100_PERCENT ROEMER

I have an M-Audio Audiophile 192 sound card with a Studiologic Fatar 990 midi controller plugged into it via Midi-in. I used to have no problems at all with my setup, but now if I touch any of the keys on my controller even if I'm not in FL studio my mouse cursor will disappear and I'll get horrible system lag until I restart my computer. I also have a Padkontrol connected via USB but I don't get that problem with it. I've never had a problem like this before until I updated my Audiophile drivers. Could the drivers be causing my system to crash?

Added to the roster! Thanks for helping out man.

I'm in. Any time in particular?

I've been playing classical piano for about 10 years now, and recently got a Studiologic 88 key Fatar SL-990 midi controller. Compared to all the other digital pianos and midi controllers I've played, the action on this particular controller is the closest thing to a piano I've found to date. I got it for $190 used, but you can't find the basic 990 model anymore. Here's an updated version of the 990 (it has pitch bend and mod wheels now, which is a big plus) http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?ItemID=47641&ovchn=SHOP&ovcpn=Sam+Ash+TL&ovcrn=47641&ovtac=CMP&AffiliateID=340 And here's another version of the Fatar which has a few more bells and whistles: http://www.zzounds.com/item--FATSL990PRO Edit: Oh yeah, did I mention that it's only $350 new? Seriously, it's an amazing deal. I'd definitely look into it.

TASCAM's Giga Continuous Velocity Piano is doing an amazing job for me right now, especially since it's free! Once I get some extra cash and become more familiar with FL Studio and midi I'll look into some of the more hardcore virtual pianos. I suppose if I win the lottery or something, I could just get a bunch of recording equipment for my acoustic piano instead Thanks again guys!!

I've been working on getting my home studio up and running, and while I've got all the hardware I need now, I need to find some good software. I've already got FL Studio, and I'll probably keep using that DAW for a long time since I'm most comfortable with it, but what I need now is a good quality piano VST that can interface with FL Studio. I've heard some good VSTs for piano (Such as Sampletekk's VSTi) but they only interface with Gigastudio or Kontakt. Does anyone have any experience with M-Audio's Keyrig piano? Or is there some other VSTi pack that has a good piano sound? I've been looking at Steinberg's The Grand 2, but it's a little pricy and I haven't been able to find a demo or anything like that for it. If it's really fucking awesome though, and works with FL Studio, I might drop the money on it.

I grabbed an 88 key midi controller Studiologic Fatar 990 used for $190. Awesome key action too. Just hunt around for something used. You'll save a lot of money that way.

Ah, thanks Harmony. You cleared up a lot of things for me. Yes, my ultimate goal is to use the PadKontrol to create a drumline, then use the keyboard for the bassline and main melody, and then use the PadKontrol again to add effects to the piece via the assignable knobs, x-y pad, and midi pedal input. Being able to use a guitar effects pedal would be cool as well, but if I could simply assign the midi pedal to an effect that would be preferable (and less expensive). I'm essentially building a setup that would allow me to improvise music on the fly as best as possible by allowing me to layer musical phrases on top of eachother, since I work best in that manner. So, looks like I'll be needing an EMU 0404, PadKontrol, a new version of FL and libraries to go with it, and a nice set of monitors. Looks like I'll be able to stay under budget with that setup too, which is a big relief

The keyboard only has midi out. It's an older midi controller, but the key action is absolutely amazing. Therefore, I would have to have the midi out from the keyboard go into the PadKontrol's midi in. From there I suppose I could either use USB or midi to connect to my computer. Also, combining the keyboard and PadKontrol would let me use the Pad as a way to manipulate the notes coming from the keyboard with an assignable effects pedal as well as with the various knobs and x-y pad the PadKontrol has. Or at least, that's how I understand it to work. If I get the EMU 0404, would that work as a sound card as well? Would I be able to plug my monitors into it too? Oh yeah, which has better audio quality when dealing with monitors: An XLR or a 1/4'' input? I'm thinking I'll just stick with FL. I'm familiar with it and I'm going to be working primarily with midi anyway. I'll definitely have to upgrade though, as I'm working with FL 6.

I forgot to ask, since the 88 key is transmitting midi to the PadKontrol, and the PadKontrol is connected to the computer via USB or midi, would there be any loss in quality if I went with USB and would I still have to get a card like the EMU 0404? The PadKontrol doesn't come with an AC adapter, and I don't know where I might find one. I know it will power itself through USB, but I don't know if it can power itself through midi.

With these piano libraries ranging up into the 30 gig range, will FL really be able to handle something like that? I've never worked with any libraries that large before, nor have I ever done midi with FL, so I'm clueless in that regard. Also, would the EMU 0404 work as a soundcard as well? Or would I have to use my current soundcard? I have an Audigy 2 ZS, which is decent but I would be looking to upgrade to something else if this is the case. As for electronic sounds, something in the range of Goa Trance with lots of room for tweaking and modifying.

Impressive piano libraries to say the least, although adding that onto what I need to get already would probably send me out of my budget range. Any good piano libraries for around $100? I remember M-audio released one awhile back, although I have no idea about the quality of it. EDIT: Forgot to mention that the PadKontrol comes with the following programs: • "Live Lite 6 Korg Edition" • "SampleTank 2 Korg Edition" • "UVI Korg Edition" • "Reason Adapted 3.0 for Korg" • "MDE-X" Any of those comparable to FL Studio? If I can use one of those instead of buying a new version of FL that would help out a lot.

