# Giga News?



## synthetic (Feb 23, 2009)

I may have some Giga news very soon...


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## Mark Belbin (Feb 23, 2009)

Jeff,

Your very posting those "may" and "soon" words seems to mock me.

Out with it!

:D 

Belbin


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## JonFairhurst (Feb 23, 2009)

Could there be life in the old lady yet? If so, I'll be thrilled. GS4 is still my sampler of choice.

Of course, until somebody makes the deal, signs the contract, and writes the check - and it clears, we shouldn't count on anything.

And then there are variations: what would it include? (GS4, GVI, GigaPulse VST?) What would the roadmap be? (GVI4? GVI-Mac? Something completely different?)

And the coolest question: Might it possibly go open source? 

And the biggest question: Might it be purchased by an established developer as their answer to VI, Play, and Aria?

I have no inside information. I'm just thinking of the possibilities. 

BTW, would it be good (better memory optimization) or bad (the obvious) if Microsoft were the buyer. =8-o


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## Mark Belbin (Feb 23, 2009)

Microsoft!? Can you say "No Mac Version - EVER" ? Haha.

Belbin


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## JonFairhurst (Feb 23, 2009)

True that. All Mac source code would be at the bottom of Lake Sammamish before 8am Monday morning.


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## chimuelo (Feb 24, 2009)

Only a developer with financial backing for R & D would even think about tackling this after all of the bad press and months of stagnation.....
So obviously somebody with some serious cahones, and obviuosly knowledge of the app itself........................Hmmmmm.....
Bring Back Nemesys and Dave Govett...of course with a huge Nashville backer since the Joe Bobs got all of the money.

Does this mean I don't have to sell my Larry Seyers LearnGigastudio DVD series? o-[][]-o
I had it on ebay for 5 bucks but the guy who won the bid didn't have the money.


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## PolarBear (Feb 24, 2009)

It's probably the case that the people working on it at last are not dead. They do have all the knowledge needed and I don't see why they couldn't pull off something on their own even with Tascam not selling the info, but Tascam would be better off to make at least some money out of a dead horse...


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## Przemek K. (Feb 24, 2009)

OHHHHHHHH, Out with the news right now Mr. Synthetic :D 

Can it be that GS will live on ?... To be , or not to be seems to be a nice question.


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## mikebarry (Feb 24, 2009)

Oh that is mean teasing us like that


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## chimuelo (Feb 24, 2009)

It's going to be hard for me to give up M$ SongSmith.
I have converted most of my libraries down to 32MB's and now have a great replacement for GVI.

But if GS4 could host all of these I will be impressed.


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## synthetic (Feb 24, 2009)

Sorry, I'm on vacation for a week. I hope to have some more info when I get back.


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## Przemek K. (Feb 24, 2009)

Well than, have a nice vacation, but you know...you spoiled us with that little
info of yours  :twisted:


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## chimuelo (Feb 25, 2009)

Can we use it with M$ Windows 7.0........ :mrgreen: 

Sorry, I was reliving my NAMM experiences.

I love asking stupid questions to guys like Don Buchla by saying..." Sir, where's the drum kits? Are they on the lowest keys?"....
Asking John Bowen what button has the 16 track sequencer, or why do you have to have so many LCD's ?....... o


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## Craig Sharmat (Feb 25, 2009)

That's very funny...


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## Reegs (Feb 25, 2009)

<speculation>
Wasn't sonivox doing a lot of work with Giga? They have that whole DVI line that looks a lot like GVI things...

And weren't they developing their own player?

</speculation>


Exciting! Eager to hear what it is!


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## JonFairhurst (Feb 25, 2009)

Sonivox would be my top guess too, but you never know.

Personally, I'd rather that Giga remain a bit more independent of any specific developer, so it can serve a wide variety of libs. Then again, a central developer would give it focus and deeper stake in long term success.

Whoever buys it, one of the first jobs should be to get 64-bit GSIF drivers for some inexpensive sound cards like the MIA and Audiophiles. And we need a list of recommended 64-bit hardware. 

GS4 could have stomped K2 performance with 64-bit loading capacity and gobs of RAM, but who wanted to buy a new system, a new OS, a $500+ soundcard - and the worry that it might not even work?! 

Some performance white papers comparing GS4 on 8GB of RAM to competitive players would have been helpful too.

But alas, everybody seems to be doing their own ROMplers these days. It's not 2005 anymore...


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## chimuelo (Feb 25, 2009)

Hell this is the most fun I have had here for months........

I think the developer who brought us that fantastic, unbelievable sounding Boris D6 Clavinet should buy it.
We could have hundreds of 50 dollar libraries.... o-[][]-o


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## JonFairhurst (Feb 25, 2009)

The most fun I've been having has been using GS4 to convert good old Quantum Leap Brass to 24-bits and adding the DEF filter. All of a sudden the lib with all those great effects (doits, falls, screams...) also has great playability and lyricism.


