Best DOOM Soundfont(s)?

[Zilch]

One of the best Doom soundfonts to come out in recent times is this one by @Trevor0402

https://github.com/trevor0402/SC55Soundfont

 

It's a 10mb file, and compared to the standard 3mb soundfont that's included with GZDoom, the former sound sooooo much better!

 

Doing some more digging, I found this...

https://archive.org/details/SC55EmperorGrieferus

 

Granted, it's 105mb, which is a lot.  But to my ears it sounds much better than Trevor's soundfont.  Maybe I'm an idiot, but it sounds like it just has more character.  It *bites* more, if that makes sense.

 

I would love to hear the opinions of some more experienced fourmies, or anyone with a decent interest in Doom's soundtrack.

 

I've been playing around with VirtualMIDISynth, which I have found very easy to use and customizable simultaneously!

[Zilch]

I also have some recordings done on an original SC-55.  The 105mb soundfont sounds much more accurate as well.  On Trevor's SF there are multiple sample whose volumes are incorrectly leveled.

[continuum.mid]

I also have a preference for SC-55 (EmperorGrieferus). Arachno Soundfont is a good option if you want realism.

[xX_Lol6_Xx]

I like Scc1t2 for most part, and the GUS patches for TiMidity++

[Wavy]

I'm with @northivanastan with the SC-55 sound-font from EmperorGrieferus. Sounds very good and is the most accurate out of the other SC-55 sound-fonts I've heard.

But I also quite like this "Touhou" sound-font. It's really big (215MB??!!) but it sounds really good.

[URROVA]

For some time i used the EmperorGrieferus SC55 soundfont, and i liked it, but right now im using the arachno soundfont. I like it so much, but i had to lower its volume like 50%? xD. 

[Daerik]

RLNDGM.zip

[Doomkid]

Here’s a vid comparing 200 soundfonts in Doom;

 

 

Download links to all of them are in the video description!

[MattFright]

I like the sound of the default Microsoft/Windows soundfont the most :D

[Distortion Dog]

It wouldn't hurt if I linked the one of my own :] 

 

[SuperPIter_DoomWorldthe2nd]

17 minutes ago, Distortion Dog said:

It wouldn't hurt if I linked the one of my own :] 

 

Cool!

[VoanHead]

1 hour ago, Doomkid said:

Here’s a vid comparing 200 soundfonts in Doom;

 

Download links to all of them are in the video description!

the nes soundfont and the sm64 soundfont are cute lmao, but still amazing

[Mayomancer]

Been having a good time with the Arachno Soundfont

[UAC guy]

I like arachno too.

[Zilch]

Indeed.  It sounds excellent!  Love the realism of the instruments!

[maxmanium]

Honestly I'm perfectly happy with RLNDGM.sf2. I guess I'm young enough that I just associate midi's with Microsoft's soundfont, but I use a custom sf2 to improve the quality.

[Doomkid]

On 6/2/2021 at 2:27 AM, Zilch said:

One of the best Doom soundfonts to come out in recent times is this one by @Trevor0402

https://github.com/trevor0402/SC55Soundfont

 

It's a 10mb file, and compared to the standard 3mb soundfont that's included with GZDoom, the former sound sooooo much better!

You might be interested in the remastered Roland GM soundfont that was recently released: 

 

 

Another great one that fits in well with the SC-55 / SCC1 Family is the “GM2 Map Soundfont”. It’s kind of like the basic Windows soundfont, but way juiced up: https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/1346

 

On 6/2/2021 at 5:10 AM, Lol 6 said:

I like Scc1t2 for most part, and the GUS patches for TiMidity++

If you use Scc1t2, I strongly suggest switching to “RlndGM” aka “GM_Roland”. Scc1t2 goes out of tune pretty badly with low notes - easily heard in the Piano part of “death’s bells” from TNT. RlndGM is almost exactly the same, but it stays in perfect tune (and has much “fuller” bass drums with power and electric kits) - https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/724

 

13 hours ago, maxmanium said:

Honestly I'm perfectly happy with RLNDGM.sf2. I guess I'm young enough that I just associate midi's with Microsoft's soundfont, but I use a custom sf2 to improve the quality.

