Best set of virtual instruments for DP 5.1?

[PDN777]

Hi,

Yes, believe it or not, I'm running DP 5.1 on OS X 10.8.5, 2.4 GHz chip,
4 GB memory, 45 GB hd free.

Anyone recall the best set of virtual instruments available for this setup?

Would love a fabulous set of orchestral instruments, including a super piano.

Wonderful e-bass, e-piano, and smooth pads as well.

What should I search for on eBay, or elsewhere?

Thanks so much!

--PDN

[cuttime]

I'd recommend GPO 5 for the orchestral instruments. Best bang for the buck. Aria Engine has a small footprint, and the latest version has some great pianos. MainStage 3 should fill in the remainder, but might stress your system a bit. Perhaps someone can refresh my memory whether 5.1 operates in 64 bit or not.

I would look into putting the samples on an external drive.

[HCMarkus]

I run DP8.07 on Mountain Lion. Really nice; you might want to upgrade DP. 64 bit operation is a big win. Then again, with 4gb RAM, maybe not so much.

NI Komplete/Ultimate is quite good these days, OK but not particularly strong on the orchestral side of things.

Omnisphere is the synth dream.

Choices abound, but disc space, RAM and CPU oomph are required for the good stuff.

[PDN777]

Thanks so much "cuttime."

I just found this:

http://motu.com/techsupport/technotes/m ... quirements

For sale here (and elsewhere):

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/contro ... details&Q=

The copyright says 2008-2016, so MOTU has been upgrading it. Will the version
shown at bhphoto work on the old system?

The specs in the first link indicate it will work....

[stubbsonic]

I wasn't crazy about the Garritan demos-- but that doesn't mean the library isn't decent.

You could try to find out version of NI's Kontakt is available for your OS and get that. Not only does it do everything on your list, it has good synthesis capabilities, and is very flexible. I expect you can find some additional libraries to fill in for some deficiencies you might encounter.

[mikehalloran]

An FYI:

64bit only libraries will not be accessible by a 32bit only app even running in the 64bit kernel. 32bit only libraries may not run after OS 10.7 but Universal ones should.

DP 5.1 will run in Yosemite but cannot be authorized in any OS later than 10.6.8 with Rosetta enabled. The same is true for DP 6.03–7.23.

If you ever have to do a Time Machine restore, you will have the issue of trying to reauthorize DP. As long as you are willing to go back to Snow Leopard and then update your OS... just know that's what has to be done.

DP 7.24, OTOH, will install and authorize through El Capitan—you can then update to Sierra and it will run. A fresh install of 7.24 in OS 10.12 will authorize but won't run.

I really liked 5.13.

[mikehalloran]

Yes, believe it or not, I'm running DP 5.1 on OS X 10.8.5, 2.4 GHz chip,
4 GB memory, 45 GB hd free.

You don't tell us what you are running, Not certain that it makes much difference... except I would bet that your hard drive is way too small, too old or both.

45G of free space is only adequate for a drive under 300G. Any drive that small is too old and runs too hot. Can't predict when it will go down on you but it will.

If your drive is larger, you don't have nearly enough space for efficient operation. Less than 15% available will slow you way down—if not now, soon.

[bayswater]

I wasn't crazy about the Garritan demos-- but that doesn't mean the library isn't decent.

Yes, the demos were lame. I avoided the V5 update because of them. But there was a thread here where the library was discussed, and I did the update on the recommendation of those posts. It is much better than the demos suggested.