Joe,

It would not be an absolute necessity to have OMB as a Vst host. I could link to my softsynths via a virtual midi cable like Midi thruway. having it's own propietary softsynth would make OMB an even more useful program. It would save the hassle of trying to match current Yamaha or Yamaha format styles to a synth that does not recognize XG parameters.

The SYXG-50 soft module could have been a good answer. Unfortunately, it has latency issues and the sonic quality isn't even on par with the lower end Yamaha arrangers available today. The SYXG-100 perhaps better addresses both of these issues, but Yamaha has not elected to include support for Windows XP.

I have some experience with sound design, and could probably make a suitable soundfont or program sample based sounds that are a good match for the Yamaha based styles, but that is pretty much the limit of my software programming skills. Making an actual software module ( with all the effecst and other bells and whistles ) that works and coexists with a Windows platform is beyond my limited capabilties. If I did spend the time needed and could learn to program more ( a lot of time that I just don't have right now ), it would have to be a commercial venture, and I would need to pretty much "start from scratch" to avoid copywrite issues. I would if I could Jos, but I just don't think I can right now.

AJ

AJ,

As I said this is not an option right now. Let me know if you find something else that might be improved using OMB on stage with softsynths.

Jos

How does Midi thruway compare to Midi Yoke?

My mistake. I meant to say midi yoke. I used midi thruway years ago when I had an PII with 300 mhz processor. Since then, I switched to midiyok.

AJe

Frank Rosenthal said, "You could likely equal the quality of the PSR3000 with a Dell PC at $600 with a free soft synth and thousands of free (average) soundfonts."
That's quite a bold statement. Would the quality of some of the free soundfonts be as good as Yamaha's sweet voices?
As soon as I upgrade my PC, will have lots more questions.
Starkeeper

A lot of it also depends on the effects Starkeeper. Dry, raw samples usually aren't going to sound particularly good until you apply real time effects to them. Today, with the advent of faster computers, it can be done.

I find the analog modeling synths I have to be sonically superior to the Motif ES and it's AN150 analog modeling plug in, for similar synth renditions. One of the soft synths I include in that is the freeware "Crystal", which outperforms many of the commercial offerings out there.

Musiclabs will be releasing a new guitar emulation software that appears to riv al the megavoice type technology found in today's top end synths. I never like making judgements based on demo's, but if the ones I heard are a fairly accurate gauge of what this software will sound like, it will easily rival anything currently available in hardware.


I'm only now getting my feet wet with wavetable type synths ( which are based mainly on digital samples, as are most of today's hardware synths ). I'm quite satisfied with the Motif's acoustic instrument emulations, but I certainly don't object to having additional quality soundsets as well. Where the Motif ES and pretty much all romplers I have played seem to fall short for me is in the synth sounds area. I played a Roland V synth the other day, and it sounded great to me. It's a real contender vs the Moog voyager, Novation K station, etc, and I think it really puts Roland back on the map. On the other hand, RGC's Z3ta and Pentagon softsynths sound just as good to me, if not better, and at a fraction of the cost.

AJ


[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 01-26-2004).]

Starkeeper, it may be a bold statement but with some effort it can be done. I may be wrong by using the word 'free'. I should have said at very low cost.

Here is how I did it for the accompaniment. I bought the sYnerGiGS Wavetable for $19 and 9 CDs of free soundfonts from the Soundsite before it went down. These 9 CDs cost me $49 for him to buy, burn and deliver them to me. Within this set of CDs you have to spend alot of time to find the pearls but they are there. These soundfonts were collected by him from all over the internet and other places. I use some of them as replacement instruments in the sYnerGiGS wavetable.

In addition, I got the Giga GM500 with GigaStudio and have converted them to soundfonts using CDxtract. These provide some very good piano, string, vibe, etc. sounds for my sYnerGiGS wavetable. At this point my modified sYnerGiGS 128 mb wavetable sounds very good for the accompaniment - better than any of the top of the line arranger keyboards. If I wasn't so old and lazy I would do the drum conversions to GM and use the Drums From Hell. This would again increase the quality of the accompaniment another order of magnitude - well above any keyboard out there.

Well how do I rate the virtual acoustic instruments in my modified sYnerGiGS, Tyros, Motif or any other keyboard? At best from mediocre to modest. These instruments are nonetheless amazing given the size of the wavetable and certainly are more than adequate for live performances. However, it is for this reason that I made the heavy investment in lead/melody virtual acoustic instruments.

Starkeeper, as you can see there is a range of possibilities that you can implement. You can always progress from any point at your own chosen speed. For example, at some time you may wish to have a very high quality guitar sound then you may have to spend $200 and get it. The good news is you can do it.

[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 01-26-2004).]

Just to add to what Frank said, you're not limited any longer because, for example, you like the synth sounds on your korg, but don't like the piano.

OK, so you can add the piano plug in board to the Korg, but what if you don't like that very much either ? Maybe you're Yamaha doesn't have the best synth sounds on it ? Add the AN 150, which sounds pretty good, but it's only 5 notes of poly.. not very good for playing sustained pads. You're Roland has electric pianos that don't please you ? Ok, then you have to live with whatever Roland offers for expansion boards.

The point is, you're stuck in the hiearchy that the manufacturers give you to work with. Not so with soft synths and wavetables. Maybe an outstanding guitar sound does cost you $200. Still might be better than getting a synth or even an expansion board.

OK, you can add samples to your existing board. Trouble is, at least on the Motif, it's a very involved process to get from point a to point b. It isn't as simple as that. There are a lot of side roads that have to be taken from raw sample to ( good sounding ) finished patch. It's much easier to do in a software module.

AJ

I appreciate your input AJ and Frank. Since AJ brought up the fact that you need to bring effects to these raw samples, that leads me to the next question. How would I add the effects? I find the B3 voices on the PSR550 weak. They need a bit more tube grit and of course a deeper Leslie sim. The low notes (C3) IMO are too low. If it were a real drawbar organ I would push in the last drawbar half way in.
The Yamaha accoustic piano seems dead to me. IMO it needs more wood and string resonance and also a longer sustain.
The "Sweet Flute" is very good, but I think could still be improved upon.
The ability to be able to improve, say the piano voice and leave the rest alone, as suggested by AJ, is very appealing.
Starkeeper

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 01-27-2004).]

Many of the Vsti have built in effects already, but for those that either do not have them or have weak effects processing, add on effects processors are available for many soundcards. I have Spin Audio's ASIO fx processor for my Midiman Audiophile card, and the kx drivers for my Soundblaster Live can be used to add effects for that card.

Native Instruments makes the B4 softsytnh, which is about the best emulation of a B3 that I've ever heard.
You can find it here and try a demo if you would like:
http://www.kvr-vst.com/get/51.html


AJ

[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 01-27-2004).]