sYnerGi GS). In the past I used Vienna to do this but with these large wavetables (greater then 32mb) I am not certain whether you could use this software. You could use Soundfaction Alive together with LiveSynth Pro.

One should keep in mind that if you use the Yamaha approach in the styles (drums in channel 9, 10 and others as well as utilizing bank 127) then the synth you wish to use must be able to find these drums, etc. If the VSTi/DXi is strictly GM compatible it will only see drums in Bank 128 and on channel 10. This could get your Yamaha styles to play pianos instead of drum kits.

I might not know how to work OMB properly but I find my creations usually missing some drum instruments playing.

Rikki, I would very much appreciate a copy of your OMB XG to GM conversion table. My email is:

flr@mts.net

And you are right in your assumption - I have not spend alot of time with OMB given I use Live - Styler as my go to soft arranger.

Many of Yamaha PSR styles use channels 9 & 10 for drums and sometimes even more channels. This, as I noted, will not work well with GM Wavetables and Synths.

Thank you


[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 03-22-2005).]

[This message has been edited by Vquestor (edited 03-22-2005).]

I too would recommend ASIO4all, but also, try installing the KX drivers for the soundblaster series. http://kxproject.lugosoft.com/index.php?skip=1

As far as "finding" DaOrgan or any other vst, I keep all of my vst .dlls in a couple of folders, mainly because I have quite a few. Choose a folder to keep yours in, and then set your host app up so that it will scan that folder when you start it up.

I think I miss some of the channel 9 problems because I setup my Chainer presets up with SFZ+ and I have ch 9 already set up in SFZ to receive bank 128 data.

I have no problems with most of my styles and sgm 128. I think I modified the few Tyros styles I do use already when I first got them by using one of Michael's apps ( or maybe one of Jorgens ). I also use a few PSR9000 and 740 styles, but again, I think if I remember right I fixed those as well becaue I had some issues in XG works and a non XG module.

I use the KN7000 styles a lot btw, and quite a few PA80 and SD1 styles too, so perhaps this is another reason I am not having problems.

AJ


[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 03-23-2005).]

Kx drivers, to my experience, work better than asio4all in a SB live I borrowed from a friend.
But they are far more cryptic in the mixer section etc, at least for me. Even the left-right out is swapped initially for some reason.

I don't have the ambition to ever play live, or having such an expanded setup like you do, or anything, but I realised that the sounds of Hyper Canvas driven by my old keyboard, get me "sparked up" enough to play. Even the styles I use so many years now sound better through these sounds, after I tweak the levels a little in Hyper Canvas.

I would agree, but the latest versions of ASI4all are ok and I am able to get better latency by using ASIO4all.

There is a little more to latency then just the initial number. Once you start straining cpu resourced, you find that you may have to ease off on the latency settings.

It's even a bit surprising to me, but I will tell you that using ASIO 4 all with my USB Quattro actually seems to yield better results on my laptop than using M Audio's original drivers. The updated M Audio drivers are fine though.

AJ

Rikki,
"I splurged and bought that 200mb Reason Font.". Let us/me know what you think of these fonts. Are they good enough for lead voices?
Do you host these in Live Synth Pro?

Bluezplayer,
I will read the help on chainer and see if I can figure out how to host the dll.
There is all kinds of good information on this thread.
Starkeeper

Hi Starkeeper,
I use them in Live Synth Pro with Forte Ensemble.
One advantage is, it has the xg drum mapping. ie the mapping is identical to my Clavinova's XG drum map. It is actually a GM font though, so it doesn't have all the xg drum sets.

Bit too early for me to tell yet, but it does sound good, but so does SGM128.

I think in the long run I'll probably end up with a mix of fonts ie use the drums from one font, the piano's from another etc etc.

As for lead melody, I'm not the right person to ask, I'm still using my Clavinova's grand piano sound. I've been told it has 36mb dedicated to the piano sound alone, wheras the whole xg set ( 400+ voices ) only has 10mb. So , quite frankly I haven't found a font yet that I like more, including some of those large piano fonts I found a while back.

