How is the sample quality/performability?
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- Mr. Quimper
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How is the sample quality/performability?
Hi, I'm a student MIDI composer thinking of picking up the Ethno, but I'd like to clear up some questions I have before diving in.
First off, I hate loops. I've never used them, and have no need of them. What interest me are performable software instruments with a good deal of control and expressiveness to them. That said, how do the instrument aspects of the Ethno fare? MOTU's sample songs are somewhat useless to me since they are a combination of loops & instruments, when I'm really only interested in the instruments.
I guess my big question is, if I'm looking for truly expressive ethnic software instruments, would the Ethno be a good choice or should I save up for the Quantum Leap RA instead?
Thanks in advance.
First off, I hate loops. I've never used them, and have no need of them. What interest me are performable software instruments with a good deal of control and expressiveness to them. That said, how do the instrument aspects of the Ethno fare? MOTU's sample songs are somewhat useless to me since they are a combination of loops & instruments, when I'm really only interested in the instruments.
I guess my big question is, if I'm looking for truly expressive ethnic software instruments, would the Ethno be a good choice or should I save up for the Quantum Leap RA instead?
Thanks in advance.
- monkey man
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Some (but not all) of the loops can be loaded into a sliced mode, where you can trigger each slice with a different note. So even if you're not into using the loops as-is, they still provide another bank of sounds to pick through/rearrange.
http://www.motu.com/products/software/e ... loops.html
http://www.motu.com/products/software/e ... loops.html
"I don't see any method at all, sir."
- Mr. Quimper
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i bought the ethno and symphonic instrument for the same reason that you would buy them for. although, as you can read in the topic i posted yesterday, i can't use them as vst's in my host program yet, i am very satisfied with their function as instruments. i am just starting to know the software, but so far i am very happy with the expressiveness and handling as an instrument. the software responds very well to velocity and other MIDI variables, apart from the fact that it is very cpu exhausting.
greetz Daniel Togiki
greetz Daniel Togiki
- monkey man
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Aha! Now we're getting somewhere...danieltogiki wrote:...so far i am very happy with the expressiveness and handling as an instrument. the software responds very well to velocity and other MIDI variables, apart from the fact that it is very cpu exhausting.
greetz Daniel Togiki
Thanks danieltogiki!
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Mac 2012 12C Cheese Grater, OSX 10.13.6
MOTU DP8.07, MachFive 3.2.1, MIDI Express XT, 24I/O
Novation, Yamaha & Roland Synths, Guitar & Bass, Kemper Rack
Pretend I've placed your favourite quote here
Ethno User
I purchased both Ethno & MSI and I find them to be excellent and very easy to use. The convolution reverb is excellent. You may find that for larger spaces you will need to change the buffer size. Overall I am very happy with both Ethno & MSI MOTU really did a nice job with the sound quality.
Rob Barone
Mac Pro AV & Consulting
Macproav@mac.com
Rob Barone
Mac Pro AV & Consulting
Macproav@mac.com
- monkey man
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Re: Ethno User
Thanks, Rob; that's what we want to hear!robbarone wrote:I purchased both Ethno & MSI and I find them to be excellent and very easy to use. The convolution reverb is excellent. You may find that for larger spaces you will need to change the buffer size. Overall I am very happy with both Ethno & MSI MOTU really did a nice job with the sound quality.
Rob Barone
Mac Pro AV & Consulting
Macproav@mac.com
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Mac 2012 12C Cheese Grater, OSX 10.13.6
MOTU DP8.07, MachFive 3.2.1, MIDI Express XT, 24I/O
Novation, Yamaha & Roland Synths, Guitar & Bass, Kemper Rack
Pretend I've placed your favourite quote here
Ethno Instrument instruments are playable and highly realistic (given sampling technology, etc.). What I really like about the sampled instruments is that they are not "cleaned up" like so many samplers do. e.g., if the key/note had a buzz on the sampled instrument, they left it in. Nice touch IMO.
By default, the instruments are also limited to their real range. You can override this if you like, but I like leaving this as-is.
YMMV since I could not stand MSI. In fact, Ethno surprised me that much more given how poor I though the MSI samples were.
Best wishes for making music,
Stan
By default, the instruments are also limited to their real range. You can override this if you like, but I like leaving this as-is.
