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The Lost Chord 
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Joined: June 23 2005
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 Posted: June 03 2006 at 17:01 |
btw i am COMPLETELY lost on what this thing is 
im just thinking controller - USB - my PC - done.
What is this?
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The Lost Chord
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Joined: June 23 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 1907
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Posted: June 03 2006 at 17:07 |
Here is what I am going to get, for starts, let me know what you think and if you can reccomend anything else:
1. Fr the controller, I am definitely going to get semi-weighted, and I was going to buy an M-audio keyboard with 76 keys i suppose, so long as i can play everything i want. Question with this: DId any major prog bands back then use 88 key synths, ever?
2. I will be getting the M-Tron to start, and nothing else, i dont have the money yet....I will start with M-Tron.
Now, is there a specific type of PC i need for this at all? I have a good PC, a Dell customized top of the line about a year ago...its nice, has alot of space, but my sound card may not be up to par, but it seems it would be...it works with all the arturia demos.
Let me know man!
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Jaydubz
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Posted: June 03 2006 at 23:56 |
Lost Chord - Don't be fooled by the look of that softsynth - it's purely digital, it just looks like a piece of hardware! 
Sounds like your PC should be ok - how much RAM are you rockin'? Are you getting enough amplification with the speakers that you're running on your PC that you'll be able to jam with others?
As for your question re: 88- key synths (or any keyboard for that matter) - 88- key keyboards are designed to emulate a piano. The only other vintage keyboard that had that many keys were the 2- manual Hammond organs such as the B3. 76 keys should more then suffice for this part of your musical journey!
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"Music is the best." ~ FZ
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The Lost Chord
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Joined: June 23 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 1907
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Posted: June 04 2006 at 01:40 |
used space 67.3 GB
free space 3.55 GB
pentium 4 cpu 3.00Ghz
2.99 GHz, 1.00 GB of RAM
thats what the thing syas on my comp.
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Jaydubz
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Posted: June 04 2006 at 10:45 |
You're going to need to clear up some disk space - these soft-synths are powerful, but they're also spacehogs. The Mtron requires 2.6 GB alone - leaving you very little room after intalling it...I'm not a computer expert, but I understand having that little amount of disk space left for scratch disks, etc. is not good for your computer.
The other thing you needs to consider it this: many of the vintage synth soft-synths don't come with effects, they assume you have some sort of sequencing package with effects already in place. Before buying ANY of the above-listed synths, I'd buy a sequencing package first. You can buy Cakewalk Home Studio for under $100.00, and it has a fairly complete range of effects you'll NEED in order to emulate the sounds you want. PLUS, it'll afford you the ability to actually start composing stuff.
http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?ItemPos=9&TempID=10&STRID=103640&Method=2&CategoryID=0&BrandID=1312&PriceRangeID=0&PageNum=0&DepartmentID=0&pagesize=10&SortMethod=3&SearchPhrase=&Contains=&Search_Type=SEARCH&GroupCode=
Edited by Jaydubz - June 04 2006 at 10:47
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"Music is the best." ~ FZ
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The Lost Chord
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 23 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 1907
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Posted: June 04 2006 at 12:25 |
BTW, this would be of great help, and im sure you know these: which software would i need for each of these synth parts?:
Watcher of the Skies intro (Guessing M-Tron?)
Giant Hogweed
Strawberry Fields Forever
EVERYTHING by early moody blues (I am hoping it is all M-Tron)
ELP Hoedown, Jerusalem, most of Brain Salad Surgery
The YES Album and CLose to the Edge (And you and I)
Strawbs Grave New World whole album
Just let me know that and I will surely know what synth software to buy!!
I am confused because you mentioned the name of the synth in the hogweed video but it is not any of the software names...so im just double checking with all of these!
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Jaydubz
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Joined: April 12 2006
Location: United States
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Posted: June 04 2006 at 16:01 |
Lost Chord - Here are staples of the classic prog-rock keyboard sounds, and in my opinion, the best soft-synths for emulating those sounds:
Grand Piano - Used by all of the masters.
Hammond Organ - Ditto - this is a must-have sound for your arsenal,
Mellotron - Most of the masters used it, some didn't - such as Emerson.
Moog Modular/Mini-Moog - A cornerstone of both Emerson's and Wakeman's sound. You're probably best off going with a Mini-Moog to start if you don't have a background in synth programming.
Info on the Mini-Moog:
Arp2600 - some used the Moog, some used the Arp. If you want access to all of the classic sounds, you'll probably want both.
Info on the 2600:
Yamaha CS-80 - Its precursor, the GX-1 was used by Emerson on albums "Works" - on forward.
Info on the CS-80:
Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer Electric Piano, RMI Electric Piano & Hohner Pianet -
The keyboard you were wondering about, the Pianet? It's included in the soft-synth above.
Clavinet -
Harpsichord, Celeste, Accordian & Pipe Organ - To get more esoteric instruments such as these, you're going to have to first invest in a sample library front-end such as Giga-Sampler or Garritan Personal Orchestra.
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"Music is the best." ~ FZ
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The Lost Chord
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 23 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 1907
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Posted: June 04 2006 at 16:55 |
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thank you so much!
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The Lost Chord
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Joined: June 23 2005
Location: United States
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Points: 1907
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Posted: June 05 2006 at 00:49 |
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O)K it seems M-audio doesnt have any 76 key controllers...is there a semi-weighted midi controller you could reccommend for someone like me, looking to play all those songs i mentioned?
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The Lost Chord
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 23 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 1907
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Posted: June 05 2006 at 00:59 |
I am going to pickup the M-Audio Keystation 61es
Is this a good choice?
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The Lost Chord
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Joined: June 23 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
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Posted: June 05 2006 at 01:04 |
or should i get the Axiom 61
edit: just noticed the M-audio synths im looking at are around $200
THIS THING Kurzweil PC2 is almost $2,000!!!
Whats the big difference!?!? DO i need all that extra stuff? i just want to play the vintage stuff
Edited by The Lost Chord - June 05 2006 at 01:09
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Jaydubz
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Posted: June 05 2006 at 22:18 |
LC - The one you picked should work just fine - plus you get a copy of Live LE, which will enable you to start composing as well right away, and give you those much-needed basic effects such as reverb and delay. Get rockin', boy! 
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"Music is the best." ~ FZ
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The Lost Chord
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 23 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 1907
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Posted: June 06 2006 at 00:27 |
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COOL! WHats the Live LE?
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Jaydubz
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Joined: April 12 2006
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Posted: June 06 2006 at 00:44 |
It's a "light version" of Ableton's Live - which is a kick-ass sequencing/remixing program:
I use Sonar, Project 5, Reason & Notion to write with - Project 5 is probably closest to Live, but Live has some particulars that tempt me to get it as well. My salesguy down at Sam Ash swears by this program!
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"Music is the best." ~ FZ
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The Lost Chord
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 23 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 1907
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Posted: June 07 2006 at 17:46 |
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did any of the classic prog bands use the Oddity or ImOSCar? I see M-audio has them also but i dno about them at all
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How many keys do I need on my synth????