What MIDI instruments are equal to or superior to GigaStudio?

It doesn;t really? As soon as you start collecting synths and sample libraries, you'll find that you can't really do words that sort of say 'quality', because bad ones are really rare - BUT - there are plenty that don't do what you want. They do these pretty well but they just don't work. I've got loads of synth vsti - but if I want certain sounds I have a choice. Search for hours through them, because they have totally stupid preset names, or go back to Halion Sonic where 20+ year old titles still sound great. If I want a polysynth - I love that one. I probably have better somewhere. Real instruments are the same. I love the Kontakt and Spitfire libraries and now Crow Hill, but some of the spitfire ones have truly wonderful string sounds - BUT - if I want to play a chord, I'll go for a different library from them that does chords better. If I want a more orchestral sound I use another Spitfire libary. I've gone off Garritan - no reason other than I bought more I liked better and never went back. I had gigastudio years ago, but it never really gelled with me. I don;t doubt some of the sounds are probably really, really good, but I've moved on. If you are into creating your own sample libraries, and are really competent with gigastudio - why change? When I make my own (rare) I tend to use Kontakt - but I'm happy modding existing samples. What are you hating and what do you want?
 
rob aylestone said:
What are you hating and what do you want?
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Thanks - it's not a matter of hating Giga, it's just that it's gone extinct. I've actually never had a Giga setup but as far as I'm aware it's not possible to get one up and running now because all support for it is long gone and it requires activation even if you found a set of disks. I've also read that it was plagued with bugs that never got ironed out. I don't know if Giga would even work with current systems. I just know that when it worked it sounded really good.
 
brassplyer said:
Thanks - it's not a matter of hating Giga, it's just that it's gone extinct. I've actually never had a Giga setup but as far as I'm aware it's not possible to get one up and running now because all support for it is long gone and it requires activation even if you found a set of disks. I've also read that it was plagued with bugs that never got ironed out. I don't know if Giga would even work with current systems. I just know that when it worked it sounded really good.
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You still don't answer the question of what is it you are looking for. There are tons of virtual instruments out there, it doesn't have to be just one software platform. Some do symphonic better than others for instance. Like Rob mentioned, I have Spitfire's BBC symphony and it is very good and was free. It's not the full library but enough for my needs.

Give us some information and perhaps you'll get useful suggestions.
 
brassplyer said:
Thanks - it's not a matter of hating Giga, it's just that it's gone extinct. I've actually never had a Giga setup but as far as I'm aware it's not possible to get one up and running now because all support for it is long gone and it requires activation even if you found a set of disks. I've also read that it was plagued with bugs that never got ironed out. I don't know if Giga would even work with current systems. I just know that when it worked it sounded really good.
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Folkcafe said:
You still don't answer the question of what is it you are looking for. There are tons of virtual instruments out there, it doesn't have to be just one software platform. Some do symphonic better than others for instance. Like Rob mentioned, I have Spitfire's BBC symphony and it is very good and was free. It's not the full library but enough for my needs.

Give us some information and perhaps you'll get useful suggestions.
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I was thinking primarily in the orchestral realm but ultimately any kind of ensemble might be what I'm looking for. I think your response answers my question - i.e. you believe there isn't just one solution.
 
Apparently Guy knew you were looking so he made you this video. 8-)

I've leaned heavily on free stuff but recently started purchasing bigger paid bundles. Rob mentioned Kontact, It is currently on sale for 50% off at $149. I've grown frustrated with constantly running into instruments I wanted to purchase that won't work in the free Kontact Player. So will probably pull the trigger on this. Just a bit spendy even at half price.

Anyway, here is some free stuff.

 
The full version of Kontakt is WELL worth the price Folkcafe - there is some really great stuff in there - I think I hardly scratch the surface, but the factory sounds have some really useful content - I really like the bass section. every one is useful.
 
Alright, I pulled the trigger and it's downloading files now. We'll see what fits in my Folkie world.
 
rob aylestone said:
The double basses?
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What ever comes with the full version of Kontact 7. Still installing and haven't started auditioning instruments. Got a busy weekend coming up as well.

Rather than take over this post, I'll probably create one with my thoughts along with why this old school guy is now doing midi instead of session players.
 
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