# Garritan Purchases Giga



## synthetic (Apr 1, 2009)

GARRITAN PURCHASES GIGA TECHNOLOGY ASSETS FROM TASCAM

Orcas Island, WA and Montebello, CA (April 1, 2009): TASCAM, a division of TEAC America, Inc. and Garritan Corporation announced the completion of the sale of technology assets relating to GigaStudio, Gigasampler, GVI, GigaPulse and all Giga products.

Gigasampler revolutionized the music industry when it was introduced in 1999 and its importance in the music world cannot be overstated. Giga products enjoy exclusive rights to Endless Wave technology, a patented system which allows large samples to be streamed directly from the hard drive with low latency. Giga became the professional's sampler of choice for many film, game and television composers, including many high-profile musicians. Giga has led the industry throughout the past decade. Garritan also has a history with Giga, and the Giga technology fits into Garritan's mission to revolutionize music technology and provide musicians with the tools needed to make great music.

"After reviewing over twenty companies, we believe that Garritan is the best candidate to carry on development of the Giga platform", stated Derek Davis, EVP/COO of TEAC America, Inc. "Garritan has demonstrated a sincere interest in building on the present Giga technology and taking it to the next level."

"We're very excited about this opportunity and proud to own some of the very best sampling technologies on the planet," said Gary Garritan, CEO of Garritan Corporation. "Acquiring the Giga technology helps us achieve our vision of providing the best tools to make great music available to all musicians."

Garritan will be announcing its plan for the assets in the coming months. For more details, FAQs and information please visit http://www.garritan.com.

TASCAM is the professional audio division of TEAC Corporation and produces the most comprehensive line of audio recorders, mixers and related equipment in the pro audio industry. TASCAM has offices in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico and Latin America. For additional information, contact:
TASCAM • 7733 Telegraph Road • Montebello, CA 90640 USA
(323) 726-0303 • http://www.tascam.com (www.tascam.com)


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## mikebarry (Apr 1, 2009)

WOW :idea:


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## synthetic (Apr 1, 2009)

Funny that everyone on NS thinks it's a joke.


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## germancomponist (Apr 1, 2009)

Oops, I thought it *is* a joke. :mrgreen:


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## alanb (Apr 1, 2009)

It is no joke...!!!

And there is great potential here for a bold GigaResurgence...


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## germancomponist (Apr 1, 2009)

alanb @ Wed Apr 01 said:


> It is no joke...!!!
> 
> And there is great potential here for a bold GigaResurgence...



Some weeks ago someone told me: "GARRITAN PURCHASES EMU TECHNOLOGY".


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## Frederick Russ (Apr 1, 2009)

I say good luck to him. My own prediction for the future of Giga's success will be whether or not Giga is correctly developed for Mac OS X. With the advent of 64 bit technology, the time may come when entire farms of PCs could technically be replaced by a single 8-core Mac intel slave. I like the interface of Giga but never got into it because its PC only - that's a change it sorely needs imo.


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## JonFairhurst (Apr 1, 2009)

What we don't know yet is whether Gary will develop Giga as we know it (and want to know it: GVI4-Mac), or will he raid the pantry for the technology (DEF, GigaPulse, disc management) and incorporate it into the Aria player.

It's possible that the Aria guys dug themselves a hole (lack of features, growing schedule, bugs), and Giga is their rescue plan.

When talking with Gary, his frustration with Giga was that they'd ask for features, but couldn't get them implemented. Kontakt licensing had to play a role. With Giga, there's no ongoing licensing, there's a solid feature set as a base, and Gary can set the feature roadmap based on his library plans.

There's also a possibility that Gary will buy up some existing Giga libs and create himself quite the sample store.

For certain, Gary will be more interested in GVI than Kernel-level stuff. 

We will see how it goes...


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## chimuelo (Apr 1, 2009)

This is great news.
An owner/developer doesn't have to beg for features...............
Mac compatability will help out too I agree, but I will still use PC w/ a Dual Nehalem EP from Supermicro.


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## synthetic (Apr 1, 2009)

More info:

http://www.gigastudio.com/faq.html


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## TheoKrueger (Apr 1, 2009)

Clever move! Also good for the competition.

He's also making an ethnic collection from what i read here:

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/tag/garritan/

Not to mention the Pipe Organ library which i see for the first time:

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/garritan-pipe-organ.jpg (http://www.synthtopia.com/content/wp-co ... -organ.jpg)

Cool 

theo


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## Pzy-Clone (Apr 1, 2009)

Im getting kinda confused by all the announced garritan projects over the last few years:

Garritan Choirs
Garritan Sampled impulses
Garritan Pipe Organ
Garritan Solo strings
Garritan Orchestral string 2
Garritan Ethnic Instruments
Garrtian GPO Aria
and possibly more i cant remember.
And now Garritan GIGA!!

