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I'm just curious about who in the PG community is using soundfonts instead of GM.



I still use mostly soundfonts, and I know there are a few others here. Ten years back, it was sensationally common practice, but people now seem mostly to have lost the art. Soundfonts are old sampling technology, more than good enough for unexposed accompaniment. But often, they're not detailed enough to make satisfying solo instruments. You'll have something to learn if you decide to use them, but it has advantages.

You're going to stay confused, though, unless you correct that one bit oif terminology in your mind: General Midi is a way of organizing 128 sounds in a multitimbral bank intended to cover basic needs. It's not any particular type of sound-producer, and it is not a class of sound, good or bad. It's a just a filing scheme.

The VSC was a General MIDI device, and so is the Ketron SD 2. You can easily find a nice-quality General MIDI Soundfont, then use it as is; it contains all the commonly needed instruments. Vienna -- among other things -- enables you to replace individual instruments later with ones you like better. Heavy editing of each sound is possible. In these respects, a Soundfont bank is flexible, unlike a Hardware module, whose sounds must generally stay as they came from the factory.


Another approach: If you did really like the VSC, you can cheaply upgrade for your new OS with a much-improved Edirol version that has gone under two names, each with the same soundset:

Edirol Hyper Canvas (discontinued but upgradeable to 64 bit if you already have an old copy around)
Cakewalk TTS-1 (64 bit, provided as a freeby add-in to Cakewalk products like the $40 Music Creator 5 sold by PG Music)

Last edited by allis; 04/24/10 03:58 PM.
Larry
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