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Q: What is
GigaStudio? top
GigaStudio is a full-featured
software-based sample playback device. Like it's
hardware sampler predecessors, GigaStudio allows
you to load an instrument, or groups of "samples"
into the program and play them with a keyboard via
MIDI control messages.
Libraries available for GigaStudio include acoustic
instruments (pianos, strings, brass, woodwinds,
etc), textural collections (drones, sound EFX, atmospheric),
drums and percussion, and modern music devices (synths
and loops), and a wide collection of unique and
rare instruments (ethnic collections, Mellotrons,
Hammond organs, Dobros, etc).
Here are some of the major differences between hardware-based
sample playback devices and GigaStudio:
- GigaStudio far surpasses
traditional sample playback devices with regards
to samples that can be played at once. GigaStudio
can deliver up to 160 samples playing at one time.
- GigaStudio's hardware
requirements are a PC computer. Unlike fixed hardware
devices, you can always upgrade the performance
of your GigaStudio computer by updating processors,
hard drives, and memory.
- Unlike the puny little
LCD displays on a hardware sampler, GigaStudio
let's you use any number of computer displays
available on the market for a big, comfortable,
and most certainly informational interaction with
the software.
- GigaStudio's technological
advancement allows you to take advantage of massive
libraries that could never have been played on
a less powerful hardware sampler.
- Because GigaStudio is
a computer-based application, you have the flexibility
of purchasing and using any number of standard
sound cards currently on the market to address
your specific I/O needs…not what the hardware
sampler manufacturer thinks you will need.
- Finally, A full-blown
GigaStudio computer will cost considerably less
money than a hardware sampler that isn't half
as powerful!
Q:
Who would use GigaStudio? top
Anyone doing any sort of
musical production, whether it is professionally
or just for fun. GigaStudio gives you access to
instruments that are difficult to own, play, or
perhaps you never dreamed you could have used in
your creations.
GigaStudio is used in film composing, music for
TV, records, commercials, live, and just about any
other situation that requires high-quality instruments.
Q:
Is the MIDI response quick enough in GigaStudio? top
Everyone that has not seen
GigaStudio in person always asks if it really plays
back in real time with no delay like all the other
soft-synths on the market. The latency is approximately
5 ms or less but may vary slightly on different
sound cards. It is as fast as most professional
hardware MIDI devices, especially with more than
just the first three notes playing. The latency
on many hardware samplers will degrade as the polyphony
increases so that only the first three notes are
actually within 4ms or so. Once the polyphony is
maxed out, the latency can be as high as 20ms. With
GigaStudio, all 160 voices will be the same low
latency. There may be some variance depending on
your sound card or MIDI hardware.
Q:
Can I run GigaStudio and a Sequencer on the same
machine. top
Yes, you can sequence on
the same computer while running the GigaStudio.
You simply designate the sequencer you want to use
as the default sequencer in the GigaStudio Setup
Page and by pressing the "sequencer button" at the
top of the main GigaStudio page and your favorite
sequencer will launch ready for recording and playback.
GigaStudio shows up in the MIDI output ports window
just like an internal MIDI I/O card.
Q:
Will GigaStudio run with a hard disk recorder (DAW
application) on the same computer? top
Yes you can with the right
setup. You will need a Multi-Client sound card (one
that can output audio from two different applications
simultaneously). You will get the best performance
with two hard drives, one each for the DAW's audio
playback the other one for GigaStudio samples to
stream from. Keep in mind that when splitting resources
on a single computer, you will never get the same
performance as if you ran two separate systems.
The bottom line here is that you need to find what
is an acceptable tradeoff for your working situation
and budget.
Q: Is it time
to stop thinking in terms of hardware samplers? top
You bet. One GigaStudio
rig can outperform 2 or even 3 hardware samplers
costing twice as much money each.
Q: What exactly
is GSIF? top
GSIF stands for "Giga-Sampler-Inter-Face",
and is the ultra-low latency audio driver that GigaStudio
uses.
Q: What Audio
Cards will GigaStudio work with? What about multiple
outputs? top
Just about every major soundcard
manufacturer offers a GigaStudio compatible sound
card, with more being added on a weekly basis. Manufacturers
like Frontier, MOTU, RME, M-Audio, EGO-SYS, and
TASCAM offer excellent solutions to use with GigaStudio.
The only thing to consider is what type and how
much I/O you will need. GigaStudio can support up
to 32 discrete outputs, so it is really up to you
how you will need to work with GigaStudio and what
sound card solution will work best for you.
Q: What is
"Multi-Client" when referring to sound cards? top
Multi-client simply means
that the designated sound card can output audio
from two separate applications simultaneously. This
would be necessary if you were planning to run GigaStudio
and a DAW application (Cubase, Sonor, Nuendo, etc.)
on the same machine as GigaSudio at the same time.
With a multi-client sound card, you could split
the outputs however you desired between the two
applications, with GigaStudio using the GSIF audio
driver and the DAW application using ASIO or WDM.
Outputs 1-8 of a 16 channel sound card could be
used for Giga, while the DAW app used 9-16 for it's
audio. A majority of the Giga-compatible sound cards
are multi-client, so the choice is yours!
Q: What about
SoundBlaster Live?top
Only certain SoundBlaster
cards will work with GigaStudio under very specific
scenarios. The thing to keep in mind here is that
GigaStudio will really get to shine utilizing it's
own specific audio driver (GSIF). SoundBlaster sound
cards do not support GSIF, and must interface using
Window's Direct Sound audio driver. Direct Sound
will only support a single pair of outputs and will
not give you the ultra-low latency available with
the GSIF audio driver. Giga can currently only use
Direct Sound audio drivers under Windows 98SE and
ME with certain SoundBlaster cards. For more info,
look here.