Phu....hope some of this is actualy released some day, and that it is not targeted at the same marked segment as GPO and JABB was.

I mean, reviving (or anything to that extent) GIGA is good, but lets not hope it gets scaled down to a "entry level" product...

Perhaps this latest move is an effort to reach into the more "pro" levels of the sample marked again?


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## TheoKrueger (Apr 1, 2009)

Hehehe :D

And don't forget GPOA! 

think they were gonna make that too right?

(gpo advance).

:- p

theo


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 1, 2009)

"Giga products enjoy exclusive rights to Endless Wave technology, a patented system which allows large samples to be streamed directly from the hard drive with low latency."

As Rachel Maddow says, someone please talk me down.


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## Pzy-Clone (Apr 1, 2009)

TheoKrueger @ Wed Apr 01 said:


> Hehehe :D
> 
> And don't forget GPOA!
> 
> ...



yeah hehe...

Garritan announces:

Garritan Fantasia:

A collection of imaginary sampled instruments, now available for your imaginary sampler. 
If you can imagine it, it must be Garritan. :wink:


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## Ben H (Apr 1, 2009)

EDIT


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## arnau (Apr 1, 2009)

Ben H @ Wed Apr 01 said:


> I dunno. I'm a bit dissappointed by the announcement tbh.
> 
> GPO, JABB, Garritan Pocket Orchestra etc, all of these demonstrate that his focus is firmly on laptop-based, sketchpad-type libraries rather than highly detailed orchestral streaming libraries.
> 
> ...



Agree 100% :cry:


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## TheoKrueger (Apr 1, 2009)

Well you never know! He might develop it into a sampler like Kontakt or so. Maybe he'll make it into Garritan Terrasampler (good idea for a name btw ;P since its 2009 now, Terra is more like the real thing)


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## Hal (Apr 1, 2009)

if there was 20 condidats and they "chose" garritan..i think that means that Garritan will offer the most to support GIga,its format,its kernel level use and make more developpement in giga
in this case GIga will be even bette then before. and this might lead to a new line of high pro detailed sampling level in garritan,

at least a new line for pros more then the laptop/scetch direction they r taking as u say.


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## PolarBear (Apr 1, 2009)

20 condidods LOLzer. Speak french too?

Anyway. He was bidding most I guess. That's it. If there were any other bidders btw. I have a hard time believing there were so many serious bids. Most would be content with what NI got for them or already have developed their own thing unlikely to give that up again in the next year...


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## chimuelo (Apr 1, 2009)

I think Nick B. nailed it.
Giga NEVER had a problem w/polyphony or streaming.
My SISS/VSL strings sound better in the low and high end on Giga too.
I don't know why, but I hear the differences and that's why I use Kontakt for instruments that are restricted in their range like Horns and Guitars.
Hopefully we could get some quality instruments where 20,000 samples could actually be used. What's the use of having that many samples if they can't be streamed efficiently.
And Garritan needs some help that's for sure.
Releasing the " Authorized Steinway" without the advertised pedals and vast amount of bugs was a huge mistake IMHO.
Plogue's ARIA engine has the best support in the busines IMHO.
I use Bidule and anytime I have a question Seb or David answer promptly with the answers.
I see this as a great alternative to having to buy instruments that have such huge requirements and low polyphony. 
If I were to ever dump Gigastudio, it would have been from a lack of developement.
But as long as I am going to use both hands when I perform, Giga ain't going anywhere.

God Bless Garritan............I Hope... o-[][]-o


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## Ben H (Apr 1, 2009)

EDIT


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## Peter Emanuel Roos (Apr 1, 2009)

This kills GigaStudio even more than Tascam dropping it.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 1, 2009)

"exclusive rights to Endless Wave technology, a patented system"

It would put a damper on a whole lot of very creative, dedicated people in our industry if that were enforced after all this time. Gary has told me several times, and I'm sure other people too, that he's only in this to give to the world, not for the money. He's very proud of how handicapped people are using his products, how he opened up modern sampling to so many musicians who couldn't afford it before, etc. etc. etc.

Let's hope he meant that, because it would really suck for all of us if he changed his mind and decided to take the low road.

I apologize in advance if I'm just being cynical. Hopefully I'll be the jerk for suggesting this and it will be the rebirth of Giga, which of course was one of the most influential products in the history of music technology.


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## Synesthesia (Apr 2, 2009)

Nick Batzdorf @ Thu Apr 02 said:


> "exclusive rights to Endless Wave technology, a patented system"
> 
> It would put a damper on a whole lot of very creative, dedicated people in our industry if that were enforced after all this time. Gary has told me several times, and I'm sure other people too, that he's only in this to give to the world, not for the money. He's very proud of how handicapped people are using his products, how he opened up modern sampling to so many musicians who couldn't afford it before, etc. etc. etc.
> 
> ...



