What soft samplers will work with PA9 ?

The place for general discussion of Cakewalk Pro Audio.
bvdd
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2003 4:03 pm

Post by bvdd » Sun Dec 07, 2003 8:10 pm

I want to use MY stored sounds (wav files) in place of my SB PC512's
midi sounds. Do any soft samplers work with PA9?
Or are soundfonts my only choice?

(I do NOT want to use Sonar)


GretscGuy
Posts: 434
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 1:26 pm
Location: Massachusetts USA

Post by GretscGuy » Mon Dec 08, 2003 5:42 pm

GigaStudio/GigaSampler will run with ProAudio 9. GigaSampler will only run under 98/ME. It is NOT compatible with 2000 or XP.

GigaStudio works under XP. The Nemesys/Tascam software is a great idea. Most software samplers (like Unity's Bitheadz for MAS) work by using your PC's ram. GigaStudio streams off your pc's hard drive.

GigaStudio allows HUGE samples (up to 4.3 GIGS) to be streamed. A top of the line GigaStudio 160 gives you 160 voices of polyphony - no more voice stealing or dropouts.

The downside - It can be a pita to configure and causes some odd errors. Once every 20 or 30 startups I get a system error caused by GS. Other than this I haven't had any problems. Once you get in running it doesn't really have a downside.

May I ask why you don't want to use Sonar? I was a die hard PA 9 user myself up until Sonar 3. Personally, I would have rather had Pro Audio 10, 11 and 12 instead od Sonar, Sonar 2.0 and Sonar 3.

I bit the bullet for the following reasons:

1- Sonar takes advantage of hyperthreading. I built a new PC and also didn't want to switch to XP. Now that I have XP, I set it up to look like W2k (no more puppies and fades) and I am very happy with it.

When running two intense programs (Like PA9 or Sonar) and GigaSampler) having both written for hyperthreading makes a big difference.

2- I bought a Universal Audio UAD-1. Pro Audio 9 doesn't allow you to use the card as an insert, only as a destructive tool.

example - you can highlight a track and apply a LA-2A to it and it will process the track(PA9)

In Sonar 3, you can insert the device right in the channel input and monitor it in real time. Record and if you don't like it, change it. The Nigel guitar suite makes my POD 2.0 obselete (it's for sale if anyone is interested.

3- Many of my clients use Soanr. It's hard to tell them to save as a Cakewalk PA9 file. Sonar 3 can also read the forks in a Digidesign SDII file. Very cool!

4- Lexicon Pantheon Reverb - It's that good and is not availible outside of Sonar.

The GUI in the original Sonar was plain ugly. I didn't like the idea of spending years learning all the tricks and tips in Pro Audio (I had Versions 6, 7, 8 & 9) being gone. I also know many people that comnplained about the stability in Sonar 1 and 2.

Sonar 3 has been very stable. After about 2 days of working with it, I am comftorble with it. A few things moved, but now that I know where they are and it's no bother.

The UI, although cumbersome at first, is actually a lot smarter than the PA9 ui. Now that it's up and running I like it better. Also being able to export broadcast files, etc... make it a time saver.

If you have PA9 and love it (as I did) and you are a weekend warrior, you probably don't want to switch. If you use lots of programs at the same time (I always have Sonar 3, GigaStudio 160 and SoundForge7 open) you will notice a difference if you are running a P4 or hyperthreading chip.

Also, if you take money from people many want the latest and greatest software (not always the best idea).

I have been very happy with my move and would urge you not to worry about the switch (if your system can handle it).


Good Luck!

bvdd
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2003 4:03 pm

Post by bvdd » Mon Dec 08, 2003 11:44 pm

Hey gretscguy,
Thanx loads for the reply. Ok, where do I start?...

