RE: After 5 years...I need help
2006/02/18 08:30:09
(permalink)
Hi Randy. I used to play sax semi-professionally (along with guitar and keyboards), albeit not very well.
If you are looking for an all-in-one solution, you might take a look at the following products:
Cakewalk Dimension Pro
IK Sampletank 2.1
EastWest Colossus (large library but rather expensive)
Sonic Implants Muse (also large but not as expensive as Colossus--however it has not been released yet)
In addition to reading more about these products online, if you can find a music store that lets you audition these libraries, you might get a better idea if one of these will meet your purposes.
If you start looking at individual virtual instruments or sample libraries for each instrument category, then things get a little more complicated. BFD is popular for acoustic drums, Stylus RMX for electronic grooves, and Sonic Reality is coming out with its Studio profile series of acoustic multi-track and REX loops. There are many other options for drums as well. It all depends upon what you need and how much you are willing to spend. The same is true for the other instrument categories you name.
Keep in mind that Dimension Pro is still fairly new, and expansion libraries for Dimension will be made available for purchase in the future. It covers all the categories you name plus others. But of course you will have to decide if it meets your purposes. But it is made by Cakewalk and it is a great product, plus the man who designed it (René) is accessible to answer questions here so it's definitely worth your time to look at.