Updating my General MIDI soundfont.

[Golbez]

Greetings everyone. I think I have a pretty unique MIDI question, so hopefully I've come to the right place. This post is going to be part tutorial and part research. I have successfully upgraded my MIDI patch, though I do not know all the details encompassing the process, such as how it may vary for different OSs or sound cards. My impression is that it is soundcard-specific, so I should mention that this process is for Creative Audigy soundcards. And ultimately what I'd like to get out of this post, aside from helping others be able to update their MIDI sound font, is maybe a list of higher end soundfonts that can replace what I understand to be the stock MIDI sound. So let's begin the process (and do so by assuming you have the same sound card as me, for again, I don't know any other method):

First, select Start -> Control Panel -> Audio HQ


Then double click the Sound Font icon.


And in this panel is where we do our manipulations. Perhaps the first thing you want to check out is the Options tab. Under SoundFont Device, in my case, I have SB Audigy Synth A and B [9000], and they seem to have equivalent setups, and I can adjust each one individually.

Also here, you can control how much RAM you dedicate to processing the synth font. Selecting "too much" does not waste the memory. It will be used by other processes as necessary, but ensures you have enough to not slow down the production of sound.


Next, we go back to the first tab, Configure Bank, and find our default MIDI sound bank: here named "4mb GMGSMT," but you can find the file itself under C:\Windows\System32\CT4MGM.sf2


Now the help file suggests not to clear this as it will remove any customizations you may have performed on this set. I guess its implied alternative is to select the pull down menu for "Select Bank" and choose the 001 [Empty] slot, and simply add your new font to that. It's a process they call "stacking".


I kindly ignore this message and remove the default sound font, and replace it with the upgraded sound font. Click on the Bank Stack item and choose "clear" then "load," or simply "replace." Now find and select your font.


The last step to ensuring your new sound font is in place and working okay is to verify that in this general MIDI bank, you have all the same instruments as the standard font. There are 128 of them. Do this by choosing the 2nd tab, Configure Instrument, where you can choose the Select Instrument pull-down menu and see to it that all the instruments are there.


In my case, I have replaced the SB Audigy Synth B [9000] Soundfont Device soundfont, from the stock 4mb GMGSMT, to this 8mb upgrade I found online here, courtesy of this site. (I assure you this isn't spam, and I'm not affiliated with that site in anyway. Plus, it's megaupload; what is there to advertise? Mod's if you're still afraid, please remove either link. I was merely crediting the source. I'm still very interested in additional GMs like it.) There are some obvious differences to the electric guitar, strings, and violin instruments. Some instruments sound the same. I haven't fully tinkered with all of them just yet, but I like that the option even exists.

So now, what I'm hoping to achieve through this thread is getting really high end soundfonts that work. The 8mb soundfont is a step up, I think, though I have a general instrument font that is nearly 100 mb, but can't get that one to load. So that's the next kink to work out, and I hope to get some interest in this that can perhaps figure out why it's not working. So please let me know what you guys think.