🚀 go-pugleaf

s_paliwoda@hotmail.com (s.p.) wrote in message news:<5121b126.0304061204.4a3dbc16@posting.google.com>...

> > 
> > When or why would you ever want/need to use 1000 instruments?
> 
> I didn't mean it litterally, of course :). I just want to have about
> 10 instruments runnning simultaneously and the ability to apply few
> effects without worrying that my PC will stutter to death. What would
> be the soundcard that might fit the bill?  I've upgraded my system to
> P4 2Ghz, and 256MB RAM, and now I need a good soundcard for my musical
> projects. Any suggestions?

Wasn't sure if you were being a wiseacre...sometimes tonuge in cheek
subtlety doesn't come across on the 'net...

It depends on what your needs are. When you say 10 instruments, I
assume you mean 10 midi instruments. SoundBlaster cards are incredible
for Midi because they use system RAM instead of an onboard chip.

They also have tools to make your own SF instruments or modify
existing ones without too much trouble.

An issue with the Live is that it has a 32 meg limit on accessible
ram. Not a measly amount of RAM but you can easily exceed it with big
Soundfonts. The Audigy doesn't have this limit. However much RAM you
have, you can use the Lion's share of it for midi patches.

However...

Be advised, the Audigy has been plagued with some problems. Many of
which from what I've read, aren't actually the fault of the card but
of a particular chipset that is on some mobos, so you might check to
see if yours is one that uses a "Via" chipset.

Also, if you go the Audigy route, I would definitely stuff as much RAM
into that machine as possible. If it'll hold a gig, put a gig in. That
will allow you to make humongous midi patches with big loops or no
loops at all.