Hello,
   I've burned a fair amount of time today looking for something functionally similar to TTS-1 in a VST package so I can use it in other DAW's for sketching. Unfortnately Roland doesn't sell HyperCanvas anymore, and it seems to be slim-pickings unless I try to buy an old hardware unit.
 
Anybody have a recommendation on a vst general-purpose midi module?
 
Thanks,
Mike
 
 

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.

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

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

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

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!

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

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
 
 
 

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

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.