25 Roland SC-55 Soundfonts compared to REAL SC-55! [Doom E1M1 MIDI]

[@DoomKid]

Download: archive.org/details/sc-55-roland-25-gm-soundfonts Full list of soundfonts: ia601408.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/5/items/sc-55-roland-25-gm-soundfonts/SC-55_Roland_25_GM_Soundfonts.zip 00:01 Roland SC-55 MKII (real hardware) - 100% volume 01:39 GM_Roland (aka RLNDGM.sf2) - 100% volume 03:16 SC-55 24-bit XGD Edition - 88% volume 04:54 SC-55 Deemster (comes w/ GZDoom) - 75% volume 06:32 SC-55 DJ Tony 1.1 - 110% volume 08:10 SC-55 EmperorGrieferus 79mb - 60% volume 09:47 SC-55 EmperorGrieferus 113mb - 60% volume 11:26 SC-55 EmperorGrieferus 131mb - 60% volume 13:04 SC-55 JMSexton - 75% volume 14:42 SC-55 Masquerade55 v004 - 100% volume 16:20 SC-55 Masquerade55 v006 - 100% volume 17:58 SC-55 NSS-02887b-MKII - 115% volume 19:36 SC-55 Patch93 - 75% volume 21:14 SC-55 Roland SOUNDCanvas Up - 50-55% volume 22:53 SC-55 Soundfont v1.2a1 - 205% volume 24:30 SC-55 Soundfont v1.2b [Trevor0402] - 215% volume 26:09 SC-55 StrikingUAC - 50% volume (loud drums) 27:46 SC-55 Trevor James - 50% volume (loud drums) 29:24 SC-55 zz_denis v0.2 - 125% volume 31:03 SC-55 zz_denis v0.5 - 125% volume 32:41 Windows.sf2 - 100% volume 34:18 Windows_Redux.sf2 - 100% volume 35:56 SCC1T2.sf2 - 80% volume 37:34 SCC1 Florestan - 80% volume 39:11 GM DLS Remastered V2 Alt - 65% volume 40:49 GM2 Map Soundfont - 110% volume "GM_Roland" is probably my all-time favorite, you can never go wrong. It's the de-facto "default MIDI sound" that comes with Windows, and is fairly similar to the SC-55. "Roland SOUNDCanvas Up", "Masquerade55v006", "GM2 Map Soundfont" and Trevor0402's SC-55 are also excellent, in my humble opinion. Enjoy!

[@Crackers0106]

Favorite is probably "EmperorGrieferus 97mb", it sounds the most similar to the real SC-55 to me

[@bigblueassbaby9074]

The 131MB version sounds way better i think.

[@error4159]

​@@bigblueassbaby9074 They both sound close enough for government work.

[@flumptyfan33]

Yea

[@SirDoomShotgun]

Sorry, do you mean 79mb? I can't find 97

[@thecybercafeman]

EmperorGrieferus soundfonts are the most faithful to the original hardware is very clear and some sounds that are not noticeable in a common soundfont are noticeable again in this soundfont. On the other hand GM2 Map Soundfont has much more natural sounding guitars and is much clearer than the original hardware.

[@MikeReiner]

About 6 years ago I picked up an SC-55; I briefly did some requests to record midis from it on DWF.. it was fun stuff.

[@DoomKid]

Nothing can beat the real deal!

[@E2wqpXcGGnLtJHbVXDhS3]

thank you so much for providing comparisons as most people are not as acutely aware of certain tones and fully sustained notes and sometimes instruments that don't even sound real but are just vague enough for your brain to fill in the gaps

[@lakotacorff4012]

Video Idea: analyzing the changes a DeHackEd patch makes to the monsters in a specific WAD (Batman Doom for example)

[@DoomKid]

Cool idea for a video, noted!

[@msthalamus2172]

Thank you for making this. I was just in the process of figuring out which SC-55 SF to go with for my MIDI synth emulator box.

[@DoomKid]

late response from me, but glad I could help!

[@jess648]

now you can use the real thing with Nuked SC-55!

[@error4159]

The Emperor sound font sound close enough to me.

[@dragonknightkx]

The GZDoom soundfont reminds me of the bass enhanced Metallica mixes, where the bass is just really loud and not mixed well.