By 1995/96, only dinosaurs of computers owned by dinosaur people still used AdLib / OPL :) Ever since I was knee-high to a pissant, most computers were using Windows with that familiar Roland sound (assuming they had a compatible soundcard, which most did). Even Bobby Prince, the legend himself, talked about how superior the General MIDI sound was compared to the old AdLib / OPL sound during the development of Doom, so don’t feel bad for liking it.

Edited June 3, 2021 by Doomkid

[TheUltimateDoomer666]

On 6/3/2021 at 4:55 PM, Doomkid said:

By 1995/96, only dinosaurs of computers owned by dinosaur people still used AdLib / OPL :)

I initially used OPL cards when playing DOOM95 before switching to "wavetable"-based cards (and software synthesizers). I had some General MIDI-compatible OPL3 clones; one used the Fat Man patches, and another used an ESFM synthesizer by ESS Technology (the same company that made the small ESS Wavetable SoundFonts).

 

In addition to the many OPL emulators available, both of those OPL3 GM synthesizers have fan-made SoundFonts available. Someone made a 128 MB "OPL3" SoundFont by recording the Fat Man patches, and more recently a Japanese user made a 703 MB SoundFont of the ESFM synth (ESFM.sf2, link at the end of this post).

 

Those SoundFonts probably won't interest many users here due to the large file sizes and low-quality instrument sounds, but I still think SoundFonts that "emulate" cheesy FM cards are a nostalgic novelty.

 

Here's how E1M1 sounds with the Fat Man synth:

 

Spoiler

 

 

And here's E1M1 with the ESFM synth:

 

Spoiler

 

 

Although the author of the ESFM SoundFont uploaded it to Dropbox, I had a lot of trouble downloading the file (the speed was slow and the download kept failing). I was only able to download the file by temporarily saving it to my own Dropbox account.

 

For convenience, I have uploaded an SFPack-compressed version of the SoundFont to Google Drive, resulting in a 300 MB download. I added credits and a link to the author's blog in the SoundFont's Comments section.

 

ESFM.sf2 link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sZDbSm3RLno5KzT4xXLFhEDQBBWoGCtq/view?usp=sharing

Edited June 5, 2021 by TheUltimateDoomer666 : Added link to ESFM SoundFont.

[Ren]

SGM works very well in my opinion. It's similar to that Touhou soundfont Wavy talked about. It's surprisingly big though, 235 MB! But it's worth it, trust me.

[PITTSBURGH PENGUINS]

On 6/1/2021 at 6:42 PM, MattFright said:

I like the sound of the default Microsoft/Windows soundfont the most :D

Meh It's OK doesn't appeal me as much as ol' Gravis Ultrasound , now there's a real good soundfont 

[MAN_WITH_GUN]

Probably FluidSynth, especially from older versions of prboom plus with some interesting smooth instruments.

Also will mention OPL for it's 'crispiness', every time when i think of Vanilla Doom - this soundfont pops up in my mind.

[bLUEbYTE]

my favourite is WeedsGM3.sf2

 

Spoiler

¥Weeds¥ General MIDI SoundFont v3.0
===================================
©Copyright 2006-2010, Rich ¥Weeds¥ Nagel - Some rights reserved

Overview
--------
This complete General MIDI compatable soundfont was created from various
commercial, custom, and freeware soundfonts and samples and requires 54,694,776
bytes of onboard EMU-8000 or EMU-10K RAM.

Statistics
----------
SoundFont Filename: WeedsGM3.sf2
Self-extracting sfArk Archive Filename: WeedsGM3.sfArk.exe
Zip Archive Filename: WeedsGM3.zip
File Dates and Times: March 1, 2010 3:00a
Readme Documentation: WeedsGM3.txt
License Agreement Documentation: WeedsGM3.License.txt
MIDI Files: None
Number of User Samples: 762
Size of User Samples: 54,694,776 bytes
Number of ROM Samples: 0
Number of Instruments: 147
Number of Melodic Presets: 128
Number of Percussive Presets: 9
Total SoundFont Filesize: 54,894,076 bytes

Installation
------------
To install the SoundFont, simply run "WeedsGM3.sfArk.exe" to extract the
SoundFont ("WeedsGM3.sf2") and documentation ("WeedsGM3.txt" and
"WeedsGM3.License.txt"). "WeedsGM3.sfArk.exe" is nothing but a simple
self-extracting "sfArk" archive, and using the "sfArk" utility to package the
files results in much better compression of the included SoundFont and files
than when using other archive compression utilities (such as "ACE", "RAR",
"ZIP", etc...).

