As we get more processing power, the digital music industry is getting more capable of providing incredibly feature rich tools. They’re really so great that we would like to see Ludwig van Beethoven trying these. Imagine what he could do…

…with more than 160 instruments played by virtuosos at his command at all times!

We searched for the best instrument soundbank. There are some powerful competitors but the one which appears to be the most complete package is EastWest Quantum Leap COLOSSUS. The VST (Virtual Studio Technology) sound archive has 32GB of 24-bit recordings of real instruments. Every note and practically all possible actions are recorded.

The sound archive is used with the KONTAKT 2 sampler. Colossus’ instruments are organised into 19 basic types containing sounds that cover all musical genres. So many intruments to choose from including Guitars, Pianos, Strings, Drums, Plucked & Strummed, Organs, Keyboards & Mallets, Orchestra & Choir, Pop Brass, Ethnic & New Age Ensembles, Synth Basses, Leads & Pads and more.

This is crazy!

When it comes to controlling all that instrumental insanity, you will need a nice MIDI controller. USB MIDI keyboards have built-in MIDI interface so you don’t need additional equipment for connection. Just plug & play-for real! A sound card with 24-bit support and low latency is clearly required. That’s no problem these days, just don’t get the cheapest one.

This is M-Audio Keystation 88es. M-Audio is a very well known brand in the digital music equipment market, recently acquired by Avid.

Anyway, Keystation 88es is an 88 key, semi-weighted USB MIDI controller and it’s about 135 cm long! Almost as wide as a Grand Piano. There are even 25 key controllers but hey, we’re talking about commanding a symphonic orchestra! As the name tells, 88es is a controller, so don’t expect any direct sound from it. It does one thing and does it good; sending velocity-sensitive MIDI signals to your PC. Then, the signals are processed by a VST host program such as Kompakt which comes with Colossus or Steinberg Cubase SX which is the ultimate composer’s tool around.

The keystation 88es is about $200 and one of the best value-for-money MIDI keyboards. The EastWest Colossus pack is about $500 after discount.  The total cost of this set up is only equal to a cheap guitar.

VST instruments are amazing and great fun to play with. A must for the serious composer and capable of turning anyone with some talent into a composer as well. If you’re into making music, try it!