Haven't been on the site for a while. My Roland G70 is starting to get heavy. Is there a good module out there or software for a computer. Either some good arranger software or a midifile player that will let me set loop points?

I would recomend hanging on until after Frankfurt Music Messe. There should be a tasty treat for you.

have u looked at things like Motif XS Rack? or Roland or Korg Racks?

Take a look at a program called Ableton Live. Probably the most flexible thing around, designed for live use, anything from old school to no school!

Full MIDI control of EVERYTHING, capable of looping and triggering audio and MIDI in sync, live loop recording and playback, you name it, it can do it!

BTW, your G70 weighs the same as the day you bought it, other than a few ounces of dust! Maybe you should clean it out?

As Diki says Alberton Live is a great program, http://www.ableton.com however there is also the stalwart Cubase, http://www.steinberg.net/en/home.html and if you have a Mac, Logic. http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/

If you are looking for arranger software then there is OMB http://www.1manband.nl/omb.htm Livestyler http://www.live-styler.de/home/ and vAarranger http://www.varranger.fr/

If you’re looking for high quality software instruments (VST etc.) then try Komplete 6 http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/komplete-6/ Kore 2 (With or without hardware controller) http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/kore-2/ and Goliath http://www.eastwestsamples.com/details.php?cd_index=1071

A good resource for the above is http://www.synthzone.com/ and for VST also add http://www.kvraudio.com/

There also many modules of Workstations, and players (Ketron http://www.ketron.it/home/index.asp offer good value on the latter)

Enjoy investigating

Bill

From Montana's comments about weight, I deduced he's talking about live, on the gig use...

Cubase, Logic, all those other DAW's are primarily designed for studio use. Ableton Live, as you can see from its' very name, was built from the ground up to do everything live, onstage. It is used by some of the biggest names in the business to trigger backing loops for mega-buck shows and theatrical productions. Every cue point, sub-mix, MIDI Part, etc. can be triggered by any MIDI command you care to assign to it, all in sync (or not, if you want!), all controllable from either Akai's custom control surface for it (or other cheaper alternatives) or any MIDI command your keyboard can send out.

From setting cue points and loop points in a simple MIDI file, to complex multi-track audio productions which can be controlled simply from onstage, to looping your own live audio alongside the MIDI loops, Live can do it all and so much more!

Have you tried the E60? at 28 lbs with speakers and a 76-keybed that may not be G70 but is close to it, and similar sounds, styles, and OS. if you don't need all the extra features the G70 offers for live performance it may be the best alternative when you need to lighten up if you hold on the G70 as well.

------------------
Miami Mo

Hey Mo...! Long time no see. How you doin'?

Also an excellent suggestion, BTW. In fact, you want to go down to a 61, even the new GW-8 could make a passable substitute, but it doesn't have SMF Markers, AFAIK.

E50 does, though...

[This message has been edited by Diki (edited 03-14-2010).]

Diki, I'm doing well, thanks for asking. I just needed a break from SZ (too addictive as you well know lol)plus at that point I didn't feel I had anything I was getting out of it or anything significant to contribute. I did look in every couple of weeks or so and recently felt the urge to get back in it, so here i IZ!
but in a more limited fashion. I have had a steady 2-niter with my percussionist Madafo at Miami Shores CC. Thurs is sit-ins and Fri we have guest stars I book-mostly singers. Has been a learning experience for me as I never comped for anyone other than myself before. It necessitated using more LH bass,
at first using the D-beam to drop in/out the
bass part in the styles,leaving just the drums (i rarely use full styles-sometimes I'll kick in a big band background for a last chorus at the end of a set to juice up the crowd)Eventually it got to the point i had to cut out some of the backings altogether- especially with singers- and go naked with LH bass and my percussionist. It's still a work in progress. On our other duo gigs, or solos, I still use the bass/drum on just about everything. On 3 of the nights I featured a guitar or another kbd, and those nights were burning, as it freed me from all the bass responsibility, let me use my just right hand a lot
for playing vibes sound and other solo things, and play my saxes, so starting April i'll be booking gtr/keys a lot more.
I wish I had known about next week's kbd Jam in Holiday Fl earlier-i might have been able to go. do you go to those?

------------------
Miami Mo

[This message has been edited by keysvocalssax (edited 03-15-2010).]