They do have a demo of some of their orchestral sounds. Might give you a rough idea.

Strange though, I found this fantastic midifile yesterday of Vangelis's Theme from Antarctica. For that midifile , Another GS Font, sounded just as good as, if not better than the larger ones.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Starkeeper:
[B]Rikki,
"I splurged and bought that 200mb Reason Font.". Let us/me know what you think of these fonts. Are they good enough for lead voices?
Do you host these in Live Synth Pro?

Rikki,
You have been spoiled rotten by the Clavinova.
Starkeeper

Hi Starkeeper,
had a bit of time to play around with the new fonts I bought. So far, I've only had the time to compare them to my Clavinova's XG sounds. All I can say is, I won't be going back to to using the Clav's xg sounds for my omb styles. The styles may require a bit more editing using the font's, but I think it will be worth the effort.
For the odd occasion that I use a sound ( other than my clav's piano for melody) I'll be more than happy to use one of the font sounds.

Haven't had a chance yet to do a comparison of sgm128 to my new reason fonts.

best wishes
rikki

Rikki, I think you should slow down. You are getting to be miles ahead of me - a humbling experience!!!

Hi Frank,
I very much doubt that. Pretty exciting stuff, especially with these larger fonts.

We're going away for a week or 2,(taking the laptop, but no internet, no clavinova) give me a chance to spend a bit more time on playing around with "Alive" functions & fonts.

By that stage hopefully I'll have worked out which drum font's I want to use. Most likely 'reasons' gm set because it has xg mapping.

Thanks again, for setting me on this type of sound path.

best wishes
Rikki

Wow! That is quite an endorsement. When you get back from your vacation, let us know how it compares to sgm128.
I tried sgm128 over the weekend and was not impressed at all. Still prefer SynerGiGs for playing styles.
What is "Alive"?

I was able to actually open daOrgan using "Chainer" as a host, but was not able to get it to sound. Not exactly intuitive software (for me anyways ). There are buttons on it that I don't know what the're for. Any help on this wud be appreciated.
Starkeeper


[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 03-28-2005).]

Hi,please try sgm180 http://www.geocities.jp/shansoundfont/
128 is somewhat old,180 sounds better in most case
(piano,epiano,,organs,brass,sax,woodwinds,guitars,basses etc)

Hi Starkeeper,
I'm back, but got nothing done. Forgot to switch OMB (vers8) "midi out" setting from "usb to midi yoke" , so each time I tried to setup my "midi out" in omb , the program locked up. I had been hoping to hear how the different fonts sound with the styles. Anyway, total break probably did me good.

Interesting, I really liked the sgm128 fonts, one problem I had was the non XG drum mapping.

I'm not quite sure what "Alive's " true function is, but what I'm hoping to do with it is setup my own font ie ( example only) I like the piano in Another XG font, I like the drums in the reason font, I may prefer the basses in the Synergi font etc etc
Alive from what I can gather will allow me to mix n' match instruments from various fonts.
I may also leave some of the instruments I never use out of the font, to try and keep down the size. ie the Papalmedia font ( I bought last week ) is about 300mb and the reason Pro Vitamin GM font is about 200mb. They take an awful long time to load. I figure as long as I follow the gm instrumentation, I can always add any additional instruments I may require along the way.

Takes me back to the early days , when I used to organize patch libraries for my synths.

I'll let you know how I go.

best wishes
Rikki

Rikki, I can't keep up - slow down!!!

The function of Soundfaction Alive is to edit the individual soundfonts (LFO, attack, etc.) as well as the soundfont wavetables (changing instruments from one wavetable to another, or importing a different standalone soundfont). I think utilizing just the instruments you commonly use and leaving the others out in a soundfont wavetable should work - I haven't tried this. Let us know how well this works. Where things may fall apart is say you utilize all the acoustic instruments (every instrument say to program change 65) and then decide to use a synth sound somewhere around 100. The soft synth may get confused with respect to the program change number (100 becomes 66, etc.).

