Elfmans Gear

[Flip9]

Heeeeeeeeeeell o! Greetings, I am an aspiring composer and would like to know what gear Elfman uses. Anybody know any websites or know some insight on the gear he uses? One thing I know is that he uses Apples Logic

[John Mullin]

The subject line made me think of that scene from BAD SANTA.

[bluntinstrument.org.uk]

Have a look at:
http://www.apple.com/pro/music/elfman/
It’s the closest (and most recent) I can recall.
Ian/Blunt

[Flip9]

Bluntinstrument,
Yeah thanks for the tip, I already checked that part out. The one Im looking for is this article that has pretty much most of Elfmans gear and theres a picture of him sitting down crosslegged with his arm over his gear and his head tilted with that usual smile on his face(like the one above). I cant seem to find it though. Cheers

[Knight]

You can usually expect that most of the A-list composers use alot of things that most can’t get ahold of, such as private sample libraries and custom programs / synths. However, they also probably grab any commercial sample lib that they can get ahold of (I know James Newton Howard does this) just to see what they have. Elfman also BUILDS instruments himself so that is another thing. They can have a TON of computers and very extensive mixing/mastering equipment also, which can vary depending on thier own tastes (hence why you might not hear about which equipment they use).

I don’t know where you heard about the Logic thing but as far as I know most people use Digital Performer (on a Mac). If you are a PC user, Cubase or SONAR are both great sequencers, however I know that there have been some problems with Logic and high-end sampling software, but it might be unfounded.

If you want to start composing, I suggest first that you have a nice, powerful computer (build it yourself or buy it from a respected manufacurer) and a sequencer. Then go search the internet for Soundfonts, which is a dated form of sampling but you can find some good stuff to get you started and it’s free. You also might want to look for some cheap mixing/mastering software that you can use to polish your work, but if you get a sequencer like SONAR, it comes with a few decent audio effects so you can just stick with it.

If you want to be a professional however, it will cost a quite bit to setup a fairly good studio. I recommend having at least 2 good computers networked (depending on which sampling software you use, the method of networking will change). You should grab a couple of Studio Monitors (pro speakers basically), a good sequencer that can import alot of different forms of video (again, SONAR and Cubase are good choices for this), a MIDI controller, and sampling software. The 2 major players for this are Kontakt and Gigastudio, and both have some really awesome orchestral libraries available for it.

A couple of the major players in terms of sample libraries would be East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra and Vienna Symphonic Library. Now which one to choose is HIGHLY subjective, as both have thier strengths and weaknesses. It would be a good idea to check out both and see which one fits what you would like to write.

If you want to expand on the orchestra, I can recommend the following libraries:

East West Quantum Leap RA (Ethnic Intruments)
Spectronics Atmosphere (Electronic sounds)
Spectronics Symphony of Voices (Choirs – Elfman used the Boy’s Choir on Good Will Hunting)
East West Quantum Leap Stormdrum (LOTS of ethnic percussion)
G-Town Samples (Free stuff you can download, from Pipe Organs to Anvils)
And for the piano, there is just too many out there that are really great, so you’ll just have to pick.

Anyway, I hope that this helps a bit and good luck with all this.

Knight (Wow, I really wrote WAYYY too much, anyone else want to add?)

[Flip9]

Knight, Yeah I see where your coming from. The gear I lined up on getting are…
Mac G5 Dual
Logic 7
VSL Opus 1 and 2 bundle
Apogee Rosetta 200 AD/DA Converter
Line 6XT Pod
Gibson Guitars
Fender bass
AKG C414 Mic.

“however I know that there have been some problems with Logic and high-end sampling software, but it might be unfounded.”

Knight, can you explain this section more? I plan to use the EXS24 Sampler that comes with Logic and plan on sampling VSL through that.
Im not very familiar with the Giga route because I know even though you have DPerformer on your mac(Id rather not use a PC but rather have all my programs on one fast Mac) you still have to get a seperate PC or “two” just to run gigastudio, which throws the price range far high. Am I right? Are you a DP user? Giga user?

