How to Modify Soundfont?
I would like to replace the piano in the MuseScore_General_HQ.sf3 soundfont.
I have fooled around, trying to do this with Polyphone - unsuccessfully. I found the process somewhat mystifying.
Any tips?
Many thanks,
Steve
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https://musescore.org/en/handbook/developers-handbook/references/instru…
bank and preset number if you simply want to replace.
if you want to tinker with data inside, you shdn't pick the piano sound , it is very complex and hence the beautiful result, beginners should experiment with a simpler instrument instead, IIRC bassoon is good.
Also soundfont files are loaded at musescore startup, you cannot edit sf3 and testout inside musescore on the fly, you must restart musescore.
or test out with polyphone's built-in keyboard.
In reply to https://musescore.org/en… by msfp
I posted the original message from the wrong account. ooops
Thank you for the link! I haven't seen that handbook before. After looking there and rereading your reply, I realize I have not stated my issue clearly:
I have two soundfonts, A and B. I want to copy the piano from font A and use it to replace the piano in font B. Is this possible?
In reply to Thank you for the link! I… by zzwerzy
sure
staffs inside ms reference sounds of sf3 by bank and preset number.
a piano staff use sound bank 0 preset 0 unless you've messed with the mixer F12.
open the built-in sf3
C:\Program Files\MuseScore 3\soundin polyphone.sidebar under presets, select the Preset 000:000Grandpiano, delete
open your custom sf3 , renumber a Preset to Bank 0 Preset 0 at the bottom bar.
Ctrl+C
goto built-in sf3 file Ctrl+V, choose "duplicate everything" if prompted.
save, overwrite built-in sf3.
restart musescore
... tinker with data inside ... from my last post what i meant was that, if your aim was to tweak the built-in piano to sound brighter/darker, you should practice on other simple instrument such as bassoon first.
In reply to sure staffs inside ms… by msfp
You are most kind, msfp. I am very grateful for your help.
At the "save" stage I hit a little snag. Polyphone 2.2 only offers the .sf2 file format. Of course, it works, but is there any disadvantage, besides memory footprint, to keeping the font in that format?
I modified MuseScore_General.sf3. I note that the piano change did not migrate to MuseScore_General_HQ.sf3. Any special instructions for that file? It doesn't reside in the usual location and getting it to work was a bit complicated, so I am unsure how to approach this, the actual target font.
many thanks
z
In reply to You are most kind, msfp. I… by zzwerzy
sf2 occupies more harddisk storage, sf3 less because the sound samples are compressed. https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/glossary#sf2
loading a sf3 inside musescore requires more RAM (the short freezing at startup before you can hear sound)
that's all i've got
> Polyphone 2.2
should click "export" button, not "save"
> did not migrate
my bad, i missed you said you're using HQ. yes these two files are separated. you need to edit the one you're using. I hvn't download HQ. I assumed it resides in the same directory but clearly that's not the case. I've no idea where it is located. If you find out, you can help others too by adding that info to this page https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/language-translations-and-extensions
cheers
In reply to sf2 occupies more harddisk… by msfp
Oh my goodness! you have been so helpful.
I have discovered that, on my system, the MuseScore_General_HQ.sf3 file resides at
"C:\Program Files\MuseScore 3\bin\MUSFE\1.2.0\soundfonts"
I was able to place the modified ..._HQ.sf2 file in that location. It appeared and loaded from the SoundFont Files dialog box (press "Add" in the Synthesizer, Fluid tab).
Will try the "export" version next. But must say that I like how quickly the sf2 version loads. On my admittedly old system, it takes almost 100 seconds to decompress and load the ..._HQ.sf3 font. All others are much faster.
Thank you again for helping me over multiple hurdles. I don't consider myself enough of an expert to feel justified in contributing to the documentation, but you put it so nicely that I will look into adding that path to the handbook as suggested.
Gratefully yours
z
In reply to Oh my goodness! you have… by zzwerzy
The SF3 decompression is done in the background though (unlike the SFZ/MDL), so you don't have to wait for it, except for playback.
And that's why I do prefer the SF2 variant too...