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## kitekrazy (Feb 28, 2009)

mikebarry @ Tue Feb 24 said:


> Oh that is mean teasing us like that



You should be use to that by now.


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## Hal (Feb 28, 2009)

May be the news is just
"the company is officially dead stop hoping and dreaming for things that will not happen"

WHat then? Giga studio 5 is out ?! :D

whats the news comoon say òÔ   –É‡Ô   –ÉˆÔ   –É‰Ô   –ÉŠ


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## chimuelo (Mar 1, 2009)

I think Larry Seyer should buy it.


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## Sophia (Mar 2, 2009)

What about this ?



http://soundlib.com/gplayer/


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## tradivoro (Mar 2, 2009)

chimuelo @ Tue Feb 24 said:


> Does this mean I don't have to sell my Larry Seyers LearnGigastudio DVD series? o-[][]-o
> I had it on ebay for 5 bucks but the guy who won the bid didn't have the money.



This is the funniest thing I've heard in a while... But I never believed that Giga was completely dead, just having a "near death experience", which are generally highly touted in New Age circles... >8o I just hope this means I can finally get GVI 4 at some undetermined point...


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## chimuelo (Mar 2, 2009)

Definately TARP funded......................it makes perfect sense..
If Tascam could have only been as transparent as Obama, Pilosi & Reid...... :roll: 

I find the new member " Sophia " to have an intriguing discovery.
I have 2 types of people I don't trust......
New members who offer great ideas.........
And old members who have no posts....( This shows they have reserved a couple of shills to make false claims at a later date...very wise if you dwell in the forums..).

O.K. JL how was the 1 week vacation...??
If you have a new PCM96 Surround, I'll understand.
I often sleep with new products too.

Ankyu.......


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## Sophia (Mar 2, 2009)

And on top of that she is a chic !!!
go figure.


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## chimuelo (Mar 2, 2009)

Never met a GigaGal before....welcome.
Don't even tell me you have a Modular Synth or I will demand an address.....


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## Sophia (Mar 2, 2009)

No Modular, sorry.
I just kept a Moog source ( very girly....size and color ) and and ARP odyssey.

Anyway, I had the pleasure to hear about the G-Player as it was created, and I think it is a very smart app.

S


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## Synesthesia (Mar 3, 2009)

Doesnt seem to work here, just crashes Logic.. v8.0.2, OS X 10.5.5, Quadcore...

Have tried with my own gig files and SI gigs.


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## chimuelo (Mar 3, 2009)

Well there's always GVI for Mac I suppose.

GigaGal, you say you " kept " the Moog & ARP...sounds as though you lost a bunch of hardware in a management contract, or at least a road crew.
I recognize those kind of statements... :lol: 
Well Giga for samples and real monophonic/douphonic analog synths shows you know the difference in sound quality.
Welcome aboard.


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## lee (Mar 3, 2009)

synthetic @ Mon Feb 23 said:


> I may have some Giga news very soon...



Being a happy kontakt user, I still look at this thread and ask myself: Why did synthetic write this?


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## tradivoro (Mar 3, 2009)

lee @ Tue Mar 03 said:


> synthetic @ Mon Feb 23 said:
> 
> 
> > I may have some Giga news very soon...
> ...



Because Gigastudio doth have its charms and some of us would like them to continue...


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## Przemek K. (Mar 3, 2009)

+1


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## synthetic (Mar 3, 2009)

Stuff is happening. This is good news and I'm not going to jinx it by announcing prematurely. But at the moment, it looks like the platform has a future. No one has guessed the correct answer yet.


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 3, 2009)

synthetic @ Tue Mar 03 said:


> Stuff is happening. This is good news and I'm not going to jinx it by announcing prematurely. But at the moment, it looks like the platform has a future. No one has guessed the correct answer yet.



Bruce Richardson's name had yet to be mentioned...


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## dxmachina (Mar 3, 2009)

> No one has guessed the correct answer yet.



Okay, I'll venture a couple guesses:

1. A big player in the sequencer/audio market would buy Giga technology (especially GVI) and incorporate it into their own software. Given that GVI Mac was supposedly pretty close to release, perhaps it would make sense for Apple/MOTU/Steinberg/Avid to see it as an opportunity to include an advanced sampler with their software. I think this may be a bit of a long shot, but I would personally love to see Apple upgrade the aging EXS with a GIGA-based sampler (much like Space/Delay designer was added to the top of the Logic -effects-food chain in the last couple major version changes).

2. A company with their own proprietary sampler (NI, SI, EW) bought the technology to allow seamless loading of the once dominant Giga format without the need for messy conversions. Again, I think this is probably a bit of a long shot, but a guy can dream.