Hi Frank,
I'll give it a try when I get a chance and let you know how I go.
What I'll try and do is create a font using only 5 or 6 sounds for a particular style,
( and keep to the gm instrument mapping)
ie drums
bass ( program 33)
piano ( program 1 )
guitar( program 25)
strings program 48)etc

and see if they play back correctly.

The 300mb font takes forever to load and has locked up on a couple of occassions. Haven't had that type of problem with the smaller 120 mb font.
So I thought , why have dozens of instruments that I don't use. If I can get rid of them and not cause problems with playback, I can have good quality instruments, and reasonable loading time.

best wishes
Rikki

p.s. I used to do something similar with one of my samplers years back.





[This message has been edited by rikkisbears (edited 04-06-2005).]

I just loaded the sgm180 sf, and isn't is a
little strange that Bank 127 is full of
GS drum kits? What is the Roland bank number
for their drumkits?

Hi Vquestor,
I think it's bank 128 for gm drums. That's the bank no. that has popped up in my other fonts.

Actually I have sgm180 also, and I hadn't even noticed.

best wishes
Rikki

Hi Frank,
I got it to work.
I had to renumber the instruments after I copied them across, no big deal
first I copied piano
0=1 piano
then strings
1= 48 strings ( I changed the 1 to 48) etc

I did have to make sure I had all the instruments used within the style. I missed one of the basses and ended up with drums playing on the bass track.

I assume that , that was what you were hinting at earlier, that if an instrument is left out of the font that is used within the style, you could end up with something strange happening.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I can get it to work.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by rikkisbears:
[B]Hi Frank,
I'll give it a try when I get a chance and let you know how I go.
What I'll try and do is create a font using only 5 or 6 sounds for a particular style,
( and keep to the gm instrument mapping)
ie drums
bass ( program 33)
piano ( program 1 )
guitar( program 25)
strings program 48)etc

and see if they play back correctly.

Maybe that's a silly idea, but if a soundfont must contain sounds in every "bracket", maybe you could put some dummy wavs containing nothing (0.1 sec of silence), just to fill the blanks. that way the size remains small.

trident, you got it!!! You are a smart person.

Rikki, however would have to ensure that the style program change numbers point to the appropriate instruments within her highly customized GM Wavetable.


[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 04-07-2005).]

Rikki,
You are not ahead of Frank, but you are way ahead of me. I'm going to take it slow.
Does you Clavinova have panel/lead voice, other then piano? Is the 200mb reason font better then SynergiGS?

Anyone who might know,
I have a minor problem with my Sounblaster Live card: I empty the card completely, nothing in either synth (A or B), and there are 10mb remaing on the card. I do cold boot of my computer and 10 megs remain. Both synths are empty. Thats a lot of nothing!!! It doesn't effect the operation of the card. Anyone have a clue what gives?

Last weekend the styles didn't sound "right" anymore. Sounded like some instruments were too loud and others gone. I switched from OMB to Live Styler and it was also the same. Tried other soundfonts and they had the same problem. I'm thinking it might be a hardware problem with my connectors. Will check it out this weekend. I hope its not the soundcard.
I just happened to land on a Canadian site that sells Native Instruments software and NI B4 is not that expensive. NI Express is very affordable, as AJ pointed out. Not sure how crippled NI Express is.
Starkeeper
Starkeeper

Starkeeper, is it possible you have allocated 10mb to be used by your sound card for loading soundfonts/wavetables. This is the maximum setting that you determine (options on your HQ page). Also, I think the maximum that you can set in SBLive is 32mb. So if you load a wavetable that is greater than this things will not work. If your wavetable gets close to this maximum voices start dropping out the longer you play (I have heard).

If you have set the maximum level at 10mb then even if you have no sounds loaded the sound card will set aside 10mb.

