Greetings everyone. I am very happy to have found this bulletin board. It is precisely the resource I was looking for to get answers to questions that I have. At the risk of boring you, allow me to give you some of my musical background. I have been with the same band, Empath, for about 8 years, and we're established as far as our material goes. On the heavy side; a bit of a combination of Tool and Nirvana. Passionate, dark, and "arty". It suits me well. We are a 3 piece and I sing and play guitar. You can hear some here www.myspace.com/empath if you are interested. I'm the weeny in the white shirt... But the music I write and play is not the music that I listen to, at least not yet. I have a burning, raging desire to write ambient music. When I say ambient, I am referring to the likes of Steve Roach, Vidna Obmana, Steve Halperin, Brian Eno, and Coyote Oldman. This is the music that I love with every fiber of my being, and this is the type of music that I want to create. I have made attempts to do this in the past with a friend using guitars with effects processors, a 4 track tape recorder, a keyboard, and a microphone. Not quality work, but I was proud of the work that we did. Try to imagine a garage band ambient sound. Hey... it was original at least, right? Hehe. Anyway, I'm rambling. I need to know what I need to buy to get started. As far as recording, I'm all set up to record direct to my computer using a special sound card and Cakewalk Home 4.0. What I am wondering is what I should be looking for... I don't know where to begin, but I have a vague idea. This is what I am thinking, and maybe you can just correct me. I am assuming I need some type of a sound generator, like a rack-mount library of sounds that hooks-up via midi cable to a keyboard to actually execute the sounds. I plan to layer it 1 or 2 tracks at a time and just sit in my studio for twelve hours straight doing nothing but smoking cigarettes and creating the music that I love... the thought of that makes me happy. So, what should I be looking for? Where's a good place to start? As far as money goes, I will spend what I need, but I am looking for basics here but I also want something I can really create with, and then I will upgrade from there as I become more familiar with this new world. Pardon this long message... I do like to write, and I thank you for reading it, and thank you even more if you respond. I am looking forward to this new path.
I know I should just read some of the earlier posts, but I'm not really in the mood to do that right now. Thanks!



[This message has been edited by Atoms (edited 11-29-2005).]

Hi!
Welcome to the forumm.
Well, certainly search the archives here since most of your questions/concerns have been addressed many times.

First step to take is to learn all you can about MIDI connections and basics. Also, (while you google for Musical Instruments Digital Interface and learn also don't forget to google some stuff on different synthesis types and a bit of history of synthesis. That's a great start. Without knowing anything about MIDI or different types of MIDI devices and synthesizers things can get very very confusing. I'll leave it up to you to put some effort into learning about what you will undoubtably enjoy using.

Now, as far as gear and options you have. Basically there are two ways to go nowadays.

One is to get some decent software synths and a MIDI controller. You'll have access to different synthesizers right inside your computer. You may or may not have to get a faster PC and some additional things like more RAM, more advanced sequencer/audio software (which you will use as a host application for soft synths). Not knowing what your current computer setup is capable of I cannot be specific. Besides, I'm not really a PC user. I've been using Macs for as long as I remember.

The second option is to expand on the hardware front and get a bunch of good synths. The majic box with sounds in it is called "Sound Module" (that's what you were referring to I believe ), AKA "Rackmount version" or simply "Rack". Most rackmount module synths and workstations have a letter "R" at the end of the model name. 'R" standing for "Rack".
There is no difference between a rackmount and keyboard versions of synths either than one having a keyboard and another basically having everything but it's own Keys. Hence MIDI. As you thought it is very much possible to just take any keyboard and control everything that has MIDI on it. Be it another Keyboard or a module. It's all MIDI. Unless of coarse we're talking early and late 1970's when things were mostly voltage controlled. So instead of MIDI there were CV gates. Not something to really worry about today unless you turn into an analog purist of some sort and decide to use classic analog synthesizers and modular systems. Most of that stuff however is very well emulated digitally and most workstations and software synths of today are quite capable of delivering all the old school sounds. Just telling you a bit about it all. SOmething to google for later.

If you do decide to go hardware (as in oppose to software synths) than there are quite a few workstations that I think you may like. CHeck them out at the stores when you get a chance. If anything, they make awesome KB controllers too.

