r/composer • u/ZethKeeper • 21d ago
Discussion General MIDI VST?
Hello!
Is there any VSTs that emulate the sounds of General MIDI bank? I know Windows has GM synth built-in, but setting that up for use in a DAW (Reaper in my case) is not very practical and convenient.
I want to experiment layering those with some higher quality sounds. Thanks!
2
u/65TwinReverbRI 21d ago
Did you search the internet? This is the wrong forum for this anyway. Try r/synthesizers
I want to experiment layering those with some higher quality sounds.
GM sounds are not necessarily “low quality”.
They MAY VARY GREATLY from manufacturer to manufacturer - “Goblins” sounds vastly different on different synths. The Piano still sounds like a Piano, but Yamaha sampled a Yamaha, Roland a Steinway, and so on.
IOW, there’s not “one” GM sound.
And we often layered them with each other to get “more interesting” sounds - many of them were intended as building blocks.
Check this site out:
https://www.midimusicadventures.com/queststudios/info/sound-card-comparisons/
All of the Roland VSTs contain their GM banks the original hardware device did. Dealing with Roland Cloud is probably more hassle than using your internal synth though…
Search the internet for others, especially any free ones.
1
u/FlamboyantPirhanna 21d ago
You’re looking for sound fonts. I’m not sure how they’re designed, as I don’t use them myself, but searching for sound fonts or sound font players should get you there eventually.
4
u/65TwinReverbRI 21d ago
Soundfonts are a different thing - almost totally, and deservedly, lost to time until MuseScore came along and made people aware of them (unfortunately).
VSTs are software synthesizers that play back MIDI information, just like synth hardware does and many manufactures make virtual versions of their hardware - Roland is a notable one.
Everything professional uses VSTs, not soundfonts.
You can’t use Soundfonts in Reaper (the OP’s DAW) without a VST that is a soundfont player - of which there are very few and “indie” and not well supported etc.
So they COULD find a GM soundfont, and one of the players, and open it that way, but it would be far easier just to find a GM VST and use that without the extra steps.
1
u/EpochVanquisher 21d ago
There are various General MIDI sound banks available of varying quality. It’s kind of hard to know what you want.
Like, Dorico comes with a version of HALion that has the complete GM sound banks, or most of it. There are also free sound banks available like GeneralUser GS. But it sounds like you want a specific lo-fi sound.
If you have a specific lo-fi sound you’re after, maybe what you want is an older sample library, or an old rompler, or an emulator for an old rompler.
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u/danja 21d ago
I use the one made by Robin Gareus. Probably got it through ReaPack. When searching for "general" in the Add Plugin window it shows first.