Learn How To Configure A Sampling Computer

There are inexpensive solutions in order to have a computer playing sampled instruments that you can use with your Yamaha Motif or any other midi keyboard controller.

A Pentium III PC with a gig processor, while a newer Pentium IV PC with a faster processor is even better yet. For Macintosh, a G3 will provide performance to a degree, but a G4 Macintosh is recommended.

A second hard drive (either internal or external) for audio recording and sampled instruments in addition to your main system hard drive. A music audio computer performs much better when you have your sampled instruments and music audio on a second hard drive, other than your main system hard drive.

You will need a midi interface for your computer in order to connect your keyboard controller to your computer, and also an audio interface in order to get the music sound from your computer to your speakers. The least expensive consumer quality midi and audio interfaces are M-Audio products. M-Audio products are adequate consumer quality, but if you are wanting better quality audio/midi interface products that sound a bit better you may want to consider Echo, MOTU, or RME audio/midi products.

For great quality software samplers that will work as both stand alone or VSTi samplers, you may want to consider Native Instruments Kontakt or Kompakt, which are both PC and Macintosh compatible. Kompakt is a watered down version of Kontakt and has all of the necessary playback features for sampled instruments. The difference between Kontakt and Kompakt is that you cannot program instruments in Kompakt as you can in Kontakt. Most people don't program instruments, so Kompakt is sufficient and has a street price of $169. Kompakt loads and plays any sampled instrument that was programmed in Kontakt format.

If you are wanting to be able to record instrument tracks on your computer, you may want to consider having Sonar, in addition to Kontakt/Kompakt, so that you can sequence and record your sampled instrument audio tracks. Other solutions for playing and recording sampled instruments are Cubase SX with HALion 2 software, and for Macintosh computers Logic and EXS24 are excellent solutions for sampled instruments, recording, and midi sequencing. Please note that HALion and EXS24 software samplers will not play sampled instruments in stand alone mode as Kontakt/Kompakt do. HALion and EXS24 need to run inside of audio/midi application programs, such as Cubase, Nuendo, or Logic, as VSTi or Audio Unit instruments, and EXS24 only runs inside of Logic software.

Kontakt/Kompakt are the simplest and most basic solutions for playback of sampled instruments, and these samplers do operate in stand alone mode without the need of a host application such as Sonar, Cubase, or Logic. If you are wanting to be able to do more advance things such as sequencing midi tracks and recording, you will want to consider using Kontakt/Kompakt with Sonar, Cubase, or Logic, or HALion with Sonar or Cubase, or EXS24 with Logic.

There are many people who are successfully using PC laptops and Macintosh Powerbook computers as portable solutions for using the software programs mentioned above for the purpose of playing sampled instruments on live performances.

In addition, you will also need some sort of audio monitors in order to hear your music. Prices can range between $100 to several hundreds of dollars for decent quality monitors.