I’ve made a revised version of the FE8 instrument map that adds a missing string ensemble (the strings1 from FE7) as well as fixes some instruments that were in unexpected or strange places. I plan to make an updated soundfont to reflect the changes made but for now it does not exist so pay close attention to the readme for which instruments you can use. This is just an instrument map so it does not include the FE8 drum fix, which I highly recommend using.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lybqae3hy7pnxxq/FE8%20revised%20native%20instrument%20map.zip?dl=0
edit 2018-6-13: Soundfont is now included.
edit 2018-6-14: Soundfont now assumes you are using the FE8 drum fix (so you can use more drums, e.g. electric snare, crash cymbal 2, etc).
edit 2019-2-24: I’ve learned/made some realizations about what some instruments actually are over the months and edited the in-post contents of the readme below. I’m not going to re-upload the .zip unless I make changes to the actual map, however. I now strongly believe that many of the alternate piano/strings/brass samples that are spread throughout the map can be incorporated into multi-sample instruments (e.g. a piano that uses 0 for low notes, 1 for middle notes, and 24 for high notes) and am keeping this in mind for the next time I make an instrument overhaul patch. I’m not going to compile them in this instrument map because each multi-sample instrument uses its own instrument pointer table, meaning that installation would no longer be a plug-in-and-you’re-done affair when you have those pointers to keep track of.
edit 2019-7-16: I’ve slightly amended instrument names to be clearer (did you know the “overdrive guitar” is actually a piano? use 103 or 104 instead) and added the base note for each sample (for example, 41 sounds like the same instrument as 40 but it’s meant for notes an octave higher, so it will sound better for a track that mostly has mid-to-high notes). If your music is sounding shrill on the ears, it’s likely because you have instruments that stray too far from their base note; referring to this list will help you to prevent that from happening. If you have a track that plays very high and very low notes at the same time, consider using Anvil Studio’s “split track at keyboard split point” function to split it into separate tracks that use the “high” and “low” samples, respectively.
readme contents
This is the documentation for an updated version of the FE8 instrument map, which adds a missing string
ensemble, fixes some instruments that were in the “wrong” slots (e.g. the elec guitar muted and guitar harmonics being flip-flopped), and uses some instrument slots for “alternate” instruments (e.g. several of the many alternate brasses in the 100s were moved to the 50s/60s to encourage people to use them more). Enjoy!
(Keep in mind that Anvil Studio’s interface counts instruments on a basis of 1—128 whereas the event lists of midi songs as well as the GBA rom count them on a basis of 0—127. Don’t get mixed up!)
The note at the end of each instrument is the sample’s base note. It’s good to know this because, for example, if you have a strings track playing a lot of higher notes, you will want to use one of the instruments that have a higher base note because it won’t sound shrill.
As in Sappy, this list refers to middle C (midi note 60) as C3. If you use Anvil Studio, it will refer to middle C as C4 or C5 depending on your settings.
0 - acoustic grand (no loop) (low to mid notes) - 0x0512AB8 - G2
1 - bright acoustic (no loop) (mid to high notes) - 0x02A8068 - C4
2 - acoustic bass - 0x029918C - C1
4 - elec piano 1 (Fly With the Wind) - 0x02BB7F4 - C4
6 - harpsichord - 0x028F524 - C2
7 - same as 6, but more attack/less decay (good for staccato notes) - C2
8 - celesta - 0x04C4758 - C4
10 - vibraphone - 0x02C0D0C - C4
11 - xylophone (with loop) - 0x04C4758 - C4
13 - xylophone (no loop) - 0x029ED58 - C3
14 - tubular bells - 0x02263B4 - C3
15 - dulcimer - 0x04D60BC - G2
18 - rock organ - 0x02B235C - C4
19 - church organ - 0x02903C8 - C3
20 - church organ (high notes) - 0x0293544 - C4
21 - accordion - 0x02AC868 - G2
23 - high oboe or woodwind - 0x04D5A44 - C4
24 - acoustic guitar (nylon) (same as pizzicato) - 0x0281974 - C3
28 - elec guitar muted (swapped from 31) - 0x04C3630 - C3
29 - low electric piano (not a guitar!) - 0x02AE988 - C2
30 - distortion guitar (good for low, chord-sounding background notes) - 0x04C8ED4 - C2
31 - guitar slide (Powerful Foe) (swapped from 28) - 0x04CE300 - C3
32 - acoustic bass 2 - 0x02962B0 - C2
33 - elec bass (finger) - 0x0227988 - C2
34 - elec bass (pick) (same as 33 but faster attack/release) - C2