[@the_kovic]

They almost all sounds pretty alright, almost none get it majorly wrong. I think it would be better to test on some more quirky tracks that more exploit the specific sound of the SC-55. I found the track Hate Machine from SIGIL's E5M1 to be a good benchmark because it tends to sound like garbage on a SoundFont that's even just slightly off.

[@stanisawborsa2784]

Interesting. Have you compared any of those in that map? I got interested in zz_denis and Trevor's and tried them in various songs and they sounded off in many moments. Lacked attack or sometimes muffled when not supposed to be. IMO Patch93 sounds the most complete (I even prefer it over the original) and the most faithful to the original is EmperorGrieferus. The rest of the fonts I simply did not like.

[@slinkyfpv]

I would have enjoyed if you would have commented on each font and talked about what you liked or disliked about each one. It was still pretty cool to jumo through all the SF and hear what they all sound like. Thanks for the hard work, my man!

[@solarflare9078]

It almost sounds like DJ Tony 1.1 is what the DOOM 32X version tried to emulate with those specific pitch bends, lol

[@dustyrhodes429]

Really exhaustive video, it's much appreciated. Great comparison!

[@DoomKid]

Thanks Dusty!

[@crimsonsmoke]

Hey mate, just wanted to say thank you so much for this. I can’t tell you how useful this is. I asked about recommendations for sound fonts on DOOM World (name there is Nobleflame) and was still a bit confused about it after people tried to help me. Not only have you given advice but you’ve also provided the actual sound fonts. Thanks again :)

[@DoomKid]

I'm glad to have helped!

[@wilderness_over]

Awesome ♫

[@miranhanordestino1554]

thanks bro, my fav is the 11:26

[@DoomKid]

Sounds very authentic!

[@miranhanordestino1554]

@@DoomKid i want to use THIS soundfont as a Midi instruments collection, to play virtually, can help? I don't understand much

[@polygonvvitch]

Thanks for making this video. I've been struggling finding a soundfont mimicking the SC-55 that doesn't have odd volume issues, like being overall really quite or having some instruments be super quiet compared to others. Hopefully this'll help find a well balanced one.

[@TVdinnermasterchef]

Haha, a video off the back of the mass confusion from Sandy's AV playthtough? Excellent

[@gregorypendell9260]

Hold up, Sandy Petersen played Alien Vendetta?

[@TVdinnermasterchef]

@@gregorypendell9260 Sandwedge. Sandy Peterson might have played it, who knows?

[@MrDoomGrey]

GM HD aka GM DLS Remastered is probably my fav so far. I really like the enhanced sound it has.

[@DoomKid]

It’s a great middle between Windows MIDI and the true SC-55 sound!

[@juniorsilvabroadcast]

Roland SC55 drums are a bit louder

[@TheSunset_Dude]

The Gzdoom SoundFont also has instrument issues in some music tracks.

[@idogaming3532]

the gzdoom sf doesn't even sound like doomkid's sc-55, it sounds like gm.dls which is compressed/muffled (but there are some instruments i like more from it)

[@nibblrrr7124]

Thanks, this comparison is really useful! BTW, chapters are not showing up in the video b/c there is no chapter starting at 0:00. If you shift the first timestamp back - or add another timestamp and give it any name, like "0:00 Start" - there would be chapters in the video for easier skipping around. ;)

[@DoomKid]

Thanks a lot, I always wondered why they sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t!

[@moriadannotmilk]

The GZDoom one has way too much reverb. I just like the reverbless GM_Roland soundfont more.

[@TenoriteJS]

which one is that?

[@moriadannotmilk]

@@TenoriteJS its cloud... something i forgot

[@idogaming3532]

​@@TenoriteJS"sc-55" deemster

[@johndoe7270]

Nice work! Did you catch the NIN Q&A?

[@redzgaming6880]

Hey, I know this has nothing to do with the video at hand, but I have a WAD you should check out sometime that dosen't make as many rounds on KZbin as I think it deserves. Cyb's Freaky Colonoscopy is the name of the WAD, it has 15 levels, and though the theming is funny, it's not a joke WAD, and most of the levels, while difficult, are genuinely fun.

[@DoomKid]

That’s an amazing wad! I’ll definitely play it on the channel some time.

[@Purpbatboi]

Now try Nuked-SC55

[@VoanHead]

Small question: how did you even get the volume levels up to 215%? On VMS I’ve been trying to get Trevor0402’s SC-55 ver up to a certain level but it still sounds pretty low to me.

