SFZ (file format): Difference between revisions

SFZ file format
Filename extension	.sfz
Developed by	René Ceballos
Type of format	Markup language

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Latest revision as of 02:22, 4 November 2024

SFZ is a plain text file format that stores instrument data for sampled instruments. The SFZ format was developed by René Ceballos (founder of rgc:audio software)^[1] and continues to be used by companies such as Cakewalk, Plogue and Garritan. SFZ is a royalty-free format and can be used by software developers for both free and commercial purposes. The SFZ Format is widely accepted as an open standard to define the behavior of a musical instrument from a bare set of sound recordings.

Similar file formats are the open Decent Sampler format (.dspreset) and the proprietary format used by Native Instruments Kontakt (.nki, .nkm).

A simple example of an SFZ file:

<group>
lovel=0
hivel=127

<region> trigger=attack  pitch_keycenter=60 lokey=30 hikey=61 sample=SubDir/01C4.wav
<region> trigger=attack  pitch_keycenter=62 lokey=62 hikey=63 sample=SubDir/02D4.wav
<region> trigger=attack  pitch_keycenter=64 lokey=64 hikey=64 sample=SubDir/03E4.wav
<region> trigger=attack  pitch_keycenter=65 lokey=65 hikey=66 sample=SubDir/04F4.wav
<region> trigger=attack  pitch_keycenter=67 lokey=67 hikey=68 sample=SubDir/05G4.wav
<region> trigger=attack  pitch_keycenter=69 lokey=69 hikey=70 sample=SubDir/06A4.wav
<region> trigger=attack  pitch_keycenter=71 lokey=71 hikey=71 sample=SubDir/07B4.wav
<region> trigger=attack  pitch_keycenter=72 lokey=72 hikey=73 sample=SubDir/08C5.wav
<region> trigger=attack  pitch_keycenter=74 lokey=74 hikey=75 sample=SubDir/09D5.wav
<region> trigger=attack  pitch_keycenter=76 lokey=76 hikey=108 sample=SubDir/10E5.wav

The SFZ format isn't maintained by a single company or group, and supported features can vary between individual synthesizers. The official page at the Cakewalk web-site is no longer available, however descriptions of the SFZ opcodes can be found on various websites.

Applications exist that provide a point-and-click GUI for creating SFZ files, as an alternative to editing the text directly.

References

^ "The SFZ Format".

External links

[1] "The SFZ Format".

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Plain text file format for storing instrument data for software synthesizers}}
 {{Infobox file format
 | name          = SFZ file format
@@ Line 5: / Line 6: @@
 | caption       =
 | extension     = .sfz
-| owner         = [[Rene Ceballos]]
+| owner         = [[René Ceballos]]
 | genre         = [[Markup language]]
 }}
+{{Distinguish|.sf2}}
-SFZ is a plain text [[file format]] that stores instrument data for [[Software synthesizer|software synthesizers]]. The SFZ format was developed by René Ceballos (founder of [[RGC Audio]])<ref>http://ariaengine.com/overview/sfz-format/</ref> and is now maintained by [[Cakewalk (company)|Cakewalk]]. SFZ is a royalty-free format and can be used by software developers for both free and commercial purposes. The SFZ Format is widely accepted as the open standard to define the behavior of a musical instrument from a bare set of sound recordings.
+'''SFZ''' is a [[plain text]] [[file format]] that stores instrument data for [[multisamples|sampled instruments]]. The SFZ format was developed by [[René Ceballos]] (founder of [[rgcaudio|rgc:audio software]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ariaengine.com/overview/sfz-format/|title=The SFZ Format}}</ref> and continues to be used by companies such as [[Cakewalk (company)|Cakewalk]], [[Plogue Art et Technologie, Inc.|Plogue]] and [[Garritan Personal Orchestra|Garritan]]. SFZ is a royalty-free format and can be used by software developers for both free and commercial purposes. The SFZ Format is widely accepted as an open standard to define the behavior of a musical instrument from a bare set of sound recordings.
-Similar file formats are the proprietary standards of [[Native Instruments]] Kontakt <code>.nki, .nkm</code>.
+Similar file formats are the open [[Decent Sampler]] format (<code>.dspreset</code>) and the proprietary format used by [[Native Instruments]] Kontakt (<code>.nki, .nkm</code>).
 A simple example of an SFZ file:
+<pre>
-<syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
 <group>
 lovel=0
@@ Line 29: / Line 31: @@
 <region> trigger=attack  pitch_keycenter=74 lokey=74 hikey=75 sample=SubDir/09D5.wav
 <region> trigger=attack  pitch_keycenter=76 lokey=76 hikey=108 sample=SubDir/10E5.wav
+</pre>
-</syntaxhighlight>
 The SFZ format isn't maintained by a single company or group, and supported features can vary between individual synthesizers. The official page at the Cakewalk web-site is no longer available, however descriptions of the SFZ opcodes can be found on various websites.
-Applications exist that provide a point and click [[GUI]] for creating SFZ files, as an alternative to editing the text directly.
+Applications exist that provide a point-and-click [[Graphical user interface|GUI]] for creating SFZ files, as an alternative to editing the text directly.
+== See also ==
+* [[DLS format]]
+* [[SoundFont]]
 ==References==
@@ Line 39: / Line 46: @@
 == External links ==
-* [http://www.sfzformat.com Sfzformat]
+* [http://www.sfzformat.com/ SFZ Format]
+* [https://sfzinstruments.github.io SFZ Instruments]
-* [http://ariaengine.com/overview/sfz-format/ Ariaengine]
+* [http://ariaengine.com/overview/sfz-format/ Aria Engine]
 * [https://www.linuxsampler.org/sfz/ SFZ opcodes list at LinuxSampler.org]
 [[Category:Computer file formats]]
+[[Category:Software synthesizers]]