[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 04-07-2005).]

Hi Frank,
No, I don't think so, I think it says that no matter how much I lower or increase the memory, but I will check this again this weekend. If you are right though, that could explain why the styles don't sound "right" anymore.
Hmmmm?? When I finish loading SynergiGS, I believe it says 54megs.
Starkeeper

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 04-07-2005).]

Starkeeper, if you are going to use Wavetables of 32mb or greater in SBLive then you should take a look at a program called megafont:
http://www.hammersound.net/mirrors/last_night/

The Audigy sound cards do not have this limitation.

Thanks Rikki. I was trying to figure out
the Roland standard for their drumkit bank selects, because AnotherXG has the Roland GS
kits under Bank 125.

Hi Trident,
actually I'd thought about doing something along those lines, but instead of silence, put in a sound like a whistle or squeal to alert me that I'm using a new instrument that I'll need to add to my font.

The font is sort of a work in progress. I'm going to start with 1 style, find the 6 or so most suitable instruments required ( from the various fonts) then go onto the next style ( add any additional instruments) etc etc and slowly build the font up. Having some sort of an "alarm bell" to alert me when I need to add an additional instrument will come in handy ( be it a whistle sound or whatever , as long as it's small) . Personally I doubt I'd probably use more than 30 or 40 different instruments throughout the styles, so it will be interesting to see if it works.

best wishes
Rikki

Hi Starkeeper,
actually my CLP has a number of Panel Voices other than the Grand Piano's. Basses, Strings etc plus the 400+ xg voices. Personally I like the reason font better.

Actually I started to wonder the other day when you mentioned you weren't overly impressed with the sgm128 as to whether or not you had actually managed to load it.
I have an sblive card in my desktop ( which I don't use) but I vaguely remember reading something about it having limitations on how big a font it could load?? Maybe you weren't actually hearing it correctly.

Frank and I both use Forte Ensemble & Live Synth Pro. I've managed to load a 200mb font without hassles, but I do have some problems once I get to 300mb. I've got a 512mb memory in my laptop.

best wishes
Rikki

If SB Live gives me any more hassles, then I might go the Forte Ensemble/Live synth route or maybe buy and Audigy card.
The card with SYnergisGS was working fine 2 weeks ago. Arrrrr.
Starkeeper

Hi Starkeeper,
you may want to check first and see how large a font the Audigy card will allow you to load or you may be back where you started from?
I'm using
Forte Ensemble ( Demo Available )
Live Synth Pro
Midi Yoke ( Free )
ASIO4All ( Free )
on my laptop, and it all works well.
As I mentioned earlier my laptop has 512mb memory and is reasonably fast.

Both setups appear to have their pro's & cons.
Using a card like the SBLive appears to be easier to set up but has limitations for the size of the font you can use.

The setup I now use ( which Frank suggested)was difficult to set up ( for a computer illiterate like me) but now that I've got it up and running, I haven't looked back . it's great)

best wishes
Rikki

1) It was a Y connector that was causing the problem. Phew!!! As soon as I removed it, I got the high quality sound back.
2) At the moment the 10meg empty file is not causing a problem, but I would like to free this up. Anyone know if I can contact the Creative company or if there is a Soundblaster forum that might have a clue as to what's going on.
3) OMB plays the right voice every time I press the left chord!!! The left voice comes in on channel 11 and the right voice on channel 4. I have also setup the split at C3. I tested sending everything on channel 4 and it still plays the left voice. Any ideas? At the moment, I am using the lead voices from the Roland, so I turn the melody voice, in the mixer, completely down. When I try to play voice in the right hand from the computer, then I get the voices playing in the left hand.
Starkeeper


Rikki,
You don't sound computer illiterate to me. That is a complicated setup.
Starkeeper



[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 04-11-2005).]

Hi Starkeeper,
this is the setup I use when playing in split full fingered mode.
Clavinova for lead melody, fonts for styles.
First I turn Clavinova to Local Off ie I don't hear any sounds when I press keys.

