can I get some help here?

C

CyanJaguar

New member
after taking a hiatus to learn guitar, I am ready to get back to making complete songs.

I dont want to get a keyboard because they dont sound as good as soft samplers

what I want is to get a keyboard controller and a soft sampler for some real piano, bass and drum sounds. I use logic 4.7

I'll be making orchestral/jazz/ some trance

can you advice on choice of

1. Keyboard controller
2. softsampler
3. drumkit (I am leaning towards dfhs)

thanks.

Ps, I want to spend $1500 max.
 
I second ssscientist's choices. My only concern is since you're using Logic 4.7, it's likely that you'll have issues with Kontakt 2. Come to think of it, you'll have issues with pretty much any plugin that's been released recently. Do you have EXS24 by any chance? It's made by eMagic, and comes with Logic, but I'm not sure if it came with that version or not.

Also, for drums you might want to look at BFD
 
Ditto on CME UF-6

Yeah, check and see if you have EXS24 already, because if you do you can save yourself a lot of money. I am a HUGE fan of Kontakt but, it is not going to offer you $400 worth of new features, over what is provided by an EXS24.

You could spend a ton of money on dedicated drum samplers, but if you are going to invest in a new sampler anyway (or not if you have EXS24), you'd be best to Roll your own. Check out Sonic Implants-Blue Jay Drums http://www.sonicimplants.com/ProductDetail.asp?Item=CDDrumsSeries1 or Natural Studios NS Kit 7 http://www.naturalstudio.co.uk/sampled.html (Free version available) , both excellent values for the money.
 
thanks for all the replies. I am seeing that this might be a bit more expensive than I origninally thought.

is there any reason that the cme uf-6 is better than the m-audio tk88 I've been looking at? it seems they both have semi-weighted keys but the maudio has 88keys and is $100 less. what gives?


I thought that one could just use kontakt as the midi interface in logic, kinda like using an external sound module. Am I wrong?

Also, I have exs24 but I dont like the interface so I might have to go to a program that works better with kontakt. which one is the best nowadays? I've heard that cubase is pretty good.

I guess I'll just use the drums that come with kontakt for now until I find something I like better. DFHS is too expensive, and I dont really like BFD.

thanks again.
 
The CME is a bit more expensive, but is built like a Sherman Tank!!!! Made with real METAL, not cheap plastic. It just feels better all around too, even things like slider durability, etc. It all feels so much more top-of-the-line.

Kontakt will work with Logic, at least Kontakt version 1. But each new VST plugin released usually offers support for the newest version of VST technology itself. And obviously Emagic has long since abandoned us here. I agree the EXS24 is a little hard to get your head around unless you spend some time with it (Which I have oddly found to be the case with Halion and Kontakt too...Only Kontakt because of the extended features it has compared to the others).

I'd suggest if you are going to move away from Logic, then try Cubase. This is the move I made, and I'll be honest, that after spending so many years in the Emagic camp, that I really thought a lot of the Steinberg workflow was just assinine. However, Steinberg has been thoughtful enough to allow you to map all your shortcut keys to match those of Logic, with the click of a single preset, which is definitely a nice touch, especially if you move back and forth between the 2 apps (as I do because VST technology still doesn't support side-chaining....(soon I hope), and I like Logics MIDI Logical editor better than Cubase's). But all-in-all Steinberg has the goods. Somethings will take some getting used to, but after working for just about a year in Cubase, I realise now that most things are just easier to do in Cubase (Especially in the audio editing, and file management departments, which Logic only really started to address, after the Apple buy-out :( ). And with Steinberg you are assured of getting the latest support for new VST technology, so should you encounter a problem with your plugins, you'll be getting up-to-date support.

Get Kontakt, Get Cubase SX (But maybe wait and see if SX4 includes VST 3, which I guess is rumored to support side-chaining (For compressors, gating, etc.), or go ahead and get SX3 which still kicks ass), and start down loading drum samples, and rock out until the cows come home.
 
hey man, thanks a bunch for the advice. I'll try kontakt with logic. If it does not work I'll break down and get cubase. like you, I used logic for years, and knew it like the back of my hand. I hope I can get used to cubase.

another side question(since you have both kontakt and cubase). I am building a system and I want to make sure it specs up

p4 3.2
2 gigs ram
2x 160 gb hard drive

I'll be getting an m-audio soundcard
will this be enough for,say 16 track recording?

is there anything else I need? specific motherboards for exampls?

finally, do you have a website where I can hear you music?

thanks
 
That'll be more than enough horsepower for probably a good 50 tracks (w/ at least basic fx i.e. compressor, EQ, and a handful of quality reverbs). obviously your track counts will depend on the quality of the FX used how many VSTi's you have, Samplerate used, etc. Fortunately Cubase has a freeze function if things get a little tight.

Hint: I usually work with the lowest buffer settings possible on my M-Audio Delta cards. If I end up running short on processing power (Usually around 32 audio tracks + a dozen instrument tracks all with EQ and compression, + a ton of MIDI tracks running external gear, and usually 2 Sonitus reverbs and maybe 6-10 other FX (Prosoniq PiWarp, Sonitus Modulator, or any of the OhmForce plugins), I'll raise the buffers to max, bringing me back to about 60% processor load. I'm using a similarily spec'd machine.

Click on my sig for tunes. Check out "Dying Garden", as it is the better track. I'll be uploading some new, much better stuff. I'll probably do it tomorrow. I've just been lazy, what with the holidays and all. If you're interested I'll PM you when they are uploaded.
 
Thanks a bunch for the help.

I got an amd 64 3500, 2 gigs of ram, and a 250 gb sata drive + a 100 gb sata drive
I also got kontakt 2 and cubase SE.
I got the m-audio controller because my guitar center gave me a GREAT deal on it.

so far everything is going well. I am yet to install kontakt2 or cubase but I'll let you know how it goes.
 
the install of Kontakt and cubase went without a glitch. I was surprised that everything worked so well together. USually, there is some kind of incompatibilty when building a new music production system from the ground up.

 
Nice!!!
Always a good thing when you don't have to rip every last hair from your head (Already happened to me....).
 
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