This could be the next enhancement to my software based arranger system. It could make it GM compatible (& flexible). I will certainly test it: http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=bandstand_us

The Bandstand could be my auto accompaniment and kontakt continues to be used for the lead or melody voices.

I think this would be sufficient upgrade or change to call it the flr2006 arranger system. Well I got to do something to stay well ahead of the Tyros II stuff....don't you think???

I guess I better get to the big boring job of converting my styles to the GM standard especially the drums.....oh well....I am an old man with no future.....it fills up his time while he waits for the grim reaper....

Good Luck Frank...........keep us informed of your progress...sounds very interesting for sure!!

Yep, looks good. I guess this is new - I hadn't seen it before. I'd like to hear a demo and find out the price.

I'm moving towards my own "flr2006" system, using my Acer Ferrari 4000 laptop and most likely a CME UF8 controller w/Firewire interface. The laptop and the controller will match and look impressive on stage: both are black with red end caps.




When I play an acoustic piano then the laptop will go solo, which is what I do now but with MP3 files rather than MIDI files. I've used GM softsynth packages on laptops in the past but they never sounded as good as the hardware counterparts... that might change with a 2GB sound library to work with.

GM has stood the test of time... it seems that it'll be the sole "quasi-universal" format for sometime to come so formatting your midi files to be compatible with it makes sense.

BTW: I've been working with Colossus, which is a "big brother" to Bandstand with a 32GB sound library. It too is GM-compatible, and features some of the most impressive sounds I've ever heard. But it's a little too "bulky" for live use - the samples take a little too long to load (fine for studio though).

Esh, it is good to see you and others well ahead of me in the use of software/hardware based solutions. You certainly have an interesting and good looking system....no doubt about that!!!

I too as you know have Colossus but can't get the GM/program change mode to work well with kontakt. However, once that is accomplished and you use DFD (disk streaming) with a fast hard drive the loading time will become less of an issue. I am still working on this as well. If the sound quality is good in Bandstand then Bandstand will be the answer for GM (Auto Accompaniment & midi). In addition, if you can change out any of the instruments you do not like with better ones then Bandstand will be worth its weight in gold (not much weight...).

Again, it is good to see some of you taking the software (or software & hardware) route for your arranger and performance systems. I am in deed becoming to frail to make much of a difference anymore and look forward to your leadership and advice.

Have a good musical journey....

Jim, nice looking gear for sure good luck with your new setup....let us know how it sounds & works out for ya.

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 10-08-2005).]

Passing the torch, Frank? I don't post much (don't have much to say) but it was your tirelessly insightful comments (gleamed from evesdropping on your conversations with Rikki etc.) that introduced me to this whole software-based approach, and I've no regrets other than the fact that I'm (almost!) going to have to rob a Brinks truck to be able to afford everything on my wish list, which now includes the Muse Receptor/Colossus package, Garritan's Jazz & Big Band, as well as a whole new rig built around 64 bit architecture and oodles of TBs of RAM...

...I too would be interested to know what the Bandstand costs, (NI stuff can be pricey) and hope they soon post some demo mp3s of the library, because the interface looks great, and could potentially really simplify things.

Good luck with the flr2006. Looking forward to hearing how it works out. Please enjoy robust good health for many years to come, because you still da man! Thanks again, Frank, for placing so much sonic wisdom into the public domain.

Michael

PS: Can anyone recommend GM compatible banks that have very high quality sounds, just not quite 32 gigs worth? Been checking out stuff like this:
http://www.manytone.com/mslink.html

It's certainly an affordable VSTi set, and the guitars sound pretty good, but I'd rather focus on having great "bread & butter" sounds as opposed to all the techno-style ambient stuff.

Frank, I just purchased M-Audio's Key Rig..It has 4 modules..Stage piano,Synth, Organ and GM..
Last week I played the M-Audio stage piano[hardware], and was not impressed..
This software is better than the hardware unit..
It is 312megs in size..I just installed it to use the GM module and I am surprised how good it sounds..It is designed to run 4 modules at a time..this allows you to replace the GM piano with the Stage module sound, the GM organ with the Organ module[with lelie], and any synth sound from the GM with the Synth module..
Street price is $99..
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/KeyRig-main.html

[This message has been edited by Fran Carango (edited 10-08-2005).]

