[linux-audio-user] how good are soundfonts and where do I find them?

[tim hall]

All fair comment Rick,

Last Wednesday 07 July 2004 22:14, Rick Henry was like:
> I'm not sure if you've invested in sample sets prior to using Linux, but if
> you have and still have a Windows machine running, 

I don't. Part of my frustration is the apparent need to delve into Windows to 
get the best out of soundfonts.

> one app you can purchase 
> fairly cheap (sub-$100) is translator pro from chickensys.  It translates
> many, many formats from one to another.  Over the years I've invested a
> sizeable chuck of cash on samples in various formats (AKAI, GIG, Halion),
> and with the pgm doing the translation, I can use everything I've purchased
> on various systems.  There are differences is the various formats (notably,
> keyswitching not working in Soundfonts), but you can work around them.
>
> I'm still currently trying to get translator pro to run under Wine (damn
> hidden file on the CD).

Therefore I don't bother with wine either.

> That said, is there a reason you're looking for free soundfonts (as opposed
> to for sale)?  I mentioned it in a previous post, but I'll mention it again
> - there are some commercial soundfonts (< $50) that will provide you with
> exactly what you need.

Yes, I have no money (i.e. my bag of brown rice ran out two days ago and I'm 
currently blagging off my housemate). I'm also on a mission to find out how 
far you can get in computer music on next to no money (e.g. welfare). I 
intend to disseminate what I've discovered once I've achieved the objective, 
which is to basically record an album using GNU tools on low cost / donated 
hardware. I want to show that it can not only be done, but done well. To this 
end the soundfonts I use should really be GPL'd or CC'd.

Buying soundfonts seems preferable to resorting to Windows, but I feel I'd 
prove the point of the current exercise better by buckling down and getting 
to know smurf or compiling swami (not in Debian archive) and doing the best I 
can with the current free resources.

Thanks for the suggestions anyway,

tim hall