The Legendary Zoltan

I can understand that they DIDN'T but I don't see why I COULDN'T make a song that sounds like the East West one using Orchestral Essentials. Are you saying it can't be done because of some innate problem?

$37,000 was just me exaggerating because I'm trying to upgrade my computer, get the best orchestral samples, AND buy a midi keyboard all at the same time to start a career as a composer. Anyway, I sent a message to Cakewalk, hopefully they'll have some way of helping me out. But last time I tried to get 8.5 they didn't help me. Apparently only U.S. residents can upgrade from 8 to 8.5. That was cold!

Well I hear that Orchestral Essentials has a lot of the same exact sounds with some added ones from some of their other libraries so I would think that you'd like that one as well. I'm currently leaning towards buying Orchestral Essentials.

AAAAARRRRGHH! I've just scoured my somewhat small apartment and can't find the Sonar box any where! I have the instruction manual and nothing else. That means I can't install Sonar on a new computer, doesn't it? That means I no longer have a CD key, doesn't it? Is it possible that I got a downloaded version? I can't upgrade without that key can I? Does anyone know of something I can do to avoid having to buy the entire program from scratch? I can't afford to RE-buy software that costs freaking $37,000. As you can see. I'm totally upset and panicking about this. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

I feel pretty confident about the parts I've selected thus far. All I have to do now is find out which drivers are good on Windows 7. A computer expert said that the drivers you need should be already installed on the machine when I buy it. The default sound unit for the computer I'm looking at is onboard a Intel Z77 Express Chipset ATX motherboard. I'm trying to look for what drivers it already has on it but no luck yet.

What I'm going to do is buy it with a credit card and pay it back slowly over the course of 24 months. Along with DAW computer I'm working on.

OK. Thanks, Flexstyle. It's too bad the selection is so sparse out here.

I want to make melodic orchestra music that could potentially be used in games and even movies. I would like to keep it under 800 dollars. Am I wrong in thinking that any samples that are actual instruments recorded in an actual orchestra hall will sound good?

Hmmm. Thanks guys. As far as control goes, I think I prefer the wheel. I was playing that keyboard and when I hit the keys harder it got louder. Are you saying that weighted keys can read my pressure better? It didn't seem like I wouldn't be able to control the velocity while playing.

Thanks a lot for all of the advice guys. I found a complete computer that I THINK meets my requirements for $1,000. It's a Japanese store but I tried my best to translate all the specs. Do you see any egregious failures? Also, do you know whether or not Sonar 8 (Not 8.5) Studio Edition is 64 bit? I can't find the box and it's not written in the manual. Thanks a lot. Monarch LD-K http://www.dospara.co.jp/5shopping/detail_prime.php?tg=2&tc=56&ft=&mc=2769&sn=0 Intel i7-3770K 4core, 3.5ghz, L3 cache 8MB video: Inside the CPU, Intel HD Graphics memory: 【PC3-12800】8GB DDR3 SDRAM(PC3-12800/4GBx2 dual channel hard disk: 【SSD】Intel 240GB (330 series /SATA6Gb/ DVD Multidrive Motherboard: Intel Z77 Express Chipset ATX OS: 64-bit Windows 7 Home premium Monitor: SAMSUNG S22B300B 21.5 inch Full HD Wide LED

That helps a TON! Thank you! I've decided now that I want to go with Orchestral Essentials. It IS going to be a squeeze on the wallet, however. I am currently and very suddenly trying to drastically improve my tools for making music and going pro. All this time I thought that I couldn't do it but after studying a lot of things, I think I'll be in quite an excellent position once I get the tools I need and some EQ/compression/effects practice in. Oh, really? I hear that one of the appeals of that library is the reverberation of the hall in which they recorded the samples. Maybe if I have EIGHTGIGSOFRAM I can do it.

So, this one is available at my local music store. http://www.soundaffectsmusic.com/roland-cakewalk-a-500-s-usb-midi-keyboard.html I'm just looking to control orchestral samples in Sonar. I don't need to have any good sounds already contained within the keyboard. I'm mostly worried about latency when playing along with drums and such. One more thing I'm wondering about is the controller wheel. Do you prefer the wheel that just moves vertically or the stick type that can also move horizontally. The sales staff said that with the stick you can do vibrato and volume at the same time as you play. That will take some practice. Alternatively, if anyone has a good one for sale, let me know. Thank you all for your always-invaluable input.

Really? But I REALLY like the sound of the Orchestral Essentials. It's not the same thing as Symphobia, so I should be able to make that Sakuraba-style piece with it, right?

OK. Well, luckily I don't need to use this interface for vocals at the moment so I can upgrade that part later as Flexstyle suggested. I think I'll go with a single terabyte of hard drive for now.

I see. Thanks a lot for all of your insight, Moseph. That remix was by you, wasn't it? It sounded great. After looking at all these things the one that appeals to me the most is Symphobia but I think I can get almost the same exact sounds just with a bit more work out of Orchestral Essentials and it's SIXHUNDREDDOLLARS cheaper. So, I think I've decided to go with that. I can put the $600 I save towards building the computer that can run Sonar with tons of orchestra samples.

So, I have this thing. http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.php?ProductId=1089&ParentId=436 And it's worked quite well. I just wanted something for recording guitar and vocals. so I may not need the type of card that has inputs and stuff like that on it yet. I just need the thing that handles the processing of the audio data. Maybe that's not how computers work? Or perhaps, I'm getting my hardware mixed up and am simply thinking of the computer's processor? I actually plan to do a lot of orchestral music creation using a midi keyboard/controller. If I can do that smoothly without lag and stuff, I'll be thrilled. I can always upgrade later.

Yeah, you might be right.

Those are the same guys who made Symphobia. High fidelity is really important for soundtrack work. Is the East West one high enough? It sounds great to MY ear but sometimes I can't tell.

Uwa! Quad core is the lowest option? This computer is probably going to cost a ton. Thanks, Flexstyle. That's extremely useful information. How do you make it so that your add-on soundcard is only used by the DAW? Can you do that on any computer in the control panel or something?

Soundblaster = No good?

Do those have dynamic crossfading? That's the thing where you move the wheel controller and it gets louder but also changes into a new sample smoothly without any kind of jumps in the sound.

holy crap! So my current 3 gigs of ram and 300 gigs of hard drive space are like NOTHING?! Hahaha. Thanks a lot, Light of Aether. You are really helping me out.

Huh! It sounds beautiful. It's only $200? I was just eyeing this thing called Symphobia which costs $1,000. Here's demo I found. The official website seems to be down right now.

What are the ideal amounts of RAM, hard drive space, processor speed, a great sound card, the minimum required video card...? I don't really know ANYTHING about building my own computer. I currently use a laptop with sonar and I'm recording a full album of heavy metal. Occasionally the computer can't seem to handle the MANY audio tracks. There's one song where I haven't even put in the bass yet but I just can not play the song without it stopping again right away. And this laptop has 3 gigs of RAM! I thought that would be plenty! NOOOOOO! Any recommendations? Thanks a lot for your help.

I'm trying to research an excellent library for myself to start using to make orchestral heavy metal with. When I start actually releasing the music, I'm going to need a really high quality sound since it's not a real orchestra. Are there any recommendations? Thank you in advance!