3. Hans Zimmer bought it and will personally hold GS hostage in an uncrackable man-sized safe in Santa Monica, CA. He will personally develop it (but there will be ten to twenty other co-programmers on the cue sheet). :D 

Whatever the outcome, it should prove interesting (and definitely relevant to the three of us who still use and love GS).


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## Thonex (Mar 3, 2009)

dxmachina @ Tue Mar 03 said:


> 2. A company with their own proprietary sampler (NI, SI, EW) bought the technology



SI would be my first guess.


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 3, 2009)

How about Cakewalk? They're PC-only, and they don't have a sampler of any note.


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## Mark Belbin (Mar 4, 2009)

Best case scenario:

REDMATICA.

-B


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## Reegs (Mar 4, 2009)

Mark Belbin @ Wed Mar 04 said:


> Best case scenario:
> 
> REDMATICA.
> 
> -B



Oooooooooooooooohh!!

If that happens maybe they'll also develop their tools for PC! :D 

Or maybe Tascam had a change of heart?


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## Ed (Mar 4, 2009)

I think Synthetic has created a frenzied orgy of hype making the universe unbalanced and thus causing it to all fail, and we will forever hate him. /pessimism

:D :D


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## mikebarry (Mar 4, 2009)

yes, I hate you right now also


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## Mark Belbin (Mar 4, 2009)

Totally with you Ed. there's bad Karma all over this thread....

-B


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## chimuelo (Mar 4, 2009)

Give me a Gigastudio hardware sampler made by Akai w/ SSD's so I can use an optimized O.S. and stop this insane Windows 7.0 / Snow Leopard 15 crap.
I watched a DSP based soft synth turn into hardware, which I will have next month, and I will enjoy getting continous upgrades that don't depend on an Operating System other than it's own.
Too many apps that never get fixed that just jump right into the next upgrade that will never get optimized, etc.etc.
Talented developers should be concentrating on their instrument emulations instead of wasting time on new inefficient code....Vista is a fine example of wasted time and money.........but hey we just finished making our Vista drivers after 6 months of work.........Sorry to hear about it... :evil: 
Give me a hardware sampler with Belbin, Bruce R. & Seyer / Govett.

M$ & Apple....... =o


Below is an example of software turned hardware.......it can be done, unless remaining a slave is desirable..... :mrgreen:


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## lee (Mar 4, 2009)

tradivoro @ Tue Mar 03 said:


> lee @ Tue Mar 03 said:
> 
> 
> > synthetic @ Mon Feb 23 said:
> ...



Oh, I dont doubt that! I used to use gigasampler back in the days, and when Kontakt was new I really thought it looked like a synth-sampler, while gigasampler was the sampler to use for acoustic instruments.

I guess I was questioning whether synthetic was serious or just wanted to create hype, since I dont know him.

But now, to me, it looks like he may know something.

/Johnny


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## PolarBear (Mar 4, 2009)

I'm pretty sure Mark Belbin also knows something about this. Just don't spell the beans tooooo early guys, now do you?


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## Mark Belbin (Mar 4, 2009)

It upsets me to no end to inform you that you are mistaken, PolarBear. I sure wish I knew more than what Synthetic has said. I'd spill the beans now if I had 'em - that's why no one'll tell me. :lol: 

For lee's benefit, Synthetic works for Tascam, so this isn't just someone spreading hype. Tascam has little to gain from hyping the sale of Giga. The fact is just that Synthetic cares about the platform and its users. I for one appreciate him sharing just a little info. But I certaily hope more comes along sooner than later.

Belbin


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## synthetic (Mar 4, 2009)

I should probably switch to radio silence to be safe. But I'm excited.


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## Andreas Moisa (Mar 4, 2009)

Maybe it's Steinberg - they just bought Syncrosoft, so why not GS?


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## gsilbers (Mar 4, 2009)

well i hope its not this:


http://www.soundlib.com/gplayer/

well , hmmm maybe itl be cool


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## Przemek K. (Mar 5, 2009)

Well it could also be that TASCAM decided to let Gigastudio be opensource. hmmm, Synthetic now you really understand how to tease us :D


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## PolarBear (Mar 5, 2009)

If it *was* opensource... well... why held it closed and silent?


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## lee (Mar 5, 2009)

My guess is, Steinberg is a good guess.

Why? They need something samplerish more powerful/popular than halion in able to compete with NI's Kontakt.

/Johnny


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## chimuelo (Mar 5, 2009)

OMG.... >8o 

GIGABerg....... /\~O


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## cc64 (Mar 5, 2009)

Maybe they named Synthetic employee of the month and gave him all rights to further develop Gigastudio?
:D 

CC


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## kitekrazy (Mar 5, 2009)

synthetic @ Tue Mar 03 said:


> Stuff is happening. This is good news and I'm not going to jinx it by announcing prematurely. But at the moment, it looks like the platform has a future. No one has guessed the correct answer yet.



