[Pyro Paper Planes]

I'm about to give my music studio a boost. Things I plan on purchasing include Kontakt Ultimate 8, Emotional Piano, and a WD Cavier Black 1TB (for a RAID setup). The tricky part is that I live in Ottawa, Canada. Most American websites tend to mark up their prices for their Canadian representative, include insane shipping prices, or simply don't ship here. Does anyone know of any good places to purchase such things?

I'm also in need of advice for an enclosure, (external) soundcard, and Dreamweaver...

• I'm looking for an external RAID enclosure to help with my music library. I already have a spare WD Caviar Black 1TB, so I think pairing it up with an additional WD Caviar Black 1TB and RAID enclosure would be the best option. Does anyone have a recommendation on what enclosure to purchase?
• I think it would be a good idea to purchase an external soundcard. It will be for a MacBook Pro, and I will probably record music on occasion. Otherwise, it would be simply for the extra amplitude. What are people's opinions on the Duet 2? Does anyone have any recommendations for a different soundcard?
• On a slightly unrelated note, what are the general opinions on Dreamweaver? I have a minor understanding of how HTML code works, and am in need of designing a website. I've also been asked to design a website for a family friend's business (among other minor things), so this could be very useful.

I think that covers about everything. Thanks for reading all of that. I really appreciate all the help I can get.

[Meteo Xavier]

Skrypnyk is probably who I would ask. He's Canadian and makes use of much studio stuff IIRC. I'm sure there are more examples, but he's the first to come to mind.

[Pyro Paper Planes]

I'll make sure to send him a PM. Thanks.

Also, has anyone had any experience with Omnisphere? I think I'm going to try out Kontakt first. It does seem wicked though.

[Skrypnyk]

Give Nova Musik a looksee

[Meteo Xavier]

If you can afford the processing power and $ for Omnisphere, GET IT. It's well known to be one of the most powerful VSTs ever made and it's used in a lot of games and professional sound productions.

[Kanthos]

Pretty sure you can only get Emotional Piano through the vendor's website.

As for the other music gear: Check out Kelly's Music And Computers for music gear. I've bought from them a few times (I'm in Toronto), and the prices are reasonable. Shipping is free if you spend $200, and cheap if you don't order a lot of heavy stuff (eg. try to buy stuff like keyboards locally).

For general computer hardware, try Canada Computers or Tiger Direct. There's a few Canada Computers locations in Ottawa; you could try shipping from Tiger Direct (I've never done this, though; my work is 5 minutes away from one).

Omnisphere is great; beyond Kontakt and some samples from Komplete, it's the best part of my live keyboard rig, and I'm not even using a lot of sampled stuff. It can do some very unique things that other synths don't get close to.

For an audio interface, might you be interested in a Native Instruments' Audio Kontrol 1? I've got one that I've been trying to sell on craigslist; there's nothing wrong with it, and I love it, but I needed something with a second mic input, so I upgraded to the Komplete Audio 6 when NI had a deal for people who owned Komplete 8. Shipping wouldn't be that bad from Toronto to Ottawa; alternately, I have cousins and an aunt and uncle who live in Nepean; if you don't mind waiting until just after July 8th at the latest (my cousins will be out then; my aunt and uncle may be out before then, but I'm not sure), then I could get it your way without the shipping. PM me if you're at all interested.

[Pyro Paper Planes]

Originally Posted by Skrypnyk

Give Nova Musik a looksee

Wowzers, they have some INSANE deals going on right now. Shipping isn't too pretty, but I think I'm actually saving more if I purchase through them. Thank you for that.

Originally Posted by Meteo Xavier

If you can afford the processing power and $ for Omnisphere, GET IT. It's well known to be one of the most powerful VSTs ever made and it's used in a lot of games and professional sound productions.

In that case, I'll see if I can get ahold of it as well. My Mac Pro (2008 model) is a bit long in the tooth, but I plan on purchasing a MacBook Pro sometime this summer (something with good specs, of course). If they have anything like the CPUs they have now, they should be more than sufficient.

Originally Posted by Kanthos

Pretty sure you can only get Emotional Piano through the vendor's website.

As for the other music gear: Check out Kelly's Music And Computers for music gear. I've bought from them a few times (I'm in Toronto), and the prices are reasonable. Shipping is free if you spend $200, and cheap if you don't order a lot of heavy stuff (eg. try to buy stuff like keyboards locally).

For general computer hardware, try Canada Computers or Tiger Direct. There's a few Canada Computers locations in Ottawa; you could try shipping from Tiger Direct (I've never done this, though; my work is 5 minutes away from one).

Omnisphere is great; beyond Kontakt and some samples from Komplete, it's the best part of my live keyboard rig, and I'm not even using a lot of sampled stuff. It can do some very unique things that other synths don't get close to.

For an audio interface, might you be interested in a Native Instruments' Audio Kontrol 1? I've got one that I've been trying to sell on craigslist; there's nothing wrong with it, and I love it, but I needed something with a second mic input, so I upgraded to the Komplete Audio 6 when NI had a deal for people who owned Komplete 8. Shipping wouldn't be that bad from Toronto to Ottawa; alternately, I have cousins and an aunt and uncle who live in Nepean; if you don't mind waiting until just after July 8th at the latest (my cousins will be out then; my aunt and uncle may be out before then, but I'm not sure), then I could get it your way without the shipping. PM me if you're at all interested.

I think you're right about Emotional Piano. Thanks for the confirmation.

I'll definitely check out Kelly's Music. I've heard of them before. Humorously enough, I worked at Canada Computers at one point. Unfortunately, it was during the HDD crisis, so I never did find a good price on the HDD I was looking for.

I'll get back to you on Kontrol.

EDIT: I think I'm going to stick with my guns and go with the Duet 2. From what I've read, the driver support and sound quality can't be matched. Thank you for the offer though!

On a side note, does anyone know of any good, portable keyboards? I already have a decent one, but I'll be moving around quite a bit next year. Something that would fit in a laptop bag would be very helpful. That, or easy enough to carry on its own. It would be handy if it had a few MIDI buttons, and modulation and pitch wheels.

EDIT EDIT: So it turns out my local Long & McQuade is having a sale! We calculated that after shipping costs and customs, everything would be more expensive online (even with the sales). I've already deposited the cash for Omnisphere ($475 + $50 Gift Voucher), Komplete Ultimate 8, and I have the Duet 2 in my hands! Thank you everyone for your help.

All I need now is a very portable keyboard. Unless anyone has suggestions, I'll get something on my own accord. It's time to crank out some music. :3

[Kanthos]

Do you want an actual keyboard that produces its own sound, or just a MIDI controller? I can help you narrow it down (though ultimately, go play a few yourself to see what feels best for you).

[Pyro Paper Planes]

I'm just in need of a portable MIDI controller. I already have a premium workstation (Korg-M3 8, but I'm in need of something portable (for band practice, school, etc).

The things I am looking for:

- Needs to be as portable as possible (25 keys, definitely no more than 49 keys).
- Should have a modulation and pitch wheel.
- Would be nice to have one or two knobs for modulation.

One thing that's stood out for me is the Line 6 Mobile Keys. It doesn't have many knobs, but I can reassign the pan knob to something else (and it seems portable).

The 19" 25 keys is $145 (with $10 gift voucher) and the 32" 49 keys is $199 (with $25 gift voucher). On one hand, the more keys the better...but there's the possibility of fitting the 19" in a backpack (which could be really handy). The prices are almost identical.