Included Presets
----------------
000 - Grand Piano
001 - Bright Piano
002 - Electric Piano
003 - Honkytonk Piano
004 - Rhodes Piano
005 - Chorused Piano
006 - German Harpsichord
007 - Clavinet
008 - Celesta
009 - Glockenspiel
010 - Music Box
011 - Vibraphone
012 - Marimba
013 - Xylophone
014 - Tubular Bells
015 - Dulcimer
016 - Hammond Organ
017 - Percussive Organ
018 - Rock Organ
019 - Pipe Organ & Pedals
020 - Reed Organ
021 - Accordion
022 - Hohner Harmonica
023 - Bandoneon
024 - Nylon Guitar
025 - Steel Guitar
026 - Jazz Guitar
027 - Clean Guitar
028 - Guitar Mutes
029 - Strat. Marshall
030 - Garcia Dist. Guitar
031 - Guitar Harmonics
032 - Acoustic Bass
033 - Fingered Bass
034 - Epiphone Pick Bass
035 - Fretless Bass
036 - Slap Bass 1
037 - Slap Bass 2
038 - Synth Bass 1
039 - Synth Bass 2
040 - Violin
041 - Viola
042 - Cello
043 - Contrabass
044 - Tremelo Strings
045 - Pizzicato Strings
046 - Harp
047 - Timpani and Rolls
048 - String Ensemble 1
049 - String Ensemble 2
050 - Synth Strings 1
051 - Synth Strings 2
052 - Adult Choir Aahs
053 - Boys Choir Aahs
054 - Synth Choir Oohs
055 - Orchestra Hit
056 - Trumpet
057 - Trombone
058 - Tuba
059 - Trumpet Cup Mute
060 - French Horn
061 - Brass Section
062 - Synth Brass 1
063 - Synth Brass 2
064 - Soprano Sax
065 - Alto Sax
066 - Breathy Tenor Sax
067 - Baritone Sax
068 - Oboe
069 - English Horn
070 - Bassoon
071 - Clarinet
072 - Piccolo
073 - Flute
074 - Recorder
075 - Pan Flute
076 - Bottle Chiff
077 - Shakuhachi
078 - Whistle
079 - Ocarina
080 - Lead 1 (Square)
081 - Lead 2 (Sawtooth)
082 - Lead 3 (Calliope)
083 - Lead 4 (Chiff)
084 - Lead 5 (Charang)
085 - Lead 6 (Voice)
086 - Lead 7 (Fifths)
087 - Lead 8 (Bass&Lead)
088 - Pad 1 (New Age)
089 - Pad 2 (Warm)
090 - Pad 3 (Polysynth)
091 - Pad 4 (Choir)
092 - Pad 5 (Bowed)
093 - Pad 6 (Metallic)
094 - Pad 7 (Halo)
095 - Pad 8 (Sweep)
096 - FX 1 (Rain)
097 - FX 2 (Soundtrack)
098 - FX 3 (Crystal)
099 - FX 4 (Atmosphere)
100 - FX 5 (Brightness)
101 - FX 6 (Goblins)
102 - FX 7 (Echoes)
103 - FX 8 (Sci-Fi)
104 - Sitar
105 - Banjo
106 - Shamisen
107 - Koto
108 - Kalimba
109 - Bagpipe
110 - Fiddle
111 - Shanai
112 - Tinkle Bell
113 - Agogo
114 - Steel Drum
115 - Wood Block
116 - Taiko Drum
117 - Melodic Tom
118 - Synth Drum
119 - Reverse Cymbal
120 - Guitar Fret Noise
121 - Breath Noise
122 - Seashore
123 - Bird Tweet
124 - Telephone Ring
125 - Helicopter
126 - Applause
127 - Gun Shot

Included Drum Kits
------------------
000 - Standard Kit
005 - Studio Kit
008 - Room Kit
016 - Power Kit
024 - Electronic Kit
025 - TR-808 Kit
032 - Jazz Kit
040 - Brush Kit
048 - Orchestra Kit

Copyrights, Legalities, and License Agreement
---------------------------------------------
©Copyright 2006-2010, Rich ¥Weeds¥ Nagel - Some rights reserved

All SoundFonts, MIDI files, and included content are copyrighted material and
are for personal use ONLY.

