v7.3.0

FFXIV SoundFonts (Patch 7.3) — Bard Performance Samples

Important

SoundFont only produces audible notes in the C3 – C6 range (MIDI notes 48 – 84), matching FFXIV’s playable range.
Individual instrument samples are recorded & heard in different keys beyond this range.

Instrument Sample Ranges

Chordophones	Woodwinds	Percussion	Brass	Strings	Guitars
Harp C3 – C6	Flute C4 – C7	Timpani C2 – C5	Trumpet C3 – C6	Violin C3 – C6	Electric Guitar: Overdriven C2 – C5
Piano C4 – C7	Oboe C4 – C7	Bongo C2 – C5	Trombone C2 – C5	Viola C3 – C6	Electric Guitar: Clean C2 – C5
Lute C2 – C5	Clarinet C3 – C6	Bass Drum C1 – C4	Tuba C1 – C4	Cello C2 – C5	Electric Guitar: Muted C2 – C5
Fiddle C2 – C5	Fife C5 – C8	Snare Drum C2 – C5	Horn C2 – C5	Double Bass C1 – C4	Electric Guitar: Power Chords C2 – C5
	Panpipes C4 – C7	Cymbal C2 – C5	Saxophone C3 – C6		Electric Guitar: Special C3 – C6

Core Features

⏱️Native Delay Compensation

Every instrument in this SoundFont features sub-millisecond delay compensation calculated directly from the source sample files. Because FFXIV bard performance wav samples are not perfectly cut and contain empty audio padding, XIV MIDI players must account for this delay for in-game playback sync.

In this SoundFont, we use an automated -45dB silence-detection threshold to calculate the exact startAddrsOffset across all samples, resulting in every single MIDI note striking exactly on the beat with perfect instantaneous attack.

🎹 Expanded General MIDI Compatibility

While FFXIV only contains 28 true instruments, the Expanded SoundFont version leverages an Exhaustive GM Map Matrix covering over 113 of the 128 General MIDI slots. This provides a robust fallback system for previewing playback with XIV instruments. If a standard MIDI file calls for an instrument outside the FFXIV roster, the SoundFont will automatically substitute the closest possible match based on timbre, envelope, and acoustic traits.

It is still recommended you use the proper instrument channels though.

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Default Instrument Mappings

Tip

These represent the primary Program Change / Preset numbers (0-127) for the 28 native FFXIV instruments.
(Your DAW may display these offset by +1 if using a GM (1-128) table.)

Chordophones	Woodwinds	Percussion*	Brass	Strings	Guitars
Harp 46	Flute 73	Timpani 47	Trumpet 56	Violin 40	Electric Guitar: Overdriven 29
Piano 0	Oboe 68	Bongo 96	Trombone 57	Viola 41	Electric Guitar: Clean 27
Lute 25	Clarinet 71	Bass Drum 97	Tuba 58	Cello 42	Electric Guitar: Muted 28
Fiddle 45	Fife 72	Snare Drum 98	Horn 60	Double Bass 43	Electric Guitar: Power Chords 30
	Panpipes 75	Cymbal 99	Saxophone 65		Electric Guitar: Special 31

*Drums play melodically across standard MIDI channels 1-9/11-16. For unpitched kit, see below.

Caution

Other FFXIV soundfonts in the wild may have Lute, Bongo, Bass Drum, Snare Drum, & Cymbal assigned to different channel values to match with similarly named GM instruments.
(i.e. 24, 116, 117, 115, 119/127 respectively)

However, because the percussion instruments are melodic and not part of a drum kit, the preset_number / program change values in this soundfont are assigned based on the FFXIV instrument.scd file identifier as ground truth. Every instrument matches a standard GM instrument (excl. percussion).

i.e.
001grandpiano.scd - 0: Acoustic Grand Piano
047harp.scd - 46: Orchestral Harp
072clarinet.scd - 71: Clarinet

Under the assumption the file name is the appropriate preset_number, the included Lute & Percussion presets have been updated to follow suit.

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🥁 Standard Drum Kit

Channel 10 (Bank 128, Preset 0)
If you map your MIDI track to Channel 10 [Percussion Channel] (may be shown as Channel 9 under certain DAWs), the Expanded SoundFont version natively handles the General MIDI Drum Map (Keys 35–81). Standard drum tracks will correctly trigger unpitched, non-transposed samples compiled from the FFXIV percussion libraries.

Warning

This drum layout mathematically mirrors the community's BardForge MogAmp Transpose Preset mapping matrix. While not perfect, it exists as a functional alternative to no sounds playing.

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Note

FFXIV Standard - Basic XIV instrument implementation (with delay compensation).
FFXIV Expanded - Enhanced with expanded GM instrument coverage & Drum Kit map (with delay compensation).

SampleRange - Standard soundfont (with delay compensation) in audible key / sample range. (not C3-C6 aligned)
vst - Individually compiled instruments in various formats.

.sf2 - Lossless SoundFont2 format.
.sf3 - Compressed SoundFont3 format.