New NemeSys NCS44 mega-sampler

[mdfmuse]

Go to:
http://www.harmony-central.com/Newp/1999/NCS44.html (\"http://www.harmony-central.com/Newp/1999/NCS44.html\")

NemeSys has just released a 512-voice, 100-gigabyte sampler in a 4U rack space

[Bill]

Hope I find one under the Christmas tree...

[donnie]

how much?

[John Pin]

Hello all,

you know i dont know what to think about this. Deep down i have an umeasy feeling.
Why would a company that is revolutionising the sampler market in taking it from harware to software build a huge sampler in hardware form. I understand how the full potential of the straming technology is perhaps restrained somewhat with current pc operating platforms and performance limitations but..to return to hardware based solutions?

I hope NemeSys are working hard to develop the GS. I hold it up as a wonderful instrument to encourage all involved BUT, it has a LONG way to go. It would seem that a lot of energy has been directed to this new product. Again, i hope not at the expence of the GS. We\'ve all taken a path with GS and trust that it will develop into its potential ASAP.

I hope to see a big improvement in version 2.
Soon.

Regards

John

[Mikael]

So do I!!!???

[Jan]

Very spectacular. But as there is no indication of the price yet on the Nemesys or the Harmony Central site I fear that there will be a considerable pricetag attached to this dreamsampler. Maybe Nemesys will give an equally considerable discount for loyal customers?

[KIA]

Hi

I think that Nemesys have gone this route for a number of good financial reasons..
1. It establishes credibility amongst the die-hard \"external\" hardware sampler users
2. Gives a very valid option for people wanting to use it live (bless em)
3.may open up a whole new generation of GS users..

I can\'t imagine that the unit is gonna be cheap so for Nemesys to assume that they may sell like \"hot cakes\" may be a tad premature
BUT IT DONT HALF KICK BUTT (as you Americans wonderfully word it) and I feel very confident that the new power advertised will filter down to us humble GS users by way of upgrades and options..

I think credibility and the flexing of sampling muscle will make a lot of people take notice.. very clever stuff from Nemesys..

Having said all that.. I could just be talking B*******. (won\'t be the first time).

Anyway Santa doesn\'t exist the buck stops with my wife and selling her prized Vauxhall Tigra to buy the NCS will earn me a divorce

KIA

[Wolfgang Eichholz]

Hey,

that\'s a really good solution for LivePerformers.
If I had the money(and I think, that toy is very, very expensive)it would be my first choice for the road. http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif

Hey Dave, name us the price. http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif

Wolfgang
besonic.com/wolly (\"http://besonic.com/wolly\")


[This message has been edited by Wolfgang Eichholz (edited 11-23-1999).]

[Laurence]

Let me get this straight, four networked computers equal 512 voices. Isn\'t that 128 voices of polyphony per computer? I\'m sure my P3 500 with one gig of memory and three 27 gig hard drives could handle that just fine! If there\'s already a working 128 voice version of the program, why don\'t we have it?

[francis]

Hello:

KIA\'s comments are pretty much on target. Quite perceptive... ;o)

Having said that, let me assure you that NemeSys will *never* abandon the software market. This is where sampling and synthesis are destined to reign, and for us to become an exclusive hardware manufacturer would be a giant step _backward_.

The NCS44 reinforces this concept. Are there ANY hardware-based samplers available that can touch these specs at ANY price? Nope. We\'ve had a lot of requests from major industry players (like David Kahne, world-reknowned producer and first recipient of an NCS44) to create a box that allows them to integrate the power of GigaSampler into their audio arsenals with a minimum of fuss. The NCS44 is this box.

Of course, this level of power comes at a premium:

NCS44, 512 voice: $25,000 (US)
NCS43, 384 voice: $21,000 (US)
NCS42, 256 voice: $17,000 (US)

The prices are not for the faint of heart, but neither is the performance. ;o)

Those of you who want the confidence of a turnkey solution with a little extra bang for your buck may wish to contact one of our certified GigaCompatible hardware vendors:

Sound Chaser Online http://www.soundchaser.com/ (\"http://www.soundchaser.com/\")

Mount Carmel Music
630 N. Hollywood Way
Suite #114
Burbank, CA, 91505
USA
Phone: 818 563 4249
FAX: 818 563 4350

FAQ System Engineering /Audio Master http://www.faqsys.com/ (\"http://www.faqsys.com/\")
6350 McDonough Drive, STE J
Norcross, GA
30093
Phone: 770 409 8823
FAX: 770 409 2026
gerry@faqsys.com

As far as future software products from NemeSys are concerned... fasten your seatbelts, cause our millenium products are going to redefine the term \"sampler\" once again. (And yes, there will be an affordable upgrade path for all current customers!)

