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VSTSynthFont Changelog

What's new in VSTSynthFont 3.501

Nov 28, 2023
  • Bugs fixed:
  • In 3.500, when you open the SoundFont file window and have several instances of the plugin, there was a risk that the SoundFont changed for the instance previously used with the SoundFont file window
  • A few other minor bugs

New in VSTSynthFont 3.500 (Nov 21, 2023)

  • Bugs fixed:
  • The last sample in the sample list was never used
  • In version 3.451, the note end timing was not accurate
  • Some other minor glitches fixed
  • New features:
  • The editor window has got a slightly new interface with less buttons, now in one row:
  • The Visual style, User interface and Reverb Mode selections are now menu items in the Options button. All of these selections are still found in the Options window. Additionally the functions for the deprecated “Arrangement files” are now in the Options window.
  • There are two new buttons as alternatives to track menu items: “Open SoundFont” and “SoundFont & Preset Manager”
  • You can click anywhere in the track bar belonging to a “Mixer” parameter ("Volume" in the image) to set the value. Use CTRL-Click to the select the default value (if available)
  • New track menu item in SoundFont list: Erase history
  • The Presets menu has been simplified to show only Presets in the active SoundFont
  • When changing user interface between compact (one single channel) and standard (16 channels) some hosts can resize the window immediately. Some other hosts require that the window is closed and reopened. In order to switch to and from the Screen Reader view, the window always must be closed and reopened
  • The selected track is now outlined with bold borders at the top and the bottom, as can be seen in the image for track 03. Additionally, the Value edit box is highlighted
  • To select one single track you can click on the check box in column “SEL”. To select multiple tracks, keep CTRL down while selecting the check box. Press “SEL” to toggle the selection for all tracks
  • The Open SoundFont window has received many changes:
  • The window is now “non-blocking“, meaning that you can work with the host while the window is visible
  • You can audition SoundFonts and Presets either using the inbuilt virtual keyboard, play a track on the host or using an external keyboard
  • Two new buttons: Delete and Rename. Delete moves the SoundFont to the Recycle bin. In order to Rename a SoundFont you must at first change the name in the “File name” edit box and then press Rename
  • The size of the window is saved for later
  • The SoundFont & Preset Manager is now also in non-blocking mode and can be resized. The size is saved for later. The Preset search engine has been improved. The window also supports audition of Presets like the File Open window.
  • Says Chris, one hard-core user, about the new audition functions in these two windows: “I was just able to audition 43 separate organ sounds embedded within different SoundFonts in about 15 seconds. No other plugin can do that.”
  • The plugin now publishes 9 parameters: Volume, Pan, PitchWheel, Reverb amount, Reverb OnOff, Attack, Release, Filter Fc and Filter Q. Of these Volume, Pan, Reverb and Release are also found in the plugin’s ”Mixer” drop-down menu. The host can use these parameters in various ways. For example, in Cubase you can use them in Quick Controls (QC):
  • Note that these parameters affects values for the selected track, except from“Reverb OnOff” switch which acts on all tracks.
  • In REAPER you need to do this to use a parameter:
  • You can either add a parameter to the “track controls” box or to the “track envelope” region.
  • This version also publishes the list of SoundFont Presets more consistently than before. In Cubase, you can use the Preset selector in Cubase’s track inspector to choose a Preset. But notice that you in this case need to uncheck the Lock checkbox in the plugin.
  • In this version all instances share the same SoundFont pool, minimizing the use of RAM memory
  • SoundFont audio samples are loaded into memory in a more efficient way than before
  • Although you can still use the plugin in multi-threading mode, the single threading mode has been fine tuned to perform a lot better than before

New in VSTSynthFont 3.451 (Sep 29, 2023)

  • Bugs fixed:
  • Since version 3.450 the plugin has not been able to correctly respond to Continuous Controller #64 - "Pedal Hold"
  • The Perfect Pitch method in 3.450 was far from perfect - fixed
  • Version 3.450 tried to load audio data into memory for ALL SoundFonts in use - often risking the plugin to run out of memory. This version loads only the default SoundFont into memory
  • Version 3.450 could not add a folder to the list of SoundFonts folders (see Options, Files and Folders)
  • Some other minor glitches

New in VSTSynthFont 3.450 (Aug 1, 2023)

  • Bugs fixed:
  • Fixed a smaller number of known bugs
  • New feature:
  • Tool to search in folders for a suitable SoundFont and Preset. The same dialog box is displayed in the two cases. You can search for a Preset using the MIDI Program Number:Name. You can also search for a string within all Preset names.

