Soundfonts support

[jeffythedragonslayer]

Does Cakewalk have a way to attach a soundfont to a MIDI track?  I have a SF2 file I would like to compose with.

[John Vere]

Just a heads up Jeff. I don’t think you’ll find a video regarding sound fonts as they are from 2 decades ago and videos made on computers were not as accessible as they are now. 
What is the sound you’re after? Possibly someone here can direct you to a free VST that produces the same sound.  Sort of why nobody uses Sound fonts anymore they were kinda lame like the sounds in the TTS-1 

[Syphus]

1 hour ago, jeffythedragonslayer said:

This is what I typed into Google

Sorry I implied it, but search this forum . . .   At the top of the page, there is a search box.  You might find what you want.

The process is somewhat straight forward . . .  

Get a VST plugin that will play SF2 files - Load it with the sound font you want to use (in Cakewalk) - Use midi to play the sounds

 

 

[RobertWS]

There is a standalone software synthesizer that uses soundfonts:

https://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/virtualmidisynth

 

[sjoens]

I still use them on occasion. And "lame" they are not ? as they use actual samples .

Old Sonic Implants sf2's are now SoniVox vsti's and use the same sample sets.

Here's a quick google search for soundfont players: https://hiphopmakers.com/best-free-soundfont-players-vst-plugin

https://github.com/Birch-san/juicysfplugin/releases/tag/3.0.0.win32

IIRC Sforzando converts sf2 to sfz which isn't always desirable as some are too complex for that.

Edited January 26, 2022 by sjoens

[scook]

On 1/26/2022 at 1:35 PM, jeffythedragonslayer said:

Ah, that explains the lack of tutorials.  I'm trying to use William Kage's 16-bit* soundfonts:

https://www.williamkage.com/snes_soundfonts/

*Not sure if true 16-bit soundfonts even exist but they sound 16-bit.

I'm interested in composing for old video game consoles.  I've heard of C700 but importing an SPC file sounded like overkill, and eventually I want to use my own samples.

The downloads are available as wav+sfz and soundfont.

Download the wav+sfz zips, unzip the files and use sforzando, a free sfz player.

The plug-in works with soundfonts but has to convert them to sfz format first.

When possible, use the native sfz format rather than converted soundfonts.

[Jim Fogle]

Another application that is capable of using soundfonts is VST Synthfont 3

I like it because the developer is still active.  Note it is not free but the price is very reasonable.

[Byron Dickens]

There's really nothing wrong with sound fonts per se. Like any sample-based format, it largely depends on the quality of the samples themselves.

I think perhaps soundfonts have gotten a bad rap from their association with crappy Sound Blaster cards, but there's some pretty decent stuff out there including much of the old E-mu and and Ensoniq sstuf.

[Syphus]

see this:

 

Syphus

[Syphus]

Also, do a search  . . .  I'm sure there is more info in the forums that can help you.

 

Syphus

[jeffythedragonslayer]

9 minutes ago, Syphus said:

Also, do a search  . . .  I'm sure there is more info in the forums that can help you.

This is what I typed into Google:

Quote

site:cakewalk.com "SF2 MIDI"

I'm looking for step-by-step instructions on how to set this up but perhaps no one has written up a tutorial for that yet.

 

[jeffythedragonslayer]

3 hours ago, John Vere said:

Just a heads up Jeff. I don’t think you’ll find a video regarding sound fonts as they are from 2 decades ago and videos made on computers were not as accessible as they are now.

Ah, that explains the lack of tutorials.  I'm trying to use William Kage's 16-bit* soundfonts:

https://www.williamkage.com/snes_soundfonts/

*Not sure if true 16-bit soundfonts even exist but they sound 16-bit.

Quote

What is the sound you’re after? Possibly someone here can direct you to a free VST that produces the same sound.  Sort of why nobody uses Sound fonts anymore they were kinda lame like the sounds in the TTS-1 

I'm interested in composing for old video game consoles.  I've heard of C700 but importing an SPC file sounded like overkill, and eventually I want to use my own samples.

[user 905133]

I started the following draft reply yesterday with plans to first find links to some of the discussions in the forum before posting this.  But I did not have the time to look.  I am posting this now to reinforce what some other users have said and to add this: I specifically recall downloading a number of SF players and editors from one thread I found helpful within the past year or so.  If I stumble onto that thread, I will post a link if it hasn't already been posted in this thread.

ADDENDUM:  BINGO!!  Did a quick search in the forum for "soundfonts" and found this (among other threads).  I think this one has some resources others have not mentioned in response to your Question.

------------------------

Draft of reply from yesterday not previously posted:

On 1/26/2022 at 4:54 AM, Syphus said:

Also, do a search  . . .  I'm sure there is more info in the forums that can help you.

I agree!!!!!  Over the past two years or so, I have read a number of posts in the forum that talk about using SF/SF2s in Cakewalk.  It seems that several people in the forum do use them.  Maybe you could look them up and PM them for additional resources--maybe not videos if there aren't any, but there might be online text-based steps somewhere.

I don't use them, so attaching a soundfont to a MIDI track sounds odd.  As others have pointed out, in Cakewalk users can use software synths to play sounds.

  

Edited January 28, 2022 by User 905133
to add an internal link that might have helpful SF resources

[sjoens]

Don't think it's any different than other methods. Load soundfount into softynth that reads sf2 and assign it to a MIDI track. Simple as that.