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But the quality! Might as well get a new SSD while you are at it! ? C7 Grand Classical is 3.1GB C7 Grand Binaural 11.7GB Black LP (Les Paul) Full Keyswitch 4.7GB Red Strat Full Keyswitch 6.1GB And so forth...

Omnisphere 2 for $407.15 with "HOLIDAY15" coupon. Good until November 11th. ? https://www.guitarcenter.com/Spectrasonics/Omnisphere-2-1423090919119.gc

I think that sounds like the OP is looking for a virtual sampler to drop the samples into, that can be triggered by a MIDI controller.

Any chance you are using your mod wheel?

I still haven't tried one of their chicken sandwiches. Heard they were really good!

You can create multis with layers or splits (hi/lo key ranges assignable for each) with up to 8 plug-in instruments from your VST collection. Each instrument has 4 insert FX plug-in slots, and sends to the 4 available busses. Looks like a mixer window in a DAW. The instruments don't have to be NKS ready. They just need to be able to share preset info with VIP. Most plugins work for this, but some do not. VIP can't fix this if the plug-in developer did not provide this ability. Some instruments have factory preset maps, but they can be user generated. The browser will index the presets based on the factory and user maps, and tags can be assigned. I have over 23,000+ presets listed in mine, that can be filtered by tags such as instrument, timbre, style, and articulation. The presets generally load fast, and don't need to open the plugin UI to play. The instrument UI is optional, and not needed to browse and select presets. Downside: Does not support loading VST3. The workaround for this is to insert VIP as a plugin in your DAW, and then insert any VST3 instruments side by side with VIP in the DAW mixer. In this manner VIP functions as a virtual sub-mixer for any VIP multis that you created.

Maybe Spectrasonics will beat the ugly out of that UI when they release v3...

The PG Music offer for an upgrade from 2019/2020 Pro to the 2020 UltraPak is $279. But for a first timer the 2020 UltrPak is $479. If I had $479 lying around, I would probably get Omnisphere. ?

Yep, their clever marketing does a good job of creating that nagging little doubt. For a first timer, the entry level is probably just fine. Then they will probably release the 2021 upgrade in December.

The US ebay site has a few sellers offering the box for $479 with free shipping.

I see one drawback with that deal. This item doesn't post to United States

I picked up the AIR instrument pack about 4 years ago. The included AIR theRiser is an interesting instrument with some cool sounds. It does "falls" too! Plenty of presets. including swells and fades. I think I like the swells best. They are swell. ? Plus it has a handy "invert" button on the UI, that can instantly change any rise into a fall, or a swell into a fade. The "Generators" section is what sets this synth apart. There are generators for sweep, noise, and chord, with LFOs for everything. The rest of the synth is basic synth filter, amp, and effects controls. The available osc modes in the generators are variations of saw and square waveforms.

Not at all! I was only describing what had worked for me. I think that you could achieve your goals with anything from Intel 3rd gen or later. Good luck!

Did you have any luck with MME?

I can recall a few years ago that Iris 2 seemed quite "heavy" on my CPU, with some sounds easily reaching the breakup point. But on my current PC, the CPU meter barely registers when using it. Running at 48000/24 with 256 buffers. So this is much more usable now than when first released!

Don't think you will have much luck with MME for use with any DAW. If you are using Windows 10, WASAPI is the best native choice, unless you happen to have ASIO available, which is preferred for real-time audio and is usually supplied with pro audio interfaces. As a last resort, you could try ASIO4ALL which is a freeware wrapper for the Windows audio driver that can improve latency.

That is exactly what happened to me! And it is probably best to be aware of the possibility of conflict until you have tested on your system.

Actually if you are into that, I would highly recommend Native Instruments "Kinetic Treats" for the "Xylo polyphones" preset. ?

Definitely do not install ASIO4all or any other generic ASIO if your computer already has any type of ASIO installed. They do not play well together! Just install one ASIO at a time! Remove any others that you may have installed before trying a different one. I have used ASIO4all on my laptop with the onboard Realtek sound chip without issue. But I have also run demos of other audio products on my desktop DAW that slipped in a generic ASIO driver without asking first, even though I already had ASIO from my audio interface vendor. That caused issues where Cakewalk could not detect ASIO properly.

I would say it's probably worth it if you like accordion and harmonium, both listed in the "ethnic" category. They are good, IMHO! But as for the other categories, they seem to mostly be keyboard instruments run through stomp boxes and other effects. Most of which you could create all by yourself with a little imagination and a few effects like Amplitube or similar. Then there is also the toy piano, if that's your thing!

Yes... for $13.99 with Jam Points...

Realtek does seem to keep upping their game. I think their target market is high-end gamers that spend thousands on video cards, and probably need the latest HD audio to go with. My current desktop motherboard has the Realtek S1220A. "It also features an unprecedented 120dB signal-to-noise ratio for the stereo line-out and a 113dB SNR for the line-in, providing pristine audio quality. Additionally, a new impedance-sensing circuit automatically adjusts gain to ensure the optimal volume range for your headphones". I've disabled it in the BIOS. ?

I will have to listen to the full preset list in detail, but I am not as impressed as I had hoped I would be with Alternate Keys, after a brief preview...

I found all of the SynthMaster One expansions are already included for me. Maybe that's because I have the "Everything Bundle"? If you right-click on the product list within the SM One browser using the "KV331 Audio Shop" tab (you need to be online), and select "Refresh my licenses", it will download and install any that you have available that are not installed yet. I recall that they gave away a few SM One expansion freebies earlier.

The Big Tone Analog Basics and the Table Works (for SynthMaster) are excellent!