TASCAM Gigastudio 3.0 Orchestra

by Tascam

Product Features

• High-level sampling rate allows 96kHz sampling for perfect digital sound
• Gigantic 2B piano library -- software can hold sample files up to 4.3GB
• Unlimited polyphony for full arrangements with complete choral & vocal effects
• Library of different mic techniques to choose from -- work with close mic, distant mic and player's perspective mic locations
• GigaPulse technology takes real-time convolution to the next level - its real-time Acoustic Space Modeling for incredibly realistic reverb, mic modeling and instrument resonance simulation

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• ASIN: B0006B031Y
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 4, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,566 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #8 in Software > Video & Music > Software > Sampling

Product Description

TASCAM's GigaStudio is the world's premiere streaming software sampler. This new version features 96kHz/24-bit sample support, ReWire support, VST plug-in support, and real-time convolution reverb. The best sound libraries in the world are written for GigaStudio, making it the top choice of the world's best composers, sound designers and music producers. GigaStudio 3 Orchestra offers unlimited polyphony, 8 MIDI ports, GigaPulse Pro and over 17GB of sample libraries -- including the full version of GigaPiano 2 and a custom collection by Vienna Symphonic Library. GigaStudio 3.0 is a stand-alone Windows application that uses hard disk streaming to create the most realistic sampled instruments ever created. It offers access to the finest sound libraries ever assembled, from extensive orchestral collections, detailed piano samples, rich basses, rare keyboards and much more. Streaming Samples and You GigaStudio can load sample files up to 512 gigabytes in length. The first few milliseconds of each sample are loaded into RAM for instant playback, then the rest of the sample streams off of the hard drive. This gives you access to big, dynamic samples without needing tons of RAM into your computer. GigaStudio 3.0 Orchestra has unlimited polyphony - more voices gives you the ability to layer instruments, add parts to your arrangement and approximate huge symphonic orchestras. And the efficient kernel-level processing and RAM usage in GigaStudio results in more polyph...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Worst Software since Windows Me., March 15, 2007

By 

J. Garnett "INCGGAMING" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Remember when you first got Windows Me, how people installed it and how much BSOD, "Blue Screen of Death" you got every time you used it. Sometimes it just would give u a memory error even when you had enough ram to run 7 things at once. Well thats how Gigastudio 3.0 is except - worse. It crashes uncontrollably and as soon as it begins to work something else happens. It either freezes up or crashes the pc. I have a Dual Core 2 Pentium 4 3.04 gigahertz pc with 2 gigs of ram and enough space on hardrive. Everything is updated on my pc and yes Tascam Corp. I turned off virus scan when running this program - not that Avast has anything to do with the programs problems with crashes as a whole. Anyway, it doesn't matter how good your system is; that won't do any good. I built this system especially for it and it crashed like crazy. I don't know what is worst. I can't even load instruments on it let alone get to use it often. I am defiantly returning this and those of you who got it to work I wonder how. I have an Audiophile 2496 Maudio Gsif, and Asio 2 compatible sound card and still Gigastudio 3.0 gives me hell. I decided that maybe Tascam should consider finishing development of their software without just distributing it bug-infested. Kontakt 2 never crashed on me and most other music samplers didn't either. But Gigastudio is a different, one of the worst products I got and it just makes me think what the software coders were thinking when they created this product.... I rate this program a 2 out of 5. The 2 is for the packaging and beautiful look.... If your seriously thinking about getting this program just make sure you are ready for the frequent crashes, and the long wait on the phone for the CSR to answer you, don't bother emailing unless you are willing to wait a week to get an answer!!

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No Lovin' from Tascam... Again..., January 14, 2006

By 

Eric A. Smith (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

Remember the girl who broke your heart? She was SOOOO magic; Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis all in one incredible, beautiful creature. You kept trying and trying and trying.

She'd play you, too. Spend a little time with you, batting those beautiful eyelashes, brushing against you so alluringly -- then blowing you off yet again. But it was always the same story -- you'd end up alone at the end of the day with nothing to show for all your efforts but pain and frustration.

You finally wised up and blew her off once and for all -- and for three months never heard from her, until, day by day, like a nasty scrape, the pain dulled, and you would find yourself surprised that hours, even days had passed without a thought of the pain that had once dominated your entire world.

Then the phone call would come, and, with a sweet, honeyed voice, she'd work her magic on you again, and you'd think to yourself "maybe THIS time things'll be different...."

Enter TASCAM and their magic product "Gigastudio", the reputed sound sampler of the gods. GIGABYTE-sized, absolutely authentic sounds from your MIDI tracks. The ability to create aural magic for the price of a small television set.

And I bought the hype.

Not once, but twice.

Now I'm no slouch with hardware -- in addition to a one-year tech certification, I've got Microsoft MCP and COMPTIA A+ and Network+ certifications. I can build a PC from the ground up with my eyes closed and diagnose and repair virtually any problem.

I've also used a number of different audio products -- Cakewalk, Sonar, Sonic Foundry, Halion, all will generally excellent results. But EVERY incarnation of Gigastudio has only caused bluescreens or simply refused to function.

After shelling out the first 150 bucks and spending months and months of fruitless tweaking and rebuilding, you'd think I would've learned my lesson.

But no, not this hopeless romantic.

When music giant Tascam bought out Nemesys, the company responsible for the first Gigascrewedio, I thought -- like so many other hapless victims -- that THIS time things would be different.

And so I parted with another cool 250 bucks with the blind faith of the lovestruck.

Needless to say, the relationship never got past first base -- the initial installation -- and, since I waited past the warranty date, I am, once again, nicely out of luck.

So I called Tascam right before the holidays.

Getting only a recorded message, I spoke nicely, calmly, and gave detailed information about the problem, along with my contact information. I sent out a follow-up email, along the normal channels.

No answer.

I kept trying, calling long distance at different times of the day, leaving messages with tech support and the main number. E-mail after email followed.

After two weeks, my patience wore somewhat thin -- hell, even a form letter would have been appreciated as a simple gesture of courtesy.

But now, a month later, it seems I just can't get no lovin' from Tascam.

Fact is, Tascam, she just don't care.

And so, as I finally promised, I'm parting company with Gigascrewdio, never to look back. And to all of you hoping to make music with this expensively-wrapped, overly-hyped, perfumed piece of fecal matter, expect the same. You ain't gettin' no lovin' there.

I, for one, will be looking into lemon laws to try and recoup my cash so as to spend it better elsewhere.

And so, that eternal advice still hasn't changed: dump her and look elsewhere. There are a hell of a lot better ones out there; ones who won't take all your money and leave you frustrated at the end of the day.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Tascam has the worst customer support...., December 9, 2007

By 

D. Cohen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I purchased Gigastudio 3 Orchestra 11 months ago in the hopes of updating the sounds for my synth. I was intending to use a laptop so that I could travel and gig with the gigastudio. Well... after many, many failed attempts to get gigastudio to run correctly with my chosen components (Tascam FW1804) I needed to call Tascam for help. Unfortunately, they were not taking calls that morning (this was during normal business hours) and they simply hung-up on my call after I had been waiting on hold for 15 minutes. In addition their support personel were NEVER able to help me set-up my system even though I was using every system that they specified on their website (no lie).
Long story short... This was not the first incident of being hung-up on and being misguided by their customer service, but it's definately the last for me. I bought a new keyboard instead. It was much easier to set-up, and the customer support was great.

If you are reading this can can rest assured that I am an average consumer and not one of their competitors because I have never mentioned any of their other competitors in this review. Tascam's customer service is poorly managed and it shows. You'll be happier with a different product.