1. Kurzwell K series. Today's versions are K2600 and K2661. Pretty versatyle. Older K2000 and K25000 are sweet too. Some limitations apply to older versions but that's usually the case with everything. Big advantage about Kurzwell synths is the sound. THey sound great right out of the box without you having to re-program every sound to make it usable.

2. Yamaha Motif, Motif ES and now MO series. Excellent. I use a MOtif ES8 myself and I love it.

3. Roland Phantom. Pretty good too. NIce user interface and some decent sounds too. Although not my number one choice. They sound great by themselves but when mixed with other gear the sound doesn't quite cut through. In any case with a bit of knob tweaking they can be great.

4. Korg Triton series. From Triton LE to Triton Extreme. Some guys hate e'm but I like Korg a lot. Haven't got any up to date Korgs in my studio but won't turn one down if I can. Some complained about the user interface being tough to get used to but I think it's just a load of crap.

Okay, just to let you know all of the above come as rackmount versions as well.

Also, going back to the subject of using software synthesizers I can list a few just so you check out the demos and hear for yourself. I personally use them more than hardware synths. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. NI Absynth 3
2. NI FM7
3. NI Pro 53
4. Ultimate Sound Bank "Ultra Focus".
5. Ilio "Atmosphere"

Google everything I've mentioned. It's the best way to learn. Give yourself some time to explore all the options. No rush. Better to approach the whole thing slowly but wisely and end up buying wisely.

-ED-

Thank you very much for the post. That is a wonderful source of information and leads to information that I will definitely utilize.

Question about the software side of things. Let me give you an overview of my computer. It's a 'third' computer, meaning the one that is the least valuable. I have one $4K desktop computer, a $1.5K notebook, and then this one... 2.4 Ghz Pent 4, Dell Dimension 4500S. Has 768MB Ram, Echo MIA MIDI Digital Audio and MIDI Card (new, haven't used it yet, intended to be the inputs for recording with Cakewalk), 40GB HD. I figured this was a decent enough system to record on... I hope I am right. Worse case scenario I have to use the 'big daddy'.

The question really is, do you think I could run the programs you mention on my computer?

Looking forward to reading about all the stuff you told me to google. Thanks again!

Hi!
To me it sounds like you have a decent enough setup.

There are a few things that you may want to double check/ run by other PC users.

1. RAM. You may want to increase it to at least a gig or more. Some software instruments use a lot of samples so the more RAm the better.

2. Hard drive space. You may want to add an additional HD. It's always a good idea when doing digital audio. In fact it's always a good idea to store all of your documents and files on a separate hard drive. Safety is the main reason.
Now, 40Gb may sound like a lot but if you're going to use plugins with large sample libraries (for example I use something called DFH superior drum library. It's over 36 gigs). I think you could only benefit by adding an additional 100 gig drive. At least....


3. ASIO drivers. You really want to use the ones that cause as little latency as possible. Can't be specific nor I have any links. However if you search this forum I'll sure you'll find quite a lot of info on this subject.

4. Check if your sequencer/audio program can be used to host VST plug-ins and instruments. Ideally you want to run soft synths right inside your sequencer/audio app. In case if it can't do that you may have to upgrade to something more advanced like Sonar or Cubase.

Now, I haven't mentioned this yet but there is this really cool music program made by Propellerheads. It's called Reason. It's like a virtual studio in it's own right. It can't host other soft synths but it has plenty of it's own. Think virtual mixers, virtual synths, virtual FX units etc. Great for grooves but it can also be used for ambient/atmospheric type stuff. I'd give this one a try if I were you. For a beginner it should be awesome.
Since it's a standalone application it cannot be used as a plug-in. You can however rout it's outputs and tracks right inside your sequencer/audio app via the use of Re-Wire.

Also, there's Native Instruments Reaktor.
Great virtual instrument that even lets you create your own synths via the use of it's multiple modules. Very versatyle. THe interface is great. Very AI like. I think it's one of the best ambient soft synths since it covers just about any approach to sound creation there is. Using it is actually an ambient experience of it's own.
Have fun with that stuff. If you have any further questions that I can answer I'll be around.

-ED-

[This message has been edited by 3351 (edited 12-01-2005).]