Oh no.........it's going to be ported to the Xbox.


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## Przemek K. (Mar 5, 2009)

Nah, my guess would be Playstation 3 with a new firmware update :mrgreen:


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 6, 2009)

If Giga is to be reborn from the ashes, then there's only one name in the industry that makes sense: Nick *Phoenix*. :mrgreen:


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## Andreas Moisa (Mar 6, 2009)

> If Giga is to be reborn from the ashes, then there's only one name in the industry that makes sense: Nick Phoenix.



Yeah, that's a good one ... LOL!

I still think it's going to be "Steinberg Gigastudio" ... :D


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## Przemek K. (Mar 6, 2009)

Maybe they will be going back to the roots under" _Nemesys_" :?:


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## Stevie (Mar 7, 2009)

Hmm, Steinberg? They would kick their own butt, namely Halion.
Unless they integrate everything into Halion, which I doubt.
But who knows!


Hey Andreas, you here also, GTSY!!!


Cheers,

Stevie


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## redleicester (Mar 8, 2009)

Ho de hum.... this could get interesting...


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## Andreas Moisa (Mar 8, 2009)

Hi Stevie,

yes, good to see you too!
Well Steinberg would kick their own butt because of Halion - ok BUT:
1) Name me one library for halion (except the orchestra, which seems to be very good, btw)
2) GS and GVI were Copy Protected with Syncrosoft - so unless the new company chooses another way of CP for their product, Steinberg will be involved anyway (as owner of Syncrosoft elicensing technology)

Anyway, whatever it will be it's fun to make wild guesses :D


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## Przemek K. (Mar 8, 2009)

I kinda hope its not Steinberg. Most of their products were dropped after a short while by them, so it would kinda suck seeing GS to be driven to death a second time.

:twisted: I wonder how " soon " we will get new info from synthetic :D


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## Stevie (Mar 8, 2009)

Andreas Moisa @ Sun Mar 08 said:


> yes, good to see you too!



 



> Well Steinberg would kick their own butt because of Halion - ok BUT:
> 1) Name me one library for halion (except the orchestra, which seems to be very good, btw)



Broadway Big Band =o 
But I know what you mean. I don't like Halion either. 



> 2) GS and GVI were Copy Protected with Syncrosoft - so unless the new company chooses another way of CP for their product, Steinberg will be involved anyway (as owner of Syncrosoft elicensing technology)
> 
> Anyway, whatever it will be it's fun to make wild guesses :D



Oh really? Didn't know that. I was never really using GS.
Yeah lets see. It's nevertheless very sad, that Tascam let it die.
Wasn't Nemesys THE company that introduced HD-streaming anyway?


Cheers,

Stevie


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## chimuelo (Mar 8, 2009)

Speaking of GS,

I always liked Black Grand's many options of mic positions, but they never really knocked me out soundwise.
But I loaded the " outdated " library and threw on a new freebie to mess around with GVI and some Uprights and Grands and fell in love all over again.
This device sounds much better than the mic positions of the various libraries and Romplers I use and makes me wonder how many MB's of my RAM footprint I can save now...... 8)

As soon as I hear who picks up Gigastudio, I am suppose to contact Soniccore so they can inquire about the 64bit Mac/PC drivers.
I would die to have 64bit Scope and Gigastudio together.


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## kitekrazy (Mar 10, 2009)

This is so typical of Gigastudio.
They throw us a bone, then we 

wait...

wait....

wait....


I'll call it the Tascam Tease.


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## Przemek K. (Mar 10, 2009)

Ben H @ Tue Mar 10 said:


> [wishful thinking]
> Perhaps they have been absorbed into the NI development team to help work on Kontakt?
> [/wishful thinking]



 Now thats a good one :lol:


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## synthetic (Mar 11, 2009)

synthetic @ Wed Mar 04 said:


> I should probably switch to radio silence to be safe. But I'm excited.



Should have read: I've been told to shut my &^%$ mouth.


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## Przemek K. (Mar 11, 2009)

But you didn't :mrgreen: and therefor you have to tell us " good " news, right?
I just hope this teasing will not go for too long :wink:


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## PolarBear (Mar 11, 2009)

synthetic @ Wed Mar 11 said:


> synthetic @ Wed Mar 04 said:
> 
> 
> > I should probably switch to radio silence to be safe. But I'm excited.
> ...


Now that's interesting... you know... because you don't give a shit it probably has to do with your work  So... Tascam! 30% probabilty


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## nomogo (Mar 12, 2009)

Giga for Mac:

http://www.soundlib.com/gplayer/

Interesting...


