I have a lot of SF2 files that I would like to try to use in a live setting. Does any hardware keyboard/sampler load and play SF2 files? Thanks.

Korg's workstations from Triton onward support loading SF2.

But why? Most soundfonts are crap compared to other formats including those found in hardware over the last 15 odd years or more.

1 - there are a lot of free ones out there.
2 - there was that sample house outfit that recently announced they were trying to import all their Kontakt scripted libraries over. It could be cool, especially if support sees a resurgence. But, yeah, I would be surprised.

I've made a lot of my own soundfonts...

I'm pretty sure that sfz and sf2 are not the same format. SFZ is the cakewalk format that allows for multiple layers, SF2 was the soundfont format created by emu.

I always mix that up! You are correct.
(maybe that's why emu-x always crashes on me )

hah. the source of soundfonts were emu's modules.

They are just samples. The format doesn't affect the sound.

Aciddose, some of the soundfonts E-MU sells are from their hw-modules, yes. Most of them, not.

emu doesn't exist. creative bought it years ago, 1993.

they bought ensoniq in 1998.

these are now combined into one brand/child corporation, although it's just a part of creative technology.

creative/emu designed the "sound font", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundFont

soundfonts are great. just need to have a SF3 format now.
you can convert them using chickenssytems translator or?
awave studio?

Soundfonts can have 127 velocity layers for every note.
Compared to how old the soundfont format is it was ahead of it's time and is till holding up very fine

Actually my emu xl7 has four layer sounds (osc) The difference is they aren't round robin like is achievable with sfz but recorded at different velocities. Which is why you hear the tone start to break up and compact at higher velocities as does roland type sounds.

But if you think about the process it would take to capture the sound of an acoustic instrument even something as simple as a piano.

First, record each note on the instrument at it's lowest possible resonance.
No go back and record again to the next degree. now go back and do it again and again 127 times so each velocity is properly recorded.

...Think your done? No
Go back and record again and again using the sustain pedals. When you do record use several mic's and preamps.

Alicia's Keys raised the bar as they were recorded in 12 levels per key Not quite 127 but still a sizable improvement. I still prefer the round robin approach.

Other instruments (especially guitar) prove even more difficult to get a full reading. Type of pick, picking location type of attack position of the pick along the string all effect the timbre of the instrument. Not to mention tuning, pickup selection, wood used in construction, body design and much more.

I prefer Pianoteq