I didn't even register that when I was reading it..

Why say that? "patented technology" etc..?

:evil:


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## Waywyn (Apr 2, 2009)

Cool, so in future you can play orchestral sketchpad synth samples in the Gigaplayer ...


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## TheoKrueger (Apr 2, 2009)

What is Endless wave technology? The name of the Giga's streaming engine?


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## Hal (Apr 2, 2009)

Ben H @ Wed Apr 01 said:


> Hal @ Thu Apr 02 said:
> 
> 
> > if there was 20 condidats and they "chose" garritan..i think that means that Garritan will offer the most to support GIga,its format,its kernel level use and make more developpement in giga
> ...



yes i know people who think like you,going for the highest paid offer and others who have other selective criteria beside money.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 2, 2009)

Endless Wave is just streaming samples from a hard disk, a patent licensed from Rockwell Semiconductor. Of course it's odd that they were able to patent that, because it's simply streaming audio off a drive.

Nemesys and Tascam never enforced the patent, and now there are lots of streaming sample engines in widespread use. It would suck if someone were able to pick up the exclusive rights to streaming technology for next to nothing and then bury our entire industry in a deep pile of doodoo.

Again, hopefully I'm just being cynical and Gary will bring Giga back to life.


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## Waywyn (Apr 2, 2009)

Nick Batzdorf @ Thu Apr 02 said:


> Endless Wave is just streaming samples from a hard disk, a patent licensed from Rockwell Semiconductor. Of course it's odd that they were able to patent that, because it's simply streaming audio off a drive.
> 
> Nemesys and Tascam never enforced the patent, and now there are lots of streaming sample engines in widespread use. It would suck if someone were able to pick up the exclusive rights to streaming technology for next to nothing and then bury our entire industry in a deep pile of doodoo.



Yeh, I thought about the patent of composing ... ~o)


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## JonFairhurst (Apr 2, 2009)

Nick Batzdorf @ Thu Apr 02 said:


> Endless Wave is just streaming samples from a hard disk, a patent licensed from Rockwell Semiconductor. Of course it's odd that they were able to patent that, because it's simply streaming audio off a drive.


It's a bit more. It includes having the head of the sample loaded in RAM, reading the tail of the sample from the HDD and stitching them together so we can have low latency combined with long samples. 

That was definitely patentable in its day.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 2, 2009)

That's what all audio playback does.

But so what; the point is that we now have a vibrant art form called sample library development, supported by a new musical medium called MIDI programming.

Do you want that ruined forever by some greedy lawyers?

Again, hopefully this is going to turn out to be a positive development and that's just an unfounded fear.


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## JonFairhurst (Apr 2, 2009)

Nick Batzdorf @ Thu Apr 02 said:


> Do you want that ruined forever by some greedy lawyers?


Rhetorical questions rock.


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## JonFairhurst (Apr 3, 2009)

Jeff,

On another point...

I assume that the registration server is still running at Tascam. I also assume that this will eventually be transferred to Garritan. 

Fingers crossed that the handoff is done well with good training and documentation. This is critical for people running legacy apps.


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## synthetic (Apr 3, 2009)

The registration server is still chugging along at TASCAM.


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## JonFairhurst (Apr 3, 2009)

synthetic @ Fri Apr 03 said:


> The registration server is still chugging along at TASCAM.


I assume that it eventually moves to Garritan?


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## Stevie (Apr 3, 2009)

Well, it's not a wise move NOT to get some of the old dev into the boat…
Have fun understanding 2 millios of lines.


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## tmhuud (Apr 3, 2009)

Peter Roos @ Wed Apr 01 said:


> This kills GigaStudio even more than Tascam dropping it.



Hate say it. But I tend to agree...


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 3, 2009)

Hm. I hope my fears don't have to be re-kindled by the untimely disappearance of Synthetic's post (in which he said that neither Tascam nor Garritan own the right to enforce Conextant's Endless Wave patent).


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 3, 2009)

Until I see a post from Garritan saying that his only intention is to develop the Giga technology for peaceful purposes, I'll remain considerably less sanguine than you.


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## chimuelo (Apr 3, 2009)

The fact they announced this on April Fools Day is unsettling, and Garritans intentions are as usual ambiguous.
Gigastudio's advantage of 64bit and also hosting was it's biggest advantage, now it appears that idea is actively being pursued by Vienna.
I hope Garritan didn't spend too much.
I do applaud someone using it's best features and Frankensteining it somehow.


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## JonFairhurst (Apr 3, 2009)

Nick Batzdorf @ Fri Apr 03 said:


> Until I see a post from Garritan saying that his only intention is to develop the Giga technology for peaceful purposes, I'll remain considerably less sanguine than you.


I'm just saying that the post coming down does not a conspiracy make.

