What should I get for my birthday???? eeeee!

[markjsmith]

I have the Duet, and it is marginally better than the MOTU stuff, but not leaps and bounds by any means! The Duet and Ensemble converters are not as good as the Rosetta as the prices will reflect.
I would grab Stylus personally, I have and use it all the time!
Just my 2c!
Mark

[crs7string]

CK,

You won't be disappointed with Stylus Expanded.

You can change the pitch of the samples, filter them, add some very good effects.

You can also edit the loops. I typically drag a file of the loop to a corresponding midi track. The data is not a typically midi file, it shows up as a"ramp" of notes that trigger the slices of the loop.

There are also third party expansions available from Nine Volt Audio and ILIO.

ILIO has EthnoTechno which I use all the time for World Beat stuff. (as well Liquid Grooves that comes with Expanded, there are a lot of Wavedrum sounds in Liquid Grooves)

Finally, you can convert REX files to the format Stylus uses.

Second finally, it seems to me Spectrasonics is attempting to create a "super instrument" . Currently, all of Trillian's sounds and patches are available in Omnisphere and you can drag Stylus loops into Omnisphere to create envelopes.

I think the idea of eventually owning all three would be an excellent investment for a media composer like yourself. Especially with what you currently own. Spectrasonics and East West "PLAY" well together. (PLAY on words intentional )

With some creativity, you will not sound like everyone else.


Chuck

[mazz]

+100 on Stylus.

There's so much you can do with it beyond the stock loops. I've been going back and watching the videos again for things like edit groups and Chaos and there's so much depth in that instrument that I've barely even tapped into. Just to be able to put different effects on only certain notes in a bar is quite incredible, not to mention all the other editing that can be done on those notes separate from other notes in the bar.

Plus all the stuff that Chuck mentioned.

It's really a fantastic tool, particularly if you go beneath the surface. There's tons of videos on the Spectrasonics site that are very helpful.

I'm not so sure the Duet would be enough of a step up from the Motu to warrant it. I would consider another step up in a preamp. IMO, if I had the choice between upgrading a mic and upgrading a preamp, I'd be inclined to go preamp first, because an excellent preamp will give you everything a mic can offer. You'd be surprised at how good a 57 or 58 sounds when you hear it through a top notch preamp.

Happy shopping!!!!

Mazz

[ckbarlow]

Wow. You guys are GREAT!

Actually I do have a 57, have had it for years. It's one of those must-have pieces of kit. You all really have me thinking "excellent preamp" at this point.

Thanks so much for all the tips!

Gosh, now I really have some thinking to do. And then when the credit card bill comes, I will really have some 'splaining to do!


Have a great birthday weekend -- I mean holiday weekend -- everybody!

[ckbarlow]

It's come down to one of these:
- great river ME-1NV
OR
- UA 710 twinfinity + superior drummer upgrade.

Wrote to my fave guy at sweetwater and explained the thought process that got me to this point and am waiting to hear if he agrees with my thinking - which is basically that the 710 would give me a lot of flexibility, plus the lower price means maybe I can squeeze in the drum upgrade for roughly the same outlay.

I'm excited about this -- With the trend in tv music toward so much singer/songwriter/band material, I want to be confident about my ability to get great guitar sounds (I haven't been esp. with acoustic up to now) and blend them into my VI productions, and really breathe life into them -- something that Vikki recommended and she's so right.

[Len911]

ck, i made a comment earlier on ribbon mics, and since I didn't know a whole lot about them i have been researching them, and now you got me wanting a ribbon mic,lol! I didn't come here to enable myself,lol!!!

[ckbarlow]

ck, i made a comment earlier on ribbon mics, and since I didn't know a whole lot about them i have been researching them, and now you got me wanting a ribbon mic,lol! I didn't come here to enable myself,lol!!!

I AM THE DEVIL.

[mazz]

I think the TwinFinity would be a fantastic choice. In fact, you'll have that for the rest of your life. I bet you can't say that about any computer, mac or PC!! The superior drummer upgrade is an excellent choice as well, although I would reconsider the Stylus package just because you already have EZ drummer and if you're going more and more into the film/tv library world, Stylus will give you tons more options. I know budget is a factor and you really can't make a wrong choice here, your choices are very strong. You've done well, IMO!!

Happy Shopping and Happy Birthday, a couple of days early!

Woo Hoo!

Mazz

[ckbarlow]

Awesome. Thanks, guys! I will keep Stylus in mind and mention it when I talk to Sweetwater.

At the moment, I'm doing the homework of testing what I've got for recording acoustic guitar so that I know it really well. Using the TubeMP, I'm doing these mic positions:

• 1' from 12th fret, pointed at 12th fret
• 1' from 12th fret, pointed bet 12th fret and hole
• 1' from 12th fret, pointed at hole
• 1' from hole, pointed at hole
• 1' from bridge, pointed at hole
• 1' from bridge, pointed at bridge

...with my current mics:

• Studio Projects C1 with 75Hz rolloff engaged
• NADY SCM 900 (cheap uni condenser)
• NADY CM 88 (cheap "pencil" cardi condenser)
• SM57.

I've been feeling like the C1 sounds very brittle, and boy, is that true -- pretty much at all 6 positions. The SCM 900 actually sounds much more pleasant. I think it was $60 or $80; the C1 was more like $250. Once I get the new preamp, I'll be testing variations on Barry's suggestion of the C1 or the SCM at the 12th fret (thru the new preamp), and the 57 down by the bridge (thru the ART).

[eeoo]

The 710 is a great choice but I have to admit I lust after all things Great River...eo.