Changes

Zynthian currently includes 2 sampler engines:

Zynthian supports soundfonts in various file formats: SF2, SF3, SFZ & GIG

* LinuxSampler => SFZ and GIG soundfont formats

Synth engines in Zynthian support Soundfonts in various file formats.

* LinuxSampler => SFZ & GIG soundfont formats

Zynthian includes the Salamander Piano soundfont in SFZ format. You can use SFZ and GIG fonts with the LinuxSampler engine, 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.

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:  

  /zynthian/zynthian-my-data

  /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts

You need to place GIG files into a subfolder in the Soundfont directory

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

/zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/gig

 

 

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

 

* /zynthian/zynthian-my-data/soundfonts/sfz/strings

 

===Soundfont Editors===

===Soundfont Editors===

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

'''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 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.

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.

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.