221 thoughts on “General Software”

  1. Hi guys..and gals 🙂

    Im not sure if this is the right place for this question, but i’ll ask it nonetheless.

    Ive been approached by a library, and they dont use ftp, and sending a hard drive in the post is NEVER a good idea ( im not a fan of some of the other methods, but then i spent years as an I.T. guy, so i KNOW the perils of filesharing style scenarios on the ‘net). My only alternative is to submit cd’s , which would mean A LOT OF BULK, or DVD. For all my studio experience, im at a loss as to which software – IM PC BASED- would be useful for this. Ive looked around on the net, and i cant find a clear answer.

    Can anyone help me on this? Ill owe you a keg of beer or a bottle of vodka (not the cheap stuff) if we meet 😀

    kind regards

    S R DHAIN

    • Some options to consider:

      flash drive – you can get ones with quite a lot of space now, they’re tiny and pretty resilient. Major drawback is that the transfer speed is slow

      Portable / bus powered drive – more expensive and heavier, but you can fit 500 GB on them now. Other good thing is that they don’t need to be plugged in to the wall, bypassing any need to get adapters. I’ve never had a problem shipping these kinds of drives to different countries, just make sure you pack it well (using original box if possible in addition to packing peanuts), or get UPS / fedex to do it for you.

      • Thanks guys…that was fast! 😀

        Matt, i wouldnt ship an iomega ( rock solid as they are) or any other make of external drive, cause im well aware of what happens at some of the depots in the uk . Im fortunate that i have a good relationship with a synth tech, otherwise some of the stuff ive had to have fixed due to transit depot “football”, would have been an eye watering experience. A flash drive of the 8gb or 16gb variety sounds like the best idea ( im not giving them everything) …christ, i must be quite drained mentally to not have thought of that myself, so thank you for reminding me matt…a keg or a bottle for you 🙂

        Emmet…yeah man, thats also what i was trying to figure out, cause the alternative is flash drive ( nice one, matt) or burning approx 20 at a time wavs to cd-r…thats gonna be a bulky job in the post. Ive looked on the net, and the only software i could find looked really dated from a one page site (probably dodgy) and no mention of vista, so its also OLD. Any ideas on that front?

        S R Dhain

        • Hiya,
          Why not use DVDs? You can use Dual Layer DVDs nowadays that can hold up to 8 gigs of data – its a far easier alternative to burning loads of CDs. If you’re using a drive, then they won’t be able to listen to the tracks straight off like a CD, so DVDs are a good alternative.

          In terms of software, some good (and free) CD burning software is:

          http://www.cdburnerxp.se/features.php

          Nero is generally the best software I find for burning CDs and DVDs, but theres plenty of free alternatives out there

          Emmett

          • Ive been using roxio for years, and did wonder about its reliability, cause ive had issues on other machines the studio, with buffer overrun maladies and so on. Nevertheless ill check nero out – i havent used it in years- and i now owe you a keg or a bottle too 😀

            Shekhar Raj Dhain

  2. Wow! The 24bit samples take up 500GB. I may have to go cheap with the 16 bit and one mic position. I have about 750 GB’s left on my Mac. Maybe time for an external hard drive.

    • Very very impressive. It’s not the sound I expected, but it’s undeniable great. And it should be a tremendous time saver — by which I mean, one-stop strings… less time spent layering and editing/tweaking. If you’re an epic trailer music sort of composer, there’s no getting around this one, even if you have and love LASS.

  4. Well, the early ones were better at high-gain sounds-Johnson Millenium, early Line6 Axis; the current generation of Line6 stuff (I have the X3Live) is better at clean to medium gain, but damn good at high-gain, too. I used to use mine as a preamp with a tube (6V6s) back end and a real cab, miked up with an SM57, but I don’t bother anymore, since I realized I can’t hear a difference. Peavey’s software is the best of the current crop, imo, though I haven’t used the software-only modelers, much.

  5. I’d be interested to know what guitarists think of software amp emulations. I use the guitar a lot in my music (although I don’t consider myself a guitarist) using guitar rig 3, and I really like the results.

    • I’ve been a guitar player all of my life. Many years in clubs, on the road and as a studio player here in L.A. I’ve never been much of a purist so I’m pretty satisfied with the software amps I use. Nigel (UAD1 card), Guitar Rig 3 (Lite, came with Sonar). Some free ones I like Voxengo Boogex, Juicy77, Wagner Sharp. I can usually come up with something I like though I must admit at times I can’t quite get what I’m looking for.

    • I’ve got Guitar Rig 3 and 4 and I’m happy with the results so far. I have downloaded lots of user presets from the NI website to add to the ones available and I usually find them more useful that the default settings.

      I also tend to turn off the reverbs in GR3 and use my own reverbs in Logic. For my own tastes I like the distorted/over-driven sounds available.

      I’d add I haven’t had the luxury of trying other systems, but plumped on GR3/4 after some research.

