I have posted on a different note a call for some help in getting started with a ESI 32. However, the mind wanders much further down the pike. I tried MIDI some time ago to a thuddung lack of success! One principal issue was POOR sound quality. I know the sounds I want, a question to connoisseurs is ARE they possible. The sounds I will want are: good piano(non electronic), stand-up bass, and rhythm guitar[ listen to any Glenn Miller side--it's a duet of a big band and rhythm guitar]. Will I be able to get these out of an ESI 32? If so, I'd enjoy any discussion as to possible routes. If not, does anybody know other ways.

Cordually BH

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Bob Haymond

Hi Bob,

The best sounds typically are obtained easily by buying 3rd party CD Roms. The big question is which one(s)? Yes, it is possible to get high quality sounds, it takes some searching and special programming in certain cases.

If you're looking for a good piano (sampled) it is going to be *very* tough. Decent standup bass and rhythm guitar (I'm assuming it's like a clean, jazz guitar) are pretty easy to get with an ESI-32 or any decent sampler. However, sampled pianos are tough. I've tried a few piano sample CD's from a friend and have not been satisfied. The pianos with low memory requirements (8 MB or less) just don't sound good all the way up the keyboard. Others require massive amounts of memory and I haven't had that at my disposal. I've been able to try piano samples at "f" and "mf" and "p" but not combine them together for a playable experience. I'm not even a piano player so if you are, you may be even more picky than I am.

I'm sure that there are some CD's out there but I'm not going to spend $200-300 a pop until I find the one I want. You can't really try them out in the store either. You may be better off with something like a Yamaha P-200 for piano and use the ESI-32 for the other sonds you're looking for. While the P-200 is not perfect, it is decent. It is also not the strongest controller out there but you'll be able to split the keyboard so that you can do piano or guitar on the top part of the split and standup bass on the bottom.

If you want to add big band sounds to your sampler (ie saxes, trumpets, bones, etc in addition to bass, piano, guitar), you may find that you'll need quite a bit more than just the ESI-32. Realistic horns take good samples with good programming as well as good sequencing techniques. Unfortunately good samples take up lots of memory as well as polyphony. You may find that you need 3 or 4 separate samplers. It depends on how picky you actually are.

HTH,
Fernando

I'd love to hear more. No, I'm not a piano player but will put in piano chords in "step time". I don't know enough about what I'm doing yet to know what storage is relevant; does computer storage count? I've got a 9.3G SCSI hard drive dedicated to music and a SCSI Zip. No big band sounds needed; I'll want to play tenor and vibes live. People at Sweetwater seem to think that the new Digi 001 will get these two aspects together. I'll certainly try not to experiment at $200 a pop!

Hi Bob,

One important thing to note regarding disk storage is that, if you use a pc, you *don't* want the E-mu disk connected to it. Windows 95 and up screws it up. E-mu has a propietary format and you'll lose everything if you try to browse via Windows Explorer. There are methods for backing up Emu disks on your PC (search links at www.tweakheadz.com for more info). I would recommnd using your SCSI Zip drive for now. If it is an internal drive, I don't know if the ESI will be able to use it though.

I don't know about the Digi 001 interface and bringing it together. Will you be using the ESI 32 for recording? Digi 001 is a capable interface (provided you don't need to sync up to tape) and is supposed to sound great with a couple of built-in preamps. If you're using a PC though, I don't know if drivers have been released yet.

In terms of sounds though, you should be able to get what you want. Step-recording piano *may* be part of your problem if you're looking for realism. Real pianos are played by real people and, even if you don't play piano yourself, you'll need to try to make your step-recording sound as if a real piano player played the part. That will be quite difficult to do IMHO.

Anyway, good luck. Sounds like you'll need to spend some time researching some CD-Roms.

HTH
Fernando

Fernando: thanx for the info; I did get my (external)SCSI Zip connected. Perhaps you can answer an additional question. I read that it is imperative to get samples from CDs into the E-Mu. If it is not connected to a PC, how is that done?

I agree with your notions of music being played by musicians rather than step time; what I hope is the case is that one can do tracks non-musically, then sequentially replace them by played tracks. If the weak link is my lack of musicianship I suppose that that is what one lives with!

I've worked on nuclear warheads before but this stuff id complicated!

Cordially, BH

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Bob Haymond

Hi Bob,

It is not imperative that you get samples from CD's into your sampler if you don't own any sample CD's. However, if you own some sample CD Roms (not audio CD's) or plan on buying some, then it is. If you don't have any of the samples you are looking for already or don't have the means or time to do it, CD Roms are your best alternative. For the time and effort you save, the money you spend on them is well worth it.

One thing to note is that E-mu sample CD Roms are in a proprietary format. You will not be able to load E-mu sample from the CD into your PC directly. Your PC will complain that it cannot recognize the format.

There may be some PC programs out there that might be able to read them though. You may want to check out a program called Translator from Rubber Chicken (www.chickensys.com). Translator provides PC support for some of the propietary CD Formats.

The easiest way by far is to buy an external SCSI CD Rom that is compatible with your sampler. This way you can bypass your PC altogether. What I did was buy an internal SCSI CD Rom drive and then the case (with the power supply) for it. It cost me just over $100 US.

BTW, this stuff is not as difficult as you think, especially if you've worked on nuclear warheads. It's probably just different. Spending some time reading and playing around with the technology will start you rolling.

Good luck.

Fernando

Fernando: I have an SCSI CD-ROM on the way. Now to decide between other MIDI modules and CD-Rom samples. One question arises: if I build MIDI tracks one-at-a-time does this mean that only one voice needs to be in the E-Mu at once?

If I am to do hard disc recording, what is the route of MIDI tracks in this process? Does audio output from a synth get recorded? This is advanced stuff but part of getting started is heading in the right direction. TIA for any attention.

Cordially, BH

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Bob Haymond

Hi Bob,

From the sounds of what you want to do you probably won't need other modules for the time being. That is, unless you are unable to save your banks to a hard drive and such. It all depends on your sound playback requirements. If all you need is simple arranging like piano, guitar and bass, then the ESI-32 with some good CD Roms should be more than adequate.

Even if the samples you load in are large and don't fit into the sampler's RAM, you can either record them to hard disk using your computer or use smaller samples for your initial arranging and sequencing.

Regarding MIDI, you'll typically record the MIDI tracks first. This is not audio but sets of numbers representing notes, velocities of the notes, volume settings for each MIDI channel, etc.

Bob, I know you want to start off on the right foot. I've been there myself where I was green and didn't know very much. You would do yourself a great big favour by researching MIDI on the internet. As well, there are some books available (I think Wizoo?) which explain MIDI seqencing really well. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm brushing you off but MIDI sequencing is a subject unto itself and would take a long time for me to explain many of the things that go on.

I know that this doesn't help ramp you up very quickly but it *will* lead you in the right direction. Another thing you can do is hire someone locally who will show you the ropes. Take a few lessons from someone who is quite knowledgable. A local music store may help you out. If you decide to take this route, figure out what is fair for you and the instructor as well as what you will be taught during your sessions.

HTH and good luck.
Fernando