Look for more announcements in mid-2000.

Cheers,
Francis A. Preve
Program Director
NemeSys Music Technology, Inc.


(Just fixed a few URLs...)

[This message has been edited by francis (edited 11-23-1999).]

[EmulatorFour]

Wow - mega sampler indeed. Seems a bit pricey to me, but if it works then what the heck http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif

I could hire an orchestra for $25,000 though...

I wonder how stable it is? I haven\'t really read anywhere about what OS and such it\'s running, but I\'m assuming Windows, which would make me slightly uneasy to use in the studio (but hey, Gigasampler works fine it seems with minimal crashes).

If this thing is just running on Windows without any proprietary hardware and whatnot, I\'m assuming it\'s just software - could those of us who are so inclined not build our own mega PC to run it?

e4.

[Dave Of NemeSys]

This system is very stable because we configure it ourselves and spend a couple solid days on it and test it out. We also ship \"drive image\" restoration disks so that the C: drive can be completely recovered in case of major troubles. (in about 15 min)We also install and test a custom 128 voice expansion in these systems that is not widely available yet. I think the price includes installation on site(by me most likely) The purpose is for high end composition and music production. This is not nessesarily a traveling solution. We are looking into laptop solutions for that purpose.
More details later.
Take care
Dave


[This message has been edited by Dave Of NemeSys (edited 11-24-1999).]

[Laurence]

Is there any way for me to get the 128 note version of Gigasampler. Polyphony is a major issue with me. 128 notes of polyphony would give me 64 stereo voices instead of 32. If 128 voices didn\'t work, I could lower the polyphony to 96 or something. I wouldn\'t even mind buying another SCSI drive or two and playing the samples off multiple drives. I just really want the extra voices.

[Joris Vincken]

Laurence, I couldn\'t agree more. 64 notes just isn\'t enough when you have such great samples.

[John Pin]

I simply track my sampler to allow more voices. In the final mix, i will track all samples anyway. Allows for more controll.

regards
JP

[Laurence]

I track mine too, but I wish I didn\'t have to. Especially since there already is a 128 note version out there!

[KIA]

Message to Dave or Francis

I have done a quick scan of your web site so I apologise in advance if I have missed the obvious..

What sound card is used in the NCS ?..

Bye the way, I mentioned it to my wife and she reckons I can have one the day I start making money out of music other than doing a few Salvation Army gigs that I get roped into.

KIA

[Dave Of NemeSys]

To KIA. The default is usually the Soundscape Mixtream (x4) We have done systems with Layla by Echo also. We can use whatever compatible card that is requested.
Take care
Dave

[Laurence]

Once again, how do I get the \"custom 128 voice expansion in these systems that is not widely available yet\"?

[Kenn159]

Hi Fellow sample heads
I feel thankful as a consumer that Nemesys took a different route than a lot of other companys have with the release of new ground breaking products . Nemesys could have easily first introduced giga sampler to the public with there NCS44 and waited years before releasing the software version to the public , there for only high end studio\'s would have would have had access to this technology.[ remember the farelight , synclavier day\'s] Also the fact that they have made this ground breaking software technolgy accessable to the average person . Im just thankful that kurzweil or Vitous Miroslav didnt get a hold of this technology , I would of had to sell my first born to afford it . Congrads Nemesys

[mramosch]

Yes, where and how do we get the \"custom 128 voice expansion in these systems that is not widely available yet\"?

And where is the future of GS going at all ??

A little Info by NemeSys wouldn\'t be bad...

Voice Polyphony...

MIDI Channels...

Fixing of those ugly more than 1 year old bugs...

Get rid of the NonWindows like Explorer-Boxes to select and organize *.gig Files...

Get rid of the Non-Working Instrument-Editor...

Give us separate *.gog Files that lets us exchange Instruments without Samples...
(like Programs on the AKAI)

Let us combine several Instruments into one *.gig File that we don\'t have to recreate every Instrument from the Scratch...
(seems like to invent the wheel every day once more)

PLEASE tell us what are you working on ?
What can we hope for...


Come on Dave, Joe, Francis, Sean ... or Santa

Give us a little Info as a Christmas Present

Knight Manfred
(GigaSampler Fighter from the first Minute)

[Sasha]

Mramosch, What 1 year old bugs are you talking about? Just curious.