      BTW thanks for the site Art, it’s been very useful.

    • I was using Guitar Rig with my Pro Tools setup but had to switch due to an upgrade incompatibility. I went with Eleven from Digidesign and couldn’t be happier.
      It doesn’t have the effects that Guitar Rig does but the amp emulation is far superior in my opinion.
      Now I’m using old fashioned foot pedals for wah, phase shifter, etc.

      You can check some of the tracks I’ve recorded with it so far here:
      http://bit.ly/6jpO5y

      -Mark
      Partners In Rhyme

      • Have guitar Rig 4 which is great, along with Amplitude.

        I personally like using both. Have amp aims, a POD XT Pro, and my pride and joy, a 1965 Vox AC30 with original Jennings Top boost. This baby screams. Load up my stomp boxes and I’m away.

        I play a Gretsch (humbucker pickups) and you can hear the difference using a real amp miked up. I do like the emulations as well, and will sometimes mix a few guitars in, some emulation amp, some really amp.

        Another good tip I found when recording acoustic guitar is doing an additional track using a Nashville strung acoustic, sounds amazing. Its basically an acoustic guitar but the E and A strings are from an acoustic, and the rest is from an electric. Sounds incredible mixed with a normal acoustic!!!

        Take it easy

        • @ Bobby Cole “additional track using a Nashville strung acoustic, sounds amazing. Its basically an acoustic guitar but the E and A strings are from an acoustic”

          Actually “Nashville tuning” (at least from what I was told many years ago) is the high side of a 12 string guitar. In other words, starting from the bottom your first 4 strings will be two octaves higher than a normally strung guitar while B and E will be the same as a regular strung guitar. I bought an acoustic many years ago and keep it permanently strung that way and yes it does sound awesome!

  6. Art, Morphestra sounds impressive. I listened to the trailer teasers on their website. Pretty cool.

    Hey Matt! I don’t use loops at all. I compose all the parts and play all the parts in real time using samples.

    Something about the “loop” business really disagrees with me. Using loops sucks originality out of music IMO. I know; the loopers will have my head for that remark.

    • Hi John,

      I guess there’s a wide range of what could be considered a ‘loop’. I often like to combine my traditional note by note orchestral music with synth arpeggiators, and every now and then will use a guitar or percussion loop. Those just sound bad when programmed with MIDI. You could always record and then program your own unique loops, which is what a lot of the big composers do.
      Sounds like you’re a very traditional kid of writer, which is great… but what happens if you’re asked to create a score for a film temped with Hans Zimmer or John Powell?

  8. I agree with Emmett. I don’t want to spend hours tweaking samples. My time is better spent composing – hopefully original music.

    I will continue purchasing the best samples I can afford. I’m using Logic Pro, East West Quantum Leap “Gold” samples, and several other sample packages. I’m going to be adding the Vienna Strings soon.

    • Hi John. I don’t think there’s any need to tweak orchestral samples, which is what it sounds like you’re focusing on (judging by the list of libraries you gave). The lameness enters when multiple TV shows start using music with exactly the same loops. Can be embarrassing for the composer when called out on it.
      The kind of tweaking that I usually do is adding effects like distortion and / or EQ. Nothing too heavy there, usually I have the setting ready to go on those effects too. Just a few minor changes can render the loops / arpeggiators completely unrecognizable.

  9. That’s not a knock on omnisphere though. That’s actually a compliment attributable to the wide and deep library of presets it contains. It’s about as programmable as anything around.

    I don’t disagree with the observation, just the emphasis.

    • it IS programmable, but like a lot of synths – soft or hardware – when the presets are sometimes soooo good… 😉

      Ive spoken to a number of techs over the years , including dave smith himself and one or two guys at moog, when things wernt quite working as they should. Do you know what a lot of them agree on, if they’re asked? …

      It’s that 80% (and more) of synthesizers/sound modules that come back for servicing/repairs, dont have ANY new sounds programmed into them. That’s shocking. Even ignoring the 80’s period stuff with membrane buttons etc, what about everything with knobs and sliders?

      Ive used a few of the arturia virtual synths too, and the irony is theyre EVEN easier to program, simply because everything is easier to do , due to the use of on screen real estate. But how many new user patches or banks do you see for these beauties?…

      Presets are good…too damn good sometimes for doing anything other than getting on with making music with them.

      Until of course you realise that “your sound” sounds a lot like “his” or “her” sound, sometimes. Which can be a good thing, or a bad thing depending on where youre sitting 🙂

          • I do agree with you s r, I just don’t spend much time, or any at all, making my own presets as I personally think its a bit of a waste. I think you can definitively still create your own identity and stand out a little aswell even by just using presets. I mean, what did composers do back in the day, when all they had was the orchestra? They all still managed to sound different even though they were limited to the “preset” sounds of an orchestra. Its what you do with what you have that counts, but yes I do agree with you – making new sounds other than the presets is a great way to sound different and unique.

