Introduction to SoundFonts

So what are these "SoundFonts" anyway?

SoundFont technology is a new way to do audio in personal computers.
This question is best answered first by understanding how audio is done in personal
computers today.
Personal computers today mostly use two approaches to audio:
Streaming
Take a large sample of digitized audio which is pre-recorded and pre-mixed and play
it out the speakers in small snipets or buffers.
Examples: Apple Sound Manager, Sound Blaster.
Synthesizing
Come up with a method of making sounds using electronic processing, and trigger
and control those sounds with events. In other words, make sounds by telling the
computer when to start a sound, when to end a sound, and what to do with a sound
while it is still playing.
Examples: FM Synthesis, ROM Wavetable Synthesis, Physical Modeling
Now... the advantages to each of these approaches.
In streaming:
You record the sound yourself or use professional recordings, and you play it back
yourself. You are able to create or use or craft any sound you want.
Also, with streaming audio, you know exactly what it going to sound like on any
compatible platform.
In synthesizing:
You can control what happens to the sound. You can choose which sound to play,
and you can control that sound in real time. You can apply all sorts of
modulators to the sound to change the pitch, filtering, volume. In other words,
synthesized audio is interactive.
Also, since synthesis techniques are typically handled in hardware, you get low CPU
overhead when using synthesizing. And because it is event driven, it takes up little
if any computer hard disk space. You can play hours and hours of new and original
music with as little as 1MB of disk space. A CD-ROM needs 650 MB to store about
one hour of music!
So, synthesizing conserves your computer's resources.
Now...the disadvantages to each of these approachs.
In streaming:
You have very little if any realtime control over the sound. Your sound has
already been recorded, it is what it is, and there is nothing you can do to change
that. You can't change just the violin part of streaming audio data, or add reverb to
just the drums.
In other words, streaming audio is not interactive.
Also, because streaming requires the computer to CONSTANTLY be sending little
snipets of audio to your speakers, streaming takes up a lot of CPU bandwidth,
which makes it hard for your computer to do other much more important things (like
displaying neat graphics, or word processing).
And, streaming audio requires a lot of your computer's disk space A CD-ROM
needs over 650 MB of data to hear a mere 60 minutes of audio!.
In synthesizing,
The disadvantages depend on the platform.
The lower end synthesizers (such as FM) have low quality sound because of their
limitations. Your audio is limited to those cheezy sound effects which those old video
games used to play (bleep, buzz, boop, etc).
With higher end synthesizers (such as ROM Wavetable or physical modeling) the
sounds are different depending on who created the sounds. You may not hear the
sounds the way their creator intended. There is a lack of consistancy in the audio
playback depending on which synthesizer you bought!
Also with either low or high end synthesizers, while you can easily change parts of a
composition, you still can't create or use your own sounds (like... yourself saying
"hey" or a really neat explosion sound you just recorded)
SoundFont technology is a hybrid of synthesizing and streaming which gives you
the advantages of BOTH, and the disadvantages of NEITHER.
SoundFont technology gives you audio which is interactive, customizable, and
common across platforms.
SoundFont technology allows you to play back your own samples in a high end
synthesizer platform. By first downloading the sounds you want to play and then
controlling the playback of those sounds with events (start now, stop now, filter
now, pitch bend now, etc), you get full runtime control over your own pallette
of sounds with minimum CPU overhead and disk space.
Not only that, any platform which claims to be SoundFont compatible will play the
same compositions the same way and it will sound the same on each of those
platforms.
And, SoundFont technology makes it easy to change the way you hear your
computer sounds!
Finally, since you are using recorded samples, there is no limit to the quality of the
audio you can create using SoundFont technology. Whether you want your audio to
sound like a cheezy game, or an orchestra in a concert hall, you can do it all with
SoundFont technology.
If you want examples of how anyone can use SoundFont technology, click here.

Why the name "SoundFont"?

As the name implies, SoundFont is similar to type 'fonts'. You start off with a
selection of sounds, and you use them as you need them.
Using SoundFont audio is like using a word processor to create, distribute, or
just read letters or documents. When you read a word processor document, it looks
just like the creator intended. Not only that, you can easily go in and change it if you
want!
On the other hand, streaming audio is like communicating using large graphics
files or fancy multi-coloered copies on paper. You get the information, it looks
nice, but you can't go and easily change it or copy parts of it if you want. And it
takes up a lot of CPU disk space.
And plain-old-synthesizer audio is like communicating using e-mail. Depending on
whether you use ZMail or Pegasus or cc:Mail, your letters look different. You can
change it, but if you give it to someone, will they see it the same way you do?
Maybe...

