Friday, March 26, 2004
GPO - "Personal" Orchestra
Wow. After spending some time working with the new Garritan Personal Orchestra, I'm amazed at how easy it is to get incredibly realistic playback from any MIDI app - including Sibelius and Finale.
Garritan has aptly named their new product - "Personal" means affordable for anyone - you don't need to take out a loan or work for a studio with a lot of money to spend. For under $250 US, you won't find anything as good at twice the price!
"Personal" also means accessible. It is by far one of the easiest sample libraries I've ever worked with, and once you get used to using the mod wheel for volume, you will be taking advantage of the great samples in no time. The Kontakt engine provides very low latency playback, but the best part is Garritan's own VST host program that makes it accessible to any MIDI application.
Although I have few great soft synths and sample players on my system, none of them work with Sibelius or Finale, meaning I have to save as a MIDI file and import into a host program. With the GPO, I get 8 new MIDI outputs showing up - each supporting up to 8 instruments from the GPO library.
Don't believe me? Listen to the samples to hear it for yourself. The sample library and the ability to work with any MIDI app makes it well worth the price, but GPO also includes Cubasis VST and Overture SE. For an even better value, check out our GPO keyboard bundle - for only $20 more you get an MK-125 MIDI keyboard controller!
Posted at 2:39 AM by Kelly's Music :: Archived :: TrackBack (0) ::
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
PCR-1 - Wow, this is small!
The PCR-1 is a great space saver. If you are the type of musician who needs a midi controller to use with a sequencing program, or need assignable controls, the PCR-1 is perfect. As part of the PCR series, you can download control maps for over 80 applications and hardware devices, giving you detailed control over virtually any parameter in your software. The PCR-1 includes 25 assignable controllers and you can assign effects to any one of the controllers to get a physical manipulation of the level - much better than trying to use your mouse! This can also be really useful when trying to get just the right sound. The keys are full sized and allowed me to add an extra midi part without fumbling on a mini keyboard - a big plus!
If you have seen my desk you would realize there's not much room for anything else., making the size ideal for a guy like me. It also includes is audio input and output so you can connect analogue devices with RCA. Also included is digital optical connections for your minidisk player or other digital device for no-loss transfer of digital audio and a 1/8" headphone jack.
And for laptop users, it's completely portable. Use the PCR-1 with your laptop on your commute to finish off assignments, or take it with you on business. It is completely powered by USB making it a great laptop companion.
Check out the full details on the PCR-1 here!
- Dave
Posted at 12:18 PM by Kelly's Music :: Archived :: TrackBack (0) ::