#How to use sf2 files software#
#How to use sf2 files license#

To play such files, sample-based MIDI synthesizers use recordings of instruments and sounds stored in a file or ROM chip. MIDI files do not contain any sounds, only instructions to play them.

#How to use sf2 files license#

SoundFont is a registered trademark of Creative Technology, Ltd., and the exclusive license for re-formatting and managing historical SoundFont content has been acquired by Digital Sound Factory. The 2.04 format is bidirectionally compatible with the 2.01 format, so synthesizers that are only capable of rendering 2.0 or 2.01 format would automatically render instruments using 24-bit samples at 16-bit precision. The 2.04 format added support for 24-bit samples. SoundFont 2.04 (there never was a 2.02 or a 2.03 version) was introduced in 2005 with the Sound Blaster X-Fi. The 2.01 format is bidirectionally compatible with 2.0, which means that synthesizers capable of rendering 2.01 format will also by definition render 2.0 format, and synthesizers that are only capable of rendering 2.0 format will also read and render 2.01 format, but just not apply the new features. The 2.01 version added features allowing sound designers to configure the way MIDI controllers influence synthesizer parameters. Version 2.01 (usually, but incorrectly called 2.1) of the SoundFont file format was introduced in 1998 with an E-mu sound card product called the Audio Production Studio. Files in this and all other 2.x formats (see below) conventionally have the file extension of. All SoundFont 1.0 compatible devices were updated to support the SoundFont 2.0 format shortly after it was released to the public, and consequently the 1.0 version became obsolete. This version was fully disclosed as a public specification, with the goal of making the SoundFont format an industry standard.

This file format generalized the data representation using perceptually additive real world units, redefined some of the instrument layering features within the format, added true stereo sample support and removed some obscure features of the first version whose behavior was difficult to specify. Files in this format conventionally have the file extension of. The first and only major device to utilize this version was Creative's Sound Blaster AWE32 in 1994. A specification for this version was never released to the public. The original SoundFont file format was developed in the early 1990s by E-mu Systems and Creative Labs.

A detailed description can be found in the specification, which is currently only available as a copy on various company sites. The newest version of the SoundFont file format is 2.04 (often incorrectly called 2.4).

#How to use sf2 files software#

4 SoundFont creation software (.sf2 format).