I use SF's all the time actually because quite a bit of my library was created by me. I first sampled all the sounds I wanted to use, made them the correct level etc and used Creative's Vienna software to turn them into SF's. There is now another version of Viena (1 "n" I think) that you can download for free that works just like the Creative version and even looks like it that can be used on XP and Vista. From there, once they are saved into SF format, I can run them into sfz or Live Synth Pro which was what I used before sfz was a part of Sonar.

Of course I just use most of these for quickie ideas these days, or maybe for a piano or synth sound, but I have loads of drums as well. The thing that pretty much stopped me from using them as much as I used to for drums was the ability to load my samples into Drumagog and even BFD 2. This opens up more doors for individual tracks etc. But yeah, they still get quite a bit of use here on this end and if you create them good enough, they can sound incredible. I've actually had better luck with the ones that I've made vs. the ones you pay for. :)

Shane_B.

rbowser


Sure, Sound Fonts aren't an extinct tool.  I'm use the now-free SFZ+ in my current project, using some Sound Factory SF2 sets.  The SFZ+ is nice since you have so many parameter controls to work with, making the Fonts much more adaptable to your needs than the original one-shot SFZ player.  Nothing wrong with SFs!

Randy B.

 
I got all excited after reading your post Randy. I downloaded SFZ +, which BTW is a PITA, and rushed right home to install it and it didn't work.
 
"DARN DARN DARN DARN DARN!" *Herman Munster Voice*
 
I tried it as a DXi and VST on XP 32bit and Windows 7 64bit.
 
It will load SF2's if I double click on the sfz+.exe ... but when I load it as a soft synth in Sonar it won't load any SF2's.
I sure have the luck don't I? :)

I don't know what to tell you, Shane.  I'm on Vista, 64 bit machine, but staying way clear of Sonar 64, so running it in 32 bit mode.  The SFZ+ installed fine, there was nothing unusual in the set up of it, I just scanned the Plug-in Manager to find the .dll, and there it was, working from day one.  I have no idea why it's not working for you.

Randy B.

rbowser

The SFZ+ installed fine, there was nothing unusual in the set up of it, I just scanned the Plug-in Manager to find the .dll, and there it was, working from day one. 
Randy B.

Thanks Randy ... I'm at a loss also. It's odd ... when I click on 'File' to browse for an SF2 file ... it stays grayed out on Win764 and on XP32 it gives me an error saying not enough memory.
 
btw I really liked your Roll Over Beethoven vid on Youtube ...

Hi, Shane--HEY nice, thanks for letting me know you watched my off-beat version of "Roll Over."  hehe, that was fun to do.

Hey, I'm downloading something right now, can't risk opening Sonar right now, but as I recall the SFZ has kind of a funky browser mechanism--like maybe you need to click the window itself?  Something like that.  Give it a try.

Randy B.

Shane_B.

rbowser

The SFZ+ installed fine, there was nothing unusual in the set up of it, I just scanned the Plug-in Manager to find the .dll, and there it was, working from day one. 
Randy B.

Thanks Randy ... I'm at a loss also. It's odd ... when I click on 'File' to browse for an SF2 file ... it stays grayed out on Win764 and on XP32 it gives me an error saying not enough memory.
 
btw I really liked your Roll Over Beethoven vid on Youtube ...

Try PR32 mode in the top right hand corner instead of SF32.

I've had a chance to look at SFZ+ since my last post.  It's as I remembered - You don't click the arrow pointing at the load window, you have to click inside the window itself.  And you need to click in the very top window first, File.  Then the first instrument in that file will show up in the lower Program window.  You click on that second window for more programs if the file has any.

Just in case that helps.

Randy B.

fresh101


Try PR32 mode in the top right hand corner instead of SF32.

That did the trick! I never thought of doing that because I never had to touch that setting in SFZ ... I assumed SFZ + would work the same way.
 
I am now able to use SF2's in Sonar 8.5.3 on Windows 7 64bit and Windows XP 32bit. I really prefer Windows 7 64bit ... only a few more bugs to get worked out of Sonar and I'll be able to switch to it exclusively.
 
I was going through some strings and drums/percussion I have in SF2 format last night ... amazing quality. I can't wait to start using them again. Funny how some of these old SF2's sound so great compared to newer samples isn't it?
 
Thanks everyone for helping me with this!

Shane :)
 
 

Big thanks to Fresh101.
Glad I found this thread as I was having the same problem and now I'm a happy man.

Steve

I bought Sonar Artist last year and I sure miss using my Grand Piano Sound Fonts. Is it even possible anymore to use them?

Thanks,
Mike
 

You can use Cakewalk's sfz for playing soundfonts.
 
Personally however, I use Samplelord as it more control options and works perfectly with my two V-Machine's for live use: http://www.samplelord.com/
 
You might also want to look at DSK SF2 v2, which is free : http://www.dskmusic.com/dsk-sf2-v2/
 
M.