Improve the sound of Karaboss with a new synthesizer and a SoundBank
Improve MIDI sound is easy: a small software and a file containing sound samples, both freely available on the Internet.
What is a MIDI file?
The files used by Karaboss are called MIDI files.
A MIDI file is not a classical music file. It contains no sound, unlike a WAV or MP3 file.
Indeed, the MIDI file is closer to a score. It contains the notes to play and the names of the instruments that must interpret them.
The importance of the synthetizer
A MIDI file being only a “score”, it is necessary that an application interprets it. It means reads the score, plays each note using the right instrument.
All this at the good height, the good duration, and often several notes at once, and several different instruments at a time.
It is not Karaboss which takes care of it, but a synthesizer. (you have to know how to delegate in life)
The sound reproduction of a MIDI file will therefore depend on the capabilities of the synthesizer responsible for interpreting it. And there, no miracle …
If the rendering can be “correct” for the “happy few” owners of a specialized and expensive sound card, it is frankly poor for the common people having only the basic software synthesizer provided by Windows.
Double-click on a MIDI file and you will see that what you hear is unlikely to enhance the incredible range of your voice.
Change it!
In order to improve the quality of the MIDI sound, it is better to replace the synthesizer provided by Windows by another synthesizer, and by chance, there are others particularly effective, and … free!
The best current choice, in my opinion, is the software named VirtualMIDISynth from Coolsoft, available at the following address: http://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/virtualmidisynth
This software is free, effective, installs very easily, and is made forget: once installed, you will have nothing to do, it will start alone, in the background, as soon as you double-click on a MIDI file, or launch Karaboss.
VirtualMIDISynth installs as a new MIDI output device under Windows, so its use is totally transparent, and best of all, it can also be used from any application or video game that will improve its sound!
It also has a particularly valuable function that lacks to the basic Windows synthesizer: Soundfonts!
Indeed, a synthetic sound has no chance to compete with the sound produced by a real instrument.
The synthesizer VirtualMIDISynth is able to produce the sound of real instruments instead of synthesizing it, thanks to its ability to use SoundBanks. And that changes everything…
In short, nothing but hapiness!
The SoundBank
Your synthesizer will be able to replace sounds synthesized by the sound of real instruments through a SoundBank.
A “SoundBank” is a single file (extension .sf2) containing samples of sounds from real instruments.
The more sounds the file contains, the bigger it is, and the more it consumes resources on your machine, but on the other hand, the more the sound is likely to be realistic … (but as often, the size is not enough)
So there is a compromise to find, as always 🙂
Wich one?
You will use either a specialized bank for an instrument (grand piano or electric guitar Fender Telecaster for example), or a generalist bank that contains the samples of the 128 instruments of the General MIDI (GM) standard.
Note the term (GM) that indicates the coverage of all instruments, such as Arachno Soundfont Bank (GM) or SGM Bank V2.01 (GM).
The parameters that come into play:
- The size of your SoundBank, the possibilities of your machine
- Your feeling compared to the rendering of a SoundBank (all tastes are in nature)
- The style of music you listen to (classical, pop, rock, jazz etc …)
- The size of your wallet can also be a criterion if you opt for a paid SoundBank. The free SoundBanks always have a weakness somewhere, otherwise it would be too simple.
In the family of free banks, my favorite SoundBanks are
- Timbres of Heaven from Don Allen (354 Mb)
- Arachno SoundFont from Maxime Abbey (having a substantial size of148 Mb)
But many others exist of course (see Google “Soundfonts” or “sound banks”)
I have tried many others, sometimes much larger, but for now, nothing to do, I stay on it, despite their weaknesses on some instruments like the acoustic guitar.
Shortly, I stay looking for the ideal solution, SoundBanks GM, or assortment of specialized banks, free or paid.
In order to complete the sound reproduction of your Karaboss Karaoke MIDI player, you will need to download and test different SoundBanks, and indicate in a few clicks to your new synthesizer VirtualMIDISynth which one to use.
All this is perfectly explained on the VirtualMIDISynth website. (This one also offers a lot of links to SoundBanks)
For a better understanding, look at this video on Youtube
That’s all for this time.
And no more excuses now if your Karaboss software continues to emit sounds worthy of a child’s organ.