Do you like it soft or hard?

[wes480]

hmm, maybe that was distasteful. Anyways...my question is basically about how good are soft synths? I have a Yamaha S80..and while I like the sounds...I am certainly not partial to them. Can something like ESX24 from logic give me as good or better piano/bass/string sounds than my S80 can? What about than a Motif 8?

Soft synths seem so much easier to work with and use...and, avoiding the 1/4" outputs of my S80 would be nice. Never really hooked it all up before, so I am just trying to get an idea.

Also, is Gigasampler a softsynth thing? Or is it for arranging? Not quite clear on that. I guess if ESX24 and Giga sound as good as a nice Yamaha synth...then I'll just use it as a keyboard and keep it all in the digital domain.

What does everyone think?

[TexRoadkill]

Giga sampler is a sampler and you can hear some demoes on their web site. The sound will be as good as the sample libraries that you purchase for it. The good ones will run you around $300.

Most software synths are geared towards house/techno/pop sounds. My problem with them is that they are sampling low fi analog equipment and the result is sometimes a stale digital sound without the analog warmth and punch.

[Chriss]

i hate software. i only use it cause i can't afford new hardware atm.
Like the halion sampler. On a hardware sampler i could get 32+ voices with effects and filters. With halion, the shit starts fucking up after 6-8 voices. Man.. and not to mention latency and quality in general.. most software filters are a total joke and then you have compability and multitask issues.. don't get me started..

[Krakit]

Allow me to be a bit presumptuous. I have absolutely no personal experience with soft synths. None at all.

Logically, it seems to me that any soft synth is only going to be as good as the sound card in your computer, unless there is other hardware involved and my ignorance is flapping like a flag in a high wind.

However, it seems that of the multitude of folks that I have talked to on the subject (and it really is a multitude), there is overwhelming praise showered upon soft synths. Go figure.

[Chris Shaeffer]

On the other hand, I have absolutely no experience with hardware modules. I'm a not a heavy snth user, so I don't have huge demands of my software synth.

I have SampleTank running in Cubase. It probably depends on what software you are using it in, but in Cubase it gives me some decent quality sounds that are midi controled BUT are treated like regular audio in the mixer. I can add digital effects and mix each voice right along with the audio tracks. There are never any timing problems, either, since it is all internal.

The soft synths are pretty memory and cpu intensive, though.

Again, I have no expreince to post a comparison- just my observations of the soft synths that I have.

Chris

[wes480]

I guess for some reason I have a stigma about running L/R - 1/4" stereo from my Yamaha board. If I sequenced everything in Logic, with the board...and had the board play out the MIDI, then recorded that from the 1/4" - would there be a quality difference in terms of noise or anything between that and a good soft synth?

[TexRoadkill]

The biggest mistake keyboard players make is trying to mix everything on the keyboard and then dump it onto one stereo track on their DAW.

Use the individual patches on your yamaha like its a single instrument. When you play the sequence mute everything but that one sound and record it to a track with good levels, etc. record them in mono with no effects unless you are using a stereo based sample or the effect is integral to the sound. Do this for every track and you will have much better quality recordings.

Effect and mix the keyboard tracks like any other acoustic recording.

You also dont have to worry about any polyphony/mult-timbral limitations and can get a much richer sound out of the yamaha.

Using this method you should have exellent results from the 1/4" stereo outs.

[cjogo]

We use Kurzweil... mainly because of the 10 seperate outputs they provide and the quality of sounds --easy to seperate each instrument to the board for mixing..... CJoGO


http://fp2k.redshift.com/cjogo/crystalrecording.htm

[Chriss]

germans make the most killer ass synths on the planet, kurzweil, jomox, waldorf, doepfer, etc..
yammi and roland and shit like that is all rom based crap except from the old models..

nuff said..

[hdi]

You asked about the Motif 8, I just bought one. You will quickly develope a love/hate relationship with it. As a musical instrument it is great. Good weighted keyboard with great sounds in all areas, winds, brass, keyboards, etc. The only weak area is voices and electric base. They have an so-so base you can fool with and get it ok.
The physical layout of the board is pretty good as far as getting around. The real drawback of the board is its complexity and poor documentation. The manual is very poorly written. The onboard sequencer is pretty good but difficult to figure out and this goes for all the other features. So it can be a pretty frustrating board, more so than some. Yamaha is providing pretty good support for this board but the lousy manual is inexcusable. I think what these companies do is put their best and brightest and all there money in creating the product then, as an after thought, they have some guy from the mail room write them manual overnight just before they ship it..... If they really wanted it to get it right they would hire a professional writer, maybe someone from Keyboard, to write it for them....

[sondriven]

I guess it all depends on your computer. Sorry I didnt read every thread but heres my mind on the subject. I have 3 real good soft synths. Pro-52, FM7, and PPG Wave. These all sound really good and pro sound quality. And I have a cheap $90 M-Audio soundcard. Its a 16 bit card. I disagree with people that say 24 bit is so much better. I cant tell the difference, in only the hard drive space.

..anyways, I also have a mint Roland Juno 1. It rocks for synth basses. But lacks some serious filters and ocs to get some in depth sounds.

so i say use whatever you can to get a variety of sounds. The thing about softsynths though, is that if you dont have a fast computer, latency becomes a real pain and sometimes can make the soft-syn almost useless. With hardware, the sound is right there everytime.

I have on backorder for almost a month now, a Midi-man Oxygen 8 controller to really get the most out of my softsynths.

...so yeah....theres my jumbled thoughts. hope it helps.


...get the Pro-52....awesome sounds and never ending patch recipes.

later,

john
www.sondriven.com

[sondriven]

....oh yeah, i have messed with the Motif 7. I think its real close to the 8 and found it terrible for programming. That is one complex synth.

I love the Korg MS-2000. So close to analogue!

Later