Amazing Grace Bagpipes sound. MIDI using Roland TTS-1 soft synth & SONiVOX GS250 Soundfont @xosece

xosece As a Galician bagpipes are substantial to our roots and culture. I have lots of GM Soundfonts, and the one with the most realistic, fantastic Bagpipe instrument is SONiVOX GS 250, imho (not so good as a soundfont overall though).

I compared all the GM Soundfonts I have while playing this song over and over -Ultimate (8MB) has a good bagpipe sound, Bennet_Another GS (32MB) has a decent one, so do a few others, but none gets close to the Bagpipe sound of SONiVOX soundfont to me.

The sound is more genuine and authentic in it, and it's very difficult to find a GM Soundfont with a great Bagpipe sound, most of them are pretty average.

The Roland TTS-1 software synth Bagpipe instrument is as good or even superior to SoniVOX bagpipes though, and blends with the SoniVOX bagpipe just perfectly.

The song has been recorded at 24 bits with Synthfont 1.613. (www.synthont.com). A program of astonishing quality.

VSTs and exact settings used for this file:

NastyDLAMKII (SciFi Special; this setting sounds PERFECT for this kind of instrument, in my humble opinion)
EasyQ (Pseudo Graphic setting)
Stardust (Pumping House setting)
GlaceVerb (Reverb A - Standard setting)
Classic Chorus (Lead Synth setting -I could choose Fat on Rhodes for a more flat, but great, sound, although I liked the kind of "tremolo" this setting gave to the Bagpipe)

The woman featured in the video is fellow galician bagpiper Cristina Pato.

You can download the original MIDI file of this song here:

dropbox.com/s/hvkbwcisyobg9yo/amazingG_bagpipes.mid?dl=0

(it sounds great as it is once you load the SoniVOX GS250 soundfont, but for the video I just LAYERED all the tracks so I added Roland TTS-1 synth Bagpipe sound too)

In order to use the Roland TTS-1 soft synth -bundled with Music Creator from Cakewalk) I downloaded this DXi wrapper

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=177538

I truly hope Kenneth adds native DXi support in the next version of Synthfont because while the wrapper works, the program still shows a buggy behaviour sometimes when a DXi instrument is loaded.

updated 12 years ago

Amazing Grace Bagpipes sound. MIDI using Roland TTS-1 soft synth & SONiVOX GS250 Soundfont

xosece 2012-07-30 | As a Galician bagpipes are substantial to our roots and culture. I have lots of GM Soundfonts, and the one with the most realistic, fantastic Bagpipe instrument is SONiVOX GS 250, imho (not so good as a soundfont overall though).

I compared all the GM Soundfonts I have while playing this song over and over -Ultimate (8MB) has a good bagpipe sound, Bennet_Another GS (32MB) has a decent one, so do a few others, but none gets close to the Bagpipe sound of SONiVOX soundfont to me.

The sound is more genuine and authentic in it, and it's very difficult to find a GM Soundfont with a great Bagpipe sound, most of them are pretty average.

The Roland TTS-1 software synth Bagpipe instrument is as good or even superior to SoniVOX bagpipes though, and blends with the SoniVOX bagpipe just perfectly.

The song has been recorded at 24 bits with Synthfont 1.613. (www.synthont.com). A program of astonishing quality.

VSTs and exact settings used for this file:

NastyDLAMKII (SciFi Special; this setting sounds PERFECT for this kind of instrument, in my humble opinion)
EasyQ (Pseudo Graphic setting)
Stardust (Pumping House setting)
GlaceVerb (Reverb A - Standard setting)
Classic Chorus (Lead Synth setting -I could choose Fat on Rhodes for a more flat, but great, sound, although I liked the kind of "tremolo" this setting gave to the Bagpipe)

The woman featured in the video is fellow galician bagpiper Cristina Pato.

You can download the original MIDI file of this song here:

dropbox.com/s/hvkbwcisyobg9yo/amazingG_bagpipes.mid?dl=0

(it sounds great as it is once you load the SoniVOX GS250 soundfont, but for the video I just LAYERED all the tracks so I added Roland TTS-1 synth Bagpipe sound too)

In order to use the Roland TTS-1 soft synth -bundled with Music Creator from Cakewalk) I downloaded this DXi wrapper

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=177538

I truly hope Kenneth adds native DXi support in the next version of Synthfont because while the wrapper works, the program still shows a buggy behaviour sometimes when a DXi instrument is loaded.

Moment of Peace - Gregorian. Kreuzenstein Castle Live

xosece 2019-04-15 | Concerto en Kreuzenstein Castle (Austria)
Amazing female voice.
Incrible voz femenina.

Lyrics/Letra:

Come now, come by our side
A place where you can hide
We are the sunshine
Rest your soul here
And you'll find
We are the energy
We give the world to thee
Hold up your heart now
We will ease pain from your brow

When the world is in tatters
And destruction is near
You can come with us here

When the people are strangers
You'll rest here with me
In a moment of peace

Light up the dark below,
See through the stars,
Reach to the earth's flow
Drift in the joy of our hearts,
Unleash the energy,
Taste of the wine
Drink as a soul
That knows now, power divine

In a moment of peace

Full video of the concert can be found here:

youtube.com/watch?v=vI0O3-7iPE0

Elton John - Made in England. MIDI version. Roland SD50

xosece 2016-12-10 | A classic song that I always liked and it's a classic these days. MIDI file:

dropbox.com/s/54874hq4emjbih0/Elton%20John%20-%20Made%20In%20England.mid?dl=0
The video was recorded with Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 Screen Capture, an amazing FREE program that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who want to capture video from their PC, be it on a windows of the size they choose or just the window of a program, or full screen.

It's imho the best free utility to capture video that I know of and can be downloaded here:

microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=27870

Enjoy!

p.s. there is a video tutorial here, just in case, but the program is so easy to use.

youtube.com/watch?v=yLxzTmlxWCU

This is the Life - Amy MacDonald. MIDI version. Roland SD50

xosece 2016-01-10 | This song reminds me of rain and wind and my homeland for some reason. I love it so much. Amy MacDonald...what to say about her..I had, and still have, a huge crush on that super fine Scottish woman.

Enjoy!

Grind - Alice in Chains. MIDI version. Roland SD 50

xosece 2016-01-07 | This song rocks, one of the best Alice in Chains songs, if not the best. Native SD50 presets.

MIDI of this song can be downloaded here:

dropbox.com/s/aa21h6kxxlp0lmy/Grind.mid?dl=0

The Veronicas - Untouched. MIDI version. Roland SD50

xosece 2016-01-04 | A very uplifting, catchy song. The original video of this song can be seen here:

youtube.com/watch?v=ykW4rtW2eu0

Played on Synthfont 2 ( http://www.synthfont.com , a wonderful program by Kenneth Rundt ).

Recorded with what I consider the best free screen capture program, Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 with Service Pack 2 (SP2), which includes Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 and Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 Screen Capture.

You can download this excellent program here:

microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=27870

Birdy - People Help the People. MIDI version. Roland SD50

xosece 2016-01-02 | A wonderful song, that is.

The MIDI was played on Roland SD-50 using native (non GM2 or GS) SD50 presets.

Happy 2016!!

Muse - Madness. MIDI version. Roland SD50

xosece 2015-12-31 | A MIDI of a very beautiful song by Muse.

MIDI file included (thanks Jimmy the powerhouse):

dropbox.com/s/x1h1f87t0nq4sh9/Muse%20-%20Madness.mid?dl=0

Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar. MIDI played on a Roland SD50. Guitar Hero 3 stuff

xosece 2015-12-29 | It's classic music turn again. And this one rocks, of course. Hit Me With Your Best Shot is probable the most popular Pat Benatar's song, and for the right reasons.

I played this song COUNTLESS times on Guitar Hero 3, because it is so good and so catchy that I tried to play it a lot.

A similar MIDI file compared to the one I used can be downloaded here (it only misses the solo, but I cant upload the file I used 'cos of copyright issues)

dropbox.com/s/034zvxizdfakujh/Hit_Me_With_Your_Best_Shot_Pat%20Benatar.mid?dl=0

I can't manage to synchronise the sound to the video, for the live of me, but you might consider GH3 version of the song is a cover. Somehow I managed to match the ending, though.

Recorded with Windows 10 Voice Recorder from a Roland SD50. Video made on Movie Maker.

Last of the Mohicans MIDI version High quality Shakuhachi from the Roland SD50

xosece 2015-12-27 | "…You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you.”

— Hawkeye, The Last of the Mohicans

One of my favourite romantic movies of all time. Dedicated to my particular real life Cora.

This song shows the higher than average quality solo Shakuhachi (a preset belonging to a bank of 3 special high quality presets present on the Roland SD-50, the Shakuhachi, the Violin and the Trombone) in action. Perhaps this isn't the best song to showcase it, because it's an orchestra playing most of the time, but it gives you an idea.

The reason to upload this video in particular doesn't have much to do with that though, it's just a nice coincidence now that I've shared how the Trombone and Violin sound on the SD50 in another videos.

MIDI file used in this video:

dropbox.com/s/vqxc5mjtrfsozsg/Last%20Of%20The%20Mohicans.mid?dl=0

The Magnificent Seven. CLASSIC!! MIDI. Super high quality Roland SD50 solo Violin & solo Trombone

xosece 2015-12-23 | Orchestal version MIDI:

dropbox.com/s/x340iyfrfd7a97f/magnificent-seven-theme-g.mid?dl=0

Violin version MIDI (*personal favourite*) starts at 1:20

dropbox.com/s/cyxaseywt1iwjp4/magnificant7.mid?dl=0

The Magnificent Seven, classic, megaclassic, hyper mega classic!! movie and soundtrack. The Magnificent Seven is a western movie from 1960. My love for the Wild West, Far West, western movies comes from my parents, who loved those movies and watched them innumerable times.

