Ethnic Instruments

[edteja]

I am looking at getting an ethnic instrument package. A friend uses E/W Quantum Leap RA, and it sounds very good. Another package that has good reviews is the Ethno Instrument from MOTU. Given that the E/W package is about twice as expensive, I assume it has more instruments. Has anyone experience with either or, preferably both? Other suggestions?I am looking for a package that is versatile and samples that don't take a lot of tweaking.Thanks.

[crs7string]

Ed,I have both RA and Ethno Instruments. I also have Ethno World 4.Each library has it's strengths and weaknesses.RA has impecable samples, the ability to do keyswitching to get different articulations. It terms of size it is the largest pool of samples.Ethno Instrument has instruments and loops (about 4 gigs of each) I do not find the instruments to be quite as clean as RA. I do like the loops and have used them a lot. The loops sync to the tempo of your sequencer, and you drop and drag the loops into an audio track (some of them are midi files as well) The main problem I have is that it dosen't play well with my DAW, Sonar 7. It is very sluggish and slow to respond.Ethno World 4 also has loops and uses Kontakt 2 player. It uses the Time Machine features to stretch percussion and vocal loops. It also has some very unique sounds such as Mongolian vocals and a Mongolian string ensemble.The only other thought on this subject pertains to Kontakt 3. This latest version has World Instruments. It is not a huge collection, but they are very well sampled. You also get a huge library of other stuff including Vienna Symphony Orchestra.Kontakt is a great overall workhorse. It will also load RA and Ethno World samples (same format across the board)Hope this is helpful.I could post some examples of how I've used these libraries if it would be helpful.Chuck

[devin]

As someone who is always learning all this stuff, I normally just lurk the threads where I can't contribute.But I have to say...this is an amazing reply Chuck! Your post has one of the highest signal to noise ratios of any response.Well done!

[edteja]

Thanks Chuck, Good info indeed. I am using SONAR 6, so that part is particularly useful. I will check out the KONTAKT 3 option as well.

[edteja]

I went to peek at Ethno World 4--that looks pretty impressive too.

[waltergrund]

I have Kontakt, Ethno world 3. I use kontakt more often since i's a real sampler. You have more effects and stuff there and a lot of ethno instruments already. Ethno world comes only with a contact player. I don't like the navigation there.If you like to hear more demos: http://www.bestservice.de is cool. Click the "English" flagWalter

[rnrmachine]

I have K3 and I like it a lot. BIG upgrade over K2 and I thought K2 was good. Strengths and weaknesses in there as well I would imagine. NO good solo violin.. the fiddle is cool as heck, but it's a fiddle, NOT to be confused with a sweet sounding violin.Rob

[rblight]

Greetings. I am a garageband user and the world music jam pack rocks, IMHO. The instrumental arrangement for the following composition included the following instruments. No live instruments here. Software instruments and loops which were cut and pasted to get the sound I was looking for.Afghan Rabab (lute)Japanese Koto (harp-like stringed instrument) Indian Bansuri[ (flute) Indian/Sanskrit Tablas (drums used for classical music)African Rain Caxixi (shaker)Japanese Katana Flutehttp://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.....&songID=6669136I have gotten some very positive comments about the quality, but I have a question for any TAXI reviewers who might be reading this. The question is - do you feel that this composition is broadcast quality? I write a lot of these kinds of instrumentals in addition to my mainstream songs but have not yet submitted any to TAXI because I didn't want to waste $$ if the quality is sub-oar. Do any of the publishers who list with TAXI looks for this kind of stuff?

[hummingbird]

Jun 29, 2008, 1:23am, rblight wrote:I have gotten some very positive comments about the quality, but I have a question for any TAXI reviewers who might be reading this. The question is - do you feel that this composition is broadcast quality? I write a lot of these kinds of instrumentals in addition to my mainstream songs but have not yet submitted any to TAXI because I didn't want to waste $$ if the quality is sub-oar. Do any of the publishers who list with TAXI looks for this kind of stuff? Hi RB! Good to see you here. Just thought I'd mention, Taxi reviewers are not going answer posts here. But members of this forum can certainly listen to your piece and give their education opinion as to whether it is broadcast quality. I have seen listings for World music, and I have no doubt a track like this would find a home. I think it sounds very authentic, I encourage you to post this in "Peer to Peer" for feedback as I think the mix just might need a little tweaking. Also, button endings, rather than fade-outs, are better for film/tv pitches. Very good work, tho.cheersH

[davewalton]

Jun 29, 2008, 1:23am, rblight wrote:Greetings. I am a garageband user and the world music jam pack rocks, IMHO. The instrumental arrangement for the following composition included the following instruments. No live instruments here. Software instruments and loops which were cut and pasted to get the sound I was looking for.Afghan Rabab (lute)Japanese Koto (harp-like stringed instrument) Indian Bansuri[ (flute) Indian/Sanskrit Tablas (drums used for classical music)African Rain Caxixi (shaker)Japanese Katana Flutehttp://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.....&songID=6669136I have gotten some very positive comments about the quality, but I have a question for any TAXI reviewers who might be reading this. The question is - do you feel that this composition is broadcast quality? I write a lot of these kinds of instrumentals in addition to my mainstream songs but have not yet submitted any to TAXI because I didn't want to waste $$ if the quality is sub-oar. Do any of the publishers who list with TAXI looks for this kind of stuff? Unless this is for your own album, one thing to keep in mind is how this might be used in a film or, more likely, a television show (like on the travel channel). Songs will be picked based on their "ethnicity". Traveling in India... Indian music. Traveling in Japan... Japanese music. Since you've combined primarily Indian and Japanese, it couldn't fit well into either catagory and therefore would be hard to place. Also, things will be initially judged by their title. "Afghans of India" is interesting but what ethnicity will the listener get? A busy music supervisor might pass on the ambiguity of the title in favor of the next guy/gal in line with a title like "Morning In Mumbai" or "Afghan Tribes" or something more ethnically specific. I know I tried "Canadian Tribes of the Australian Rainforest" and it never really went anywhere. As far as the quality I think overall it's fine. The opening flutes are a little thin sounding and kind of midi-ish to my ears. You already said what they were but I wouldn't have wondered had I not known. Our own Crs7String forum guy had an ethnic instrumental played at the Taxi Rally and one of the panelists commented something like how refreshing it was to hear real instruments. Bzzzz! Virtual Instruments! But that's what you want is to keep people guessing. The quality of the percussion instruments sound very good IMHO. If you could get a little more variety in the percussion, some fills and/or alternate beats to break things up, that would help distinquish it from being "loop based" but it sounds pretty good overall.