[Mr. Dantz]

Actually, I’ve read quite the opposite about Logic and it’s sampler. I’ve read that it’s better and easier to use than Gigastudio. But I don’t know. I use Sonar.

I wouldn’t worry about getting 2 computers right now. If you’ve got enough ram (1 gig should do for a while) and a good processor, you should be good to go.

[Knight]

Actually, I was talking about compatability with 3rd party samplers such as how well Logic works with Gigastudio / Kontakt but I can’t really say because the only sequencers I have fiddled with are SONAR and Cubase. I WOULD use DP except it’s only available on Macs and…well…I just don’t like them .

Anyhow, I run 2 PCs using both Giga 3 and Kontakt 1.5 (2 steals all my RAM for some reason). In terms of Giga, I would say stick with what you have for now, as there was ALOT of problems with the Giga3 release/copy protection so many developers started switching to other samplers, and I can’t really think of any reason to get Gigastudio expect for Gigapulse, but you can get Waves IR1 and be set on that front.

Good choice on VSL, it’s got some of the most realistic sampling techniques currently available, and I have heard some awesome music being written with it. The reason I said that you should have 2 computers, however, is that sampling libraries (ESPECIALLY VSL) are total memory hogs. I would be shocked if you could load an entire VSL orchestra (just the basic patches) on 1GB of RAM. And as you expand you sample libraries to include ethnic and electronic stuff, you are REALLY going to need some more horsepower to run everything. It would just be a good idea.

Anyhow, best of luck with all this, and if you have any more questions feel free.

Knight (Mr. Know-it-all )

[Dawg Man]

I’ve been making money on my music for a while now and have been lucky enough to update my studio on a regular basis. Here are the essentials, as far as I’m concerned…

---

Get Gigastudio and Kontakt. They’re both the best virtual samplers out there. If you don’t have them, don’t waste your money on anything else. I’m sorry. Stick with pencil and paper.

For Kontakt, the best libraries are EastWest’s series and the Garritan Personal Orchestra. For Garritan, the sustaining instruments suck but the percussion, keyboard and harp samples (anything with a good decay) are some of the most convincing ever produced. The organs and harpsichord are great too.

For Gigastudio, there’s Vienna Symphonic Library, Sam Horns, Big Fish Audio and the list goes on and on. Write me if you want my complete list. Also, you can translate almost any other format sample into GIGA format for fluid writing. It’s incredibally helpful.

I use a “master” computer, with 5.1 surround and an external 200 GB harddrive, for storing temporary .gig instrument samples to be featured in any current “performance”. All the rest of the samples are stored on countless DVDs and CDs.

When it comes to samples, in my own opinion, Vienna is the best out there today (although EastWest is good too). I have mostly all of Vienna’s Horizon Series and just ordered their Pro series Brass and Woodwinds too, which is amazing on first listen. If you listen to the instruments and go with your gut, extreme realism is more than possible. Their performance tool in particular creates the best legato phrases ever realized.

For mixing, I use Adobe Audition, which has a great Dolby 5.1 Surround feature. For scoring I use Sibelius, which is the most flexible and “real-to-life” program out there today. It’s like pencil and paper times ten. It helps orchestrate during the writing process. Elfman uses it for print outs, I know that for sure.

The product of all of this is pretty realistic…
J.R. Flynn
http://thedarktower.125mb.com

[Flip9]

Any Composers out there in this forum site with websites and music? Iam Interested in hearing your talents. Cheers. My stuff wont be finished till next summer(album) as Ive been training musically,(engineering, ear training, piano training, drum training, guitar training, bass training) for the last 5 years so I can put out this album. Ive actually started playing in bands since I was 14. Back in the day, they were mostly punk bands ranging from hardcore to metal. But now I shall “blend” film music and punk together. (No ego in last sentence by the way). That is why, I am doing some research on what to get. Thanks guys.. I ended up changing my mind from going from Logic to the PC based…GigaStudio. Dawg Man I will check out your website. Cheers

[aLfR3dd]

i’m using a pc with 4 Gb of ram …….2 monitors and a good sound card….for the samplers ..i have them both (gigastudio and kontakt)…and for the libraries …well i work and every month i buy one new….i have like 30 libraries (east west orchestra, n.i. akoustik piano, east west ra ……) …se u guys at the oscars …10 years from now…. ! hey guys how do u connect 2 pc togheter???

