SynthFont

SynthFont is a useful tool for playing MIDI files making use of SoundFonts.You do not need any particular sound card. In fact, if you only want to render audio files ("WAV" files) you don't even need a sound card.

It makes it easy to assign different SoundFonts to difference MIDI channels.

- Explorer view, similar to Windows Explorer. Use this to search for mid files, arrangements or sound sources. You can easily play all files in a folder. There's also a separate playlist.
- Piano roll view, not only shows you the notes and controllers but also lets you do some basic midi file editing.
- Events view, shows a list of all midi events in a particular track. You can filter out certain events and also do some basic editing, like changing notes and programs. Good for "debugging".
- Tracks view. This view actually contains two parts: the synth engine and the tracks list. Use the synth engine part to add VST audio effects to on of the 16 channel busses or to the main effect. Use the tracks list to assign sound sources to the tracks. You can assign SoundFonts, GIGA files, DLS files, WAVE files and VST instruments. Each track can have its own set of sound sources. Here you can also add and delete tracks, mute track, play tracks solo, etc.
- Layers view, shows the preset layers of a sound source. Each layer corresponds to what is internally called an "instrument". Usually a preset contains only one layer, but for stereo presets there is often two, panned left and right.
- Splits view, shows the splits of an instrument (one preset layer). Here is where all the fun is. Each split references one - and only one - audio sample ("wave"). Each split also have range of parameters (called "generators") that you can edit.
- Wave view, shows the sample data referenced by a split. Here also you can do some basic editing.
- There is an additional tool for expert users: the SoundFont editor Viena (not to be confused with "Vienna"). Use this tool to create new SoundFonts from audio samples, or from presets and instruments in other SoundFonts. You can have four SoundFonts open at the same time and copy freely between them. There is also a Favorite Folders view and a Preset Cache for favorite presets. More info in the help file.