I have been lost development of these virtuall arrangers out of sight, but it kept wondering how far they have come...

When last i checked there where only OMB and livestyler, where OMB is rumored to have stabillity issues with vst's ....

So here are my questions

-Is band in a box finally usable in real time as an arranger?
-Are there any new real time software arrangers in development ?
-Which software arranger is currently most popular and why?
-Do you guys use a touchscreen for your softsynth or just screen and mouse
-What vst's can be used in a life environment that lets you change instruments on the fly?
-Since both livestyler and OMB use yamaha .sty files, what vst's do you use to replace the yamaha sounds used in those styles?
-What sequencer do you use?

Thanks in advance for answering these

Wayting on those answers i did some research...

I found live styler to have imporved way beyound what it was 2 years ago. It looks slick and awesome...I downloaded the manuall and browsed it....

There where still a few little things missing. -There is no piano/ full keyboard chord recognition.
-There is no way yet to use more then 16 midi tracks in a sequence
-I can't play 2 midi files or 2 MP3 files at the same time and mix them..

And on an even more professionall level :
-I can't mix and transpose/speedcontroll audio tracks in the livestyler (It is what ketron will be doing in the audigy, and supposed to be the future)
-I can't transpose and controll the speed of MP3 and wav files
-I can't find any news about possible feautures in comming updates
But these are actually nitpicking... and not totally honest, but if this livestyler wants to compete with hardware arrangers in the future, its going to be a required update...

I am very enthousiast about what i saw from livestyler...

OMB seems more like a death project right now, nothing has changed over the last year or so. The interface looks very out dated compared to livestyler. Only advantage is the fact that OMB recognises piano play/ full keyboard chords...

Bachus, you may wish to do a search on this and the general Synthzone forums to take a look at my software based arranger setup. I have in the past referred to my system by names such as flr2000, flr2001, etc.

In general, my system uses high quality sounds, software and hardware. It sounds good and is reliable.

I know frank..

Your set-up is also on the live styler website.. I did some reading and found out about your vst host forte. Now that got me wondering if Kore 2 could do the same thing as forte does for you.

I'll be sure to check up on your posts on the generall forums...

I am currently setting up a linux softsynth/arranger..

I´ll put in live/styler under wine as the arranger, together with the new linux Qtractor (Also known as Qranger) Next to that i'll be using the Linuxsampler (also known as the gigasampler in Mediastation)and Rosegarden as the main sequencer with Energy XT as the VST host..and Ardour for recording things...

There is a speciall set of samples available for the linux gigasampler that mimics the T2...they even have the full megavoices from the PSR900S available..while the gigasampler also can do things like the SA voices, there offcourse are many vst's availabe for this..

Also there is a patch available that lets the kernell of Linux work real time which takes care of very very low lattencies..

I'll be using the new Fedora Core 9 Distro and will start out with the planet CCRMA package collection...

Keep in mind that this is all free stuff that costs barely nothing... Since i am an experienced SUN Solaris (Unix) sysadmin, i will not hjave to much problems using Linux...

I'll keep you guys updated on this projct....



[This message has been edited by Bachus (edited 05-17-2008).]

Bachus, you are well past anything I could do in 2 or more lifetimes. You have undertaken a complex project and it will be interesting to see the end result. I see things like this as the way of the future!!!

currently i am reading up on things...

You allways need to know exactly what you are up to before yoyu start it.

Hi Bachus,
haven't got a clue what you're talking about, I didn't progress beyond soundfonts, OMB & Forte, ( Frank & AJ managed to get me that far at least) but, the samples you mentioned, have they also done the T2 drumsets ??


best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bachus:
[B]I am currently setting up a linux softsynth/arranger..

There is a speciall set of samples available for the linux gigasampler that mimics the T2...they even have the full megavoices from the PSR900S available..while the gigasampler also can do things like the SA voices, there offcourse are many vst's availabe for this..

SA and VST articulation voices are not just samples but programs as well.
Megavoices are Midi loops with additional effects added by touch and additional notes.
Not ideal for sampling, therefore I would suspect that the Gigasamples are just the basic sounds of these voices.
BTW Are these samples the ones originally made for the Mediastation?

Bill

Yes Bill

I am currently considering to use some of the T2 samples created for the Mediastation...

For now i have added an extra 500 GB HD to my PC, and i am testing the various linux distributions...

Next step will be adding the sound/music software to Linux.

I have been toroughly stressed by creative labs..

Not only do they make bad vista drivers (espescially the ASIO part. Their support for Linux is virtually non-=existant.

Only 1 beta driver available from creative, and i did not get it to work in any of the 5 linux distro's i tried...

I finally got my sound card working under 64 studio distro, but with the free OSS drivers. And those don't support the newer Linux interfaces like JACK and such.

I am back to windows for now, and i am going to install Linux (which works great except X-fi stuff) in a virtuall machine that has an AC97 audio interface.

For now i am back to WInddows vista 64 Ultimate. I bought an Edirol PCR 800 yesterday and i hooked it up to my PC. Its a great midi tool for playing with vst's...

I,'ll be testing live-styler later this week, or otherwise next week, as my job is currently taking 15 hours a day. I tought i keep you guys updated.

Creative soundcards are not pro cards, but designed for the consumer market and for this they are excellent value for money, offering everything the consumer needs, however if you are a pro (Or you require a card for pro use) you will require a soundcard dedicated to just music, (Creative is Jack of all trades, but a master of none) which means getting your wallet out I’m afraid.
Hope this helps

Bill

I know Bill....

Tought i could work it out, but its way to timeconsuming... I am currently in the market for a USB midi/audio device supported under both vista 64 and Linux...

There ain't any yet.
At least a couple of month's ago I couldn't find them.
There are some pro cards with drivers, but 32 bits version only and way slower as under XP.

I'am back on XP pro.

Fred