KVR Audio

P220ST · Post by **P220ST** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:04 pm

I've just set up my system. My DAW software so far contains Abletont Live 6! and Cameleon plus the freebies w/ my equipment. I play eViolin, bass guitar, Roland HandSonic HPD-10, novation SL37 ReMOTE MIDI controller Yamaha PSRE403, and high-end Roland ePiano.

What I need is direction toward a royalty-free Commercial Sample Library. My musical tastes run from Miles Davis to Beck to Mouse on Mars to Mazzy Star (if that helps or matters. I want to augment my own playing with some samples, loops, beats.

Please recommend a Commercial Library (or collection I can pick through) which you respect, one that I can just get started with to see how I wish to incorporate it.

-P220ST

Asus P5N-E SLI Mobo, Thermaltake Toughpower 750W W0117RU Power, Intel® Core™2 Duo Desktop Processor E6600 (2.4 GHz unoverclocked), Corsair 2GB (2 x 1GB kit) 5300 DDR2 SDRAM, NVIDIA 8600GT Video Card, Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro External audio interface/sound card, PreSonus Firebox Firewire audio interface/sound card recording system, four Seagate 250GB 7200.10 16MB cache HDDs, Motorola SBG900 Wireless Surfboard Gateway Router.

P220ST · Post by **P220ST** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:48 pm

The thing I'm most unfamiliar with is modern urban beats, West Coast, last five years.

gravehill · Post by **gravehill** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 1:52 pm

Considering your music taste, Sonivox (ex-Sonic Implants) "Broadway Big Band" library might be something for you. For beats and stuff, perhaps Zero-G (I think) Total Rex collection.

P220ST · Post by **P220ST** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 2:17 pm

gravehill, thank you very much for the reply. I'm exploring your selections as I type.

Any other thoughts out there in the collective?

shamann · Post by **shamann** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 2:47 pm

Any chance you could narrow down what you are looking for, either by instruments, specific style, or sample type (mapped sample sets, loops, single instruments or ensembles, etc)? There are a lot of commercial sample libraries around, hard to recommend something appropriate otherwise.

P220ST · Post by **P220ST** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:23 pm

I guess stuff I know little to nothing about. That means hip-hop. Loops. Single instruments to minimalist ensembles. Street stuff: concrete jungle.

whyterabbyt · Post by **whyterabbyt** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:27 pm

You might be better off with something like Stylus RMX, or Guru, then. Rhythmic loop engines, rather than 'just' samples.

P220ST · Post by **P220ST** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 4:16 pm

Thanks whyterabbyt. I don't quite understand, though. Is it because I can play my own instruments? I'm googling "rhythmic loop engines" in a separate window to give you some idea of my level of understanding. Can you expand just a bit?

I studied violin for twenty years and was concertmaster for five without ever hearing the words "loops", "samples" or "beats" used in the same paragraph. I definitely missed a trend somewhere, somehow and am trying to play catch-up here in early middle age.

P220ST · Post by **P220ST** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 4:18 pm

I'm experementing and learning. Not quite into the finalized output stage.

whyterabbyt · Post by **whyterabbyt** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:03 pm

P220ST wrote:Thanks whyterabbyt. I don't quite understand, though. Is it because I can play my own instruments? I'm googling "rhythmic loop engines" in a separate window to give you some idea of my level of understanding. Can you expand just a bit?

Sure. Rather than use canned loops of particular styles, Stylus and Guru (and some other stuff) rely on samples which are broken down into their respective 'hits', played as a mini-sequence of those hits by a plugin. So the timing of a hip-hop loop could be used to drive ethnic samples, or the sounds of that loop could be use in a reggae rhythm. For example.
And the software allows you control over the sequences, giving you the flexibility to tailor them. So you get a combination of (replaceable) sounds and (malleable) styles, rather than loops in a style...

I studied violin for twenty years and was concertmaster for five without ever hearing the words "loops", "samples" or "beats" used in the same paragraph. I definitely missed a trend somewhere, somehow and am trying to play catch-up here in early middle age.

There's actually a certain amount of precedence. Glen Gould, for example, would use loops of himself in his piano recordings. He'd make a 'perfect take' of a fragment of a passage and loop it out to fit the composition.

P220ST · Post by **P220ST** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 12:02 pm

I have Ableton Live 6.0.x (and Cameleon). Would FXpansion Guru or Spectrasonics Stylus RMX be redundant?

-P220ST

Meffy · Post by **Meffy** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 12:34 pm

I don't know Stylus (except knowing it has a good reputation), but GURU is a wonderful plug-in for Live. Cameleon is a great synth but it's not strong on rhythmic sounds. GURU is a master of rhythms. Does all whyte said and a lot more.

Live is the host I think of first when loop-based composition comes up, then Acid. Live's what I use when feeling loopy. So you've got one of the best tools for learning this way of making tunes.

P220ST · Post by **P220ST** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 1:07 pm

I'm at the genesis of learning about Live and DAW in general. Would I place myself at a disadvantage learningwise by holding off on something like GURU until I learn Live 6! a bit better?

shamann · Post by **shamann** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 1:32 pm

Learning Live before getting Guru is a good idea. Live has a lot of built-in sample arrangement facilities, you might find you won't have a big need for Guru by the end.

P220ST · Post by **P220ST** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 1:42 pm

choices . . . choices. Having frontal lobes is hell.

Newbie: Instrumentalist needs commercial collection