Quick start

To add a SoundFont using MPTK, simply follow these steps:

• Download a SoundFont from the large number of web site which propose SoundFont .
• Go to the menu Maestro Unity menu: SoundFont Setup
  • Click on button Import SoundFont
  • Click on Button Extract All Presets
• And that’s all!

Now, you will require more detailed information to fully understand your actions. Therefore, please take the time to read through this page carefully.

What is a SoundFont?

The MPTK synthesizer utilizes SoundFonts, which are libraries containing samples for various instruments such as piano, saxophone, drums, etc. The instructions for using these sounds across different keys, velocities, effects, and controllers are rather intricate. Fortunately, Maestro hide the complexity.

A SoundFont can contains hundreds samples and instruments. Moreover hundreds SoundFont are available on the web!!! for free or not, with different styles (general, classic, jazz, electro, hip hop, …), with different quality and size. The possibilities are huge, quite infinite!

SoundFont(R) is a registered trademark of E-mu Systems, Inc.

Tip: the Free version of Midi Player Tool Kit use the SoundFont GeneralUser GS v1.471 from Christian Collins site. It’s a SoundFont with a good balancing between size and quality.

Maestro Midi Player Tool Kit Pro is able to use others SoundFonts, remove samples not used, load and switch between SoundFont when your application is playing in a build or in the editor:

• Keep only banks of interest for your application.
• Analyze your Midi files to keep only necessary samples.
• API to load SoundFont when running.
• API to switch between SoundFont.

So, you keep a low volume of files for your application or game.

Download SoundFonts

Find and download interesting SoundFonts here:

• GeneralUser GS v1.471 from Christian Collins site
• Polyphone sorted by category and search engine.
• Ultimate List of Free Soundfonts
• Cymatics
• Soundfonts 4U
• Windows_midi Interesting SF, to be downloaded from “Alternate File Sources”.

Create or Modify SoundFonts

Please note that Maestro does not provide comprehensive editing functions for SoundFonts. This is because there are powerful, often free, tools available for in-depth modification of SoundFonts. However, Maestro can optimise the contents of SoundFonts.

Consider these two applications for editing SoundFonts:

• Viena. Free and exhaustive functions. Interesting also for understanding how works a synthesizer based on SoundFont.
• Polyphone. Free and easy-to-use. Perfect for copy / paste presets between SoundFonts. Also there is an On-line SoundFonts repository with a powerful search engine. A must have!

Tips: Consider using a General Midi SoundFont for access to a wide range of instruments and compatibility with the Midi standard.

Add a new SoundFont to Maestro Pro

• Download SoundFont on your computer from a web site, see example bellow.
• Go to the menu Unity menu MPTK  “SoundFont Setup”

This popup windows is displayed  (empty if no SoundFont already exists):

See bellow, the description of each panel of this window.

Panel “SoundFont available”

This panel displays the available SoundFonts for your project. You can add, remove, or select a SoundFont. For each SoundFont, you can see the number of presets (instruments), the number of samples, and the total size.

• Download SoundFont, visit this page to access useful links for finding and downloading SoundFonts, including the default SoundFont utilized by the free MPTK version.
• Import SoundFont, select a SoundFont from your computer (filename of type .sf2). A first and quick analysis is done. Any samples are extracted, another step is needed. See “extract All”.
• ? This page!

In the SoundFonts list:

• Default / Select: select the default SoundFont for playing MIDI files; only one SoundFont may be active at a time. However, the default SoundFont can be changed while running. Refer to the API documentation for details.
• X : delete definitively the SoundFont and all samples associated to it .

Panel “Banks available“

A SoundFont is composed of banks, each bank contains a set of preset, each preset can play one or more samples regarding the velocity and the key number, simultaneously or not … It’s a complex structure, happily, Maestro hides this complexity.

How that works?

If a MIDI sequence does not contain a “Bank Select” message, which is common, default banks will be selected by MPTK.

You can manage bank accounts using the top right sub-windows:

• In the Keep column, deselect the checkboxes to remove a bank. This action will strip away the associated presets and waves.
• In the Instrument column (for chromatic instruments), select your default bank as Piano, Sax, Organ, or Guitar. The first bank typically contains a good selection of presets.
• In the Drum column (percussion instrument): select your default bank for the Drum Kit sound, which is typically the last bank.

Tip: If you’re not hearing drums while playing a MIDI file, first check to ensure that the correct bank is selected for the percussion instruments.

Panel “Extract Presets & Samples”

It’s the last step: choose the samples format and extract samples from the SoundFont. In doubt, keep the default value. Some choice could created unwanted results!

You can either optimize your presets list based on the MIDI files added to MPTK MIDI db or acquire all available presets and samples. If uncertain, opt for obtaining all.

• Button Extract Only Required Presets: each MIDI files in your MIDI db (see Midi File Setup) are analyzed to detect presets and samples used. Presets and samples not used are stripped from the SoundFont to reduce the size of your project.
• Button Extract All Presets: keep all presets and samples from the selected banks.

Check that you have patches and samples after the extraction

Warning: Extracting samples can take a while if the SoundFont is huge. From some seconds to tens of minutes. During this extraction, the Unity editor is locked and don’t react to your input. Be patient! This action is only necessary at the first loading of a SoundFont.

When done, the left right sub panel displays some information about the extraction. You can save logs, open folder with the logs, clear the logs.

Tips:

• Free MPTK is published with the SoundFont “GeneralUser_GS_SoftSynth_v144”. It’s a free sound font with a good balancing between size and quality but you can’t change it.
• Please note that Pro MPTK does not contain SoundFont and MIDI. The objective is to ensure that your project is not affected when you update MPTK. Should you wish to use the same SF as with the free version, we would recommend visiting the excellent Christian Collins’s site.
  • Christian Collins site here 
  • and search for GeneralUser GS SoftSynth version 1.44.
• Demo video here
• Don’t forget to ask authorization for copyrighted resources!