[This message has been edited by Sasha (edited 12-11-1999).]

[Zep Dude]

Interestingly enough, Audio Master offers a 128 note version of Gigasampler. Do a custom configuration of their turnkey computer and one of the software options is \"Gigasampler 128 note\". I wonder why this has not been anounced?

Here is their site: http://www.faqsys.com/ (\"http://www.faqsys.com/\")

[mramosch]

THAT\'S THE BUG

Try this...

1.Preparing a new *.gig:

Take a long *.wav File - best is a song you grabbed from a CD.
Dedicate this wav to a region in the InstrumentEditor
and pray that it doesn\'t crash while working with it.
Pray before you start working :-) - afterwards a lot of work could already be lost...
The release time should be 3-5 seconds that you can hear
a nice fade out when releasing the key.

Take the middle C for example and be sure that the
Hold-Pedal Assignment works (Control 64 - Sustain).

Save the Instrument and here we go...


2.See (hear) the bug:

Play the middle C on your keyboard to wich you have
dedicated your Song in the Instrument Editor before.
Now you should hear your Song. After releasing the key
the Song should fade out.
If this happens now you have set up all correctly.

O.K. Strike the key once more very strongly that your Song is played very loudly.
Press the Hold Pedal and the Song continuos playing without having to press the key.
Now release the Pedal and the Song fades out.
After two seconds you can hear your song with a very low volume
because the envelope-release took it down.

NOW - still hearing the Song - press the Hold Pedal again.

Do you hear the Bug? The Song continous playing on allthough no
key was pressed at the moment you pressed the Pedal.

Can you imagine what that means to your POLYPHONY ?!?!?!

Nice Sound-cluster if you play some chords with a Big-Release-Synth-Sound
with your Sustain Pedal. Real Music of the next Millenium.
(or wasn\'t it allready done by Oliver Messiaen and some other
composers in the beginning of this century ?)

So I think there is no use in this effect.

THIS BUG WAS ALLREADY REPORTED ON 12NOV1998 TO NEMESYS...

[This message has been edited by mramosch (edited 12-13-1999).]

[This message has been edited by mramosch (edited 12-13-1999).]

[mramosch]

THIS BUG WAS ALLREADY REPORTED ON 12NOV1998 TO NEMESYS...

I\'m a little bit annoyed about the guys there because if they don\'t
even listen to their Beta-Testers (who spend a lot of days in trying to find
things that could be improved or debugged before it is released for the crowd)
and don\'t even give them a hint of what they are implementing right now -
I really ask myself whatfor am I doing it...

I spent a lot of time without getting any money for it...
I BOUGHT my GS allthough I have a very stable - solid rock working cracked Version...
I want to help making the best out of this unbelieveable f****** good wavestreaming technology.

So please guys at NemeSys - don\'t let us hang around without knowing
what\'s happening. Listen to us what we want because we are the ones who
buy the Software. If we can\'t use it we will buy other things.
That\'s not good for US but also not good for YOU...


But in spite of all I want to say THANK YOU and that I like what you do - GOOD JOB

But please - don\'t forget to continou your work...


Manfred

[mramosch]

BTW: a nice trick for D.Js or SoundEngineers in a Theatre.

1.Change the Polarity of your Hold Pedal eighter by switch on the rear
(some Pedals have this Option)
or change the \'+\' and \'-\' in the plug of the cable of the Pedal.

2.Dedicate a Song or any Sample or Noise to a key on your Keyboard in the Instrument Editor.

Now you can play one complete Song without having to continou pressing the key
on your keyboard because the Hold Pedal position says HOLD...

Just give the Pedal a short \'PRESS & RELEASE\' and the Song will stop or
fade out according to the release time you dedicated to the region.

If you set an Attack time of some seconds also, you can crossfade between two songs.

But before NEMESYS has to remove the above mentioned Bug.
Because if you release the Pedal before the first Song has completely faded out,
you will hear both Songs at the same time.
How loud the first Song continous depends
on how fast you release the Pedal ( in wich state of the envelope-release you are.)

Manfred


[This message has been edited by mramosch (edited 12-12-1999).]