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 17, 2009)

I'm still using GS4 - on XP32. I'd LOVE to see GigaStudio revitalized.

Some things that could have made GS4 more successful:

* More soundcards that support GSIF 64-bits - especially at the low end. (Not everybody has $$$ for RME.)
* Clear publication of which soundcards support 64-bits on which OS. Eliminate all uncertainty.
* Publication of some working 64-bit systems. I created a GS3 thread on SYSTEMS that WORK on NSS that was really successful. The 64-bit thread was a dud.
* A white paper, maybe by a 3rd party, that would compare performance between GS4 on 64-bits and 32-bits. Prove that it will deliver. Fully spec the system, so we can copy it.

For us to upgrade to 64-bits, most of us need new systems and soundcards, in addition to the sampler. For us to spend the ~$2k to make that happen, we need to know that we can get great performance without risk. To feel that the risk is low, we need to see the info on the manufacturer's website, not just some posts on a forum.

A 64-bit open sampler had the opportunity to be the holy grail. Kontakt still isn't there. There's still opportunity!

And then there's libraries... Frankly, the big guys have ditched Kontakt too, and have gone with their own players. Giga still had the up-and-comers like Westgate, Belbin, and Sample Daddy. Kontakt is vulnerable.

Man, I hope GS4 is brought back to life - and that the low-cost, risk-free 64-bit path is revealed.


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## kitekrazy (Mar 18, 2009)

JonFairhurst @ Tue Mar 17 said:


> For us to upgrade to 64-bits, most of us need new systems and soundcards, in addition to the sampler. For us to spend the ~$2k to make that happen, we need to know that we can get great performance without risk. To feel that the risk is low, we need to see the info on the manufacturer's website, not just some posts on a forum.



I'd say upgrade to a 64 roll your own system is a lot more affordable then it's ever been. 

The most I've ever paid for a processor this century was an Athlon XP 3000. I've bought a Q6600, P4 3.0, Phenom 9950, Athlon X2 6400 and not one of them cracked the $200 mark.

RAM is incredibly cheap.

What use to be a deluxe board now are standard features.

It bothers me that more audio card companies are catering more to portability. It's hard to beat the PCI bus for performance.


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## synthetic (Mar 18, 2009)

RME audio cards seem expensive, until you try another card. RMEs just work, others just... suck. And if you think RME cards are expensive, you've clearly never "invested" in a Pro Tools rig! 

As for an update, I'm still sworn to secrecy. I'm accepting bids for the "who bought it" pool. All of the squares are open right now, but if no one guesses, then the house gets it. 

[not really accepting money, sheesh people]


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## Thonex (Mar 18, 2009)

I can tell you this:

The company uses a combination of the following letters in it's name: a, e, i, o, u.

Also, I can assure you the company's name doesn't rhyme with "Orange".

But those are the only hints I'll give.

T


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## Ben H (Mar 18, 2009)

EDIT


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## Mark Belbin (Mar 18, 2009)

As long as we're still throwing these out there, let me try Garritan. Old tyme Giga guy, knows what it has and doesn't have, knows how to place it in the market, and has two in demand string products sitting there, also frozen, on account of legalities to do with the lucato/tomassini technology....for which the DEF is a ready substitute.

The counter-arguement, of course, is that he already has his own engine. But there's always the possible refutation that the plan is to integrate only the needed features from Giga. This would probably be also true if Spectrasonics were the culprit.

Then there's Sample-Modelling, Wallander....

I know this might seem nuts, but has anyone mentioned VSL yet? Could it even be??

I need to ignore this thread - it's making me nuts. >8o 

Belbin


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## Ben H (Mar 18, 2009)

EDIT


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 18, 2009)

Kite,

You're right that the individual parts are a bargain, but to get enough RAM to make it worthwhile, I need a new motherboard, processor, cooler, RAM, OS, and soundcard at a minimum. Given that, I might as well build a whole 'nother system, so throw in a case, power supply, DVD drive, video card, and HDDs. In general, new home-grown systems have cost me about $1k. Add a $500 soundcard and GS4 (which I already own - but this is about making new, conquest sales), and $2k isn't far off the mark. Sure, I could budget down a bit, but even at $1.5k, it's a bigger commitment than just buying and loading GS4.

Synthetic, 

RME might be great, but I've never had a complaint with the Audiophile 192, or the MIA. They do the job and sound good enough for what I need. All I need is 2-in, 2-out - analog.

