diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index dd5006a..a8670f1 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -6,17 +6,49 @@ Latest release: https://github.com/Birch-san/juicysfplugin/releases juicysfplugin is an Audio Plugin for playing MIDI music through a soundfont synthesizer. +It's well-suited for making videogame music. If you find a soundfont of your favourite game, then you can write your own melodies with those instruments. + [JUCE](https://github.com/WeAreROLI/JUCE) is the framework for making audio plugins. [fluidsynth](http://www.fluidsynth.org/) is the soundfont synthesizer. -juicysfplugin works as a standalone application (for playing around). You can plugin your hardware MIDI keyboard, or play with the software MIDI keyboard. Or router MIDI messages into it from a virtual MIDI controller (e.g. the macOS IAC Bus). +juicysfplugin works as a standalone application (for playing around). You can plugin your hardware MIDI keyboard, or play with the software MIDI keyboard. Or route MIDI messages into it from a virtual MIDI controller (e.g. the [macOS IAC Bus](http://re-compose.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1382244-setting-up-the-iac-bus-on-a-mac)). -juicysfplugin is also an Audio Plugin. VST, VST3, AU, AUv3. +juicysfplugin is also an Audio Plugin. VST, VST3, AU, AUv3. +This means you can use it to generate sounds in GarageBand, FL Studio Mac, Sibelius, etc. # Why I couldn't find a _free_, _easy-to-use_ macOS audio plugin for making music with soundfonts. +# Install + +Latest release: https://github.com/Birch-san/juicysfplugin/releases + +**Download Release.tar.xz, open it to unzip.** + +Release contains: + +``` +juicysfplugin.app # standalone application, for playing around +juicysfplugin.component # AU plugin +juicysfplugin.vst # VST plugin +juicysfplugin.vst3 # VST3 plugin +``` + +To install plugins, move them to the following folder: + +``` +juicysfplugin.component -> ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/juicysfplugin.component +juicysfplugin.vst -> ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/juicysfplugin.vst +juicysfplugin.vst3 -> ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/juicysfplugin.vst3 +``` + +Here's some soundfonts to get you started: + +- FlameStudios' GPL-licensed [guitar soundfonts](http://www.flamestudios.org/free/Soundfonts) + +I'll refrain from recommending specific General MIDI or videogame soundfonts, since the licensing is often unclear. + # Building from source Install XCode and XCode command line tools. Accept terms. @@ -148,4 +180,20 @@ The VST3 release is built against the Steinberg VST3 SDK. http://www.steinberg.net/sdklicenses_vst3 > This Software Development Kit is licensed under the terms of the Steinberg VST3 License, -or alternatively under the terms of the General Public License (GPL) Version 3. \ No newline at end of file +or alternatively under the terms of the General Public License (GPL) Version 3. + +# Questions + +## Windows/Linux/Android/iOS version? + +No _big_ barriers. The source code and all its dependencies are cross-platform. The main friction is setting up a dev environment, and learning how to link dynamic libraries on that OS (i.e. we need to link to libfluidsynth). + +Some thoughts that come to mind: + +- Bundling libraries portably is far easier on Windows than on macOS + - Just throw a dll next to the executable + - .NET assembly binding can be debugged using [fuslogvw](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/tools/fuslogvw-exe-assembly-binding-log-viewer) +- Windows already has plenty of free, nice soundfont plugins +- It's probably pretty hard to bundle fluidsynth into mobile apps +- Bundling would be easier if I used static linking +- Static linking is hard \ No newline at end of file