New in VSTSynthFont 3.442 (Jan 4, 2023)

  • Bugs fixed:
  • The new registration algorithm introduced in 3.440 was still randomly malfunctioning
  • Fixed a smaller number of known bugs
  • Improved features:
  • The custom file open dialogs are not compatible with Linux. A fallback system with alternative dialogs has been introduced for Linux.
  • Better support for High DPI displays.

New in VSTSynthFont 3.441 (Jan 4, 2023)

  • The new registration algorithm was not ready in 3.440

New in VSTSynthFont 3.440 (Dec 1, 2022)

  • Bugs fixed:
  • A number of reported bugs fixed
  • New feature:
  • Full support for Creative Lab's SoundBlaster Live! Non Registered Parameter Numbers (NRPNs) for setting Low Pass filter parameters. You can switch this function on/off in Plug & Play, Other options. This feature was introduced in SynthFont(1), version 1.700 released in June, 2022. Read the document for SynthFont(1) to learn more about this feature. This function can be switched on/off for each MIDI channel. To do this, look into the "mixer" menu for this item:

New in VSTSynthFont 3.431 (Dec 1, 2021)

  • Bugs fixed:
  • Support for SFZ-files has been far from perfect - much better now
  • A number of reported bugs fixed

New in VSTSynthFont 3.430 (Jan 12, 2021)

  • Bugs fixed:
  • Since version 3.421 the plugin has not been able to use arrangements stored in the host's project
  • The reference count for the use of SoundFonts has not been accurate, leading to either memory leaks, or - worse - exceptions.
  • New feature:
  • In case a SoundFont file has gone missing, the plugin will now search all known folders for it
  • Other stuff:
  • "Aftertouch" is now called "Polyphonic Aftertouch" in Options, .Tracks & Channels, MIDI Commands. Channel aftertouch is still called "Channel Pressure"

New in VSTSynthFont 3.422 (Dec 16, 2020)

  • Bugs fixed:
  • Some minor bugs fixed

New in VSTSynthFont 3.421 (May 25, 2020)

  • Bugs Fixed:
  • Version 3.410 crashed when initialized using an Arrangement file
  • A few SoundFonts were incorrectly interpreted
  • Version 3.410 did not let you assign different SoundFonts or Presets to tracks sharing the same MIDI channel. This is now possible again, although it violates the MIDI standard.
  • Some other minor bugs fixed
  • New Feature:
  • You can assign a VST2 Instrument as a "Sound source file". To do so, change the "File type" in the file open dialog box to "VST2 instruments (*dll)". See images below. NOTE: VST2 Effects also have the extension "dll" but cannot be used.
  • Version 3.300 introduced MIDI events filters (see below). One of the filters is the note range. Version 3.421 lets you more easily change the note range using a "Mixer" function. (The Mixer is to the right and has a drop-down menu.). There are two new items in the Mixer menu: "Note range - change low" and "Note range - change high".

New in VSTSynthFont 3.400 (Jan 28, 2020)

  • Bugs fixed:
  • MIDI Continuous Controllers #72 ("Sound Release Time" - to set the Note Release Time), #74 ("Sound Brightness" - to set the Low Pass Filter frequency threshold) and #75 ("Sound Control 6" - to set the Low Pass Filter Resonance) - were active only for notes playing at the moment when the CC was set.
  • A few other reported bugs fixed
  • New features:
  • A special User Interface optimized for Screen Readers. The UI has been tested with Microsoft Windows' own Narrator and NVDA.
  • NOTE 1: This UI does not contain any of the Mixer functions (Volume, Pan. etc.).
  • NOTE 2: REAPER is currently the only DAW known to support tabbing into the UI.
  • NOTE 3: Track selection is instantaneous as this is a non-destructive choice. For a SoundFont or Preset you need to at first navigate in either of the two trees, using arrow keys, and finally press ENTER to select the item you want.
  • NOTE 4: During installation you can select to activate this UI by default.
  • Some SoundFonts may have very unfortunate settings for the Note Release Time (the last volume envelope phase). You can now set the release time using a new Mixer function. The trackbar has two ranges: 0.01s to 1s and 0.1 to 10s. You can change the range by pulling the trackbar slider to either end (max and min).

