How to play sound directly into software recorder?

Accurate Generation of Instrument Sounds in a Sound Card for a PC

• Hello. I am looking to compose music using a MIDI compatible keyboard, composition software, and a sound card. The computer runs some standard windows version such as Windows XP. This question pertains only to the third component -- the sound card. In the past, I have found sound cards to be seriously lacking in terms of how accurately the generated sounds of an instrument reflect the actual sounds of the instrument. For example, the "choir" sound would sound like a nasal whine and nothing like a real choir. Those sound cards were mainly for general use such as playing MP3s, WAV files, or CDs. And then they had the "MIDI" functionality as an add on. So now for my research request. I would like to find a few sound cards that are designed exclusively or primarily for accurate generation of the sounds of musical instruments for serious music composition. Any other features such as gaming enhancements, MP3 enhancements, surround sound, etc . . . are not needed. I'll only use the sound card for serious music composition. My main concerns are as follows: - Designed for serious music composition - MIDI compatible - Must faithfully generate accurate sounds for all or most available instrument voices - Must have all standard instrument voices including all voices found in a symphony orchestra, band, and major standalone instruments (for example "organ" is a major standalone instrument) - Must be able to play enough voices at the same time for any serious composition, presumably the most demanding being a full-fledged symphony - Must be compatible with standard music composition software - Price is not much of an issue. I'm not expecting to only pay $30 for such a good card. I realize it could be several hundreds of dollars or possible more and that's OK. What I'd like is if you could find the few best sound cards meeting the aforementioned criteria, provide their technical specifications and price, and point me to a place to buy them. "Best" means generally accepted as being top-of-the-line for music composition. I will compare them and ultimately decide which one to buy. Thank you. rushingriver

• Answer:

  Dear rushingriver, The most highly specialized MIDI sound card on the market is the Yamaha SW1000XG, which uses the proprietary XG technology for realistic sound production. Although the SW1000XG is several years old, it remains the standard for professional MIDI composition. It comes with over 1000 realistic voices, including all major orchestra, band, and solo instruments. Up to 64 voices can play at one time. The SW1000XG can be enhanced with the addition of plug-in sound cards such as the PLG1000XG, which adds more than a thousand new voices. You can expect to pay a pretty penny for all this performance. The SW1000XG is available for $699.95 online, while the PLG1000XG enhancement will run you $190. XG format, from Yamaha, is basically a set of rules describing how a tone generator will respond to MIDI data, like GM. GM, however, applies only to a limited set of parameters. XG significantly expands on the basic GM format, providing many more voices, voice editing capability, effects, external input, and other features that contribute to enhanced musical expression. And since XG is totally upwardly compatible with GM, GM data can be accurately reproduced on any XG tone generator. XG features tone arrangement and modification, a variety of musical effects, and expandability for the future. [...] XG (Sondius-XG) is a Stanford University/Yamaha system (over 400 patents!) for generating very realistic instrument sounds using 'physical modelling' of the instruments. For more info, see Staccato Systems Technology Overview (they were the first licensees of the Sondius technology and sell a s/w synth called SynthCore that uses it). University of Waikato: Mark Utting: Advanced PC Soundcards for MIDI http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~marku/soundcards.html Using the SW1000XG is a delight. To your application program, the SW appears as two soundcards for inputs (numbered one and two to correspond to the analog and digital inputs) and as 6 soundcards for output (corresponding to the six virtual mixer outs).[...] XG Works is full-function sequencer with some audio capabilities and with effects control and a mixer for the SW1000XG. It works well and could function as a main sequencer if your needs aren't that demanding. I like the fact that it has built in rhythm patterns which could come in handy for the percussively challenged. It lists for over $100 and is a good addition to the package. The documentation is much leaner than I would have liked. There is an essential 442 question answer FAQ on the XG Factory website and I think that this should have been included on the CD with the XG Works manual, at least a shareware version of XG Edit and Hubis loopback device. All in all, however, I think that the SW is a phenomenal value for its street price of about $530. It's the soundcard to beat, by far! Tony Thomas' Techtrends: Yamaha SW1000XG Soundcard http://www.tonythomas.net/sw1kxg.htm Yamaha XG: home page http://www.xgfactory.com/ Yamaha XG: main features [see screen shots at botom of page] http://www.xgfactory.com/html/prod/sw1k_02.htm Yamaha XG: specifications http://www.xgfactory.com/html/prod/sw1k_05.htm InstrumentPro: Yamaha SW1000XG: $699.95 http://www.instrumentpro.com/P-YAMSW1000XG Same Day Music: Yamaha PLG100XG Wave Synth Plug In Board: $190 http://www.samedaymusic.com/product--YAMPLG100XG Another line of high-end sound cards with realistic MIDI sound quality is made by E-Mu. Although E-Mu's products are aimed at the music production professional with an emphasis on studio work, they function well on the desktop and are designed in several respects to meet the needs of composers. E-Mu cards can play all 128 voices in the standard MIDI repertoire, but also include nearly 800 additional samples that cover all the major solo and ensemble instruments. They are compatible with standard MIDI applications and are bundled with studio software for custom sound design. The number of concurrent voices depends on hardware capabilities. For example, a Pentium 4 running at 3 GHz can play over 220 voices at the same time. E-Mu's best MIDI interface is the 1820M, which costs $499 online. For more budget-conscious consumers, the 1212M can be had for $199. E-Mu: Digital Audio Systems http://www.emu.com/products/category.asp?category=754&maincategory=754 E-Mu 1820M http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp?product=2211&category=754&maincategory=754 E-Mu 1212M http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp?product=2209&category=754&maincategory=754 AudioMidi: 1820M: $499 http://www.audiomidi.com/common/cfm/product.cfm?pid=4808 AudioMidi: 1212M: $199 http://www.audiomidi.com/common/cfm/product.cfm?pid=4810 Finally, you may be interested in M-Audio products, which are relatively inexpensive PCI sound cards and USB devices that provide top-notch MIDI sound quality at a relatively low price. Two M-Audio products in particular are bundled with several hundred realistic instrument voices, which can be supplemented by samples available on CD-ROM or as downloadable files. The Audiophile 2496 is a high-fidelity sound card that can be purchased online for $99. The Audiophile USB is an external device that include available for $199. M-Audio products in general are widely used by professional composers and music performers. M-Audio: 2496 http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Audiophile2496-main.html M-Audio: USB MIDI Interfaces http://m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.list&ID=usbmidiinterfaces M-Audio: Artists http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=artists.list NewEgg: M-Audio Audiophile USB [see reviews near bottom of page] http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductdesc.asp?description=29-121-107&depa=0 AudioMidi: Audiophile 2496: $99 http://www.audiomidi.com/common/cfm/product.cfm?pid=962 AudioMidi: Audiophile USB: $199 http://www.audiomidi.com/common/cfm/product.cfm?pid=3275 It has been a pleasant challenge to address this question on your behalf. If you feel that any part of my answer is unclear or incorrect, please post a Clarification Request so that I may fully meet your needs. Regards, leapinglizard