OMB Settings
Chord Fingering " Full Fingered "
Midi In: USB ( not sure what your setting would be as you possibly use a serial interface to connect keyboard to computer?? so maybea CBX driver or something.)

Midi out
Midi Channels 1 to 4 : mine set to USB
( you'd have to set yours to whatever your set up is)
Default melody channels in OMB are 1 to 4.

Midi Channels 5 to 16 mine is set to Midi Yoke
( you'd use your sblive card setting.)

Next on the main Voices page OMB :
Voices 1 to 4 , make sure that you enable
the ones you want to use. You can have up to 4 voices at one time. If you just want right hand melody, make sure the others are set to off.

Hopefully this may work for you.

best wishes
Rikki

Thanks for replying Rikki. I have two scenarios:
1) Playing the accompaniment from my computer using SynergerGS and lead voices from my Roland. This setup would be similar to yours. I am playing my Roland live. I will try setting local off and triggering the melody from MIDI channels 1 to 4. This sounds like it will work. Appreciate your help. Will try this on the weekend and let you know.
2) When I get some good quality lead voices, I will not be using my Roland's voices. So everything will come from the soundcard. When I do this, the selected right hand melody voice plays in the left hand chord. When I set this up my MIDI output ports look very similar to this : http://www.1manband.nl/tutorials2/setting.htm.
All the output channels are set to the SB live synth card.
Starkeeper

BluesPlayer,

I have an ES7, and its working fine with OMB 7.1.
I have had the same problem that you mention where you get a hickup after the variations. Like it never returns perfectly in sync. But its not the ES. ITs actually the fact that too much midi commands or something is being sent to it, so it cant process it fast enough before you get back to what ever variation you wanna go back to.

This is exactly what happened to me in one of a Korg styles called Tejano. Actually, Rikki, im the guy that you fixed that style for. It had so much stuff in it, that that was the culprit for me getting those sync and hickups issues. Once Rikki fixed it for me, and I got it back and played it, it worked like a dream. All I had to do is adjust my volume levels, I could even choose any of the drum kits in the ES presets. One thing that really helps with the ES is that most if not all of the drumkits follow the GM standard setup, so the sounds sound right.

Im still learning though, but I make sure that I use the ES in SONG MODE. ThaT way I can go track by track and change the instruments to which ever preset ES instruments I want to use. THe only bummer so far, is that somehow the Mega voices dont sound right while using them with OMB. I dont know how to make them sound right. But the other sounds sound so nice that its ok. So far im getting good results, but I have yet to learn to do exactly what Rikki did. And she said it was all done in OMB. So I know it can be done.

regards,

Musikman

Rikki,
It appears that you are doing what I would like to, use soundfonts on my laptop. I have been playing with soundfonts on my desktop machine and they work well but I am traveling all the time for work and only have a notebook to use. Is there an inexpensive (free is even better) VST sequencer that will work with my Cubase SE and play my midi using my favorite soundfonts? I am currently using an Alesis Nanosynth on the road and it works but not as well as my favorite soundfonts. Thanks for any assistance.
Gary

Hi Starkeeper,
how do you connect your Roland to your computer( usb?serial?midi) and what do you see with the midi in/out dropdown menu
ie sblive midiuart plus anything else??

May have found a way for you to listen to some larger fonts. Unfortunately will only work with midifiles. I'm going to use it for testing my sounds ie play a piano midifile & see which of the piano's sounds best etc etc ( by the way , I found a soundfont of my CLP170 Grand Piano sound, 120 mbs, ( free) sounds nearly as good as the real thing when played via my piano's sound system).

