Anything like TTS-1 available in non-DXi?

TTS-1 is still my overall favourite however there are some others. The current best replacement is probably Halion Sonic 2 from Steinberg. GM sounds are pretty good, and it has a whole bunch more that are easy to use. Pricey though, and requires their garbage dongle. One that isn't available any more that was nice is Bandstand form Native Instruments. Maybe you can get it used? I dunno.

Soundfonts and a free soundfont player might fit the bill:
http://hiphopmakers.com/over-2000-free-soundfonts-free-soundfont-player
 
You might want to look at this soundfont player also:
http://www.kvraudio.com/p...ware-sampler-by-cwitec

BobF
SampleTank 2 has OmniSynth 2 that has a GM program.  SampleTank 3 imports this with no problem.  This is what I started using with BiaB instead of Coyote or TTS-1 - via ST2

Interesting.  I forgot all about this... Buried under Bonus Sounds-Expansions in my Sampletank 2XL Folder.  I don't remember if it came bundled or as an extra....
 
Anyway, thanks, Bob, for the reminder!

Thanks for the responses all
 

scook
I believe Roland reintroduced Sound Canvas recently http://www.roland.com/products/sound_canvas_va/

 
I think that's the closest to the quick run-and-gun kind of tool I want. At the moment it doesn't correctly support Bank & Patch changes in Sonar, and there is a similar issue in DP. Hope they fix that in the next release cause then I'm probably sold.
 

JohnKenn
Free, cheap end of the spectrum is like Mario said, sample player and a soundfont or sfz GM bank. Can't get a lot of layered dynamics out of this kind of setup but neither does TTS, and it works. Free sample player like the lite tx16 lite version.
 
http://www.tx16wx.com/
 
Don't have links, but net search will quickly come up with some really incredible (and some not so incredible) free GM banks. Should do what you are looking for.
 
John

I like this tool, not quite as smooth as the Roland, from a workflow point of view, but free is nice! I found a GS soundfont that sounds OK, but I can't get patch names to show up in the patch browser - maybe I'm missing something in the config. Also a bit more legwork to get panning and volume control. 
 
 
Interested to hear any more recs. Thanks!
 
Mike
 
 
 

scook
I believe Roland reintroduced Sound Canvas recently http://www.roland.com/products/sound_canvas_va/

Sigh. Dammit. Roland really doesn't deserve $125 for this, considering it is old as dirt samples, samples which I've probably paid for about 20 times between TTS-1 in various versions, Windows, and a real SD-20.
 
...but man is it accurate to old SoundCanvases. It nails the old SC sounds even better than my physical SD-20. Given my silly love for playing with General MIDI tracks, I'll probably have to buy this.

scook
Maybe a DX to VST wrapper for TTS-1 would be sufficient http://xlutop.com/buzz/zip/dxshell_v1.0.4b.zip

Yeah, I actually tried that. The resulting VST appears to be valid, as it opens in Sonar and Cantabile and works. But DP's plugin validator doesn't like it. It mistakenly classifies it as en effect instead of a synth and refuses to finish scanning it - won't mark it as failed or passed. Maybe I'll try it again and see if I just screwed it up. Would be nice to use the same tool across platforms.

An update:
 
I forgot that I had the LE version of Korg's M1 vst. For $99 I can upgrade to the full legacy collection, so then I also get the MS20, Polysix, some FX, and more. I think I might do that. I do wish it was 16-part, instead of 8, but it might do just fine. 
 
http://www.korg.com/us/pr...org_legacy_collection/
 
Irritatingly, I can't use more than one instance of M1LE as a plugin at a time. But the README file says that is a restriction of the LE version and should go away when I upgrade.
 
 May have a winner...

mesayre
 
Irritatingly, I can't use more than one instance of M1LE as a plugin at a time. But the README file says that is a restriction of the LE version and should go away when I upgrade.
 
 May have a winner...

Its nice package of synths. I just inserted three instances of M1 into SPLAT so it look like you are correct about the limitation only being with the LW version.
 
 

Hey Mario, that's a valid point.

I'm mostly coming at this from an ease/speed of workflow pov. I hate having to hunt for things and tweak when I'm trying to get my ideas down. TTS1 is great because it has a broad palette and i can find a sound with one or maybe two clicks - then be on my way. And it responds to panning. It just works.

I'm looking for that in another package, and it needs to be 64 bit to work with DP. That knocks out some soundfont contenders like Jeskola, which i believe is 32 bit only.

The M1, while not a gm module, does have a fairly broad palette of sounds and is pretty speedy to use. So while it would be different than using the patch browser within sonar, i find it intuitive and lightweight ootb.

All things being equal, the Roland Sound Canvas might be a better TTS-1 replacement. But until either cakewalk or Roland Fix whatever prevents proper selection of banks and programs, it's less desirable than it otherwise would be. Maybe they'll get around to an update soon.

Thanks
Mike

JohnKenn
So just wondering...
 
If TSS  is still supported by the likes of Sonar and Reaper, why having to look elsewhere if it still works well.
 

Because I also work in DP, which doesn't do DXi's. It's also hit & miss with 32 bit bridges. I'm hoping to be able to use the same tool on both platforms. Otherwise, you're right, no need to upgrade. 
 
Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions!