Posted by steveG on October 16, 2000 at 15:09:12:
In Reply to: What is a soundfont? posted by Greg Jones on October 16, 2000 at 12:39:11:
: I know this is a little off topic but what is a soundfont?
A SoundFont is a self-contained file that has both samples and patch data that can be played back by a sampler that supports this format.
: What equipment is needed? Can QS users use them?
The most common hardware (that I know of) is the SoundBlaster SBLive! (and the older SB AWE series). You can't load them into a QS, but you can use them in conjunction with your Alesis, just as you would any other sampler/synth, if you have an SBLive.
SoundFonts can do some things the QS series can (such as resonant filters), but the QS can do some things that SoundFonts can't (such as true portamento). You can get a lot of free SoundFonts on the Net, and you can make your own using the Vienna SoundFont editor, which I believe is still a free download from Creative Labs.
I've attached a link to a site a lot of free SoundFont downloads.