Sad state of Native Instruments

[BBFG#]

Corrections for your history:
Emulator was 1981
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mu_Emulator
Mirage was 1984 and listed for $1695
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensoniq_Mirage

Also, I'm of the opinion that Kontakt's best claim to popularity is due to its multi-sampling/scripting capabilities whereas most are limited in that respect. I do realize I could be completely wrong about that though.

And I will continue to say that the "sad state" of NI is this entrenched belief of theirs to damage themselves with things that obviously cause problems across their entire line. i.e. Access.

[Tiles]

Isn't SFZ a soundfont?

No. Soundonts were the format used by the ancient E-mu samplers and then Creative (of Soundblaster fame), and is an ancient, proprietary and monolithic format. SFZ was developed by Cakewalk/Rene (of Z3ta+ fame among others) in the early 00s, and is an open format that basically provides a human-readable mapping file that points to external sample files. While the SFZ and SF2 file extensions look remarkably similar, and the two formats solve similar problems, they are not the same. SFZ is much more modern, much more open (you can create an SFZ in notepad, no need for a dedicated editor) and remains popular to this day. SF2 has been a largely dead format for around 20 years - it got superseded by other options, including SFZ, long ago.

Hm. A .sfz definition file is just a text file. Like a Midi file. Which makes in connection with the samples basically a soundfont. That's how i know it. And that's how soundfonts works. A text file to define the samples, plus the samples itself. To play sfz you need a soundfont player again. Or a sample player that can play soundfonts. FL Studio has the Directwave Player for it for example.

Humanizing functionality as provided by sfz was already possible with ancient trackers. But the humanizing functionality of Kontakt is software and algorithm based. Which is a completely different level and quality. And so there is a big quality gap between soundfont players and a modern sample player like Kontakt alone in this regards. I doubt that you could do a guitar soulution similar to the Impact Soundworks or the Orange Tree guitars with it. Well, in the end is allowed what works. And even nowadays we have trackers. So don't let it stop you

https://sfzformat.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SFZ_(file_format)

[sjm]

Hm. A .sfz definition file is just a text file. Like a Midi file. Which makes in connection with the samples basically a soundfont. That's how i know it. And that's how soundfonts works.

By that logic, any sampler format is a soundfont, like EXS 24 or NKI or AKAI. Just like PNG and GIF and JPG encode images, but a PNG isn't a GIF, SF2 (soundfont) isn't SFZ isn't NKI but they all contain information on how to map sounds to notes. Hopefully that clears up the difference between a format and a sample library.

Or maybe you should have read the links you posted *shrug*.

[Tiles]

Maybe i have. And maybe SFX is really just yet another soundfont format. Guess where the S and F in the name comes from.

[pdxindy]

Guess where the S and F in the name comes from.

San Francisco

[enroe]

Which makes in connection with the samples basically a soundfont.

Uh, no!

Although the names sound similar - on the one hand "Soundfont"
extension "sf2" - on the other hand "sfz" they are completely
different formats.

Soundfont "sf2" was invented in the 90s by Emu-Systems and
Creative Labs for the AWE32 sound cards and others. Soundfont
is a format that combines audio AND playback data in one file.
You usually need special software to create it.

The SFZ format, on the other hand, is completely different: It is
an open format because audio and playback rules are separate.
The file with the playback rules is simply a text file - and so anyone
can create such a file. The fact that sfz is “just” a text file may seem
surprising at first. However, it's a brilliant move by creator Rene
Ceballos because it makes the format truly open and easy to edit
for everyone. In addition, the most complex multisamples can be
created with sfz; The keywords here are “Round Robin”, “Velocity
Layers”, control via LFO, volume modulation, sample starts and
much more.

Many samplers like rgc or Sforzando can also load sf2 files, but
sf2 and sfz are completely different. We shouldn't mess this up.

SFZ is also "the format" for people who want to build a future-proof
library that is not proprietary. We can see in this thread in particular
what suffering and problems proprietary software can cause overall.

[Tiles]

Okay

[digitalboytn]

The fact that sfz is “just” a text file may seem surprising at first. However, it's a brilliant move by creator Rene Ceballos because it makes the format truly open and easy to edit for everyone. In addition, the most complex multisamples can be
created with sfz; The keywords here are “Round Robin”, “Velocity
Layers”, control via LFO, volume modulation, sample starts and
much more.

SFZ is also "the format" for people who want to build a future-proof
library that is not proprietary. We can see in this thread in particular
what suffering and problems proprietary software can cause overall.

Rene is brilliant

[sjm]

Maybe i have. And maybe SFX is really just yet another soundfont format. Guess where the S and F in the name comes from.

read_the_article.gif

And what enroe wrote was already in the original post you were replying to as well.

[Tiles]

So basically the WIKI says it is similar to a Kontakt NKI file.

Which leads us to the players for this format. None of it is just close to Kontakt. And the important libraries does most of the times exist for Kontakt but not for other formats. Which was my point.