Wait for the TI is Too Long... I've Turned to the DARKSIDE!!

[Derek]

Well I?m sick of waiting for the TI to materialize? So I?ve turned to the darkside? YES soft-synths. Maybe turned is a strong word? after all there?s still room for a TI desktop in my rig

However, I?m not missing the Ti dream anymore because my Komplete 2 package arrives today. Komplete 2 is a software bundle that includes eleven separate programs in one massive package. So looks like I?ll be plenty busy trying to figure all those new programs out. To add to this I currently I have the Korg Legacy Collection (KLC), its up and running and it sound even better than it did when I first installed it. Turns out there have been a few revisions that really helped the responsiveness of the synths. I would dare to say it sounds perfect now.

This might be of interest to some here. My system is setup using two PCs, one for standalone synths the other for Cubase and VSTs. I?m not sure if anyone here is running a similar setup? However, if you are, you need to look into an application called MidiOverLan CP. It allows you to use your network interface card for MIDI. You can get up to 64 MIDI ports and 16 channels per port using this tiny software driver. Better still you can get all these ports and channels (1024 MIDI channels!) though one cable? Sweat! All this for $169. Not too bad. I was able to replace two M-Audio 8x8 hardware MIDI interfaces with this software. The icing on the cake is everything works perfectly. The company claims their driver has the lowest latency of any MIDI solution, hardware or software. I was skeptical but honestly it works fantastic? If you have two computers that you want to talk to one another via MIDI there is no way better than MidiOverLan CP. You can go to their website and download a fully working demo of their software. It works for 14 days? after that you have to pony up the $$$.

Well I must say I?m a bit in shock. I still can?t believe its all working so well and my Cubase SX3 is rock solid. In the past I would have scoffed at the idea of replacing real hardware synths with software. I was an early adopter of Propellerhead?s Reason? And I hated it so much that I swore off software synths. Well times have changed and these new soft-synths sound just as good and in many cases better than their hardware counterparts. If you are a hardware person such as me, you will need to make sure you have enough hardware MIDI controllers, so you can have that tactile feel of knobs, buttons and sliders. Provided you do, the soft-synths really don?t feel any different than using hardware.

Yes there is still room in my rig for a TI, but I?m not in dire need of one anymore? (As I type this last line I am in disbelief) The TI will merely add to my already vast sound palette 8O 8O

[Smag]

But, pray tell, what software synths are the really good ones - the new generation that people are talking about. I was going to get the Hartmann Neuron software and controller until I read a Future Music review that gave it 3/10.

Which software synths are worth getting if you're comparing it to hardware?

[acid1]

for teh most part i'm really getting tired of using a mouse in general

[MADSTATION]

I agree that softsynths are great nowdays and they can do 98% of what their hardware counterpart can do BUT they still drain the CPU and that's why I tend to prefer hardware

[Derek]

Originally Posted by Smag

But, pray tell, what software synths are the really good ones - the new generation that people are talking about. I was going to get the Hartmann Neuron software and controller until I read a Future Music review that gave it 3/10.

Which software synths are worth getting if you're comparing it to hardware?

Well obviously the Korg Legacy Collection is great. But that assumes you're looking for soft versions of classic synths. If so I would suggest the Pro-53 (Prophet 5 emulation) and the B4 both by Native Instruments (NI).
I purchased the Komplete 2 bundle. This bundles eleven separate software packages into one massive package.
NI KOMPLETE 2 comes with ABSYNTH 3, REAKTOR 4 and 5, B4 Organ, FM7, PRO-53, KONTAKT 2, KOMPAKT, INTAKT, BATTERY 2, VOKATOR and NI-SPEKTRAL DELAY and you get the gigantic sample libraries of KONTAKT 1 and 2, INTAKT, KOMPAKT and BATTERY 2.

In short more sounds than any one human could hope for. That sounds like a lot of stuff, but you don?t know the half of it. It?s even more than you think. Reaktor for example includes literally hundreds of synths.
It can be a little overwhelming, but it?s OK because you don?t have to learn it all at once. You can take your time and learn and explore each synth and each package at your own leisure. But the possibilities are hugh.

