Soundfonts to VST instruments

All about the development and use of SynthFont2
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TheWriter
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2019 11:34 pm

Soundfonts to VST instruments

Post by TheWriter »

I have used Synthfont for a number of years but within a fairly predictable pathway: import scoring software MIDI, work through various Soundfonts and instruments, and then apply a few VST effects.

However, I am looking to upgrade to Garritan Personal Orchestra 5 which, as I understand, uses the ARIA player and can be accessed as VST instruments. How (in practical terms) does the use of VSTi's differ from the soundfont approach? I assume the end product is the same, but I am not clear how the steps to implement VSTi's differ from my already familiar approach. Thanks!
Admin
Site Admin
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Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:22 am

Re: Soundfonts to VST instruments

Post by Admin »

In SynthFont(1/2) you need to do a few things:
1. Register the VST file (a standard Windows DLL file) with SynthFont
2. Assign the VST instrument to a track.
3. Assign instruments/presets or set parameters of the VST instrument.
Press Play!

More details:
1. To register the VST file you need to go to Setup an Options, then to the "VST Instruments" tab. Next you have two options: a) choose a folder where you keep several VST instrument files, if you have them, or, b) (in your case you would) simply press the "Add file" button down left and navigate to the folder where the ARIA player sits. Select the file open and let SynthFont figure it out. When done, close the dialog window.

2. To use a VST instrument for a track you go to the "Plug & Play" page, down to the list of tracks in your MIDI file, select a track and press the "VST Instr" button in the header. A list of VST instruments should appear. Choose the one you need, (Choose "New instance" from the dropdown menu or an already existingh instance - "instance" is just a another word for a copy of a VST open into SynthFont).

3. There might actually be a few more things you might need to do: you might need to setup the VST instrument to play something, for example choose a preset or set parameters. As these settings are solely dependent on the VST instrument I cannot give you more hints. But in order to do any of this you need to open the VST instruments inbuilt editor. You do so by pressing the "VSTI Prog" button in the header. Now the editor should open up and you can do anything you need to do in order to set the VST up running - read the manual.
Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 671
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:22 am

Re: Soundfonts to VST instruments

Post by Admin »

I guess I need to add that VST instruments can seldom be used as replacements for "General Midi" (GM) SoundFonts as they seldom have Presets for all 128 melodic programs + one percussion.
TheWriter
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2019 11:34 pm

Re: Soundfonts to VST instruments

Post by TheWriter »

Thank you!
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