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Subject: How are the Creamware synth cards?


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Original Message                 Date: 26-Sep-00  @  09:41 PM   -   How are the Creamware synth cards?

Boomer

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Hi,

I am sort of interested to get a Pulsar 2. I looked at the manual and wow the recommended (as opposed to minimum) requirement is pretty high. What happens if my VDO card only has 4Mb AGP and my system has only 128 Mb RAM. Will it be a real drag in using the card to make music?

Also, I wonder how the synths' filters sound. Do they even self oscillate? Can they compete with outboard DSP synths like Nova, Virus, etc. in the aspect of oscillator quality?




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Message 21/38             08-Nov-00  @  03:47 PM   -   RE: How are the Creamware synth cards?

boomer

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Well I have tried my math. Why don't you show yours?

Fine if you wanna change the subject from polyphony. I just try to get straight what you claim about the polyphony. That is all.



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Message 22/38             08-Nov-00  @  06:43 PM   -   RE: How are the Creamware synth cards?

dan

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The math is simple.

There are a total of 28 synths.

As you suggest, let's take two averages: one with the Tonewheel Organ,
and one without.

The total polyphony of the other 27 synths is 566.
Divide 566 by 27, and you get an average polyphony of 20.96 voices.

Now, if you add in the Tonewheel organ, the total polyphony is
566 + 244, which is 810.

Divide 810 by 28 and you get an average polyphony of 28.92 voices.

There's my math. Do you want to show how you arrived at 10?

- Dan



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Message 23/38             08-Nov-00  @  09:47 PM   -   RE: How are the Creamware synth cards?

boomer

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Alright I admit my math sucks. But that doesn't make you right.

If someone were to sell this card to you by saying it has 28 voices and he doesn't tell u that the standard deviation of this 28 voices is around 42 voices. Would you call him reasonable? And we haven't even talk about the fact this guy may also tell you how many effects this card has, etc.

And when he told you this synth has 27 synth models. Do you really not care that how many voices the models that you will use a lot this card actually have? Or say, if you write jazz, woulnd't you rather know the polyphony of every models needed OASYS can provide at the same?

I doubt if anybody often write music with more than 24 voice at a time. The fact that OASYS can do 244 voices of B3 without any effect on doesn't seem to be a piece of info that accurately tell you exactly about the OASYS' capability as a voice resource and that is usually a question a decider always ask.)

Anyway, although voices is not the case to judge a piece of gear, you can't run away from the fact that a lot of people happen to decide polyphony is a case of their money worthiness and that they don't normally buy the gear just for that fact that it may be worth its price for what it is.



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Message 24/38             08-Nov-00  @  11:49 PM   -   RE: How are the Creamware synth cards?

dan

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I don't really understand the final paragraph of the above message, so I'm not sure how to run away from it. :-)

At any rate, I'm somewhat bemused by your implications. It seems like you are trying to say that we're not being honest in regards to polyphony. I don't understand how anyone could reach this conclusion.

Since the very beginning, we have had all of the polyphony figures on the website, for all to see. Compare this to any other company with similarly variable polyphony, and you'll see that we are being *very* open about all of this information. The last time that I checked, the user-run PlanetZ site was the only good source of polyphony information for the Creamware products - Creamware themselves offered very little information in this regard.

Finally, allow me to repeat - people are very much free to make their own judgements about what they find important in musical gear. Some may want very large numbers of voices from every single piece of gear that they own, with sound quality as a secondary consideration. Others may be interested solely in the quality of the sounds. This latter position is certainly enhanced by the near-infinite track counts of hard disk recording systems, which makes overdubbing very easy when you run out of voices and/or simultaneous timbres and/or simultaneous effects - as I do with *every instrument I own*, including OASYS PCI.

I have never, ever promoted the strength of OASYS PCI as being lots of voices - as I'm sure that you know. I have instead talked about the quality of its sounds. Judging by the feedback from the growing community of OASYS PCI users, I would say that I'm on very firm ground there.

Best regards,

Dan Phillips



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Message 25/38             09-Nov-00  @  04:56 AM   -   RE: How are the Creamware synth cards?

future01

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I think realistically the value for money is not there with an Oasys despite an edge with the effects and synth sounds. The real value for money comes from Creamware because they have developed a very open ended shell to run a virtual studio environment that leaves Oasys behind.

With Pulsar you can run (simultaneously) Cubase VST with up to 32 ASIO channels at a realistic latency of 9ms. Gigastudio or Gigasampler running alongside with up 32 channels of I/O. Sonic Foundry Acid and Wavelab .....All co-existing on 1 machine and all routed together into the flexible mixing and routing environment of Pulsar.

You then have beyond 32 channels of mix capability, ( you can load several mixers at once ) the ability to integrate any of your external studio equipment with zero latency.

