Edirol HQ Orchestral Synthesizer Software

[backtalkunlimited]

A quick question: Has any Taxi community member had hands-on experience with Edirol HQ Orchestral Synthesizer Software? If so, I'd appreciate receiving any evaluative comments, etc. that you might be willing to share. Thanks in advance for your help.-Alan (backtalkunlimited)

[ibanez468]

Hey Alan,Yeah, I have the software. I like it, it's got usuable orchestral sounds in it, and it's fairly easy to use. And I used the program on one of my tunes that got forwarded. But...the screener did comment about the realism of the sounds. Not in a negative way, but something to the effect of my tunes being more competitive with a more realistic sounding palette. And that's all the tune was comprised of. Sounds coming from Edirol HQ. The folks around here are much higher on East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra software. And I've recently purchased their Silver Package, but haven't installed it just yet. But based on the demos I heard, it does sound much better than Edirol. Your chances will probably be alot better going with one of their packages. Whatever your pocket can handle. Hope this helps.ibanez468PS--This all depends on what you're planning to do though. Are you going to be composing just orchestral pieces to use in the film/tv listings, or do you have other plans?

[backtalkunlimited]

Reply to Ibanez468: Thanks very much for your prompt and helpful reply. As so often is the case with software considerations, cost most likely will have something to do with my ultimate selection.In your postscript, you noted: "--This all depends on what you're planning to do though. Are you going to be composing just orchestral pieces to use in the film/tv listings, or do you have other plans?". At present, most of our efforts are directed toward development of production music libraries for a variety of post-production applications. As such, I don't often use strings, but when I do, I'd like them to sound "realistic".If you have time (and interest), please listen to one such example that we prepared recently by using SONAR/LiveSynthPro together with our currently available SoundFonts:http://www.box.net/shared/93mya8rgggDo you believe that Edirol HQ might offer improved sound quality for such an applcation?Thanks, once again, for your help.-Alan (backtalkunlimited)

[ibanez468]

Quote:Do you believe that Edirol HQ might offer improved sound quality for such an applcation?After listening to your piece, yes I do. But there again, if you're planning on targeting the production music libraries, based on what the veterans around here say, realism is everything. And because there are newer, more realistic sounding virtual orchestra programs out there, Edirol's HQ has taken a back seat. I figured, if I barely made it on the forward, I may not get so lucky again. But to answer your last question, yes, Edirol would be an improvement to your piece because of the synthy string sounds. Hope that helps.ibanez468PS-- BTW, your piece sounds great, beautifully constructed, but some of your overall sounds probably wouldn't get past one of the screeners. They're real high on authenticity of sounds for music production library work. Perhaps some of the more experienced members will chime in with their own thoughts.

[davewalton]

Quote:Perhaps some of the more experienced members will chime in with their own thoughts.I ignored the "experienced" thing and just focused on the phrase "chime in with their own thoughts"... one of my favorite activities. I don't know what's up with the Edirol product. It's listed under the "legacy" category at Edirol... that's never a good sign for cutting edge software. Their site has dead links and I couldn't find a demo anywhere. It's listed at various online stores though but it's more than some really good sampled software. For things like the piece you referenced above, if you're submitting things like that for film/television, it has to sound like the real thing. For new buyers today, I'd definitely recommend using a software package that uses actual sampled orchestral instruments and not anything that's synthesized. Of course they sound great but they're also very affordable.I guess I can only recommend the path that I've traveled because I really don't know anything else, but myself and several others on this board all use the orchestral offerings from Soundsonline.com (EastWest/QuantumLeap). For less than $200, the Silver/Silver XP bundle is a bargain... real sampled instruments, not synthesized. Gold, at under $500 is all that anyone would really ever need other than the most dedicated high end composer (or a crazy person like me who couldn't resist the $450 upgrade to Platinum/Platinum XP Bundle even though I probably didn't need it ). Actually I'll get my $450 worth out of it EASILY. I remember paying something like $2000 or whatever for a mini moog in the late 70's... and it only played one note at a time. Anyway, really good jaw-dropping sampled orchestral packages are affordable. Check out some of the demos for Silver/Silver XP bundles and also for Gold. Most of them were done by the Soundsonline forum members, people like us, so it's a realistic presentation of what their stuff sounds like.www.soundsonline.comHTH,Dave

