[LAU] Decent soundfonts

[Simon Williams]

Ok, so I have the worst speakers in the world at the moment, which 
probably doesn't help, but I also think I'm lacking a decent soundfont.

At the moment I'm using FluidR3GM. I've heard people say that it's 
pretty good, but that's not the experience I have (or have with any 
soundfont I've tried so far TBH).

Firstly, in the opinion of people who actually know what they are 
talking about and has decent hardware (i.e. anybody on this list except 
me), how does fluidR3 compare to:
1. soundfonts you can buy
2. soundfonts built into mid-range keyboards

The biggest issue I have with it is that it seems to have been made from 
samples of instruments not more than one octave above or below middle C. 
If I go much lower then it's far too 'muddy'- if that's right word- 
essentially it vibrates too much, instead of giving a clean sound.
If I go much higher then it's too 'sharp'- the sound happens very 
suddenly, with a 'twang', and doesn't sustain for very long.

A lot of the instruments also seem to have a background noise which I 
can't really describe.

Also, most of them 'twang' too easily when you hit the keys harder.

Anyone know where I can get better soundfonts? I've downloaded all the 
ones I can unpack from hammersound, and some are better, but I can't 
find that many.

I'm mainly after a variety of piano type sounds (anything from grand to 
totally electronic) and pad/strings type sounds.

Thanks
Simon