Is it me or is the sfz SoundFont Player that comes with Sonar X1C totally sucks? (not sure of the actual version number, it appears hidden)...
 
i.e.
 
Can't open SF2 fonts.
Banks don't seem to load?
Only fonts I can get working are example fonts supplied.
 
http://www.cakewalk.com/DevXchange/article.aspx?aid=108
 
Uninstall? Upgrade?
Thanks
 
Alex

Hi Alex,

If you are running Sonar x64, you have to get SFZ+ from the Cakewalk eStore. It's free, even though you have to log in and get it from the eStore.

Once you install it, make sure you select PR32 under MODE settings. If you don't you will get a message stating 'Insufficient Memory'.

To test to see if it's working without using your keyboard, click on the little thin gray horizontal bar at the bottom of the SFZ+ screen once you get an SFZ/SF2 file loaded. It's a mini keyboard, but the graphics aren't there, it's just a gray bar. Your mouse cursor will turn to a + sign when you hover over it.

Good luck!

Bud - thankyou....!

OK so I downloaded sfz+, and what a rubbish experience!
a) Bundled softsynth with Sonar X1C not working.

b) Update not bundled with X1C

c) Info not exactly prominent about it's replacement.... until Bub came on the scene (thankyou!).

d) Download only available through a cart system for £0.00 (confusing)

e) Opening up a soundfont does not auto detect the correct mode. If you give the wrong mode it sometimes crashes. Yup as Bub says we get "Insufficient Memory" if we do the wrong thing (bug).

e) Installing sfz+101.exe and sfz+DXi101.exe does not prompt to install to the correct folder. (maybe that's by design).

MY PROBLEM RIGHT NOW

f) I've got an extra Synth entry rgc:audio sfx+ which when I attempt to insert states "Failed to insert soft synth". (The other SFx plus DXi (sfz+)) synth works. Not sure how to reinstall, or whether I should just delete it.

Thanks...

Filed another bug report, although I really just pointed them to this thread:
http://www.cakewalk.com/support/contact/Problem-Report-Status.aspx?ID=6147

Alex,

I'm not really sure what you expect.  Soundfonts and soundfont players are pretty old tech.  Some samplers still play them, but from your other post in SONAR I don't know of any program that "makes" them anymore.  Prehaps you should dig up an old creative card and their soundfont program.

I haven't had any problems with SFZ +, esp. considering it is a free program and close to 10 years old.  I'm surprised it continues to work at all.  René did a good job.

AT


Alex, 

Some samplers still play them, but from your other post in SONAR I don't know of any program that "makes" them anymore.  Prehaps you should dig up an old creative card and their soundfont program.

I haven't had any problems with SFZ +, esp. considering it is a free program and close to 10 years old.  I'm surprised it continues to work at all.  René did a good job.

 
I tend to use Kontakt now for the odd occasion I want to open an SF2 file, I have zillions of them and some are still useful. As search on KVR will show SF2 support is pretty thin on the ground these days.
 
These days the bundled SFZ player is just what it says it is a player for SFZ files, not the obsolete SF2 format and it works perfectly with SFZ. IIRC the old 32 bit DXi version used to play SF2 but the later versions do not. I think this is by design and not a bug, however i am not sure why they dropped the feature.
 
SFZ+  only plays SF2 files, not SFZ, this sounds confusing until you realise that it predates the SFZ format by a number of years. It works well enough for me, as long as you remember that PR32 setting.  

 

Glyn,

I'm still on 32 bit and haven't opened a Sound Font in a while.  I did have some good stuff there, but mostly it has been superceeded.  I guess I should check - I had one collection with a bunch of machine sounds where I could "play" a a washingmachine (that was what I called it anyone).  I'll look into the next chance I get.

Thanks for the info.

@

There are some very good String/Fiddle SF2's out there.

www.hammersound.net

All free/open source.

Thanks... noted. My view is there's a lot of free SF2 downloads out there which we can take all advantage of. However I entirely see the perspective and view of people here. I think if software is not working well enough, and you are not putting your resources into it (other things to do), then don't distribute it with Packages like Sonar X1... This only brings the brand name down, and don't even try to market it as a separate entity. Rather throw it up there for free somewhere (like codeplex) and make it open source. Hopefully somebody else will bring it up to scratch.

Thanks for all the advice - I will be following it.

A lot of the older effects/synths are included by cakewalk so that older projects will still load.  I mean, they have the original track comps etc.   I doubt if one in a hundred users use them, but the 99th would scream murder, tho they should easily be able to load it off their old disks. 

It is one of those no win situations for software makers.

@