[Laurence]

I followed the Audio-Master link and found a 128 voice polyphony upgrade for $399. Is this for real? If the 64 voice polyphony is an arbitrary limit, why pay $400 for a line of code that says 128 instead of 64? Will the next version of GS be 128 note capable or will it still be a crippled version? What\'s going on here? Like everyone else I use mostly all stereo samples so we\'re talking more realistically about 32 and 64 note polyphony here. It\'s one thing to limp along if that is all the technology can give, but quite another to be banging my head against an artificial limit. When I\'m using GS in a sequence, I can usually get three tracks before the dropping of notes in GS becomes intolerable. The note stealing algorythm in GS is not that great. I have all the patience in the world for a great product like this if the company is doing the best it can. On the other hand, if 32 stereo notes is an arbitrary limit that is just there to make me spend $400 on an upgrade with one or two lines of code, it kind of makes my blood boil!

[Joris Vincken]

This 128 note upgrade was announced, but I don\'t think it will ever be released. At least I can\'t find it on the Nemesys website anymore. I guess version 2.0 will be 128note. I hope Nemesys will release some interm version for us long time users who never had 64notes (due to their \'great\' note stealing algoritm).

[KIA]

Laurence

How are you doing. I saw your thread and thought about things a little (a dangerous thing for me to do.)I understand your concern but I am sure that its more complicated than a few lines of code.
Have a think about the \"other side\" for minute.
The truth is we don\'t know the answer and the question is should we be asking.

The cost structure behind the upgrade makes an 128 note polyphonic sampler still so way ahead of anything hardware based on the market. You have the new Yamaha A5000 with 128 note polyphony at £1700. The EMU EX4T at £2799 to name but a few.

The market place has such a low respect for software and its pricing. They think that because its easy to copy and produce that it should always be \"really cheap\". Yet the R&D of an award winning product and the cost of updates and upgrades in terms of man hours and testing and building in new features and implementing new ideas is far and away more than any hardware manufacturer would do.

I always get annoyed when I discover people using pirate software for example and their excuse is \"software is too expensive\" absolute B*******. Its because its easy to do an illegal copy of it. You don\'t see many pirated JV1080\'s going around do you.

If someone offered me a sampler that gave me 128 note polyphony with NO need to loop that would negate the need to spend thousands on keyboards I wouldn\'t need and promised me updates and improvements throughout its life. Who\'s quality of library sounds IS the best in sampling history that would work with a good 50% of sound cards and would allow me to do everything from one monitor and is compatible with the best sequencers in the world and STILL PLEASE MY WIFE.. then £599 for GS and £399 to make take it to 128 notes polyphony I would snatch your hand off..
At the end of the day, as Joris points out, we may get it all in version 2 or 3 for the same price.

Nuff Said

No Applause Please, I\'m getting misty

KIA http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by KIA (edited 12-13-1999).]

[This message has been edited by KIA (edited 12-13-1999).]

[mramosch]

Hi Kia

Please don\'t forget - if you have to buy a superfast PC
especially dedicated to a 128 voice GS - then get two Mixtremes to be
in the same qualitylevel than a Hardware Sampler with
16 Individual Outputs, then you\'re not far off the prize...

Remember - the Software alone doesn\'t do it...

So the advantage of wavestreaming can only be kept if all other terms
are compareable with their Hardware pendants...

So we are having 16 MIDI-channels - all the rest is equiped with min. 32 channels ?!?!?

I like to Orchestrate with every instrument on a dedicated Channel
with PAN, VOL ,REV settings....
Please no PrgChg...

And that\'s really only a question of opening some more instances of a
internal GS-MIDI-module. Believe me, I once wrote some
MIDI-Masterkeyboard-Controller-Software for the PC. How many zones you use
is just a deal of the programmer\'s mood and the speed of your PC.
It was a 16 zone Controller with everything you could imagine -
Kurzweil, Roland A-90, Elka MK 88, PMM-88 together wouldn\'t do it...

Manfred

[This message has been edited by mramosch (edited 12-13-1999).]

[This message has been edited by mramosch (edited 12-13-1999).]

[mramosch]

BTW: A propos SPEED

I was just playing with this super nice B3-Sound that I downloaded once
from Worra\'s Place and believe me I treated my Keyboard and GS not very nice.

I played like Jon Lord in his best times ;-) ...

The funny thing about this is - that on the same
Seagate UATA-Drive where I installed GS and all the gigs
I have stored some songs as *.wav Files which I burned
down on a CD while playing this real superb B3-Sound...

I verified the CD with the original Files on the Harddrive -
Not a single BIT dropped...

For me that says - 128 cannot be a problem for my
TYAN-motherboard and a P-II 350 MHz...

Manfred

[This message has been edited by mramosch (edited 12-13-1999).]

[elle]

Mramosch,

A bit off topic....but I/m intrested in your master keyboard PC soft... could you expand on this, possibly over email...
luk@synergetics.be