Frank: Disk streaming is essential - the best performance I have been able to get from Colossus has been with an external 7200 RPM hard drive via Firewire, but actual program/sound loads still take longer than I would like for live use. I agree with you on all points otherwise. Bandstand's 2 GB of sound samples should allow faster loads and should surpass the sound quality of any hardware GM module.

Fran: M-Audio's Key Rig is indeed getting very good reviews (including a Key Buy award in the current issue of Keyboard) and looks like a good value. I was disappointed to see that you still need a sequencer or some sort of SMF playback program with Key Rig to take advantage of the GM module with MIDI files. Although there is a variety of ways to address this, I like the interface and integrated SMF player in Bandstand. Also, I have read some hands-on reports that the acoustic piano in Key Rig is just passable so I'm holding out to see what NI's "Akoustic Piano" sounds like since that's my primary interest. The "Steinway D" piano of Colossus is outstanding and is now my favorite piano sound - if Akoustic Piano is comparable then that's my choice.

First of all Quasar thanks very much for your kind comments. I have purchased Garritan's GPO and am looking at his Jazz & Big Band libraries. He certainly makes high quality virtual instruments....even GPO and Jazz & Big Band with the lower bite size (and more affordable) are amazingly high quality.

Now going with Muse Receptor, Colossus, Jazz & Big Band and others is definitely taking the cadillac of music for a drive. This will definitely sound amazing....especially if you also add effects of equal quality...wow!!! And yes this will cost some dollars but if you can afford it do it. There is nothing more exciting then high quality instruments to use in your performances.

I am not aware of any other GM modules. In fact I was not aware of the one that you just pointed out. Oh my....I can't keep up.

In addition, Garritan's libraries are designed to be fully load into memory so that calling up the instruments should be instantaneous. You can use disk streaming if you like...in the event you would like to use a very high quality piano at the same time as having these instruments on call. Esh, this might also work for your system.

Fran, I am really happy to see you using software synths. You will get use to it and never look back. The only thing is you might lose all your friends UD, DNJ, Travel'easy and so on. Then you will be left with only the echos of your mind. Especially, if you also trade in your G1000. Thanks for pointing out these synths. I was not aware of them....asleep at the switch....oh well.

In closing it looks to me that there are a number of new and innovative software/hardware based systems being developed:

Esh2006
Quasar2006
Fran2006
DNJ2006

It also seems like these systems may be orders of magnitude better (effective, efficient, flexible) than any of the new crop of arranger keyboards. Plus if you go for something less expensive it could cost less than such keyboards....it seems to me.


[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 10-08-2005).]

Jim,the Key Rig piano has good tone, it lacks some dynamics as the hardware Stage Piano from M-Audio..You can layer the acoustics and this does help..
The best softsynth acoustic piano I have is Roland/Edirol Super Quartet piano. It is a little better than my HyperCanvas piano..

Frank, I am not getting rid of the G1000...If I decide someday not to use the sounds[doubtfull], it will still be a great controller for me.

Hiya Frank,
and there you had me thinking I'd save money by giving up buying keyboard after keyboard. Instead you keep whetting our appetite with all these wonderful software sound options. Now I'll have to get more memory for my laptop and an external hard drive
( haa haa )

Be great to hear how you go with this latest option.

I've been having a bit of a break from music, ( though I do check the synthzone forum) Just noticed Jammer has brought out version 6. Apparently can now create styles more easily including from midifiles. Be interesting to see if they work with Jammer Live. It's the only thing I had against the program, not enough variety of styles.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Frank L. Rosenthal:
[B]This could be the next enhancement to my software based arranger system. It could make it GM compatible (& flexible). I will certainly test it: http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=bandstand_us

I think the auto midi to style creation is the only main difference I saw with Jammer from vers 5 to 6 Rikki, but I'm not sure whether or not I'll upgrade. I understand that version 4 was a 16 bit app and 5 was a 32 and had a lot of added functions over 4, but I really miss the interface, simplicity and creative spontaneity that was available in version 4. I was and still am a bit disappointed with that upgrade.

frank, you can add AJ-2006 to that list, as my system continues to grow and evolve, once again largely thanks to the info I get from people like you, Rikki, Esh, and others. I am still looking for a better GM solution as well, so I will continue to read with interest.

