Zerberus (SFZ) instruments are too quiet compared to SoundFont instruments
It was brought to my attention that the new percussion sounds (MuseScore DrumLine) are too quiet compared to the instruments provided by the default SoundFont. MuseScore DrumLine plays through Zerberus whereas the default SoundFont plays through FluidSynth. This led me to investigate whether there was a volume disparity between the two synths, and indeed there is: a single, unattenuated sample in Zerberus plays approx. 4.533 dB quieter than the same sample in FluidSynth.
Trying to adjust for this disparity by boosting samples in the SFZ file leads to clipping, so we really need to adjust the volume at the synthesizer output level.
I have attached a project that plays the same sample with identical settings through both FluidSynth and Zerberus. They should play at the same volume, but the Zerberus sample is quieter. Instructions for loading the samples are written at the top of the MuseScore project.
BTW, if we fix this for the next MuseScore release, it might mess with the SFZ mixer levels that people have set in their existing projects. In this case, perhaps MuseScore could detect when an older project is being loaded and adjust the mixer level of each staff containing an SFZ instrument to compensate for the change.
Attachment | Size |
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Zerberus_volume_test_04.zip | 79.04 KB |
Comments
I see the following comment in code:
Fixed in branch master, commit e8d4092ea1
fix #274258, fix #274396: implement global_volume and attenuate Zerberus
Attenuated Zerberus to be 4.5dB louder.
Not needed/wanted in 2.3.2?
Fixed in branch 2.3.2, commit b29ceb84fe
fix #274258, fix #274396: implement global_volume and attenuate Zerberus
Attenuated Zerberus to be 4.5dB louder.
add global_volume=-4.5 value to the unit test to prevent failing and
testing new opcode
Automatically closed -- issue fixed for 2 weeks with no activity.
In reply to Auto close by System Message
Is there an option to remove the Zerberus DB increase in certain scores? It's going to be a serious serious timewaster to have to go back and adjust the volume for dozens and dozens of files.