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Midi + Software Synth


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I'm looking to start composing some music (progressive techno/trance and ambient), and I've got an old Roland D-50 synth. Is it possible to get a midi card for my computer, hook my synth up to the computer, and use a program (ACID Pro 3.0?) to act as a synthesizer to not only record tracks, but have it play the synth'd music that I'm playing on the keyboard in real-time using the soundbanks that it offers? Is this a suitable alternative to a 300 or 400 dollar hardware synth module from alesis or something? Thanks for any info or advice you can give [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] Jesse
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Jesse, > Is it possible to get a midi card for my computer ... play the synth'd music ... Is this a suitable alternative to a 300 or 400 dollar hardware synth module from alesis or something? < Yeah, probably. The new Audigy sound card from Creative Labs is very good. The big advantage of the Audigy (and SoundBlaster) is you can load other samples from files. So you're not restricted to the sounds it comes with, nor do you have to pay hundreds of dollars for separate plug-in hardware sound sets as with the Roland JV and other expandable synths. --Ethan
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This is great! thanks for the reply - I am also interested in doing this. But I do not have a SoundBlaster MIDI card on my current hookup (Yamaha kb with Cakewalk sw). I have done some investigation into the SoundFonts by Creative Labs, but I don't know if they work on any other sound cards, or if there are any other forms of this technology. Is there any other MIDI alternative to a Tone Generator (Roland JV, etc.)???? Thanks for any help! Regards, Eric [quote]Originally posted by Ethan Winer: [b]Jesse, > Is it possible to get a midi card for my computer ... play the synth'd music ... Is this a suitable alternative to a 300 or 400 dollar hardware synth module from alesis or something? < Yeah, probably. The new Audigy sound card from Creative Labs is very good. The big advantage of the Audigy (and SoundBlaster) is you can load other samples from files. So you're not restricted to the sounds it comes with, nor do you have to pay hundreds of dollars for separate plug-in hardware sound sets as with the Roland JV and other expandable synths. --Ethan[/b][/quote]
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Eric, > I have done some investigation into the SoundFonts by Creative Labs, but I don't know if they work on any other sound cards, or if there are any other forms of this technology. < SoundFonts are for use with Creative Labs sound cards: The AWE series, the SoundBlaster Live, and now the Audigy. There are some software synthesizers that can load SoundFonts, but having the hardware version in the form of a sound card makes a lot of sense because the computer doesn't have to do as much work. Essentially, the Creative sound cards serve as a complete hardware sampler. > Is there any other MIDI alternative to a Tone Generator (Roland JV, etc.)???? < There are lots of tone modules like the JV that do not let you load your own sounds. Then there are hardware samplers that are expensive but do let you load custom sounds. Then there are softsynths and the Creative sound cards that let you load your own sounds, and also work on the computer's monitor screen instead of a squinty little LCD panel. That's why I use the Creative sound cards. [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] --Ethan
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