MOTUnation.com

Hi folks,

I am thinking about buying MSI, but could use some advice from folks who know it and can report about its pros & cons. I've read reviews and heard the demos, but didn't quite get enough info from them.

I mainly use orchestral sounds to help me with arranging. As a brass player, I wish I had better brass sounds. I also really appreciate good woodwind sounds as well.

I can tell from the demos that the strings & piano are nice. The percussion seems ok, but it sounds like there aren't many velocity layers on the timpani.

Can someone give me some feedback about the winds in general, and how the MSI does as far as velocity layers on the different categories of instruments?

It's more affordable than many other libraries, and has a pretty small footprint. I'm also a LONG-time DP user, so it will probably play nice in my system.

Thanks!

Like other VSTi's, MSI has several sounds that I keep going back to. For instance, if I need to add a simple piano part that doesn't hog RAM, I load one from MSI. The brass is not terrible and has good sound, but it's very difficult to control. The velocity mapping is quite shoddy, and will switch to forte between 79 and 80 abruptly. Since I've started using the Project SAM stuff I don't use MSI for brass as much... maybe for a super-raspy single french horn section note once in a while. Again, it's about loading a sound that doesn't take up a lot of RAM. Still, MSI has some unique instruments hidden in there that I've found handy, like the flexatone and medieval recorders. Definitely a good value as a VSTi.

Do be aware, however, that MOTU has not updated this product since 2006. Installation is a hassle for Intel machines, and requires copying all the instruments manually, then downloading the install from MOTU and pointing it to the data. There are instructions elsewhere in this forum for doing that.

Thanks. Since Kontakt's brass often behave as you describe, I think I'll hold out for a better brass option elsewhere.

If you want the best, try the VSL brass

I just went and listened to the demo audio and it really is amazing.

Unfortunately, I can't afford the best at the moment.

Thanks. Since Kontakt's brass often behave as you describe, I think I'll hold out for a better brass option elsewhere.