Best Sounding Synth Module for under $1500

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2002 8:11 am

hello.

I am looking for a synth module for good Orchestral sounds and possibly good drum sounds.
I was looking at a Roland 3080 but am open to suggestions.

Thanks,
Michael

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2002 9:49 am

Hi Michael

What is your budget?

What are your orchestral goals? Do you wish to simply "hear" a composition? Are you writing for TV or movies and need an "imitative" orchestra? Is this for playing live?

What kind of drums? Acoustic? Electronic?

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2002 11:52 am

Hello.

Thanks for the quick response. I am looking initially to do some scoring for a PSA then, possibly, for an indie film, etc. I will probably record a lot with live instruments but I am looking for the possibly of being able to midi a lot of it. For example, I would like strings that sound as real as I can get for the money. I am also looking to get something that is exandable....or at least that I can add to as I get more money.

I am looking to spend $1500 or under.....looking at the Roland JV-1080.
Thoughts?

Thanks,
Michael

P.S. I work mainly in Pro Tools LE but would like to have the ability to get scores on paper based on my MIDI or actually put notes on a staff and have the computer play it back..would DP 3 be the best choice? Remember I would like to easily go between Pro Tools and the sequencer.

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2002 5:08 pm

I would seriously look at getting a software solution.
Even my XV5080 with Orch 1&2 is looking and sounding a bit long in the tooth.
Having said that, it is a great bread and butter combination, but the XV5080 will sound better than the JV1080.
What about a soft sampler and some cool orchestral sample CD's? Then look at Sampletank or some NI instuments to add to your palette.
There is better cheaper stuff on the market now.

Renie

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2002 7:14 pm

Try Peter Sielaczeck's Advanced Orchestra. Something like $800 and you can't get more realistic for sampling.

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2002 9:45 pm

Hello.

Those Peter Sielaczeck's Advanced Orchestra strings are awesome! I cannot believe how good they sound...at least in the demo. Now (being an audio guy and not a midi, etc person) how do I get GigaStudio to work with my pro tools? Does it have the ability to translate my playing to a staff that I could edit, etc? Is there another way to use those sampled sounds?

Just so you know...I use a Mac mostly but am very capable with PC's as well.

Thanks for all the help,
Michael

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2002 11:10 am

Michael

If you're doing "imitative" orchestral work forget about ROMplers. They are not up to the challenge. This isn't to say that they aren't good, its just that they don't have the memory to cover everything one needs for orchestral work.

For strings, check out the Garritan Orchestral Strings, I think its the best. The Sielaczeck is good (IMO) but I think everyone has heard those and the Miroslav samples over and over. The Garritan strings have tons of ensemble combinations, articulations, playing styles and more.

To play the strings, you'll need GigaStudio. I think its best to run Giga on a seperate PC.

To sequence the strings, you'll need a good MIDI sequencer. I use Logic.

To get it to sound as real as possible, you'll need to hire someone who knows how to do that. You don't just play it in and it sounds good. A skilled sequencer operator can do much more than "input notes". This is not something learned overnight (just like recording!).

For even more realistic results, overdub a solo instrument or small section. This will lend reality to your "orchestra". A lot of low to mid-budget stuff is done this way. It works very nicely.

If spot-on imitative strings are what you're looking for, it will cost much more than $1500.

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2002 4:58 pm

Nate

I'm really intrigued by the Giga Orch route. I'm a Mac user. Are Giga going to stay PC only?
And is is not possible to convert the banks, instruments and samples to something like Soft samplecell compatibility?
Surely buying a PC and sound card isn't the only way??? Rolling Eyes

thanks

Renie

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2002 7:22 pm

Hi Renie

Well, Tascam acquired Nemesys and Tascom makes hard disk recorders. I was thinking they'll probably make some sort of "stand-alone" unit. Pure speculation on my part but not unreasonable.

The good people at Chicken Systems are working on their Mac version of Translator. I've found it to be indispensible for converting sample libraries.

Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2002 3:39 am

Hi Nate

I've been waiting quite a while for the chickens!!

Are there any real down sides to format converting Garritan? I can't see that there would be a lot of vital extra-sample info that could get lost and make it foolish to attempt..

thanks

Renie

Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2002 10:03 am

Hi Renie

The downside is that your sampler probably won't be able to fit very many samples in it. The Garritan strings are probably mostly unlooped. The individual samples will be pretty darn big.

The terminology temporarily escapes me but the native Giga sample engine stuff probably won't convert. I think the Garritan strings use a lot of switching via keys outside the sample playback range. So you hit, say C-2 and get Arco, C#-2 and get Pizz, D-2 = Marcato, etc. If your sampler can't do this, well...you know...heh.

The Chicken Systems software is pretty darn good. I've used it to convert a bunch of E-mu stuff to Giga and it works pretty well. There were a few times that it did wacky stuff to the amp EGs. But that was quickly fixed in the editor.

This is with the old version. Supposedly, the new version is even better at converting E-mu stuff.

Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2002 3:51 pm

I use Awave Studio for format conversions. http://www.fmjsoft.com/. It can convert about 200 different formats, and lets you control parameters. I use it for several format conversions. I think it's better than Chicken.

Goodluck...zAp221

Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2002 4:29 pm

Quote:

Originally posted by zap221:
I think it's better than Chicken.

Goodluck...zAp221

Cheers for that hot tip zAp221!
It sounds tasty....
Wink

Renie

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2002 9:17 am

Howdy

Ah yes, AWave is good too. I've used it for weird audio conversions and its batch capability.

I dunno if its "better" 'cos its been quite awhile since I used it. I'll have to check it out again.

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2002 4:25 pm

Maybe Awave isn't better as far as functionality, but I just like the interface. CD Extract is great for akai conversions. Don't know how good of a job it does with GIGA though.

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