MOTU Symphomic Instrument

composer2005 · Post by **composer2005** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 7:16 pm

Hi all,

I am awaiting delivery of my Software MOTU Symphonic Orchestra.

What do users make of it?

What kind of Protection comes with it?

I heard it uses a dongle like CUBASE SX3 which I shall be using as the host?

If so how do I run more than 1 USB dongle?

System: P4 3.0 GHz 2GBRam 2*112 GBDrives WINDOWS XP Pro.
I also use SCORE by Prof. Leland Smith. Sibelius. CUBASE SX3 and EWQLSO Platinum.

composer2005 · Post by **composer2005** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 8:05 pm

20 views so far and not a single response?

Doesn't any body actually use this Software?

Come on guys!

KarlSutton · Post by **KarlSutton** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 9:49 pm

Hi there,

It uses an iLok, not sure about what you are using with Cubase. I have many programs' license on one iLok. Apparently unless you get their zero downtime program you could be without your software for upto two weeks if you ever have a mishap with the iLok. They charge like $30/year for the "insurance" seems a little fishy if you ask me.

MSI is pretty nice, I've only had my old JV1080 orchestral card to compare it to, & it is miles past that.

Good luck.

composer2005 · Post by **composer2005** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 12:01 am

Thanks Karl

I guess I will have to wait and see what happens?

Thanks again

papageno · Post by **papageno** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 7:51 am

composer2005 wrote:20 views so far and not a single response?

Maybe that is because most of your questions are ALREADY covered (multiple times even) in this thread of this forum.

This forum has a search funcion and also you can read the titles of postings.

If you are a professional composer who composes for acoustic instruments then you might want to read about MSI ranges.

Shooshie · Post by **Shooshie** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 5:29 pm

I'll reply! MSI is a very nice set of instrumental samples for middle-of-the-road recording. The ranges of the instruments make them useless for music that places modern demands on musicians. Some instruments' ranges are less than their baroque equivalents. I'm disappointed in that aspect of MSI. But for what's there, I think it's actually quite nice.

Ibert: Concertino da Camera for alto saxophone and 11 instruments (1935) 5.9MB mp3, 4.3 minutes.

Every instrument in that example is from MSI except for one extended clarinet line about 2/3 through the movement. MSI's clarinet just won't handle fast passages in the lower registers. The rest of the clarinet lines are MSI. All parts were performed on a Yamaha WX-5 wind controller.

MSI's multi-timbral capabilities are fantastic. It plays the above work--about 22 MSI tracks--live in real time without any glitches on a dual 1GHz G4 Quicksilver with 1.5 GB RAM. Very economical with the CPU. I think you'll like it very much unless you run into range problems.

Shooshie

composer2005 · Post by **composer2005** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 6:59 pm

Again my thanks for the comments and references.

papageno · Post by **papageno** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 12:42 am

Shooshie wrote:Some instruments' ranges are less than their baroque equivalents.

This is miselading. MSI has only a few baroque instruments in library. Most MSI instruments are modern instruments which have wider ranges than baroque instruments.
The real problem is that most MSI instruments' ranges lack notes that a professional player can play on a modern instrument. Many of missing notes are not even extreme notes but quite easily playable (even by students).

composer2005 · Post by **composer2005** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:39 am

MSI arrived today.

Installed as directed.

Doesn't work

Received Version 1.0

I believe there is an update so I will try to get that but I am only on Dial-Up.

Might see if a friend can help?

Said something about iLok not recognised?

CUBASE SX3 started to locate it and then problems started.

Why can't they make it easy for users instead of all this hassle?

Thanks

composer2005 · Post by **composer2005** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:41 pm

Downloaded latest MSI Update.

Loaded and followed Instructions.

Still doesn't work!

I am now engaged in multiple email dialogue with MOTU.

Pathetic!

Shooshie · Post by **Shooshie** » Sun Jun 11, 2006 1:50 pm

papageno wrote:
Shooshie wrote:Some instruments' ranges are less than their baroque equivalents.
This is miselading. MSI has only a few baroque instruments in library. Most MSI instruments are modern instruments which have wider ranges than baroque instruments.
The real problem is that most MSI instruments' ranges lack notes that a professional player can play on a modern instrument. Many of missing notes are not even extreme notes but quite easily playable (even by students).

Not misleading at all, though maybe it wasn't clear. To clarify, I meant that many of the modern instruments ranges in MSI are less than the baroque equivalents of those instruments (not in MSI). That's the truth. A baroque oboe was always expected to be able to play a high C#, and some works went higher. The nicest oboe sound in MSI, in my opinion, is Oboe #1, and it only goes up to a C natural. My reference to baroque instruments was historical, not a reference to the baroque instruments in MSI. The point is that I would expect the modern instruments of MSI to have modern ranges, not ranges that are shorter than baroque instruments had.

Nonetheless, you can get a lot done with the instruments at hand despite their ranges.

Shooshie

yealf · Post by **yealf** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:38 pm

For my two cents, I think it's a load of old rubbish, I am more than a little annoyed as the store I bought it from won't do returns on software or I'd get my money back.
There are some pretty good sample libraries out there and this isn't one of them.
It's as if they did no research to see what worked and what didn't with the other libraries. They've made all the usual mistakes that older libraries made and I would have hoped a new library by MOTU would have improved upon them. But they didn't

composer2005 · Post by **composer2005** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:54 pm

I must say I am inclined to agree that MOTU MSI is just not that good at all.

The Solo Strings are pathetic!

The Pianos and the Guitars are handy but it is a lot of money for very little!

I too feel cheated frankly!

I was hoping that I would not need to Upgrade my EWQLSO Platinum to Platinum Pro but I probably will now.

Any other users of EWQLSO here?

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