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The following may seem techy, and, frankly, that techy aspect inhibited me from checking out the SFZ file format. But once I finally wrapped my head around the concept, I was glad I did.
The SFZ file format- a license-free spec, even for commercial purposeswas created by synth designer Rene Ceballos, and it defines how multisamples should be handled within an SFZcompatible instrument. The format is compatible with several Cakewalk instruments, including Dimension, Session Drummer 2, Rapture, and DropZone. But it's also compatible with the free, VSTcompatible SFZ Player that works in any VSTi-compatible host (download the Player at www.proiect5.com/products/ instruments/sfz-plaver/default.asp). so the format's usefulness extends far beyond Cakewalk instruments.
For example, suppose you work with Samplitude, you're collaborating with a friend who uses Cubase, and you have a bunch of "found sound" samples you want to use as rhythmic elements. If you create an SFZ file of these sounds, and you both download the free SFZ Player, you can exchange keyboard parts that trigger these samples in the SFZ Player. What's more, the SFZ format accommodates Ogg Vorbis (compressed) files, so you can use really big files, but compress them for faster file transfers over the net. When...