Hi Gerald,
I would have to agree with what David is saying about keeping
your modules...at least your favorites around for a little while.
My setup is completely digital (softsynths etc.) and must say I really
like it. But I'm kicking myself for getting rid of some of the old
stuff. A lot of the old sounds are still very usable and even
fashionable! So there may be some things you would want to keep
(do you have a JV-1080 perhaps?....I got rid of my XP-50 and I'm
sad!)
As Javier suggested, you'll need a workhorse of a computer.
I'm running a Powermac G5 1.8 dual processor with 2 gigs of ram and
two internal 250 gig hard drives (to store sounds etc.) I'm
using all software based instruments and it runs quite
smoothly. But I may pick up some more RAM even so.
Some of the sounds available today are wonderful!
Regarding the midi interface, I run Digital Performer 4 so I
stayed with Motu audio and midi interfaces. You can use these
interfaces with Finale though too. I have the Midi Express XT
USB which may be a bit of overkill (8 ins and 8 outs) but if you keep
some of those modules it may come in handy. I got it in case I
go back to some outboard gear and for the sync features.
($349.00 at sweetwater.com) The next interface down (MOTU) is the
MicroExpress USB...4 in 6 out and also has some nice features
including sync capabilities. ($249.97 at sweetwater.com...P.S. I'm not
a salesperson but I do use these guys from time to time.) If you
decide that you don't need many extra midi ports or sync, then there
are other smaller MOTU midi devices too. The ones Javier
suggested will do just fine also.
Have fun!
Best,
Karen
gj.berg wrote:
OK now I'm getting excited -- I am anticipating all sorts of elbow room as I toss out all my sound boxes (3rd floor to pavement) so zealously collected since 1991 and move to software -- however I still need my keyboard.
What will I need to adapt it to the USB chain of events? At what price?
Thanks in advance
Gerald Berg
Before you trash your hardware modules and synths, be sure you are able to get your soft-synths to do what you want.
Softsynths are processor intensive, and often latency creeps in. For things like playback of a Finale score that isn't a problem since the latency would be the same for all the parts being played (assuming you are using one single softsynth for playback at any one time). But if you are listening to what you have already entered while trying to play in an additional line through Hyperscribe, you may be disappointed by the latency issue.
You may not be bothered by it, also. Depending on the amount of ram you have and the processor speed you have, it may not be an issue at all for you, but I would advise you to simply store your modules and synths until you are certain you won't want to go back to them.
I'm also not sure how versatile softsynths are in coexising with each other. With hardware modules you can daisy-chain them (or use a midi-router box) and use the brass sounds from one module while using the strings from another module and so on, or you can take advantage of Finale's ability to use more than one midi port and use several modules, each attached to a different midi port, to get far more than 16 channels of sound. I'm not sure that is so easy with softsynths.
I hope all works out to your heart's desire and the softsynths are able to do all you need with no major hassles. But just to be safe, keep the modules in your closet until you've worked with the softsynths for 6 months or so to be sure that everything will work together as you hope.
Good luck!
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David H. Bailey
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Karen Guthery
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