[solved] custom .sfz not sounding while equivalent .sf2 does (.sfz works in other players)
I have a .sfz file
and associated samples
all in the Soundfonts folder
(i.e., no subdirectories)
If I import my .sfz into Polyphone,
and export it as an .sf2 or .sf3,
the soundfont does play
in Musescore via Fluid.
However, if load the .sfz into Zerberus
I get silence on playback (no error message).
Furthermore, the .sfz loads correctly
into soundfont-playing VSTs (e.g. tx16wx),
so it's not inherently a problem with the .sfz.
Example line from the .sfz:
key=C4 sample=sample1.wav
I'm doing a lot of editing to the soundfont,
so I'd like to stick with the .sfz format
Any ideas for how to troubleshoot this?
Using Musescore 3.6.2, MacOS
Comments
Seems like a small bug:
Turns out Musescore didn't like the .wav files being directly in the /soundfonts directory.
The problem went away when I created a new folder to put the samples in /soundfonts/samples
And in the .sfz,
key=C4 sample=samples/sample1.wav
I'd suggest either fixing this bug, or noting in the documentation for custom .sfz files that the samples need to be in a subdirectory of /soundfonts
In reply to Seems like a small bug:… by claz3
Not sure it's a bug. Every sfz I've downloaded has subfolders. The problem I have with sfz fonts is that they just don't always play well with MuseScore. I've come to rely heavily on SND. That said, I have extracted a solo horn fro VPO because the default font only has a horn section. But since it doesn't respond to SND, it's a bit of a pain. Maybe MS4 will be different.
In reply to Not sure it's a bug. Every… by bobjp
Sure -- I'd classify as bug just because
(1) the necessity of subfolders isn't documented,
(2) nor does it throw an error visible to the user
(3) other sfz players I've tried haven't complained
(4) there's nothing in the sfz spec that requires subfolders, so it seems like a Musescore quirk (in fact, the sfz documentation includes top-level samples in an example, which is what I started with)
In reply to Sure -- I'd classify as bug… by claz3
There's a difference between how MuseScore works and a bug. Sites that I have been on that offer fonts for use in MuseScore, stipulate that you need to download files a particular way. I.E. sub folders. To me a bug has more to do with something not working no matter what you do. Just because something doesn't work the way you think it should doesn't automatically make it a bug.
1) But that's how they come in a download.
2) From the manual, "After downloading an SFZ (see →below), you need to manually extract all the files that belong to the SFZ (the SFZ file(s) and all the sub-directories and other files) into the directory listed above. Leave the sub-directories and their contents as they are. Note, however, that on occasion, an SFZ file in its folder may seek the actual WAV sound files inside the SFZ sub-directory itself, usually in a folder labeled "Libs". If the SFZ zip file you download has a Libs folder in it, move it into the main SFZ sub-directory."
3) MuseScore isn't a player.
4) And yet they come in subfolders.