OK, so why do I NEED SoundFont Technology on my computer?

SoundFont technology lets you choose the way you hear audio.
So how does that apply to you?
For the basic computer user...
You can have better control over how your computer sounds.
It's nice to hear an orchestral composition with quality instruments, which you can
get with a quality ROM wavetable synthesizer...
...but what if you wanted the violin part to be played with trumpets?
...or haven't you wondered what it would sound like if the timpani part to was
played on kick drums ?
...or wouldn't it be fun if you heard animal noises or a recording of yourself
saying "hey" in place of the clarinet?
SoundFont technology makes this possible. No other PC audio system makes it so
easy to do and hear all of that!
Also, what if you just wanted your entire orchestra to sound better? You can go
and buy a brand new ROM Wavetable synthesizer for $400 if you want... OR if you
already had a SoundFont enabled synthesizer you can go and just get a better
orchestra SoundFont sound set for $30.
Or that $30 might also get you an orchestra SoundFont sound set which uses pig
grunts, or maybe analog synthesizers, or maybe people making noises, or whatever
you want!
And... E-mu Systems has plenty of content!
For the gamesters...
Games which support SoundFont technology will sound better than games which
only support streaming or simple synthesized audio. This is because the sounds used
in a game which uses SoundFont technology are created for the game by the game
developers, and because the game software can easily control the way the sound
changes based on the outcome of moves or actions within the game.
For music authoring enthusiasts or hobby-ists...
SoundFont technology lets you choose the instruments you use in your
composition, craft those instruments to work just perfectly for your composition,
and control each instrument while it is still playing. Add reverb or chorusing, change
the pitch or filtering, add vibrato or tremelo. SoundFont technology makes it easy
to do all of that!
With SoundFont technology, you have the features which a professional synthesizer
and composition tool give you... on your PC!
For multimedia presentation authors...
SoundFont technology allow you to completely control how your presentation
sounds, the same way you already have control over how it looks. Imagine if your
presentation could sound as good as it looks! SoundFont technology brings this to
you.

Wow! Is this some kind of new technology?

Not really.
Sample/playback or downloadable event driven audio has been used all over the
place...
...in professional electronic musical equipment (where you load the instrument
you want to play before you start orchestrating),
...in stand-up arcade and dedicated home video games (where the game loads the
sound effects and musical instruments before starting the game),
...even in simple children's toys (like the yak-bak box)
However streaming and simple synthesis have been dominant in the computer world
for years, since the days of the Apple Sound Manager and the Sound Blaster series
of cards from Creative Labs.
Only now is this technology beginning to get recognition for real application in the
personal computer market. And SoundFont technology is the first real living
incarnation of this technology for your PC.

All right... who's behind all of this?

E-mu Systems, world renowned for audio products, and Creative Labs, creaters
of the Sound Blaster PC standard, are now bringing you SoundFont technology, the
new audio standard which will bring PC audio into the next millenium!
The Sound Blaster AWE32, using the EMU8000 wavetable synthesizer chip, is the
first product to bring SoundFont technology to your personal computer! And... it
won't be the last...
 I want more!
Well, here are some other sites to check out...
For information on PC products which support SoundFont technology, visit Creative
Zone, Creative Labs official web site. The Sound Blaster AWE32 is SoundFont
enabled, and with an upgrade the Sound Blaster 32 can become SoundFont enabled
with an upgrade kit from E-mu Systems. Both of these sound cards can be seen in
the Product Showcase.
If you have a platform which supports SoundFont technology, why not enhance it
with sounds from E-mu Systems? We have everything from new General MIDI sound
sets, professional instruments, sound effects, techno-loops, and other weird and
bizarre sounds ready for your SoundFont platform. Go to Sounds then SoundFont
Sounds.
If you are a techie who wants to know the nitty-gritty details behind SoundFont
technology including the file format specification or more technical questions
answered, visit the SoundFont Technical Information site. If you are a developer who
wants to incorporate SoundFont technology in your game or application, visit the
Tech Lab in the Creative Zone. (Get the AWE32 Developer's Information Package in
the Comprehensive FTP Site.)
And... of course... look here for the latest general information about SoundFont
technology.