New in VSTSynthFont 3.300 (Sep 23, 2019)

  • Bugs fixed:
  • Just a few minor ones
  • New features:
  • Support for multiple CPU cores. Results in faster handling of larger number if note events (voices / polyphony). Can be switched off at will (see image ->)
  • Slider to set the polyphony limit (see image ->)
  • Improved means of routing the MIDI channel to the tracks (see image ->)
  • MIDI events filter. Most useful in case of multiple tracks for a channel, that is, combined with the routing feature above (see image ->)

New in VSTSynthFont 3.201 (May 27, 2019)

  • The internal reverb effect was noisy.

New in VSTSynthFont 3.200 (Feb 19, 2019)

  • Some bug fixes
  • New features:
  • The Inbuilt Reverb effect has been improved and made faster. Previously the same Reverb settings were applied to all separate instances of the plugin within a project. Now you can have separate settings for each instance. (You can identify the instance number at the top, right)
  • There has been no way to select multiple tracks for editing. This version has a new column at the far right with checkboxes. Here you can check the tracks you want to handle simultaneously. Additionally at the top there is a new button, "SEL". Press to select/unselect all tracks. See image at the bottom.
  • The 64 bit version has now a different "unique VST identification code" than the 32 bit version. Some hosts (like Cakewalk from BandLab) cannot handle two plugins with the same ID. If your host cannot find the 64 bit version you may need to rescan.
  • Generally optimized and faster 64 bit version than before.

New in VSTSynthFont 3.110 (Jan 30, 2019)

  • Some bug fixes

New in VSTSynthFont 3.100 (Sep 3, 2018)

  • You can now add more SoundFonts in addition to the Default SoundFont by listing folders containing any number of SoundFont files (or other suitable sound source files). See Options image below. Use this feature to add support for sound banks not present in the Default SoundFont. The plugin will search all the files for a suitable Bank and Preset patch.
  • GUI: Icons for the 16 MIDI Program groups. See image further down below.
  • GUI: The checkbox used for mute/play status has been replaced by a button (up/down status). Additionally, a separate Solo button has been added (see image).
  • GUI: The track function to choose Pitch Shifting mode has been moved into the "Mixer" together with functions like Volume, Pan etc.
  • GUI: The height of the tracks has been increased to facilitate text on two rows (mainly Sound source file and Preset).
  • The plugin can now automatically check for the availability of a new version (there is also a button for manual check).

New in VSTSynthFont 3.000 (Jun 8, 2018)

  • Improved support for MIDI Continuous Controllers:
  • Support for the old EMU AWE32 NRPN controllers has been removed. Instead you can use the following
  • CC#73: Note Attack time - the Velocity value [0..127] is mapped into a SoundFont generator time cent range [-12000 .. 8000] which is converted into a time range of [1ms .. 100 sec]. The conversion is exponential.
  • CC#72: Note Release time - the Velocity value [0..127] is mapped into a SoundFont generator time cent range [-12000 .. 8000] which is converted into a time range of [1ms .. 100 sec]. The conversion is exponential. The value will be applied to all notes playing in the Key Down/Hold state.
  • CC#74: (Brightness) - the Low Pass Filter frequency. The Velocity value [0..127] is mapped into a SoundFont generator cent range [1500 .. 13508] which is converted into a frequency range of [20 Hz .. 20 kHz, for a playback sampling rate of 44.1 kHz ]. The range is dependent on the playback sampling rate. The conversion is
  • exponential. The value will be continuously applied to all notes playing.
  • CC#75: (Undefined) - the Low Pass Filter resonance. The Velocity value [0..127] is mapped into a SoundFont generator centibel range [0 .. 960] which is used as the resonance value. The value will be continuously applied to all notes playing.
  • Additionally:
  • CC#2: Breath - use to control the "Vib LFO Factor" which controls the Vib L&FO Frequency. The "Vib LFO Factor" is also found as a item in the MIXER menu. The value will be continuously applied to all notes playing.
  • You can create a new "version" of the plugin by adding a qualifier to the name. In effect this will create a new, independent plugin with independent settings in the VSTSynthFont configuration file. You create a new plugin by adding the qualifier "-On" to the end of the base name (the letter "O" or "o - case is not important). In this addition "n" stands for a number. The name "VSTSynthFont-O1" (or "VSTSynthFont64-O1") is actually equal to the default name, so new names should have n>1, for example "VSTSynthFont-O2". This is most usefut if you want to have separate plugins for the various output modes you can choose in Options (2 channels, 16 channels and so on).
  • There is an additional item in the MIXER menu: "SoundFont Preset". Use this to scroll through the list of available Presets in a SoundFont.
  • All tracks (i.e. MIDI channels) can be assigned a Percussion Preset. By default, MIDI channel 10 is the assigned Percussion channel. NOTE; You may need to lock the Preset to your choice in order to keep it. Check the menu item in the Presets menu or check the box next to the Preset name. HINT: Keep SHIFT button down to change the status of ALL tracks when clicking the check box..

