please help with a sampler choice!! (ex Roland / Directwave)
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- KVRian
- 672 posts since 18 May, 2007
I would like to reccomend Gigastudio since you can get the Ensemble from ScitScat for 50 bucks. But until I get my cdkey finally the program is useless. Dang key failed to ship with the product. Not sure if it was all the boxes ScitScat got or just some of them.
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- KVRAF
- 4092 posts since 31 Oct, 2002 from Montreal, Canada
Samplelord is multitimbral.dOCB wrote: I also like Samplelord - another nice clear interface - but far too simple for what I need (not multitimbral etc)
Not anymore, it will work with any piece of EMU hardware and it ships with a MIDI interface so you do not need to buy any extra hardware. You can see this as a useful dongle.dougsyo wrote: Didn't it use to be tied to a specific brand of sound cards? IF this is still the case (and I don't know that it's true), upgrading to a new sound card - or OS that doesn't support the sound card drivers - may render your Emulator X software useless, along with samples made with it.
It is multitimbral and responds to MIDI program changes. It also really does sample.
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- KVRAF
- 4345 posts since 8 Mar, 2005
I would also recommend Gigastudio 3 Ensemble. I bought it in a clearance sale from scitscat music. There was a CD-Key issue, but scitscat solved it immediately (the next day, infact).
A short review on gigastudio, since I use it almost everyday : It is a very simple to use sampler, if you dont want to go deep. My favorite feature is how easy it is to map samples. You simply select a bunch of wave files and push a button. It'll automatically create an instrument, and lay out the wave files chromatically. You can change the order of the wave files. It'll also try to learn about the mapping info from the name of the wave files. Quite smart.
Note that GS3 requires a GSIF compatible soundcard. I have an EMU card (not GSIF compatible) but i use it under fx-max vst adapter. GS3 can stream really huge files with no pain. Everytime i load hundreds of megabytes of patches into a channel, i think of how hard this would have been in any hardware sampler (i own a Roland Fantom S for the record).
It is also very easy to layer patches, do splits, do keyswitching, all within a couple of mouse clicks within the same interface. It doesnt have time stretch or pitch stretching, which i find to be its biggest disadvantage. Otherwise, it is the perfect sampler for me, just as it is.
Do NOT buy the solo version. Buy the ensemble/orchestra version instead.
As regarding program changes, that was also one of my biggest requirements (coming from the hardware sampler world). Fortunately, GS3 is heaven when it comes to program changes. Anything you load, and everything you load at all, in GS3, is automatically assigned a patch number and bank number. Ofcourse you can change the numbers to your will. Patch changing is flawless, as if it were a hardware workstation.
The only thing you'll notice is its lack of better inbuilt effects. It has reverb, chorus, delay and EQ effects, with per channel EQ and compressor. You can load VST effects, but since I"m running under FX-max, it hasnt been very successful for me. So, i just take care of FX-processing in my host (Energy-XT).
For a beginner, it is the perfect hardware sampler for you. Don't trust on rewire. For some people it works perfectly fine, for others (like me) it didnt work. Your best bet is either in standalone mode (if your soundcard supports), or using fx-max. Hope this review helps.
A short review on gigastudio, since I use it almost everyday : It is a very simple to use sampler, if you dont want to go deep. My favorite feature is how easy it is to map samples. You simply select a bunch of wave files and push a button. It'll automatically create an instrument, and lay out the wave files chromatically. You can change the order of the wave files. It'll also try to learn about the mapping info from the name of the wave files. Quite smart.
Note that GS3 requires a GSIF compatible soundcard. I have an EMU card (not GSIF compatible) but i use it under fx-max vst adapter. GS3 can stream really huge files with no pain. Everytime i load hundreds of megabytes of patches into a channel, i think of how hard this would have been in any hardware sampler (i own a Roland Fantom S for the record).
It is also very easy to layer patches, do splits, do keyswitching, all within a couple of mouse clicks within the same interface. It doesnt have time stretch or pitch stretching, which i find to be its biggest disadvantage. Otherwise, it is the perfect sampler for me, just as it is.
Do NOT buy the solo version. Buy the ensemble/orchestra version instead.
As regarding program changes, that was also one of my biggest requirements (coming from the hardware sampler world). Fortunately, GS3 is heaven when it comes to program changes. Anything you load, and everything you load at all, in GS3, is automatically assigned a patch number and bank number. Ofcourse you can change the numbers to your will. Patch changing is flawless, as if it were a hardware workstation.
The only thing you'll notice is its lack of better inbuilt effects. It has reverb, chorus, delay and EQ effects, with per channel EQ and compressor. You can load VST effects, but since I"m running under FX-max, it hasnt been very successful for me. So, i just take care of FX-processing in my host (Energy-XT).
For a beginner, it is the perfect hardware sampler for you. Don't trust on rewire. For some people it works perfectly fine, for others (like me) it didnt work. Your best bet is either in standalone mode (if your soundcard supports), or using fx-max. Hope this review helps.
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- KVRAF
- 4345 posts since 8 Mar, 2005
Oh, and if you want to go advanced, you can use the inbuilt giga editor to create your own patches or edit whatever patch you want. I havent even covered iMidi yet, but make no mistake : Giga is certainly not as technically advanced as kontakt. For example, kontakt has beat slicing mode, time stretching, better inbuilt effects, scripting, and better controller mapping support than Gigastudio. Kontakt is a tweaker's dream come true, and GS3 is a player's dream come true. I simply use GS3 with Energy-XT to bend it to my will. :p
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- KVRist
- 446 posts since 24 Apr, 2002
Great to hear good things about Giga. It's been around so long we forget how much of a workhorse it is.