I have no idea what Gary's plans might be, and I have no idea if he has purchased the rights to the patent. I do believe that the patent is defensible though...


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## Mike Greene (Apr 5, 2009)

Even if Gary had evil on his mind, and even in the doubtful event that an audio streaming patent would hold up in court, I don't think there's a lot of trouble he could cause.

I'm not an expert on patent law, but I do know that with copyright law, you only have three years to file suit if there's an infringement. And in California at least, if a neighbor builds a barn that extends partly into your property and you don't make him move it, then after some amount of time, you've given up your rights to that part of your property.

I would imagine that you can't sit on a patent (especially one as questionable as this) for this long and then arbitrarily start enforcing it, essentially crippling an industry. With the rare headline-grabbing exceptions, courts are reasonable.

In fact, I'll go so far as to say it would be a really dumb move for Gary to start causing trouble, because I would bet Gary would then find himself as a defendant in a case of Malicious Prosecution. And I'd bet he'd be more likely to lose big on that (especially with Apple's legal resources) than he would on winning a patent enforcement.


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## Ben H (Apr 5, 2009)

EDIT


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 5, 2009)

I'm not a lawyer, Mike, but what I wonder is whether you can try and enforce your exclusive right to use the patent without bringing up the patent itself. The case would then be about a simple license violation, and it might not be so easy to use the questionable nature of the patent itself as a defense. Or more importantly it might get very expensive to defend against that kind of a charge.

You wouldn't have to start with Apple, you could start by taking on a small defenseless developer who has a streaming engine. And the entire user community, who I'd hope would be outraged once wind of this got around the internet.

Frankly I'd be surprised if Giga*Studio* itself - the program that uses the kernel level stuff - could be resuscitated after this long when all the developers are gone. Giga GVI is more possible, but really it's the convolution processing and sophisticated filtering in Giga that could still be interesting from a technological point of view. So could the Giga editor, I suppose.

But I don't want it to sound like I know what I'm talking about - this is all speculation.


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## chimuelo (Apr 6, 2009)

Exactly....
Speculation is good, but one fact remains.
Nothing will be done with this anytime soon, and other developers are marching ahead with some very specified apps.
GVI is the only part of GS I still use because it maintains the sound that makes Giga so useful for us guys that appreciate quality low end percsussion, and bass.
When and if GG ever gets around to implementing the technology he spent his money on, I will check it out then, but announcements from most developers don't hold water.
I don't base my purchases on the estimated release dates, etc.
I make my money now, and to replace content I already use isn't wise, as my recent purchase of K 3.0 demonstrated.
Add 1 year to developers announcements and that usually equates into a working product.
Anyone can release a product to try and satisfy their announced time schedule, but it's the whole....oooops, we forgot the pedals.......or oooops, sorry we missed that bug....
I'll check out this thread again after NAMM '10....that way I won't waste any more time on this speculative chit chat..

I do wish them well though.


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## nikolas (Apr 6, 2009)

You know that I'm usually a 'defender' of Garritan in this forum... 

Half of Garritan products were very small, in comparison to what's out there, and intended for the lower class amateur composers. GPO, JABB and the rest. He decided to 'dominate' that market and seems like a clever move indeed. Not after the glory but the money and market domination (sort of). He also moved towards bundles: Makemusic, Microsoft, etc. It seems like a great marketing move to me.

But he's also done some marvelous instruments, if you ask me: GOS, the Steinway, the strad and goffriler; the latter two being killed for some reason. 

Enough of "defending" though.

Buying Giga seems like a weird move really. Especially after having developed the ARIA engine for his own creations. I would have to think that it's a matter of trying to take it away from other developers, or maybe use some of the technology on it. But one cannot be sure really. 

So until he reveals what he has done/plans to do, there's little to assume from my end really. :-/


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## JonFairhurst (Apr 6, 2009)

nikolas @ Mon Apr 06 said:


> Buying Giga seems like a weird move really. Especially after having developed the ARIA engine for his own creations.


Then again the sf format is pretty limited. I don't know that they compress the samples. There's probably strength in using tricks from the Giga format.

I'm wondering if Gary doesn't plan to make a bigger storefront. If Aria II supports the Giga format, he could potentially buy up a bunch of older libs, repackage them, and offer them for sale with a modest premium. 

In fact, Giga's DEF technology can bring small libs with only one or two layers back to life. For instance, I've applied DEF to QL Brass. It used to play melodies in two variants: too loud or too soft. Now it sings melodically.

This approach can give Aria II a heritage that it could never establish on its own.


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## synthetic (Apr 25, 2009)

The server is still running. We don't have any plans to shut it down, although it is getting old. If anyone has a problem registering, please let me know through PM. And yes, there is a secret "unlock" which we can pass on to customers if it comes to that.


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## Hans Adamson (May 6, 2009)

Very interesting. I hope Jim comes back big time.


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