The end of hardware sound modules...

[koala]

back to the main subject...

now I am very clear:
two sides:
-1- hardware
-2- software
with different solutions:

-1.1- sound modules
-1.2- samplers
-1.3- keyboards used as sound module

and

-2.1- soundfont
-2.2- soft synth
-2.3- soft sampler

I am sure there must be a lot of good and bad points depending of what you use them for... but surely something must be a kind of overall best solution or just overall less bad solution...?

Lets consider two aspects: recording and performing...
recording, time is not an issue, if a track is not ok, you can do it again, change the setting, even the software instrument... seems like software solutions give more flexibility... of course it will cost you more time than arriving with the proper instruments and recording in one go...
performing, more tricky to use soft synth, becaquse of computer need and because of lack of reliability... hardware is better, and keyboard with sequencer and sounds is more compact...

Is this correct? is there any stable solid solution of soft synth (not fancy, just covering sound module capabilities) that works really fine and can support a variety of good quality sounds (might not require 24/192...)?

In term of hardware, are the companies really changing a lot from a module to another one? It looks to me like Roland sounds remain more or less the same as do Korg and Yamaha sounds... what are the real efforts these companies are putting in providing better quality and more sounds in sound modules and keyboards?

Hope you can help me to understand this, since surely I need input to continue to expand my environment...

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[veganbleu]

Symphony !!! woohoo!

koala:

Really, there is no one stop solution for a cost conscious consumer. It's all a matter of choice. Interestingly enough if you purchase any copy of computer music magazine, you'll get a vst host, a sampler and a couple of synths. I'm not too sure what can be loaded with the sampler, but it's all basically less than the cost of a CD, so why not right? For samplers, it has to be computer based. You're looking at unlimited file sizes here. Any hw sampler is just going to suck.

Sound module wise, why not the triton le ( keyboard controller as well ). It's relatively inexpensive, and can work to trigger any soft synth. Or a triton rack. It's actually more about what kind of music you want to produce that will decide on the purchases.

 

[Cheez]

Re: back to the main subject...

I am sure there must be a lot of good and bad points depending of what you use them for... but surely something must be a kind of overall best solution or just overall less bad solution...?

Lets consider two aspects: recording and performing...
recording, time is not an issue, if a track is not ok, you can do it again, change the setting, even the software instrument... seems like software solutions give more flexibility... of course it will cost you more time than arriving with the proper instruments and recording in one go...
performing, more tricky to use soft synth, becaquse of computer need and because of lack of reliability... hardware is better, and keyboard with sequencer and sounds is more compact...

I think it all comes back to personal preference.

Hardware:
Pros - no latency, stable (important for live performances)
Cons - limited polyphony (not a problem if you're only playing without sequenced music)

Software:
Pros: computer easier to for sequencing, almost unlimited polyphony nowadays (depending on your system), great for samples (no longer limited by small RAM in hardwares)
Cons: may crash - nightmare for live performances (but can be greatly reduced if setup good), noticeable latency even with the fastest system

Actually, a PC setup may be cheaper on the longer term. Your main DAW may cost a little more - needing a soundcard, midi interface and monitor. If you need to expand into more PCs, they will cost even less - no need for them to have soundcards and midi interfaces (can use LAN connection nowadays with great softwares). And you can stack them up into rack casings just like sound modules. All you need is a good midi controller keyboard with lots of knobs and faders like M-audio's Keystation Pro 88 and Fatar's VMK 88 .

You can get most bread and butter keyboard softsynths from Native Instruments (FM7, B4 Organ and Pro-53 - covers most of what keyboardists usually use). Absynth 2 is pretty good; so is Reaktor 4. For analog sounds, Arturia's Moog Modular V and Minimoog V (quite CPU intensive, but great sounds). There's also Spectrasonics' Atmosphere, Stylus and Trilogy (the guru Eric Persing did a wonderful job there).


James,
Are you serious? I can send you my music but then they are at least 2 MB!

 

[soft]

Re: back to the main subject...

Sure Cheez, now with the new server. You can send me all the big big files. :lol:

email to me at info@soft.com.sg

James,
Are you serious? I can send you my music but then they are at least 2 MB!

 

[soft]

Hi everyone

Cheez have sent us his masterpiece and we have created a new section to feature works by our users. Check it out here