            Maybe I’m just being lazy, but I suppose I just rather spending time on composing than fiddling around with sounds to make something sound just a tiny bit different. I have an Access Virus Ti keyboard, and theres about 3300 presets alone on it – I don’t think I’d ever run out of sounds on it, so I’d find making some custom sounds a labourious and boring job lol.

            Don’t get me wrong – I’m not disagreeing with you, or saying you’re wrong, I suppose we all just have different ways of going about composing 🙂 I know a lot of people who prefer to make their own custom sounds, rather than use presets, its just not something thats appealed to me…yet 🙂

            • If you lived down the road emmett, Id happily lend you the moog voyager or roland system 100 from my studio. Although the moog has 896 presets, all those knobs and switches are BEGGING to be tweaked. As for the roland system 100…if you dont tweak anything, then you dont get anywhere..it has no memories, but then most synths from 1976 dont either 😀

              My point is that i started on synths with memories but tactile surfaces that made it MUCH EASIER to tweak and modify. You dont need a degree in maths and physics ( ironically i did major in both for my degree) to modify a sound…just grab something and go for it. You can always hit the preset button if things get too out of hand.

              I agree that back in the day, it was ALL orchestra, but believe it or not, there wasnt and arent too many hal blaine’s ( he was the cream of session drummers in LA) , etc, and it was THE PLAYERS who sometimes helped add extra zing to an arrangement. Again, at the risk of thwacking all of us who come here, none of us are OLIVER NELSON or MIKE POST or DON PEAKE..are we? I mention these guys, cause they had some of the creame of score jobs for some of the best known shows of the 70’s and 80’s .

              Yes, the arrangement and idea is ALWAYS king, but in these technology driven, tough, competitive times, everyone wants to make their mark . Back in the day, there wasnt anywhere near as many people trying to do what we’re all doing now, so sonics wernt perhaps as important. Also synth technology was still very new. Now?…look at the numbers. In fact, there may well be some future kings and queens just on this site alone, but making your mark has become intertwined with at the very least ,HANDSHAKING with innovative technologies. 🙂

              • Yup I see where you’re coming from actually 🙂

                I suppose I don’t write enough electronic based music yet, so I haven’t exactly been thrown into the thick of it enough yet to warrant playing around with presets – hell I don’t think I’ve even got the entire way through all my presets on my keyboard yet. But yea, now that I think of it, I do see where you’re coming from – I was just thinking about the whole situation regarding orchestral samples more so than keyboard presets.

              • What you say is right, but what I see at the moment is a different situation. I’m doing a videogame who requests ambient music, and looking for libraries of sounds I found hundreds of them on the internet. So it seems to me that there are so many presets nowadays (Omnisphere alone is REALLY huge) and the synths sounds are so different that there is the same probability for two composers to use today the same preset than, in the past, to come with a very similar sound even if making it from scratch.

  10. My ONLY gripe with omnisphere , even though it sounds amazing, is that everyone i know who uses it , uses just the presets alone, so everyone has a similar, recognisable sound. Maybe its just me, but perhaps cause of all the analog synths i own and learnt programming on, i like to tweak things to get away from the “aural concrete” syndrome.

    Incidentally Art, have you emailed spectrasonics or had any contact with them? Im sure I can remember theres an odd clause in their t&c’s regarding the use of their sounds in projects, which is other than the standard “reverse engineering” clause.

    • Yes, I like to tweek also but sometimes do get sucked in by some pre-sets.

      I read over the the T & C for RMX a few years ago when I first purchased it and didn’t see anything that concerned me. Of course I’m not a lawyer. There are some things I stay away from that specifically say they cannot be used in library or production music. Big Fish Audio as an example. They state:

      “This license does not allow you to include the samples, whether unmodified or as part of a derivative work, in any music library or sample library product. However, a “special use” license may be requested from Big Fish Audio, free of charge, if you wish to use this product as part of a musical work intended for use with music libraries (some conditions apply, and Big Fish Audio retains the right to refuse any request that does not meet those conditions).”

      The “special use” language wasn’t there a few years ago. That’s new and I wonder what that is.

    • Hey S R, same can be said for just about any softsynth that has mass appeal – like older ones: RMX, storm drum, RA, Voices of Passion, Bizarre Guitar etc. It’s pretty poor form IMO to use the sounds straight out of the box, without any tweaking or customization. I’m always tinkering and experimenting with effects and EQ to create an original sound. I like it when composer friends can’t figure out what I’m using, hate when they do! That said, you’ll still hear patches straight out of the box, pretty much entirely exposed, on major TV shows. I guess time = money, and that equation trumps artistic originality LOL!

      • Very true! 😀

        Like i said below, sometimes the presets are so damn good, that theyre ripe for getting stuck in with. However, using them “neat” as it were, is only for the brave…or the lazy ( perhaps the rich and endorsed?) . The irony being, of course, that many of the top flighters have teams of programmers; i wonder then, as to what they must be doing..

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