Back when GS4 was released, the RME HDSP 9652 was pretty much the only card on the 64-bit list. Talk about not meeting my needs! $700 for a card with all this:

* 3 x ADAT digital I/O, based on RME's reliable Bitclock PLL
* 1 x SPDIF digital I/O, based on RME's reliable DIGI96 technology
* 1 x Breakout cable for coaxial SPDIF operation
* 1 x Word clock I/O (BNC) on included expansion board
* 1 x ADAT Sync In (9-pin D-type) for sample accurate transfers
* 2 x MIDI I/O, 32 channels high-speed MIDI via breakout cable
* S/MUX poured in hardware: 12 channels 96 kHz/24 bit for record and playback on ADAT optical

BUT NO ANALOG I/O. I don't own anything that connects to ADAT. Nothing. I don't own an SPDIF D/A converter. I don't own a word clock generator. I don't need 32-channels of MIDI. I just need a stereo analog output. A stereo analog input would be nice too.

It looks like I'd need an AEB-4I and AEB-4O to get analog I/O. Add another $450. That totals $1,150. And we wonder why nobody built 64-bit GS4 machines!

Maybe RME has other solutions for GS4 64-bit, but it was never clear from the Tascam documentation. And I never got confirmation from enough 3rd parties to be 100% sure.

Okay, let me ask plainly: What is the cheapest 2-in, 2-out analog soundcard solution that supports GS4 64-bits that is currently in production? (Tascam certainly didn't help matters at the time by discontinuing products that supported GSIF 64-bits, and not adding 64-bit support to the newer products.)

Frankly, the soundcard situation for 64-bits GSIF has been a disaster. I've been a vocal proponent of Giga since GS2.5 was first released. If the soundcard situation stopped me from going to 64-bits, it certainly didn't appeal to people who were leaning toward Kontakt.


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## jc5 (Mar 18, 2009)

JonFairhurst @ Wed Mar 18 said:


> Frankly, the soundcard situation for 64-bits GSIF has been a disaster. I've been a vocal proponent of Giga since GS2.5 was first released. If the soundcard situation stopped me from going to 64-bits, it certainly didn't appeal to people who were leaning toward Kontakt.



Hear hear.

Jon has phrased the sentiment exactly.

Continuing to recommend such an expensive card for a semi defunct software, who's only 'special' features are applicable to technologies that are more than 'semi' defunct is not helpful.

I'm sure such a card is still very useful to some, but I'd wager its a safe bet that it is a matter of indifference to the average giga user. All I need from a card with a gsif driver is to allow giga to run. Ideally I would be more than happy with a gsif emulator that allowed you to use any card with giga. There used to be one for the Soundblaster of all things...

My Delta 66 never posed a single problem with giga, works great, priced correctly. I'm certainly not sticking close to 1k's worth of soundcard into each sample slave - where is the logic in that?

To speak of the original purpose of this thread though - I am very happy to hear that giga development may be continuing. I very much would like to see this happen, and finally get the use out of my GS4 that I was hoping to get. Just give us a gsif emulator for 64 bit use. :wink:


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 18, 2009)

jc5 @ Wed Mar 18 said:


> To speak of the original purpose of this thread though - I am very happy to hear that giga development may be continuing. I very much would like to see this happen, and finally get the use out of my GS4 that I was hoping to get. Just give us a gsif emulator for 64 bit use. :wink:


That would be fantastic.

I've been writing about the soundcard issue, not just to complain, but to let the next owners know about one way to rekindle sales - make 64-bit easy to achieve. A GSIF emulator would definitely do that. Let my Giga slave machine deliver the audio over the LAN, and I'd be more than happy. That's a zero dollar soundcard!


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## jc5 (Mar 18, 2009)

JonFairhurst @ Wed Mar 18 said:


> jc5 @ Wed Mar 18 said:
> 
> 
> > To speak of the original purpose of this thread though - I am very happy to hear that giga development may be continuing. I very much would like to see this happen, and finally get the use out of my GS4 that I was hoping to get. Just give us a gsif emulator for 64 bit use. :wink:
> ...



Yes absolutely.  
The constructive part of what I had to say is simply that the gsif requirement needs to be rethought alltogether. The functioning of the original gigasampler required it to be able to do what it does so well, but I'd say the example of VSL's engine show's us that this is no longer the case - it is able to load double the samples of GS3 without the need of special drivers.

My two cents are simply to do away with it alltogether, or allow for a more generic 'driver' or emulator that allows one to use any hardware.


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 19, 2009)

JonFairhurst @ Wed Mar 18 said:


> ...What is the cheapest 2-in, 2-out analog soundcard solution that supports GS4 64-bits that is currently in production?


BTW, my question above is not rhetorical. I'm honestly interested to know what 2-in, 2-out (or other lower-cost analog I/O) soundcards are available that are currently in production and support GSIF 64-bit. In fact, a full list of GSIF 64-bit soundcards would be helpful as well.

If Giga is brought back to life, that would help me decide to invest. And if there were a 64-bit GSIF network emulator available, I'd gladly be willing to pay for that upgrade.

