SoundFonts & FluidSynth

MidiEditor AI includes a built-in FluidSynth synthesizer so you can play back MIDI files without any external software. FluidSynth renders audio from SoundFont files (.sf2/.sf3) which contain sampled instrument sounds. No drivers, no DAWs, no setup — just open a file and press play.

Note: The FluidSynth integration is based on upstream work from the Meowchestra/MidiEditor project, extended with FFXIV-specific features in MidiEditor AI.

FluidSynth Settings

Open MIDI → Settings… and select the Midi I/O card. When FluidSynth is available you will see it listed as an output device (FluidSynth (Built-in Synthesizer)) plus a dedicated FluidSynth Settings panel below the I/O lists.

Setting	Description
SoundFont list	Loaded SoundFonts in priority order (top = highest). Use Add…, Remove, Up, Down to manage.
Driver	Audio output driver (DirectSound, WASAPI, etc.).
Rate	Sample rate in Hz. Higher values sound better but use more CPU.
Reverb Engine	Choose the reverb algorithm (FDN Reverb is recommended).
Gain	Master volume (0.0 – 1.0). Click Reset to restore the default.
Reverb / Chorus	Toggle built-in reverb and chorus effects.
FFXIV SoundFont Mode	Special mode for FFXIV Bard SoundFonts — see below.

Managing SoundFonts

SoundFont files are stored in the soundfont/ folder next to the MidiEditor executable. You can add SoundFont files in three ways:

Add… — Browse for any .sf2 or .sf3 file on your system. It will be copied into the soundfont/ folder automatically.
Download Default… — Opens a curated download dialog with popular SoundFonts ready to install with one click.
Manual — Drop .sf2/.sf3 files directly into the soundfont/ folder, then restart MidiEditor or re-open settings.

Download Dialog

Click Download Default… to open the built-in SoundFont downloader. It lists curated SoundFonts with name, size, and format. Select one or more entries and click Download Selected. Files are saved to the soundfont/ folder and appear in the SoundFont list immediately.

Download SoundFonts dialog showing FFXIV Bard, GeneralUser GS, and MS Basic v2.0 SoundFonts

Available SoundFonts in the download dialog:

#	Name	Size	Format	Description
1	FFXIV Bard SoundFont (C3-C6 Fixed)	13.2 MB	SF2	FFXIV instrument samples with corrected octave range (C3–C6). Recommended for bard performance.
2	FFXIV Bard SoundFont (Normal)	13.2 MB	SF2	FFXIV instrument samples with original range.
3	GeneralUser GS	30.8 MB	SF2	High-quality General MIDI / GS SoundFont covering all 128 GM programs.
4	MS Basic v2.0 (MuseScore 4)	38 MB	SF3	Large General MIDI SoundFont from MuseScore. Compressed SF3 format.

Check Show Legacy SoundFonts to reveal older or less common options. Click Find More Online… to open a web search for additional SoundFonts.

SoundFont Priority

When multiple SoundFonts are loaded, FluidSynth resolves each program-change request top-to-bottom. The first SoundFont that contains the requested bank/program wins. Use the Up and Down buttons to reorder.

Typical stack for FFXIV playback:

FF14-c3c6-fixed.sf2 — FFXIV instruments (top priority)
GeneralUser-GS.sf2 — fallback for any programs not in the FFXIV font

Enable & Disable SoundFonts

Each SoundFont in the list has a checkbox. Unchecking a SoundFont disables it — it stays in the list but is not loaded into FluidSynth. This is useful when you want to temporarily mute a SoundFont without removing it from the stack.

SoundFont list with enable/disable checkboxes â€” one item unchecked

Checked — SoundFont is active and used for playback and audio export.
Unchecked — SoundFont stays in the list but is not loaded. It won’t contribute any sounds.

The enabled/disabled state is saved across sessions. When you restart MidiEditor AI, each SoundFont remembers whether it was checked or unchecked.

FFXIV SoundFont Mode Auto-Toggle

SoundFonts with “ff14” or “ffxiv” in the filename are recognized as FFXIV Bard SoundFonts. When you check or uncheck such a SoundFont:

Checking an FFXIV SoundFont automatically enables FFXIV SoundFont Mode.
Unchecking all FFXIV SoundFonts automatically disables FFXIV SoundFont Mode.

This saves you from manually toggling the mode checkbox every time you switch between FFXIV and General MIDI SoundFonts.

FFXIV SoundFont Mode

FFXIV Bard SoundFonts store all instruments in Bank 0 with unique program numbers. Standard MIDI files, however, typically spread instruments across different MIDI banks. When FFXIV SoundFont Mode is enabled, MidiEditor AI:

Forces Bank 0 on every channel so all program changes resolve against the FFXIV SoundFont.
Intercepts bank-select CC messages (CC 0 and CC 32) to prevent them from overriding Bank 0.
Maps percussion tracks (Channel 10) to their correct FFXIV program numbers based on the track name (e.g., “Snare Drum” → Program 118, “Timpani” → Program 47).

This mode only takes effect when FluidSynth is the active output device. It has no effect on external MIDI outputs or on the saved file.

Drum Mapping (Channel 10, Bank 0)

Track Name Contains	Program
Timpani	47
Bongo	116
Bass Drum	117
Snare Drum	118
Cymbal	119

Tracks whose names do not match any of the above are left unchanged on Channel 10.

Tips

No sound? Make sure FluidSynth (Built-in Synthesizer) is checked in Midi output and at least one SoundFont is loaded.
Wrong instruments? Reorder SoundFonts so the desired one is on top. Check if FFXIV SoundFont Mode should be enabled or disabled.
Crackling audio? Lower the sample rate or switch the audio driver (e.g., DirectSound → WASAPI).
Too quiet / too loud? Adjust the Gain slider. The default is ~0.52.
Combined with Fix X|V: Use the Fix X|V Channel Fixer to set up correct program numbers and channels, then enable FFXIV SoundFont Mode for accurate playback preview.
Export to audio: Use File → Export Audio (Ctrl+Shift+E) to render your MIDI to WAV, FLAC, OGG, or MP3 using the current SoundFont stack.