Need Better MIDI Sounds

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PhilihP

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Hi! I hope I'm saying this right, I have a new computer with a Soundblaster Live Sound Card. I'm not too thrilled with the card's synthesizer MIDI sounds. I have a Yamaha PSR-520 MIDI keyboard and the MIDI sounds leave a little something to be desired. So how do I get better (Or much better) MIDI sounds, I especially need String Ensemble 1 right now. I have HomeStudio XL, Windows XP, 512 ram, P4, And an 80 gig HD.
Thanks, Phil
 
Phil,
Are you looking for a new sound (other than your soundcard & PSR-520) (or) are you trying to get the PSR sounds in the computer? If you are looking for a new set of sounds you can get a "sound module" with the sound you like and a budget that fits. You already have a midi keyboard so all you have to do is run a midi cable from your PSR to the Module and you will trigger new sounds from it.
Here is a nice sound module that you may like
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JV1010/
 
Jeyan,
Being a newbie, I find this very confusing. I don’t know the difference between a Sound Module, Sampler, Sound Font, Software Synthesizer etc. But I do know how to use my MIDI keyboard and Home Studio XL to get MIDI on the screen and edit it. Things are going quite well and I’m taking it one step at a time. Being unfamiliar with what’s on the market, it seems to me that if I can get better MIDI sounds to work with, I’ll be able to make the song demos I’m looking for. I’m using “String Ensemble” for both notes and chords in the song I’m working on right now, but it sounds kind of fake. The MIDI Drums and Pianos sound fine as they are, but I need for the String Ensemble, Horns, Flute, Sax and a few others to sound closer to the real thing.
Thanks,
Phil
 
Since you have a soundblaster, you already have a sampler (a device that can play back different sounds when a MIDI note is triggered).

All you have to do is load up a new soundfont (set of replacement sounds) for your SBLive card.

The current issue of Computer Music magazine has an article on soundfonts and how to use them. Go to soundfont.com or do a Yahoo or Google search for "soundfont".

There are many, many FREE soundfonts on the Web that will improve your GM Midi sounds and give you the ability to add new sounds to your music:

http://www.thesoundsite.net/

http://www.hammersound.net/
 
I would look into modules as stated once already, or a VST virtual sampler instrument to use with your recording program and get some high quality CD samplers for strings and horns.
 
i would start with SoundFonts....easier to use for beginners and less system issues than softsynths and vst instruments.......

search google for some tutorials and free soundfonts like Tim listed......
 
Need better MIDI sounds

Soundfonts and Sound Modules are a good starting point. I also spoke to a guy at the Guitar Center today who suggested that I get a better keyboard. I went to a music store and tried a pretty cheap $188 MIDI keyboard. I think it sounded just as good or better than my Yamaha PSR-520 which went for around $500 brand new seven years ago.
Thanks,
Phil
 
Someone here just posted a jv1010 for sale. I have one, as many others here do, and I would reccomend it highly for the kind of sounds you need. I bought mine a long time ago for $450 and added a $225 upgrade rom, so I've got almost $700 into it and I'm not sorry.
He's asking $275. don't pay more than $250 though. That's the going price on ebay.
If you just need great out of the box instrument sounds, without much programming capability, I don't know of another module that would suit you better for the price.
It's definitely a best-bang-for-da-buck instrument.
 
Being a newbie, I find this very confusing. I don’t know the difference between a Sound Module, Sampler, Sound Font, Software Synthesizer etc.
Click to expand...

What is a SOUNDFONT ?

Read this thread...
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68359&

How do I use it with Cakewalk ?
And the good thing about this BBS, you don't have to go elsewhere to find Soundfonts tutorial in Cakewalk (SONAR, Home Studio, etc..)...
Go this was...

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=77416&

;)
Jaymz
 
Philip, Hope you got great advice, now you can hunt around for a good sound module (or) soundfont or keyboard. Good Luck! :)
 
I got some great advice here. The soundfonts sound great. I just hope they work well with Home Studio XL.
Thanks again,
Phil
 
Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I've been searching for hours and haven't found exactly what I'm looking for. I think that maybe both my Home Studio XL and SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 soundcard (that came with my new Dell computer) don't support the loading of soundfonts...???
Phil
 
As far as I know, Home Studio supports SoundFonts just like SONAR does... did you look in the help system?

The SoundBlaster Live card certainly supports Sound Fonts. Do you have the Audio HQ utility on your machine? There's a Sound Font loading thing in there, which also allows you to set the size of the memory cache, which can be up to 1/2 your system RAM.
 
I'm not having much luck today. Maybe if I call Creative and Cakewalk I'll get it straightened out. I spoke with a guy from Dell support and all he could do is tell me that I have a SB live 5.1 card. I'm thinking maybe it's a "gamer" card and maybe they don't load soundfonts. All I know is that I'm tired and I'm going out now. I'll check back later.
Phil
 
All SoundBlaster Live models load Sound Fonts, trust me.

Pull down on the Options menu in Home Studio. Does SoundFonts not appear, or is it greyed out?
 
If Dell did an OEM install they may just installed the drivers and the player, and didnt install AudioHQ. But you can download the entire package from Creative or Compaq.
 
AlChuck,
Reading your post was a good way to start off the day. I went to the Creative site yesterday, and to load soundfonts for SB Live they start off by saying “Load your soundfont in Sound Font Control. This can be accessed from the Creative Launcher.” I didn’t find either the creative launcher or the sound font control.

Toki987,
You may be right about AudioHQ not being installed. I’ll look into it.

Thanks,
Phil
 
I spoke to a guy from Cakewalk tech support who directed me to Creative tech support. But he did tell me that the SoundFonts should work with Home Studio XL. He said they must be loaded into the SB Soundcard in order to work. And by the way if I click on “Options” in HS, “SoundFonts” is grayed out. So I called Creative, and the guy from Creative told me to download “SB Live Driver Uni-Pack” from their website. He said it has “Audio HQ” in it. He also said that if I have an OEM card (Which Dell tells me I don’t have), that I should set a “restore point” in my “system restore” in Windows xp. He said sometimes there’s a problem with OEM cards. I haven’t downloaded it yet, but I’ll report back on how I made out.
Phil
 
I downloaded the “SB Live Driver Uni-Pack” from the Creative website and now I have a big problem. You see the guy from Creative said that the download has Audio HQ and should allow me to load soundfonts, which is exactly what I need because the guy from Cakewalk said in order to use soundfonts I need the load them into the SB soundcard. But the guy from Creative warned me that if I have an OEM card (orig. equip. manufact.) I might encounter trouble. So I called Dell support and the guy at Dell said “The card is not an OEM card.” I did the 1 hour 15 min. download and got a message “Setup could not detect any soundblaster audio card on your system…” When I tried to open Home Studio XL I got a message saying “…it was not properly installed …” And besides that, the computer was running extremely slow. Well as it turns out, the card IS an OEM card confirmed by Creative by the numbers on the card. And to make a long story short, after about 5 System Restores, uninstalling and reinstalling both the SB and HS software 3 or 4 times, and a call to Dell support, the computer still isn’t working right. Creative is sending me what they call a “Unified CD for SB 5.1” which may solve the problem. If it doesn’t, Dell is going to send someone to my house with a new hard drive. I’m not happy with Dell.
Phil
 
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