Absynth

[BongStuff]

So, is it good? Does it feel like a real synth? Is it as good as the [glow=green,2,300]C z e c h  D r i n k ? ?[/glow]

(burp)

 BS

[john]

BS

No idea! I'd have thought a synth head like yourself would hve tried it by now...

Cheers

John

[davlan]

Hi

I've just got hold of Absynth 2. So I'll tell you what I know. WHen I first heard this synth I was blown away. It has wavestation type sounds - strange alien sequences, it has beautiful smooth brass and pad sounds. Yeah on the whole it sounds smoother thean anything else I've heard. But get this; this isn't a sample playback device. There are sampling capabilities but this is a true synth instrument in that it creates the sound from an algorithm rather than sample playback. You can draw in your own waveforms. Check out the MP3's or the demo version on the Native Instruments site. (Additive syntesis comes to mind.)

With A2 they've added granular synthesis and I think you can import any wav type file. i haven't had enough time to comment on the programming side of things other than to say it's extensive. But it does sound gorgeous, and original. Have a listen.

[BongStuff]

Just checked out the mp3s...and W O W!

Deep and creepy!!!!!!!!  

Do you need a lot of horsepower to run it?! I`m re-replanning my studio right now, and I`ve earmarked a P4 1.5GHz, 512Mb Ram as the "synth engine". Gonna try and run Reason2 from there too. Soundcard is a pretty pitiful, but quiet, TB Santa Cruz...

 BS

[davlan]

Hi Bong

The 1.5Ghz machine should be fine but you'll nedd an ASIO equipped soundcard to make it playable

D

[BongStuff]

Cheers for the info Dave - so I guess it begs the question - what`s a good S/Card for running  a synth engine? Is it the case that certain cards might be better tailored ( ie. cheaper!!! ) for synth-engine work as opposed to digital recording?

If I was to run a PC based machine for CuBase SL, and another for just soft synths, what would be the best soundcards in terms of bang for the buck?

 BS

[john]

Hi BS

If it is any use I have a soundblaster Live! I'm not using...not top of the range by any means but it's there.

Cheers

John

[Steve]

I wonder if the old addage "You get what you pay for!" applies here? In my case, that was not the case. I bought an MAudio Delta 66 soundcard. (It came with Gigastudio, thus the question about samplers!) Unfortunately, this card didn't work with my VIA chipset, sounded like bacon frying. Another 2 months wasted... Now I have a Yamaha sw1000xg and a SB Audigy. I have to say I cant hear much difference between these two cards, but I have listened to a Delta 66 on another puter, and it sounded superb!

[TheOne]

Hi

Sorting out compatibility issues suck!

TheOne

[davlan]

Yeah you do get what you pay for but the prices are dropping. BS, you mentioned Cubase SL so I presume this is your sequencer. What soundcard are you using presently? A soundcard equipped with ASIO has special drivers that streamline communication with the soundcard. i.e. You get low latencies i.e. the time between hitting your keyboard and the actual sound playing reduces. On a Soundblaster and Windows XP/2000 this is about 20ms. Not fast enough for any serious playing. You can get away with about 13ms but 3-7ms is ideal.

The card that everyone was raving about last year was the Terratec DM6Xfire (£170). However I'm sure I remember seeing ASIO soundcards for about £50 somewhere. I'll have a look.

Problem you might have is synching up the two computers. First up you would have to run 1 copy of Cubase on each machine. Plugins need a program (VST) environment in which to run especially if you want to run more than one synth at a time. Steinberg have a program called Vstack (£40) which will run on the other machine. You should  be able to sync them through midi(check it out though). However IF both soundcards have digital SPDIF connections AND ASIO drivers then you should be able to connect them digitally through Steinbergs system link protocol. This will achieve sample perfect sync i.e. tighter than a nun's pants.

Tell me a bit more about your system especially your computers. Comatibility can be an issue!