The times they watched those, it goes beyond counting. :D A remake film of this timeless classic movie is currently being filmed and set and scheduled for release in September 2016.

The MIDI presets used in this video are the super high quality Solo Violin of the Roland SD50 (the Roland SD50 Solo is a special set of bank presets of the SD50, which only features 3 instruments, the Violin, the Trombone and the Shakuhachi with higher quality.

The solo SD50 Trombone can be partially heard in the Orchestal version of this wonderful song, and the Violin is heard in the second MIDI song.

MIDI presets selected on Music Touch 6 from Cakewalk, a program which is fully compatible with the SD50 native and GM2/GS presets.

MIDI played on Synthfont ( http://www.synthfont.com , a wonderful program by Kenneth Rundt) for Windows 10. Video edited with Movie Maker.

Starlight by Muse. Precious song. MIDI file included. Played on a Roland SD50

xosece 2015-12-21 | One of my favourite songs.

MIDI file download link of this so beautiful song:

dropbox.com/s/80relikya1jrlhj/starlight.mid?dl=0

Recorded with Windows 10 Voice Recorder (Audio) and Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 Screen Capture (Video from Synthesia) /a free screen capture program that truly rocks/, and finally blended together with Windows Movie Maker. This song has somewhat tricky drums, but I think I managed to keep chorus under control in that case.

The fonts and the overall interface looks slightly pixelated, but I think it's a bug related to the new Windows 10 and Synthesia, I suspect. It's weird anyways, 'cos Synthesia worked so fine the first day I installed it.

MIDI presets of this song:

Fingered Bass (SD50 General MIDI 2)
Distortion Guitar (native SD50)
Echo Drops (SD50 General MIDI 2)
Fantasia (SD50 General MIDI 2)
Overdriven Guitar (SD50 General MIDI 2)
Jazz Kit (SD50 native drum kit)
Piano 3 (SD50 General MIDI 2)
Warm Pad (SD50 General MIDI 2)
SynVox (SD50 General MIDI 2)

Karma Chameleon classinc song by Culture Club MIDI Roland SD50

xosece 2015-12-13 | The MIDI file of this song can be downloaded here:

dropbox.com/s/gt0ip9xp0cxf30j/Karma_Chameleon.mid?dl=0

A song I like just way too much. And enjoy singing along a lot "Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon , you come and go , you come and go". xDDDDDDD A true classic.

Original video of this wonderful song:

youtube.com/watch?v=JmcA9LIIXWw

Thanks to the Karaoke Channel for the lyrics. Played on Synthfont ( http://www.synthfont.com ) and recorded with Windows 10 Voice Recorder

Buffy Vampire Slayer Opening Credits MIDI/Roland SD-50 native presets

xosece 2015-12-12 | MIDI file of this song:

dropbox.com/s/o96ozxgsusqpsxr/BuffyTheVampireSlayer.mid?dl=0

The presets I've used for this song are the Roland SD-50 native presets. I've always loved Buffy The Vampire Slayer series.

Played with Synthfont ( http://www.synthfont.com ) and recorded with Windows 10 Voice Recorder

Cancións infantiles en galego

xosece 2015-11-07 | Enlace de descarga das cancións en formato MP3 dropbox.com/s/3jzx86cqn9lq09e/Cancions%20infantiles%20en%20galego.zip?dl=0

Lista de cancións -pulsar sobre minutos:segundos en azul-:

0:01 A princesa do Caurel
3:42 As mans
4:46 Corre, corre cabaciña
7:39 Chocolata - Libro CD-DVD Contos en Cantos
10:39 COCORICO
13:40 Estando a mora no seu lugar
16:20 Eu teño alguén no meu corazón
20:38 Ir lá
24:32 Lobo feroz
26:57 Lúa
28:59 Malvela - Pirimpimpim
32:35 Mariluz Avestruz
35:42 Medomedá
38:40 Migallas - O piollo e a pulga (das miñas favoritas)
40:45 Migallas - Pan de millo
43:32 O galo canta
46:50 O mercado
48:59 O noso corpo
50:52 O semáforo
52:51 Operación Can - O ceo
57:09 Os Superheroes
1:01:15 Paco papán (miña favorita)
1:04:28 Pelo Gato 24 - Arao
1:07:44 Pelo Gato 24 - Debaixo da figueira
1:11:36 Polo Pepe
1:13:18 Señor gato
1:16:10 Unha canción de buscar
1:19:37 Xiqui Xoque, Fiú Fiú!

Bellas Lullaby. Twilight movie series some of my favourite movies ever made!! MIDI (Roland SD-50)

xosece 2014-09-15 | Bella Lullaby song from the Twilight movies, by Carter Burwell.

The Twilight movies -I've also read the books but prefer the movies- are to me some of the best movies (Twilight series is made of 5 movies) ever made, a true love story at its best. :) I also consider it one of the best, most unforgettable love stories ever told!

The movies also have an amazing soundtrack, too, superb music.

The MIDI file from the song in the video can be downloaded here:

dropbox.com/s/fhtjh5knb09h5os/bellas_lullaby_twilight_carter%20burwell.mid?dl=0

Played on a Roland SD-50 using the native presets (St. Piano 1 and Strings 1) of the SD50 with Synthfont 2 beta --thanks Kenneth! :D

I added a very subtle Strings track for the song to replicate some additional tone of the song in the movies.

Edward and Bella forever. :)

I've got the Blu-ray too, Twilight Forever.

Dragon Ball ending song - Romantic Ageru Yo (Give Romance -to You-). Roland SD-50 (MIDI) native

xosece 2014-07-19 | I was madly in love with Bulma back then, and loved that ending so much because of her.

The rain droplet sliding down the window.., and her smiley face gazing outside at the rain is iconic for me, and one of the most memorable moments in the history of TV. :) An ending that will remain forever pasted into the album of my memory, because of that.

After the initial awesome episodes, when Goku was a kid, once they began with the super saiyan thingy and stuff, the fun of the series was gone --still good, but alas, just not so fun anymore. :/

The title of the song in the Dragon Ball animation was "Romantic Ageru Yo", which means "Give Romance (to You)" -I found on the net-. :) :D

This one is a tough MIDI. It is GS native (meant for the classic Roland SC88) and I tried to make the original General MIDI/GS instruments work using the native Roland SD50 melodic presets.

It works well with GS compatible synths 'cos the 3 drums channels it uses play the song correctly with GS SyxEx messages, but I prefer General MIDI 2 (either that or native presets).

I sequenced some notes on Sonar, but my crappy MIDI keyboard does nothing but play flat notes, no pitch bending or similar MIDI effects, so you get stuck there and I had to give up trying to edit notes from the original file. Not a big loss though, I am still so so at playing keys --will improve over time.

Still, I saved the Sonar version of the song that I used for this video, which I will share below, and I also uploaded the untouched original song it's based on.

Original Dragon Ball ending song, "Romantic Ageru Yo" song (GS/GM1 native, GS SysEx messages), MIDI

dropbox.com/s/xvsc94g4quwxvnz/Dragonballromantic.mid?dl=0

Dragon Ball ending song "Romantic Ageru Yo", the one I used for this video, featuring native Roland SD-50 presets, MIDI:

dropbox.com/s/fjpy9yglgilz438/Dragonballromanticcose.mid?dl=0

I have seen it named "Romantikku Ageru Yo", too.

I learnt how to record from the SD-50 IN port, so what you hear what you get, plus no more noise as the signal is digital. Yay! :D :D

No need to use the Line In anymore nor using extra cables overcluttering your space. Great! :)

The Line In added noise, as my cables (and an adapter I needed for the mic input) aren't shielded, plus I had to use the Mic input, which means dealing with some specific parameters meant for mics, which could kick in if you didn't check the audio settings in the Control Panel, but now I don't have to deal with all of that.

For anyone interested or curious, this is how the original song sounds in my maternal language, the galego (galician), and the version I always listened to when I was a kid.

youtube.com/watch?v=dDEz9YOg_9I

Lineage - Create an Elf. A precious song. Roland SD-50

xosece 2014-07-12 | Song from Lineage OST. Played on a Roland SD-50.

MIDI file: dropbox.com/s/crx3e3x10uvu70d/Lineage_Create_Elf.mid?dl=0

Wave Race N64 with the native Roland SD50 presets (no General MIDI 2/GS this time)

xosece 2014-07-09 | Wave Race 64 main theme played on the Roland SD-50 using the true star of this hardware module, SD50's native 640 melodic presets, plus one of the native drum kits.

Melodic presets used for this song -tough choice, there are so many-:

Org Bell
DOC Stack (there are a lot of nice synth like sounds to choose from, almost anything could work)
Dist Gtr 1 (another very difficult choice, there are 3 nice distortion guitars to choose from and I chose the first one 'cos it was....the first :) but 2 and 3 can sound better depending on your tastes, actually I chose this 'cos I had to select one --plus the sound is closer to the original Nintendo 64 song, also General MIDI 2 variations are very nice too!)
SH Bass (I selected this for a friend, long story)
Flying Pad 1
Rock Kit

The original MIDI can be downloaded here:

dropbox.com/s/xownhh69dttmuv0/N64_Waverace.mid?dl=0

Same song modified using the native SD-50 presets:

dropbox.com/s/mzhvvc2ppz8mkpl/N64_Waverace_modCV.mid?dl=0

I learnt how to use the native sounds of the SD50 recently -I had played General MIDI 2 and GS files mostly-.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The SD50, also called Roland Mobile Studio Canvas features 1,125 total sounds which includes the following; 256 very nice General MIDI 2 tones, 226 GS instruments for compatibility and legacy reasons coming from previous Roland synths, three hyper realistic Solo Tones (Violin, Trombone and Shakuhachi) and the aforementioned native 640 presets (there are even rotary organs), plus 32 drum kits.

