MIDI Conversion to MP3

Alright, I need to convert MIDIs that I have from Battle Bugs and Chex Quest into MP3s. I done it before via pretty bad quality methods and I thus need help. What's a high quality method of converting MIDIs to MP3s? Also is it possible to make the MP3s sound louder because with the my previous methods, the MP3s had very little volume.

Thanks in advance!!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Spikey

Basically, you don't 'convert' MIDI to MP3. MIDI is a format where all data is stored about the instruments used, the instrument volume, the notes, et al.
MP3 is a digital 'lossy' format converted from original pure quality WAV recordings, which is digital audio, as in, only stores audio data (as opposed to MIDI's which store everything).

MIDI files are also usually designed to be played back on a specific device, usually again, the one they were composed on.

Digital files generally-speaking playback the same, no matter what the device (although sound card quality and headphones/etc do make a difference to what you hear).
MIDI files will sound quite different on different devices (for example, a Roland MIDI will sound different on a Yamaha device and vice versa).


So, you can't 'convert', because they're different kinds of formats. If you have the actual device the MIDI file was composed for, you can record the MIDI digitally, making it a WAV. (Note: recording/converting is not the same process, although it essentially achieves the same result.)

Well, I pretty much knew that much, but the point is to get from the MIDI to the MP3, regardless of the actual specifics in the technicalities.

Okay, so basically convert the MIDIs to WAVs, amplify the volume, and convert to MP3. Sounds sorta like what I did before...

What programs do you recommend using for MIDI-->WAV and WAV-->MP3? Use Audacity for volume amplification, got it. Oh, I don't really care about soundfonts so much because I want it to sound exactly how it sounds when you play the games.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Quote:

http://www.geocities.jp/shansoundfont/

SGM is the best (reasonably sized) soundfont I've ever heard, and it's what I use for (most of) my music.

This soundfont is awesome. I'm prolly gonna use this one.

Quote:

If you really wanna go overkill, look for a soundfont called Crisis. Your PC will indeed go through a crisis trying to load it; it's 1.6 GIGABYTES large. It sounds awesome though =p

I'd recommend SGM, though.

It took me so long to get this soundfont because the site doesn't let u dl more than one part at a time. And I's say it was a waste getting it. I don't like it compared to SGM.

Quote:

Synthfont supports VST plugins, so I'd recommend you look for a VST called Freeverb, which'll let you add a nice bit of reverb to whatever you're recording =)

? Using that plugin just makes the MIDI sound really far away and with low volume. What's the point of it?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Spikey

Yes, I got that.
Personally, what I do is this. I use a MIDI editing program, and loop tracks (not many people want to hear a 50 second piece for 50 seconds, they want to hear a loop and then a fade out/slapped on ending, etc).

Hey Spikey, can you elaborate on this? You're right, some of the MIDIs that I have don't loop and I would like them to loop. What program should I use to be able to do this and how would I do it? Thanks.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?