Can't save GS Wavetable Synth as SF2!

All about the SoundFont editor Viena
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JesseRoxII
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2016 5:37 am

Can't save GS Wavetable Synth as SF2!

Post by JesseRoxII »

Hi, I'm new here. I created an account on this forum just so I can ask for help about this one big problem I'm having:

I first downloaded Viena on my old Windows 7 PC, because I needed it to convert the GS Wavetable Synth soundfont "gm.dls" to an sf2, so it can be compatible with VirtualMIDISynth. I imported the sf2 into VMS and it worked just fine. Then my computer's motherboard died, and unfortunately, I didn't backup that sf2 file, so now I have to convert the dls file again on my new computer (which is also Windows 7). I'm doing it the same way I did before: open "gm.dls", save it as "gm.sf2", import it into VMS, play a MIDI file, and... nope! "Error 41 while loading soundfont". :x

Both computers are Windows 7 64-bit, so it's not a problem with my computer. My other soundfonts work just fine, so it's not a problem with VMS. However, I am using a new version of Viena. Maybe it's a bug introduced in the new version.

(By the way, I know I can use GS Wavetable Synth without VMS, but then it won't sound as good because there's no chorus and reverb effects. That's why I wanted to convert it in the first place.)

So, can someone help me fix this? Or if it can't be fixed now, can I get a download link to an older version of Viena?
Admin
Site Admin
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Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:22 am

Re: Can't save GS Wavetable Synth as SF2!

Post by Admin »

Thanks for this information. I will certainly investigate it. In the mean time you might want to try this old conversion:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1733095/GM_DLS.sf2
Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 671
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:22 am

Re: Can't save GS Wavetable Synth as SF2!

Post by Admin »

Actually, I looked more into it. I fired up my good old Windows XP computer with my good OLD SoundBlaster Live! audio board and the very fine SoundFont editor Vienna (by Creative, not to be confused with my own Viena). I quickly found that Vienna could not read ANY SoundFonts created from a DLS file! I even went back in time to the very first Viena version, 0.710, that could handle DLS files, but NO. Not even these SoundFonts were recognized by Vienna. Well, to make a long story short - I very quickly found the flaw and repaired it. Here is a new version of gm.dls:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1733095/gm1dls.sf2

Vienna can read this file, at least.
8Soma
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:42 pm

Re: Can't save GS Wavetable Synth as SF2!

Post by 8Soma »

Apologies for the bump, but I've been having the same issue as this person, but with all .dls files! Whenever I attempt to open it in Viena, it will tell me "Error in file '[file directory]': Missing sound engine info!" However, most of the time I can still open them in Synthfont itself for whatever reason!
8Soma
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:42 pm

Re: Can't save GS Wavetable Synth as SF2!

Post by 8Soma »

This happens with all my dls files. Vienna tells me I can't edit them because of missing sound engine info, yet I can play them in Synthfont just fine!
Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 671
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:22 am

Re: Can't save GS Wavetable Synth as SF2!

Post by Admin »

Sorry! Yes, I understand. SoundFonts proper MUST have the sound engine info sub-chunk, according to the specs - DLS files not. And, oddly enough, many SoundFonts do not include this information simply because it is redundant and deprecated. I have fixed this issue in the new upcoming version 0.996. Here is the latest test version:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cvjunui9my1pc ... G.rar?dl=0
sindyciaray
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2017 10:46 am

Re: Can't save GS Wavetable Synth as SF2!

Post by sindyciaray »

I can play them in Synthfont just fine!
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