New in VSTSynthFont 1.096 / 2.096 (May 31, 2017)

  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed a few known, minor bugs.
  • Other:
  • New installers for both versions in order to make it 100% sure that both versions can coexist on the same computer.

New in VSTSynthFont 1.095 / 2.095 (Feb 2, 2017)

  • Bug fixes:
  • The 32 bit version (1.094) and the 64 bit version (2.094) could not coexist on the same computer. These new versions SHOULD be capable of coexisting.
  • Fixed a few other known, minor bugs.

New in VSTSynthFont 1.094 / 2.094 (Jan 31, 2017)

  • Bug fixes:
  • Some SoundFonts with linked stereo samples did not play correctly.

New in VSTSynthFont 1.093 / 2.093 (Jan 30, 2017)

  • Bug fixes:
  • VSTSynthFont is now compiled with the correct memory manager for utilizing shared memory with the host. Especially REAPER did not much like any older version of VSTSynthFont

New in VSTSynthFont 1.092 / 2.092 (Jan 10, 2017)

  • Bug fixes:
  • Some VST hosts did not agree at all with the Visual Styles. Improvements have been made, but if you experience strange crashes you may need to switch to the default Windows style.
  • Some hosts might crash if you changed SoundFont or Preset during playback.
  • Other:
  • The tool for selecting a SoundFont Preset has changed completely. Instead of a dialog box, a menu is now displayed.
  • The editor windows adopts much better now to screens with DPI resolution not equal to 96.

New in VSTSynthFont 1.091 / 2.091 (Jan 10, 2017)

  • Bug fixes:
  • Saving a new tuning scale caused an exception.
  • Some improvements have been made to Visual Styles to make the feature work in all hosts.
  • Other
  • VSTSynthFont now supports "chunks" for saving the arrangement. If your host supports chunks then you can leave it up to your host to save the arrangement in the host's work file.
  • Even better support for SoundFont modulators than in 1.090

New in VSTSynthFont 1.090 (Jan 10, 2017)

  • Bug fixes:
  • All versions since 1.080 have had a serious flaw in the synth engine: the output could sound really bad
  • There were stability issues - mostly solved
  • Other:
  • This version can send exception reports - please do!
  • Support for SoundFont modulators
  • Support for Visual Styles (BETA test!)

New in VSTSynthFont 1.082 (Jan 10, 2017)

  • Bug fixes:
  • The Controller Modulation Wheel was broken
  • Font color for selected items in the tracks list were not always optimal
  • Switching between themes cleared the selection of tracks (and also did a few other unwanted "tricks")

New in VSTSynthFont 1.081 (Jan 10, 2017)

  • Bug fixes:
  • The two generators "fineTune" (pitch adjustment) and "sampleMode" (sample loop mode) were not used if defined in the Global split only.
  • The setup file for version 1.080 did not actually install the file.
  • Improved support for visual themes.

New in VSTSynthFont 1.080 (Jan 10, 2017)

  • New feature:
  • VSTSynthFont has now also support for SoundFont Modulators.
  • Support for Portamento (as in SynthFont2)

New in VSTSynthFont 1.073 (Dec 28, 2012)

  • Since version 1.070 neither the Modulation LFO nor the Vibrato LFO had any effect on pitch.
  • Some SFZ files where not correctly handled

New in VSTSynthFont 1.071 (Dec 28, 2012)

  • VSTSynthFont would crash and not display a file open dialogue box at start-up if the Default SoundFont was undefined or missing

New in VSTSynthFont 1.070 (Dec 28, 2012)

  • Support for SFZ files.
  • Compiled with a newer Delphi compiler.
  • A number of bugs fixed.