| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: top software synths for recording? | |
| james3 -- 02/02/2005, 06:41:35 -- #10902 | |
| Hey all, If you were really trying to get a professional piano sound for a recording would you either... 1. Get decent mics and mic an upright? The upright has a good sound quality but not as good as a grand of course. 2. Go the software/synth/samples approach and hook it up to a nice controller and your computer and use that for your sounds? I'm referring to the latest technology in Steinway sampling soft synths. Thanks....trying to make a decision and not sure what to do. James | |
| alhaynes -- 02/02/2005, 09:34:04 -- #10906 | |
| I use the Ivory sampled pianos. They are as good as any I've heard. You get a Steinway, a Bosendorfer, a Yamaha, and a very good playback engine complete with effects and synth overlay. These are, for now, Mac only, though a PC version is in the works. The Mac has to be a fast G4 or G5 running 10.3 or later. I use a G4 Powerbook and run them with Logic, although they can be used with any Audio Unit compatible DAW. You can get more info at http://synthogy.com . I considered buying a couple of good mics for my Baldwin grand, but Ivory cost less and stays in tune ! Also, you can do midi editing if needed. Al | |
| Dr. Whack -- 02/02/2005, 11:43:39 -- #10911 | |
| Unless I had a good grand and good mics, I would use good samples - Upright's just don't have it - unless you're going for that particular sound. Check out the Garritan Personal Orchestra (GPO) It is a nice bank of orchestral sounds and runs about $300 - the Steinway sample alone is worth the 300 bucks | |
| james3 -- 02/02/2005, 12:41:10 -- #10915 | |
| So is the sound quality on these samples good? Do they sound realistic like a real piano? Also, can you get the touch sensitivity and response on a controller that you really need? I've never used these before. Is it better than most midi? James | |
| Dr. Whack -- 02/02/2005, 12:57:39 -- #10916 | |
| The GPO sound is amazing. I used it at a friend's studio with an older Yahama controller and it even felt real - the response is very realistic to... Now here's where I'm getting in over my head - I'm not sure what kind of sys you would actually need to run this thing - I know he's using a Mac G4 and a $300 or $ 400 sound card - still a lot cheaper and smaller than a grand or even a decent upright... | |
| Dr. Whack -- 02/02/2005, 13:07:12 -- #10917 | |
| * that should be "too" not "to" I just noticed the little tag about midi. midi is an acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It only helps you communicate between the controller, sounds, computer, etc...so midi in itself has nothing to do with how something sounds - A midi file is bascially controller data (the notes that were played and the order in which they were played) When you play a midi on your computer, those notes are played by whatever synth you tell it - the default soundcard, soft synth or even an external synth | |
| james3 -- 02/02/2005, 15:14:36 -- #10925 | |
| You raise an interesting point. Every time I've done MIDI recording the playback doesn't seem to sound anywhere near as good as when I record live audio. It doesn't get all the nuances...i.e. subtle rhythmic things, laying back on the beat, extreme sensitive dynamic playings, attacks, pedaling, etc. Have I been doing things wrong? James | |
| Paul -- 02/02/2005, 16:08:25 -- #10929 | |
| sorry I'm very ignorant about this stuff. Are these samples of pianos something that you can contact to any midi keyboard or do you have run it through a PC? I have a Roland synth. with horrilbe piano sounds. I'd like to have some great piano sounds but I don't want to spend lots of money on a digital piano. | |
| sid -- 02/02/2005, 18:08:41 -- #10930 | |
| Paul - you do need a PC to access the top of the range sampled pianos like the GPO Steinway and the Gigapiano. A cheaper alternative is to use a sound module (basically samples in a box) connected to your Roland synth through midi (no PC necessary). An example is the Kurzweil Micropiano (see, for instance, http://www.synthony.com/vintage/kmp1.html ). I have a Yamaha P50 piano module, which was pretty inexpensive, though I must say I'm not very keen on the Yamaha piano sound - but lots of people like it. sid | |
| Dr. Whack -- 02/02/2005, 18:52:51 -- #10932 | |
| In general, I've been more impressed with Roland's piano sounds than any of the others...be sure to check some of their modules too | |
| alhaynes -- 02/02/2005, 19:21:16 -- #10933 | |
| When I play my Yamaha P250 with the Bosendorfer samples actually making the sound I can really believe that this is the real thing. When I go into the other room and play the grand I realize that there is nothing like wood, felts, and strings. There is a certain sound and feel that only a real piano can give you. Nevertheless, I can make a better sounding recording with the yamaha/powerbook than with the Baldwin. Al | |
| Dr. Whack -- 02/04/2005, 08:34:08 -- #10983 | |
| I'm told that a laptop with a gig of ram would run the Garritan pretty well...I'm going to look into that...I would need a decent soundcard and a controller, but I think the price would come in around the same as buying a new keyboard/synth and sound a lot better - (but I wouldn't have pan flute or tublular drums - hmmm) | |
| scotward57 -- 02/07/2005, 13:17:55 -- #11049 | |
| The GPO Steinway sample is pretty flippin good! Especially when you run it through GPO Studio which includes a VST ambience plugin. Best money I ever spent on software. And I can't wait for the GPO Jazz Big Band library to come out!! | |
| james3 -- 02/18/2005, 21:20:42 -- #11327 | |
| Hey, So can you can get a real piano sound from the default settings on Synthogy's Ivory or do you have to do a ton of tweaking with all the controls etc. I'm not a expert on software and engineering...I don't want to have to press buttons on my computer to try and reemulate what should come naturally from years of good practice..at least in terms of dynamics, tone, and sound. Anybody have the answer on this? Thanks, James | |
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