Which Software for good sounds/patches

[freddy_lau]

hello everyone,

I am an owner of a M50 and Juno D. M50 piano sounds sucks. Juno D quite hard to navigate with its small screen and pre-setting patches is a nightmare. Looking for solutions to getting better sounds/patches and easier organisation.

So I was thinking, how about getting a software with good sounds and I can arrange all my patches/combos such that I can recall them quickly when I need them with a touch of a mouse.

Can I connect my synth to a laptop installed with a software eg garageband, cubase, etc and get MUCH better sounds from the software instead of those found on my synths?

I am still new at all these software\midi stuff. Can anyone share their set up?

Which softwares out in the market gives the best sounds? So good it is like the real thing!

In other words, is there a cheaper alternative to getting good quality sounds on my m50 and Juno D (eg pianos, strings etc) apart from buying those expensive keyboards like motif, Fanthom? Since software can be quite cheeeeap if you know what I mean.

Other questions-

if I get a good software, does it mean that a cheaper midi keyboard will suffice instead of a M50 and juno d?

since both keyboards mentioned above doesn't have AFTER-TOUCH, are there high end midi keyboard that have all the best touch response after touch, etc ? apart from the fact a midi keyboard cannot generate its own sounds.

 

[kongwee]

For "acoustic" base instrument,it is far more superior in software sampler than the big three has.

It is not cheap to buy software sampler.
First the machine.
You need at least iCore 7 base with 16 giga ram.
fastest and huge HDD(most 7200rpm with 1-2 terabyte).
SSD is recommend for East West Hollywood string.

Then the DAW.
So far Sonar for Windows, Logic for Mac. Cubase maybe but many complaint on recent release.

Then the sampler.
You should get Native Instrument Komplete Element at least.
Cos you get free library to build up your library.
Or many high quality library are releasing in this format.
I do not have that but I have logic studio which contain a lot of instrument to do general music and many high quality effect plug in.
East West is other sampler that should you take note.
Mainly gear toward composer with not too much "engineering" skill.
It's orchestra and storm drum are favourite especially for film scoring.
Also has one of the beautiful piano collection on earth.
VSL for strict orchestra and has the largest library for it.

Those software sampler are very advance. Also mean it involve a lot more scripting or programming side of midi.

For midi keyboard.
At least 61 key with mod and pitch wheel/bender.
Got transport control good.
Get many knot, pad and fader as much as you can.

 

[kongwee]

Also you keep your hard synth. In term of sound design for none "acoustic" instrument, hard synth sound much better to the ear.

 

[Oop]

Well, I'm going to rectify what 'kongwee' said, sorry about that.

It is true that software samplers have a lot more to offer, but a Yamaha Motif has really convincing bass for the amount of sample RAM it uses. For, more articulations a software sampler would overpower it though. We're looking at Trillian or the older Trilogy series, which are VSTi's.

It is not a must to have a Core i7 with 16GB RAM to run these. It depends on the level of composition, whether you are going to be using 60 tracks of samplers etc. Note, that you have options such as 'Freezing' and 'Bouncing as audio' within DAWs. None of the computer requirements are a must as long as they meet current standards. Note that you need to run everything in 64-bit, to take advantage of more than 4GB RAM.

With 30 tracks of sampled Orchestral sounds, I only hit the 4GB limit on a Xeon processor.

DAW is also a preference, rather than absolute must have so and so for so and so work.

As for a software sampler, you only need the Native Instruments KONTAKT, not the KOMPLETE series. KOMPLETE comes with a ton of other plugins, which you might not even use, since you mentioned you need pianos and strings etc. Most of the other plugins are focused on sound design and electronic music.

Now KONTAKT, is an industry standard and you can get gigabytes of libraries for it. They recently released Alicia Keys piano should satisfy you on the piano frontier. It is a 60GB library of Alicia Keys' Yamaha grand. Just do a search for KONTAKT libraries and you should get an idea.

If you're in for plugins, Pianoteq is a very good modelled piano software. (Not sampled)


Now on the economic side of things, if you're running a Mac, Logic Pro comes with the EXS sampler which is versatile and includes a 60 or 80GB library. If you're more into the jamming setup, Logic Pro comes with an additional app called MainStage, which leans towards it. Almost all DAWs come with their own Sampler instrument and bundled libraries either included or available for purchase.

Sample libraries aren't cheap, but if it's quality you are after, it's the way to go.

Most MIDI controllers come in with After-Touch, but you might have to set it up within software, if you want to take advantage of After-Touch modulation. Not all patches use After-Touch.

