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Iostream

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Everything posted by Iostream

  1. Iostream
    There are 2 big changes: 1) MK2 has a slightly different fit, it is supposedly more comfortable and a bit easier to get the correct sound out of them. 2) MK2 comes with 2 cables, one coiled, one not. The drivers are the same, the sound is the same (provided you have them on snug). To be honest, the regular K240 studios at $85 are a great deal.
  2. Iostream
    About the only time you want a hard repetitive drum line through an entire song is if you are trying to give the feeling of a machine. Otherwise there is always variation
  3. Iostream
    Cubase has something similar, I think that's pretty standard now.
  4. Iostream
    Actually, I used Sonar, pretty much since the beginning of time (92 with Cakewalk for DOS). I still have X2 Producer installed. I have always had good experiences with it. I tried out Cubase because I got into more orchestral work and liked the idea of expression maps. I did the 30 day trial, and eventually bought it. In the end, I do think Cubase is stronger for midi if you are doing orchestral work. Not much of a difference for the typical EDM or rock band DAW. If you are not doing heavy orchestral, and starting from scratch, I would say pick Sonar or Cubase, both are good, but if you already have Cubase, I can't think of any reason to switch to Sonar. If you already have Sonar, I am not sure Cubase is worth the purchase unless you are dealing with lots of sample libraries with different keyswitching, etc.
  5. Iostream
    Glad you found something you like. Enjoy it!
  6. Iostream
    Another chime in for Cubase here. It is a composer's DAW, not to say that there are not others, but things like expression maps, note expression, and sane handling of VSTs make it great for composition. It can also do a fine job of the final mix and mastering. If you are not heavily into midi, Pro Tools is great for audio. If you are more likely to do your composing with audio clips (or loops) ableton is a great choice. That doesn't mean that other DAWs are a poor choice, they all have their strengths, but if you have Cubase, and are doing heavy midi work, I don't know that it's worth investing in anything else.
  7. Iostream
    There are very successful producers out there who don't use anything more than a laptop.
  8. Iostream
    If you are looking, I mistyped it when I made my original post. It is the AX3000B
  9. Iostream
    It's an all around great multi board. The amp and cabinet modelling is good, the distortion is decent, the chorus is great. All the usual suspects are there. What I really love about it are the synth effects (even a nice ring mod) and the pitch shift (drop an octave, etc). It has a step sequencer for controlling effects as well.
  10. Iostream
    Actually, that part is slightly inaccurate. If you have upgraded off of Komplete 6, they will let you sell your komplete 6 license, but your upgrade license becomes invalid. It really doesn't make a lot of sense, but they will let you do it.
  11. Iostream
    If I had to limit myself to just a couple of VSTs, Zebra and Kontakt are what I couldn't live without. Reaktor if Ihad to pick a 3rd. Sure, I use a lot more, but those end up in constant use.
  12. Iostream
    I know you can sell the NI stuff, you cannot resell cakewalk products, so I am not sure how that will work out with Z3TA
  13. Iostream
    I tend to do most things in the box, but when I just want to plug in and jam, I use a Korg Toneworks AX300B. It's a great all purpose box, and has some unusual effects as well.
  14. Iostream

    It is beautiful, and very well built. The software was also beautiful. Not only did it browse all of komplete from 1 interface, but it allowed you to morph between up to 4 sounds, regardless of which synth they came from. I miss it, but I didn't want to be stuck at komplete 6 anymore either

  15. Iostream
    I think that's exactly what he was saying, it doesn't matter if you have the best of everything, if you don't know how to use it, someone with crap gear but great talent will sound better.
  16. Iostream

    I don't know that they are really worth getting at this point. I actually bought this new with Kore 2, and kore 2 was an incredible piece of software. Since moving to a keyboard without all of the knobs and sliders, it is very convenient to map things to the kore 2 controller. They are built like tanks, and great response on them. I don't know what the going rate on them is, but basically you are paying for 8 knobs or latch switches (each button above a knob will latch it at 0 or 127). Shame that kore2 software is dead though, maschine doesn't offer the same functionality (though it is good at other things).

  17. Iostream
    I would agree as well, the strings at the beginning more gradual would make a big difference. That really long sustain just doesn't have enough expression to make it seem quite organic. It's a subtlety, but can make a big difference.
  18. Iostream
    You have to be careful with the mpk88, search the internet for mpk88 rattle. They can be quite noisy. I looked very closely at this board before getting the CP33. From the friend I know who has one though, he has been very happy with it, so maybe they are not all impacted by this?
  19. Iostream
    You could also replace that Arius with a Yamaha CP33. It has the same keybed as the higher model Arius, in fact it looks almost the same, but it has mod wheel, pitch bend, and 2 sliders to set zones which can also be set to transmit aftertouch. This is what I am using now, and I set a Korg Nanokontrol 2 on top for knobs/sliders.
  20. Iostream
    Full Moon rising is much better in the mixing area. Still a few areas I would watch the levels of individual instruments. There were a couple of points where a single synth sound, or drums were just higher than they probably should have been. Lion of Judah, this again is better mixed than the first track. Still, the piano is a bit dry, as are the strings. You don't get much of a sense of space. Brass is missing expression, especially noticeable on the longs. Generally speaking it sounds a bit more mechanical than it could with some more expression thrown in for everything.
  21. Iostream
    The pipes in general have an unnatural quality to them, but I play the pipes, and to be honest, I haven't found a realistic sampled pipe yet. Bagpipes are a weird instrument, very difficult to play on a keyboard even if you do have a good sample set. I would agree with the above critique on all points. Particularly the composition is good, but the mixing/mastering is off. Guitar should be a bit louder, drums a bit quieter, everything needs a bit of EQ to clear out the mud. A multiband compressor can work wonders in the mastering too.
  22. Iostream
    That's one of the advantages of Cubase Expression maps... You don't have to care what any given library uses. I wish every DAW would pick that up.
  23. Iostream
    Awesome, I will pick this one up when I get a chance. I actually ended up using Cinematic Synthetic Drums in my latest single. Great work you do.
  24. Iostream
    If I had to guess, I would say your ASIO device is the default sound device, and firefox is grabbing it at start up for some reason. Some apps will let you share the ASIO driver for playback, while others require exclusive control. Good ones let you choose whether it is exclusive. I use the onboard sound as the default and run it to a mixer with my audio interface. All audio apps use this, default win crap uses the onboard, and everything is happy.
  25. Iostream
    I keep a standard template for orchestral pieces, and remove tracks I don't need once the basic composition is done. My standard template uses 5 16 out instances of kontakt: 1 Percussion (4 frequently used patches loaded, 4 empty slots) 2 Strings (fully loaded) 3 Brass (3 albion brass patches loaded 5 empty slots) 4 Woodwinds/Piano (Albion woodwinds hi/lo plus a piano, 5 empty slots) 5 Synth (8 empty slots) In this template, all empty slots already have their midi tracks and outputs enabled and routed. This makes it fast and easy to add new sounds with minimal hassle. I also have all tracks going prefader to a reverb bus so I can get a basic feel as I am writing.
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