Originally Posted By: abacus
Originally Posted By: adimatis
Bill,

You say VST's will take you to a while new level. Please elaborate on this a bit, is there something particularly you are referring to? I have to admit, do not have a lot of the more expensive VSTis, but the ones I have are not that extraordinary compared to the latest arrangers sound set. There is indeed a big difference when it comes about some sounds like drums and synths, and of course there is the editing power of a VSTi, but other than that...?

Thanks!


There are some great sounds on modern arrangers however my mainstay in the 90s was computer based, and once you get used to this quality of sound, hardware arrangers fall short, (The main reason I bought my Abacus was because it could run VST’s on-board, thus my music system could be moved to the lounge) combine this with fact that I am regularly out listening to live bands and you can see why I find arrangers and hardware boards in general to be less then realistic.

Using VST’s opens up a new world in quality sound, going way beyond anything you get in a arranger keyboard, however work is involved to make it work, so if you are happy with a TV Dinner, then the press a button and everything is done for you approach of an arranger is unmatched, however give me a real dinner any day.

Examples: (Specific)
B3
Vintage Organs
Classic/Theatre
Acoustic Guitar
Orchestral

Example libraries at various prices
Garritan
Komplete 10
East West

As you can hear from the above, (Assuming you have a decent sound system) all the TOTL arrangers pale in comparison when it comes to realistic sound.

Remember all the sound features you get in a TOTL arranger have been available for years in the pro market.

The final decision (As always) is down to the individual person’s wants, which only they can decide.

Hope this helps

Bill


The blues guitar demo of Real Guitar sounds artificial however. The pitch bend of the melody steel guitar is so much overdone and obviously still not rendered realistically by physical modeling. So one has to distinguish: the static samples are as realistic as they could be, but the dynamic playing still causes problems with some instruments.