I think GM support is all I can ask for, but understand how GS, XG are designed and know how to scale them back to GM level is all Fluidsynth need to do.
About MIDI mode of GM, GS, XG... I don't have any official reference, but from what I understand, GM only has 128 defined instrument list, and maybe a few drumsets. That can get old after a while. The many hardware makers of "MIDI modules", MIDI capable "synth keyboards", and "arranger keyboards" need to add better sounds on their higher priced jewels. So they decide to keep the basic GM common between one price-level to the next by adding better sounds and drumsets as extensions (extra sounds in extra banks, still keeping the familiar 128 instruments GM definition loaded with relatively cheaper sounds). Some may just be the exact sound samples with different special effect settings (panning, reverb, cutoffs...) For example they can have 4 different nylon guitar (or Sax, Strings...) sounds on the same program number, but on different banks, even if there are few or no other voices on these extra banks. They would have different "demos", or "songs", or "rhythms" using those different nylon guitars that sound much better than the cheaper hardwares they have. The cheaper hardware when trying to play those nylon guitar instruments won't have those instruments in the defined banks (via MIDI cables, or MIDI files), will fallback to use the same program number on bank #0 (GM instrument). Likewise, SYSEX's are hardware specific, mostly depends on what sound chips and what type and how many special effects (DSP) chips are on that box. If a hardware sound module/keyboard doesn't know how to handle some SYSEX messages, it simply ignores those SYSEX's. Even the higher end Yamaha keyboards won't work with SYSEX's from cheaper Yamaha keyboards, and vice versa. Because they have different hardware engines (firmwares and chips...) I know of no hardware boxes that claims to support all the SYSEX's out there, each will only handle its own particular SYSEX's to control it's own specific hardware model. That's also how GS and XG claims that they are extensions of GM and all the hardware MIDI playing (via cable connection, or MIDI files) can still render appropriate sound, of course, "appropriate sound" may only match the type of instrument voice (i.e. Strings, Nylon Guitar, Oboe, French Horn, Sax...) and may not sound at all as good as it is intended for the hardware it was tweaked for. So as long as Fluidsynth provide the appropriate "fallback" instrument-voice look up and all the basic GM features, Fluidsynth is at least as good as any GM hardware modules out there. In fact a GM-supported Fluidsynth allowing changing of soundfont would be better than all the GM hardwares that won't allow changing (customizing) of their instrument voices. I think GM support would be great... However Fluidsynth interpretes the GM specs, all hardware makers out there does the same anyway. After that, GM2 might be something to look forward to. Since Yamaha already snuffed out XG (removed all references to XG softwares and XG specs), and Roland doesn't seem to get any better brainshare with GS. Those existing MIDI files out there still only sound best on the hardware they were created on, Fluidsynth only need to sound the appropriate voices as the notes are played. The rest depends on having a superb GM soundfont and maybe a few special soundfonts on top of GM sounds. Jimmy _______________________________________________ fluid-dev mailing list fluid-dev@nongnu.org http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/fluid-dev