REAL instrument sounds..keyboard..

[gkowal]

hey guys anybody knows what keyboard/sampler has REAL INSTRUMENT sounds pianos strings trumpets and go on go on.. that sound REAL not cheap as keyboards.. thank you =o)

[Phyl]

Your going to get a lot of very subjective answers to your question since opinion varies wildly on which units sound the "best" or "most convincing".

You really have to go listen to the various synths/modules and decide yourself.

I went through the same exercise when setting up my studio. I was particularly irritated with synths and their lack of realism when it came to symphonic instruments. I ended up buying a second computer and put giga studio on it. My first giga library purchase was Garritan Orchestral Lite.

[TexRoadkill]

Forget about buying one synth that will work for everything. Samplers have the most flexibility like Phyl mentions. Generally some synths can be fairly realistic for certain types of music. What styles are you doing? Some are better for pop and some are better for classical, etc.

[69ShadesofRed]

*Rant Mode ON (take it with a grain of salt)*

It really ticks me off when people make comments like "I want a real instrument sound off of a synthesizer"... Ummm, hello! A synth IS a real instrument. They are capable of many timbres and textures, evolving sounds... sounds that can't be obtained by any other means other than electronically. Take them for what they are. I don't understand why people whine that synths don't sound like real acoustic Violins (for example)... this makes no sense. I mean you wouldn't expect a Violin to sound like a French Horn would you? A synthesizer sounds like a synthesizer. Different models of synths sound different, but they are still synthesizers, i.e. REAL instruments in their own right, and they do what they are designed to do very well, acoustic instrument emulation is not really what they should be used for. They are not pianos either (even though they have a keyboard... an accordion also has a keyboard, but doesn't sound like a harpsichord, or a piano for that matter).

*Rant mode OFF (I think you got the idea)*

Now... if you want the sounds of real acoustic instruments, nothing will come close to actually playing/recording those instruments. You can emulate the sounds of these instruments with samplers and synths, but those will always be emulations. Also to aid the realism, you have to pay attention to the performance. For example, you can't pick a violin sample, and play close spaced 8 note chords and expect it to sound like a violin, no matter how good the sample is. Having said that, a well recorded and programmed Gigastudio library would probably fit the bill. For pianos, I've always liked the Kurzweil pianos, especially their triple strike versions, but tastes vary. I've liked the playability of the stock Saxophone patches on the Korg Triton, especially when you use the ribbon to modulate filter cutoff and growl. Overall I've also been happy with the Orchestral ROM for the Kurzwel K2x00 series workstations. But again it will do you no good to have great samples if you can't imitate the instrument's performace characteristics. There is a lot more to emulating acoustic instruments than just the timbre.

[skyy38]

As far as some "real" sounds go,synth and mod makers still have a ways to go...particularly with certain orchestral sounds like..
brass,woodwinds(solo and ensemble,especially french horn)
solo violin,viola,cello,double bass...timpani and some others,I'm sure...

[subtractor]

Real sounds suck...
You want real sounds, go buy a piano, cello, violin, tuba, whatever.
Real sounds are soooo 1970!

[bsanfordnyc]

I don't have personal experience but from what I've gathered from various discussions, there's no match to gigastudio.

I do, however, have a Korg Triton and I think the sounds are pretty decent, plus you can download more sounds all over the internet to find one you like. They also offer an Orchestral expansion board which I'm looking into getting, although I can't comment personally because I have yet to hear what it sounds like.

[acidrock]

a guy who knows next to nothing about keyboards,get a computer based SOFTWARE SAMPLER.The sounds are as close as you're going to get without getting the real thing.I have both Giga and Kompakt.Giga is deeper while Kompakt is easier to work with and handles different file types.

LATER!

[Seanmorse79]

IMO, the biggest problem with creating sounds from other instruments on the keyboard is THE WAY IT's PLAYED.

It takes a lot of work to understand and adapt your playing to the limitations of the original instrument. I spent a week learning how to get a convincing distorted harmonica performance out of my QS (that has a very, very good layered sample).

I still have a heck of a time trying to make convincing horns , but I use the expression pedal, mod wheel, pitch wheel, velocity and aftertouch because of all the nuances of horned instruments. And still, there's much I won't do because it just doesn't cut it.

My point is, that IMO, performance is more important than the sample's quality.