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Is a soundfont a sample? How big are they? I'm running out of room here for big files. Are they resource hogs or cpu intensive? Just want to know what I'm getting into before I delve into this. Thanks for your help.


An entire soundfont GM library can be quite large. I think I've seen some over 1gb. If you don't need the entire library, individual soundfonts can be loaded. The Coyote Forte uses soundfonts. The largest soundfont in that library is the grand piano at around 35 mb. Less complex sounds are much smaller.

I don't think soundfonts are any more cpu intensive than the Roland VSC or Coyote Forte DXi modules. They will take up memory as they are loaded. When using Forte, my BIAB uses less than 250mb for everything. Other GM soundfont libraries I have used have seen the memory use go up to over 1gb. If you go the soundfont route, the trick is to only load the instruments to use, not an entire GM library unless you have ample memory.

There are some very nice soundfonts out there. If you have not checked out Forte, you may want to take a listen. I use it for most of the remaining Midi needs I have.

As mentioned earlier, the http://www.synthfont.com/ page is a great place to start.

Rachael