and



I just did an informal load-time test.

I started with software. Reason loads 497 MB in 31 seconds (16.03 MB/sec). Pretty fast!

I remember when I first bought my e6400, many years ago now, and how impressed I was with its fast load times. It loads 128 MB in 46 seconds (2.78 MB/sec). Much slower than Reason, as you predict above.

Then, I tried the OASYS. It loaded 464 MB in 31 seconds (14.97 MB/sec), almost as fast as Reason, and more than 5x faster than the e6400.

An advantage to the workstation approach is that, in comparison to even my streaming software instruments, changing sounds on the OASYS generally takes no time at all (since usually, the samples are already loaded - if the sounds use samples in the first place; I use the synth parts of the OASYS quite heavily).



and



In my experience, the opposite is the case. For instance, I know of two software instruments that deliver approximately equivalent sound quality to the OASYS: NI's Massive (on its highest quality setting), and Wayoutware's TimeWARP. Even on powerful computers, these deliver only a handful of notes. Compare this to OASYS's 172 voices of HD-1, PolysixEX, or CX-3, and 96 voices of AL-1.

It's also worth noting that higher sample rates may improve the sound quality of less sophisticated synth and effects algorithms, but they are no guarantee of superior performance. As has been noted in the past, the OASYS outperforms many other hardware and software instruments, including those which use higher sample rates, in various objective ways (such as the maximum resonant frequency of the modeled VA filters).

Aliasing oscillators are another frequent problem with digital synths, software and hardware alike. This can be reduced by using higher sample rates, but it is more effectively and (in my opinion) elegantly addressed by improving the algorithms themselves, as evidenced by the OASYS's extremely low aliasing even at a "mere" 48kHz.

There's also the OASYS's dynamic resource allocation between different synthesis algorithms, with protection against CPU overload glitches - something that no software system offers, as far as I know.



This is an understandable opinion, but not necessarily a universal one. For instance, I have a fairly well-appointed home studio (see http://www.danphillips.com/equipment.htm ). While I own several software synths and samplers, and enjoy them for various reasons, at the moment the only one I use frequently is Stylus RMX, which is really great for working with drum loops. My OASYS handles most of the synth duties, since in my opinion, it generally sounds better than the alternatives.

I've worked with people who did demo tracks using large streaming software libraries, and then switched to using OASYS sounds instead when they brought the tracks to my studio.



For backing tracks, for instance - very common in otherwise "live" performance.

While many people, including myself, use a computer-based DAW system, there are many others who want to separate their music-making from the computer; this is in strong evidence on the Korg Forums, for instance.

[edited, again, to remove weird copy/paste problem from the start of the message]

[This message has been edited by Dan Phillips (edited 06-30-2008).]