As a proud owner of Garritan and a few other sample libraries, I can
tell you that it is in fact a very powerful tool when used correctly.
When used incorrectly, it's a monumental waste of time and only a
moderate waste of money. The package is designed specifically with the
capability of "building" an entire ensemble, not just sampling a single
instrument. It works very well with Sibelius and Finale and can be very
useful in other similar notation or sequencing applications.
I've heard people try to use it as a software instrument (say for
example you're playing a piece requiring piano but you only have a
keyboard). The problem is, the individual instruments by themselves
don't sound that great without a decent amount of processor power being
used for things like short reverb tails or use of multiple patches to
create a stereo instrument. All of this adds up to latency so when your
pianist pushes a key, the instrument responds 50 ms later. While the
audience usually can't tell, your pianist will freak out and probably
make a lot of mistakes because of it.
Another "misuse" I've heard from these was where a fellow orchestral
recording engineer used Garritan to sample-replace some missed pitches
from a live performance. No matter how much you try to masquerade this
as a real instrument, you will not be successful. I can hear when
someone has added EQ to a track much less reverb or artificial
instruments. If I can and my hearing isn't even as good as a few other
peoples' in the business, that's saying something.
Moral of the story -
For "real" music, synths just don't cut it (and hopefully never will).
For basic composition tools they're great. As Dan puts it though (only
a little differently), nothing beats good ol' instrumentation education.
Tom Spillman wrote:
I know little about the current capabilities of synthesizers, but I
would not be at all surprised if software can help. I am familiar
with one system that I've been tempted to buy which is certainly used
by a number of composers for movies scores, among others, who use it
for initial "run through's" for the director.
Here is one such package I've been tempted to buy but haven't for a
number of reasons:
http://www.garritan.com/
There are some amazing (to me!) sample performances on this site.
Who knows? I may breakdown and buy a copy. It is compatible with the
notation program I use to facilitate my horn practice.
Regards...
Tom
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