At General MIDI 2 and the native presets, it's where this hardware module shines the most. Maybe the native sounds are a tad superior, but the GM2 sounds are quite unique by comparison --as seen in the F-Zero MV video I uploaded days ago, that's a fine overdriven guitar sounding there, plus the instruments sound different depending on the velocity of the notes, and it gives them even more variety.

The native presets have an extra overdriven guitar, btw.

In the end, a hardware module which features more than 1000 sounds for about 300 pounds/300+€ is a bargain! Especially with the overall quality they have..

If you are on the fence I'd wholeheartedly recommend you this beauty. You can't go wrong with it. :)

Plus you don't need to add super fancy effects for it to sound good. The balance is awesome from the get go. (to be expected from a hardware manufacturer though)

It doesn't need your CPU at all either and has dedicated hardware for everything, like a DSP FX for things like Reverb, Chorus, and Mastering.

You can compare this version to the General MIDI 2 version of this song (none is actually better than the other, imo, just different) format, which I uploaded days ago:

youtube.com/watch?v=vNvmvilFZN4

No effects used for this song. In fact, you can't load effects into it since it is a hardware module, they are built in -although programmable-. Played/sequenced in Sonar 8.5 LE.

Jurassic Park theme. Roland SD-50. (MIDI)

xosece 2014-07-07 | Song from the main theme of one of my favourite movies //and books... Played on a Roland SD-50.

The original MIDI file used for this video can be downloaded here:

dropbox.com/s/yqeu6ofpd2avjgl/J_ParkG.MID?dl=0

I am soooooooo looking forward to the sequel of the movie, planned for release in 2015.

Wave Race N64. Roland SD50. Main theme.

xosece 2014-07-06 | Wave Race main theme played on the Roland SD-50.

A veeeery beautiful song. Sound recorded as is.

MIDI file of this song:

dropbox.com/s/xownhh69dttmuv0/N64_Waverace.mid?dl=0

Played with Anvil Studio, sound recorded via Line In with Audio Recording Wizard.

General MIDI 2 vs GS & General MIDI 1 comparison. Roland SD50. GM2; its sounds fullness & richness

xosece 2014-07-06 | General MIDI Level 2, or General MIDI 2: GM2 was introduced and adopted by MIDI hardware manufacturers back in 1999, and General MIDI 2 makes an impressive audible difference in fullness and richness.

The MIDI files used in this video can be found here: dropbox.com/s/0t6y820746sb5xv/Roland_SD50_MIDI_for_GM2_GS.zip?dl=0

General MIDI 2 emphasizes the realism of the instruments, and you can even select things like the tone for each part of a composition.

The original General MIDI (1991) -and the GS standard- was overhauled 8 years after its inception, and with General MIDI 2 they added new specifications to the format, additional functionalities, sound editing capabilities, and extra sounds and effects, to bring it more into line with the modern music standards.

More sounds, native inner reverb, chorus and delay effects, more Bank Select messages, and the implementation of about 30 new MIDI controllers which can alter various parameters, such as release and attack time, effects sends, brightness, portamento, effects depth, etc, were added.

The result is a more natural sound and more expressive instruments.

Roland defines GM2 as such:

"The upwardly compatible General MIDI 2 offers enhanced expressive capabilities, and even greater compatibility. Issues that were not covered by the original General MIDI recommendations, such as how sounds are to be edited, and how effects should be handled, have now been precisely defined. Moreover, the available sounds have been expanded."
http://www.manualslib.com/manual/141783/Roland-Pc-70.html?page=7

If you want pure General MIDI 2 files, you can find them here:

http://www.bluevisionmusic.com/CMRC/sample2.html

They state in the webpage "Those using the General MIDI 2 format will experience the best possible outcome."

General MIDI 2 article on the Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_MIDI_Level_2

The sound recorded for this video comes entirely from a Roland SD-50 Mobile Studio Canvas, which I LOVE and wouldn't change for anyhting:

http://www.roland.com/products/en/SD-50

My review on the Roland SD-50:

http://www.synthfont.com/punbb/viewtopic.php?id=197

In order to record the GM2 and GS sound for this video I've used three MIDI players/DAWs:

Synthfont: An awesome DAW created by Kenneth Rudnt. Excellent to play GS native songs in General MIDI 2 format. http://www.synthfont.com

Vanbasco: nice for various reset messages --and playlists- :D , including GS reset messages, which sends your hardware synth into GS mode. MIDI resets are also great for your synth to delete some sound oddities from memory when many songs have been played --typical MIDI stuff-

MIDI Eddie: Same as Vanbasco, with the additional advantage of being able to send a native GM2 System on message to the synth. It can also let you send a GS reset message, so you can set the Roland SD50 to either GS or GM2 mode.

Additionally, the Roland can seamlessly switch /if not forced by a GS reset/ between GM2 and GS mode using the Values wheel and the Contemporary (GM2) or Classic (GS) setting.

I used the wonderful, "lifesaver" --it makes your life a lot easier saving you lots of time- Audio Record Wizard program by Nowsmart to record the sound coming from the SD50:

http://www.nowsmart.com

Finally thanks to Roland for making such lovely synths -lots of great tones and timbres, many velocity layers for instruments, it manages to impress-, :D I am loving the sound coming from the SD50 very much!

------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL SONG list:
0:01 General MIDI 2 mode. "Sonia Stage 6". Richer sound on GM2! (Shanoa's pic included)
0:43 GS mode. "Sonia Stage 6" song. GS native despite sounding better on GM2 mode.
1:24 General MIDI 2 mode. F-Zero X - Big Blue. Enhanced richness & fullness in the sound.
2:02 GS mode. F-Zero X - Big Blue
2:39 General MIDI 2. Duck Tales - The Moon
3:28 GS mode. Duck Tales - The Moon
4:16 General MIDI 2. STH Green Hill Zone
4:56 GS mode. STH Green Hill Zone.
5:35 General MIDI 2. Sonic the Hedgehog - Green Hill Zone by Teck
6:14 GS mode. Sonic the Hedgehog - Green Hill Zone by Teck
6:53 General MIDI 2. General MIDI 2 Test file by The Ultimate Doomer :D :D
7:02 GS mode. General MIDI 2 Test file by The Ultimate Doomer :D :D

/full list below/ (not enough space here -update: I wrote a long msg in the comments below with the full list but it got deleted by Youtube, so I don't know...)

Roland SD50. Does Nintendo use Roland to compose their music? General MIDI 2 & GS mode. F-Zero MV

xosece 2014-06-30 | General MIDI 2 mode sounds awfully similar compared to the original song, which you can listen to here: youtube.com/watch?v=HJTB6XLoWmE

Recorded on a Roland SD-50 in General MIDI 2 and GS classic mode. The song is the Intro song from the game F-Zero Maximum Velocity for the GBA (my most favourite F-Zero game).

The Roland SD50 or Roland Mobile Studio Canvas is the newest, most modern addition to the historical Roland Sound Canvas family.

It features the modern General MIDI 2 implementation and a classic GS (General Sound) mode, which seems to sound relatively close the original Sound Canvas.

The sound in the General MIDI 2 mode is very much like the original song sequenced by Nintendo, which makes me wonder if Nintendo use Roland hardware music to compose their sound.

The proof is here. You can listen to the original song on the native hardware (sounds the same to as on the Roland SD-50 using GM2 mode, save the native sound chip of the GBA is different!):

youtube.com/watch?v=HJTB6XLoWmE

Turbo OutRun - Shake the Street. ProVitamin, SynergiGS. Jazman and GMR 1.1 Soundfonts

xosece 2014-06-23 | "Shake the Street" from TURBO OUT RUN is one of my favourite songs in a videogame yet made!

I uploaded the MIDI file of this song here:

dropbox.com/s/zfb7gvjc93jha39/Turbo%20Out%20Run%20-%20Shake%20the%20Street.mid?dl=0

I kept it very simple for this one. After hours editing the song with FL Studio 11, using cool panning effects and stuff like that, I decided to install ASIO drivers 'cos I thought there was some clicking on a couple of notes (discovered the cause later), so I restarted FL Studio.

Everything went out of tune for some reason, I uninstalled ASIO immediately but the project never recovered, the notes were completely off and there was some kind of loooooooong tail reverb effect that came out of nowhere, even after clicking on the stop button the sound was there, and a "Panic" button would be necessary.

So I felt discouraged, gave up and reedited it but I kept it as simple as possible. In addition to those soundfonts mentioned, I was using Timbres of Heaven, Roland SC-55, Arachno and Musyng Kite soundfonts in the song I lost.

For this I preferred to keep it simple and I chose proVitamin as the main soundfont (which was the main soundfont in the initial arrangement too) because of its really NICE and KIND drum kick and good overall sound.

