Looking to get into softsynths w/ my MAC. What do I need to get started?

[tdm71]

I'm looking for a little advice on get into softsynths. I have a stock G4 733 and would like to get the best results from it sound quaity wise. What do I need to upgrade on it first, the soundcard? If so what would you recommend for low latency and excellent sound quality? Other than that, anything else I can do to increase my overall performance besides getting a new cpu or computer??

 

THANKS

[burningbusch]

Tell us a little more, such as your:

 

OS (9/X)

RAM

Sequencer

Current Sound Card (if any)

Current MIDI adapter (if any)

What you're looking for in soft synths

 

Busch.

[tdm71]

Gotcha!!

 

I'm running OS 9.22 and I have 896 in ram. I'm using Digital Performer 3.11 and Pro Tools with a Digi 001 (I do not have any tdm capabilities).

 

As far as a sound card goes, I only have the stock one and I have no idea what that is?? Any idea how to find out??

 

I have all my midi devices plugged into 2 MOTU midi timepieces that are synced together.

 

As for the softsynths, I like to start with the most popular ones (NI stuff, Reason, Moog, Spectrasonics, Albino, etc..) and branch out from there. I do not necessarily need to run more than one instance of any softsynth live at one time because I can lay it down to audio in Pro Tools and then go back to midi if I need to.

 

Any thoughts as to how I should proceed from here??

 

THANKS AGAIN

[b_3guy]

I'm not really up on my Digidesign/ProTools, but isn't a Digi 001 a Audio I/O & Sound card? Granted I'm sure you could get something better but I'm wondering why. Since you like DP 3.1, I would go to Unicornation.com, the DP users web site & register. There you can find out about the Mach 5, which is turning out to be the ultimate soft synth. If you're so inclined for a new audio I/O, I would look at the Motu products for a new one. I use a 828 which I'm happy about, but you might like to "better" it. Soft synths other than Mach 5 that are a must have are NI B4, Lounge Lizard EP's or Emagic EP73, & a great free Clav is the Ticky Clav. The latter two will require AudioEase's Wrapper. If you're not happy with the drum kits that come with Mach 5 go for NI's Battery. A great multi purpose package is Reason, analogue synths galore, drum sequencer, sample player, & a loop player, all in one nicely working package.

[RABid]

I think Crystal is available for Mac, it is free, and it just got an update that makes it both a synth AND a ROMpler. It is probably the best free synth available.

 

Robert

[steadyb]

Originally posted by Rabid:

I think Crystal is available for Mac, it is free, and it just got an update that makes it both a synth AND a ROMpler. It is probably the best free synth available.

 

Robert

Crystal softsynth is awesome. I love it.

 

Go to http://www.greenoak.com/crystal/download.html

[dementia13]

I have that exact same computer, down to the amount of RAM. That computer doesn't suck, and you'd probably be hard pressed to find a softsynth that doesn't run well on it. Running several could be different, but most have downloadable demos, so try some and see what you like. Take a look at Native Instruments FM7, and the Arturia Moog Modular.

[burningbusch]

If you plan on recording directly into Protools LE look for either RTAS or DirectConnect versions. There's quite a lot out there. I agree, your current configuration is fine especially if you're only using one or two at a time. The quality of a the sound card's convertors doesn't come into play with soft synths. The signal is passed internally, digitally at 32-bits from the soft synth to the DAW. With the 001 you should be able to using the 128 sample Stream Manager which gives you very low latency.

 

Busch.

[tdm71]

THANKS for all the advice!! So you guys thiink I will be alright with sound quality and latency wise with my Digi 001 as my soundcard??

 

Any other suggestions for hardware components or some of you favorite softsynths??

 

THANKS

[dementia13]

I'm not personally familiar with the Digi, but I would expect that that's a very good soundcard. Keep in mind that any latency will be more a function of the softsynths themselves and their performance on your computer, as your soundcard isn't really participating in the creation of the sounds except in converting them to analog and providing outputs.