Xen-Arts has released XenFont – a two oscillator, hybrid SF2 SoundFont & Subtractive Synthesis VST for Windows.

It features full-controller MIDI Pitch Microtuning, using the MTS (MIDI Tuning Standard) format, where any MIDI Note Number can be freely microtuned to any desired pitch across the MIDI range, enabling computer musicians and composers to explore the expressive possibilities of composing music with alternative intonation systems.

XenFont is ‘a microtonal sound-designer’s SF2 sample-based synthesizer’, with a carefully designed workflow for quickly creating powerful sounding and musical useful timbres. The instrument lets you load your own SF2 SoundFont files. Routing the SF2 SoundFont Oscillators through the internal synthesis functions of the VSTi, provides a way to radically transform the original sounds and create new synthesized timbres.

XenFont is also an educational tool for learning about computer music sound-design, sampling and subtractive sound synthesis, as well as musical instrument intonation (aka microtuning and xenharmonics).

Key Features:

• Load your own SF2 SoundFonts into a fully microtonal, hybrid sampling & subtractive synthesis based VSTi.
• A ‘knob-less’ design featuring slider controls only, which enables intuitive direct control with a computer mouse.
• A dedicated control signal system mapped to the most important synthesis functions.
• Settings are made by typing values into fields, dropdown lists, left-and-right arrows, switches and sliders.
• Specify precise microtonal pitch-bend settings.
• Features arbitrary microtonal oscillator transposition settings.
• Velocity modulation of harmonics enables dynamically playing harmonics of the fundamental pitch.
• Envelope generators with per-stage ADSR keyboard tracking.

XenFont is a free download from the Xen-Arts site.

If you’ve used XenFont – leave a comment with your thoughts on it!