Versilian VSCO and SFZ files

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TheWriter
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2019 11:34 pm

Versilian VSCO and SFZ files

Post by TheWriter »

Before committing to purchasing a sound collection (like GPO), I'm trying the large Versilian VSCO collection (https://vis.versilstudios.com/vsco-community.html).

I have successfully downloaded and unzipped the large (3 gb) file collection (with its prescribed file structure intact), and placed it among my other SF2 files. Synthfont 2 lets me select an instrument in that collection as my sound font (say, OboeSusVib.sfz) and the associated instrument (OboeSusVib) appears as the selected instrument in the SF2 Preset Column.

But no sound from that track when playing, and no other visual indication of activity on it either. Works fine when I revert to an actual SF2. What am I missing re: using SFZ files like this?
Admin
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Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:22 am

Re: Versilian VSCO and SFZ files

Post by Admin »

SFZ files are a bit tricky! The original specs are not always adhered to but sometime new keywords are introduced at random. This is easy to do as the SFZ format is totally open and just a text file. This may cause SynthFont2 not to interpret the SFZ files correctly. I don't know if this is the case now as I do not (yet) have the VSCO collection installed. I'll get back when I know more.
Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 671
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Re: Versilian VSCO and SFZ files

Post by Admin »

Downloaded the "VSCO-2-CE-1.1.0" set of SFZ files and found a bug in SynthFont2. Here is a fixed version for testing:
32-bit version:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8yzdserdqdd4x ... A.rar?dl=0
64-bit version:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8o38r9t1piz3d ... A.rar?dl=0

These files contain only the executables - no setup, no additional files.

I also downloaded one of the virtual instruments versions, the 64 bit "Sketching Orchestra Rompler". Seems to work fine with the 64 bit SynthFont2, but not so well with the 32 bit version of the program. However, there IS a 32 bit version of the plugin as well. Haven't yet tested it.
TheWriter
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2019 11:34 pm

Re: Versilian VSCO and SFZ files

Post by TheWriter »

Wonderful, thanks for testing. I will try the test SF2 version and see what happens!
TheWriter
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2019 11:34 pm

Re: Versilian VSCO and SFZ files

Post by TheWriter »

Progress - I copied the 32-bit executable test version into my current Programs folder, and it works, up to a point. I hear playback from the VSCO SFZ files. My only problem at present is that the SF2 display locks up when I am doing on-the-fly (while playing) selection of a SFZ for a 5th or 6th track. The system completes the playback to the end, but controls and display are locked until it does.

Update: I was able to assign all 10 tracks to SFZ sound files when it wasn't actively playing, and it worked fine without locking up. I also noted a curious time delay that sometimes occurs between assigning a SFZ and hearing it - that might just be my laptop needing time to process things.

Update 2: another curious thing when using the Versilian VSCO and the new SF2 version: final MP3 outputs sometimes have different volume levels among various tracks that those I had set an "proofed" during playthroughs in SF2. Sometimes a track that was too quiet for a time will suddenly get back to normal during MP3 playback. I have never seen this behavior before.
Admin
Site Admin
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Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:22 am

Re: Versilian VSCO and SFZ files

Post by Admin »

SynthFont2 is not optimized for SFZ files. The fact that the audio data is stored in separate files that can be rather large can make SynthFont2 stall for a short while reading the data from disk. This depends totally on the speed of the OS hand the hard disk. Cashing all the audio into memory initially would be the preferred solution. Streaming while playing might also work. But since SFZ seems to remain a marginal effort I have no plans to allocated more time than required to make it work.
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