Ivory software piano libraries can now be played without computer via a new expander. Flip side: it will cost just under 1,499$...

It is interisting that a software company now makes a hardware version! I will have to wait and see, but my first thought is that this seems to be a closed, proprietary system ans if so I would be better off with a Muse Receptor.

I think this could be the most hopeful development on this NAMM. I just hope the next module like this will contain an orchestral library!

The Gemini by GSI would be a similar product - going from software to hardware.
http://www.genuinesoundware.com/?a=showproduct&b=43

Thanks for the hint!
I listened to some of their demos. Orchestra sounds good, especially strings very good. The physical modeling trumpet is surprisingly terrible. But very interesting concept!

That would be fantastic!!! Having VST quality, without using a computer! It's been years I've been wondering why they don't have an actual keyboard that plays VSTs. This is a good first step!

The trombone and tuba weren't good. I liked very much the demos of their Miles' Tone Virtual Trumpet. I am not a horn player, but I guess it was designed to emulate the Jazz trumpet playing by Miles Davis.
http://www.genuinesoundware.com/?a=showproduct&b=25
It is just amazing that one single instrument can have so many different charateristics. There is a really wet trumpet in the Roland FR7x accordion that nobody likes. We call it the drunk trumpet, but that is just perfect for Mariach music when I combine a touch of strings with it. Among all the modules that I have tried, the only tuba that I can use for fast Oberkrainer music is from my Oberkrainer sound board in the V3 Sound Desktop arranger.

Ivory and pianoteq are the way to go...

Seems pulling them out of the PC and putting them in a box miht be a smart thing to do...

The Gemini from GSI, is a beast, yet it can only create 2 sounds at the same time, not everything is perfect or fully realistic, but some like the B3 and the synths are out of this world..

The GSI DMC122 (Crumar) comes with build in Gemini sound engine

One was in production for 10 years, (Wersi Abacus) and another for about 5 years (Lionstracs) that could play VST on-board, however these days it’s only available on organs. (At least for the time being)

Bill

Too bad I'm not an organ player! Thanks for the info.

I am convinced that the future for VST compatibillity for Hardware instruments is running them on a sepperate computer... But controlling them from a hardware keyboard..

I am a big Fan of the VIP solution on akai advance, Alesis VX49 and M-audio CTRL49... A HD display on the instrument allows for awesome controll, while you can keep the laptop running the VST's closed..

There is also NI komplete, or Nektar panorama which have comoarable interfaces..



I think That if they added such a feature to the Yamaha Montage, or the korg Kronos, that it would up the vallue of such instruments by a mile... Espescially the Montage seems ready for this move... Not only can you send midi and controlls to VST's.. But also you can send all 16 channels to a DAW and add VST effects to each of those channels..

This is VIP version 2.0 it supports not only patches of 8 instruments, but also 4 insert effects/VST instruemnt and 4 effects busses...

This is how it works, with closed laptop...




This way, it makes you feel like those VST's run inside your keyboard... Just plug and play..

Looks convenient; but how many hardware and software components do I have to install and set up to be ready to play?
The VIP 2.0 itself contains no sounds, does it? What other software programs and libraries do I have to spend how much money for?
Can I play these sounds not only on such a controller, but also e.g. from a MoXF via midi?
How easy is it to assign these sounds to different keyzones on the MoXF and the controller?
Do I have to buy a separate, rather expensive laptop (Macbook?) if I just own a Windows 7 or 8 ultrabook (Toshiba Portégé Z930) or Surface Pro 3 with typically limited performance?
So what's the final total amount I have to spend for all those hardware and software components?
How long would it take arriving at a gig until I've set up everything reliably to start to play?

In that way, is it comparable to the convenient setup of MoXF + Integra to play live?

If you keep it simple ( i.e. Not having 64 instruments each with 4 effects) running at the same time, your hardware should be okay...

vip comes with quite some usefull free VST's and there are many othe good quallity free vst's available... They all need to be installed sepperately, and i think it requires good computer skills to pull off creating such a setup... But if it all runs, then operation is quite easy...

I never said its easy, its just user friendly in a live situation... But i think everyone programming their own sounds or midi arrangements in synths and arrangers should be capable to pull this off...


If you really want the top knotch VSTs they indeed cost money... But if you refer to them as being a totally new instrument(soundmodule) on their own (which is what they essentially are) then they are much much cheaper then hardware modules and synths...

In the end, VSTs allow you to have a whole rack of different modules all inside a simple box named computer...

Using a MOXF6 as the closest comparison for size, over here that would be just over €1000.The Roland Integra is just over €1500.
Just over €2500 to buy the two of them.

thomann moxf6
thomann integra 7


The Akai Advance 61 is just over €650.
thomann akai advance

So you would have about €1800-1900 to source a decent spec laptop, and one sound library to try and cover all bases. Komplete 10 would be just under €500 for example, so now €1400 for the laptop. If I knew the right free VSTs like Bachus suggested, that goes back in to the laptop fund.

For live use, would you need to consider an audio interface as well?

Physically setting it up at a gig should not take all that much longer, so now how well does it recall my saved sound combinations?

It looks promising, if someone here has a link to an Akai Advance being set up for live use.

Just saw that Synthogy also offer a reduced grand piano version for the Motif / MoXF flash board:

http://www.synthogy.com/index.php/news/i...ion-synthesizer

It's 610 MB. Depending on how wisely they reduced the sample size (you can make a lot of stupid mistakes there so that velocity layers change abruptly etc.), it could be an excellent piano. If I exchanged my present flash with the 2 GB Mutec flash, it should fit on it. - But again, then I can only use it when I have my MoXF, whereas I could use the module with the top quality piano also when I have the BK-9... But geez, it is expensive...

Now this is the huge advantage of the Kronos, near unlimmited sample room on my two SSD's .. with direct sample streaming..


I have 5 top level grandpiano's in the Kronos... Steinway D, Yamaha, Bosendorfer, August Foster, Fazioli.. Now thats a lot of Piano to choose from, one for every situation...


This is one of the reasons, why the new Montage still lags the Kronos for functionallity..

I have said this more then once, ever since i got the Kronos, i barely use Ivory or Pianoteq, there is not much reason to swithc on the PC at all, with a Kronos, a Tyros5 and an Integra 7..