Usertip - Using Soundfonts with SB Live! Cards and Accessing them from NWC

Thursday, 3 July 2008

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Using Soundfonts with SB Live! Cards and Accessing them from NWC
User Tip #: 101 Offered By: Ertugrul iNANÇ Last Modified: 2002-09-13 20:14:08

First of all, you should be using the correct MIDI port with NWC. Go to Tools > Options > MIDI; remove anything on the right panel by double-clicking; now again by double clicking, add the following devices from the left panel in this order:

A: SB Live! MIDI Synth
B: SB Live! MIDI Synth
Creative S/W Synth and the rest (if any)

If you wish your external midi players (Winamp, Vanbasco, WMP, Noteworthy Player etc.) to use the sound font enabled device, too, then run Control Panel > Multimedia > MIDI and select A: SB Live! MIDI Synth as the preferred device.

Now, let's find some soundfonts and use them.

Instead of loading singular instruments, I recommend installing a full set such as General User GS which I use. Let's install it together as an example:

Run the Soundfont applet, which lies on your Creative Launcher > Audio HQ or Start > Programs > Creative > SB Live! > Audio HQ. The 4 MB EMU sf set must have been already installed there. Select it and click "Replace..." Locate the GUGS set on your HD (it should have been unpacked) and load it. Before that, don't forget to increase your "static caching" to -say- 35 MB. Now, you have installed a full set of GM/GS instruments using several banks.

Let's suppose that you don't like one or more instruments from GUGS (I don't). Say, you found a better solo viola than that included with it (I did!). You can replace one or more instruments within a set. Let's go to "Configure Instrument" tab. From the "select instrument" dropdown list find Viola. Click "Load" and locate your new Viola on our HD. Viola! You have replaced a single instrument within a set.

Let's go further and install the wonderful Jeux Organ soundfont set. We need to find an appropriate (empty) bank to load it. Go to "Configure bank" tab; find an "Empty" bank in the bi("Select Bank") dropdown list and click it. Now "load" your Jeux following the same procedure you've done twice so far.

What about acessing Jeux from NWC?

From "Staff Properties > Instrument" or "Insert > Instrument", check "Controller 0" and set its value to the bank number you have just installed Jeux. (In my case, it's 40.) Now, set the patch list to either 0 based or Jeux if you already manipulated nwcpatch.ini as required. So that you can select your desired instrument.

I hope the examples make it clearer. Refer also to the screenshots and don't hesitate contacting me for further assistance.

You will also get constructive assistance on The Soundfont Newsgroup

***Information Update about WinXP***

The new WinXP drivers of SB Live! enable independent usage of the A: and B: synths, which means that you can load and access seperate soundfont banks with the two ports. Given that you have enough system RAM, that's a really useful feature. However, it's not sufficiently documented. Thanks to Kenneth Rundt at the Soundfont Newsgroup, who pointed it.

MIDI Mapper configuration slightly changed with XP. You'll need to follow this route:

Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices > Audio

Win XP also provides a MIDI port named "Microsoft GS Synthesizer".

HTH.

PS: General User GS soundfont set can be downloaded for free from Original SoundFont Banks, where a tutorial on installation also exists.

tip101.zip [141 KB]

User Comments

From: Fred Nachbaur
When: 6 Years Ago

Good tip! As a side-note, if you use Irfanview as your default image viewer for gif, jpg, etc. it will rename as needed automatically, even from with the WinZip environment; just let Winzip open it, and double-click on the filename.

From: NoteWorthy Online
When: 6 Years Ago

Ertugrul, I went ahead and fixed your ZIP file, making it a proper JPG. The attachment mechanism now also allows a ZIP file to have a JPG file in it.

From: Ertugrul iNANÇ
When: 6 Years Ago

Thanks for the .jpg addition.

Thanks also for the Irfanview info.