I have a Ketron SD-2 along with a collection of other sound modules.

The SD-2 has one of the best General MIDI sound banks I've heard, plus 3 more banks of non-GM sounds.

Virtual soft synths? I don't use them for a few reasons:
  • Hardware synth modules last longer than software synths - I still have synths I bought in the 1980s that are not only working perfectly but have useful sounds that have never been duplicated by more modern synths. When the computer OS changes, it's possible your investment in a software (virtual) synth will be gone, as it won't work on the new OS
  • No latency - actually about 5ms (the time sound takes to travel about 5 feet). The software (virtual) synth has to manufacture each note using math and the computer's CPU and other resources, this takes time. The hardware synth stores the sounds in ROM so they are immediately available
  • No latency continued - since all hardware sound modules have about the same latency (+- a millisecond) you can mix as many as you want without having a timing problem. So if the sax sound is best on one synth, the bass on another, the snare on another, the piano on yet another (etc.) it's no problem. You can pick the best sounds of each. I've used more than 10 different synths combining the voices in synths I bought in the 1980s with brand new ones.
  • Minimal CPU load - because the soft synth only needs MIDI signal, and doesn't have to 'do the math' for each note on each voice and each expressive element, your computer is more stable, less likely to crash, and your DAW can work more efficiently
  • Better sounds - again, since the sounds are in ROM, they can be much more complex than those of a soft synth. To save CPU time, most software synths take short-cuts, resulting in poorer sound quality (of course this is relative to hardware and software quality)

My two favorite MIDI synth modules are my Ketron SD-2 and my Edirol SD-90 - but there are many synths I have had the pleasure of owning, so there could be better ones out there for you.

Insights and incites by Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
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