viberunner
06-30-2010, 10:19 PM
Hi all
I have a Yamaha NP30, donated to me from a musician friend. The internal sounds are really good, but limited (10 voices), and I want the Funky classics of Hammond, Clavinet, Wurlitzer, and complementary effects like a Leslie Rotary Speaker. I don't want samples, but models, and for free.
For VST Host I found Cantabile Lite (http://www.cantabilesoftware.com/) is amazing. It's ease itself, working on a virtual "rack" system. Light, and stable.
For instruments,
MrTramp (http://www.genuinesoundware.com/?a=showproduct&b=40) is a beautiful sounding Wurlitzer.
EP-Station (http://www.bigtickaudio.com/bigtick/home) is a great Electric Piano model, and the same people give a free, lovely-sounding Clavinet called TrickyClav. You have to sign-up for their newsletter to download them, but it's not a scam.
There are quite a few Hammond emulators, but I'm enjoying NuBi (http://rekkerd.org/nubi-plus-vfx-and-spinner-now-free/), which handily comes with a Leslie Speaker emulator.
I've also tested Organ One (http://www.bojo-software.com/), B8 Organ (http://www.autodafe.net/b8-organ-vsti.html), and the AZR3 (http://untermkittel.de/rumpelrausch/?PLUGINS) to great effect.
There are trillions of effects plug-ins out there, but the groups Blue Cats (http://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Bundle_FreewarePack/), Dream Vortex (http://www.dream.vortex.btinternet.co.uk/), MDA (http://mda.smartelectronix.com/), and Togo Audio Line (http://kunz.corrupt.ch/), all have produced full suites, so are handy one-stop shops.
Finally, and very far from least, Rhythmicus Machine (http://www.elektrostudio.ovh.org/index2.php?go=5), a drum machine.
Now there are thousands of VSTi drum machines, but most of them are targeted at bedroom ravers laying crazy, science-fiction dance-pattern sequences. Rhythmicus is a drum-machine you use to set a beat to jam along with. It doesn't have an insanely large range of pre-sets, but has a good set of different beats (Rock, Bossa, Cha-Cha, etc.) but you can overlay them, adjust the mix, and - of course - twiddle the tempo.
In Cantabile it's simplicity itself to load one bank with an Organ/Piano, and apply crazy effects to it, and in another bank have Rhythmicus providing the drums. Note, as the midi input will affect both racks (i.e. your keys mess around with the drums) set the Midi Input on the Rhythmicus rack to "None", it's really obvious, and that's it - a fully fledged Hammond, with Leslie Speaker, and inbuilt drum machine. Certainly a lot nicer than a boring old metronome.
I understand some of you will be on much more advanced software than this, but it's amazing what you can unearth and join-up for free, and a thread with free-but-functional MIDI programs might be a handy resource for some.
I have a Yamaha NP30, donated to me from a musician friend. The internal sounds are really good, but limited (10 voices), and I want the Funky classics of Hammond, Clavinet, Wurlitzer, and complementary effects like a Leslie Rotary Speaker. I don't want samples, but models, and for free.
For VST Host I found Cantabile Lite (http://www.cantabilesoftware.com/) is amazing. It's ease itself, working on a virtual "rack" system. Light, and stable.
For instruments,
MrTramp (http://www.genuinesoundware.com/?a=showproduct&b=40) is a beautiful sounding Wurlitzer.
EP-Station (http://www.bigtickaudio.com/bigtick/home) is a great Electric Piano model, and the same people give a free, lovely-sounding Clavinet called TrickyClav. You have to sign-up for their newsletter to download them, but it's not a scam.
There are quite a few Hammond emulators, but I'm enjoying NuBi (http://rekkerd.org/nubi-plus-vfx-and-spinner-now-free/), which handily comes with a Leslie Speaker emulator.
I've also tested Organ One (http://www.bojo-software.com/), B8 Organ (http://www.autodafe.net/b8-organ-vsti.html), and the AZR3 (http://untermkittel.de/rumpelrausch/?PLUGINS) to great effect.
There are trillions of effects plug-ins out there, but the groups Blue Cats (http://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Bundle_FreewarePack/), Dream Vortex (http://www.dream.vortex.btinternet.co.uk/), MDA (http://mda.smartelectronix.com/), and Togo Audio Line (http://kunz.corrupt.ch/), all have produced full suites, so are handy one-stop shops.
Finally, and very far from least, Rhythmicus Machine (http://www.elektrostudio.ovh.org/index2.php?go=5), a drum machine.
Now there are thousands of VSTi drum machines, but most of them are targeted at bedroom ravers laying crazy, science-fiction dance-pattern sequences. Rhythmicus is a drum-machine you use to set a beat to jam along with. It doesn't have an insanely large range of pre-sets, but has a good set of different beats (Rock, Bossa, Cha-Cha, etc.) but you can overlay them, adjust the mix, and - of course - twiddle the tempo.
In Cantabile it's simplicity itself to load one bank with an Organ/Piano, and apply crazy effects to it, and in another bank have Rhythmicus providing the drums. Note, as the midi input will affect both racks (i.e. your keys mess around with the drums) set the Midi Input on the Rhythmicus rack to "None", it's really obvious, and that's it - a fully fledged Hammond, with Leslie Speaker, and inbuilt drum machine. Certainly a lot nicer than a boring old metronome.
I understand some of you will be on much more advanced software than this, but it's amazing what you can unearth and join-up for free, and a thread with free-but-functional MIDI programs might be a handy resource for some.