musescore 3 synthesizer sound font folder disappeared
I closed up MuseScore 3 and then reopened it and discovered that all the soundfonts I had added vanished from the synthesizer folder. I tried following the directions online to recover the soundfont folder I had been using (that fortunately is still on my computer) but nothing has worked. I entered the path to the correct soundfont folder and entered the correct path but no matter what I do, I cannot get MuseScore 3 to accept the folder. I tried adding to the synthesizer folder that is now shown (containing only MuseScore General.sf3) but cannot even add .sf2 files. This is just the latest absurdity with MuseScore 3. I am at a complete loss. Other issues include the navigator suddenly not working so I need to restart MuseScore 3 repeatedly, sometimes not getting any sound when I upload a file to MuseScore online so I need to restart my computer and try again and that usually works, unexpected movement of notes in a score, and failure to space properly. Yes, I have tried reinstalling MuseScore 3 and still had the same problems. My computer is a new iMac barely 3 months old. Frankly, after months of struggling, I am so frustrated and disgusted that I really have given up on MuseScore 3 and will go back to MuseScore 2 since that has been wonderfully reliable for years.
Comments
Try https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/revert-factory-settings
HTH
I think you might be confusing two different folders. MuseScore has its own folder, in "Program Files" (Windows) or wherever MuseScore is installed on macOS. That's where MuseScore_General.sf3 lives, but you should not be touching that folder in any way. Your own soundfonts belong in your own soundfonts folder, the one right next to your Score folder, under "MuseScore3" in your home / documents folder.
As for sound on musescore.com. that's not really related to version of MuseScore, but probably you simply re relying on your own custom soundfonts and thus you need to upload the score audio when you upload your score, otherwise it won't be able to find the sounds.
For whatever problems you are having figuring out spacing or other issues, best to start a new thread MuseScore 3 has some absolutely amazing improvement in default position and spacing, but it does mean if you were oreviously relying on the old quirks and limitations of MseScore 2, you will need to unlearn those habits. We're happy to help, just start a new thread and attach a score you are having trouble with.
In reply to I think you might be… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks for your quick reply. Unfortunately, your answer did not help me. I am well aware of the soundfont folder, having used MuseScore 3 for three months and MuseScore 2 for a few years. I had my own soundfont folder with lots of soundfonts that I had added. I used if for three months. Now, I can not get MuseScore 3 to recognize it. I enter the correct path in preferences but MuseScore says it can't recognize it. It only wants to do the default. So, I don't know what to do now. I have followed online guidelines as well as the MuseScore 3 handbook but have been unable to MuseScore to recognize it. I have done this before. When I started MuseScore 3, I loaded all the soundfonts from MuseScore 2 into my soundfont folder for MuseScore 3 to use. But now I can't seem to get it to work. Of course, it is possible that I have totally 'lost my marbles' but I have been trying to get this to work all day today without success. I need to get it to work because, of course, I can't load any of my MuseScore 3 created files into MuseScore 2 unless I make Midi files first, another dumb aggravation. Sorry to complain but I paid money for the privilege of being on MuseScore, now only to suffer great frustration. I am also well aware of uploading my score audio when adding music online. I am also well aware of the "amazing improvements in default position and spacing" but they seem quirky in my experience. So, I am sorry but your answer was of no help.
In reply to Thanks for your quick reply… by chinadoll
Well, I just somehow (and I don't know how, just a monkey pressing keys unfortunately) figured out how to add all my soundfonts back so MuseScore 3 recognizes it. However, it they are totally out of order. Why in the world would simply closing MuseScore 3 totally discard what I chose as my default soundfont folder containing all my soundfonts in the correct order? I am quite unhappy.
In reply to Thanks for your quick reply… by chinadoll
When you say "MuseScore says it can't recognize it", what is the exact text of the message MsueScore gives you? And what was the last thing you did before that error message popped up - was it closing the Edit / Preferences dialog, or viewing the soundfonts options in the Synthesizer, or what?
I see you are now saying the soundfonts have appeared but not in the expected order - if you didn't see this order previously, what set your expectations for what the order should be? You can generally order the soundfont list however you like, but if you want this to be remembered, you need to press the "Set as Default" button.
To be clear, though - none of this has changed in any way from MuseScore 2. You do need to set up the folder again when moving from 2 to 3, but and also load the soundfonts into the synthesizer, but the process of doing all this hasn't changed.
In reply to When you say "MuseScore says… by Marc Sabatella
As I recall, the message was "nothing selected" despite checking and rechecking the path. In the past, this method worked in MuseScore 2 where I did not get that "nothing selected" message.
The last thing I did was to press apply and close the edit/preferences dialog.
What set my expectations was that I had them in a different order previously when viewed in the synthesizer window. Of course, after setting the order I pressed set as default. I certainly know that.
Your last paragraph is frustrating because though you say it shouldn't happen, it obviously did change.
In reply to As I recall, the message was… by chinadoll
If the message says "nothing selected", then apparently whatever button you pressed requires something to be selected in order to work. So, which button did you press, and what had you intended to select first?
We'd love to help, but we really need to understand what is actually happening, since whatever the problem is, it appears to only be affecting you (no one else has reported anything like this). So if it ever happens again, please pay careful attention to exactly what you are doing and exactly what happens in response. What we'd need are precise step by step instructions to follow in order to reproduce a problem. As it is, everything I have tried works exactly as expected, I am unable to get anything to go wrong. That might be frustrating to hear, but take it as a challenge - if it's not working correctly on your system, try to give us as much detail as possible about the exact steps leading to the problem.
In reply to Thanks for your quick reply… by chinadoll
As a sidenote, when you do wish to move a MuseScore 3 file to MuseScore 2, use MusicXML as an exchange format rather than MIDI. The former being an actual score format, while the latter is merely an automated instruments playback instruction file, which drops all kinds of notation information.
In reply to As a sidenote, when you do… by jeetee
Thank you. That helps and it works. Appreciate it.