[backtalkunlimited]

REPLY TO ALL WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS THREAD TO DATE: In my humble opinion, ProBoards is the greatest musical invention since sliced hemidemisemiquavers. Where else could one reap the benefits of several thousand man-hours of hands-on music production experience just for the asking? Maybe someday I'll be able to pay back into the system by contributing my own experiences - - we live in hope. But, in the meantime, just sitting back and absorbing your collective thoughts is truly enriching and highly gratifying!I'm off to do my homework on EWQL Silver/Silver XP - and thanks again for the suggestions!-Alan (backtalkunlimited)

[backtalkunlimited]

After having done some homework, I find that former EWQLSO Silver Bundle users almost universally recommend upgrading to the corresponding Gold Bundle. The list price on Gold is horrific; however, the Gold Bundle currently is available from www.soundsonline.com for $445, which, all things considered, seems to be eminently reasonable and (almost) affordable.Comments/suggestions, anyone?-Alan (backtalkunlimited)

[hummingbird]

Quote:After having done some homework, I find that former EWQLSO Silver Bundle users almost universally recommend upgrading to the corresponding Gold Bundle. The list price on Gold is horrific; however, the Gold Bundle currently is available from www.soundsonline.com for $445, which, all things considered, seems to be eminently reasonable and (almost) affordable.Comments/suggestions, anyone?-Alan (backtalkunlimited)If you already own the Silver Bundle you can upgrade to the Gold Bundle for $199 -- I just did. Check closely, because I almost bought the $445 Gold Bundle before I noticed the upgrade thing.

[backtalkunlimited]

REPLY: TO VICKI: Well, I seem to recall that we discussed the topic of EWQL Silver a few months ago in the context of another thread. However, typical of my cautious approach to anything new that costs $$$, I never did spring for the Silver Package. As a result, I'll have to pay full-freight for Gold. But, not to worry - - if I decide to take the Gold Package plunge, then I have an upgrade to Platinum to look forward to, I suppose. (What's next - diamonds? uranium?)I gather that you have already purchased EWQL Gold. May I ask how you like it? Is the difference compared to the Silver Package worth the extra bucks (or CAN$)? Please advise.-Alan (backtalkunlimited)PS: I note that you're now an Ultimate Member of the forum. This particular upgrade warrants congratulations!* * *

[hummingbird]

Quote:REPLY: TO VICKI: Well, I seem to recall that we discussed the topic of EWQL Silver a few months ago in the context of another thread. However, typical of my cautious approach to anything new that costs $$$, I never did spring for the Silver Package. As a result, I'll have to pay full-freight for Gold. But, not to worry - - if I decide to take the Gold Package plunge, then I have an upgrade to Platinum to look forward to, I suppose. (What's next - diamonds? uranium?)I gather that you have already purchased EWQL Gold. May I ask how you like it? Is the difference compared to the Silver Package worth the extra bucks (or CAN$)? Please advise.-Alan (backtalkunlimited)PS: I note that you're now an Ultimate Member of the forum. This particular upgrade warrants congratulations!* * *The difference between Silver & Gold is that with Gold you get *all* the articulations, and they sound more 'real' too. The only shortfall I see is that I have a choir with Silver that doesn't seem to be in the Gold package. Since I bought Silver, and then Silver XP Pro, and then the Gold Bundle, I probably splashed out more than $445. Seems to me it's a good deal -- especially since people you know are getting forwards for film/tv using Gold. That's why I got it. However, you should note that Silver is made to fit on a laptop & Gold may be too big for one, have to check that out depending on your situation.I thought I'd been an 'ultimate member' for a while... but all it really means is that I talk an awful lot Vikki / Hummin'bird