Q: Can GigaStudio
read other library formats? top
It sure can. Built in to
all versions of GigaStudio is a function called
S-Convert which will allow you to insert any Akai
formatted CD-Rom and convert the entire disk's content
over to the GigaStudio format. Above and beyond
that, there is a third party software application
made by Chicken Systems called Translator. With
Translator, you can convert just about every major
library format (E-Mu, Roland, Kurzweil, Ensoniq,
Sound Font, and Sample Cell..both Mac and PC formatted)
over for use with GigaStudio.
Q: Is there
a wide range of sample library products available
for GigaSampler? top
GigaStudio formatted libraries
have become the new industry standard, and with
well over 250 libraries currently available in native
GigaStudio format, there is probably something for
everybody in the way of sampled instruments. Some
of these are familiar standards that have been improved
to take advantage of GigaStudio's large capacity
and dimension controllers. GigaStudio supports looping
and most traditional sampler functions - even though
they may be only optional for many sounds.
Q: Where/How
do I get GigaStudio sample libraries? top
There are a number of sample
libraries available from the TASCAM website, but
there are still many others available from companies
like Big Fish, East West, Sonic Implants, and a
variety of other, well established sample library
developers.
Q: Do you
recommend a laptop for portable use with GigaStudio? top
In the past, it was best to
stay away from laptops for use with GigaStudio. These
were the main reasons why:
- Single, slow hard drives
- Impossible to use GSIF
compatible sound cards
- Limited Ram installed
- Slow, inexpensive processors
(like Celerons)
But over the last few years,
advances in external hard drives and sound cards coupled
with faster processors and expandable RAM installations
have made laptops a viable solution for GigaStudio.
Now, if you can stick to the following guidelines,
you can easily set up and run a respectable GigaStudio
laptop:
- External Firewire or SCSI
hard drive (via PCM/CIA card) for the Giga instruments
- Run a respectable P4 or
AMD XP processor
- Install at least 256 MB
of Ram
- Utilize an external GSIF
compatible sound card
Q: What are the system requirements? top
GigaStudio is a powerful
computer audio software application. Working with
audio on your PC has a different set of considerations
than other, less system-intensive computer chores.
Here is a brief description of specific system components
that play an important role in how well GigaStudio
will perform:
- Processor Pentium,
and most recently, AMD processors are considered
the standard for doing any sort of audio work
on a PC. To get the maximum performance from GigaStudio
160, you need to be running a processor with an
800 MHz rating or higher spec. Processors like
Intel Celerons are fine for basic computing chores,
but are not well suited for audio and should be
avoided.
- RAM Although Giga
streams the samples from your installed hard drive,
GigaStudio does buffer a small portion of each
sample into the installed RAM. This allows your
computer to play back the sample with minimal
response latency.
The amount Giga buffers into RAM is a mere 64K
per sample (a little less than ¼ of a second).
With this in mind, it is a good idea to put a
respectable amount of RAM into your system. A
bare minimum of 256 MB, and a recommended 512
or more is a good amount to have and will make
your computer audio experience much more pleasant.
- Hard Drive There
are 3 considerations when choosing a hard drive
for your GigaStudio computer
RPM Rating: A minimum
rotational speed of 7200 RPM is recommended to
run Giga efficiently. It is not really necessary
to run SCSI drives, but if you have them…use em'.
A good ATA 100 drive will do the job just fine.
Seek Time: Seek time
is the measured amount of time it takes for your
drive to access the data. When streaming instrument
data from a hard drive, you want to be able to
access the data as fast as you can. The faster
the seek time, the better the performance. A seek
time of no more than 8-9 milliseconds is recommended.
Size: Keeping in
mind that Giga instruments are rather large, you
need to make sure you get a hard drive that will
give you enough room to put all of your instrument
data. The flip side to this drive consideration
is that although drives are getting bigger and
bigger (100 GB and higher these days), the components
within the drive, specifically the platters that
the data is written to, are being made thinner
to accommodate a larger storage capacity. For
Giga, you should try to not go too far beyond
the 60-80 GB size rating unless it is necessary.
It is also a good idea to put all of your Giga
instruments onto a separate drive from your OS
and program data. This is common practice in the
world of computer audio, and is most certainly
a good idea with Giga.
Q: If GigaStudio
streams samples from the hard drive, what difference
does the installed memory make? top
Although GigaStudio does
indeed stream samples from the hard drive, it does
buffer a very small portion of each sample into
the installed RAM. The reason for this that there
is not a hard drive on the planet fast enough to
begin streaming a sample instantly when you hit
a key on the keyboard. GigaStudio buffers approximately
64K (roughly 1/5 of a second) of each sample into
RAM to allow for instantaneous attack, and the rest
of the sample subsequently streams from the hard
drive. The beauty of this method is GigaStudio will
use the same amount of RAM whether the samples are
5 seconds or 5 minutes each!
Q: How much
RAM can I load on to my system for Giga to use? top
It is always a good idea to
have as much RAM as a) your system supports, and b)
you can afford. With the way GigaStudio functions
at the kernel level there are however limitations
as to what amount of the installed RAM GigaStudio
can access at the kernel level of your computer. Windows
has put the cap on RAM access at kernel level for
98SE/ME at roughly 1 GB of installed RAM, and 1.5
GB of the installed RAM on an XP/2000 machine.
Even though GigaStudio has a RAM limit determined
by Windows, amounts of installed RAM above what GigaStudio
can actually access will help in many other areas
of your computer's performance.
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