<s>
SoundFont	B-Application
is	O
a	O
brand	O
name	O
that	O
collectively	O
refers	O
to	O
a	O
file	O
format	O
and	O
associated	O
technology	O
that	O
uses	O
sample-based	O
synthesis	O
to	O
play	O
MIDI	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
first	O
used	O
on	O
the	O
Sound	B-Device
Blaster	I-Device
AWE32	I-Device
sound	O
card	O
for	O
its	O
General	O
MIDI	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SoundFont	B-Application
is	O
a	O
registered	O
trademark	O
of	O
Creative	O
Technology	O
,	O
Ltd.	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
exclusive	O
license	O
for	O
re-formatting	O
and	O
managing	O
historical	O
SoundFont	B-Application
content	O
has	O
been	O
acquired	O
by	O
Digital	B-Algorithm
Sound	I-Algorithm
Factory	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
newest	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
SoundFont	B-Application
file	O
format	O
is	O
2.04	O
(	O
or	O
2.4	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
SoundFont	B-Application
file	O
format	O
was	O
developed	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
by	O
E-mu	O
Systems	O
and	O
Creative	O
Labs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
and	O
only	O
major	O
device	O
to	O
utilize	O
this	O
version	O
was	O
Creative	O
's	O
Sound	B-Device
Blaster	I-Device
AWE32	I-Device
in	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SoundFont	B-Application
2.0	O
was	O
developed	O
in	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
version	O
was	O
fully	O
disclosed	O
as	O
a	O
public	O
specification	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
making	O
the	O
SoundFont	B-Application
format	O
an	O
industry	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
SoundFont	B-Application
1.0	O
compatible	O
devices	O
were	O
updated	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
SoundFont	B-Application
2.0	O
format	O
shortly	O
after	O
it	O
was	O
released	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
,	O
and	O
consequently	O
the	O
1.0	O
version	O
became	O
obsolete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
2.01	O
(	O
or	O
2.1	O
)	O
of	O
the	O
SoundFont	B-Application
file	O
format	O
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
1998	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
E-mu	O
sound	O
card	O
product	O
called	O
the	O
Audio	O
Production	O
Studio	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SoundFont	B-Application
2.04	O
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
2005	O
with	O
the	O
Sound	B-Device
Blaster	I-Device
X-Fi	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
play	O
such	O
files	O
,	O
sample-based	O
MIDI	O
synthesizers	O
use	O
recordings	O
of	O
instruments	O
and	O
sounds	O
stored	O
in	O
a	O
file	O
or	O
ROM	B-Device
chip	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
SoundFont-compatible	O
synthesizers	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
use	O
SoundFont	B-Application
banks	O
with	O
custom	O
samples	O
to	O
play	O
their	O
music	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
SoundFont	B-Application
bank	O
contains	O
base	O
samples	O
in	O
PCM	B-Algorithm
format	O
(	O
the	O
audio	O
data	O
format	O
most	O
commonly	O
used	O
in	O
WAV	O
containers	O
)	O
mapped	O
to	O
sections	O
on	O
a	O
musical	O
keyboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
SoundFont	B-Application
bank	O
also	O
contains	O
other	O
music	O
synthesis	O
parameters	O
such	O
as	O
loops	O
,	O
vibrato	O
effect	O
,	O
and	O
velocity-sensitive	O
volume	O
changing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SoundFont	B-Application
banks	O
can	O
conform	O
to	O
standard	O
sound	O
sets	O
such	O
as	O
General	O
MIDI	O
,	O
or	O
use	O
other	O
wholly	O
custom	O
sound-set	O
definitions	O
like	O
Roland	O
GS	O
and	O
Yamaha	O
XG	O
.	O
</s>
