*.dls to *.sf2 or *.sf2 to *.dls Conversion

Sampler and Sampling discussion (techniques, tips and tricks, etc.)
Post Reply New Topic
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

.dls to .sf2 conversion program? and .sf2 to .dls?

Is there a program/utility that would convert the two file formats? Mainly, can I take the windows supplied 'gm.dls' file and convert it to a .sf2 file to play in say sfz (the VSTi sf2 player)?

Using Cubase VST 5.0

Or are there any 'dls' VSTi plugins for Cubase?

Thanks in advance.

---
"My mind is going... I can feel it..."
"Just let him have it R2..."

KT7-Raid,800mhz Tbird,128mb Ram,SBlive.
Cubase VST32 5.0,SFZ,Awave.
Mackie 16,'77 Strat,'63 Fender ProReverb.
Pink Floyd,SRV,the Blues man...

Post

FiremanLuck wrote:.dls to .sf2 conversion program? and .sf2 to .dls?

Is there a program/utility that would convert the two file formats? Mainly, can I take the windows supplied 'gm.dls' file and convert it to a .sf2 file to play in say sfz (the VSTi sf2 player)?
VSampler3 can import and play DLS and export sf2. Synthfont VSTI appears to play DLS, but I haven't tried it, and it doesn't export.

Awave Studio and Extreme Sample Converter are standalone translators that can do the translation. EXSC appears to be un-purchaseable at the moment. I just checked ChickenSys' site, DLS isn't yet supported but it appears to be on their radar.

Microsoft licensed the GM sounds from Roland. I understand that they're roughly the same the sounds in Roland/Edirol's Virtual Sound Canvas product - in other words, not great. You might want to consider GM banks from PersonalCopy as an alternative.

Doug
Logic is a pretty flower that smells bad - Spock, in "I, Mudd"

For a good time click http://www.belindabedekovic.com/video_fl_en.htm

Post

I appreciate the suggestions. BTW: do the translators induce ay loss of fidelity/sound quality? Let you know how it goes.

Regards,

Chip

---
"My mind is going... I can feel it..."
"Just let him have it R2..."

KT7-Raid,800mhz Tbird,128mb Ram,SBlive.
Cubase VST32 5.0,SFZ,Awave.
Mackie 16,'77 Strat,'63 Fender ProReverb.
Pink Floyd,SRV,the Blues man...

Post

I use Awave. Any loss of fidelity should be attached to the file(8/12 bit DLS) or end user, and what sample player you use. I mainly use Awave for sf2 creation. But it supports a ton of different file formats. Hop on over to FMJ soft and take a look. I converted Akai to sf2 and did some edits in SoundForge. It works for me without a hitch 8)
Pentagon,z3ta+,Tassman,Vsampler 3,FM7,Vocator,Sonar 3 Producer,SoundForge,Awave,Vegas 5
SFZ+,P5. And two kick ass DawBox machines!

Post

DL'ed Awave. Looked awesome... just fiddled with it for now. But still have to buy it to export a 'collection'. Individual instrument save works, which I will play with for now.

Also just DL'ed ESC, but demo mode will only work in 10-bit mode :( , oh well...

Chip
"My mind is going... I can feel it..."
"Just let him have it R2..."

KT7-Raid,800mhz Tbird,128mb Ram,SBlive.
Cubase VST32 5.0,SFZ,Awave.
Mackie 16,'77 Strat,'63 Fender ProReverb.
Pink Floyd,SRV,the Blues man...

Post

I hate to bring this up from the dustpile but this really needs some attention.

I've just gotten my hands on a DLStoXG file thingo, and I want to convert it to SF2 since DLS is such a troublesome format.

I've tried EXSC, it does the best job out of all I've used except it doesn't convert banks above 128 (to 16384; these are actually Bank MSB selections.)

I've tried Audio compositor. it does the names, but the sound is all stuffed up/distorted.

I've tried Awave studio, it renames/renumbers all the instruments and omits any articulation/modulation options as well as turns most of the sounds out of tune.

I had someone try it in VSampler, and he told me that either the sounds don't loop, some distorted, or well, it just sounds stuffed up.

I could import the DLS into my soundcard (SB Audigy 2), but

1. The sounds go louder than usual thus distorting some of the more softer sounds

2. Pitch tracking is limited to 96kHz. (ie: certain samples hit a static pitch until a note hits the other sample above it. Bad for pitch bending.)

Can anyone suggest a better option? Should I contact the devs of EXSC to support Bank MSB/extended banks above 128? (ie: Bank 127 is [0,127], then Bank 128 and above would be [1, 0] and above, where the MSB value changes every 128 LSB changes.)

Post

Yeah contact the EXSC guy... he is very helpful.

Actually so is the Awave guy. I have had both of them sort stuff out for me at different times.

Matter of fact, I just got an email back from Wlod (maker of EXSC) today about some questions and feature requests I suggested.
Last edited by Ben H on Sat May 12, 2007 5:28 am, edited 1 time in total.

Post

Sent tech support a message for two things for both softwares. I'll await the message.

For the time being I'll have to put up with missing instruments or crap DLS playback.

Post Reply

Return to “Samplers, Sampling & Sample Libraries”