It's been frustrating to get so close to 64-bit nirvana, but to not go all the way...


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## synthetic (Mar 19, 2009)

JonFairhurst @ Wed Mar 18 said:


> What is the cheapest 2-in, 2-out analog soundcard solution that supports GS4 64-bits that is currently in production?



My used FW-1804 that you missed the boat on.  

GS4 wasn't around long enough to get a bunch of soundcards for it. Most companies probably would have eventually supported it had it been around longer. Hopefully this will change in the future. AFAIK, the only x64 soundcrads for GS4 are RME HDSP 9652, Raydat and TASCAM FW-1804.


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 19, 2009)

synthetic @ Thu Mar 19 said:


> JonFairhurst @ Wed Mar 18 said:
> 
> 
> > What is the cheapest 2-in, 2-out analog soundcard solution that supports GS4 64-bits that is currently in production?
> ...



True that! 

What ultimately stopped me from buying wasn't just that my wife wasn't keen on it, but with GS4 dropped and the FW-1804 out of production, it was hard to justify building a new system for the platform.

If GS4 is revived, and an inexpensive soundcard/emulator with GSIF 64-bits (and a more secure future) become available, the new system will be easier to justify.

Personally, I really like the emulator/LAN idea. The best part is that I'd be giving my money to the Giga developers for the GS5 emulator upgrade, rather than to a 3rd party soundcard maker.


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## synthetic (Mar 20, 2009)

I hope ethernet audio gets there soon, it seems like the future of digital audio to me. Instead of AES/EBU, MADI, ADAT, all of these formats, just a RJ45 jack with all of your audio that can be read from any computer. I'm not sure we're there yet, though. I think that PCI audio cards will still out-perform any software/emulation solution.


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 20, 2009)

Could this be an opportunity for the graphics card? Using Cuda programing and a newish nVidia card, one could cram the audio in the the graphics card's RAM and crunch it into IP packets lickety-split. After that, it's just a matter of hosing it out the Ethernet jack. That should be easily as fast as PCI hardware and would barely touch the CPU. 

Might as well process GigaPulse on the video card, while we're at it.

Yeah, I'd need to spring for a high-end graphics card, but if the performance takes a big jump, I could be persuaded...


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## PolarBear (Mar 21, 2009)

Getting packets from GPU RAM to Ethernet port will probably need all the way through the CPU so you won't save much there... GPUs are acting so fast because they do not have to interact too much with the rest of the system...


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 21, 2009)

PolarBear @ Sat Mar 21 said:


> Getting packets from GPU RAM to Ethernet port will probably need all the way through the CPU so you won't save much there... GPUs are acting so fast because they do not have to interact too much with the rest of the system...


Hopefully, you could DMA the data. The CPU sets it up, but the hardware handles the transfers. If DMA isn't possible, then yeah, the CPU is still the bottleneck.

Then again, for stereo 24-bit, we're only looking at 264 KB/s (2.1 Mb/s). That's all I was shopping for in the first place. The GPU could do the effects and the mix down. After that it's pretty easy.


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## kitekrazy (Mar 21, 2009)

JonFairhurst @ Wed Mar 18 said:


> RME might be great, but I've never had a complaint with the Audiophile 192, or the MIA. They do the job and sound good enough for what I need. All I need is 2-in, 2-out - analog.



M-Audio has lost it's appeal since they've been dragging development with 64 bit drivers. It looks like they won't even support XP 64.

They've been pushing their external units. I still prefer the PCI bus.
My MIA is approaching 10 years and still works great.


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## Mark Belbin (Mar 22, 2009)

Agreed. I love my Delta 44 and AP 2496, but I went and got an Audiophile USB for my laptop, and it's absolute garbage. Some 64 bit drivers for those PCI cards would be sweet.

Belbin


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## chimuelo (Mar 24, 2009)

I already had the same VSL library sounds, nothing new there. It saved me from converting from Giga, Those sounds have been around for quite some time.
I thought the Gigasampler Piano was a big leap, and 160 was basically a small upgrade w/ no frills.
GS3 was late but it had usuable material at least.
Hey I like K 3.0, the marketing suckered me into wasting hours on something I eneded up removing anyways. My Raptors deserve better. 
The Steel Drums actually replaced my ancient XSample ones, so it wasn't a total waste.
The synths were in house obviously, and thanks to them Eric Pershing is sure to increase his sales with Omnisphere.
The effects are definately making me sell my hardware before high end reverbs are no longer necessary......... =o 

Other than that it's a marvellous application.... o=<


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 25, 2009)

JonFairhurst @ Mon Mar 23 said:


> Silence tells us that there is still hope!



Apparently, hope is alive.


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## kitekrazy (Mar 29, 2009)

I think the news is Tascam will release a patch or whatever for Windows 7.


