Members luzarius Posted May 25, 2007 Members Share Posted May 25, 2007 I have a Yamaha PSR-170 keyboard which has a MIDI out port. I need to buy a sound card for my computer that will allow me to hook up this keyboard as the controller. Then I need instruments at my disposal in the software so when I play on the keyboard I can hear the music from the computer. I want to be able to pick a flute in the software for example. I would like the flute to sound just like a flute and not cheesy you know? I need instruments like a trumpet, oboe and stuff like that. I have $100.00 to spend. Can you recommend me a good sound card for my computer? Also can you recommend me some good software? For the software I have a budget of about $500.00 I'm looking to then save the song as WAV or MP3 and when someone listens to it they say "hey that sounds really good" and not "is that a midi recording?".. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members amplayer Posted May 25, 2007 Members Share Posted May 25, 2007 Assuming you have a PC (not a Mac), here is the MIDI interface that meets your budget. It also comes with a software synth, but the included synth is probably not good enough for orchestral realism.http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/EMu-Proteus-X2-Software-Sound-Module?sku=706242 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Magpel Posted May 25, 2007 Members Share Posted May 25, 2007 Luzarius, this is a ground level question, and there's a lot to discuss. You should probably commit to a fairly intensive self-education process. Prowl around the big company sites like cakewalk.com and M-aduio.com--lots to learn there, just don't believe it everytime they use a word like "cutting-edge," "breakthrough," or "simple." To offer an answer to the basic question, the M-Audio Audiophile is a very decent sound card in the 100 range, and it has MIDI in and out. For whatever else you can say about the M-Audio cards, in my experience, they are clean and they are stable. For instrument samples, do you mean realistic in comparison to the onboard sounds on your Yamaha or do you mean the most ultra-realistic sample sets available to professional composers with the full array of articulations? Sample sets requiring ungodly amounts of RAM and several dedicated hard drives to store all the sample data... There's a lot of middle ground. The SampleTank 2 set comes to mind--a very decent basic set of intruments and a lot of expansion possibilities. The Garritan Personal Orchestra is a very affordable option for you too. There's also the "free" route. But a host/sequencer that supports the VST format (which is to say vritually all of them for PCs--Sonar, Cubasem, Tracktion, Reaper, EnergyXT, on and on). Grab the rgc:audios sfz, a free soundfont player, then scour the internet looking for the best free instrument samples available in the .sf2 sample format. You'd be surprised how good the best of them are. This is a lot of work, but is worth it for NS drum kit alone... As far as "not souding like MIDI," well, get yourself some good samples. The rest is up to your diligence and skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ultravibe Posted May 25, 2007 Members Share Posted May 25, 2007 A large part of making it "not sound like MIDI" is familiarizing with, and practicing, the wealth of articulations that intensive MIDI programming can do. Just having your MIDI controller play the notes you input will always sound like MIDI. You have to learn how to add the expressiveness that real instruments enjoy. This will not be an easy one-step process. It takes time,m a lot of practice and a lot of learning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted May 25, 2007 Members Share Posted May 25, 2007 For $500 you can get some pretty serious software....sounds like you need to start with a sequencer program that comes with a sample library and maybe some playable instruments. take a look at this software for $139 http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/HomeStudio/overview.asp I agree that the M-Audio cards sound good for very affordable prices. Go slow...there are a zillion products and you won't ever know if you are picking the "best" one except in hindsight. Stick with well-known companies and divide all the company's hype by 10. It was a long time ago, but I still vividly remember starting my climb up the MIDI and digital music learning curve. The climb will kick your butt from time to time, but it's worth the effort. nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members luzarius Posted May 25, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 25, 2007 Hey guys, thanks so much for your help. So much clarity now. I was thinking of buying the following software: Cakewalk Dimension Pro (It comes with pocket orchestra from garritan) http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/DimensionPro/ Plus the The E-MU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Frantag Posted May 25, 2007 Members Share Posted May 25, 2007 Sonar doesn't come with the pocket orchestra. Dimension Pro is a great synth and the pocket orchestra is a bonus, but I have not had good luck with that particular emu interface. Take a look at the Edirol packages that come bundled with Sonar. You'll have to have a host for Dimension Por and Sonar is a great one. I have used the Edirol UA 25 very successfully with Sonar and Dimension Pro. Now Edirol has made a UA 25 specifically for the Cakewalk bundles. Another possibility if you don't need very deep audio is the Project 5, Dimension Pro and Rapture bundle available at Musicians Friend. It's around 400.00 and is a powerhouse but the audio editing functions in P5 are pretty minimal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members luzarius Posted May 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 26, 2007 Sonar doesn't come with the pocket orchestra. Dimension Pro is a great synth and the pocket orchestra is a bonus, but I have not had good luck with that particular emu interface. Take a look at the Edirol packages that come bundled with Sonar. You'll have to have a host for Dimension Por and Sonar is a great one. I have used the Edirol UA 25 very successfully with Sonar and Dimension Pro. Now Edirol has made a UA 25 specifically for the Cakewalk bundles.Another possibility if you don't need very deep audio is the Project 5, Dimension Pro and Rapture bundle available at Musicians Friend. It's around 400.00 and is a powerhouse but the audio editing functions in P5 are pretty minimal. How about the audiophile 2496 sound card by m-audio? Should I get that, sonar + dimension pro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Frantag Posted May 26, 2007 Members Share Posted May 26, 2007 Not familiar with the Audiophile 2496 but I can say that my experience with m-audio in general has been good. The only dissapointment I've had with their gear was a horrible set of drivers for the Ozone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted May 26, 2007 Members Share Posted May 26, 2007 The Emu 1212 and Dimension Pro will give you a whole lot to work with and good sound. You'll still need a sequencer if you want to record and playback MIDI and/or audio. nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cry Logic Posted May 27, 2007 Members Share Posted May 27, 2007 How about the audiophile 2496 sound card by m-audio? Should I get that, sonar + dimension pro? Yes that would be a good setup.You can probably find a an Audiophile 2496 on eBay for a very cheap price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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