How to use SF2 SoundFonts in Cakewalk

Which Cakewalk is this for?

These steps are for Cakewalk Sonar and the older free Cakewalk by BandLab. Both load VST3 plugins the same way. Very old SONAR versions had a SoundFont device tied to Sound Blaster cards; that route doesn't work on modern Windows.

Step 1: Install simpleSF2 and let Cakewalk find it

1. Download simpleSF2 and run the Windows installer. It puts the VST3 plugin in C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3.
2. Open Cakewalk. It scans for new plugins at startup. If simpleSF2 doesn't appear, open Edit → Preferences → File → VST Settings, check that the VST3 folder is in the scan paths, and click Scan.

Step 2: Insert it as a soft synth

1. Choose Insert → Soft Synth and pick simpleSF2, or drag it from the Plug-ins tab of the Browser into the track view.
2. In the Insert Soft Synth Options box, tick Simple Instrument Track for a single instrument, or MIDI Source Track plus First Synth Audio Output if you'll play a whole MIDI file through it.
3. Open the plugin, click Import SF2/SFZ and pick your file, or drag the file onto the plugin window.
4. Pick a bank and preset, arm the track and play. Cakewalk saves the library, preset and settings with the project.

Playing a General MIDI file

This is what TTS-1 used to do: open a .mid file and hear every part on the right instrument.

1. Open the MIDI file in Cakewalk. It creates one MIDI track per part.
2. Insert simpleSF2 once, import a General MIDI SoundFont such as GeneralUser GS, and switch on its 16-channel mode (part of the £9.99 unlock).
3. Set every MIDI track's output to simpleSF2. Keep each track on its own MIDI channel, as the file had it.

Each channel then picks its instrument from the file's program changes, with drums on channel 10. The Channels page shows which preset each channel is on. With the free version, insert one simpleSF2 per track instead and choose each preset by hand.

You need simpleSF2 0.7.0 or later for this. In Sonar, earlier versions played every part on the same instrument. If one part still plays the wrong instrument, set that track's Bank in the track inspector to a number instead of None.

For a quick listen or a WAV without opening a DAW, see how to play a MIDI file with a SoundFont.

SFZ instruments

Many newer free instruments come as SFZ instead of SF2: a text file plus a folder of WAV or FLAC samples. Load the .sfz file the same way, with Import SF2/SFZ or by dragging it onto the plugin. Keep the samples folder next to it, because the SFZ file points to the samples by path.

If the instrument has its own controls, such as layer switches, tuning or articulations, a Controls button appears next to Add Favourite and shows them as knobs. Cakewalk saves their settings with the project.

Other free options

Cakewalk's own help pages suggest Plogue's free sforzando as a TTS-1 replacement. It converts SF2 files to SFZ when you load them rather than playing them as they are. The free SoundFont player plugins guide compares it with the others.

Common questions

Does Cakewalk support SoundFonts?

Not directly any more. Load a SoundFont player plugin such as simpleSF2 as a soft synth.

Is there a free replacement for TTS-1?

For General MIDI files, a General MIDI SoundFont in a SoundFont plugin does the same job. simpleSF2 is free with one library per instance; the £9.99 unlock adds the 16-channel mode that lets one instance play a whole MIDI file.

Using a different DAW?

• SoundFonts in Reaper
• SoundFonts in FL Studio
• SoundFonts in Ableton Live
• SoundFonts in Bitwig Studio
• SoundFonts in Cubase
• SoundFonts in Studio One
• SoundFonts in LMMS
• The best free SoundFonts
• All SoundFont guides