GeneralUser GS

About GeneralUser GS

GeneralUser GS is a GM and GS compatible SoundFont bank for composing or playing MIDI files. For owners of Sound Blaster audio cards, GeneralUser GS can greatly enhance the sound quality of GM/GS compatible MIDI files when loaded into the sound card's RAM. Compared with the default SoundFonts that Creative Labs ships with their sound cards, the instrument sounds in GeneralUser GS are far more realistic.

Although GeneralUser GS was designed for use with compatible Sound Blaster audio cards, it also sounds quite good on many softsynths available, although not all are guaranteed to sound fully correct.

I decided on the name "GeneralUser" because the bank was designed to sound well with all kinds of music rather than specializing in only a few styles, thereby benefiting the general user.

Examples

Listen to the following MIDI files played through GeneralUser GS:


download | MIDI file | recording: The Hybrid Collage by S. Christian Collins, 2005, a smattering of different musical styles


download | MIDI file | recording: March #1 in D major by S. Christian Collins, 1995

Compatibility

Hardware Synths (support provided through audio driver)

  • E-MU APS
  • Sound Blaster Audigy, Audigy 2/NX/ZS, Audigy 4
  • Sound Blaster Extigy
  • Sound Blaster Live!
  • Sound Blaster X-Fi

Software Synths

Other synths not listed here may work, but I have not had the opportunity to test them myself.

* – FluidSynth 1.0.8 (and earlier) has some bugs in the way that it handles SoundFont 2.01 modulators, among other things. Please use version 1.0.9 instead, which can be downloaded from the FluidSynth website. You may have to compile it from source. Ubuntu 9.04 users can add the repository at this site.

Download

Installation

Please follow your synth/sound card's documentation for instructions on loading GeneralUser GS as the default GM/GS bank. This usually requires GeneralUser GS to be loaded into bank 0, and any other SoundFonts loaded into bank 0 to be removed prior. Additional setup instructions are included in the text file included in the archive.

License

  • GeneralUser GS inherits the usage rights of the samples contained within, all of which allow full use in music production, including the ability to make profit from musical recordings created with GeneralUser GS.
  • All samples are either original or from freely available sources. Some samples were created by E-MU as part of the SoundFonts included with Live! & Audigy sound cards. My understanding of the copyrights of all samples is only as good as the information provided by the original sources. If you become aware of any restricted samples being used in GeneralUser GS, please let me know so I can replace them.
  • Don't take portions of GeneralUser GS and claim the work as your own.
  • Do not sell GeneralUser GS for profit; the bank must remain free to the general public.