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Topic: Best soundfonts? (Read 8562 times) previous topic - next topic

Best soundfonts?

Hello all,
Well, I finally started using soundfonts. I have a few organ soundfonts; what are good fonts for orchestral works? For instance, if I want to play the Pomp and Circumstance March (thanks Tina), what do I use, and where do I find it?
TIA
Rob.

Re: Best soundfonts?

Reply #1 –
Hi rob,
...what do I use, and where do I find it?

What is a matter of personal taste - of course

Where is a bit easier - <insert favourite search engine here> is your friend!

Howerver, I think the concensus is Hammersound is one of the best sources of soundfonts on the net - certainly one of the most comprehensive I've found.

Personally I use:
  • a Yamaha softsynth - this synth is a little limited but what it does do, it does very well.
  • Merlin GM pro. (Not sure where I dug it up from, wasn't Hammersound IIRC)
  • the 8MB 8MBGSFX font (shipped with my SB Live IIRC)
  • The General User GS from S. Christian Collins (this is a link to the latest beta of it.  Thankyou Ertugrul for the link)
It all depends on my mood and what I'm listening to which I use, but mostly either the Yamaha or the Merlin.

While no soundfont is going to be perfect, my problem is I've never fount a font that has satisfactory brass (especially trombone) and haven't been able to make the time to learn how to create my own from samples of my own.
I plays 'Bones, crumpets, coronets, floosgals, youfonymums 'n tubies.

Re: Best soundfonts?

Reply #2 –
I have tried 'soundfont' on the forum, and it gives too many answers to check for completenes and up-to-dateness.
Same with Google, a bit. I did try, but I wanted some information from those who use the soundfonts, and like them.
Like you. Thanks.

Re: Best soundfonts?

Reply #3 –
After lots of sampling of soundfonts (I really thought I'd get into them in a big way), I settled for a simple font use, as my midi music playing was too casual to get too upset about it.

1) Get a good general midi font.
Here it really depends on how much memory you've got to "spend". I finally settled on E-mu's 8MBGSFX E-mu Rev B, which at 8MB is very good value for MB used. Sure it has shortcomings, but because my main use is playback of orchestral stuff, everything is lost in the general wash of things anyway, especially with some reverb on it.

2) Get Jeux v1.4 or later for your church organ sounds
And install in bank 42/43

That's all I use.

A

Re: Best soundfonts?

Reply #4 –
PS: I agree with Lawrie that Hammersound is a great resource.

Re: Best soundfonts?

Reply #5 –
Here is a list of what I have been working with:
048_Florestan_Strings
052_Florestan_Ahh_Choir
068_Florestan_Woodwinds
070_Bassoon_Ethan-Nando
bennetng_AnotherGS_v2-0
Cadenza Strings
ensemble violin
German8
JL_Trombone_New
JL_Trumpet
MagicSFver2
merlin_gmv22
PC51d
SymphonicStrings
Tron Strings75
Worshchr

Most of these are on Hammer. The Florestan ones I think have to be got direct from his site.
I use them with a SB live preset to the MagicSF. (69mb)
With Synthfont you can select a particular instrument from any of them.
 

Re: Best soundfonts?

Reply #6 –
.
General User GS is my main SF. On Robert Lim's recommendation, I loaded sYnerGi-8MB on Synth B. Add a few single instruments and organ dumps, here is my current list (second level indentation showing instrument numbers):

SYNTH A:

  • #000 GUGS 1.35
    • #024  QUACK'S NYLON
    • #041  SOLO VIOLA
    • #073  KURZWEIL FLUTEMUMN
    • #075  CLAVIONA PAN FLUTE
  • #010 AWE Organ
  • #042 JEUX
SYNTH B:

  • #000 sYnerGi-8MB
    • #042  WARM CELLO
PS: Will replace the Creative SW Synth's ECW with the 8MB one. Thanks for the reminder, albeit an indirect one. ;)
.