Ethno instrument list and it compared to RA

[Simsy]

Hi

I need an ethnic instrument for a job I am starting soon. I was on the MOTU website looking for a instrument list but can't find one. The link that says instrument just shows you how the patch browser works. I was wondering if any owner of ethno could tell me if it has any of the following

Bansuri
Dhak
Dhaki
Dholak
Dotara
Ektara
Ploong
Tabla

Also, is ethno the best ethnic instrument? How does it compare to East West RA? (I hate play, but if it is better). Are there any other options I should consider purchasing?

Thanks!

[bayswater]

Did you look at Garritan World? I don't know if it has all the instrument you are looking for, but they publish a list.

http://www.garritan.com/products/world- ... enefits-2/

[mhschmieder]

Sorry I didn't see this sooner; I've been working crazy hours all calendar year and have only been cherry picking the forum until this week.

Garritan World is on sale for $69 at the moment, or as part of a $300 full bundle. I lost the details on where/when those prices apply, as I have no interest in Garritan's libraries due to poor playing and mis-tunings and other annoyances that are too hard to work around. But in a pinch, they might serve a purpose on a budget.

Luckily, I keep a fully detailed annotation of all of my sound sources. The only products I haven't had time to fully annotate yet are Omnisphere and maybe one or two other catch-all libraries. But I did update my annotation list for Ethno 2.

I am pretty sure only Dholak (Indian double-headed drum) and Tablas are included with Ethno 2. Dholak is a very useful and important instrument that is mysteriously overlooked.

For Tabla though, also look at the cheap tempo-synced articulations, single hits, and loops provided by Soundiron (this is now the one I use the most).

For Bansuri, Bela D Media's wind-controller-friendly Spiritual Wind remains my favourite as it is so expressive. The freebie in Kontakt isn't bad though. Quantum Leap Silk is OK but pricey.

I cannot find any sound sources in my huge collection for the others that you mentioned, even with alternate spellings. Those less-common Indian stringed instruments found in the Punjab, Assam, etc., most likely turn up in the specialty product called SwarPlug3, which was just updated to 64 bits recently.

http://www.swarsystems.com/

http://www.swarsystems.com/Instruments/

In fact, at least some of what you want is listed in Volume 4:

http://www.swarsystems.com/Instruments/Vol4.php

SwarPlug has always gotten excellent reviews for sampling and audio quality as well as depth and breadth, but my understanding is that it is the Hauptwerk (ultimate organ modeling framework) of Indian Music, meant more as a teaching aid in schools and private learning.

Nevertheless you can click on each instrument name to hear an audio example, and evaluate from there. The few that I listened to seemed adequate but on the level of late 90's and early 00's products. In a mix, they would probably do well. Maybe not if prominently soloed. I don't know enough about the playability of the SwarPlug engine to judge though.

[mhschmieder]

I just bought Garritan World today on sale, as I saw the full list of instruments and realized that at least a quarter of them are unavailable elsewhere.

Even if the quality isn't all that great (it rarely is in large catch-all libraries), the documentation is scholarly and superb, and it will prove to be a great learning tool if nothing else.

I work primarily in ethnic genres, so for me the $50 or so was worth it for the education alone.

[bayswater]

I work primarily in ethnic genres, so for me the $50 or so was worth it for the education alone.

Where is it $50? I stil see $150 on their site. For $50 I'd get it for the Chinese instruments.

[mhschmieder]

Oh, sorry, I guess I only mentioned that in the other post.

Time+Space, if you're non-European, as the VAT then gets removed from the already-double-discount.

It might be closer to $60 for most; I had an additional coupon and now I can't see the itemized prices anymore.