Cheers,

AJ

Here's something interesting if you use MP3 files for backing...

I got the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Laptop PCMCIA soundcard for my Acer Ferrari notebook computer. It has a nice clean sound and good specs, but what really was neat was that it came with several software programs including "Media Organizer". This media database program can playback MIDI, WAV and MP3 files, but it can also analyze the volume of your MP3 files and play them all back at relatively the same volume (handy!), and it has a real time control for adjusting file playback speed - so you can adjust the song tempo smoothly, live, without affecting the pitch, just like you can with a MIDI file!

I went from using Yamaha's defunct XG softsynth on my laptop to using MP3 files that I created by recording my MIDI files playing on my Yamaha 9000 Pro keyboard. The files sound very good and work great as backing when I play a client-supplied piano (I still use the 9000 Pro live when no piano is available). This tactic was meant as a stop-gap measure until I find the right GM softsynth, like Bandstand or similar, to play my MIDI files live and work with OMB as an interactive arranger on my laptop. Once I decide on an acoustic piano sample program for live use (NI's Akoustic Piano possibly) and get my CME UF8 controller (I'm selling my loaded Motif ES 8 later this month) then I plan to migrate from the 9000 Pro to using my "Esh2006" system fulltime.

I not only forgot about the AJ2006 but also the Rikki2006 software based systems.....and who knows there may be more.

Rikki when you make it big you can spend it big. A great deal of money in the after life is not of much value....don't you think???

Quick question.

How would a standard GM hardware module like the Roland SC-88pro Sound Canvas or Roland SD-90 Studio Canvas compare in sound quality to the Native Instrument Bandstand?

I found most commercial GM MIDI files to sound best through the SC-88pro.

Tapas

Taking the cue from Frank and Rikki, I think I am going to order Jos Maas’ OneManBand version 8.0.

I am curious to see how these Yamaha Style Files that I bought would work with OMB.
I downloaded all the Yamaha PSR Style Manager programs by Jorgen Sorensen and Michael Bedesem from:
http://home7.inet.tele.dk/js/musik/740pages/link7406.htm

It seems you can slice and dice, mix and match to your heart’s content with these nifty free tools.

Looks like Jos has added a lot of new features and this is a mature program. He has a new program called Busker that lets you quickly convert printed sheet music to MIDI simply by dragging and dropping matching notes and chords from a list.
http://www.1manband.nl/busker/index.htm

Tapas

Some more ponderings on the future of Software Arrangers…

I always wondered why programs like Band in a Box does not include an enhancement to allow chord input on the fly. Of all the zillions of improvements and features added through its history, I would suppose an auto arranger feature like One Man Band should be on top of the list.

What if commercial sequencers like Sonar, Cubase, Logic and Digital Performer added auto accompaniment features. For example, a very simple way to read a Standard MIDI file, find the melody and drum track, automatically compute the chord progression by analyzing the remaining tracks, and create a Yamaha XF format file that can be played back through an XF aware arranger like the Tyros.

There are so many third party tools to manipulate, revoice, merge and edit Yamaha PSR styles. What if all these tools are integrated into Sonar including the recognition of XF meta data. What if a company lays down the standard for creating auto arranger styles parallel to the GM standard for voices. So a standard style format will have specific tracks for chord1, chord2, etc. This universal style format will make styles readily transportable between different vendors.

Now USB controller keyboards are springing up like mushrooms. It gives the user a convenient way to control softsynths. What if someone designed a lightweight 88 semi-weighted keyboard with poly aftertouch with all the start, stop, intro, variation, ending, fills, registration and assortment of essential control buttons, knobs and sliders found on high end arrangers and offered a simple PC editor to map these to a software arranger like One Man Band. In essence, I am dreaming of a USB hardware controller tailored for a software arranger.