Alrighty, if I were to go with the newer fruityloops, what soundlibraries would be good to get? I need something with as realistic a piano sound as possible, as well as a myriad of good electronic samples. My needs are a little odd in this regard, since I'm going to continue playing my classical piano music and recording it, as well as branching off and composing electronic music (Goa/Psychedelic Trance and the like). Any input on the Korg PadKontrol? EDIT: For clarification, I would not be recording any acoustic instruments, but I may consider recording vocals via a microphone at some point. Currently, recording live instruments is not a priority though, as I'm focusing primarily on midi data transfer. Also, if I was to get a soundcard instead of a hardware interface, would I just plug the midi chain and monitors directly into the soundcard?

Hey guys, just looking for some input on a studio I'm working on building. I've used fruityloops in the past, with no hardware interfaces. However, I recently acquired an excellent used Studiologic 88 key midi controller that feels almost like a piano, and as a pianist of 9 years, this is very important to me. Anyways, that was the first piece of my studio, and I'm looking at other components to add to it. I'm trying to graduate from fruityloops to a more powerful program that can handle composing both electronic music and recording classical pieces of music. Fortunately, I have an account with JourneyEd which would allow me to get an Mbox 2 (with Protools LE) for $350 with additional bonus programs as well, which is much cheaper than the retail price. I’ve never worked with Protools personally, but I understand that it is an exceptionally powerful program. In addition, I've been looking at the Korg PadKontrol as an additional midi input device as well as a way to add an effects pedal to the chain of devices. That way I would be able to play the 88 key midi piano, use an assignable effects pedal while I play it, and develop drumbeats on the PadKontrol simultaneously. I’m needing a nice set of monitors as well. Nothing too fancy, and I don’t need anything that supports a terribly high volume setting, I just need something with a nice clear sound and flat eq. I’ve been looking at the KRK Rokit 5’s and the Samson 65a’s, but anything between $200 and $300 that is good quality is fine. So basically, my theoretical setup consists of: Studiologic 88 key midi controller Korg PadKontrol drumpad Mbox 2 with Protools LE A set of monitors: (Rokit 5’s, or Samson 65a’s). All my samples and synthesizing would be softsynth via Protools, so my computer would be the primary workhorse in the setup since the only information my interfaces would be transferring would be midi. Hopefully that won’t be a problem considering I have an AMD X2 3800 and 2 gigs of OCZ Platinum RAM. I would be getting a second harddrive as well that would be dedicated to my music production. Now then, the only real concern I have is that the Mbox 2 only has 16 midi channels, and that considering the PadKontrol supports 16 assignable midi channels, and the midi controller would take another, is that I would simply run out of midi channels to work with. I suppose I could just leave one of the channels on the PadKontrol blank, but I’m not sure if the x-y pad and the various dials and slides on the drumpad would take up additional midi channels as well. I also want to make sure that the pedal that I would attach to the PadKontrol to add effects would actually work like a real effects pedal. Considering that the Piano transmits midi data to the PadKontrol, and then the PadKontrol transmits to the Mbox, and then the Mbox transmits to the monitors and the computer, I think it should work out but clarification would be nicely. I’m new to this whole music hardware thing, considering the only hardware I’ve ever worked with is an acoustic piano, heh heh. My max budget for this whole thing is $1500 by the way, and I’m already $300 in. Any input would be greatly appreciated!!

Alrighty, I've decided that it's finally time to drop the money on a really nice workstation, and hopefully it'll be something I can use for years. I've been playing piano for 9 years, and while I still want to continue that, I'm hoping to do more than classical music. I've dabbled around in FL Studio a bit, and I enjoy making trance music, so I'm looking for something that has the following: 1) Needs to work both for electronic and acoustic styled music. Good samples and all that jazz. 2) I jam a lot with a friend of mine, so the workstation needs to be able to interface with other equipment. 3) Keyboard keys should have a good touch, none of that mushy plastic shit that cheaper keyboards have. 4) I need to be able to store stuff I've worked on previously, and be able to layer those things on top of additional things I've created. 5) needs at least 61 keys, and the ability to raise or drop octaves. I've been looking at the Korg X-50 and it seems to have what I need in it, but I haven't actually played one yet, although I hope to soon. Anyone else have any good suggestions?

Sad news... PC Demo won't be out until Monday

Very nice! I likes

Anyone been keeping tabs on this game? I played the XBOX 360 demo yesterday and it was FUCKING AMAZING. It blends horror and humor brilliantly, not to mention I've got a thing for anything dystopian. I just hope my computer has the guts to run the damn thing, heh heh. Anyways, the PC demo comes out tomorrow, so I guess I'll know then. Also, the water in the game is the most realistic I've seen yet, although considering the game using the Unreal 3 engine that's to be expected.

From what my friends have told me, Vista blows donkey cock.

Thanks for your input! The 6th House was the first song I composed in FL Studio, and I overlooked an entire set of high quality sounds. I replaced the strings with a synth organ instead, so it sounds better now. Try listening to my other song, it's more polished and refined than The 6th House

Haha, give me an address to send it to, and I'll send ya a taco for real. No guarantees on its freshness though!

Well, after many many years of playing classical piano, I decided to grab a copy of FL Studio and take it for a spin. Needless to say, what I started creating was not your average classical music by any means, since it fits primarily into the Psychedelic/Goa Trance genre (which is one of my favorite genres of music). However, it does have some classical influences, so it's a bit of both worlds. Anyways, here's my work so far: http://www.myspace.com/circlerifficmusic I'm just looking for some input and some tips on how to better use Fruityloops Studio. Thanks guys

Roster updated! And seriously, guys you're doing AWESOME!

Kudos to you for contributing so much to Team OCR! Seriously, I'll mail you a taco or something one of these days, heh heh.

Time for another bump! Oh yeah, we broke the 1,000,000 point mark a little bit ago. KEEP IT UP!!