[Dawg Man]

I’m going to have to go back to my site and work on an update some day in the future. Right now the only clips you can hear are embedded onto the page as shockwave flash files. It takes a while to load so that’s a pain in the ass. Oh well. At least I don’t have any of those pesky pop-ups. Tell me how it works for you.

[Flip9]

Dawg Man,
Actually, I visited the your site and the darktower site but I didnt see any mp3s. Plus I use dial up as well. Damn! Can you post a direct link to your music? Thanks. And to aLfR3dd, I will watch you on t.v. at the oscars:)

[chocothrax]

Do not forget about Sonic Implants orchestra. I know that Elfman has EWQLSO but he probably has just about every library anyways. EWQLSO has a nice out of the boxness compared to VSL. VSL of course you will get the real legato from the sampled intervals. These libraries have their strengths and weaknesses. I’d say best strings and brass go to Sonic Implants while best percussion goes to Truestrike by project SAM and best winds are probably in VSL because you really want the legato with those. As for choir SOV sounds quite good for pads but it’s old and still expensive. These days I think EWQLSC is best for choir. I can vouch for atmosphere and Stormdrum as good purchases. Best piano for film IMO is Art Vista’s Malmsjo. Of course the best samples are in custom libs but not everyone has money for that.

[Mr. Dantz]

I LOVE VSL to death. I think everything is worth the money, definitely. You might want to check out other brass libraries, as VSL’s weakness (if you’d call it that) is in the brass samples. Check out my page if you’d like: http://www.nigel.has.it. I use mainly VSL for my orchestra compositions, so you can get an idea of how they sound. Good luck!

[chocothrax]

Although VSL does have the Epic Horns which are the most realistic samples I own at the moment.

[Mr. Dantz]

YES, I forgot about those! I want them. *drools*

[Flip9]

Hey guys, what do you think about East Wests Quantum Leap Symphonic Choirs? Anybody out there own copy can tell me how it sounds? The major thing that interests me is the word builder where you can actually type in the words for the choir. That to me is pretty up there as far as advanced technology. One thing for sure is that I will be getting VSL. Cheers

[Mr. Dantz]

The choir sounds bloody excellent, in my opinion. It might be a bit bloated for my computer. All of these new sample packages are becoming SO bloated! I find it hard to work with bloatedness.

[Jouleskeys]

Thanks for all of this info.

I too have been looking for strings and choirs like that of Edward Scissor Hands, Lord of the Rings (wrong site), Spiderman, etc, I really didnt know where to begin, especially with the drum sounds in those film scores! Wow!

Any more details, please share; this is gonna cost me an arm and leg. I so far have Spectrasonics Atmosphere and Trilogy. Checking out Knights list has been really useful, a big thanks for that! I have to get Symphony of Voices and VSL, they are truely amazing!!

I am a working composer/ musician, running on one PC, 3.0 Gig P4 Processor, 512Meg x2 Ram (could upgrade), Motu 828Mk2, and rarely run into big problems with Cubase SX3 whilst using Halion 2 as my sampler; as I tend to freeze the MIDI into audio to avoid glitches once complete, then if I want to change something I just unfreeze the track – that works for me. Though now mentioning using a couple of PCs has intrigued me. how would that work me wonders, hmm…

Anyway, thanks again for the advice!

With the drums mentioned, are these the ones that we hear on Epic/ Blockbuster sound tracks?

Thanks,
Joules
http://www.sonicbids.com/joules

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