Andrewpiano Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I use a Casio Privia keyboard, and have been wanting to explore using it as a controller keyboard, with the sounds generated off my laptop. I purchased the Cakewalk Studio Instruments software and found that easy to use- it has Rhodes, Violin, drums and bass sounds only. I would like to find software which is easy to use like Cakewalk Studio Instruments, with good piano and sythesizer sounds. Any suggestions for midi software under $100, that is easy to use, with good piano sounds and sythesizer sounds? Also, interested in software over $100, if it comes with a free trial-as I want to be able to test it before buying it.. I may also purchase a controller synthesizer (with whammy bar), and would want to use the software with that. Thanks for any feedback on this. Casio Privia PX-300, Yamaha NP-30, Alesis Multimix FX, Rokit 5 KRK Speaker, Alesis I02 Express Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloodyMary Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 check out the GSI keyPerformer. I think it's really cool. Also SampleTank. There are many freeware soft synths as well, some of them are pretty good. By the way, on keyboards we call them pitch benders, not whammy bars. Stage: MOX6, V-machine, and Roland AX7 Rolls PM351 for IEMs. Home/recording: Roland FP4, a few guitars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 First stop for really inexpensive and very cool plugin instruments is Genuine Soundware "donationware". For one small donation you can download any or all of these, including: MrRay73 - Rhodes electric piano MrTramp - Wurlitzer electric piano ORGANized trio - Hammond organ Also from Genuine Soundware, for 69 Euros, is VB3, which many feel to be the very best Hammond organ emulation. With the free sfz soundfont player plugin, you can play any soundfonts you can find. Soundfont is an open format for sampled instruments, and there are a number of good freebies on the net. Unfortunately, there's 99 times more crap, so searching for good ones can be time consuming. Here are some that I use and like, all free: jRhodes3 Rhodes (these are samples that I made) Splendid Grand 136MB piano -- nice roomy, woody piano, great for country & acoustic music. I'm assuming your laptop is Windows. Soundfonts can work on Macs too, but I don't know how. sfz is for Windows only, and needs to be run from a host running in 32-bit mode (WinXP SP2 conmpatibility mode may be required also). Two piano software products you might be interested in, though a bit higher in price: TruePianos (my favorite), and Pianoteq. IMHO, TruePianos sounds much better right out of the box, but PianoTeq (if you get anything higher than the "player" version) is very tweakable for players who know exactly what they want in terms of tone and dynamic response. Both are in the $180 neighborhood. Both have excellent full-featured demo versions, which expire after 30 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewpiano Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 Thanks a lot for the posts on this. My platform is Windows. I downloaded SampleTank this evening, and am using that for now. Something like that is what I needed first - so I can test if my setup - Laptop (Hp/Windows 7) and Privia and Midi Interface - to see if it works well with the sounds. My concern was that the keyboard touch wouldn't line up well with the sounds, so I am looking into that right now. Casio Privia PX-300, Yamaha NP-30, Alesis Multimix FX, Rokit 5 KRK Speaker, Alesis I02 Express Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloodyMary Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 is there a free version of sampleTank?? Stage: MOX6, V-machine, and Roland AX7 Rolls PM351 for IEMs. Home/recording: Roland FP4, a few guitars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 is there a free version of sampleTank?? There's a free app for iPhone and iPod touch but the instruments are limited; you have the option to buy additional sound packs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnus64 Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 By the way, on keyboards we call them pitch benders, not whammy bars. Whammy Bar sounds waaaaay cooler. "And a second hand guitar, it was a Stratocaster with a pitch bender"- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewpiano Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 Yes. I downloaded the free program, as well as free sounds. Casio Privia PX-300, Yamaha NP-30, Alesis Multimix FX, Rokit 5 KRK Speaker, Alesis I02 Express Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuzikTeechur Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 When discussing electric cars, the maxim is this: Electric Cars: Cheap, Fast, Far: pick two. I think the same goes for sim instruments: Piano, Inexpensive, Good: pick two. Muzikteechur is Lonnie, in Kittery, Maine. HS music teacher: Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Chorus, Music Theory, AP Music Theory, History of Rock, Musical Theatre, Piano, Guitar, Drama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 is there a free version of sampleTank?? http://www.ikmultimedia.com/sampletankfree/features/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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