Render MIDI with real instruments
A MIDI file is a set of instructions, not a sound. Getting it to sound like an actual instrument normally means a sample library, an articulation map, and a lot of patience. Here it means choosing an instrument.
Why MIDI playback usually sounds fake
General MIDI playback sounds synthetic because it triggers one recorded note per pitch and transposes the rest. Real instruments do not work that way — a trumpet at the top of its range has a completely different timbre from the same written pitch played softly in the middle, and a violin changes character entirely between a slow bow and a fast one.
Sample libraries solve this with thousands of recordings and keyswitches to pick between them, which is why they are expensive and fiddly. A model that has learned how an instrument behaves across its range can interpolate that instead.
Thirty-six instruments
Strings, brass, woodwinds, keys, guitars, voices, drums and synths — including the articulations that matter, like pizzicato as a genuinely different instrument from arco rather than a filter on it, and muted trumpet as its own voice.
The full list, grouped by family, is on the instruments page.
Dynamics are a timbre, not a volume knob
Playing louder is not the same as turning it up. A forte note has more high-frequency content and a different attack, which is why turning up a soft sample never sounds loud — it sounds like a quiet recording played loudly. Dynamics here move timbre, not just level.
FAQ
What MIDI files work?
Standard MIDI files. Multi-track files can be rendered per track with a different instrument on each.
Can I use my own instrument that is not on the list?
The list covers the model's trained vocabulary. If something is missing it is a training question, not a settings question — worth asking for.
Does it follow velocity?
Yes, and as timbre rather than volume, which is the difference between a rendered part sounding played and sounding triggered.