is it worth it if i......

maff · Post by **maff** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 1:17 pm

Hi
I am interested in purchasing the Pulsar 2 in the very near future, but I need some advice on a few points.

I am getting rid if my Korg Prophecy, Roland JV2080, Ensoniq ASR10, and Alesis Nanobass, so I can purchase this card,
Am I making the right choice?

I have a P2, 400MHz, 384 MB ram, with adaptec ultra160 SCSI card, and 8 gig, SCSI IBM hard drive (10000rpm). Running Cubase VST/32.

Would I benefit if I installed this card?

I am soon going to upgrade my PC with new mobo and processor, and ATA100 hard drives.

Mobo----- Abit KG7 Mainboard for Socket A
Here is the link, http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/k.asp?actio ... pID=5&s=pl

CPU------ AMD Athlon XP1500+ 1.33 GHz 266 MHz bus
Here is the link
http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/k.asp?actio ... pID=6&s=pl

Please advise, would these be ok to work with the Pulsar 2

Thank you all

Maff

cannibal · Post by **cannibal** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 1:47 pm

I think it all depends on what you want to do with your system.

I think it would be quite risky to just sell everything and get Pulsar. Prophecy and JV2080 are both really great synthesizers in my opinion. I can't honestly see how Pulsar alone could help you make better music.

I guess I would sell everything else BUT the Prophecy and then buy Pulsar. Prophecy is not worth much these days but it is a great synth which you will most probably miss. The sounds you can get from Pulsar are not anywhere near Prophecy, no matter what the hi-tech geeks on this forum will say

Keep the JV if feel you need it. You can't get the sounds you get from it from anywhere in software environment, maybe except for SampleTank...

Pulsar would be a terrific tool for you to record and mix your music, not to mention the additional sounds you could get it. But using Pulsar as your only sound generator...

Just some senseless thoughts, I guess.

Best regards,
cannibal

Air_PoLLo · Post by **Air_PoLLo** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 2:43 pm

We HAD a Prophecy but it was sold after we had the "handy" plugin version of it.... we could use the space it took for another synth... the instrument plugins rocks!

cannibal · Post by **cannibal** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 4:10 pm

Damn you and your plugins

It is unfair...

Is the plugin exactly the same as the hardware version as far as sounds are concerned?

Spirit · Post by **Spirit** » Sat Dec 08, 2001 10:59 pm

Do you want to do everything on PC? Then you'll need to buy some good devices to go with your Pulsar card. Ditching the ASR means you'd probably want an STS3000 sampler at least. As a new buyer you'd get the ProPack, so that'd take care of mixing. But for synths, depending on your style you'd probably want to buy at least two or three.

I recommend the Supreme synth from Celmo, maybe one of the Zarg range (not my taste, but lots of people rave about them) like the Ambient, then maybe the Vectron or Pro-One.

Save a little for a couple of "extra" more modest devices to give you some interesting variation. Some of the recently released devices are excellent like the the DubSubII, and ZO-405. Finally, maybe something with an arpegiator or small sequencer would be good like the cheap Arpeg02 (good for quick riffs), or my favourite, the Synchrotron.

Spending a few dollars on some good devices will really boost the power of your set-up by several orders of magnitude. Sure there are LOTS of good free devices, but really consider buying from the top shelf.

Also, I used to run everything from a PIII 450Mhz with384Mb and it was very smooth.

Funktastico · Post by **Funktastico** » Sun Dec 09, 2001 12:18 pm

You'll run out of DSP on a single Pulsar 2 so fast you won't be able to say "fish"!!

So my answer would be NO, you're not making the right choice. P2 simply won't fill the space of all those synths.

I'd keep the synths and save for a Luna 2 for starters, and maybe later when you have more cash, double it or add an SRB board for more DSP's.

I do love my P2 + Luna 2 and can do a lot with them but I couldn't survive without my Supernova 2 and Korg TR-rack on the side.

Take care!
Toni L.
http://www.mp3.com/NativeAlien

Spirit · Post by **Spirit** » Sun Dec 09, 2001 5:16 pm

Yeah, sure you'll run out of DSP fast if you try to run everything at once. I go straight to audio and slice things up and add new bits. This can be just as flexible as a hardware set-up and have no feeling of limited run-power. It depends how you like to work - if you sequence everything this will be a problem; if you record audio then no problems at all.

It's a fair warning.

kensuguro · Post by **kensuguro** » Sun Dec 09, 2001 5:38 pm

The dsp issue is a good reason to think about your work style. Since the board runs out of DSP really fast, often you have to work in bits and pieces.. and since you have quite a selection of synths, perhaps you're used to doing everything at once? Well, whatever it is, that's not the case with pulsar. Think of Pulsar as 2 or 3 synths at max. You'd record that, and work and then work on the next 2,3 synths. If your composition style is compatible with that, it'll work. It gives me a headache at times tho, cuz when I compose in bits and pieces, it makes it harder to have each of the parts talk to each other. But that's my case. Think of how much interaction you want between the tracks, and how much of it you calculate, and how much of it comes from 'going with the flo'. (record while listening to other tracks) The flo definitely gets messed up when you run out of DSP. This is a big issue for me when working with the pulsar. Though this type of synergy can lead to new composing styles. :>

Also, think about schedule if you're a working composer. Since the pulsar platform is like a bunch of synths smashed into one, it's going to take quite a while to know your way around. If you can't afford a 2-3 week break, then maybe you'd have to choose a better time to make the switch.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: kensuguro on 2001-12-09 17:43 ]</font>

maff · Post by **maff** » Mon Dec 10, 2001 2:32 am

Hi and Thank you all, I think I have come to a decision, not 100% though yet, but I think it would be a lot cheaper and better for me just to upgrade my pc than get the Pulsar 2, as I can upgrade to a high spec for less than a 3rd of the price of the Pulsar 2.
Thank you again to you all, I really do appreciate it.
Maff

Spirit · Post by **Spirit** » Mon Dec 10, 2001 4:38 am

With all that gear Maff was going to sell seems to me that someone must be charging a hell of a lot for Pulsar ! Where I am a good ASR10 will just about get you there...

maff · Post by **maff** » Mon Dec 10, 2001 6:23 am

Hi Spirit
All i can say is.... i wish i was where you are then,
I was going to get something else though.
I set out to get a Korg Karma, and the Pulsar 2, but now i think i have come to some sort of decision which is...

I AM going to get Korg Karma

I am NOT going to get Pulsar 2 as i can upgrade my pc which would probably be more powerful and only cost about an 8th of the price of the pulsar. ok i won't have those synths etc, but i think i will be better off don't you think,
still a little confused though.
Maff

Spirit · Post by **Spirit** » Mon Dec 10, 2001 7:14 am

Well, as everyone always says, it depends what you want to do. I switched from hardware to software after my gear had "run down" a bit. I was getting sick of all the bits and pieces and wanted a whole new kit. I took a punt on Pulsar and haven't looked back. I love it.

Of course I also love twiddling knobs and programming, exploring new devices, and having a couple of dozen completely different projects on the go simultaneously - and able to be recalled immediately from a single file.

It's always hard to know which path to go down. At one stage I was determined that I'd run everything WITHOUT a PC - dedicated samplers and sequencer - PCs were just tweaking nightmares. But two weeks later I was equally determined that I would run everything ON a PC and have nothing but a keyboard external....