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M-Audio Keystation 88 List Price: $249 Price Paid: $215 Year: 2004 Specs:
Sound: N/A This is a MIDI controller only, and does not produce a sound. Quality: 5/5 The unit is very sturdy, yet lightweight for it's size. The weighted keys have a great feel, are well contructed and stand up to constant aggressive playing. Velocity sensitivity is done perfectly, duplicating the feel of an acoustic piano nicely. Plug and play is easy, using simple drivers that are auto-detected in Windows 2000 and XP if used with a USB 2.0 connection. I can see no difference in performance between using USB 2.0 or MIDI cable connection. Usefulness: 3/5 Compared to it's older brother, the Keystation 88 Pro, the stock Keystation has limited capability. However, as a MIDI controller, it does it's job well. What this unit lacks in controls, it makes up for in design and size. Even for an 88 key full size keyboard, it's thin and narrow, making any space-conscious composer happy. Overall Value: 5/5 There are many MIDI controllers available on the market that do not compare to the recent M-Audio offerings. For a full size, weighted keyboard, this is a very economical addition to the studio. For added versatiliy, upgrade to the Keystation 88 Pro (retail: $450.00), which includes a small mixing console and LCD screen. Total Score: 4.3/5
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May 4, 2005 21:40
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Edirol HQ-Orchestral List Price: $299 Price Paid: $225 Year: 2004 Specs:
Sound: 4.5/5 As far as electronic music goes, you will not find more realistic sounding synthesis than you will find in HQ-OR. Each instrument comes alive with fully customizable EQ, pitch bend, and playing styles. The patches with vibrato blow away even the best attempts at manual modulation. Plus, additional controls allow the user to modify the instrument's character, turning that concert piano into an old, tired, and tinny sounding clunker, or a brand-new instrument. In addition to solo instruments, the software comes stock with complete sections of instruments: violins, violas, cellos, trumpets, trombones, and french horns. The sections are wonderfully done, with the exception of the trumpets. When blended with a full orchestra it sounds fine, but alone sounds a bit forced. The percussion is well done, and gives options for a full orchestral set with or without timpani, and a classic marching band sound. You can also create timpani on a seperate track. What is most notable is the great selection of snares with two controls tied to each patch, and rolls assigned to one control, so you play "live" on your controller and still pull off some great snare licks. Quality: 5/5 The interface is very easy to use. Everything is straight forward and easy to find, and assigning controls is a breeze. Even patch customization, usually the worst quality on synths of any kind, is simple. Usefulness: 4.5/5 Right out of the box, without any customization, I was able to lay out about 24 measures of Cannon in D with full instrumentation in about 20 minutes with Cubase. Presets can also auto set the pan, eq, and reverb qualities of each intrument selectable in different orchestra seating styles, adding to its realism. However, one problem that could get in the way is it's 128 voice polyphony. While this is great for standard synths, 128 voices over 16 channels may not be enough for some orchestral arrangements (especially with reverb and character additions). Though you are able to load the plugin into your DAW more than once to cover additional instruments, without bouncing to audio tracks, you could end up with 32+ midi tracks which can get pretty unruly. Overall Value: 5/5 For the price, you can't get better orchetra synthesis. Throw in a $200 MIDI controller (see above), and you have a good foundation for composing and arranging orchestral music. Total Score: 4.75/5 FalseParadigm fucked around with this message at 19:18 on May 5, 2005 |
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May 5, 2005 19:15
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