35 - fretless bass (same as 32; slower attack/release) - C2
36 - slap bass - 0x02AC224 - C2
38 - synth bass 1 - 0x04CD8AC - C1
39 - synth bass 2 - 0x0289978 - C2
40 - violin (the quintessential “FE8 strings”) - 0x022B4DC - C3
41 - viola (40, but higher) - 0x0233650 - C4
42 - cello (even higher) - 0x02A0690 - C5
44 - tremolo strings (same as 41; more staccato) - C4
45 - pizzicato strings - 0x0281974 - C3
46 - orchestral strings (harp) - 0x022807C - C4
47 - timpani - 0x0228C7C - C3
48 - string ensemble 1 (low-to-mid strings; same as FE7’s strings1) - 0x023F698 - C3
49 - same as 40; slower attack/release - C3
50 - synthstrings1 (48, but very low) - 0x0247AE8 - C1
51 - synthstrings2 (48, but low) - 0x02367A8 - C2
52 - choir aah - 0x028DDD0 - C3
54 - synth voice (copied from 85; slower attack) - 0x028CD70 - C4
56 - trumpet (high or background/augmenting notes) - 0x02CD7F4 - C4
57 - trombone - 0x0274F48 - C3
58 - tuba (copied from 98) - 0x028B404 - C3
59 - muted trumpet (moved from 90) - 0x04D8188 - C4
60 - French horn - 0x0287CC4 - C3
61 - brass section (the quintessential brass lead) - 0x02B3F54 - C3
62 - synthbrass1 (for low-sounding notes; down one octave) - 0x025305C - C3
63 - synthbrass2 (104, but lower) - 0x02595BC - C2
64 - clarinet or bassoon (copied from 78) - 0x0280AF0 - C3
65 - alternate trumpet (moved from 91) - 0x024BBAC
66 - alternate trombone (FE8 earlygame enemy phase theme) (copied from 102) - 0x0265DDC - C3
67 - oboe - 0x0296E54 - C3
68 - oboe high - 0x027BBD0 - C4
69 - oboe (67, but more drawn-out loop) - 0x04C4F6C - C3
70 - bassoon or oboe (low) - 0x02A7AA8 - C2
71 - clarinet (high) - 0x027E28C - C4
73 - flute (for very high notes) - 0x027E640 - C5
74 - flute/woodwind (more of a “bor” sound as opposed to 73’s “moop”) - 0x04D373C - C4
75 - pan flute - 0x04D9304 - C4
76 - blown bottle (same as 75; slower attack) - C4
77 - high flute (one octave up; use for high notes; same as FE7’s flute) - 0x04BE7C0 - C4
78 - clarinet or bassoon - 0x0280AF0 - C3
79 - ocarina - 0x02ADD3C - C4
80 - lead (square) (not a true square wave; a synth square lead; one octave up) - 0x02BA464 - C3
81 - lead (sawtooth) (not suitable for lead or high notes; better used for low background notes; not very audible) - 0x02CAC80 - C3
85 - lead (voice) - 0x028CD70 - C4
86 - another trombone (moved from 92) - 0x02A1728
88 - pad (synthbrass2) (63, but very slow attack/release; suitable for use as a pad) - C2
89 - pad (warm) (85, but very slow attack/release; suitable for use as a pad) - C4
90 - muted trumpet (same as 59; kept here for compatibility purposes) - 0x04D8188 - C4
91 - pad (choir) (52, but very slow attack/release; suitable for use as a pad) - C3
92 - pad (bowed) (4; pad) - C4
93 - pad (metallic) (61; pad) - C3
94 - pad (halo) (100; pad) - C4
95 - pad (square) (80; pad) - C3
98 - slow-attack tuba - 0x028B404 - C3
99 - atmosphere (same as 15; slower attack) - G2
100 - fx brightness (swapped from 101) - 0x04BF480 - C4
101 - more low-attack brass (swapped from 100) - 0x026CFD0 - C3
102 - the bandit trombone again (same as 66; slower attack) - C3
103 - overdrive guitar (“arng” sound; for low notes) - 0x04C0120 - C2
104 - synth lead (a quintessential lead, good overdrive guitar replacement) - 0x0261150 - C3
105 - synthstrings1 (looking for actual synthstrings? here they are) - 0x0281DD0 - C3
106 - synthstrings1 high (105, but higher) - 0x04D1AD4 - C4
107 - high strings (48, but higher) - 0x04D4684 - C4
108 - high strings (107, but has somewhat of a delayed onset, like the violinist swipes the bow back and forward an extra time) - 0x0243A54 - C4
109 - “full” strings (48 and 108 playing at the same time; slow attack) - 0x023B5FC - C4
110 - same as 109, but faster attack - C4
111 - legendary weapon noise - 0x029A1EC - C3
112 - jingle bells (this is the acoustic bass drum for both 124 and 127, but with the jingle bell here you can free up that drum slot to have both types of bass drum in one drumset) - 0x05016D8 - C3
116 - bass timpani (127’s bass drum; more impactful than 124’s bass drum) - 0x0502CB4 - C3
117 - melodic tom (124’s high mid tom) - 0x0507D60 - C3
118 - reverse cymbal (slow onset; identical to 124’s Chinese cymbal) - 0x04E7244 - C3
119 - reverse cymbal (faster onset; similar sound to 124’s crash cymbal 2) - 0x04F27CC - C3
121 - drum kit - 0x02231F0
122 - drum kit - 0x0222FB0
123 - drum kit - 0x02226B0
124 - drum kit (rock band): usu better for drums playing a constant rhythm - 0x02228F0
125 - white noise - 0x0516680
126 - applause (fun to use as a background-noise special effect at low or high pitches) - 0x02AF0B0
127 - drum kit (marching band): usu better for drums that play flourishes - 0x0222FB0