Build preset list for VST3 from User SFZ Folder

[jamesd256]

The background use case here probably informs about the motivation for raising this, so I will explain a bit first.

I have assembled a really big library of SFV instruments. I want to build a workflow (in Reaper fwiw) where I can drill down and access instruments quickly from an interface I'm developing. This fits into a wider solution which will attempt to provide a looper style, real time composition environment. Less relevant to this conversation, my solution will also attempt to provide rapid arrangement capability by supporting some 64 pad devices from Novation and Akai. Yes there are various initiatives that cover some of this, but none cover all, happy to discuss to receive suggestions or ideas.

Onto the feature request. The outcome I'm looking for here would be that Sfizz scans the folder specified in the User SFZ Folder setting, and creates a list of presets from what it finds. In Reaper, and I presume other DAWs, the presets bundled with a VST plugin are pulled into Reaper's FX presets dropdown. In Reaper's case, there is a 'Link to MIDI program change' setting which allows program change to select from this preset list, rather than being passed through as MIDI to the plugin.

Therefore, if Sfizz was able to create a preset list from the instruments found on the file system, I believe this would uniquely provide fingertip access to large libraries of instruments, without requiring painstaking creation and maintenance of a set of presets where there are hundreds in the library.

Another approach which would be a halfway house to this would be to create multiple instrument SFZ banks which would then rely on loprog/hiprog midi program switching to change instruments from the DAW/Reaper. At least I could then have instruments loaded into up to 128 instrument banks.

I have raised an issue on my results trying out loprog/hiprog in Sfizz here:

#10

Many thanks

Edit: as usual raising this has made me think a bit more about an easier way.

I noticed that Sfizz reports to Reaper as program and bank names (visible in the Reaper midi editor bank/program select dialog in the drop downs) the following:

Bank: VST3i sfizz (Paul Ferrand)
Program: [name of the current SFZ instrument]

I also note that the previous and next SFZ buttons seem to differ from the Sforzando ones, in that they will only navigate between instruments in the same folder as the one currently loaded. Sforzando traverses the full set of folders found in the user preset folder root, so you can navigate the full library of instruments.

If sfizz was able to implement this full traversal, and also (perhaps already possible) expose control to the host of when the previous / next SFZ file buttons were pressed, we could have a solution as follows:

• The user loads the first instrument in the library
• A reaper script is created to:
  • Trigger the next SFZ file button
  • Read the program name from sfizz
  • Create a preset with this name with the current state of sfizz (SFZ with this name loaded)
  • Repeat

This would result in a preset list being present in Reaper which maps onto the users' SFZ instrument library, with much less bloat inside sfizz to achieve this result