best sound for Backing tracks

[seant1]

Hi,
I am using an hp notebook and would like to make the general midi sounds way better. I want to use the midi tracks I have that are general midi for live performances but the sounds aren't good on the computer. What is the best procedure for me to make this happen. Do I want to load a general midi sound library and how do i do that or is it better to get an external module and what is the best midi software I should use for this task. I would also like to create some tracks in these files that turn on/off a vocal harmonizer.
Thanks

 

[Seafroggys]

Basically, ditch general midi and run the midi tracks through sound fonts. There's a great vst soundfont wrapper called sfz, make sure to get the modded version that runs on multi-core machines. Then look online and start collecting sound fonts!

 

[gcolbert]

My first question would be do you really want to do this live? Your best option is to 'record' your MIDI files as MP3s or wav files and then just play them using the Windows media player. Keep things simple on the stage and you will be embarrassed less often.

The SFZ font player recommendation is a great idea, Almost any of the current samplers or synths are going to give you better results than any of the GM synths that I have heard. Check out Reaper (to drive SFZ) or Cakewalk's Music Creator 6 ($40 US) for hosts for the VST (VSTs need a host program). The TTS-1 synth or the Studio Instruments in MC6 will give you good results (it will host SFZ as well). Get your MIDI project the way you want it then save the results to an MP3 or .wav for use on the stage.

If you have a need to drive MIDI on the stage (turn on/off a vocal harmonizer?) you can do this with Reaper or MC6, but a simple audio track that was pre-mastered will be more dependable than trying to sequence all the tracks through a sound font on the stage.

Glen