AJ, couldn't agree with you more. I have been at it for years and will stay with softsynths and the A-37. While the control surface is not quite as good as hardware based solutions, it is good enough for me not to notice these shortcomings. In return I get high quality effects, sounds and reliability. It is flexible. You design and build the system to suit your needs.

Frank, your threads about softsynths a while back really helped pique my interest. Today I'm a believer.. big time.

I will add this to Jos too. One of the situations in which OMB can be most useful to me in a live situation is it's capability of pre-recording style data that I can play back live, for instance in a song where I want to play a little more intensely with both hands and don't want to have to mess with the arranger functions at all. It seems to really outshine XG works and my PA80 in this area.

AJ

So it sounds like anything else, if one works with OMB and say Hypercanvas, you'd learn to get around on it reasonably well for live play.

What about right hand solo voices? What about layering sounds together etc?

For me, I'm trying to see if the softsynth is the way to go and be able to continually update, or to consider getting a PSR3000 as an extra for my Tyros.

Scott Langholff

Scott Langholff, whatever you can do with a hardware based solution you can do with software - and often better. Yes, you can layer voices, edit voices, add effects and so on. In the end it is up to you and what you would like to accomplish. You need a good soundcard, a good computer (not the best), good software and good sound reproduction system. Once you are setup you will not return to hardware based solutions. Now it takes considerable effort to get it all setup initially but you will get a good return on your investment. I am an old man with limited mental capacity and did it. If I can do it most everybody else can do it as well - and better.

Hi AJ,
me too.
It's a pity that some of the posts were lost when synthzone went down a few months back.
If it hadn't been for Frank I'd still be daydreaming about what keyboard to upgrade to next ( & money wise a lot poorer).
Instead my ultimate goal is to tweak my styles to work in GM mode with Hypercanvas & OMB. Then, if & when I find a software soundsource that sounds even better with the styles, it will be an addition to, not a replacement for Hypercanvas.

As for OMb, it's my realtime aranger, psr style editor & now in version 8 it has sequencer functions too. Love the program.

best wishes
Rikki

p.s. my setup is only for home use, I'm not a performer.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bluezplayer:
[B]Frank, your threads about softsynths a while back really helped pique my interest. Today I'm a believer.. big time.

So tell us what would be the best setup based on what is currently on the market? This should be interesting.

There is no "best" setup Synthguy. That's kind of the point too. Using soft synths and host apps allows the individual to tailor a system that best suits him / her.

I can only tell you what works best for me, and that because I made it for me, it surpasses anything hardware I can get, especially for studio use.

I dont do a whole lot of style based work, so OMB is useful but I don't have to have it. Ditto Band in A Box and Jammer pro ( I have them all). These could all be more useful to me if each would open up as a VST in one of my favorite host apps.

FL studio is indispensable to me. It's a pattern based app, but also runs as a full sequencer / audio DAW as well. I run it alone, or sometimes open it up inside of Sonar 3 and work the two together. Orion Platinum is a viable alternative to FL Studio as a host, but I'm not certain that it can open as a VSt in another host ( maybe as a rewire device ? ). Slightly different approaches between the two but similar concepts.. I have Musdiclabs Rythym & Chords and Slicy / fill in drummer. These work only in Sonar ( or older Cubase systems ). I don't use the latter so much any more since I can quickly create and / or modify drum patterns in FL Studio.

I'm on a huge analog kick of late.. so.. Pro 53, Arturia CSv80, Arturia Moog Modular, RGC Audio Pentagon, Sytrus, Absynth, Chris Gill's Superwave series ( these rock ), Synth 1, and a host of other softsynths inhabit my virtual studio. I sometimes use my Motif ES6 as a module for drums and some electric bass sounds. I also haved some soundfonts ( Sonic Implants ) along with Edirol SuperQuartet to emulate acoustic drums and electric guitars. My VL150 Motif plug in for horns, reeds, and wind instruments, and quite a few different sample sets covering a whole range of instruments. These normally are played in my Kontakt softsampler.

Native Instruments B4 pretty much covers the organs. The freeware Z3 Organ does a surprisingly good job here as well. Musiclabs Real Guitar Vsti for when I'm too lazy or just plain unable to play what I want to hear on my acoustic guitar.

For effects... NI Guitar Rig, IK's Amplitube, Voxengo series plug ins.. plus many many more.

I use Live Synth Pro as a soundfont host. I've left quite a few things out I'm sure, but I think you can get the idea. This setup works great for me.... and it can and will be updated as new plugins come out. I have invested quite a bit in it, but it's been worth every penny. The next person might be happy with something completely different, and maybe at a lot less spent.. ( or maybe more ).

AJ

[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 12-25-2004).]

SYNTH_GUY, if you do a search of flr2003 and flr2004 you should find the information on my system. AJ, is right. You build a system to suit your needs. My system is suited for live performances. It works well - really, really well!!! Would I say anything else???

Thanks for all the info. My next question is, how much? Is it more expensive with all the software. Why doesn't Korg, Roland, Yamaha make a keyboard based on a operating system, (GUI) so we can install the software we want, personalized catered to our needs??????? I was reading about Wersi Keyboards, based on Windows platform, anyone have any first hand experience with a Wersi???

SYNTH_GUY, my system is expensive - especially the virtual acoustic instruments, e.g., Garritan Strings, VRSound Sax & Organ, Scarbee Electric Pianos & Bass, Bardstown Piano and so on. I haven't kept track of the costs but I would guess it is somewhere around $4K.