Difference between revisions of "Sound Fonts"

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Currently 2 sampler engines are included in Zynthian:
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Zynthian supports soundfonts in various file formats: SF2, SF3, SFZ & GIG
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* LinuxSampler => SFZ and GIG soundfont formats
+
There are 3 sampler engines:
−
* FluidSynth >= SF2 soundfont format
 
  
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Synth engines in Zynthian support Soundfonts in various file formats.
+
* LinuxSampler => SFZ & GIG soundfont formats
 +
* Sfizz => SFZ & GIG soundfont formats
 +
* FluidSynth >= SF2 & SF3 soundfont format
  
−
Zynthian includes the Salamander Piano soundfont in SFZ format. It's >1 GB! You can use SFZ and GIG font with the LinuxSampler engine, that reads the samples directly from the SD card, preloading only a small part of the file and using an advanced caching system. In that way you can use a soundfont bigger than the available amount of RAM.
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You can use SFZ and GIG fonts with the '''LinuxSampler''' & '''Sfizz''' engines, which reads the samples directly from the SD card, preloading only a small part of the file using an advanced caching system. That way you can use a soundfont bigger than the available amount of RAM. For loading SF2 & SF3 sounfont files you should use the FluidSynth engine.
  
 
Soundfont files are typically stored in this directory on your Zynthian:  
 
Soundfont files are typically stored in this directory on your Zynthian:  
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  /zynthian/zynthian-my-data
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  /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts
  
−
One needs to place GIG files into a subfolder in the
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You have a subfolder for each soundfont type. Like this:
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/zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/gig
 
  
 +
* /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sf2
 +
* /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sfz
 +
* /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/gig
 +
 +
And inside the ''sfz'' & ''gig'' subfolders there are "bank" subfolders, like this:
 +
 +
* /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sfz/bass
 +
* /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sfz/keys
 +
* /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sfz/pads
 +
* /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sfz/strings
 +
* etc.
 +
 +
Note that inside ''sf2'' subfolder there is no banks because every "sf2" file is considered a bank on its own.
 +
 +
===Soundfont Editors===
 
A soundfont editor for quickly designing musical instruments. More than a simple editor, Polyphone has been designed to efficiently deal with big sets of instruments involving a large amount of data. Supports sf2, sf3, sfz or sfArk (all versions). Oh, and it is free! http://polyphone-soundfonts.com/en/  
 
A soundfont editor for quickly designing musical instruments. More than a simple editor, Polyphone has been designed to efficiently deal with big sets of instruments involving a large amount of data. Supports sf2, sf3, sfz or sfArk (all versions). Oh, and it is free! http://polyphone-soundfonts.com/en/  
  
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Also Viena soundfont editor http://www.synthfont.com/VienaSetup.exe1 from the SynthFont site http://www.synthfont.com
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Also Viena soundfont editor from the SynthFont site http://www.synthfont.com
  
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How much time does it take for a preset of instrument to load? (for fast changes in live perfomance)
+
===FAQ===
 +
'''How much time does it take for a preset of instrument to load?''' (for fast changes in live perfomance)
  
−
This depends on the engine, the preset (how many plugins) and the data itself: If you have a huge SF2 the loading of the fluidsynth takes only a few seconds (perhaps 1-3s?) and loading of a big SF2 takes about 30 seconds? If you use MOD-UI as engine and your pedalboard has 20 plugins this will also take some time to load - especially if you use inside the plugins bigger SF2 soundfonts... you will have to test this by yourself - sorry. Have in mind: normally Zynthian loads all from SD card - this is not as fast as HDD/SSD! Fast live-switching (inside a song) is AFAIK not really working, but you can organize your sounds for being in "standby" and switching between them.
+
This depends on the engine, the preset (how many plugins) and the data itself: If you have a huge SF2 the loading of the fluidsynth takes only a few seconds (perhaps 1 to 3 seconds) and loading of a big SF2 takes about 30 seconds. If you use MOD-UI as engine and your pedalboard has 20 plugins this will also take some time to load - especially if you use the plugins bigger SF2 soundfonts. you will have to test this by yourself. Keep in mind: normally Zynthian loads everything from an SD card - this is not as fast as HDD/SSD. Fast live-switching (inside a song) is solved by having your sounds in "standby" and switching between them using MIDI program change + ZS3 subsnapshots.
  