Think of the possibilities and advantages. All you have to carry is a slim laptop and a lightweight dedicated controller. You would never have to upgrade your hardware. You can download all the new styles from the net. You can download all the new super soft synth voices from the net. All you chords, lyrics, staff notes and text notes will scroll on your 15” laptop screen.

Software synths have come a long way since there humble beginnings. To hear the state of the art of Software Synthesis, just audition the Korg OASYS. There is nothing in hardware that can touch the pristine quality of the OASYS combis and programs further enhanced by KARMA2 Generated Effects. The entire OASYS is based on a Pentium P4 running a barebones Linux OS that occupies less than 70MB.

So what is preventing a music company from creating a parallel OS to Windows XP which is tailored from grounds up to be a music machine. One would setup a dual boot laptop to run XP to perform regular tasks, while a special MusicOS boot would launch something similar to OASYS and then the sky is the limit to the amount of voices, styles, registrations, one touch settings, music finder databases, sequencing programs, style editors, voice editors, one can think of.

Whenever a new product is announced, all the user would need to do is update the OS. There would be no need to buy another $3000 piece of hardware. Wouldn’t this convenience greatly expand the music market? Think of how many people dream of getting something like the Tryos2 but have to settle for a PSR1500 or a EZ250i.

I think most of us have bought multiple arranger keyboards over the years. It is like starting all over just to enjoy a few extra set of features.

Today the technology is there is make a revolution through software. The combination of USB controllers with softsynths like Native Instruments have proved to be a runaway success.

It is only a matter of time when a similar wave will forever alter the hardware arranger market. Who would be the first to step up to the plate?

Tapas

Hi Frank,
I'll be sewing my little fingers to the bone. I've gone back to making some teddybears, that's how I managed to earn enough pocket money for my last couple of keyboards. It's a pain when one hobby has to help support the other Haa Haa.

Actually maybe you can convince hubby of your philosophy.

I've still got my soundfonts for the time being, but I tend to think that converting the xg styles ( especially drums) to GM would be a good idea. I think they're more likely to come up with a great GM soundsource than an XG one.

best wishes
Rikki

Hi AJ,
I think you're right. I downloaded the demo. Haven't tried midi to style yet, but it seems a fairly simple process to create new styles from existing ones ie mix n matching.
Bass from one style, drums from another etc
etc. They also apear to work in Jammer Live, ( or at least to the same extent as Jammer 5 styles did). They're not 100% compatible , but they appear useable.
At this stage I'm not sure whether I'll upgrade either as it's Jammer Live that I use if anything.

best wishes
Rikki
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bluezplayer:
[B]I think the auto midi to style creation is the only main difference I saw with Jammer from vers 5 to 6 Rikki, but I'm not sure whether or not I'll upgrade.

Hi Tapas,
actually you can do all your psr style editing in OMB. Saves learning the other programs. One of the best editors I've come across. Bit of a learning curve at first, but well worth it if you intend to edit styles or create new ones.

I also have Busker. A great way of auditioning what styles and variations sound good for a variety of songs. Really quick way for creating backing track midifiles. Program can even be used if you don't read music. Just copy the single note melody line from a Busker/Fake book, and the chord symbols, choose a style and it plays it back.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tapas:
[B]Taking the cue from Frank and Rikki, I think I am going to order Jos Maas’ OneManBand version 8.0.

Tapas, your analysis of the evolving world of soft synths and arranger systems is right on the money. The advent of more powerful computers has made the improvements in sound quality and effects doable and affordable. This is also true for vocal harmonizers. Antares, the industry standard, has come out with a new set of software for this purpose including pitch. correction.

This evolution will continue into the future. For example NI has added the script feature to kontakt allowing you do all kinds of fancy things to your sound like adding harmonies, special effects and so on. It really is exciting. I note with interest people on this forum getting excited about their favorite arranger keyboard and so it should be. The software solution provides another alternative to the performing or studio musician....you just can't lose!!!

Talking about evolution....there was a company called Evolution before it was bought out by M-Audio. This company produced a software sequencer program called Sound Studio Pro which included an arranger module. I have it and it worked well. The problem was there were very few styles for it. Furthermore, Cubase in it's earlier incarnations had an arranger module. It to had few styles and little interest at the time. It seems that the pros in those days thumbed there noses at such automated things....oh well we shall overcome and have.

