Installing new soundfonts overrides existing sound settings, etc.

• Nov 22, 2019 - 01:26

I've been experimenting with installing new soundfonts lately, and have come across a few issues, as follows:

  1. When installing a new soundfont to an existing score (using the "Synthesizer" "Fluid" tab), every single instrument in the score gets reset to the new soundfont. I must go into the mixer and reset every patch to the appropriate instrument, even the child parts (e.g. pizzicatto and tremolo for strings). This is a major drag for orchestral scores. Am I doing something wrong?

  2. Once I've got the score all set with the new soundfonts where I want them (utilizing Musescore 3 on my computer) and everything is sounding great, I then upload the score to Musescore on line. However, when played back online, the new soundfonts have disappeared, and the part instrument goes to some default that usually sounds awful. Am I doing something wrong, or is it a case of Musescore online simply being unable to recognize/incorporate new soundfonts? If the latter, I suppose I could create a youtube mp3 and synchronize the score, but that's a lot of extra work.

  3. I have not yet successfully managed to import a full library of sounds (an sfz file). I've had to resort to installing one sound font at a time, which is rather tedious. Is there a way to install en masse that I just haven't figured out yet?

Thanks for any help or advice you can provide!

Comments

• Nov 22, 2019 - 01:44

The mixer uses the first soundfont listed in the fluid tab as default sounds. If you change the first soundfont in the list, your sounds in the mixer will probably be changed. The solution is that when you add a soundfont, move it down in the list.

When you open the mixer and look at the sound for an instrument you see every sound in every soundfont listed. The first soundfont has nothing after the sounds listed in it. Starting with the second sound font, if the sound exists in a previous soundfont a number is placed beside it in parentheses. This number starts at 1 for the second sound font listed in the synthesizer, 2 for the third and so forth. You can use this information to determine which soundfont you are viewing at a given time.

I strongly advise that you list the soundfont that comes with MuseScore first in the synthesizer. This will ensure a reasonable sound is almost always assigned to an instrument. You can then select a different sound for your instruments if you prefer one of those sounds over the MuseScore default. Once you get used to the soundfonts you might want to list a soundfont you like better, but do be aware that if the sound assigned to the instrument does not exist in the soundfont, the first sound in the font will be used. In the MuseScore default and most others, this is the Grand Piano.

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