sound modules / synths

i been procducing just on the mpc, but gettin interested in sound modules/synths.

Question: is there a significant difference between sound modules and synths or is it about the same? - (i know sound modules normally have no keyboard)

second: can i add my own samples to a sound module or a synth, or can i only use the samples provided by the manufacturer?

appriciate your help, thanx

well a sound modules willhave no keys and usually less controller options then the big one, smaller screen (triton rack has no touch screen at all), but the sounds are the same and you can edit patches 4 sure, basically recombining sounds to make new ones and in some cases your own sounds. the alsesis nanosynth is the engine and sounds from a qs 6 alesis synth with no controllers or expansion.
but you can connect it to the pc and edit all the patches in the user banks, and even use it to import sounds and make your own patch and store it in user memeory. most of these sound modules require PC connect to edit the patches in a pc program while a full keyboard like triton can input sounds via the sampler etc., then layer across the keys and make a patch. so for some soundmodules you NEED a pc to access the same functions that you have in the keyboard, but the tradeoff is the sound modules costs much less, but if you have a pc, its all good. (oh and a midi controller, dont 4get that!)

this leads me to the conclusion that synths are sample players with some more options, right?!

i thought there might be a difference in the creation of the sounds. can you give me some more on that, pl

just trying to separate things in my head, thanx for helpin

yah, in the nanosynth from my last xample, the synth engine is the exact same as the QS 6 synth engine, with some minor differences forced on it by the fact that you lose some features
the features you lose are: a keyboard with real time midi control, a sequencer, the ability to load rom boards, the outputs change, and the inputs change. the effects processor is gone. basically a sound module is the synth engine, sounds and effects used on those sound patches (not the same as effects, these effects are in the patch when it is set up)
that the unit can prduce (ie the nanosynth has 1 effecets per patch, usually reverb. and midi ins and outs to control it.

in fact a lot of patches are built with the same sounds, (example: solo violin and viola might be called 'chamber strings' and the same solo viola, with heavy reverb and a synth patch can be called "far off synth strings" it uses the same "sound" in both, the solo viola, but its 2 differnet patches using the sound 2 different ways) but you can simply load the patch into a pc patch editor and eliminate the reverb and re load it into the nano with no reverb.

so with the sound module, you NEED a pc to connect to in order to edit patches with a software patch editor,. (example, Vienna is a good soundfont editor, and basically works like a patch editor, you take sounds, and the program tells it how to respond to command, shift pitch etc). you need a midi controller to run it. You need an outboard efx unit of some sort. This is why a lot of guys buy one nice keyboard with a lot of midi controller options they can assign (like a triton) then buy sond modules only (mo phatt, proteus, jv1010 etc.)
, since you can use the triton to send midi data for "knob tweaking" from the triton and sequence it all on the mpc/triton, then all you need the sound module for is "supplying sounds"
heck you can even sample the soundmodules into the triton and then make a patch there with sounds from several differrent sound modules, taking advantage of the strengths of each (since they all have strengths and weaknesses, example, A buddy used the Super clean Triton guitar sounds, layered with sound distorted "grimey" sounds off the planet phatt and a "drone" sound off of the nano to create his own guitar that sounded MAD funky and was totally unique since he created it)
, so if you sample you can use the tritons effects on it, the possibilities are endless, really.
all you would need is a PC for patch edniting the sound modules, to make it easy (its REALLY easy to map and edit patches on a pc editor)
no fuss no muss, one keyboard and a rack of sound modules, (check out the pics on midicase.com, I Wish I had that rig.....)

as far as 'creation of sounds" the sound module goes about editing largely via a seperate interface and most synths keep patch editing internal so that is a major differnece, just like chopping is easier on pc, patch editing is USUALLY (not always) easier on the pC as well.

I dont see a difference in multitimbrality, or poly in the nano vs QS, (cuz its the same engine) which is the big deal, multitimbral = the # of instruments sounds you can have going and poly. is the number of "voices", so 32 part multitimbral means you can have patches made up of 32 total different SOUNDS, and 16 voice poly means 16 voices
( ie a patch that uses a trumpet, a tuba and a bass is still 1 voice, but eats up 3 of the "multitibrality" of the device) can play at once as long as they do not exceed the "only 32 different sounds going off at once" rule of multitimbrality. (I think, I get them confused sometimes, if I'm wrong correct me, it may be the vice-versa of what I said)

note
holla...

know foo, i though i could use an sound module with just the mpc, but now i know better.

i got a notebook without midi ports, but i think the most soundmodules have usb interface.

so i sum up that compared to sample players, sound modules and synths have more possibilities to edit sounds by creating different patches, also by using more parameters etc.

please correct me if im still wrong. thanx for your help, peace

andy66 wrote:know foo, i though i could use an sound module with just the mpc, but now i know better.

i got a notebook without midi ports, but i think the most soundmodules have usb interface.

so i sum up that compared to sample players, sound modules and synths have more possibilities to edit sounds by creating different patches, also by using more parameters etc.

please correct me if im still wrong. thanx for your help, peace

well sorta.
you can use a sound module with just mpc, but if you wanna get into editing and making "User patches" you will need a PC for a lot of them.

not all sound modules have usb, but a 2x2 midiman usb interface has solid drives and costs 30 dollars so no big deal there.

sample player, do you mean a sampler? like the esi32 or S1000? cuz most samplers have similar stuff, filters, envelopes stuff like that is how you shape sound in samplers, and in synths. They are all different but the main diff. is:
Sound module: comes with sounds inside it ready to edit, samplers dont. so, an ESI32, can be used, you can sample 3 diff piano's off cd/vinyl etc. and layer them across the keys, and mess with the parameters to make say, the lowest elec. piano you sampled go wah-wah style and say the grand piano you sampled have a sharp attack and a slow decay so it sounds "ghosty", basically if you like to sample, use a sampler, if you dont like to sample on a device other then your MPC, get a sound module and edit its patches to make new sounds. This is another reason the triotn is so popular, you can sample and do the stuff like a sampler or you can make patches out of the internal sounds by editing them.

sound modules have say 800 in built sounds which are usually sample based wave-forms which can be edited into different sounds.

where as a synth allows u to build sounds from wave forms which are not samples, but they will aslo have preset examples which u can overwrite with ur own sound creations.