Your other question about the quality of Roland's/Edirol's hardware modules (Canvas) is interesting. There is no doubt that in its time these were amazingly good quality for use with midi files....the best. It is even more astonishing that Roland achieved all of this with a 2mb, 4mb, 16mb, etc. wavetable covering all the instruments in the GM/GS standard....yes amazing. There are today, of course, far better sounding software wavetables including Roland's HQ-Hyper Canvas, HQ-Orchestral and so on.

Up until now I have used sYnerGi GS Soundfont GM/GS/XG Wavetable and modified and changed out some of the instruments. This wavetable sits at 128 MB and sounds better than most hardware modules or keyboards. I would think that something like Colossus and Bandstand will be an order of magnitude better than this. Here is the thing....you can modify these wavetables to suit your needs. You can do this far more easily then with any other hardware based module or keyboard.....except, of course, the Muse Receptor.....a hardware VST (or is it a internet free computer running standard software?)....who would have thought.


[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 10-09-2005).]

Hi Rikki,

Based on your recommendation and personal experience on OMB and Busker, I am going to go ahead and order both. The combined price of $80 is very reasonable for all the features and functionality they pack.

I have several Hal Leonard Fake Books thicker than phone books. I think I would be able to make better use of them via these software tools.

Tapas

Hi Frank,

Thanks for educating me on the world of software arrangers and software synths. You seem to be on the cutting edge and keep providing us with the latest enhancements in this emerging arena.

I am going to check out the sYnerGI Soundfonts.

The future lies in software synthesis. The Korg OASYS put all doubts to rest on the capability of a well designed software synthesizer. The Korg team have total control over this technology. They coded their own OS, they crafted the modeling engines, and then wrapped it inside their own hardware controller casing.

I have played on the OASYS several times at our local dealership. Each time I came back more amazed at the capability and sound quality. Korg put several years of research into this, and is years ahead of the competition. They have a potential time bomb in their hands.

What is preventing Korg from blowing away hardware arrangers like the Tyros2? Think about this. Dan Phillips, Jerry Kovarsky, Stephen Kay and the Korg Team could get together any time and decide to implement arranger functionality on their OASYS on top of their superb combis and Karma functionality. They do not even have to create another hardware arranger. All can be done with an OS update. Their existing OASYS has all the hardware controls, sliders, velocity pads, rotary knobs and touch screen ready to go.

Ok, so maybe they will not do this right away because that would mean killing their own line of Pa1X arrangers. But who is to say they will not someday blow away every other hardware arrangers and even soft synths like Native Instruments and Spectrasonics with a surprise announcement. The potential is already in place inside the OASYS, and Korg has the technical and intellectual capital within their company.

I think we are looking at a very bright future as competition and innovation heats up in the hardware/software arranger market.

Tapas

oops...

[This message has been edited by Esh (edited 10-09-2005).]

Here is the official Bandstand press release . List price of $229, or $199 online. Features the same direct-from-disk streaming as Colossus. Also noteworthy is a master limiter function which should allow you to add a little punch to the sound. Available next month.

Hi Tapas,
before you do anything about soundfonts, do you actually have a soundfont compatible card in your computer ie audigy or sb live? etc

Frank's soundfont is highly modified, the regular synergi font is not as large as Frank's.

Also there are quite a few free soundfont banks available online.

Not sure if you're aware, but Jos has demo's of his software so you can try before you buy.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tapas:
[

Hi Rikki,

Yes, I upgraded to the Audigy 2 card when I ordered the Dell XP machine. Could you tell me more about the free soundfont banks or where I should be looking for them?

I downloaded the OMB demo and the Busker demo. I think Jos has a winner. He is now the pioneer in software arrangers and made a very clever move by making his program readily compatible to the Yamaha PSR styles. You can get almost any style from any keyboard company in the PSR format. If a style is good, it is almost a given, someone somewhere has converted that to a PSR format.