The guitar comes from the marvellous and superb fine Jazman soundfont, although I removed a layer of the distorted guitar. More concretely the Dist Guitar Sample. (I preferred the sound of Jazman's guitar without it for this song in particular, although it is a secondary layer in the soundfont after all)

The Doctor Solo and Sine Wave belong to SynergiGS soundfont which the great Ultimate Doomer :) (a fellow youtuber whose channel I wholeheartedly recommend) provided me with. -I added a layer of Musyng Kite to keep them softer though-

The Sub Bass comes from another one of my favourite soundfonts; GMR 1.1.

I was using the Flatwound Bass from Timbres of Heaven before, but as I said, for the second try I didn't even bother switching many things around.

Everything else, which is not chicken feed, comes from proVitamin soundfont.

proVitamin is a commercial soundfont and can be found here --great price great quality, it is on sale now, I purchased it at 25€ time ago and now it costs 15€ :O -

http://www.reasonbanks.com/refill_proVitamin.html

The song was edited with FL Studio 11.

Timbres of Heaven Soundfont. GS sounds and SFX, special MIDI sounds. The imagination of the sound

xosece 2014-06-12 | The Roland GS (GS stands for "General Standard" or "General Sound") is an standard created by Roland to expand upon the original General MIDI format.

The GS format was first implemented in the legendary Roland SC-55.

The additional sounds of the GS format, -or by extension those subsequently added when General MIDI 2 (love love love) was released- can give you that little extra if you use your imagination.

In order to prove that, and demonstrate conclusively how great these sounds are I decided to create this video featuring GS MIDI files.

I used Timbres of Heaven as the main soundfont for this, since it has superb nice GS sounds and SFX effects, like that of the Waterfall and others that were essential for this video.

Timbres of Heaven was the basis of the idea when I began playing around with it and found some pretty neat details in it when used with some songs.

Then I added sounds from other soundfonts, when necessary. But without Timbres of Heaven this video would never exist!

1st song: This is... Thriller. The sound comes from Timbres of Heaven for the most part.

The Door Creak sound comes from SoniVOX GS250 soundfont. Why? Well, the sound does the job within its simplicity, and I used it 'cos I preferred other instruments to be enhanced.

Timbres of Heaven Door Creak sounds better, more realistic, but for this song I preferred to enhance Timbres footsteps and stuff like that instead.

I used the Roland TTS-1 for the howling sound. Thunder comes from Musyng Kite.

2nd song: This one is based on music from Japan. AND the sounds come from the Roland SC-55!

Not from the legendary actual sound module but from a Roland SC-55 soundfont fellow youtuber Ultimate Doomer :D mentioned in several videos of his.

That unique sound and the cry from the japanese guy comes from the ASIA drum kit in the Roland SC-55, a drum kit not replicated anywhere in a Soundfont that I know of. :)

To the author of this SC-55 60 MB soundfont. THANKS!!! I could never achieve that without this soundfont in particular.

The Asia drum kit was featured in the Roland SC series and wasn't replicated in soundfonts, but they are crucial and imperative for these songs.

Again, THANKS!

3rd and 4th song: This one features the SFX Waterfall from Timbres of Heaven soundfont by default. Is Timbres of Heaven SC-88 or SC-Pro based? I wonder...

It was vital for the tone of the song.

Other than that it is an Old West song, from the times were duels at high noon, gruesome shootouts and barroom brawls were pretty common. :)

Like the songs goes :

"I miss Billy the Kid , the times that he had!
the life that he lived. I guess he must've got caught,
his innocence lost... Lord, I wonder where he is
I miss Billy the Kid!" :D :D

My parents, my mother's partner, my siblings.., everyone is a fan of those Far West movies and theme!

Including me, of course.

I used Arachno for some strings --I just wanted to use it. The Choir of Timbres of Heaven sounds amazing here. Better than anything else in fact (tried other soundfonts just in case but the song is better suited for Timbres)

5th song: This one is meant for chilling out, and utilises the Wind Chimes from Timbres of Heaven, as a GS preset.

Other than that, I chose GMR Basico 1.1 drums and Harmonica. GMR 1.1 is one of my favourite soundfonts ever! and wanted to use it.

That really beautiful Clavinet sound comes from the Edgesound Genevoice GM64Pro24 soundfont, more concretely from the Touch Clavinet preset (bank 1 preset 7).

Additionally, my hats off to Don Allen for Timbres of Heaven. I'd have some feedback if you wanted it. Thanks for this soundfont.

Settings:

EasyQ: SmileyCurve setting
Stardust: Pumping House (old but my favourite compressor, well, it does nothing else)
AnWIDA DX Reverb: Live house 50/50
NastyDLAMKii: Slapback setting
Classic EQ: Personal EQ settings (can't save between sessions, but was similar to SmileyCurve, also I toned down low frequency sounds below 30Hz with a hig pass filter)
Mychachorus: Not used for Chorus at all. I disabled it and played with the wet and dry settings to use it as an equalizer instead.

The sound was recorded with Synthfont 2 11D beta. Synthfont was created by Kenneth Rundt and can be found here:

http://www.synthfont.com

Timbres of Heaven soundfont download link:

http://midkar.com/soundfonts/index.html

That's it. For anyone interested in the MIDIs, just ask.

DXi sound pure Goodness. -only DXi stuff used- Roland TTS1 sound

xosece 2014-06-06 | For this video I just used DXi effects and the super flexible soft synth Roland TTS1.

PG Five Band EQ -Mid Cut setting
PG PeakLimit -default setting
PG Ten Band EQ - Smiley Face setting

Yes, only that, believe it or not, as some sounds might seem to have some FX added, which is not the case.

I recorded the sound with Audio Recorder Wizard, an excellent program that can save you a lot of time --it records exactly what your computer is outputting..

The sound was recorded at 96KHz and 24 bits in Realband and Synthfont (a dream of mine would be having Synthfont with native DXi support, hope this comes true someday as I LOVE the TTS1 and DXi formats in general).

The TTS1 has some superb nice sounds, like some flutes, the Honky Tonk piano, Bandoneon/Accordion, Harmonica, and many many many others. You can get plenty of fine sounds from it.

The Bagpipe is also really good, as you can see in this video I made a couple of years ago.

youtube.com/watch?v=Q_lIJaL8ZZ4

And it is excellent for composing music because it is so finely tuned... and this means great balance.

If you'd like to have an idea of the potential of this synth, I'd wholeheartedly recommend you to watch videos from a youtube user called Spaztique.

Like this one. Soul As Red As A Ground Cherry" Roland TTS-1 Remake yikes yikes yikes yikes yikes yikes yikes yay yay yay yay.

youtube.com/watch?v=i0gZ4EUcVf4

Note: Don't mind the kiiiiiiinda basic edition of this video, it is just meant to show to friends/people I know in forums and stuff. It's a little tribute to the Roland TTS1. More to come in the future! With a more complete video edition.

Yuri song -Art of Fighting 2. Arachno/Jazman/Musyng/Timbres of Heaven/Roland SC55 / Roland TTS1

xosece 2014-06-04 | The song is the Yuri's stage song from AoF, my favourite.

I recorded this song a week and a half ago and decided this was a nice moment to share it.

I used the following soundfonts to record it:

Arachno Soundfont: Brass Section (chose this one melodic preset from this soundfont in particular 'cos it sounds MIDI like, which I love and it's nice for this song),

TR-808 drums (Arachno Soundfont. I originally tried the Electronic Drums, but they were completely off for this song, the TR-808 from Arachno sounded about perfect.)

Timbres of Heaven: Orchestra Hit. I just liked how it sounded and selected this one. Additionally, the notes could be transposed easily without the preset "breaking" in any way.

Roland TTS1: Syn Mallet (pretty nice sound for this song, originally in the MIDI file too, and it is the only synth which had this melodic preset, iirc, and the Roland TTS1 it's usually very strong at this kind of "synthy" sounds)

Jazman GM PRO 24-bit Soundfont: Analog Bass.

Musyng Kite: For the Yuri's cry sound --the one when the Syn Mallet sounds. I had to move the notes of the Electronic drum kit (where this sound belongs) in Musyng to get that sound. I could emulate de "One, two" "One, two" from the original but I didn't care, I just preferred this sound, 'cos it feels as if she is in the AoF2 tournament giving the baddies a whack) :D

Roland SC-55: Arachno soundfont's TR-808 was pretty right for this song and I wanted a more intense scratch/clap sound and added a second layer to the original Arachno's drum kit, and chose Roland SC-55 soundfont for that layer as it worked super great with Arachno's TR808 --worked like a charm in fact. Arachno's TR808 drum kit didn't work well with either Jazman or Timbres of Heaven, using them as layered tracks, so I discarded them).

Recorded with Synthfont 2 Release Candidate 1 at 96KHz and 24 bits. Synthfont is a superb DAW created by Kenneth Rudnt.

Synthfont can be found here:

http://www.synthfont.com

King of Dragons-Treasure in an Old Castle. Jazman/Arachno/Timbres of Heaven/MS GM.DLS.Skyrim tribute

xosece 2014-05-22 | First of all, I'd like to say thanks to Nestor, the geek of the arcade par excellence, for the song and the inspiration.

The song comes from an arcade machine called King of Dragons by Capcom, and it's titled "Treasure in an Old Castle".

For this song I decided to combine the sounds from some of my favourite soundfonts, and the ones I selected are the following: Jazman, Arachno and Timbres of Heaven, and added the Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth.

