MIDI Controllers how to get the best out of them?

[N1vaR]

Please excuse my ignorance, but I'm currently studying Sound Engineering and want to start making music. I purchased an Korg Kontrol 49, to be honest because of the looks and my attraction towards the Akai MPC and the Triton... I thought I was going to get the best of both worlds, but I just have not started taking advantage of this gear. So, here I am to see if anybody could help....

I already know that the pads on the K49 are not as flexible as an MPC and I cant load up samples into them like you would on the MPC. Lately, I been reading about sound modules and how they produce or have sound in them. (Feel free to correct me) So basically I just want to start experimenting with different sounds, are sound modules the way to go?? I love quality in the sound, so how plug ins and all these software out there different than the hardware?? Sound Quality??


I see dudes f**k with the ensoniq ASR-10 to sample and later importing their sounds into the MPC?? Why? Isn't it easier to do it with software???


Appreciate any Help!!

N1vaR from Puerto Rico

[sequentialsoftshock]

You're not going to get any sound from the midi controller itself (which it seems like you already know). You could do two things, buy a MIDI breakout box to send multiple MIDI outs to a rack sampler or synthesizer or whatever, or you could just buy software and do it. If you're on a budget and just getting into this, you might want to consider some software, especially if you consider it easy. There are plenty of applications which aren't too expensive that allows you to sample like on an MPC or whatever. The pads on your machine are just as flexible as you make them btw

[N1vaR]

Your totally right about the flexibility in the pads! lol The problem with the Kontrol49 is that is not as sensitive, but its makes sense since is not design to import samples or to simulate a drum machine. BTW Not really a big fan of software but I'm not a hater. I prefer making music hands on, it helps the vibe and it shows more musicianship. (In my opinion)


I'm really looking for quality, and with your post I did some research and it did mention that hardware sound modules do have an impact on sound quality.

Why people use the ASR for?? Is it because of the synthesizer/sampler combination that gives it an unique quality or is it just overrated because a lot of successful producers use it.

Thanks for the help.

[meatballfulton]

Why people use the ASR for?? Is it because of the synthesizer/sampler combination that gives it an unique quality or is it just overrated because a lot of successful producers use it.

The ASR was a well-endowed sampler for it's time and a serious alternative to the Akai S-series. The reason some folks sample with it but move the samples to an MPC is because they prefer the MPC sequencing flow.

It is true that modern software far outstrips what most hardware samplers can do. This is why Akai, Ensoniq (RIP) and others got out of the market. The ASR was Ensoniq's last gasp before their parent E-Mu dropped hardware altogether. E-Mu discovered that the real money is in the sounds, which is why they have endlessly recycled their huge sample library (originally made for the old Emulators) in various products ever since the first Proteus modules of the 90s.

Products used by musicians who are making big hits are seldom overrated, but it may not be the sound that makes it great. It could be just the workflow or design quirks that give it a special personality (like the Roland TB303).

[Ashe37]

It is true that modern software far outstrips what most hardware samplers can do. This is why Akai, Ensoniq (RIP) and others got out of the market. The ASR was Ensoniq's last gasp before their parent E-Mu dropped hardware altogether.

The ASR-10 was produced a while before Creative bought Ensoniq (1992). It was followed by the ASR-X (1997) and the ASR-X Pro (1998)... the earlier ASRs had made some penetration into hip-hop studios but at the time when the ASR-X was introduced alot of hip-hop artists were shifting towards the Akai MPC so they tried to copy it without copying it...

Creative Labs' real interest in buying Ensoniq had *nothing* to do with the synthesizer part, they were after their sound cards- specifically the a: OEM market penetration of the Ensoniq AudioPCI and b: the DOS mode drivers for the AudioPCI- things creative was wanting at the time. Being able to smoosh Emu and Ensoniq together was a nice side benefit. Emu was acquired for their audio DSP design expertise... hence why the Soundblaster AWE32/Soundblaster Live/ Audigy lines are based off of Emu labelled chips.

It wasn't software samplers that killed the hardware samplers as much as sound cards being able to load larger and larger 'wavetables' (sample banks), especially when the AudioPCI generation cards (and later) could use system memory instead of having memory on the cards. This was basically all before software samplers could do the level of polyphony necessary to replace hardware samplers (which by the way, didn't take very long).