|
High-End System (PC):
Multi-channel audio card
LiveSynth Pro Software Synth
SONAR MIDI/Audio Sequencer
SONiVOX SoundFonts
Medium-End System (PC):
Creative Labs Soundblaster Audigy Card
SONAR MIDI/Audio Sequencer
SONiVOX SoundFonts
Alternate Medium-End System (PC):
Any brand stereo soundcard
Vsampler 3.0 (or later) Software Synth
SONAR MIDI/Audio Sequencer
SONiVOX SoundFonts
Medium-End System (Mac):
Any brand stereo soundcard
Software Synth capable of importing the Soundfont format
MIDI/Audio Sequencer for Apple
SONiVOX SoundFonts
Budget System (PC):
Creative Labs Soundblaster Live! Card (any model)
Cakewalk Home Studio or Music Creator
SONiVOX SoundFonts
Hardware versus
Software issues for playing back Soundfonts
If you have a Creative Labs card capable of playing back Soundfonts,
you are assured of complete compatibility. (After all, the Soundfont
spec was created by Creative Labs to support those Soundcards). If
you want to use a different soundcard, then you will need to have a
software synth that is capable of loading and playing back Soundfont
files. With the increasing popularity of the Soundfont spec, more
and more software programs are adding the ability to import and play
Soundfonts. However, in our experience, many of these programs do
not accurately import all the programming parameters. They typically
will import the sample data and keymapping info correctly, but the
various programming parameters, such as filter and envelope
settings, fine tuning, etc., may not correctly be imported. If you
are planning on getting a software program to play Soundfont files,
you may want to check with the manufacturer to find out exactly how
much info they import.
Software Recommendations
If you are going to be using a software synth on a PC, Sonic
Implants recommends using
Vsampler 3. It does an excellent job of importing all the
programming parameters accurately. It includes VSTi and Dxi
compatible plug-ins, plus a stand-alone application. The Dxi version
of Vsampler is included with
SONAR Producer Edition.
Another program that works well is Live Synth Pro, which is a Dxi
plug-in. Unfortunately Live Update, the company that created
LiveSynth Pro, is out of business. A time limited demo version of
Live Synth Pro is included on the SONAR 2.0 CD-ROM, along with demo
versions of some of our Soundfont products. But since Live Update is
out of business, there is no way to purchase the fully functional
version any more.
If
you have another software sampler that you like working with and it
does not import the soundfont format correctly, you want to try
working with a sampler format conversion program, to convert from
the soundfont format to another format that imports better in your
software sampler. Two programs that we have used are
CDXtract and
Translator.
|