Jazman is my preferred commercial soundfont yet made! and can be found here:

http://www.gmsoundfont.com

Arachno Soundfont is one of the best free soundfonts to date. It was created by Maxime Abbey and it can be found here:

http://www.arachnosoft.com/main/home.php

Timbres of Heaven is the most recent high quality free soundfont, and it's awesome overall. Don Allen is the creator of Timbres of Heaven, and this is the download page:

http://midkar.com/soundfonts/index.html

Additionally, I used the Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth, which is bundled with every Windows version out there. Its sound is not going to win any award, but it's very stable and a great draft to start composing --like say the Roland TTS1 software synth, but more basic.

I used it because I liked its how careful and "weighted" its Saw Wave was for this song. Still, the song was recorded 3 weeks ago and I began to use the Roland SC-55 soundfont later.

Had I knew about the Roland SC-55 soundfont back then, I'd have probably used it with some instruments, and maybe the Saw Wave sound, layered with the GM.DLS (actual file name of the Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth).

All of that aside, anyway... I also decided to pay some tribute to Skyrim, which is my number one game of the previous generation of consoles.

I roleplayed a lot with this game, creating some fun, peculiar or interesting, background stories for each one of my characters in the game.

Save for Oblivion, that was one of the most awesome roleplaying ventures I had (and it was hilarious as hell at times), and sometimes nostalgia crops up, although I still have Skyrim, the X360 and my save games. (but I am into Xbox One now)

The music was recorded with Synthfont, a program by Kenneth Rundt. Synthfont is a great quality DAW, with a very smart design.

I layered some tracks with it --it takes all kinds. xD Thanks for this great program, Kenneth. Synthfont can be found here:

http://www.synthfont.com

Mushihimesama HD-Xbox 360 (tribute). Roland SC-55 and Jazman GM Soundfonts.

xosece 2014-05-20 | MIDI file of this song:

http://www.vgmusic.com/music/other/miscellaneous/arcade/MushiHS_Stage1.mid

With this video I just want to pay tribute to the Xbox 360, the best console I've ever had!

I am a happy owner of the Xbox One too, but I spent very little time playing it by comparison, of course, since we are still early into the new generation.

I utilised Jazman GM soundfont, my favourite commercial soundfont and a small soundfont which just weighs 25MB.

This small soundfont is just called Roland SC-55 :) and as its name suggests, it's based on the legendary Roland SC-55.

The Roland SC-55 was the first sound module to incorporate the General MIDI standard and it was/is aimed at PC music enthusiasts.

Certainly a coveted and valued item these days...

This Soundfont in particular tries to capture the original sound of the SC-55 and from the shallow comparisons I could listen to, it seems to be doing a pretty good job at that.

While it's not 100% exactly the same as the hardware module (it's just software) I'd say it could easily be quite up to the standards in general.

The sound of the Saw Wave melodic preset comes from this Roland SC-55 Soundfont, and as you can notice, it is very crisp and sharp, not to mention "bendy" (without FX added, it's just that way) and sweepy (as my friend Ultimate Doomer would say). Also... it fits this song really well. Hip and cool.

The Bass&Lead also comes from this one.

For those interested in it, this wonderful, precious Roland SC-55 soundfont can be found here:

dropbox.com/s/kdi7nqkqpnsrey6/Roland%20SC-55.rar

Thanks to the author for it, whoever he/she is.

Other than that, Jazman provides most of the sound.

Wanted to try the Roland TTS1 but it wasn't producing any notes for some reason, plus I wanted to add other soundfonts but was happy with this combination in order not to overly complicate things.

Jazman GM can be found here:

http://www.gmsoundfont.com

The program I used to record this sound is the wonderful Synfhtont by Kenneth Rundt, a program very intelligently designed. It can be found here:

http://www.synthfont.com

Thanks Kenneth, you are awesome.

Mushi Hime Sama HD is a game programmed by Cave which was released on the Xbox 360 back in 2012.

The music was recorded at 48KHz / 24 bits.

Thunder Cross - Battleship. JazMan GM/Timbres of Heaven/Arachno. MIDI played with Hi-Fi soundfonts!

xosece 2014-05-17 | Mixed with Synthfont 2 and FL Studio 11. I used three soundfonts for this song, which are Arachno Soundfont, Timbres of Heaven and Jazman GM.

JaZMan PRO GM weighs 259MB. Timbres of Heaven weighs 304MB. Arachno Soundfont weighs 136MB.

Jazman Pro GM is a fantastic professional commercial soundfont, and probably the best commercial soundfont ever made.

It is a General MIDI soundfont, featuring excellent 128 melodic presets-10 drum kits.

Jazman is a superb solid and consistent Soundfont which can handle almost anything. Very clean drums too.

You can find JaZMan GM Pro here:

http://www.gmsoundfont.com/.

In addition, another Soundfont featured here is Arachno Soundfont. Arachno is an excellent soundfont created by Maxime Abbey. It is a very sybaritic and magnificent soundfont for its size. It has very fine quality per byte. Arachno's guitars are especially remarkable, so are some of its pianos and synth sounds, rich and lush.

To sum it up, Arachno is a highly acclaimed soundfont and it is probably the one that shines the most at classic music in games. You can't go wrong with it, and it is in my top 4 best soundfonts.

Like Jazman GM, it is also a GM Soundfont, featuring 128 GM melodic presets, plus 9 drum kits.

Arachno Soundfont is a free soundfont and can be downloaded here:

http://www.arachnosoft.com/main/soundfont.php

Additionally, I also utilised an awe-inspiring soundfont called Timbres of Heaven (fell for it as soon as I started to listen to/edit songs with it) which was created by Don Allen.

It is the most modern and up to date free Soundfont that I know of. High quality samples and great sound galore. Something that's worth listening to.

Timbres of Heaven has the most varied sounds of the three soundfonts used in this song, as it is a GS and XG soundfont, which enriches its variety.

The GS/XG formats are important for compatibility reasons , and of course to increase the range of sounds.

General MIDI 2 is also a format I love, but I've only found it in the Roland TTS1 soft synth, a great synth for composing music.

Back on topic, Timbres of Heaven by Don Allen can be found here:

http://midkar.com/soundfonts

Timbres of Heaven is my favourite free soundfont.

If you want the best of the best... These 4 soundfonts will get you covered:

Ensoniq Genevoice GMPro120
Timbres of Heaven by Don Allen
Jazman GM
Arachno Soundfont by Maxime Abbey

Edgesounds SoniqBear GM120Pro features 4!!! GM soundbanks.

It is the best one for dance/techno music, plus it is very well balanced. Well worth it!

For those interested in other great free soundfonts, I'd suggest some that are kept in high regard and favourites to many people to date, like GMR 1.1 (plenty of 48KHz samples, based on FluidR3, which is one of the best soundfonts), Titanic (it was the soundfont that I used as my inspiration to get into the world of soundfonts once again), Fluid...

More recommendations... proVITAMIN is another good commercial Soundfont.

I used FL Studio 11 to record this song. FL Studio can be found here can be found here:

http://www.image-line.com/flstudio

If you learn to use FL Studio 11 (also Synthfont) you will be amazed at the things you can achieve.

Synthfont is very intelligently designed, everything is at hand, and FL Studio is about drag and dropping when it comes to mix tracks and stuff. Both are simply awesome. Capable and powerful.

Finally, I mentioned all of this here to mention what I consider the best of the best in a single description. Of course there are other nice soundfonts and utilities, but you might enjoy those I listed very much, I think.

Aqua My oh My. Jazman GM Pro and Timbres of Heaven. MIDI with super high quality Soundonts

xosece 2014-05-17 | This song is a bit of an experiment and was edited with FL Studio 11 (which I am still learning) and I chose two of my favourite Soundfonts ever (another favourite would be Edgesounds SoniqBear GM120Pro, but this one plays in a different league and is mostly meant for dance, so it has a different philosophy, it's quite unique for good and bad), which are Jazman Pro GM and Timbres of Heaven. simply because it sounds better with those two.

JaZMan PRO GM weighs 259MB. Timbres of Heaven weighs 304MB.

Jazman Pro GM is a fantastic professional commercial soundfont, and probably the best commercial soundfont made to date --I've tried so many, and it's been a while since soundfonts have been around.

It is a General MIDI soundfont, featuring excellent 128 melodic presets-10 drum kits.

The key to this is that it is a very solid, superb consistent, all-around Soundfont, which sounds good with basically almost anything you throw at it, because it's very well balanced and features high quality instruments in all categories: from pianos, to reed, to percussive, to wind and strings instruments, basses, superb drums, to ethnic, synth pads, etc etc etc.

It's the most complete commercial Soundfont, I think. It's also excellent for composing music and playback 'cos of those consistency and balance qualities.

You can find JaZMan Pro GM here:

http://www.gmsoundfont.com

Plus their webpage have some very useful and valuable tips.

You can read a review of it here, too:

http://gmsynths.blogspot.com.es

In addition, I also utilised the superbly fine Timbres of Heaven soundfont, which was created by Don Allen.

Timbres of Heaven is an evolution of free Soundfonts in the way it packs high quality sound in a tight amount of space, which is a feat itself and talks wonders about its overall quality.

In addition to this, this soundfont features all the GS instruments, along with the XG variations too, which means it has some additional set of melodic presets to choose from.

These are important for both compatibility reasons if you use it for MIDI playback and also to add even more variety.

For instance, Timbres of Heaven has a very nice Ukulele instrument which, unlike other GS soundfonts, wasn't created by modifying and reutilising other samples from different instruments that sounded alike, but it actually features Ukulele's sounds, which is a excellent and makes Timbres more unique and original.