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If you use the original samples from the Korg 01/WR or equivalent (same size aprox.), you can have a lot of instruments loaded in the Zynthian's memory. Zynthian has 1 GB memory, what is a lot more than Korg 01/WR. Also, SSD access is faster than 90's ROMs chips.
+
If you use the original samples from the Korg 01/WR or equivalent (same size aprox.), you can have a lot of instruments loaded in the Zynthian's memory. Zynthian has 1 GB memory, which is a lot more than Korg 01/WR. Also, SSD access is faster than 90's ROMs chips.
  
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I recommend you to take a look to LinuxSampler MIDI maps, althought it's not currently implemented in Zynthian, you could make a customized Zynthian version that loads a LinuxSampler MIDI map in startup, so you will have all the mapped instruments ready to use.
+
I recommend you to take a look to LinuxSampler MIDI maps, although it's not currently implemented in Zynthian, you could make a customized Zynthian version that loads a LinuxSampler MIDI map in startup, so you will have all the mapped instruments ready to use.
  
−
Anyway, small SFZs loads really fast, so you could try with the normal setup (no MIDI maps) first.
+
At the end of the day, small SFZs load really fast, so you could try with the normal setup (no MIDI maps) first.
  
−
Regarding compression, SFZ don't use compression. It uses standard wav files for samples. The SFZ file itself is an XML description of how to use the wav files. AFAIK SF2 and GIG doesn't compress sound. It pack the samples inside, with the meta-info about how to use the samples.
+
'''Regarding compression,''' SFZ don't use compression. It uses standard wav files for samples. The SFZ file itself is an XML description of how to use the wav files. SF2 and GIG doesn't compress sound. It packs the samples inside, with the meta-info about how to use the samples.
  
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=Links to soundfonts=
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=Soundfont Collection Links=
  
 +
* Bandshed http://www.bandshed.net/sounds/sfz/
 
* Collection of soundfonts for Zynthian https://mega.nz/#F!xCggCSpY!syE7iSgevf2PnLjXXSQxiw
 
* Collection of soundfonts for Zynthian https://mega.nz/#F!xCggCSpY!syE7iSgevf2PnLjXXSQxiw
 
* Lots of links http://www.synthfont.com/links_to_soundfonts.html
 
* Lots of links http://www.synthfont.com/links_to_soundfonts.html
Line 52: Line 69:
 
* Michael Picher Collection https://www.michaelpichermusic.com/virtual-instruments
 
* Michael Picher Collection https://www.michaelpichermusic.com/virtual-instruments
 
* Patch Arena http://patcharena.com/downloads/index.php?subcat=168
 
* Patch Arena http://patcharena.com/downloads/index.php?subcat=168
 +
* RK Hive Collection http://rkhive.com/
 +
* FLT Studio https://www.flstudiomusic.com/category/soundfont
 +
* AngelFire Collection http://www.angelfire.com/goth/TOX/tti.html
 +
* CompiFont http://pphidden.wixsite.com/compifont
 +
* Aria Engine http://ariaengine.com/free-sfz-sounds/
 +
* Free Sample Packs https://free-sample-packs.com/tag/sfz/
 +
* Big Cat Lists http://bigcatlists.blogspot.com/2014/05/totally-free-instrument-by-type.html
 +
* LinuxSampler List https://linuxsampler.org/instruments.html
 +
* Music Production HQ http://musicproductionhq.com/free-sample-libraries/
 +
* Cymatics List https://cymatics.fm/blog/soundfonts/
 