[@DoomKid]

In the VMS soundfont list, if you click the little green pencil button, it'll allow you to edit volumes. Very useful!

[@randomsupergodzillalizardd9981]

Which sound font is the most popular one on KZbin?

[@DoomKid]

I would assume EmpGrieferus, or GM_Roland/RLNDGM. The former is very hardware accurate, the latter is accurate to the old Windows sound.

[@tomboylover93]

Idk if you have the time for making MIDI albums rn but could you please consider doing Core by Stone Temple Pilots? I've been trying to find MIDIs of the songs in there for ages and I never could, plus your Alice in Chains and Metallica MIDI albums sound awesome so you're basically the person for it lol

[@DoomKid]

That is a great album. I do so many little random projects that I don't want to make a promise I can't uphold, but I'll definitely add it to my to-do list!

[@jlewwis1995]

So one thing I noticed with most of the soundfonts is that the guitar doesn't sound quite right, it's usually slightly lacking in the higher harmonics or in some of them it isn't even the right sample :/ I mean when you're playing the game you probably couldn't tell the difference with the more close sounding ones but in this video it's pretty obvious :P also wow I didn't know the bass was so shit in the gzdoom sc55 soundfont, on one hand it should probably be replaced by a better one but on the other hand many midis have probably been designed specifically around it and changing the soundfont might throw off those.mixes :/

[@DoomKid]

Firstly, great comment. But secondly, I doubt many are composing using the GZD soundfont, they’re probably using the default windows midi which (thankfully) doesn’t have that overblown bass!

[@idogaming3532]

​@@DoomKidwhat midi do you think where most of the sc-55/windows scc-1 soundfonts sound like trash if they aren't accurate.

[@MagnusRohden-db8gy]

I hope there is a soundfint that i can find that is all metal based. Pianos sound asclose as possible to real pianos guitars sound like real guitart and drums sound as close as possible to real drums

[@DoomKid]

Try "Guitar_For_Metal_GM", "Guitar_LP" for distortion and electric guitars, try "RealAcousticDrums_5", "Alex_GM_Old_DrumKits", and "Metal_V2_GM" for drums, and the various pianos all found here: ia800401.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/16/items/500-soundfonts-full-gm-sets/500_Soundfonts_Full_GM_Sets.zip

[@MagnusRohden-db8gy]

@@DoomKid thanks!

[@Dimon12321]

Cool comparison, but E1M1 is rather a generic choice, than some ambiguous specimen soundfont makers are not aware of.

[@Tycitron6000]

Question... whats the difference between the 3 EmperorGrieferus ones? They sound the exact same to me.

[@DoomKid]

I believe he was just compressing the soundfont more and more each time, to see how small he could get it without losing quality. (I did not know this at this at the time of the upload, and assumed some instruments must have been different)

[@somisimons]

Which one sounds the closest to the actual SC-55 iyo? I want to install the one that sounds the closest so I can play mods in gzdoom without having to search for that specific mod's soundtrack in SC-55 and separate all the tracks into flac files with the correct filenames and compress them all into a zip file.

[@DoomKid]

EmpGriferus 79mb, for sure!

[@miranhanordestino1554]

how can i use those soundfonts as MIDI instrument colection to play virtually?

[@SianaGearz]

Depends on what you use. Why so vague? 1. If you're on Windows, you can install CoolSoft VirtualMidiSynth, which will give you a MIDI device that you can quickly load any SF2 into. 2. You can go find an SF2 VST. There's a whole bunch of them in various stages of neglect. 3. Your DAW may have built in SF2 support. Examples are FL Studio, LMMS, Sonar. 4. You can break apart the SF2 and convert it into a bunch of SFZ. These are unpacked files with a text file per instrument and then wave samples all separate. 4a. Your DAW may have built-in SFZ support. Bitwig and Sonar for example. 4b. You can go find an SFZ VST. The reference implementation of SFZ is Sforzando, it's a free conversion tool and VST plugin. It's probably the most well upkept option for SF2 soundfonts as a whole.

[@alexdsuper1337]

i've got a question, does the 'SC-55 24-BIT XGD Edition' work with VCL media player? because i keep geting the 'need SF2 file' error whenever i put it into FluidSynth, hit save and then start a midi

[@DoomKid]

This is odd - it works with VMS, however I'm not sure about VLC..