Using the 128 General MIDI instruments in Loop by Zaweba
Track > Add General MIDI track in Loop by Zaweba gives 128 instruments and the GM drum kit, played from the bundled FluidR3_GM SoundFont.
Pianos, strings, brass, guitars, organs and choirs: the General MIDI set is a standard list of 128 instruments that covers most of what an orchestra or band would play. Loop by Zaweba includes all of them, plus the General MIDI drum kit, and plays them from the FluidR3_GM SoundFont that comes bundled with the app.
Add one with Track > Add General MIDI track, then choose the instrument for that track.
When to use them
The built-in synth is excellent for electronic sounds, and the drum machine for programmed beats. When you want something that sounds like a real instrument, a piano for chords, strings for a lift in the chorus or a nylon guitar for a gentle intro, General MIDI is the place to go.
They are also the natural choice for music you plan to take elsewhere. When you export MIDI, General MIDI programs travel with each track, so another program opening the file knows which instrument each track was meant to be. Drums go out on channel 10, the General MIDI drum channel.
Writing parts for them
A General MIDI track is played like any other instrument track. Open a clip in the piano roll in Studio mode and draw notes, with velocity to make some louder than others. Use the chord helper to drop in a progression, then add a bassline and melody that fit the key. Or play the part on the on-screen keyboard, your computer keys or a USB MIDI keyboard and record it.
Velocity matters more for these than for synth sounds. A piano played at one flat velocity sounds robotic; varying it a little in the velocity lane makes it sound played.
Importing MIDI files
File > Import MIDI file as new tracks creates General MIDI tracks from a .mid file and takes its tempo, so a file from another program arrives with the right instruments ready to play. Dropping a .mid onto the grid works too. If you would rather hear the notes on one of your own instruments, Import MIDI file into the selected track puts them on that track instead.
Arranging with real-instrument sounds
A few habits help. Give each instrument its own range: bass low, piano in the middle, strings above, so they don't fight. Leave some instruments out of some sections; a chorus feels bigger when strings arrive that weren't in the verse. In the mixer, pan instruments a little left and right to give them room, and send strings or piano to the reverb bus for space.
Memory and performance
The SoundFont holds recordings of every instrument, so it takes memory. With the General MIDI instruments loaded, Loop uses about 0.6 GB. On most computers that is fine. If playback ever stutters, a longer buffer in Tools > Preferences usually helps.
Less is usually more
Stacking many instruments playing the same notes rarely makes a part sound bigger; it usually makes it muddy. Pick one or two that suit the job. And remember the drum kit is its own choice in the list, separate from the melodic instruments.
The FluidR3_GM SoundFont is MIT-licensed, and the loops shipped with Loop by Zaweba are royalty-free for your own music, so what you make with these instruments is yours to use.