* These years I've researched few iconic sample libraries from vintage samplers like Fairlight CMI, Kurzweil, Casio FZ, Ensoniq Mirage, Roland. All straight from disk, converted to Commodore Amiga suitable format (8bit). Note: They're older than 25 years, but some of these samples still can be copyrighted. You might not use these for commercial purposes, intended for studying, teaching, research and historic interest (FAIR USE). https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxJms1Iu8GIicktfWHh2U2s2V2s74
 
* These years I've researched few iconic sample libraries from vintage samplers like Fairlight CMI, Kurzweil, Casio FZ, Ensoniq Mirage, Roland. All straight from disk, converted to Commodore Amiga suitable format (8bit). Note: They're older than 25 years, but some of these samples still can be copyrighted. You might not use these for commercial purposes, intended for studying, teaching, research and historic interest (FAIR USE). https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxJms1Iu8GIicktfWHh2U2s2V2s74
 
**CONTENTS:
 
**CONTENTS:

Latest revision as of 10:30, 24 October 2022

Zynthian supports soundfonts in various file formats: SF2, SF3, SFZ & GIG There are 3 sampler engines:

  • LinuxSampler => SFZ & GIG soundfont formats
  • Sfizz => SFZ & GIG soundfont formats
  • FluidSynth >= SF2 & SF3 soundfont format

You can use SFZ and GIG fonts with the LinuxSampler & Sfizz engines, which reads the samples directly from the SD card, preloading only a small part of the file using an advanced caching system. That way you can use a soundfont bigger than the available amount of RAM. For loading SF2 & SF3 sounfont files you should use the FluidSynth engine.

Soundfont files are typically stored in this directory on your Zynthian: 

/zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts

You have a subfolder for each soundfont type. Like this:

  • /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sf2
  • /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sfz
  • /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/gig

And inside the sfz & gig subfolders there are "bank" subfolders, like this:

  • /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sfz/bass
  • /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sfz/keys
  • /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sfz/pads
  • /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sfz/strings
  • etc.

Note that inside sf2 subfolder there is no banks because every "sf2" file is considered a bank on its own.

1 Soundfont Editors

A soundfont editor for quickly designing musical instruments. More than a simple editor, Polyphone has been designed to efficiently deal with big sets of instruments involving a large amount of data. Supports sf2, sf3, sfz or sfArk (all versions). Oh, and it is free! http://polyphone-soundfonts.com/en/

Also Viena soundfont editor from the SynthFont site http://www.synthfont.com

2 FAQ

How much time does it take for a preset of instrument to load? (for fast changes in live perfomance)

This depends on the engine, the preset (how many plugins) and the data itself: If you have a huge SF2 the loading of the fluidsynth takes only a few seconds (perhaps 1 to 3 seconds) and loading of a big SF2 takes about 30 seconds. If you use MOD-UI as engine and your pedalboard has 20 plugins this will also take some time to load - especially if you use the plugins bigger SF2 soundfonts. you will have to test this by yourself. Keep in mind: normally Zynthian loads everything from an SD card - this is not as fast as HDD/SSD. Fast live-switching (inside a song) is solved by having your sounds in "standby" and switching between them using MIDI program change + ZS3 subsnapshots.

If you use the original samples from the Korg 01/WR or equivalent (same size aprox.), you can have a lot of instruments loaded in the Zynthian's memory. Zynthian has 1 GB memory, which is a lot more than Korg 01/WR. Also, SSD access is faster than 90's ROMs chips.

I recommend you to take a look to LinuxSampler MIDI maps, although it's not currently implemented in Zynthian, you could make a customized Zynthian version that loads a LinuxSampler MIDI map in startup, so you will have all the mapped instruments ready to use.

At the end of the day, small SFZs load really fast, so you could try with the normal setup (no MIDI maps) first.

Regarding compression, SFZ don't use compression. It uses standard wav files for samples. The SFZ file itself is an XML description of how to use the wav files. SF2 and GIG doesn't compress sound. It packs the samples inside, with the meta-info about how to use the samples.

3 Soundfont Collection Links

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