Members Johnnyice Posted September 17, 2005 Members Share Posted September 17, 2005 Has anyone here used the Colossus sounds by Quantum Leap with a notebook Pentium M or 4 class computer with sequencing? Are there any problems with the timing of the sounds since the attacks are loaded, but the main sounds are streamed from the hard drive? Does anybody use this 'live' with sequences? How does it work? any problems or pitfalls? How fast can different sounds load between sequences? I've seen the Keyboard review, but I haven't seen these issues mentioned in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted September 17, 2005 Members Share Posted September 17, 2005 Well, as I'm the guy who reviewed it First of all, the sounds "wear well." I've had no second thoughts about the review, it really is a great sound set, although it's pricey. The loading of attacks is what eliminates timing problems. What this means, though, is you need a fair amount of RAM to load all these attacks. I wouldn't really recommend ANY of these stream-from-disk samplers (HALion, etc.) without a gigabyte of RAM. Well, it depends on the size of the file. It is not instantaneous, that's for sure. Your best bet is to load up the sounds you need in a multitimbral environment, that way they're ready to go when you need them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnnyice Posted September 17, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 17, 2005 Thank you Craig for your response. I got 'THE Man! There is no store near me that carries the product. I am thinking of using the Colossus sound set with Sonar to play GM sequences for backing tracks live. Do you have any feeling as to how reliable or practical this would be compared to using a hardware piece as a Fantom or Motif rack instead? My main concern would be glitches during the sequences or timing delays upon playback. I'm not worried about delays between different sequences, only during it while it's playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted September 17, 2005 Members Share Posted September 17, 2005 I am thinking of using the Colossus sound set with Sonar to play GM sequences for backing tracks live. Do you have any feeling as to how reliable or practical this would be compared to using a hardware piece as a Fantom or Motif rack instead? My main concern would be glitches during the sequences or timing delays upon playback. I'm not worried about delays between different sequences, only during it while it's playing. If you want something really reliable, why not just render the backing tracks to WAV or MP3 files, and play them with Windows Media Player or Apple QuickTime? And carry a Minidisc with the tunes recorded on it for backup...hey, just carry the Minidisc, don't worry about the computer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Lozada Posted September 17, 2005 Share Posted September 17, 2005 Originally posted by Anderton If you want something really reliable, why not just render the backing tracks to WAV or MP3 files, and play them with Windows Media Player or Apple QuickTime? And carry a Minidisc with the tunes recorded on it for backup...hey, just carry the Minidisc, don't worry about the computer! Excellent point. Just remember the golden rule, Johnnyice: KEEP IT SIMPLE. Loading a GM sequence together with a HUGHE library of sounds like Colossus might not be the most practical idea and depending on the soundset you're using, the computer might be more stressed on certain songs. Let us know: what are you playing together to the backing tracks (piano, guitar, sing...) And NO, a MOTIF, etc is not a replacement for a greatly produced sequence with virtual synths on a computer where you can mix audio and all the tools a computer can have, specially if using something like Colossus which can not be compared to a ROMpler like those synths. However those synths are easy to set and go. I wrote an article -in spanish! - recently about the different ways to set a show with backing tracks and it all dependes on how complex or fast set-up you want it to be. An iPod might be a great choice for a singer needing backing tracks, if the audio has been prepared on high quality MP3 or similar format. A full Mac Powerbook with multi-track audio at 24/48 and running several virtual synths might be the choice for some others -like me-. So, to respond your very first question, no, I don't use it live and would not use it live due to the high intense CPU / hard disk required to stream samples live together with audio tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnnyice Posted September 17, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 17, 2005 Thanks guys, you really given me different perspectives and probably saved me some money and aggrivation in the process. There are limited resources, (knowledge), here where I live and not many who know anything about this stuff. I use backing tracks to augment live keyboard and vocals. I don't need any audio background, just MIDI tracks, but some sequences use 10-12 tracks. I'm using the internal sequencer in a workstation now, but I wanted a second back-up system, and thought I'd get a computer and software for that, plus, I'd have the benefit of easier editing with the computer when doing my sequences at home. I've seen demo's of cakewalk and the learning curve doesn't look that daunting, plus the editing advantages make it attractive. The price of a powerbook G4 is alittle hard to swallow, although it looks built top-notch. I greatly appreciate your comments. It really is pretty tough in the trenches trusting some of these guys trying to sell you this stuff especially when you ask them a question and they look at you like a Deer in headlights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted September 17, 2005 Members Share Posted September 17, 2005 Several points I can add: * I've had Colossus a week now. I tried it on a beefy new Acer Ferrari laptop (2Ghz AMD processor, I GB RAM, 100 GB 5400 RPM HD). Playing the individual sounds was no problem but using Colossus as a DXi multitimbral synth via Sonar 4 produced a machine-gun stutter when playing back even simple sequences. I will do more testing with my studio 3 Ghz studio desktop next week but my gut feeling is that a serious amount of RAM (more like 2 GB) and a fast hard drive (7200 RPM) will be required. A reliable working Colossus/laptop system is going to be pricey. * Colossus has some nice sounds but it has a few omissions too. I haven't found a Rhodes piano sample in the collection yet, only Wurlitzers, even on the patch called "Rhodes Suitcase 88". * A "Colossus Live" hardware version is planned to be released soon which will be based on the Muse Receptor. This might make live use a little easier. * No question that it's easier, cheaper and more reliable to playback MP3 files than to turn a computer into a midi file player/synth. While iPods are fairly cheap and easy MP3 player solutions, I recently bought a Creative Labs Audigy 2 PCMCIA sound card for my laptop and found that it has three features that really help with live MP3 backing tracks: a) a Music Organizer for easy selection of files, arrangement of setlists, etc.b) a function that analyzes the MP3's so they playback at the same relative volume (very handy!).c) a tempo control that smoothly changes the speed of playback without altering the key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnnyice Posted September 17, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 17, 2005 You guys are great! I got more, (and better), information in a few hours on the web than I got running around around these parts for a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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