gigasampler

[cominginsecond]

Does anyone know if gigasampler 32 (the lowest-end package) comes with some starter samples? If so, are they pretty nice? I've emailed Tascam about this, and they have not gotten back to me.

 

[Ethan Winer]

CIS,

> Does anyone know if gigasampler 32 (the lowest-end package) comes with some starter samples? If so, are they pretty nice? I've emailed Tascam about this, and they have not gotten back to me. <

I don't have an answer for your question, but if sales can't be bothered helping you, imagine trying to get tech help later!

--Ethan

 

[cominginsecond]

Good point!

 

[Ethan Winer]

CIS,

> Good point!

To me, GigaSampler is old school, if only because you have to run virtual MIDI cables to send it MIDI, and then mix its audio output with everything else in the song. Also, the real issue is the quality of the samples - the platform itself is much less important. I also refuse to buy any program that is copy protected, which for me rules out the entire Giga family.

I know we've conversed in the past, but I don't recall what audio / MIDI sequencer you use. I recently started using Sonar, and I love that soft-synths can be integrated directly into the program. When I'm ready to make a mix I simply bounce it all down to a single Wave file. No virtual cables, and no mixing audio from one program with audio from another.

--Ethan

 

[cominginsecond]

I use N-track, which can use both DirectX and VST instruments. Which soft-synths would you recommend? I would like realistic sounding flutes, organs, pianos, and trumpets, if possible.

 

[Ethan Winer]

2nd,

> Which soft-synths would you recommend? <

I have an Audigy sound card that I use for SoundFonts, though I have also used LiveSynth in Sonar to play SoundFonts. What soft-synth is best depends partly on the host program you use: VST, DXi, and so forth.

> I would like realistic sounding flutes, organs, pianos, and trumpets <

We all want our sampled synths to sound as realistic as possible!

Again, the quality of the original samples is much more important than the sample platform (AKAI, SoundFonts, Giga, etc.)

--Ethan

 

[cominginsecond]

What soft-synth is best depends partly on the host program you use: VST, DXi, and so forth.

Well, my DAW can use both VST and DXi instruments. Given that, which instruments would you recommend?

 

[Ethan Winer]

C,

> Well, my DAW can use both VST and DXi instruments. Given that, which instruments would you recommend? <

Beats me! Seriously, any soft-synth that can play back samples should be fine. I am not intimately familiar with all of them, but the four main features to look for are 1) low CPU usage, and 2) the ability to load a few different sample formats like SoundFont, AKAI, and so forth, and 3) an interface that's easy to use. The fourth feature is stability.

Maybe someone else who has more experience with the various models available can offer more advice. Since I have an Audigy as a sampler, I haven't done much with soft-samplers.

--Ethan

 

[charger]

LiveSynth (I think it's a DXi) and the FruityLoops implementation (FruityLive Synth) are the only soundfont players that actually support the full soundfont implementation. That said, you can find a ton of great soundfonts on the web.

For example, I like http://www.thesoundsite.net/ . It takes a while to load the full list of soundfonts, and they only allow you to download 1 soundfont at a time... But it's a killer resource. It offers soundfonts in standard format, and compressed with sfpack for faster downloads...