Hi all
Are there any half decent sound Modules where I can use as a premium sound source to create mp3's from a midi file.

I am looking for small and portable...

Please advise
Ron

Ron, any of the Roland or Yamaha sound modules would work for this. They have XM2 & GM2 soundbanks which are what most smf's use. To use the sound engine's premium patches you'll need to edit each SMF to the specific patch you want. If you want a quick method, I know the s-series arrangers have a way of switching GM sounds to the other sounds, AND the BK7m (along with all BK, G and E series keyboards) has the COVER feature which selectively switches out sounds - I have used this for some of my SMFs and it really makes a difference.

If you could find a Roland DisCover5 module, I think you'd be happy with that. Fran had one a while back. A lot of accordion retailers handle Ketron modules; Google 'accordions'; there's a guy in Clearwater, FL who has a great site listing all his stuff for sale online.
http://www.accordionsandkeyboards.net/

Thanks Cass

You are a good man !!!

Fran
You still have Roland Discover5 ?

Ron,I do not....but I run across one once in a while...

Ron, there are decent soft synths, that record nicely..I have been satisfied with NI Bandstand (2 gigs for 128 instruments)..and Hyper Canvas does a decent job...

I am also using PC80 synth that only functions with the PC80 controller..

I would try and find Bandstand...

Send me a SMF to demo, I will record it in Bandstand (wave), and convert to MP3...and send it back to you..

I just bought the Ketron SD 1000, the newer version of the SD 2. A lot of sounds are excellent. Regarding midi files, Ketron has the advantage that the standard GM sounds the midi file would automatically use are on the same high level as the other sound banks, whereas in the case of Roland the GM bank sometimes contains the average-quality sounds only.

I thought Hammer (Deane Peters) had one for sale.

Yes,
I have a SD2 unit and a Roland A-pro 800 controller for sale plus Dan's vArranger.
Deane

Hi Ron,

Yes, out of the box, the Ketron modules do playback midi files better than some others mentioned. I have tried this in the past and no matter how good the soundsource is, it will require considerable editing on the voices, effects, panning etc. for many of the midi files available on internet. So a sound module like SD-2 is a very good start + you will need some software to access the parameters of the SD-2 easily. I have heard some online demos of such softwares at Midi playback software Give the demo a try and see if it suits you. I personally, haven`t tried these yet but the features do seem to indicate editing capabilities of the SD-2 voices and parameters.

Apart from a pure hardware sound source, if you are ok to compromise a little on the tonal quality, then online converters using sound fonts can give you a quick conversion => Online midi to mp3

Some other premium software soundsources would be the EWQL Goliath EWQL Goliath software

Good luck.