Doesn't the Sound Blaster PCI have SoundFont support like the AWE?

Or the Live?

On the AWE you just load whatever SoundFont you want, and it's available to DOS games from within Windows.

Surely the Live can do that as well. No need to muck around with 2 sound cards.

The Sound Blaster Live itself can do it. There is nothing an AudioPCI can do that a Live! can't - nothing prevents you from routing its MIDI-OUT back to its MIDI-IN, and setting external MPU-401 as the default MIDI device.... But I just don't understand what do you want to do: the Live!'s built in DOS emulation support (VxD drivers in Windows 98) already allows you to use the loaded SoundFont as the default GM device, so you'd gain absolutely nothing with this approach.

nope it doesnt.

Sound Blaster Live has three MIDI devices:
A: SB Live! MIDI Synth (with custom .sf2 soundfonts)
B: SB Live! MIDI Synth (with custom .sf2 soundfonts)
Creative S/W Synth (with non customisable ensoniq .ECW sound set (MPU-401 emulation))

Every DOS-boxed game when set up to play "General Midi", routes midi to an SB Emulated "Creative S/W Synth" which is preconfigured in DOS-Legacy driver (sbinit.com). There is no way to bypass "Creative S/W Synth" and force DOS-boxed games make use of A/B: SB Live! MIDI Synth.

Odds are you can if you use WDM drivers, as those use Microsoft's own emulation, but then you have SBPro 2.0 compatibility instead of SB16, and no OPL3 at all (as sucky as the Live!'s OPL emulation might be, at least it exists). Also, since the EMU10k1 in the Live! is an evolution of the Ensoniq chip in the AudioPCI (which is where the E in ECW comes from), and even uses the same DOS drivers, if the Live! is stuck with the Ensoniq sound set, so will the AudioPCI and anything Creative EVER released with any sort of DOS compatibility.

If you can live without OPL3 emulation, try WDM drivers (DOS GM will output to the default MIDI device), if not, you'll have to get a non-Creative sound card. Cards based on the Vortex2 allow you to set where to send DOS MIDI commands, so they might be able to do it even without any physical cabling. I believe YMF724 cards can do that as well, and have true OPL3. For DOS-only modes the YMF724 offers better compatibility if you have SBLink, but the Vortex2 is more compatible otherwise.

EDIT: Correction - I belive the YMF can set DOS apps to use the external MPU port instead of the built in SoftSynth, but I believe only the Vortex2 allows you to choose any MIDI device.

wverything is clear now. I Have the first release of Sound Blaster Live! (Gold) CT4620, installed on Liveware 3 VXD drivers. Dont know if there are any WDM drivers for this card though 🙁 there are none in tehe VOGONS driver library. Every WDM driver is for older SB Live! revision 🙁

I thought you could switch between WDM and VxD drivers with the Liveware 3 package. Anyway, if the drivers states compatibility with Windows ME it has WDM drivers buried somewhere

OK! i nearly got it!

1. installed Liveware 3 VXD
2. Updated with 3520 WDM driver pack
3. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Now i can have soundfonts dos-boxed! 😁 BUT! Soundfonts play correctly but the normal wave sounds stutter a little bit. i wonder why? i'll try to find some more WDM drivers and try with them 😜