Using SoundFont Support in SONAR

SoundFonts™ is the name for a Creative Labs file format that lets you trigger audio samples with MIDI notes. You can create SoundFont files using the Vienna SoundFont Studio application from Creative Labs, or you can purchase them from various vendors. The use of SoundFonts is supported by audio cards from SoundBlaster (SB Live, SB PCI, SB AWE) and Emu (Emu APS). SoundFonts are stored in groups of one or more patches, in files with the extension .SF2.

With SONAR's SoundFont support you can expect:

• An instrument definition, containing bank and patch names, will be automatically created.
• Any patches in the file will be loaded.
• The sound data will be sent to the SoundFont compatible synthesizer.

Using SoundFonts

SONAR offers two methods for using SoundFonts. A DirectX Instrument, or DXi called LiveSynth Pro is included with the program. This DXi allows users of any Windows compatible sound card to assign SoundFonts in their SONAR projects. 

Creative Labs Sound Blaster card owners have a second method available. Both methods are explained below.

Assigning SoundFonts with the LiveSynth Pro

1. Assign the LiveSynth Pro DXi by right-clicking the FX field of any audio track. Under DX Instruments, choose LiveSynth Pro. SONAR opens the LiveSynth Pro interface and displays the name of the soft synth in the audio track's FX field, with a bypass button to the left of the name
2. Select a SoundFont by clicking the Browse button in the LiveSynth Pro interface and selecting an SF2 file. For most installations, SoundFont samples can be found in 
   C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\SONAR 1\Sample Content\SoundFonts\Sonic Implants. 
   You can also find them in the \SoundFonts\Sonic Implants directory on your SONAR CD.
3. Choose an unused bank by entering the number into the "Bank #" text box. LiveSynth Pro supports up to 128 simultaneously loaded SoundFont banks. 
4. Click Load to load the selected SoundFont. 
5. Move to a MIDI track. Click the dropdown arrow in the MIDI track's Out field, and choose the LiveSynth Pro as it's output.
6. Repeat step 5 for all other MIDI tracks you'd like to play using SoundFonts. Note: When the cursor is in the Out field of one track, pressing the Up or Down arrow key moves the cursor to the same field in the next track.

Assigning SoundFonts with Sound Blaster audio cards

SONAR users who use Creative Labs SoundFont enabled sound cards can also assign SF2 files to a project using the Options | SoundFonts command. There are a few requirements for using this method to assign SoundFonts successfully with SONAR:

1. You must have a SoundFont capable sound card, drivers and software installed in your computer.
2. You must have installed the SoundFont Manager program during the SONAR setup routine.
3. You'll need to select a SoundFont capable MIDI Output device (such as the 'A: SB Live! MIDI Synth') in SONAR's Options | MIDI Devices menu.

NOTE: In Pro Audio 9.0 and Home Studio 9.0, you must have a SoundFont capable device selected in MIDI Devices before the Options | SoundFonts menu will be available to you.

Next, follow these steps:

1. Open a new or existing song in SONAR.
2. Assign a SoundFont in SONAR's Options | SoundFonts menu. Click the Attach button to open the Attach SoundFonts dialog box. From there, you can select the SoundFonts files and load them into your song. Once you've done this, the SoundFonts file will open whenever you open the SONAR file.
3. In the Out column of any MIDI track, select SoundFont Device. Assign a Channel number, a Bank and a Patch. If your SoundFont was created properly, you should now see the SoundFont Bank and Patch names in that track's Bank and Patch fields.

SONAR stores the name and current location of the SoundFont file(s) in the .WRK file. Because the .WRK file stores the path to your SoundFont file, if you move the SoundFont to another directory SONAR will be unable to locate the SoundFont file. You'll then need to re-attach the .SF2 file to the song.

Locations

Clicking this button lets you enter the locations of the SoundFont files. You can type in several paths, separated by semi-colons. For instance:

c:\SoundFonts;d:\synpatch;c:\tmp

SONAR searches for the files in the order you list their paths.

Detaching SoundFonts

If you want to remove a SoundFont file from your song, you'll need to return to the Options | SoundFonts dialogue. Select the SoundFont you'd like to remove from the song and click the Detach button. This operation will not erase the SoundFont file, but will only disassociate the SoundFont from the .WRK file. You can reattach the file later by choosing Options | SoundFonts | Attach.

Miscellaneous SoundFont Information

The SoundFonts command is enabled even if your system does not have a SoundFonts-compatible synthesizer. This lets you change the associated SoundFont file name on any computer.

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Using SoundFonts in Cakewalk Pro Audio 6 and other previous versions

First, load the SoundFonts into a User bank, by using the AWE Control Panel utility. Next, access the User bank in your Cakewalk program, by inserting a controller 0 event in the Event List. Make sure that the controller 0 value matches the User bank number you're trying to access. For example, if you want to access User Bank #2, then the Event List might look something like this:

• Trk Hr:Mn:Sc:Fr Meas:Beat:Tick Chn Kind Values
• 1 00:00:00:00 1:01:001 1 Control Number=0 Value=2

This tells your Cakewalk program to send a Ctl 0 message with a value of 2, at the beginning of the song, on track 1, channel 1.

You can also create a custom instrument definition that uses the 'Controller 0 Only' Bank Select Method.

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