This wonderful soundfont can be found here:

http://midkar.com/soundfonts

Timbres of Heaven is the best free soundfont out there overall, imho.

For those interested in the best soundfonts, I'd suggest some that are highly acclaimed and favourites to many people to date, like Arachno Soundfont. (this is in my top list of soundfonst made to date)

GMR 1.1, Titanic, SGM are also good...

As for the commercial ones, aside from the awesomeness of Jazman GM, the Edgesounds SoniqBear GM120Pro is really good, followed by proVitamin and another EdgeSounds soundfont, in this case the Genevoice GM64Pro24.

It's also worth mentioning Merlin Symphony, which has excellent orchestral sounds /weak drums overall though, except the orchestra drums/.

Finally, I decided to share this song firstly because I like it and secondly because it shows the unique sound of Jazman Pro GM soundfont, especially when the Cello sounds, which steals the show.

In this particular song the Cello couldn't be replicated in any other soundfont out there with this quality, and I basically tried everything, from all the commercial soundfonts I have and the free ones.

In the case of those with a decent quality, the Cello usually sounded in the background, not in line with the other instruments in the harmony.

For those with a good equitable and uniform, symmetrical sound, the Cello wasn't quite as good as the one featured here.

I mixed both Timbres of Heaven and Jazman using them in different, non layered tracks.

FL Studio 11 is the DAW where I mixed this song. I am still learning about it so I am still quite prone to blunders, which sometimes might be noticeable in the song /to sum it up, some off sounding notes/still experimenting a LOT of things, there is very interesting stuff in it) can be found here:

http://www.image-line.com/flstudio

I am amazed at how capable and powerful FL Studio 11 is. If you use it along with the smartness and the highly intelligent design of Synfhtonf, you have not only a tool, but a weapon in your hands.

Still, if you use your imagination with those programs your possibilities are almost limitless.

Euphoria by Loreen MIDI using ONLY DXi synthesizers and effects!! Full details in description.

xosece 2013-09-28 | The song is the Eurovision song contest winner in 2012, which was sang by Loreen, representing Sweden at the contest.

DXi is a plugin standard for software synthesizers and effects that has excellent potential if it became a standard because of its unified design and guidelines. Thus I wanted to share a part of their potential by creating this video.

I utilised the DXi synthesizer Roland TTS-1 for this song, a budget software synth with excellent customisation capabilities. I have uploaded some videos built around it in my Youtube account and the results can be excellent. --I'd wholeheartedly recommend to watch Spaztique videos featuring the Roland TTS-1 synthesizer here on Youtube.

I recorded the sound on Realband -which is bundled with Band in a Box. a fully DXi compatible program-.

The DXi effects utilised in this song are as follows:

PG Reverb

PG Dynamics

PG Echo Chorus

All of the aforementioned effects are included with Band in a Box. There are quite a few more DXi effects that Realband recognises but I just utilised those for this song.

The Roland TTS-1 is bundled with both Music Creator and Sonar, both programs are made by Cakewalk. Recommended to listen at 720p or 1080p, for a better sound quality.

Tiled Resources, exclusive to DirectX 11.2 (Windows 8.1 OS) & Microsoft Xbox One

xosece 2013-06-29 | Microsoft have announced DirectX 11.2, which will be released for windows 8.1 only. This update to DirectX 11.2 brings a new feature, which will work on the Xbox One too. It's called Tiled Resources.

If you ever wanted the flexibility of gigatexel resources but couldn't enjoy them because of their massive memory cost, or GPU bandwidth limitations cripples your GPU performance, this new technology called Tiled Resources -for Direct3D- allows your GPU to handle massive textures -large atlas textures too- using a minimal memory footprint, increasing bandwidth efficiency.

In this talk, which took place in San Francisco from June 26th to June 28th, some engineers have a deep dive into the API and its intended usage, and show how the technology works using excellent demos that take full advantage of it!

As you can see in the video, this update allows textures to swap into the graphics cards -and your Microsoft Xbox One- memory much easier, and places far less strain on their memory, allowing the GPU to much better render textures. Enjoy!

You can find this video here too:

http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/4-063

Don Henley-The Boys of Summer, MIDI. Roland TTS1, Arachno Soundfont & Evanessence 2

xosece 2013-06-04 | You can find the original song and the video -a must see!- of this truly wonderful song here;

youtube.com/watch?v=KPTc1RVk4Xg

MIDI file used for this song:

dropbox.com/s/tmkaltiwhcbq01x/the_ataris-the_boys_of_summer.mid?dl=0

The song was recorded at 24 bits audio using Synthfont 2 -beta 15- by Kenneth Rundt . You can download Synthfont here:

http://www.synthfont.com

Arachno Soundfont (Lead 3 Calliope, Jazz Guitar and layered tracks) by Maxime Abbey is available to download here:

http://www.arachnosoft.com/main/home.php

Roland TTS-1 (very nice synth pad sounds, among other instruments) is bundled with Music Creator from Cakewalk and can be ordered here:

http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/Musi...

Evanessence 2 (used for drums, strings ensemble, layered tracks) download link can be found in my channel.

Detailed list of effects and settings used in this song:

FreeVerbToo : Snare! (Insert) setting. An amazing free reverb plugin I wholeheartedly recommend to everyone.

GMulti-GJ: Subtle Mix setting

MykraChorus 2.0: All Chorus effect disabled (I set them at either 0.0 or 0%), just used it for the Wet and Dry values. Wet at 50% - Dry at 75%.

NastyDLAMKII: Panorama Doubler setting.

EasyQ equalizer: Smiley Curves setting (I modified the GlobalGain setting to -4.0)

IL Maximus: Master Aid 1 setting. The only commercial effect I utilized for this song. It is bundled with FL Studio. There are other compressors which can do a great job too, and they are free.

I recorded the video with Windows Movie Maker for Windows 8 -a lovely OS if you ask me-.

The sound was recorded on a laptop in a very simple manner -due to the lack of time-, without resorting to external loudspeakers or a surround sound 'cos I hadn't a surround setup (or similar) around when I recorded the song, and laptop loudspeakers tend to be underwhelming, so your experience while listening to this video might differ from mine.

Love is here - Sophie Ellis Bextor lyrics

xosece 2013-05-06 | I love this song, very fun, uplifting and catchy, and Sophie Ellis Bextor is truly amazing --love her with all my soul. I haven't found a version of this song featuring the lyrics, so I decided it would be a good idea to create and upload a video myself. Of course now you can sing it along if you want.

Update: the song is blocked in some European countries based on copyright grounds, so if you can't watch the video that's the likely reason.

Azucar Amargo (Bitter Sugar) by Fey MIDI using different Soundfonts -Arachno, Roland TTS-1 Synth-

xosece 2012-12-28 | Fey is a mexican born singer whose father is from Spain, while her mother is from Argentina. She rose to fame and achieved massive international success in the mid '90s after launching her first album which reached gold disc status shortly after being released.

The Soundfonts used in this song are Arachno Soundfont -I love the Rock Piano and the Bright Piano of this one-, Musical Box -dance drums featured in the latest version, from November 2012- and the software synthesizer Roland TTS-1 -the lead 2 sawtooth patch changed to the TTS-1's Natural Lead instrument, Organ 5 used instead of the percussive organ patch, and the Choir Aahs backing (the volume had to be decreased in order to be quiet because it was noticeably off and other instruments got hidden behind the harmony) the layered track which sounds a lot more balanced even at max volumen, the Synth Vox of the melody is from the Roland TTS-1 synth too-.

I used Synthfont, wonderful software, to record the original audio featuring a bit depth of 24 bits and 44100Hz sample rate, then compressed it to a lossless format.

http://www.synthfont.com

The VST settings used for this song are pretty simple, really:

NastyDLAmkII: "Slap back" setting
Ambience: "Pady-Piano: Bright" setting, Process mode active (Mix 50/50)
GlaceVerb: "Mix - Final Master" setting. Process mode active (Mix 50/50)
EasyQ: PseudoGraphic setting.

This is the link to the original video of the song Azucar amargo "Bitter Sugar" by Fey:

http://youtu.be/AyxpXVUy81o?t=1m11s

I attached a little Christmas message at the end of the video because it's Christmas 2012 when I uploaded it. Happy holidays!

I'd rather recommend to watch the video at 720p.

Translated (rough translation) lyrics of the song:

You want to hide something
that I don't know what it is
and it's hurting me already.

Please don't put
between you and me
doubts that for today
can make us drift apart.

Answer me, even if it hurts
tell me why
they don't shine the same as yesterday (literal translation --in english it makes more sense switching sentences, this one and the next below it-, but I think it gets the point of the original song across, deal)
the pupils when you look at me.

You are lying, I know you well
it's clear that
something is changing.

Speak, don't evade me
say point-blank already
what's making you feel that way
visibly agitated.

In the altar
of my particular creed
Nothing, nobody matters more to me
than the music of your lips.

You are bitter sugar
frenzy and sin
a chest of surprises
you arrive kiss me and
You are bitter sugar
an angel a devil
damned deceiver
I just feel,
that I am losing you.

I hate having to be me
the one who forces you to take
that first step.

If there is
someone else apart from me
right now and here
we put an end to it.

I will be torn to pieces
inside I will be torn to pieces
because of the pain but I won't take
a single step to stop you.

You are bitter sugar
frenzy and sin
a chest of surprises
you arrive kiss me and

You are bitter sugar
an angel a devil
the person that I love
but I feel that I don't have you anymore.

