PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums RealBand which software midi synth?

The SFZ+ will load soundfonts and there are a lot of good free GM soundfonts out there, but you probably already know that as you use the original free SFZ. I would google something like “SFZ+ professional soundfont player + 64 bit win 7” (no quotes) and see what information is available.

I’m sorry I can’t be more help but I’m still on 32 bit XP and I use BiaB as a scratch pad and bring everything into Sonar. Thus I do not have a lot of experience in what does or what does not work as plugins for PGMusic programs.

Good luck

I have a 64 bit Windows 7 OS and I have been working with TTS-1 and ForteDXi synths in Real Band for a month trying to correct problems I reported in a earlier post in this thread. I now believe it is likely that the TTS has a problem recognizing bank changes in midi files. It seems like almost any bank change can cause an irregularity in the playback of the file AND in subsequent files - at least in my 64-bit W7 system. For example, a file had an MSB: 1 entered on a drum channel. The drums in the next file played were changed to a piano. In another file bank changes on four channels resulted in three of the channels sounding as pianos and the fourth sounding as a fretting sound - the originally set sounds were two guitars, a bass, and strings. When I deleted the bank changes in most cases the irregularities disappeared and subsequent files also functioned properly. In a few files, usually GM2 files, with almost all channels containing bank changes, I was not able to solve the problems - until I exited the virtual synths and played the files with the midi mapper. If the problem on the original file is not corrected in some way it seems that every successively opened file with the same synth installed has instrument changes - usually to piano sounds - like Program 1 was a default if the synth did not recognize the bank change.
So far the only person who has duplicated these problems played the file I forwarded him on his XP system with the TTS and it was fine, but when he changed to the midi mapper and MME the distortions in sound occurred.
ForteDXi admittedly does not recognize all bank changes (mostly effect-like sounds I understand, e.g., thunder) but I have not played a lot of files through Forte so I don't know the extent of the problem there. Another strange occurrence is that when the sounds in a file played through the TTS has bank change problems it can sometimes be corrected by switching to the Forte. Then when you switch back to the TTS, on the same file, the problem is sometimes corrected - like there has been a reset of the instruments.
The sound on the TTS also seems so intense that sometimes high pitched sounds, like hung notes, develop and actually bleed over into the next file if there are inadequate resets at the end and beginning of files. The absence of a zero entry on the end of pitch bend strings also appears to cause problems.
I have been working through these problems one at a time for a month and am learning to live with them - usually by limiting or deleting bank changes or switching to the MME and midi mapper as a last resort. I do not intend to post anymore about the topics as no one else appears to be experiencing them right now and the PG staff apparently has not been able to replicate the problems. I have reported them to Cakewalk/TTS and to the Forte people. But should someone else bump into the same or similar problems I would be happy to discuss them further. I hope no one does. I hope it is a set of problems somehow unique to my system or files. However, the problems have certainly undermined my confidence in my back-up music for performances and it may take some time to restore.

I have seen some of this with TTS in my XP system. Not being a sharp midi guy, I have had no idea why these changes reverted back to what looks like a default setting in TTS. If I remember correctly this is a Roland product to begin with and yes Cakewalk is also now there as well but my point is that the Roland development team might have an insight as to why some of this is happening.
The only thing that might make a difference is if an arrangement in TTS is saved as a preset with a name we might link to a song and called(I don't know if this is possible) at the time of playback.
Maybe someone here who is much more well versed in TTS than I could comment. Wyndham

W.Scott, I just posted a query on the Cakewalk forum based on my above post here. Hope we will get an answer that may show a setting or method to help. Wyndham

I want to thank everyone here who has reviewed and made such helpful comments about the TTS problems I have discussed in earlier posts. But I think Andrew has found the solution and the cause. Let me try to explain it simply - as I am not knowledgeable enough to explain it in the proper technical terms. Please forgive any slight errors.

Essentially the TTS does not change automatically from GM2 to GS mode when a SysEx msg is sent (my external SD-20 does). Roland says soft synths do not recognize any SysEx msgs. When Real Band opens a midi file it usually strips the bank change controllers from the event list and puts the information in the patch dialog area (altho sometimes some MSB or LSB contollers are not stripped and remain in the event list). TTS is by default in the GM2 mode (although you can manually change it to GS, etc), so any GS bank change msg can cause problems.

So, improper or incomplete bank change settings in the midi files can cause the TTS to go to its default settings with certain MSB contoller numbers (other than 120 for drums and 121 for all other instruments). The default settings in TTS in this situation are PC 1 (piano) -unless you have manually changed it to something else on a channel by channel basis. So your instrument can be automatically changed to a piano or, ocassionally, something else, by the TTS when it gets an improper bank change controller.

So I need to go back into all the files and make sure I am getting the right bank change msgs to the TTS. I have a list of all the GS and GM2 bank change possiblities. I suppose that is all as clear as mud! Sorry.

As to the possibility of pitch changes distorting sounds, the TTS help file says if you have sound troubles with the TTS turn down the volume. I initially had my lappy sound set to 100%, but I have turned it down. Andrew says about the only problem people have with pitch bend is failing to enter a zero at the end of the pitch bend strings. I found many such situations in the midi files I have. I think it can lead to the bleeding of sound into the next file played if the proper resets are not entered. And it seems like many programers no longer bother with resets.

Of course, if there is an improper bank change msg on a channel with pitch bend I assume you can get unusual results.

I know I will have more problems of various kinds, but now, thanks to all of you, I feel like I have many new friends who will probably be able to help me find a solution to any problem!

Thank you all very much! Scott