[davlan]

Another note about compatibility. Don't use a PC from a mainstream outlet. Get it made by someone in the know, it'll cost a wee bit more but it'll save a lot of tears. Or if you must make sure it's running an INTEL chipset and CPU. I've had problems with VIA stuff as well. I think that soundcard designers are little on the conservative side when testing their products on different platforms.

[davlan]

Also just been researching some other soft synths. Check out Linplug Albino, linplug Chronox, Big Tick Rhino, and RGC Audio Z3ta+.

All in similar sound design territory as Absynth

Dave

[Steve]

What a little mine of information you are Dave...      

[davlan]

Diary of an obsessive . . .

[BongStuff]

OK, my setup is in the "planning" stages at the moment. I`m about to move house, and the new place will have a dedicated music and computer room. AT LAST!

So, along with running my Mac SE30, Amiga 4000, NeXT Cube and Atari ST   I was planning PC Kit as follows...

Anyway, my thinking was to run the synth engine(s) on the 8100, and CuBase SL on the new PC. However, as a self confessed newbie to softsynths, I was under the impression that I could just run Reason and Absynth just as you would any other MIDI hardware - just use the MIDI IN on the soundcard. I`m not planning to use any "on board" sequencing on the soft boxes, just plain old MIDI!

Mixing I`m planning also to do the old-fashioned way. Through my Soundcraft Spirit desk and analogue processors ( various mid-range Lexicon, Behringer and Alesis boxes ). Mixing down to Tascam DA20 DAT and/or WAV files to post-process in WaveLab or SoundForge on the "new" PC and finally burn to CD.

So really I just want a standalone synth to integrate into my setup in the same way that I would do if I was to buy a rackmount Triton or something.

Am I crazy!?  

 BS

[Steve]

Am I crazy!?  

er... yes...  

OK I've got the demo of NI Absynth.... And I can't get any noise out of it! What am I doing wrong? All the patches are there and everything... Help...!!!

[davlan]

BS

Yeah you should be able to run Absynth as a standalone but I'm not sure if you would be able to run any other softs beside it. Vstack would provide you with a VST environment so you could use as many instruments and FX plugins as you can, and then be able to mix them.

However can I offer an opinion on your new PC. As someone who spend a couple of years fiddling with a PC I am very wary of non specofic PCs for music. That's why I've spent a considerable amount of dosh on a Carillon machine - still sitting at their workshops waiting on some of the more esoteric components I requested. So Ican't quite talk from experience but certainly the strong message I have received is that microsoft PC's struggle to do audio stuff unless set up properly. A dedicated machine will have had all it's components checked for stability and compatibility - it should work reliably and much more efficiently as well. Windows will have been tweaked to maximise it's ability to do sound. It will also have been rigged for silent running. Imagine a PC that makes no (or very little) sound. It will work out the box. For about 20% extra.

Dell still a good bet - you will get a reliable machine for a good price and given that in two years time processor speeds will have doubled etc the machine will depreciate in value so why spend extra on a dedicated rig, but then you could upgrade. You can get articles off the web to tweak windows, I might have some of these on my hard drive.

But I would say your best best is to go dedicated. Check out sites for Carillon, Millenium Music, Digital Village, Philip Rees and Red Submarine.

Ask John, he uses a Carillon.

Dave

[davlan]

Another point about mixing the old fashioned way. If you were to have a multiple breakout box with signal routing all ending within the PC you would be moving towards a virtual studio. The advantage here is that everything is savable. The entire studio can be saved and reloaded instantly and precisley for any given job. This is going to speed things up somewhat.

[davlan]

Steve

Absynth should have a SETUP drop down menu at the top. Go to MIDI and SOUND setting an make sure you have your sound card and midi set properly. If you don't have ASIO then select direct sound. Experiment with the delay/latency settings

D

[BongStuff]

Thanks again for the info...I'll definitely consider a dedicated muso PC instead of the DELL. I'll hang back on any purchases though - Intel P4 CPU prices are set to drop pretty steeply in October.

 BS