Unless otherwise stated, the SoundFonts, MIDI files, and included content may
NOT be distributed in any manner without written consent. If distribution
consent is granted, the SoundFonts, MIDI files, and included content must be
distributed in their whole and unmodified form contained in their original
archives, including all documents, text, and support files.

These SoundFonts, MIDI files, and included content may NOT be distributed on
any commercial CD-ROM or any other commercial magnetic or electronic media
(commercial or freeware implied), on any "pay per download" online service, for
ANY purpose of financial gain whatsoever, or for any purpose other than 100%
FREEWARE (with exclusions as stated above).

Version History
---------------
v1.0                  - First release (private).
(January 1, 2006)

v2.0                  - First official release (public).
(January 1, 2009)     - Renamed the "Garcia Dst Guitar 2" preset to "Garcia
                        Dist. Guitar".
                      - Replaced the "Garcia Dst Guitar 1" with a "Strat.
                        Marshall".
                      - Replaced the "Epic Solo Trumpet" with a more standard
                        sounding trumpet, and renamed the preset to "Trumpet".
                      - Replaced the "Harpsichord" with a "German Harpsichord".
                      - Added a "Studio Kit" to the Drum Kits.
                      - Edited the "Bell Tree" instrument in all Drum Kits.
                      - Increased the initial attenuation (reduced volume) of
                        the kick drum ("JJRabbit Kick Drum") and snare drum
                        ("JJRabbit Snare Drum") included with the "Power Kit"
                        Drum Kit.
                      - Edited the volume envelope of the "Reverse Cymbal".
                      - Adjusted the modulation LFO of the "Hohner Harmonica".
                      - Minor editing of chorus, envelopes, reverb, and volume.
                      - Renamed many instruments, presets, and samples.

v3.0                  - Replaced the "Grand Piano" and "Bright Piano", with a
(March 1, 2010)         layered 8 megabyte version.
                      - Replaced the "Electric Piano".
                      - Replaced the "Honkytonk Piano".
                      - Replaced the "Rhodes Piano".
                      - Replaced the "Chorused Piano".
                      - Replaced the "Cathedral Organ" with a layered 8
                        megabyte version, and renamed the preset to "Pipe Organ
                        & Pedals" (I hope you have some *BIG* speakers for this
                        one!).
                      - Replaced the "Picked Bass" with a layered 2.7 megabyte
                        version, and renamed the preset to "Epiphone Pick
                        Bass".
                      - Replaced the "Tenor Sax" with a layered 5 megabyte
                        version, and renamed the preset to "Breathy Tenor Sax".
                      - Replaced the "Oboe" with an unlayered (although more
                        mellow sounding) one.
                      - Decreased the initial attenuation (increased volume) of
                        the "Strat. Marshall", and increased the chorus effect.
                      - Decreased the chorus effect of the "Garcia Dist.
                        Guitar".
                      - Edited various envelopes and pitches of the bass drum,
                        snare Drum, castanets, rim shot ("Snare Rim 3"), and
                        timpani included with the "Orchestra Kit" Drum Kit.
                      - Minor editing of chorus, envelopes, reverb, and volume.
                      - Renamed several instruments, presets, and samples.

ENJOY!
------
Rich ¥Weeds¥ Nagel
March 1, 2010

AIM: RichFNagel
ICQ: 565228098 / RichFNagel

richnagel@earthlink.net
richnagel@simpilot.net
rfnagel@juno.com

http://www.richnagel.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~richnagel
http://www.simpilot.net/~richnagel
http://www.cmoo.com/snor/
http://www.cmoo.com/snor/weeds/
http://www.cmoo.com/snor/weeds/SoundFonts/

 

Edited April 28 by bLUEbYTE : add as spoiler

[Zilch]

On 4/28/2023 at 9:36 AM, bLUEbYTE said:

my favourite is WeedsGM3.sf2

 

Thanks for the suggestion.... will try it out.