The program's called Synthfont (free, but you can donate) http://www.synthfont.com/
Simple as Open ( locate your midifile)
Then under "setup"
use "options"
Default Soundfont File
press the green icon and locate your soundfonts.
Then basically press play. It doesn't use your sblive card for playing the fonts, so you're not as restricted . It played my 200mb soundfont without any problems. ( I do have 512mb memory in my laptop, not sure what you've got?).
I've been checking out some other freebie software as well, may yet be able to find a way of connecting omb to fonts for free without a font compatible soundcard
(like sb live , audigy etc).
My setup's great as is, but it would be interesting to see if it could all be done for free ( except for omb, that is).

best wishes
Rikki

p.s. I couldn't get your link to work
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Starkeeper:
[

Hi Gary,
maybe Synthfont that I mentioned to Starkeeper may be of some use to you?
I've only just started to play around with it a bit ie I know how to load a midifile & font, but that's about it.
It's a midifile player that can use soundfonts without a font compatible soundcard.
I'm also checking out some other software ( freebies) but haven't had a chance to get it up and running yet.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gaumaugher:
[B]Rikki,

Hi Musikman,
I remember. I think I was in the middle of packing to move to a new home ( must be nearly 5 months ago).
Are you still using korg to psr converted styles? If you're still interested in OMB style editing functions, and how to simplify those styles. I'd be happy to help out.

best wishes
Rikki
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Musikman4Christ:
[B]BluesPlayer,

Actually, Rikki, im the guy that you fixed that style for.

As a new bee to the keys and SF I have gathered a lot of info from you folks. With my SB PCI512 I have had my "personal" SF (158mb) loaded with no problems. I used the E-Mu Soundfont Librarian to create the SF (a simple "cut & paste WP operation), then loaded it into Vennia to clean it up. Really low tech after reading everyones posts, but it worked. Keep up the great posts, and I'll keep learning!

1) I connect my Roland to the computer using MIDI cabels.
2) MIDI in, I believe has only 1 option, the SB card MIDI in port
3) MIDI out: SB live synth A, SB live synth B, Microsoft wave table, joystick port. I will have to check this weekend to see if there are others.
4) Where did you find the file that sounds like your Clavinova? Wow!! What a find.
5) Will check out "Synthfont"
6) I am not sure how much memory I have, but it is at least 512mb, will check this out this weekend.
7) My MIDI out ports looks very similar to this. http://www.1manband.nl/tutorials2/setting.htm
I put a period after it that's why it didn't work.
Starkeeper

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 04-14-2005).]

I thought Rikki and I were the only ones going back and forth on this thread, but there are others reading and garnering the good information posted here.
Starkeeper

Yes, there are others watching Starkeeper!
Thanks for the lessons, all of you!

Hi Smurf,
ok, you've sparked my interest with your comment on being able to load a 158mb font.
I decided to try my sblive value ? card in the desktop, just to see how large a font I could load. (I was under the mistaken impression the sb live card would only load smaller fonts ie 40 or so mb's. I don't use my desktop for music, just my laptop)
Under options, my Static Caching goes up to 191.50 mb maximum. My desktop only has 384mb of memory.
I managed to load the 128sgm font and play a midifile ( in powertracks pro). I couldn't try my larger font's as they are over 200mb and I couldn't load them into Audio HQ.

I did manage to play the same midifile with a font that was over 200mb in Synthfont .

Just interested to know how much memory you have in your computer, and what's the maximum Static Caching your computer shows.
Be intersting to know whether with more memory, whether the Static Caching goes up. I don't know a great deal about the actual workings of a computer, so it's interesting to learn.


Best Wishes
Rikki


[QUOTE]Originally posted by Smurf:
[B]

[This message has been edited by rikkisbears (edited 04-17-2005).]

Hi Starkeeper,
I think wherever I mentioned I use USB setting, you would use the setting for your joystick device.
As for the Clav Pianofont, bear in mind my Clavinova has a really amazing speaker system. When listenig to a midifile played back via the font , it sounded great. Playing the font live via the clav as a controller, the overall feel was not as good as playing the Clav's internal piano sound. Bit hard to explain what I mean.

