a push in the right direction please? <$400 sound bank

[rattleandhum1980]

Hey,

Could anyone recommend to me a sound bank/sound font/sample for under $400 (preferrably less than that even).

Im looking for something like an all in one like the Triton or Motif (without spending the 2-3k on it.) I have a kurzweil PC88mx and I have never been impressed with the general midi sounds. I am looking for good pads, other fun things.

I do not need: a good piano (we have a real baby grand), b3 organ, rhodes, wurlitzer...but I pretty much would like to play around with everything else.

Any ideas?

[rattleandhum1980]

I also will not need any drum kits

[ozinexile]

Are you looking for a self contained VSTi or do you already have a soft sampler and just need sounds?

In either case check out this other current thread:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=143945

[dougsyo]

Since you mention general midi, do you need GM compatibility? If not, read on.

I have a boatload of samples, romplers, etc right now:

- Dimension Pro (and Rapture)
- sfz+ for soundfonts and Gig2
- WusikStation, ManyStation, VoxD, TSW, etc.
- Eve and ManyGuitar
- Kontakt2, Kompakt
- GPO
- Sampletank 2XL and Miroslav Philharmonik
- Numerous commercial soundfont, sampletank or K2 samplesets - PrecisionSound, PMI, ESoundz, etc.

Based on my experience with all this, I'd say "if you can swing it, get Kontakt2". It includes a good sampleset, it's the standard format for third-party sounds, etc. Kompakt's library is a nice supplement to Kontakt2 but not entirely necessary - I happened to buy Kompakt before Kontakt2.

If that's not what you want - too complicated and/or too expensive - consider Dimension Pro, perhaps with ManyStation or WusikStation to supplement. When Omnisoundz 2 comes out, it'll support DimPro with a full GM-compatible soundset.

I like SampleTank2XL, but if I had bought Kontakt2 and/or DimPro first, I would probably have not bought ST2XL. I'm using them both more than ST2XL. GPO and Miroslav are "special", because of their focus on orchestral use - they can do pop, but I have Session Strings for that.

Doug

[asseca]

If you are looking for pad/synth (with wave-sequencing) type samples, the Wusik-series of products, combined with Extrame Sample Converter, might be of interest to you ...

Altough Kontakt 2 is a bit expensive, it seems to be the most universal of the lot ...

[rattleandhum1980]

I actually already have EnergyXT which uses VST's and I also have sfz loader to run soundfonts.

I'll look into kontakt2. A few of your terms are above my head, so I may have to do a bit of research to learn what they are (wave sampling, doplers, eetc)

I guess I am looking for a bunch of presets really. (which is why I had the initial interest in Triton/Motif till I saw the sticker price) I don't know how to mess with samplers/synths yet to create cool sounds (I have only been playing keyboard for a little while). I am sure by the time I learn how to do it there will be another better program for it.

Does that help?

[dougsyo]

I guess I am looking for a bunch of presets really. (which is why I had the initial interest in Triton/Motif till I saw the sticker price) I don't know how to mess with samplers/synths yet to create cool sounds (I have only been playing keyboard for a little while). I am sure by the time I learn how to do it there will be another better program for it.

In that case, Kontakt is probably more complex than you need, but it's still usable.

I'd go with DimPro ($250 from MusiciansFriend) + ManyStation ($100 online - and it'll play Wusik-format third-party libraries as well). As a bonus, neither uses intrusive copy protection.

Doug