SFZ format documentation

[audiojunkie]

Thanks, will add those. There definitely is a lot more software that supports SFZ than I knew about when I started work on this.

Awesome!! One more thing that I just noticed: TAL Sampler is Commercial software, not Freeware. Thank you again!!

[redtide]

BTW, DSMolken, I noticed that you don't have Carla listed as an instrument that can play SFZ files in the SFZ Players list. It is for Linux.

AFAIK Carla now uses SFZero to read SFZ files, it used LinuxSampler before but it was dropped due to license incompatibility.

[audiojunkie]

BTW, DSMolken, I noticed that you don't have Carla listed as an instrument that can play SFZ files in the SFZ Players list. It is for Linux.

AFAIK Carla now uses SFZero to read SFZ files, it used LinuxSampler before but it was dropped due to license incompatibility.

Nevertheless, it is a separate entity, and should be treated as such, regardless of the libraries used. It's nice to have options!

[DSmolken]

AFAIK Carla now uses SFZero to read SFZ files, it used LinuxSampler before but it was dropped due to license incompatibility.

And a big KVR welcome to the person who migrated everything from the old Wiki, made the site look nice and made it easier to maintain, too!

[discoDSP]

@DSmolken please check your PM thanks.

[redtide]

@audiojunkie yes sure, falkTX is doing amazing software for Linux, I use some on my system

@DSmolken Thank you!

[DSmolken]

Because the envelopes and LFOs for SFZ2 can be pretty confusing, I wrote tutorials explaining the modulations possible under the SFZ1 and SFZ2 specs:

https://sfzformat.com/tutorials/sfz1_modulations

https://sfzformat.com/tutorials/sfz2_modulations

The second includes a simple way to make sax vibrato that goes below the main note's pitch, and also using LFOs to modulate other LFOs and achieve humanization.

We could use more contributions, if somebody wants to help out. We could use someone who knows Jekyll plugins so we can reorganize the currently chaotic opcode info into a proper data structure and generate pages and tables from it. We could also use code examples of things we haven't posted yet. Examples of piano-specific stuff like release noises, pedal noises and half-pedaling would be great, as would true sampled legato, or a subtractive synth. I know all those things are possible but haven't really done them so I don't really have anything handy. Well, I could adapt stuff from String Cyborgs for the synth, but the other two I haven't done at all.

[audiojunkie]

Nice!! Thank you for the tutorials!!

BTW, I was thinking..... It might be useful for people to know of the various applications that can "Convert" to SFZ format. Just a thought...

[DSmolken]

Yeah, we kind of have import and export mentioned under the players page, but you're right - it should really be split off into its own page, and more detailed.

[pljones]

Might be worth mentioning the magic CC numbers on the SFZ1 page, as they're really useful for some of the things that only have CC mods. Although, they are by their nature "possibly some extension opcodes", I suppose... The documented ones are standard across rgc:audio/Cakewalk and Plogue.

"pan_onccX" (mentioned on the SFZ2 page) will be SFZ2 only. For SFZ1, it would be "pan_ccX" ... and, according to my page, it existed in the rgc:audio player "unofficially". Possibly applies to "width", as well, in that case, though I might have mentioned if it did...

[DSmolken]

Yeah, the status of those is odd... specifying what CCs above 127 should probably isn't really part of the SFZ standard formally, but as a lot of them are common in Cakewalk stuff and ARIA, and very useful to people making instruments, they're worth a mention. I should link the extended CCs from the SFZ2 link at the very least.

Thanks for the pan info, too - it's like, I know that works when I use it, but don't want to mislead people who want to stick to SFZ1 for max compatibility.

[tcollins]

I am interested in sfz development, and we actually included sfz versions of an instrument in one of our libraries, for people who don't have Kontakt. I would love to see this format used in a keyboard, where you essentially could load in any sound you want without hooking up a laptop on stage. Just an sfz player with effects.

Anyway, a couple of questions about ogg vorbis files:

1. Is there a converter out there that will go from looped waves to looped ogg? Does ogg even support loops?
2. Does ogg sound good? I've converted some instruments to ogg, but didn't really listen closely. And the ogg files didn't have the sustain loops.

Thanks -TC

[pljones]

You might get a wider range of responses about the OGG files if you post it as a new thread.

[DSmolken]

Seen plenty of SFZ instruments using FLAC, not OGG though.

I like the idea of an SFZ-based stage keyboard a lot, though... might have to keep the sample sets small-ish for quick load times if you need to swap them out between songs, but there's potential there. Or even a rack module that can use a standard MIDI keyboard.

[audiojunkie]

Seen plenty of SFZ instruments using FLAC, not OGG though.

I like the idea of an SFZ-based stage keyboard a lot, though... might have to keep the sample sets small-ish for quick load times if you need to swap them out between songs, but there's potential there. Or even a rack module that can use a standard MIDI keyboard.

Have you seen http://zynthian.org/ ? It's already pretty cool, but it's going to be fantastic for live work once the Rpi 4 gets integrated.