I agree that softsynths are great nowdays and they can do 98% of what their hardware counterpart can do BUT they still drain the CPU and that's why I tend to prefer hardware

I?m not sure what you mean. I know the TI will be a great sound creation tool, but compared to Reaktor it pales in raw capability. While the TI will let you shape and sculpt your sound by comparison, Reaktor will allow you the ultimate flexibility, by allowing you to build your own synths from the ground up? Not just shape sounds. What hardware synths let you do that?
From what I can tell, software is so far ahead of hardware at this point that it just getting silly. Yes you need the CPU power to get the most out of it, but fast computers are cheap these days. I run two PCs one exclusively for softsynths, the other for VST and Cubase SX3, so its really not a problem.

for teh most part i'm really getting tired of using a mouse in general

ME TOO. That?s why I recommend you get lots of controllers. I have three controllers and more knobs and sliders than you can shake a stick at. I never have to use a mouse to control my softsynths. If you know you?ll hate using a mouse buy lots of controllers and you won?t need to use the mouse. In essence it will be a lot like using the TI with it?s VST interface.
Another positive when using the VST version of softsynths is they have sample accurate timing, something no existing hardware synth can claim. And yes I know the TI supposedly will also, but right now it?s really just vaporware so it doesn?t count does it.

[MADSTATION]

Originally Posted by Derek

I?m not sure what you mean. I know the TI will be a great sound creation tool, but compared to Reaktor it pales in raw capability.

You can't compare a VA with Reaktor, they are 2 very different products.
Reaktor is great and I really enjoy it but it's complex arthitecture makes it hard to predict how it's going to sound in the end.

In your setup, do you have to use more than 1 soundcard?
I've been looking for a way to network a few computers and use computer 2 and 3 for softsynths and my main computer just for sequencing.

[reno08]

Originally Posted by Derek

However, if you are, you need to look into an application called MidiOverLan CP. It allows you to use your network interface card for MIDI. You can get up to 64 MIDI ports and 16 channels per port using this tiny software driver. Better still you can get all these ports and channels (1024 MIDI channels!) though one cable? Sweat! All this for $169. Not too bad. I was able to replace two M-Audio 8x8 hardware MIDI interfaces with this software. The icing on the cake is everything works perfectly. The company claims their driver has the lowest latency of any MIDI solution, hardware or software. I was skeptical but honestly it works fantastic? If you have two computers that you want to talk to one another via MIDI there is no way better than MidiOverLan CP. You can go to their website and download a fully working demo of their software. It works for 14 days? after that you have to pony up the $$$.

It looks like you have this functionality built right into the heart of Mac OS X Tiger, out tomorrow.
Thus, I'd say $169 is a rip-off given Mac OS X's $129 price tag (and free with a new Mac)

[Derek]

I recall years ago people used an ancient device called the ?typewriter?. These devices were the dominate machine for rendering text to paper. Later they became more sophisticated and added many new features. The new devices were dubbed ?word processors?. Some of these word processor could save information to a floppy disc. They were in a way, hybrids of old and new technology, just as the TI is, in that it is part VST. But inevitably someone figured out how to do the same thing on a computer and slowly but surely the typewriters and the word processors became extinct.

It is likely that hardware synths are tomorrow's typewriters. They're progressing to word processor level, but the end is in site and cannot be avoided. Still I find myself here with the rest of you. My interest peaked by TI's promise. Perhaps we are sentimental fools or just too set in our ways at this point.

PS: Rno08, I know MidiOverLan is part of Tiger now. But I run PCs now, so paying $169 is still better than $600 for two MIDI interfaces. Plus what if you want your MAC to talk to PCs? For say GIGASTUDIO? I wonder if the MAC version will let you do this?

[Derek]

Originally Posted by MADSTATION

You can't compare a VA with Reaktor, they are 2 very different products.
Reaktor is great and I really enjoy it but it's complex arthitecture makes it hard to predict how it's going to sound in the end.

In your setup, do you have to use more than 1 soundcard?
I've been looking for a way to network a few computers and use computer 2 and 3 for softsynths and my main computer just for sequencing.

I have two sound cards. A Motu Traveler and an RME Digiface. They both work great and have been rock stable. Using MidiOverLan is the best way to get two computers to communicate via MIDI. As stated earlier it is now included as part of the new Mac OS. I would need sixteen, eight port hardware interfaces to do what this tiny driver is doing. I don't know of a cheaper or more effective way to get the job done on a PC platform.

[Gopal]

Originally Posted by Smag

Which software synths are worth getting if you're comparing it to hardware?

The Albino!!!

Thats the only one I've found so far.

Have heard great things about the Vanguard and the Minimonsta but haven't had a chance to try them yet.

The Minimoog vst is nay too shabby either.