Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

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akee
Posts: 5
Joined: 17:20, 13 June 2010

Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

Post by akee »

Hello,

I would like to get a sound module which sounds good when playing GM2 MIDI (I'd like to use it with Band in a Box) and which includes a low-latency audio interface and a nice collection of instruments (I'd also like to use it in my DAW - Ableton Live).

I could get a used SonicCell (via ebay) or a new SD-50 (used ones of these are only seldomly offered at ebay) for approximately the same price, so I'm indifferent to the vendor's recommended prices.

It seems to me that the SD-50 does not offer any feature (apart from the 3 very good solo instruments) which I would require that the SonicCell doesn't. But the SonicCell has lots of additional features, so I am considering to buy a SonicCell. However, I am not certain whether the SonicCell GM2 instruments are as good as the GM2-set of the SD-50.

So, I don't know which one to buy - can anyone recommend? Is there any reason at all (apart from its price) one might consider to get an SD-50 rather than a SonicCell?

Greetings,
Akee
Parsifal
Posts: 475
Joined: 09:20, 6 March 2008

Re: Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

Post by Parsifal »

Sonic Cell all the way. If your only interest is GM2 then it cannot be much difference between the two products on this matter. But there's a lot to gain with the Sonic Cell.
The only thing you'll be missing out with a Sonic Cell is that you won't be able to transpose MP3s with it. (SD-50 can)
Jazzmammal
Posts: 8
Joined: 19:33, 26 May 2010

Re: Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

Post by Jazzmammal »

I use Biab all the time with the SC. The only problem for me are the Roland GM drums if you're talking about just using it in GM mode. They still suck. It's the same old GM drums soundfile they've been using since the VSC, the Hypercanvas and the TTS-1. You may like them, I don't. I don't know if Roland has changed that with the new SD-50. The other GM instruments sound good.
There's two ways around this. One is to use the Biab Real Drums and the other is to load into Biab the SC patch map from PG Music's website and you can put the SC into Performance mode and not be restricted to just GM. That's not as simple or convienient as just keeping everything GM because you have to set up and save each song using the SC higher bank patches but once that's done you're good to go.
If you have questions about that you can ask me or go to PG's Biab forum and read about it there.

Bob
rcraven
Posts: 629
Joined: 14:36, 9 September 2007
Location: Melbourne Australia

Re: Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

Post by rcraven »

The SD-50 can change the tempo, and key from the front panel if you are playing MIDI or audio from a USB key.
This can be very useful when playing live.

The SC has much greater range of sounds and you should be able to find an instrument list for BIAB so you don't have to use GM2


Royce
akee
Posts: 5
Joined: 17:20, 13 June 2010

Re: Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

Post by akee »

Hello everyone,

thanks for your all your answers! Ihad the chance to get a cheap SD-50, so I got that and I'm quite satisfied with it for now. It works out-of-the-box with BiaB in GM or in SC mode - I think that it's a good starting place for me to get to know MIDI. The drums don't sound too impressive for me, but as jazzmammal said, I can use realdrums.

I found that the SD-50 also works well as an audio interface - after reading some reviews, I was afraid that the latency might be too high. But with the ASIO4ALL driver, Ableton Live runs in a stable manner on my thinkpad t400 at a latency smaller than 5ms.

So, I'm satisfied with the SD-50 for now...

Cheers,
Akee
quilyee
Posts: 1
Joined: 06:07, 14 May 2011

Re: Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

Post by quilyee »

Once I saw a picture of a woman in a yellow dress seemed to be smiling and holding her hands together. I cannot remember the title of this painting, but I would very much like to find out. I want to get that picture but where can I go to find this? Do you have any information on this painting, including the title? Thanking you,
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PauloF
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Location: Lisbon, Portugal
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Re: Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

Post by PauloF »

quilyee wrote:Once I saw a picture of a woman in a yellow dress seemed to be smiling and holding her hands together. I cannot remember the title of this painting, but I would very much like to find out. I want to get that picture but where can I go to find this? Do you have any information on this painting, including the title? Thanking you,
Most probably you will not find it in the SonicCell Forum... ;-)

Try the FREE ZONE Forum
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secret Roland agent
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Re: Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

Post by secret Roland agent »

Hey PauloF.

WOW! We get all kinds of wierdos and nuts on this forum!! I mean . . . I can't see how someone could like a yellow dress!
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V-CeeOh
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Re: Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

Post by V-CeeOh »

We once had Fantomized T-shirts. That reminds me ......
Where is that fashion forum Artemiy promised and we did not get???!!!!
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Grammar Wombat
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Re: Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

Post by Grammar Wombat »

quilyee wrote:Once I saw a picture of a woman in a yellow dress seemed to be smiling and holding her hands together. I cannot remember the title of this painting, but I would very much like to find out. I want to get that picture but where can I go to find this? Do you have any information on this painting, including the title? Thanking you,
You must be thinking of Seated Woman in a Yellow Dress with Baby Wombat by Edgar Degas.
Yellow Dress.jpg
Yellow Dress.jpg (13.3 KiB) Viewed 10408 times
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PauloF
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Re: Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

Post by PauloF »

Grammar Wombat wrote:
quilyee wrote:Once I saw a picture of a woman in a yellow dress seemed to be smiling and holding her hands together. I cannot remember the title of this painting, but I would very much like to find out. I want to get that picture but where can I go to find this? Do you have any information on this painting, including the title? Thanking you,
You must be thinking of Seated Woman in a Yellow Dress with Baby Wombat by Edgar Degas.
Yellow Dress.jpg
LOL Grammar !!!!
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piaknowguy
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Re: Get SonicCell or SD-50 Sound Canvas?

Post by piaknowguy »

LOL!!
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