Strangely enough, I auditioned about 10 to 15 soundfont piano's ranging in size from well under 1mb up to 180mb's. I'm try to find a piano that works well with my psr piano based styles, (style parts not melody parts) and amazingly the one I thought sounded best with the few styles I tested, was the clavinova 2 sound (23mb).
So, I've come to the conclusion, it's not necessarily the size of the font, but the actual sounds and how well they blend together in a style.
Anyway, it's reinforced that the best way for me to go is build up the font from scratch, ( mix n'match ) by auditioning which instruments sound best for the styles I use, rather than just using one of the gm xg fonts as is.

Next I'm going to try and settle on a drum font.

Clavinova Font.
http://www.guraydere.com/soundfonts/sfdetails.aspx?kat=1

best wishes
rikki
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Starkeeper:
[B] 1

Hey rikkisbears,
I started with 380 and a Christmas present put me up to 640. This is in a P3 700 running a SB PCI512 card. The cache increased as the memory did, it can use up to half of the installed memory. The only time I had a problem was when I was editing the SF, if I went to fast auditioning the sounds I BSOD in Win2000, a RARE occurrence for me on this system.

I used the AudioHQ that cam with the card until I switched to the kx Project drivers, and they load SF with no problems.

I also have been finding out that SF size don't matter. I am creating a new one for my next set of songs, using the SB 2meg one and ripping it apart. My better half bought me a 6 CD set of SF of ebay and I have not found one that totally sucks yet.

As for drum SF (a drummer of 30+ years here) the best ones I found that are free are, in order...

Gold Drums (rock, blues) a nice balanced set

ns_kit - I think a good general one

Rough Rider and Easy Rider - for a real raw, live sound, no toms tho!

I also like the ns_jbass, and a Yamaha Bright Piano that was on one of the cd's I have.

Please remember that this is MY ears talking, you might think they all stink!

For a listen to it visit one of these sites.....
http://www.mp3.com.au/TheJCSProject/ http://www.soundclick.com/thejcsproject

60% of the tracks are the SF loaded in the SB and using OMB 7.1 to play it. Keep up the great posts folks, and I really need to get a copy of that SFZ program and try to use it.

[This message has been edited by Smurf (edited 04-15-2005).]

For those who are interested in a good quality GM wavetable take a look at this:
http://www.soundsonline.com/sophtml/details.phtml?sku=EW-164

I might make the investment!!! In general, the larger the size (MB or GB) of the instruments the higher the quality (no looping, samples at various velocities, release samples, etc.). Yes, and there is more that goes into quality acoustic instrument samples (quality of the audio/recording equipment, effects, quality of the acoustic instruments used for sampling, mics and so on). Also if the engineers and muscians are dead from the belly button both ways then nothing will save the day - the instruments can be large but still sound bad.

In general, you get what you pay for but there are very many good quality soundfonts - for free. That's not a bad deal!!!

[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 04-15-2005).]

Hi Smurf,
thank you. I had a feeling that might be the case.
I might be wise to keep the font I hope to create round 200mb's on my laptop (which is a 512mb).
Must admit I had no problems with a 200mb font, but when I loaded a 300mb font I ended up with a few hiccups.

Thank you also for some of the font suggestions.

best wishes
Rikki
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Smurf:
[B]Hey rikkisbears,
IThe cache increased as the memory did, it can use up to half of the installed memory.

Hi Frank,
that's pretty impressive.

The larger good quality fonts do sound better, but I'm wondering if they are neccesary for a style?
As I mentioned above, I tried numerous piano's large & small in a few of my piano based styles, and strangely enough the 23mb ( freebie) piano , sounded better
than far larger fonts including some commercial fonts. On the other hand, trying to use it as a melody voice, left a bit to be desired.

I think for me it's going to be a case of putting together my favourite styles and then finding the sounds that blend best.

best wishes
Rikki


[QUOTE]Originally posted by Frank L. Rosenthal:

Rikki, I agree with you. You are going about it the correct way and you have the flexibility to do it your way.