Not to mention that there are literally dozens of synthesizers available for Pulsar and increasing all the time giving those that would rather get on with the music, a huge amount available sounds. The sampling system of Pulsar is state of the art and the user interface is very easy on the eyes and intuitive.

The whole system is fully expandable, the audio system is capable of 24bit 96khz ( state of the art ).

It provides a lot more connectivity for lower cost than Oasys.

The Modular 2 synth is outstanding! Easy to use, has a huge range of presets, and sounds as good as anything available hardware or software.

I am confident that long term people will see the benefits of the complete virtual studio environment that Pulsar is, rather than some good algorithms quickly packaged together into a basic software frontend with an ugly user interface, with a DSP card that has out dated audio specs and limited connectivity.

I liken this to Windows and Mac O.S.

If you build a good working shell that becomes popular, then in time that is what will make the product strong and developers will begin to create software that works within your environment.

eg: Digidesign Pro-tools

eg: Direct X

eg: ASIO

Get my drift........?

Oasys is a plug-In without a good home!

Sorry Dan : )

L.A.



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Message 26/38             09-Nov-00  @  05:33 AM   -   RE: How are the Creamware synth cards?

dan

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In re building a "shell" vs. a "plugin" -
I think that's the point exactly!

Pulsar is a DSP card "shell" in search of good-sounding plug-ins. :-)

Without those plugins, the shell is useless.

With OASYS PCI, we were not trying to build a "shell" which would then hold plug-ins from other developers. Think about it - does Korg need to depend on third-party developers for synths and effects? Probably not. :-)

Instead, we had a bunch of great-sounding synths and effects, and wanted to deliver them in a package which would be cost-effective, easily upgradable, and which would integrate well with today's computer-based studios.

OASYS PCI is exactly that.

Don't let the form factor fool you. OASYS PCI is a new high-end Korg synthesizer and effects processor, which just happens to be in the form of a PCI card.

Fundamentally, Creamware is competing with Native Instruments, Bitheadz, etc. (And their mixer is competing with Steinberg, Emagic, and MOTU, not to mention Waves - want to guess who wins that contest?)

On the other hand, OASYS PCI is competing with professional hardware synths and effects - TC, Eventide, Roland, Yamaha. And in what it does, it is simply the best.

Viewed in this way, all of the criticisms above are fundamentally moot. What synth needs to apologize for having "only" 24-bit fidelity, and "only" 12 inputs and outputs?

Also, I'm sorry that you think that you don't like the interface, but I have to ask - have you actually worked with it? I consistently get *very* positive feedback about the interface; it's smooth, easy to use, doesn't crash, and takes up almost no RAM.

If you want something else, cool. If you're interested in actually making music, I'd encourage you to *listen* before you buy.

Best regards,

Dan Phillips



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Message 27/38             09-Nov-00  @  07:51 AM   -   RE: How are the Creamware synth cards?

future01

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>>>Pulsar is a DSP card "shell" in search of good-sounding plug-ins. :-)

Pulsar has some excellent plug-Ins. I think most would agree you don't need 100 good reverbs, you just need 1 or 2 excellent ones. Some of the synths are amazing with more modulation routings and flexibility than anything out there!!! Have you tried the modular2???


...does Korg need to depend on third-party developers for synths and effects? Probably not. :-)

Did Digi? does any open architecture software system nowadays? I think so. It's not so much whether you need to have plug-Ins it just so happens that people see this as a bonus. It also opens up the gate for some new technologies that Korg people may not have thought of or perhaps had time to implement. You have to admit that Plug-Ins are hot property. It value added selling if your product will work with blah, blah and blah accessory!


>>>OASYS PCI is a new high-end Korg synthesizer and effects processor, which just happens to be in the form of a PCI card.

Sorry if it doesn't appear that way, but it certainly doesn't carry the appeal of unwrapping a shiny new synth. It looks very 'low end' in the graphic department and no one wants to spend $200,000 on a ferarri that looks like a toyota, if ya get what I mean. .....If indeed it is a ferrari like you're suggesting????

>>>>>Fundamentally, Creamware is competing with Native Instruments, Bitheadz, etc. (And their mixer is competing with Steinberg, Emagic, and MOTU, not to mention Waves - want to guess who wins that contest?)

>>>>On the other hand, OASYS PCI is competing with professional hardware synths and effects - TC, Eventide, Roland, Yamaha. And in what it does, it is simply the best.

I agree and disagree : ) I think Creamware give you the option to do what you like. You can mix some tracks in cubase, run reaktor alongside, and bitheadz at the same time if you want. Then throw in a few Pulsar synths, mix it all down, ( well after Oasys has run out of channels and drivers ).

Why would anyone want to limit themselves to a few choices when using a Pulsar means you can still use all your native software stuff and your Pulsar stuff together in harmony!

What contest? I think there isn't one!


