OS - Win 7
Dell Studio XPS 8100

Those are some pretty strong votes for M-Audio. Dell tells me I need an
PCI Express x1 interface. Does that sound right? I didn't see anything but
regular PCI cards when I looked at the m-audio site, but maybe I wasn't
looking in the right place.

SaxMaam

While I might tend to disagree about what can be done with Creative cards -- there are some folks who have been able to get stellar results from them -- they are no longer the easy-to-use and rock solid in operation situation that could be. Creative has had driver problems, there have been features advertised for use by the working musician that are either not implemented very well or even nonexistant, and IMO the hardware of the cards outstrips the software and drivers that Creative typically supplies with them. It is revealing that an open source project (the KX drivers) can get so much more out of the cards, but use of those is not advisable for the nontechnical type or the person who just wants to get on with the music rather than deal with operational and control issues that might look more like the cockpit of a 737 to them <g>.

The M-Audio Delta card, as already recommended to you, such as the AP 24/96, on the other hand, enjoys very good driver support, has a large and generally happy customer base and has indeed proven to be able to turn in yeoman's duty day after day with little to no sudden problems cropping up out of nowhere. There is a learning curve, but it is very minimal by comparison to other sound devices IMO. And the track record of the card is getting to be quite venerable indeed, many of us have had the same AP card going on years, simply installing it into new machines with new Operating System releases, download and install the correct and latest drivers from the M-Audio suppport pages - and are up and running with very little technical fuss.

M-Audio AP2496

Known to work and play well with PGMusic products.


--Mac

I'm one of those guys that love the 737 cockpit.
Check my specs.

So that AP2496 is a regular PCI, not PCI Express x1. It's a different connector. So I'm still not sure what to do here.

Maybe I'm on the wrong track. What I want is to get good MIDI sounds. Should I just be using a software emulator? I have a BIAB everything pack that's a couple of years old, and I seem to recall there's some kind of good software emulator in there ...

Susan

If good MIDI is all you want go with a HW unit like the Ketron.

For software emulator in Win 7 you can't use the old free one that came with BiaB (VSC DXi) IF you are running 64 bit Win 7. VSC only works on 32 bit systems.

Next suggestion would be the Coyote Forte for $40, or hardware synth for a few hundred. Forte is sold here on this site (or on Coyote site), and comes with a demo period to try it out.

Delta cards come with no MIDI synth sounds, you'd have to use software synth or hardware synth running thru the card. Creative cards usually do include a synth.

I use M-Audio USB. No problems yet. Was the most cost effective as well ...

No but you can still buy it. The version that does come free is the Coyote Wavetable, which is different and not as good.

Is it midi sounds that you want or are you more interested in VST plugins. They can be very realistic and use midi data to trigger the sounds. They are also soundcard independent.

There are some good free vst downloads to be had.

Regards.

MIDI samples that come bundled in or with the soundcard are all but nonexistant anymore.

Some of the Creative cards still support use of Soundfonts for the MIDI sounds, but apparently even some of those are now no longer actual separate hardware storing and controlling those sounds, the cards now just come bundled with the equivalent of a software based soundfont player.

My advice to SaxMaam is to keep it simple and first purchase and install Band in a Box, use the computer's internal soundcard and either the built in Microsoft MIDI software synthesizer that is a part of the Operating System. The purchase of Band in a Box will include an evaluation copy of the DXi software synth that works with Win7 and it is good for 30 days. That should give you time to decide whether to go that 40 dollar route or perhaps look into hardware MIDI synth options.

Meanwhile, Band in a Box can run quite well enough using the computer's already included sound device.


--Mac

Thanks Mac,

I think you're right about my path forward. I've had BIAB for many years and I think I have the 2010 everything pack. Do you know if that will run under win7? I have win7 "home premium". Do you know how to tell if that's 64 bit or 32?

Susan

Right click on 'My Computer' and select properties. That should say if it is 64 bit Windows. If it doesn't it is likely 32 bit.

M Audio Audiophile USB
I went on the M-Audio website and I do not see it there anymore ....

Hi Susan. I just did a jazz gig with a killer "Saxmaam" named Yolanda. It's good to see some lady players around. There's another one I work with occasionally in a big band too.

Any of the recent Biab versions play just fine under Win 7. It's only the VSC DXi synth that won't work on a 64 bit system. If your system is 32 bit then the VSC (included with your Biab 2010) will be your decent starter synth. Note you have to install it separately, it's on the install CD. Not the greatest but workable lots of us used it for years. If you have a 64 bit system then you're stuck with your on board sound chip and that's not too hot but Biab works fine with it.

Before you go out and buy either a software or hardware synth, understand what General Midi (GM) is.

Bob

I have used Creative cards for many years successfully although they tended to be geared for the Games market. Earlier this year, I upgraded my DAW and installed a new Creative X-Fi Titanium Sound Card. This is supposed to have a specialist music section, which I find to be complicated and not offering much support. In addition, the MME drivers have all sorts of problems like clicks and crackles during Play and adding artifacts during Record. Fortunately, the ASIO driver works perfectly and I now use this for all purposes. Creative, although flooded with complaints seem to believe that the problems all lie with the user.

Drivers apart, the sound quality is excellent.

Following up on my old post.

I'm using BIAB 2012 now. I'd like the MIDI sounds to be better. Also I have some other software that seems to need near-zero latency.

What are the choices? I don't see anything on the SD-50 page about latency. It's pricey but has some nice features.

Any other thoughts from you guys and gals?

S

The SD 50 is a hardware synth. Latency is only a problem with software synths because the computer's CPU is doing the digital midi to audio conversion. With an external hardware synth, the synth itself is doing the heavy lifting. The midi is going out of the computer, into the synth then the audio is going back in. The synth is doing the audio conversion therefore no latency or to be precise very minimal latency like 3ms or something. That's the same "latency" a pianist hears when their fingers hit the keys and they hear something.

Everything is a tradeoff. With software, it's all there on your screen right in front of you plus you can do an audio "render". That means a 5 minute songs gets rendered to audio in maybe 15-20 seconds depending on your computer. With a hardware synth when you're ready to convert your midi song to audio you have to record the output from your synth in real time so a 5 minute song takes 5 minutes just like the old days.

Bob