Setting up a PC for Synfire

Also, do you use synth software? Ever looked at Omnisphere by Spectratonics? I would like to purchase this next, but first I need to get my tech "ducks" in order.

John

I have Omnisphere and it is the best soft synth I've ever seen or used. Easily.

GPO 4 that much different from 3?

GPO 4 uses the ARIA engine, while GPO 3 and earlier used Kontakt. As far as I can see, the set of instruments is pretty much the same, though I did see a couple of extras in GPO 4.

Also, how long have you worked with Synfire, doing what primarily, and what is your opinion?

About a year, though I only use it in my spare time. I'm not a professional musician, I am just an enthusiastic amateur who is fascinated with music composition.

85% of the time I'm very happy with it, and am excited to hear what it comes up with. The program is definitely worth the price.

The other 15% of me gets frustrated by the user interface kinks that still need to be worked out, as they often get in the way. But that's what the early bird program is for... to bombard the guys at Cognitone with as many complaints as possible, as fast as possible. :-)

Also, do you use synth software?

Yes, but I think I have too many in my collection. I am beginning to learn my lesson: the act of scrolling through presets is a real time sink. It can be frustrating picking out which sounds you want to use if there are too many of them to choose from.

I think my favorite soft synth is the first one I ever bought: Image-Line Sytrus. Maybe it is my favorite because that is the one whose presets I am most familiar with, but still it is a quite versatile and sweet sounding synth.

Ever looked at Omnisphere by Spectratonics?

Looks cool, but.. 6891 patches?! That would be my downfall!

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Thanks! That sells me then. I've watched the demo's, although they don't go into deep detail on sounds and what all is included, but it looks like a great package. So I guess you recommend it?

The number of sounds seems like a lot, but remember that there are preset patches, and soundsources. The soundsources are the meat of what you will go to for creating your own sounds from scratch. Some of the soundsources have a few different flavors or versions of the sound.

If someone complains about not being able to find a sound, or searching for something and not finding it, then they were most likely searching the presets and not the sources.

You can pull up a preset patch and just swap a soundsource (or two) and have a TOTALLY different sound that nobody else has come up with in less than 10 seconds. It really isn't that hard or time-consuming. You also get all of Atmosphere essentially "remastered" and beefed up too.

The thing is laid out very well. Many synths get confusing when you start applying envelopes and LFOs to modulation destinations, but Omnisphere has a good interface that makes everything a bit less mysterious so you don't get lost or wonder what source is effecting what destination.

The synth engine is insane just with the basic waveforms (saw/square, sine, triangle, noise) and effects. Just have a look at the tutorial on the oscillator section: (posting this .mov from my Mac so it might take a minute to DL.)

http://hackintosh.solar-sound.com/~phil/omni/omnisphere_oscillator.mov

Also, it is a bit hidden, but the + magnifying glass icon next to the filter section reveals the filters in their entirety. Most people will just select 12db or 24db filter type and be done with it, using just the basic ADSR filter envelope, but there is a LOT more in there! Modulate one or two of those filter parameters and you might amaze yourself. I was *really surprised* that the advanced filter area is rarely mentioned or demonstrated...there isn't even a video of it.

Do you use it with Synfire, and what DAW do you use.

I use Logic for Mac but I'm trying out Ableton 8 also. Ableton Live seems like it could be an easier/quicker fit with Synfire for fast prototyping. (I had weird problems with Rewire in Logic, but that is working again with recent updates.) The environment window in Logic is kind of archaic and a hassle. :P I haven't finished setting up good general purpose racks in Logic. Regardless, the synths in Logic are still the best, you almost don't need anything extra...

My big concern was that my existing PC is P4 2.8 dual core, with 200G hd and 3 gigs of RAM. Is that enough to run Omnisphere or do I need a new box?

A dual core 2.8 is enough for Omnisphere, but the more the merrier. The new updates have a sample-thinning mode where a limited set of multi-samples are loaded if you choose; you can pick a setting like thirds, every alternating, etc., and thin out the sample loading, also there is a quick preview loading mode. Besides, there is still work to be done to bring it up to 64-bit for > 3GB memory addressability (on Mac anyway.)

Freezing in your DAW will be your friend if you are going to work with a couple instances of Omnisphere. I doubt many would need more than 2. That is quite a palette of sounds right there.

John, you should install GPO4 to its own directory. If it resides inside Synfire, the next Cognitone update might mess with it.

Every software should have its own space that is not shared with other applications. However, with on exception: I've been quite successful installing all the massy sound libs of all the synths and samples I have in a common LIB folder that is excluded from automatic backup.

Christian

Have you used it with Synfire/Reaper? My concern using Synfire is that hundreds of the pads that are mood or "atmosphere", whatever you want to call it, wouldn't be recognized well in the context of harmonic composition. Maybe to add later in Reaper as an extra layer. If you did use it, any problem with assigning MIDI or anything else?

Yes, I use Omnisphere with Synfire. It is almost always one of my main synths for atmospheric beds and rich strings, but it also can do some great leads and basses. Pretty much anything really.

It isn't too hard to setup for MIDI, it takes 8 channels in, and has a very cool live/stack mode where you can split or layer patches very easily to create multi-timbral sounds that respond on one channel.

The "hold" feature for segments in Synfire and adjusting the the auto-split in the voice-leading properties comes in really handy when doing pads and instrumental bed type sounds in Omnisphere.

I would think that Omnisphere would be about the total package, but I'm sure next year someone will come along and create something even grander. But I do need to consider limiting the voices/instruments accessible to me as 10,000 is probably enough.

One of the best things about the guys at Spectrasonics is that they really know how to do good quality sounds. Only the best gear and perfection in sampling. Eric Persing was one of the top Roland sound designers in the past. It would take a lot for someone to top these guys in sampling. :)

Without a doubt, go 64-bit.

With 32-bit, any memory you have in excess of 3GB will not be used.

Synfire, Reaper, or Omnisphere will have no problem with 64-bit.

(I'm not sure about Reason.)

Yes, I am using Windows 7 64-bit. No major complaints so far.

By the way, if you are going to build a new machine for audio purposes, you might want to invest in a second (or third) hard drive as well.

For synths and samplers (GPO for example), it is better to install the libraries on a drive that is not the main system-drive. This is because these programs rely heavily on disk streaming. You'll get better performance.

On my machine, I have three 1 TB drives: one for the system drive, one for my documents and projects, and one for... well, "other stuff", like sample libraries, among other things.