First, I own Sonar 2.1. I agree with you about it's stability, features, DXI
ability, etc., etc. I wanted more than anything to like it especially because it allowed me to use Live Synth Pro (great) and DR-008 (also great). These 2 alone answered my sampling issue. However, (as you mentioned)
I find the GUI illogical and just plain stupid. Yes, I know I'm used to PA9 and I should give it time (like you I've had PA 5,6,7,8,9). But laying out
screen info horizontally instead of in a logical vertical grid (PA.x) makes no sense to me. I have over 300 Cakewalk projects that I work with and change constantly. It takes me 5 times longer to do my work in Sonar because I have to toggle screens and 'search' tiny gray windows with white text. My songs are 20+ tracks each of midi and audio .. and now at a glance (Sonar) I see 8 or 10 different colors for these tracks instead of
one color for midi, another color for audio. For what possible reason could they think this is easier to work with?? Yes I know you can change some colors but you can't change them all, and how much MORE time should I put into just setting up? (I could go on and on complaining)

Sorry about the rant but I've discussed this many times with "Sonar is Terrific .. PA9 SUCKS" fans (not you) .. and none of them seem to know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I'm still very open to changing my ideas and finding out I'm wrong (boy do I hope I'm wrong) so whatever you say will be considered very seriously.

I'm using PA9, Cool Edit, 98SE, Layla 20, and a cheap SB PC512 soundcard (simply for the soundfont thing, which I can't get to work anyway). My machine is Athlon 1.3, 256mb, 40gb 7200.
I'm considering changing to Windows 2k and a P4 3 ghz, 1 ghz ram system.
I'm staying with Layla and Cool Edit. I only use Sonar for Live Synth and DR-008 but it's a pain in the ass to keep switching between it and PA9.

So that brings us to my PA9/Sampler question.
Thanx again for your time.
Bill

GretscGuy
Posts: 434
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 1:26 pm
Location: Massachusetts USA

Post by GretscGuy » Tue Dec 09, 2003 2:22 am

I saw the same thing with the Sonar (up until 3) color schemes. I have a freind who had a nearly identical machine to mine (at the time) and he upgraded while I chose to stay with PA9.

He went through a period of pulling his hair out and being frustrated while I sailed along just as always. The problem for him was not learning a new program (which would slow anyone down) but dealing with resource problems and crashes.

I went over to his place with my PA9 files eager to do some mixing (and check out the new FX) and left loving PA9 more than ever.

I was planning for the worst when upgrading to Sonar 3. I had built a new PC days before it arrived (my first custom configured bare bones audio machine) and after about a week of making mistakes and reading the manual I got it working well.

Fortunatley for me, I live in Massachusetts so tech support is a local call when I need it as I had a dumb question about the audio editing window (that has now become the loop construction window).

I like the Sonar 3 color scheme and the vertical windows confused me until I realized that by maximising one I could instantly change effects, port settings, channels, etc (COOL!)

One thing I did do was spend a day setting up a template with colors for audio and midi that I like and ports pre-assigned to what I am working with 90% of the time. It was kind of a pain to set up (in that it was time consuming) but now it's very fast to get going into a project.

I still think Cakewalk's effects are crap. I would have liked to see less effects with more usable sounds, but that's just me. I remember hearing Audio FX 1, 2 & 3 and thinking they were nice but not very useable. More flash than substance. I bought the BBE Maximizer and have it installed, though I rarely use it. If you're thinking about this plugin - save your money!

That being said the Pantheon has surpassed all my expectations. I picked up a used Lexicon remote (with midi) and have it controlling the Pantheon, looks slick to clients and is fun!

I would like to see Cakewalk do more work with Lexicon or TC.

I would say upgrade if you plan on going to GigaStudio or something similar. Soanr 3's minimums are 900/128 I belive. Get a machine with a fast FSB for that sampling power!

Good Luck!

Stephen Boyd

Post by Stephen Boyd » Thu Jan 08, 2004 9:29 pm

just got all the stuff loaded from my original question above... can't wait to try it all out...

I am using tascam DA 38, TMD 1k, cakewalk 9... should this do the trick?

thanks in advance

I play bluegrass and folk stuff... thanks for the tips..

steve

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