 

[kongwee]

As for a software sampler, you only need the Native Instruments KONTAKT, not the KOMPLETE series. KOMPLETE comes with a ton of other plugins, which you might not even use, since you mentioned you need pianos and strings etc. Most of the other plugins are focused on sound design and electronic music.

Yes, you need Komplete to unlock the Kontact sampler. The minimum now to spend is the Komplete Element to unlock it. There is quite a large number of sound library required license Kontact.

However, I suggest buy a computer and a DAW first. For me, I got Logic Studio(after using Sonar). Two most expensive library I spend is Kirk Hunter Concert String and EWQL Ministry of Rock. Later I buy cheap EXS24 library for piano,drums and some synths. I only start to build up my sound library after one year plus of having my DAW. Becos of EXS24, I still not jump into Kontack unless there is something I need badly.

 

[Cheez]

Sounds like you want a portable solution with maximal control over your parameters and patches.

As what has been said, there's the hardware and software option.

If you are not familiar with software and concerned about learning curves, then hardware is the easiest way to go about it. Get sound modules and hook them up via midi. You need a good midi controller. A good midi controller will give you enough controls over multiple external modules. I used to use the Roland A70 a lot (I really wished I got the A90 then) - 4 midi outs, 2 midi ins, faders and buttons that allow you control lots of things. I use it to control my Yamaha keyboard (for Yamaha sounds), Roland sound module (for Roland sounds), Emu piano module (for pure piano patches), split my controller into various zones, program my expression pedal to control only certain patches etc. It's really easy to go about it. The modern controllers are now all pretty good (M-audio etc). For sound modules, I would get Roland for acoustic sounds (would be my base - XV modules are pretty good), Yamaha for FM sounds, and Korg for electronic sounds. Roland and Yamaha combination suffice most of my needs - your combinations and choice depends on your genre. Today, I don't use hardware anymore - but that's my personal choice. It's still a good option for stable setups.

If you want to go software, you still need a midi controller. But here's the catch now - programming different VST instruments may be complex if you are not familiar with them. Midi controllers like Novation has key mapping software that "learns" these parameters at the touch of a button - something you want to consider. However, the problem with novation controllers are the number of keys (no 88). But if you don't want anything more than 61 keys, the Remote SL mk2 is probably the best I've seen in terms of controlling and programming multiple VSTis. I've not seen anything like it in terms of ease of programming.

The easiest software option would be NI's Kore 2. Everything is under one hood. Combined with Komplete, you get everything you need and control is simple. But the controller has no keys - only faders and buttons.

And as oop said, you don't need an i7 or more than 8 GB to run it in a live situation. I use a quad core with 8GB for complex orchestral arrangements (desktop) for 30-40 midi tracks without glitches. It all depends on the sample you load - and I load pretty heavy samples. Even a Quad Core is an overkill. My mobile setup is a Core 2 2.6GHz with 6 GB RAM. I load Kontakt with fairly complex combinations and programming for live situations (including Akoustic Piano, at least 4-5 different patches) - 300-400 notes polyphony with my keyboard split into multiple zones, and I don't encounter a single pop or click (even when I play extensive glissandos). My current problem is looking for a better host. I use Kontakt and VSL. I use Sonar, but that's not a proper host. It's a good DAW for recording and sequencing. A live host like Kore, Plogue or Vienna Ensemble Pro gives you more control in a live situation.

 

[kongwee]

Also the sample quality do play apart especially tailoring your computer. A 24bit 48kHz sample take about three time the ram and processing power of 16bit 44.1 khz. Also how many layer are load at each patch. Of cos, Sampler like Play or VSL or Kontact allow you unload unused layer to conserve memory. If you load the heaviest and latest piano and string library patch you could easily break 16 gig ram(24bit with over 20 layer across each note).Of cos under 2gig you can get pretty good piano and string patch. If you are PC, iCore 7 with 16 gig ram is pretty cheap(maybe under $2000) compare to a Mac that is triple the price.

 

[iansoh]

@freddy_lau

Try Steinberg Hypersonic 2.0 (discontinued i think), or current product HALion Sonic.

I think it is the most similar in concept to a hardware workstation/synth. instant recalls at a touch of a button. good usable sounds, nowhere in comparison to dedicated sample libraries, but good enough for a performer who's switching from a hardware synth.

you don't need sample libraries and a high end computer anyway, unless you're doing recording. i used to run multiple VSTs live on a first-gen pentium M laptop with 512 MB ram.

 

[kongwee]

Also there is UVI workstation. The sampler is free, but you need to buy sound library for it. It behave like a hardsynth without sequencer. For free sound synthesis, Green Oak's Crystal, it is one of the powerful free synth around.