What soundfont do you use to play doom?

[RetroAkaMe]

I like fluidsynth but sometimes to have that old pure experience I use OPL (OR if I'm in computer I use windows's)

[Teo Slayer]

A SC-55. I want to try out the Arachno Soundfont one time

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

4 hours ago, dbly said:

This might be kind of stupid but to me the default Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth font that comes with Windows sounds the most natural (likely because I grew up playing ZDoom and it was the default soundfont)

Not stupid at all! To most people, the "original sound" is just the soundfont/equipment they first heard the music on. That's what's awesome and shitty about MIDI: there are so many variables at play that can completely change the sound of the music, for better or for worse.

Edited August 30, 2021 by TheMagicMushroomMan

[Toad]

Sc-55

[liPillON]

Merlin Creative through builtin fluidsynth

 

I've settled with this sf after trying almost anything from weed's first revisions to all SC55 clones (patch93, emperorg, ...) and many more gm sf

It strikes the right balance between filesize, quality and fidelity

[45th Parrallel]

I use a combination of WeedsGM3.sf2 and RealAcousticDrums through Virtual Midi Synth

[Syn]

Personally use the Chaos soundfont and have for some time. Really nice drums kits and is just a lot like a souped up version of the standard soundfont. It does make some tracks that are heavy on instruments like celesta bells sound a little strange, but very good overall.

[Doomkid]

On 8/30/2021 at 11:36 PM, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

If you're aiming for "accurate" music, try an SC-55 soundfont, or RindGM like Doomkid said (haven't tested it myself, but I'll take his word for it lol).

Just to (hopefully) clarify a bit, it's short for "Roland GM", Roland being the same company that made the SC-55 MKII, which Prince used to compose the music. This is the "default MIDI sound" for all versions of Windows. RlndGM is basically the "miniature" version of any SC-55 variants - 90% alike, but a true SC-55 has more depth to the samples, which can be nice for minimalistic music, but I find it "muddies the water" a bit for MIDIs which use 10 or more voices simultaneously.

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

16 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

Just to (hopefully) clarify a bit, it's short for "Roland GM", Roland being the same company that made the SC-55 MKII, which Prince used to compose the music. This is the "default MIDI sound" for all versions of Windows. RlndGM is basically the "miniature" version of any SC-55 variants - 90% alike, but a true SC-55 has more depth to the samples, which can be nice for minimalistic music, but I find it "muddies the water" a bit for MIDIs which use 10 or more voices simultaneously.

Muddy MIDI is a big problem for me with a lot of soundfonts. As you said, complex songs with many voices begin to sound like a hodgepodge of chaos. Arachno is a big offender. Going for a powerful sound is cool for certain songs, but destroys others. I think some people (when they begin to mess with/learn about soundfonts) automatically assume that bigger is better in terms of sound.

 

Arachno is very aggressive, but it doesn't work well with most aggresive songs. Instead, it's best at making simple songs aggressive. Try listening to Ice or Gemstones from Eviternity with it. It's the best thing I've heard Arachno do.

 

I'll try out Rind and compare it to other Roland soundfonts to see how it works! I generally don't mess with soundfonts for DOOM much because I have a problem with them interfering with my glitchy audio work bench.

[Teo Slayer]

A little update: I'm using the Arachno Soundfont now :D

[Skronkidonk]

SC-55 or Eawpats SF2

SC-55 has that legendary sound that does nearly every song justice.

Eawpats SF2 has a nostalgic sound that is unique and makes some instruments absolutely beautiful

I'll use one for about a month then switch.

[xX_Lol6_Xx]

RLNDGM.sf2 and the GUS soundfont

[Grieferus]

On 8/28/2021 at 3:16 AM, northivanastan said:

I've found SC-55 (EmperorGrieferus) to be the most consistently listenable, so that's what I use. But I gotta say, when Arachno Soundfont works, it works really, really well - I've been using it to compose MIDIs lately and I'm on the edge of switching to it for gameplay.

Oh, hello there.

[Sarmenti]

Kinda depends on the wad itself, for vanilla doom music patch93 sc-55 is amazing, gives a bit more flare to the good old Robert Princert tracks.

 

When it works, Arachno is simply divine, every time I play Alien Vendetta I put it on, just hearing the main menu track and Sun Rider gets me in the mood to drop everything, boot up WinAmp and spend entirely too long listening to midis.

 

But then you get a track that uses some specific guitars, and it aaaaaall goes to shit. Some seriously grating and downright ear splitting sounds! Thankfully swapping soundfonts is as easy as alt-tabbing to coolsoft, so no harm no foul :>

 

I've still got a bunch of .sf2's lying around in my folders that I should give a spin, who knows, maybe something nice will appear.

[DiR]

This is going to sound weird, but I use the Touhou soundfont and I've never even played a Touhou game. I run that soundfont alongside UltimateDrums for a bit of extra kick (pun intended) with the drums at a slightly louder volume than the soundfont.

 

Other times, when I was a less in-your-face feel and more of a large room sound of course I go for the Arachno soundfont, although I cherry pick some presets that I would still like to hear in the Touhou soundfont. Hey, I downloaded the entire VirtualMIDISynth, I'm going to use it!

 

When composing I still use the SC-55 soundfont. It's basically a given and you can't go wrong.

[ax34]

GeneralUser (i also use it to make music), also i often Doom while listening to some Internet radio.

[ludicrous_peridot]

X3MB stock "soundfont" for Doom, MIDIs and other games as I've switched to this external module for my hobbies. 

 

BUT I've discovered WeedsSF somewhat recently after having learnt about Eternal Doom MIDI soundtrack and having read the readmes, and whenever I am at the PC with an Audigy I go for the "sound of 00s" with it instead.  

 

Also I keep mentioning Deemster's SC-55 soundfounts in each soundfount thread! If you appreciate the "sound of mid-90s" be sure to give it a go.

Edited May 14, 2022 by ludicrous_peridot
Typo

[Frost-Core]

OPL2 FTW.

[Dweller Dark]

I've been using 8MbGM_Enhanced18, I like the instrumental sound of everything.

[Lippeth]

A few months ago I stumbled onto a paid soundfont called Voice Crystal made by Mark Wiens from Eye & I Productions who apparently helped develop the Gravis Ultrasound. The website is not secure which made me skeptical, but the order form is, so I took a chance and ordered it after a bit of research. I later got a phone call from Mark Wiens himself saying it'll be a little while before he sends it because he was troubleshooting his servers or something, but we ended up talking about MIDI and his involvement with Gravis. He probably thought it was unusual to have a customer turn into a fanboy but he seemed happy to talk about it. It was a really cool experience for me and after hearing the soundfont and testing it out, it's very well balanced and while it doesn't sound like the GUS at all (that wasn't the goal anyway), it does evoke the same tightness and is a great option if you've got $20 USD to spend on a soundfont.

[HydroFS02]

Whenever I'm not using Sound Canvas VA or something else Roland based I tend to use Arachno, General User GS, Colombo GM GS, the fixed Yamaha Tyros 4 soundfont, and the Voice Crystal soundfont Lippeth brought up above me. Also shoutout to the Yamaha S-YXG50 VST aswell.

[doomboy69]

I haven't picked one yet, is there a soundfont that has reverb? I would love to hear music using my headphones

[Axuris]

Patch93's SC-55 and Arachno Soundfont

 

[PsychEyeball]

I use a Sound Canvas SC-88. Prior to that, I was using CT4MGM.sf2. I have a fondness of the old soundfonts bundled with Sound Blaster cards like the SB Live!.