>>>>Viewed in this way, all of the criticisms above are fundamentally moot. What synth needs to apologize for having "only" 24-bit fidelity, and "only" 12 inputs and outputs?

One that would be better off as a Plug-In for Pro-tools!



>>>>>Also, I'm sorry that you think that you don't like the interface, but I have to ask - have you actually worked with it? I consistently get *very* positive feedback about the interface; it's smooth, easy to use, doesn't crash, and takes up almost no RAM.

Yes! I've worked with it and thought I had gone back in time ( cool a time machine...I'm back in the 80's). Consistent positive feedback from who? Brown nosers? I bet people give Bill Gates consistent positive feedback too!

Doesn't crash? What ...EVER!!?? WOW!!!!
Heaven forbid it should use any precious RAM..... 24Mb should be enough for anyone I'm sure.

Smooth? What do you mean by smooth? Carmen Electra ass is smooth! Software?
You need to get out more!!!

>>>>If you want something else, cool. If you're interested in actually making music, I'd encourage you to *listen* before you buy.

I want something that is worth the investment ( bottomline ). I am absolutely interested in making music and do quite frequently!

I listened..... I bought 2 Pulsars!

Sorry again Dan!

L.A.



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Message 28/38             09-Nov-00  @  09:45 AM   -   RE: How are the Creamware synth cards?

dan

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Where did you have your OASYS PCI demo? Did you actually have one in person?

BTW - why do you find it necessary to be insulting (e.g. "brown-nosers," "sorry Dan", "you need to get out more")? Usually, that's a sign of someone with a weak argument...or someone who is unsure of themselves. Try to stay away from it next time; it just makes you look weak..

Sorry you don't like the graphics. Of course, your audience can't hear the graphics on the CD - but they can hear the filters resonating above 20kHz, the low-aliasing oscillators, the punchy audio-rate envelopes, the cool and solid tempo effects, and the expressive physical models. That's the part that matters to me, and to the professionals that I sell to.

In re the Pulsar modular: sorry, I have SynthKit. I'm kind of spoiled in this regard - no analog-only modular synth, like the Pulsar's, comes anywhere close. There's also a rather dramatic difference in the sound quality of the filters, oscillators, and envelopes - without which any flexibility is rather worthless, at least to me.

In re "well after OASYS PCI has run out of..." - this confuses me, since we've already talked about efficiency, and it's quite clear that if there is an advantage, it belongs to OASYS PCI. See the numbers. Also - you seem to be assuming that you would be mixing in Pulsar (or OASYS); I have no idea why I would do that, when I have Digital Performer with Waves Renaissance plug-ins. OASYS PCI is a synth and effects processor designed to work in conjunction with software audio programs, and is certainly not designed to be a mixer; if you'd like more insight into this, check out the OASYS PCI website.

Re the need for third-party plug-ins: just read my previous statements again. Digidesign and Creamware don't have compelling content, which is why they need third parties. Korg has been selling content for 30 years; it's what we do.

Re being a ProTools plug-in: you can certainly use OASYS PCI in conjunction with ProTools (or with Pulsar and Scope, for that matter); see the OASYS PCI FAQ for more details. Viewed as a suite of ProTools plug-ins, OASYS PCI is extremely inexpensive - even *without* considering the included DSP power.

You seem mostly interested in defending the decision you've already made, which is a natural inclination. So, perhaps it would be best for us just to agree to disagree.

Have fun with your Pulsars!

Again, for those who are interested in talking with users of OASYS PCI, feel free to check out the official OASYS PCI mailing list:

http://www.egroups.com/group/oasys-pci

- Dan



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Message 29/38             09-Nov-00  @  10:45 AM   -   RE: How are the Creamware synth cards?

alkio

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Yawn.

Just a few comments:

------------

-----------

I can happily run Logic (or Cubase), Reaktor and various other VST softsynths and effects alongside the Oasys synths and effects (with only 3ms latency on the ASIO/VST stuff) simultaneously - and of course also monitor and record external synths via Oasys at the same time.

If I really want Oasys effects treatment on some individual VST instruments, the 8 ASIO streams are quite enough for that. Oasys has enough I/O (ASIO and hardware) for me - and I'd guess most electronic producers and small project studios. It's not meant to be a big-scale digital mixer (and you can of course use the Logic/Cubase mixing for "normal" tasks)!

Also, about the reverbs... As far as I know Pulsar comes only with a dinky little reverb. The only other option I've heard of is the Timeworks reverb that costs $399 extra and seems to be nowehere near as detailed as the O-verb that comes out-of-the-box with the Oasys. This applies more or less to other effects as well.

- Jouni



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Message 30/38             09-Nov-00  @  10:52 AM   -   RE: How are the Creamware synth cards?

alkio

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Whooa, I have no idea how my text showed up in cursive. I was actually quoting (and replying to) a paragraph from future01 and the quote disappeared from my reply! ... Anyway, I guess you get my point.



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