YMMV since I could not stand MSI. In fact, Ethno surprised me that much more given how poor I though the MSI samples were.
Best wishes for making music,
Stan
--==<<>>==--
Ethno, Ivory, Stylus RMX, Trilogy, Atmosphere,
Kontakt2, Absynth3, KLCDE
hosted in ProTools 7.1 on Mac OSX
http://muz4now.com/
Ethno, Ivory, Stylus RMX, Trilogy, Atmosphere,
Kontakt2, Absynth3, KLCDE
hosted in ProTools 7.1 on Mac OSX
http://muz4now.com/
- monkey man
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Yaaay!qsource wrote:Ethno Instrument instruments are playable and highly realistic (given sampling technology, etc.). What I really like about the sampled instruments is that they are not "cleaned up" like so many samplers do. e.g., if the key/note had a buzz on the sampled instrument, they left it in. Nice touch IMO.
By default, the instruments are also limited to their real range. You can override this if you like, but I like leaving this as-is.
YMMV since I could not stand MSI. In fact, Ethno surprised me that much more given how poor I though the MSI samples were.
Best wishes for making music,
Stan
Another one!
Thank you, qsource
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
Mac 2012 12C Cheese Grater, OSX 10.13.6
MOTU DP8.07, MachFive 3.2.1, MIDI Express XT, 24I/O
Novation, Yamaha & Roland Synths, Guitar & Bass, Kemper Rack
Pretend I've placed your favourite quote here
Sorry, GordonR. Since I don't override the ranges, I don't know offhand. I'll see if I can figure it out.
Stan (aka QSource)
Stan (aka QSource)
--==<<>>==--
Ethno, Ivory, Stylus RMX, Trilogy, Atmosphere,
Kontakt2, Absynth3, KLCDE
hosted in ProTools 7.1 on Mac OSX
http://muz4now.com/
Ethno, Ivory, Stylus RMX, Trilogy, Atmosphere,
Kontakt2, Absynth3, KLCDE
hosted in ProTools 7.1 on Mac OSX
http://muz4now.com/
- monkey man
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Deleted. Redundant suggestion. Typical of a monkey.
Last edited by monkey man on Thu Aug 03, 2006 4:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
Mac 2012 12C Cheese Grater, OSX 10.13.6
MOTU DP8.07, MachFive 3.2.1, MIDI Express XT, 24I/O
Novation, Yamaha & Roland Synths, Guitar & Bass, Kemper Rack
Pretend I've placed your favourite quote here
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Use the controls in the Pitch section. The orange-ish buttons provide audio transposition up to +/- 24 semitones (2 octaves). I find it's easiest to use these if you slap a transpose plug-in on the MIDI track that's feeding Ethno, so the keys you play correspond to the proper pitch (i.e., if you transpose down 7 semis in Ethno, transpose up 7 semis in the MIDI transpose plug-in).GordonR wrote:How do you override the range? I could not find the function for this...qsource wrote:By default, the instruments are also limited to their real range. You can override this if you like, but I like leaving this as-is. Stan
Also, you can use the Pitch Bend for another +/- 24 semis, which means you when combined with the above you can get up to 4 octaves out of the defined ranges.
"I don't see any method at all, sir."
- tikibars
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This doesn't really work out well if you have Ethno as part of a device group in DP.carrythebanner wrote:Use the controls in the Pitch section. The orange-ish buttons provide audio transposition up to +/- 24 semitones (2 octaves). I find it's easiest to use these if you slap a transpose plug-in on the MIDI track that's feeding Ethno, so the keys you play correspond to the proper pitch (i.e., if you transpose down 7 semis in Ethno, transpose up 7 semis in the MIDI transpose plug-in).GordonR wrote:How do you override the range? I could not find the function for this...qsource wrote:By default, the instruments are also limited to their real range. You can override this if you like, but I like leaving this as-is. Stan
I understand MOTU's logic in limiting the range of each sound to the instrument's natural range, but it would be REALLY nice if it functioned a bit more like every other sample playback device out there, and let users EASILY stretch note ranges above or below the natural range. There have been a few times where I needed a sound to go just a bit higher or lower than the provided range...
All of the suggestions above are work-arounds to what should be a standard feature.
After all, we have controls for filters and envelopes, so if MOTU feels like they can give us these sound mutation features, why not transposition out of the original instrument's natural range as well?