In the altar
of my particular creed
you have always been the best, nobody but you
the one that I am mirroring.
You are bitter sweet
frenzy and sin
a chest of surprises
you arrive kiss me and

You are bitter sugar
an angel a devil
damned deceiver
how much it hurts knowing that I lose you.
Bitter sugar
frenzy and sin
a chest of surprises
you arrive kiss me and
You are bitter sugar
an angel a devil
damned deceiver
how it hurts knowing that I lose you.

THEYRE NEVER GONNA GET US by TATU. MIDI using fine quality Soundfonts (Arachno, MB, Roland TTS-1)

xosece 2012-09-11 | The Soundfonts used in this song are Arachno Soundfont, Musical Box and Roland TTS-1 soft synth.

The Roland TTS-1 is bundled with Music Creator 6 or Sonar.

Arachno Soundfont can be downloaded here:

http://www.arachnosoft.com/main/download.php?category=soundfonts

Musical Box soundfont download links are included and explained in the corresponding video of my Youtube account.

THE SOUND IS COMPLETELY RAW, not a single VST or extra effect was added.

This song is one of those strange cases where the synthesized song can sound better than the original. Mainly because of some details and nuances which are harder to distinguish in the original song.

This is the link to the original MIDI file used in this song.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/80300586/TATU_THEYRE_NEVER_GONNA_GET%20us.mid

I edited the MIDI file with the full version of Anvil Studio 2012 to change the drums from Standard to a more dance-like drum kit.

The song was recorded with Synthfont, a masterly program created by Kenneth Rundt.

http://www.synthfont.com

Regarding Tatu I always loved them. It was a bummer when I found out they weren't partners, that it was all just for publicity. I was so very happy seeing the girls dance together, love each other, kiss. :D They were so perfect that way...

But I still enjoy their music immensely.

Roland TTS-1 nice MIDI sound. Showing how this synthesizer sounds plenty fine

xosece 2012-07-08 | This video is meant to show how the Roland TTS-1 software synth sounds. The TTS-1 is really great and it's amazingly flexible, to the point you can carefully edit every single patch of it.

It would be great to know how far creative users can go with the Roland TTS-1, because the possibilities are quite awesome.

It features all the General MIDI and the more recent General MIDI 2 instruments, so you have plenty of sounds to play with.

However, in this video I didn't change any sound/instrument detail. This is how the Roland TTS-1 sounds raw.

As they say, the necessity is the mother of invention, if you wanted or needed to create a special sound from some instrument you could. Sometimes in a matter of seconds, it is very straightforward and well done.

The Roland TTS1 is the best "bang for buck" synth if you want to have a pretty much hassle free synth for your music! It is plenty fine.

It's not very expensive as it is bundled with Music Creator 6, and I got MC6 on sale a couple of years ago for 20€.

These two songs are excellent examples of what you can achieve with the TTS1, and the steps he took to make it sound like that are explained in detail with text while the music sounds:

youtube.com/watch?v=HyxuuxUW2ZM&hd=1

youtube.com/watch?v=IEVgbCP0YVQ&hd=1

Roland TTS1 is a DXi instrument, so it needs a DXi compatible program like Music Creator or Band in a Box, but there is a simple solution to make it work with your regular DAW or even as your default Windows MIDI player.

There is a DXi wrapper that can find here:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=177538&sid=09f15f8ca0e7f1805e212f6b99d07bb0

In order to use it as your default Windows MIDI player, be it for programs such as Spider, XMPlay, Windows Media Player... or just classic games that feature MIDI sound (something that Roland sounds usually excel at) you might need a neat utility called loopMIDI (working in conjuction with BassMIDIdriver or CoolVirtualMIDISynth and a VST host):

http://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/loopmidi.html

There is very helpful, exceptional video explaining how to set it up as your default MIDI player which has been made by Ultimate Doomer with detailed instructions. A MUST SEE!

youtube.com/watch?v=UWIzlpUQe3Q

A couple of pictures of the synth.

http://www.rolandee.cz/upload/2005127/TTS1v.gif

http://media.soundonsound.com/sos/jan05/images/sonar405tts1.l.jpg

And a neat detailed article about it.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun05/articles/sonartech.htm

Fly me to the moon. Piano song. High Quality MIDI Soundfont

xosece 2012-06-08 | This song is devoted to those who have found that special someone.

It is a MIDI song recorded using Synthfont and a MIDI Soundfont.

MIDI download link:

dropbox.com/s/jg9ht06u1f63krx/84flymoon.mid?dl=0

Crucifix Held Close. Super High quality MIDI with a fine Soundfont (proVITAMIN MKII)

xosece 2012-05-31 | One of the best songs of the game Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.

I just changed the Distortion Guitar (which is the ONLY weak point I find about proVitamin) to the Uberguitar V soundfont for this song.

You can find proVITAMIN MKII soundfont here:

http://reasonbanks.com

The sound was captured with an awesome program called Synthfont -you are great Kenneth!-, using Play - Play to File (Write) option. http://synthfont.com

BEGINNER'S TUTORIAL TO ENJOY MIDI AT ITS BEST QUALITY

To start with, you'll most likely need the following:

Synthfont http://www.synthfont.com

A must have utility to change the default Windows midi handling setup for MIDI playback -Windows uses the very average "GS Wavetable Synth- and switch to the top quality Soundfont you like, is this fantastic one: http://www.mudlord.info/bassmididrv/#bassmididriverdownloads

Links to other interesting soundfonts -you can find more links in Synthont's webpage-:

Titanic Soundfont:

http://rapidlibrary.com/source.php?file=ulzrtxexyri89on&sec=fa540557

SGM-V2.01:

http://www.geocities.jp/shansoundfont

Arachno Soundfont:

http://www.arachnosoft.com/main/soundfont.php

Merlin Symphony:

http://www.soundfonts.gonet.biz/

Link to the original song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs6bNBu5JE8

Popful Mail - World. MIDI song played with a wonderful high quality Soundfont.

xosece 2012-05-27 | My preferred song from a very old game called Popful Mail (which was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and I have never played :D ). The song is called World. The soundfont used to record this music is one of the best commercial soundfonts I have, in my humble opinion; Merlin Symphony 1.21 ( http://www.soundfonts.gonet.biz/ ).

The sound was captured with an amazing program called Synthfont -thanks Kenneth!-, using Play - Play to File (Write) option. http://synthfont.com

BEGINNER'S TUTORIAL TO ENJOY MIDI AT ITS BEST QUALITY

To start with, you'll most likely need the following:

Synthfont http://www.synthfont.com

A must have utility to change the default Windows midi handling setup for MIDI playback -Windows uses the very average "GS Wavetable Synth- and use a top quality Soundfont you like, is this fantastic one:
http://www.mudlord.info/bassmididrv/#bassmididriverdownloads

Future World Helloween MIDI superb sound quality using an incredible Soundfont. Metal to the max

xosece 2012-05-24 | This is another video showing how amazing and professional MIDI music can sound with a great quality Soundfont. SoniVOX 250 GS -the one I used for this video, my favourite soundfont along with the great Merlin Symphony!! Titanic or SGM (links below), both free, might be fine options too- in this case.

This song, Future World by Helloween, made a deep impression on me when I was a kid. One of my brothers also fell in love with it the moment he listened to it back then. It was love at first sight for him, as they say.

Other amazing soundfonts are Titanic -great one, almost 300MB in size-, Crisis 3.01 -1,7GB-, SGM-V2.01 -almost 250 MB in size, very good!-, Arachno Soundfont -148 MB-, RealFont 2.1 (101 MB), General User GS -29,8MB-, Personal Copy 5.1 (56 MB), Aspirin 160 -nice guitars, very original and good sound for its small size- and Roland sc-55 Soundfont (10MB, small but great sound and especially great balance).

The sound was captured with a superb amazing atemporal program called Synthfont -thanks Kenneth!- selecting the option Play - Play to File (Write) to obtain the most pure sound.

http://synthfont.com

DETAILED SETTINGS

VST Plugins used

The fantastic NastyDLAmkII (LOVE IT!!!!) with Panorama Doubler setting
SonicChorus plugin -- Psycho Boost setting (very subtle chorus effect, quite lovely)
Ambience plugin for Reverberation -- Pady Piano Bright setting
Classic Chorus -- Vocal Overdub setting

Bus 1 VST Plugins, exclusively for the Distortion Guitar:

Classic Phaser -- Electric Guitar #2 setting
Classic Chorus -- setting Hard Guitar Flanger
Sonic Chorus -- set to Psycho Boost
NastyDLAmkII -- Nice Pan setting
GlaceVerb -- Vocal Preset 2, for a nice Reverberation effect

Those are the SmartAudio utility Equalizer settings for the operating system and general sound playback:

+ or - from Default value -a completely flat value for each equalizer band- which is 0

31Hz -- Value +6
62Hz -- Value 0
125Hz -- Value +10
250Hz -- Value +5
500 Hz -- Value +2
1Khz -- Value -5
2Khz -- Value +3
4Khz -- Value +5
8Khz -- Value +3
16Khz -- Value +6

SYNTHFONT built-in Equalizer settings (I tried to match SmartAudio equalizer values -the previous ones I listed in this description- as much as possible):

80Hz -- Default 0
200 Hz -- Value +10
500 Hz -- Value +2
1250 Hz -- Value -7
2500 Hz -- Value +2
5000 Hz -- Value +3
10000 Hz -- Value +2
15000 Hz -- Value +4

BEGINNER'S TUTORIAL TO START EDITING YOUR SONGS -or if you just want to enjoy MIDI music at its best-

This quick tutorial is meant to quickly set your PC up to play awesome MIDI music with the best possible quality using your preferred Soundfont.

