:I have see some misinformation regarding the use of sound-fonts with Qsynth. You can add in a lot of sound-fonts with Qsynth, and then assign them (either using a particular sound, or incorporating "sound banks") to midi channels. I am currently have assigned instruments to 10 midi channels (2 have been reserved for my B3 Organ. In addition, you can save these midi assigns as different "preset names" to be saved and loaded as needed during performance or practice.

:In order to assign MIDI channels in Qsynth, when you click the '''Channels''' button, you will see the '''Channels dialog box''' appear. Notice that this dialog box allows for a total of 16 midi channels (this is more than I require for a typical practice or performance). If you require more, you can save different midi instrument assignments to various profiles (perhaps to be loaded between your sets).

:Steps to Assignment Instruments:

:# '''When adding sound-fonts into Qsynth, write-down the SFID number''' (i.e. Sound-font Identification number) - Do NOT close this dialog box quite yet!:# Now, here's the trick: For each sound font, '''make certain that the "Offset" number corresponds to the same number as the SFID!''':# Now, '''click OK to save and exit''' the sound-font dialog box.:# If you are running Jack, then you need to '''restart the Jack engine'''. This will require that you manually connect the instruments in the "Jack Connections" dialog box. If this is "a pain", you could always quit all applications, and re-run your Bash shell script to launch your music session...:# Go to the '''Channels dialog box, and double-click on a midi channel'''.<br />I am selecting the next available '''channel - 13'''.:# The '''Channel 13 Midi Channel Dialog box''' appears.:# '''Select the Bank number''' (which corresponds to the Offset or SFID that you have written-down).:# Then '''click on the program number to select an instrument''' (depending on the sound-font, there may be only one to select, or a wide variety if the sound-font is a bank of sounds).:# '''!! NOTE: in order for the changes to take effect, you need to click the Save button; otherwise, all your changes will be lost!''':# You may need to restart the Jack engine and re-establish your connections.

:'''That's it! Start performingrecording your instrument!!'''

:'''My M-AUDIO keyboard allows me to easily change between midi channels by pressing the Advanced Functions button, and then pressing a note on the keyboard that corresponds to the midi channel'''. Easy-Breezy, and efficient! :)

:Here is a link to documentation of my this author's M-AUDIO midi keyboard for reference:

:When laying down multiple tracks among different instruments, you may find that a track may be '''out-of-sync''' with the other tracks. This is probably due to the '''latency''' or "'''delay'''" from playing your keyboard instrument.

:Note that your keyboard is hooked up to a device to read input to the computer system. There will be latency (or in other words, a delay) between the time you press a key on the keyboard, and when that sound is generated via Qysnth. This is quite normal with other programs. In fact, when using my computer setup when playing keyboards, I have become so accustomed to the delay, that is takes me a second to realize it is not strange when playing a REAL piano with no latency!

:The good news is that '''Audacity can be set to factor in the latency from devices such as keyboards'''. In fact, if you notice carefully after recording a keyboard track, that the length of the track (after recording is complete) will slightly compress to compensate for this latency or delay. Therefore, all that is required is to find the optimum "correction amount" to compensate for keyboard latency.

:Steps to Compensate for Keyboard Latency:

:# In the Audacity menu bar, select '''EDIT''' -> '''Preferences''' :# The Audacity Preferences Dialog Box will appear.:# Select the '''Recording''' tab.:# <u>Increase</u> or <u>decrease</u> the '''Latency Correction''' amount (in milliseconds) to obtain the correct balance.:# Click '''OK''' to save changes.