| |
SoundFonts
 When Creative introduced the Sound Blaster AWE32 series based on the EMU8000 chipset, they also introduced SoundFont technology. Wavetable instruments are stored in SoundFont files and uploaded to the sound card when necessary.
Thus, desktop musicans can create and manage a huge library of instrument samples, as well as load them up on demand. This would not be possible with ROM-based wavetable synthesizers where the instruments are fixed.
The SBLive! is able to load and use up to 32MB of SoundFonts. EMU's upcoming APS 2.0 drivers will increase this limit to 2GB, though SBLive! users will have to purchase these drivers since they include functionality that is very useful to musicians, but would be less useful for the general consumers.
General MIDI and GS
As the playback quality depends entirely on the synthesizer, each synthesizer manufacturer also has the liberty to include any type and number of instruments in their products because it is not specified in the MIDI specifications.
However, to allow MIDI files to be distributed and shared among everybody, it is necessary to define a list of instruments that will be available on every MIDI playback device. This list of 128 instruments (and a single drum kit consisting of commonly used drum sounds) is defined under the General MIDI (GM) specifications. It states that instrument number 1 should be a grand piano, while instrument 25 is a nylon guitar, and so on.
The GS standard introduced by Roland is an extension to the GM specifications.
It adds more variation sounds to the 128 instruments already in the GM specifications, as well as adding more drum kits.
The Sound Blaster Live! comes with 2MB, 4MB and 8MB GM SoundFonts. Choose one of these depending on the sound quality and available system memory in you PC. It will be automatically loaded when the system is booted up.
DLS2, DirectMusic and MPEG-4
The MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) based their DLS2 (Downloadable Sounds Level 2) standard on Creative's SoundFont 2.0
specifications. DLS2 aims to provide a universal standard for describing how sound samples are stored. This will allow all compatible sound devices to playback MIDI that uses instruments stored according to the DLS2 specifications.
Some sound cards in the market dp support the first DLS specifications due to its open standard. Creative has done a good thing for the industry by opening up their proprietary SoundFont specifications to contribute to the development of DLS2. By adopting the DLS2 standard, other sound card manufacturers will be able to provide downloadble instruments without infringing on Creative's itellectual property.
Both Microsoft and International Standards Organization (ISO) have selected DLS2 as a standard for the DirectMusic API and MPEG-4 specifications respectively.
Check the musician section for more information on SoundFonts on the Sound Blaster Live!
Links
Articles
Press Release
|
|
| contents |
|
Overview
EMU10K1
tasks performed, upgradability through Live!Ware, open source?
Wave Audio
multi-channel, full-duplex, digital processing & mixing, locking at 48kHz.
3D Audio
positioning, up/down axis, 3D streams, A3D.
Environmental Audio
EAX 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, I3DL2, occlusion, obstructions, EAX in other sound cards.
Music & MIDI
FM & wavetable synthesis, voices, MIDI devices, MIDI channels, MIDI in/out, effects.
SoundFonts
General MIDI, GS, DLS2, DirectMusic, MPEG-4.
|
Our Sponsor:
|
|
Back To Top