What is a .DLS file?
DLS is a downloadable-instruments bank, defined by the MIDI Manufacturers Association.
- Did you know
- DLS was the standard way to ship custom instruments alongside MIDI music.
- DLS lets a MIDI file carry its own custom instrument samples, so playback sounds the same on any compliant synthesiser.
- DLS Level 2 was adopted into the MPEG-4 standard as its method for wavetable instrument synthesis.
- What Analyser reads
- Identify many more audio formats: lossless/hi-res codecs (Monkey’s Audio, WavPack, TAK, True Audio, DSD/SACD, Musepack), pro containers (Core Audio, RF64/BW64, Wave64, Sun AU, Broadcast Wave with timecode), speech/mobile (Speex, AMR-WB, QCP, 3GA, M4R, GSM), MPEG Layer I/II, instrument banks (SoundFont, SFZ, DLS, RIFF MIDI, GigaStudio), ringtones (RTTTL, iMelody, SAP), tracker modules (MOD, XM, IT, S3M, OctaMED, 669, Oktalyzer), chiptunes (NES NSF, SNES SPC, VGM, Game Boy GBS, AY, YM) and Audacity projects.
- Depth of analysis
- .DLS is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .DLS file
- Drag a .DLS file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.