Tapas

http://www.sf2midi.com/index.php
http://www.kvraudio.com/get.php

Here are some more: http://www.hammersound.net/ http://www.johannes.roussel.com/soundfonts.htm http://www.wstco.com/pianosounds/downloads/?trans-id=700100639838 http://www.personalcopy.com/home.htm http://www.papelmedia.de/english/produkte/index.htm http://www.geocities.jp/shansoundfont/ http://www.sonicimplants.com/productlist.asp http://soundblaster.com/soundfont/ http://www.soundfonts.it/ http://studioax.desertsites.net/home.html http://www.titanicsf.com/ http://www.utopiasd.com/

The following is the sYnerGi GS web site but I can't seem to get on it during the last few days. It could be my browser.
http://www.samplebanks.com

Plus there are many other soundfont sites. In addition you can use programs like CDXtract, Awave, etc. to convert virtual instruments from one format to another. These things tend to have some bugs but with some tweaking you can get the job done.




[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 10-09-2005).]

You can use VST or DX synths (LiveSynth Pro, Vsampler, Orion ( http://www.synapse-audio.com/gen-sampler.php ), sfz Soundfont Player, Synthfont ( http://www.synthfont.com/ ), etc.) and a host (forte Ensemble) to run soundfonts if you don't have a Creative Labs soundcard. Also, to ensure optimum speed you may wish to use the ASIO drivers.

[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 10-09-2005).]

Esh, thanks for the link to more information on Bandstand. I will make the investment as soon as it becomes available.

If you use Bandstand as a VST Instrument within a host such as forte Ensemble you can then add any effects you like (reverb, chorus, delays, equalization and so on). In recent times I have used the effects that come with Cakewalk Sonar, namely Sonitus Effects. I would consider these effects of moderate quality but better than anything you would find on an arranger, workstation or module. Also when you use it as a VST you can also load other VSTs (kontakt) for say your lead or melody voices.

Thanks a million Frank, Michael, Rikki and Esh.

Wow! I am book marking this thread. A treasure trove of information on Sound Fonts, VST instruments, software samplers, and arrangers. Thanks for sharing your research and expertise.

Fran,

I've been looking at the M-Audio Key Rig, which BTW received a very favorable review in the Oct Keyboard mag. How's the organ voices, any idea how they might compare with the B-4?

Glenn

Hi Tappas,
here's some more fonts
http://bennetng.kc-studio.com/AnotherGS/AnotherXG.html
Round 32 mb's ( Free) http://www.sf2midi.com/index.php?page=sdet&id=5038
Nice one at around 120 mbs ( Free ) http://www.guraydere.com/soundfonts/sfdetails.aspx?kat=1
Try the Clavinova Grand Piano 2 ( 24.5mb) It sounds great in piano styles. ( Free)
http://www.reasonbanks.com/provitamin_map1.html
Reason Provitamin appears to have xg drum mapping. It's fairly large and it's not free.
I have a 512mb laptop and an Audigy USB Soundcard. It won't load the provitamin bank . The largest I'm able to load is about 140mb when using my external Audigy. So be careful just in case there's size limitations on your card also.
I also have Papalmedia but it's even larger than Provitamin.
I also have Sonic Implants & Synergi.
Some of the freebies are really quite good.
I also think size doesn't neccesarily make them sound better.

Best part is you can modify them to suit yourself. I gather you have Vienna Soundfont Editor, it would have probably been part of your Audigy setup??

I'd been in the process of trying to set up an xg font, but I've changed my mind. I think I may be better off converting the styles to gm instead. It appears I'd be more likely to get a good gm soundsource one day ( when I decide to upgrade from the fonts). XG doesn't seem to be supported in softsynths.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tapas:
[B]

Glenn, NI has come out with a new version of the B4....B4II: http://www.nativeinstruments.de/index.php?id=b4ii_us.

The NI B4 is of very good quality. The update sounds like it should build on this.

Rikki, you can also use Alive to modify SF2 wavetables and individual voices: http://www.soundfaction.com/alive/

Here is another GM Wavetable, namely the GM500 for GigaStudio:

https://www.globalfulfillment.net/gfsnet/giga/10Expand.aspx?ProductCode=GM150

In fact, I often used the instruments in this library, converted them to SF2 and installed them into sYnerGi GS, e.g., Nemsys Yamaha Pianos.


