Ableton Forum

I'm using a VST called highlife which exports SFZ files.
I'm not quite sure what this difference is between these 2 types of soundfont files, I read in some places that sfz is a compressed soundfont file and sf2 is soundfont v2, can anyone confirm this? Anyhow it seems that sampler only loads SF2.
Does anyone know how to get an sfz into sampler (a converter maybe) Or must I find a plugin?

(Can't believe noone replied in a decade smfh.)

These are two entirely different formats. SF2 is Soundfont 2 and contains both sample and sample behavior info in same file.
SFZ contains only sample behavior info in a text file for a group of samples stored alongside usually in WAV format.
SFZ is much newer and has better tools, sampling rate, markers etc.
Tools exist to convert between these two formats and others like Kontakt instruments format too.
One that a lot of people seem to like is Awave Studio
https://www.fmjsoft.com/awavestudio.html#main

https://sfzformat.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundFont

weltering wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 29, 2021 5:54 am

(Can't believe noone replied in a decade smfh.)

Can't believe someone resuscitated a 12 year old question to provide an answer on file formats from a bygone era....
Neither are used too commonly these days, popular in the 90s and early 2000s but outdone by much better samplers such as Kontakt, Falcon, Omnisphere etc. Guess it will be useful for time travelers

Some of us are still fiddling with sfz players, googling specs and landing on bygone orphan questions.
Already is a form of time-travelling

As Ableton said lately, « as of Live 11 it is no longer possible to import .nki, .eks, .sf2, or .gig files into Sampler. »

I'm surprised to notice — and quite disappointed, to say the least — that Sampler won't import SFZ files either.

So, unless you have sampled one sound per note (i.e. wasted disk space) and « distribute ranges equally » you have to do it all manually on the Zone display which is not even zoomable — or did i miss something ?

There is still a "-LegacyMultiSampleImport" modifier you can add to Options.txt.

https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/artic ... s-txt-file

knot93 wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 15, 2023 4:32 pm

As Ableton said lately, « as of Live 11 it is no longer possible to import .nki, .eks, .sf2, or .gig files into Sampler. »

I'm surprised to notice — and quite disappointed, to say the least — that Sampler won't import SFZ files either.

So, unless you have sampled one sound per note (i.e. wasted disk space) and « distribute ranges equally » you have to do it all manually on the Zone display which is not even zoomable — or did i miss something ?

Those are as old as the Sf2 format. After Kontakt 2 developers were able lock down their files. Gig was hit and miss on samplers.

It's probably better to rely on 3rd Party solutions for sample conversions.

Almost every modern Sampler Dropped their ability to import 3rd party samplers. But import has always been hit or Miss. Works pretty good for Drum kits, or something that is just raw Sample map, but once a filter/envelope is applied, it can sound pretty off.

pottering wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 15, 2023 7:19 pm

There is still a "-LegacyMultiSampleImport" modifier you can add to Options.txt.
https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/artic ... s-txt-file

Thanks a lot for this, although it didn't help so far.
Eventually, i'm unsure Ableton ever supported SFZ, as SF2 is always mentioned, but SFZ not so much (which is understandable, since the samples are « scattered »). I've tried to download the Polyphone SFZ to SF2 converter then, but the server seems to be down at the moment (the download won't complete), so i'll give it a try later...
Thanks a lot anyway.

kitekrazy wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 15, 2023 9:42 pm

Those are as old as the Sf2 format. After Kontakt 2 developers were able lock down their files. Gig was hit and miss on samplers.

SFZ is admittedly a bit gross but i wouldn't call it « old », i mean TXT files don't get old : they're « universal » and i see no reason why we should give them up. These are no Kontakt scripts obviously, but that's not the point.
The thing is that bought DiscoDSP's Bliss so i could resample instruments and import them into Sampler !

jlgrimes wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 16, 2023 1:10 pm

It's probably better to rely on 3rd Party solutions for sample conversions.
Almost every modern Sampler Dropped their ability to import 3rd party samplers. But import has always been hit or Miss. Works pretty good for Drum kits, or something that is just raw Sample map, but once a filter/envelope is applied, it can sound pretty off.

I hear you, and i've checked the Chickensys website before even posting but :
• Chickensys Translator seems too expensive for my modest conversion needs
• we're on the Ableton forum, everyone raves about Sampler and i'm just asking for basic stuff : sample import and mapping

I still keep VSampler on my system despite being 32 bit. It can convert Sf2 to Kontakt.
Reason use to support soundfonts but I've had to turn them into refills for it to work.

There are some soundfont gems out there. Squidfont Orchestral sounds great to this day.

FL Studio brought back their soundfont player due to popular demand.

It's kinda sad we live in an age where developers like to abuse disk space making libraries.

The thing is that i wanted to experiment with the Ableton Sampler FM oscillator feature — which i still can, obviously, but the lack of SFZ support is blatantly user unfriendly...

As for heavy weight sound libraries, yes, i remember of a Sound on Sound article warning about this, about 15 years ago. Now of course i understand it makes sense for soundtrack composers who need an efficient workflow, but we are not all Netflix employees. Maybe, in the future, some « A.I. » will help optimizing sample sizes and seamless loop points eventually, so you can get a complete symphonic orchestra on a floppy disk...