Then you've been listening to the wrong softsynth.

Not really. It's not like a piano is the only full-range instrument. Several other sounds are groups of sounds benefit from a full range, think of strings, harp, large drumkits, but also any synthetic sound designed for a full range. Also think of medium-range sounds and an extra octave full o' keys...

It's hard to know what the 1080 was used on, as not every album lists the equipment used. You may be able to recognize patches, but who guarantees they're from the 1080, and not the 2080, XP50 or XP80?

Vangelis has used one of the above mentioned in his album Voices: http://elsew.com/data/synths.htm

..has a (master)keyboard with 88 keys, not 61.

I've browsed through the internets and found none, or none that work. So here's what I'm after: a VST MIDI plugin that sits in the MIDI path (not the audio path), and randomly delays incoming notes with a given range. Idea is to add timing errors to a track. Anyone knows which plugin does this, *if*...

Nah, not Vangelis (having his 70's/80's brass sounds doesn't make music instant-Vangelis). It's more like Kitaro actually.

When narrowed down to trance (the stuff you hear at Digitally Imported internet radio), I say respect the genre a lot for 2 reasons: - sound design, there's really a lot of mixing and layering detail in all that - minimalism, as I'm more from the orchestral/pop stables, I'd never be able to make tra...

You know what'd want? A full-range masterkeyboard, with 128 keys. Handy for big drumkits and ordinary sounds with keyswitches, which may be at C0-B1 (or C -2 .. B -1, depending on where you start). Then add FM8 into the keyboard, with the FM matrix being a big board o' knobs with number displays at ...

If I may add a controversial flamebait point to Yoozer's list: - What's wrong with a digital synth anyway? There are no bad synths, only bad sound designers! There are no bad oscillators, only bad sound designers! There are no bad filters, only bad sound designers! and: Often, there are bad factory ...

I'm aware of the dynamics and that some instruments in reality sound louder or softer. Truth here is that I orchestrate and mix like pop music. :P Even filmmusic (performed by a real orchestra) is mixed like pop music. btw, I have used a real orchestra in 2001 for a short student movie. (33 strings,...

The bigger the library, the bigger the quality usually is. Siedla(??)ek has c**p strings, no life whatsoever in them, no eb or flow, no nothing. With the right library, 32+ instruments sound perfect from a decent/recent PC. Never really liked or got into Gigasampler. but Halion is just as good. Or d...

Hey, I never really disliked the smell of a copying machine! I also like paper with ink on it..

And as for synths: softwaresynths smell better

Hacked something together in FM8:

http://pub.unreal64.net/boor/fm8ethnipad.ogg

Gotta do the cut 'n loop yourself tho.

Yes tried it (but have been in a bit of a rush lately, due study).. they remind me of that list o' 1400some in my FS1r, are they the same? As for preset packs: the trouble here is that loose packs are completely unprotected. Some bozo could just grab all the ideas and tricks and make a new lib of ro...

It can be recreated, reasonably, in FM8. With tons o' tweakability in addition..