[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 10-10-2005).]

I had a quick looksee at the new NI module Frank and I'm quite interested to hear comments on it from other users and to be able to test a demo when released.

I find OMB to be quite playable in a live setup, and for right now, using my slightly modified sgm180 sf, it's at the very least a good backup to the PA80. It can even take the forefront when I want and it might sound even better with this module, as long as patch changes work well.

AJ

[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 10-10-2005).]

Glen, the B4 is still the king...Key Rig does not come close to the B4..

It works..but if you own the B4,that is what you would go to when you need a "real" B3 sound..

Hi Frank,
I have Alive also. It's great. Only reason I mentioned Vienna is that it's free and I think part & parcel of Audigy soundcard ( at least it was with mine).

I have placed my order for Bandstand and B4 II. I expect delivery in about 28 days as indicated by NI.

I will let you know how well it works....especially Program Changes.

I think I'm going to revisit Kenneth Rundt's Synthfont. I just dl'd the latest release yesterday.

It's a freeware ( actually donationware now ) that claims to " mimic the behavior of SoundFont compatible hardware/soundcards like SoundBlaster Live! or Audigy and SynthFont is (almost) modulator aware, which Live! is not " ( as quoted from the synthfont page at KVR ).

If anyone else wants to give it a look : http://www.kvraudio.com/get/1030.html

AJ

Thanks for that Frank. If it really gets raves, I'll probably go for it. In the meantime, I'll continue to work on modifying the sgm-180 soundfont as time permits me.

I never tried Colossus, but every other GM module I have used has one issue or another that keeps me from using it as a live solution.

Hypercanvas is fine, but the overall sound palette isn't my taste. Hypersonic, even though there was a GM update, still has issues with patch and bank changes. USB's GM module sounds very nice in a lot of instrument types, but doesn't support midi and program changes at all.

The vast majority of my other modules, samples, and Vsti's do one type or group of instrument(s) very well, but don't do the range of GM instruments.

The only other alternative is if I could find a way to make a style automatically open up a particular setup or template that I store in a host like Chainer or FL studio. I'm guessing that there is a way if I could write a piece of addon software or insert the proper commands into the style itself, but I don't think I have the programming skills required to make it happen.

AJ

Hi Guys,
at the moment I'm going through the insane process of pulling apart all my soundfonts and saving them as individual instruments. A bit like a patch library.
Quite interesting really, to note that a couple of my really large fonts use individual samples for each of the instruments, wheras in the smaller fonts, quite a few of the instruments share the same samples.
I suppose it's a lot of work , but at least I'll be able to put together a font that suits, by having large samples for instruments I use regularly, and small samples for ones that I don't.

Gosh, I wouldn't have anything to do if I found a perfect soundsource ( haahaa) Be intersting to see how you go with it Frank.

best wishes
rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bluezplayer:
[B] In the meantime, I'll continue to work on modifying the sgm-180 soundfont as time permits me.

Rikki, you may as well spend it.....time and money. You can't get into trouble when your busy.

Yes, I am looking forward to the NI Bandstand. It would be nice to have a high quality GM Wavetable for the Auto Accompaniment. I still plan on using the very high quality instruments & kontakt for my melody or lead voices.

I am also thinking of going over to the software arranger set-up and have a few questions.

With any of the software arranger programs is it possible to create styles from scratch?
Are rootless chord recognized with any of the software arrangers?
Is it possible to use wave loops with the style and have the loops synch with the tempo changes of a style?
How easy is it to get access to the individual style tracks on the fly in a live situation i.e. adjusting volume muting or soloing a track.

Originally posted by to the genesys:
[B]I am also thinking of going over to the software arranger set-up and have a few questions.

With any of the software arranger programs is it possible to create styles from scratch?
OMB http://www.1manband.nl/


How easy is it to get access to the individual style tracks on the fly in a live situation i.e. adjusting volume muting or soloing a track.

OMB has a mixer page that opens up.

best wishes
Rikki