One of the easiest ways to start is downloading Synthfont, and setting your preferred Soundfont/s with it http://www.synthfont.com

After installing it you just have to go to File - Set your Default Soundfont file. For it to work though, you need an actual Soundfont. See the list at the top of the description:

Titanic soundfont http://rapidlibrary.com/source.php?file=ulzrtxexyri89on&sec=fa540557

SGM-V2.01 Soundfont http://www.geocities.jp/shansoundfont

The colossal, size wise, Crisis 3.01 can be downloaded in the following link http://www.bismutnetwork.com

The plugins I mentioned can be easily found with Internet search services like Google, Bing, Yahoo or similar.

The default Soundfont that Windows uses during MIDI playback is the very low quality soundfont 'GS Wavetable Synth'. You can select another one, with a much better sound quality downloading this excellent and incredible utility which allows you to set your favourite soundfont for general playback in Windows.

http://www.mudlord.info/bassmididrv/#bassmididriverdownloads

I'd definitely recommend listening to this video at 720p or 1080p for the best possible sound quality.

THE ORIGINAL SONG by Helloween http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9h3jRaZyB4

A better version of the song, IMO, performed by Helloween; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4KBY_lhfjg

The original MIDI file of this song here: dropbox.com/s/tcjhk9jlkxurujp/Future%20World.MID?dl=0

Castlevania Dracula X Slash Opus 13 MIDI sound using a super high quality Soundfont.

xosece 2012-05-24 | This song is from one of my favourite videogames -although no Castlevania game beats Super Castlevania IV, in my humble opinion- on the SNES.

To record it I used SoniVOX 250 GM Wavetable Soundfont, one of my preferred to date -fantastic soundfont!! Titanic or SGM (links below) are free and great options also- and SGM V2.01 soundfont -it has a very good drumkit for this song in particular-.

Here is a list of other amazing soundfonts; Titanic -great one, free, almost 300MB in size-, Crisis 3.01 -1,7GB-, SGM-V2.01 -almost 250 MB in size, very good!-, Merlin Symphony 1.21 -truly excellent!!, 163 MB- Arachno Soundfont -148 MB-, RealFont 2.1 (101 MB), General User GS -29,8MB-, Personal Copy 5.1 (56 MB), Aspirin 160 -nice guitars, very original and good sound for its small size- and Roland sc-55 Soundfont (10MB, small but great sound and especially great balance).

If you want links to download them, just ask. I would gladly tell you.

The sound was captured with a superb amazing atemporal program called Synthfont -thanks Kenneth!- selecting the option Play - Play to File (Write) to obtain the most pure sound.

http://synthfont.com

These are the Equalizer settings of SmartAudio, for the operating system and general sound playback:

+ or - from Default value -a completely flat value for each equalizer band- which is 0

31Hz -- Value +6
62Hz -- Value 0
125Hz -- Value +10
250Hz -- Value +5
500 Hz -- Value +2
1Khz -- Value -5
2Khz -- Value +3
4Khz -- Value +5
8Khz -- Value +3
16Khz -- Value +6

SYNTHFONT built-in Equalizer settings (I tried to match SmartAudio equalizer values -the previous ones I listed in this description- as much as possible):

80Hz -- Default 0
200 Hz -- Value +10
500 Hz -- Value +2
1250 Hz -- Value -7
2500 Hz -- Value +2
5000 Hz -- Value +3
10000 Hz -- Value +2
15000 Hz -- Value +4

Links to the soundfonts used for this song

Sonivox 250 Meg GM Wavetable

sonivoxmi.com/AboutMnuPress.asp?ID=&FirstId=129#ProductDetail.asp%3FItem%3DGMWavetable250Meg%2C%23pagedetail%2C%23pagedetailinner%2C%2C%2C%23productinfo%20td%20a.activebold%2C80

SGM V2.01:

http://www.geocities.jp/shansoundfont

BEGINNER'S TUTORIAL TO START EDITING YOUR SONGS -or if you just want to enjoy MIDI music at its best-

This quick tutorial is meant to quickly set your PC up to play awesome MIDI music with the best possible quality using your preferred Soundfont.

One of the easiest ways to start is downloading Synthfont, and setting your preferred Soundfont/s with it http://www.synthfont.com

After installing it you just have to go to File - Set your Default Soundfont file. For it to work though, you need an actual Soundfont. See the list at the top of the description:

Titanic soundfont http://rapidlibrary.com/source.php?file=ulzrtxexyri89on&sec=fa540557

Merlin Symphony 1.21 (excellent) can be found at Merlin site: http://www.soundfonts.gonet.biz/

The colossal, size wise, Crisis 3.01 can be downloaded in the following link http://www.bismutnetwork.com

List of plugins used in this song:

NastyDLAmkII
SonicChorus
Ambience
Classic Chorus
Classic Phaser
NastyVCS
Rescue
BootEQMKII

The aforementioned plugins can be easily found with Internet search services like Google, Bing, Yahoo or similar. But once again, I would happily provide you with links if you ask for them.

The default Soundfont that Windows uses during MIDI playback is the very low quality soundfont 'GS Wavetable Synth'. You can select another one, with a much better sound quality downloading this excellent and incredible utility which allows you to set your favourite soundfont for general playback in Windows.

http://www.mudlord.info/bassmididrv/#bassmididriverdownloads

I'd definitely recommend listening to this video at 720p or 1080p for the best possible sound quality.

The original Super Nintendo sound of this song can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nBOkff9Ocs

Enjoy! Best listened to at 720p or 1080p.

F-Zero Silence Top quality MIDI sound using Titanic Soundfont

xosece 2012-05-04 | This is my second video showing how amazing and professional MIDI music can sound with a great quality Soundfont.

This song, Silence, is part of the soundtrack from the unforgettable and original F-Zero (Super Nintendo).

I chose Titanic Soundfont, my favourite Soundfont ever to date (and I have tried basically almost everyone of them) for this video. Other really good possibilities are Crisis 3.0 -1,7GB Soundfont-, SGM-V2.01 -my second favourite, almost 250 MB-, Arachno Soundfont -148 MB-, RealFont (101 MB), General User GS -29,8MB-, Personal Copy 5.1 (56 MB) and Roland sc-55 Soundfont (10MB, small but great sound and especially great balance).

The sound was captured with a superb program called Synthfont selecting the option Play - Play to File (Write) to obtain the most pure sound.

Here it is a beginner's tutorial to quickly set your PC up to play awesome MIDI music with the best possible quality using your preferred Soundfont.

The easiest way for beginners is downloading Synthfont, and setting your Soundfont there.

Synthfont can be downloaded here:

http://www.synthfont.com

After installing it you just have to go to File - Set your Default Soundfont file.

For it to work though, you need an actual Soundfont.

You can download the amazing Titanic Soundfont here:

http://rapidlibrary.com/source.php?file=ulzrtxexyri89on&sec=fa540557

SGM-V2.01 Soundfont can be downloaded here:

http://www.geocities.jp/shansoundfont

With these two you will have what you need to enjoy the best MIDI music which is available out there.

This comes down to personal preference. This is just an but I use these VST plugins.

Stardust (setting Pumping House, which tries to reproduce the pumping house effect used by many professional radio stations. Neat plugin)

Download link: http://www.aodix.com/pagestardust.html

GMulti-GJ Downloadable here:

http://www.gvst.co.uk/gmulti.htm

Reverbering (for a good reverb). Download link:

http://www.kvraudio.com/product/reverbering_by_nusofting

MykraChorus2.0, simple but functional for a fine chorus effect.

Download link: ntsaudio.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-askFreeware.tpl&product_id=484&Itemid=249

For those interested in using a good quality Soundfont to play MIDI files in some games or in Windows, BassMidi Driver is the best option.

The default Soundfont which Windows uses for MIDI playback is the very average soundfont 'GS Wavetable Synth' by Microsoft, and you can select another one, with a much better sound quality using this excellent and incredible utility.

http://www.mudlord.info/bassmididrv/#bassmididriverdownloads

XMPlay is also another good program to listen to sound files, and it accepts Soundfonts using its MIDI plugin. Links:

http://www.un4seen.com

http://support.xmplay.com/files_view.php?file_id=500 (a 33KB fabulous MIDI plugin which accepts Soundfonts)

I'd strongly recommend listen to this video at 720p or 1080p.

Sonic The Hedgehog Green Hill Zone MIDI using top quality Soundfont

xosece 2012-04-30 | This video shows how fine MIDI music can sound with a great quality Soundfont. I chose SGM-V2.01 Soundfont for this video. Other really good possibilities are Crisis 3.0 -1,7GB Soundfont-, Titanic -almost 300 MB-, Arachno Soundfont -148 MB-, RealFont (101 MB), General User GS -29,8MB-, Personal Copy 5.1 (56 MB) and Roland sc-55 Soundfont (10MB, small but good sound and especially great balance). The sound was captured with a superb program called Synthfont ( http://www.synthfont.com ), selecting the option Play - Play to File (Write) to obtain the most pure sound.

VST Plugins used:

GMulti-GJ (setting Subtle Mix)
Stardust (setting Pumping House, which tries to reproduce the pumping house effect used by many professional radio stations)
Reverbering (setting Clean Stereo, for a good reverb)
MykraChorus2.0 (setting Enhancer with a personal touch)

I'd strongly recommend listen to this video at 720p or 1080p.

Song: Greenhillzone.mid