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## kitekrazy (Mar 29, 2009)

chimuelo @ Tue Mar 24 said:


> I already had the same VSL library sounds, nothing new there. It saved me from converting from Giga, Those sounds have been around for quite some time.
> I thought the Gigasampler Piano was a big leap, and 160 was basically a small upgrade w/ no frills.
> GS3 was late but it had usuable material at least.
> Hey I like K 3.0, the marketing suckered me into wasting hours on something I eneded up removing anyways. My Raptors deserve better.
> ...



Those bundled sounds were intended for those who never had a sampler. It's a good start up library. 

NI are dragging their heals on the 64 bit version. I don't think they are interested in Kontakt anymore.


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## redleicester (Mar 30, 2009)

K3.5 is currently in beta... so a couple of months away.


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## jpaesano (Mar 30, 2009)

Lets open up a hornets nest. ............maybe the new engine for the long overdue EXS24


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## synthetic (Mar 30, 2009)

Final answer coming this week...


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 30, 2009)

synthetic @ Mon Mar 30 said:


> Final answer coming this week...


Sweet!!!

This is like _Who Wants to be a Millionaire?_

_"Is that your final answer?"_


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## Mark Belbin (Mar 31, 2009)

:D


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## jpaesano (Mar 31, 2009)

Random, but maybe Novation see link

Novation have announced that they will exhibiting at Musikmesse 2009 (Stand B65, Hall 5.1), in Frankfurt, Germany, April 1-4, and say that they will have the biggest 'music-making' product of the show up their sleeve.
Although Novation aren't saying what the new product will be, they're famous for two things: Firstly, they're widely considered a first choice for controlling software, thanks in part to the Automap software, which is now on version 3.0. Secondly of course is Synthesisers. From the early Bass Station to the Supernova II and more recently Xio, Novation have unleashed some industry-changing synths in their time.
The new product will be unveiled on the first day of Musikmesse, in front of an audience of press and other trade attendees, at 11.45am, GMT +1.


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## SergeD (Mar 31, 2009)

Maybe Roland could be a good bet

SergeD


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## Dave Connor (Mar 31, 2009)

I see. I never really did find out what GS4 offered so I gather it was entering new territory. Thanks.


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## JonFairhurst (Mar 31, 2009)

Dave Connor @ Tue Mar 31 said:


> What are Mr. Fairhurst's 2 cents on the matter since he always has a good take on Giga matters?


Thanks Dave,

There are many, many advantages to having Giga picked up.

First, it's good for the programmers who started this whole sampling on the computer thing. 

It's also great for small developers. The bigs all have their own players. If the K-player is the only option for the small guys, licensing terms will remain stiff.

It's excellent for those of us who still use Giga. We never got 64-bit GSIF drivers for budget cards. I'd love to upgrade and have 12 GB of RAM to play samples from. With a rebirth, we might get more soundcard support, more libs, and upgrades to Windows 7.

Currently, Giga's DEF and GigaPulse are awesome. Being able to host VI (and other VSTis) within Giga is awesome - you can stack, say, Kirk Hunter's violin with Appassionata, if you'd like.

The DEF is especially good. I've been converting old stuff like QL Brass to 24-bits and adding DEF. Previously, the lib had just two dynamic layers, and was best for paint-by-numbers. It's didn't really sing live. Now I can modulate the dynamics for lyrical melodies (with no chorusing effect) and it hardly takes any RAM - and I can still paint in the doits and falls when needed. 

It's really unfortunate that Giga went into a coma just before the release of GVI4 and GVI4-Mac. 

It also happened just as Belbin's Pedal Steel and Sample Daddy's Taiko libs were coming on the scene. Hopefully, Mark and Bruce will be able to ride this new wave.

I can hardly wait to hear the announcement!


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## tfishbein82 (Apr 1, 2009)

http://www.kvraudio.com/news/11285.html


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## Mark Belbin (Apr 1, 2009)

Wow. I was right about something! But I didn't think that was really waht was gonna happen!


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## JonFairhurst (Apr 1, 2009)

My first reaction was that this was an April Fools joke. Gary made a short statement on his forum, but no formal press release.

Then I saw this...
http://tascam.com/article;34,2034,3746.html

Awesome! Giga Lives!!!


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## synthetic (Apr 1, 2009)

Yes, Garritan. Belbin wins the pool!  

I made a new thread.


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## Dave Connor (Apr 1, 2009)

JonFairhurst @ Tue Mar 31 said:


> Dave Connor @ Tue Mar 31 said:
> 
> 
> > What are Mr. Fairhurst's 2 cents on the matter since he always has a good take on Giga matters?
> ...



Thanks for that John. I have GS3 and GVI so I'm looking forward to that software staying viable and hopefully available on a Mac.


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