TablEdit sounds

[DaveGinNJ]

I hope I am posting this in the appropriate forum. I need some help setting up TablEdit. I have the software and I also downloaded and installed VirtualMIDISynth per advice from TablEdit folks. My question is about selecting an instrument for playback. When I look at the drop down menu of available instruments for playback, I do not see a mandolin (but there are plenty of other instruments). Is this a function of TablEdit or are the output sounds determined by VirtualMIDISynth and whatever Sound Fonts I've loaded? Any help is much appreciated

[HonketyHank]

I am pretty computer savvy but with no experience with MIDI other than a frustrating day trying to get VirtualMIDISynth and TablEdit to talk to each other. The help videos and advice I could find on the net seemed to be predicated on the assumption that you already know how to do it.

If you get it figured out please share. MIDI playback in TablEdit thought the Windows drivers is pretty poor, but a lot better than no MIDI playback at all.

[sblock]

I hope I am posting this in the appropriate forum. I need some help setting up TablEdit. I have the software and I also downloaded and installed VirtualMIDISynth per advice from TablEdit folks. My question is about selecting an instrument for playback. When I look at the drop down menu of available instruments for playback, I do not see a mandolin (but there are plenty of other instruments). Is this a function of TablEdit or are the output sounds determined by VirtualMIDISynth and whatever Sound Fonts I've loaded? Any help is much appreciated

With your midi playback drivers, you also want to have a Soundfont for the mandolin installed on your computer. There are many of these soundfonts out there, in large packages of sound fonts for all sorts of instruments. Do a Google search on "Soundfont mandolin." You'll find lots of stuff.

If you don't do that, you can always fall back to using a steel-string guitar as the playback instrument, which is found in the Windows standard midi instruments. The mandolin range will use the higher octave on the guitar, of course. This sounds OK, but not great.

Here are some links to libraries of soundfonts: http://www.synthfont.com/links_to_soundfonts.html

[DaveGinNJ]

With your midi playback drivers, you also want to have a Soundfont for the mandolin installed on your computer. There are many of these soundfonts out there, in large packages of sound fonts for all sorts of instruments. Do a Google search on "Soundfont mandolin." You'll find lots of stuff.

If you don't do that, you can always fall back to using a steel-string guitar as the playback instrument, which is found in the Windows standard midi instruments. The mandolin range will use the higher octave on the guitar, of course. This sounds OK, but not great.

Here are some links to libraries of soundfonts: http://www.synthfont.com/links_to_soundfonts.html

Before I posted here I Googled "soundfonts mandolin" Most of the hits were posts from Mandolin Cafe! I looked at a couple of soundfont libraries but did not see any that included a mandolin. If you know of one specifically, I think I could install it. I am using "FluidR3 GM Bank" as my current font. I got that one from the site you listed. I picked it simply because it was the largest

[Mark Gunter]

Like HonketyHank, I hope you'll follow up on what you do, and keep us posted, in this thread, because I find it interesting.

I use only the native library with Tabledit on Windows, and I generally choose nylon string guitar rather than steel string guitar for mandolin playback because it sounds a tad better to me (less harsh) - but then, I'm not using that midi playback for any purpose than to hear an electronic interpretation of the melody, with the single goal of learning to play a tune on the real mandolin in my hands. So for my own purpose, making Tabledit sound like a real mandolin is not a big priority.

[sblock]

This site has free soundfonts available to download: https://sites.google.com/site/soundfonts4u/

In the accompanying description, it mentions the mandolin explicitly:

Nice-Instruments-JNv1.5 Is a set of 200mb containing various expressive instruments including Flute, Sax, Trumpet, Violin, Chamber Strings, Banjo, Mandolin, Bagpipes, Sitar and Moog Synth. Sounds have been edited to place emphasis on dynamics and responsiveness to touch. These are already included in the main Full Keys sets.

To download it, look for this text on the page, or just click on the link below:

2) Standard Set
Standard Instrument set (excludes pianos, EPs and guitars).
Suits most devices-
Google Drive sf2:
[B]
Nice-Instruments-JNv1.5(200mb)


(P.S: I haven't tried it myself, so if you do, write back and let us all know how it sounds!)

[DaveGinNJ]

This site has free soundfonts available to download: https://sites.google.com/site/soundfonts4u/

In the accompanying description, it mentions the mandolin explicitly:

Nice-Instruments-JNv1.5 Is a set of 200mb containing various expressive instruments including Flute, Sax, Trumpet, Violin, Chamber Strings, Banjo, Mandolin, Bagpipes, Sitar and Moog Synth. Sounds have been edited to place emphasis on dynamics and responsiveness to touch. These are already included in the main Full Keys sets.

To download it, look for this text on the page, or just click on the link below:

2) Standard Set
Standard Instrument set (excludes pianos, EPs and guitars).
Suits most devices-
Google Drive sf2:
[B]
Nice-Instruments-JNv1.5(200mb)


(P.S: I haven't tried it myself, so if you do, write back and let us all know how it sounds!)

I downloaded this and configured it with VirtualMIDI Synth. I can see in the text that a Mandolin is listed. But when I set options with TablEdit a mandolin is not in the menu. When I pick an instrument with this setup I get the sound of a completely different instrument. I remember reading that there are 128 defined instruments in MIDI. Could it be the Soundfont file is mapping those differently? I am frustrated but will keep trying

[sblock]

Not sure what you might be doing wrong, since your description was so incomplete. See in WHAT text that "mandolin is listed"?!?

First, make sure that TablEdit is using the VirtualMidiSynth driver, and not still using the Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth or the MS Midi Mapper -- double-check this under MIDI|Setup|Midi Out. Then, under MIDI|Options, opposite the Mandolin GDAE instrument, pull down the menu and you should see the available instrument voices.

[DaveGinNJ]

Not sure what you might be doing wrong, since your description was so incomplete. See in WHAT text that "mandolin is listed"?!?

First, make sure that TablEdit is using the VirtualMidiSynth driver, and not still using the Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth or the MS Midi Mapper -- double-check this under MIDI|Setup|Midi Out. Then, under MIDI|Options, opposite the Mandolin GDAE instrument, pull down the menu and you should see the available instrument voices.

When I attach the SoundFont within VirtualMIDISynth app there is a bunch of text which shows the font version, some info about it and a list of all the instruments. I do see a mandolin in that list. But, when I select an output instrument in TablEdit (using MIDI/Setup/Output), I see a different list. Up until yesterday I knew zero about MIDI so maybe I am missing something obvious

[mdgri3]

@DaveGinNJ

Did you ever figure out how to assign a good Mandolin MIDI sound?

Please reply back to my email: mdgri3@gmail.com