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Gonna recommend Drumatic 4. Just because when coming from Drumatic 3 I thought "this isn't as electronics focussed anymore as I expected". But still great and flexible drum synthesis. Thing is in 4 you can layer the low boom of a drum synthesizer kick with the noise profile of an acoustic kick and things like that. Layering, of course, is something you can just do without a plugin, or combining the ones you've got too. But Drumatic makes it easy with the built in partials.
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Oct 5, 2015 12:14
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cat doter posted:I would if I knew what I was after! I tried EZdrummer and my electronic drum VSTs and decided neither really fit, I just kept thinking "something in between these 2 would probably work" but yeah, it's a difficult problem. I've been playing around with overdrive and bitcrushers too on top of EZdrummer and that didn't really get the desired result either. Fair enough. One thing you did say - "bridges the gap between full on electronic and acoustic" - makes me think that physical modelling synthesis might be the direction you want. I don't have any modelling soft-synths but the PM engine on my machinedrum is very good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD_BYw91Qvw I'm sure some folks here could recommend you PM VSTs if that was what you were after...
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Oct 5, 2015 12:38
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cat doter posted:I would if I knew what I was after! I tried EZdrummer and my electronic drum VSTs and decided neither really fit, I just kept thinking "something in between these 2 would probably work" but yeah, it's a difficult problem. I've been playing around with overdrive and bitcrushers too on top of EZdrummer and that didn't really get the desired result either. For a more futuristic/other-worldly sound, there's also Polyplex, which is also based upon the layering idea, but lets you mix up to 4 layers per drum and also adds significant modulation and randomness elements to the process. (This is a Reaktor ensemble that also works in the free Reaktor Player.) When most people say drums sound fake it's usually because of the perfect timing and lack of variation and flourishes in the rhythms. But it sounds like you're more concerned with the actual tone of the drums. Another thing that makes drums sound fake, particularly when you're working with traditional drum sounds (like with EZDrummer or the NI Drummer products) is lack of room tone. A lot of folks using those tools pick very forward-sounding mix presets, putting too much (or even exclusive) emphasis on the mics that were right next to the drums, and not nearly enough on the room tone. Most of these products (EZDrummer, NI Drummer, BFD, Superior Drummer) are based on multi-mic setups and do let you adjust the mix to get a more realistic live or studio sound, but it can take a lot of A/Bing to get there. Radiapathy fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Oct 5, 2015 |
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Oct 5, 2015 15:18
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cat doter posted:So maybe this a little vague, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm after. I'm looking for an electronic drum sound that gels well with actual guitars and poo poo, I'm not necessarily making electronica but I'm using electronic stuff for colour mostly. I've got EZdrummer but I find it sounds a little fake and I kind of want to lean into the fact I'm working with fake poo poo rather than convincingly fake. I've got some electronic drums, mostly the free kouji tajima stuff but I'm looking for something that kinda bridges the gap between full on electronic and acoustic. I'm not familiar with ez drummer, but I know the sound your looking for and it comes with the right eqing alongside the guitar. E: I'm going for a similar thing. Mostly clean guitar, with obviously electronic drums. For me what worked is making my own dynamic drum rack in ableton. I have a few base samples for every hit, then macros on those samples to fine tune them to the song (pitch, voice, volume, room.) Then I have this whole kit running through a bandpass to give it that "Sampled from an old radio sound" and it meshes really nice with guitar. The main point is giving the drums their own place alongside the guitar. It takes a alot of listening, trial and plenty of error. philkop fucked around with this message at 15:31 on Oct 5, 2015 |
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Oct 5, 2015 15:21
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Radiapathy posted:When most people say drums sound fake it's usually because of the perfect timing and lack of variation and flourishes in the rhythms. But it sounds like you're more concerned with the actual tone of the drums. This is very true, which is why I really love Logic's 'humanize' function. I hit that about 3-4 times, ensure no note starts before any given region, and I'm all set. EDIT: Also, I can't recommend the Kork padKontrol enough. This thing is my go-to drum accessory, and I wouldn't want to write without it. Rupert Buttermilk fucked around with this message at 16:01 on Oct 5, 2015 |
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Oct 5, 2015 15:25
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Are you varying your velocities much when programming your beats? Everything at 127 will sound really fake and robotic, especially if it's all rigidly quantized to the grid. You can always layer sounds, so maybe an 808 kick and 909 snare with some distortion underneath could help; just remember to eq out some of the low end on the EZ kick so its not muddy. EZ drummer presets tend to be fairly processed already, but you can run the kit through another eq and compressor and as mentioned use a little room reverb on a send. Alternatively you could try a mulitband distortion like Fabfilter Saturn, or a simple 'tape' setting on a saturator plugin to add some warmth and gel the sounds a bit. What are you using for guitar? Is the issue at mixdown time or is it a case of never finding the right kit to begin with?
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Oct 5, 2015 15:29
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I tend to humanise and vary the velocity of notes and add room sound and all that junk, I can get it very convincing but fake is still fake. The tone is what matters most to me though, at the moment 95% of the way there isn't what I want, and if I can get something tonally interesting out of electronic drums instead then I'll go there 100% of the time. Thanks for the advice though, I'll have to check everything out tomorrow when I have some time. I might go the layering route, that'll probably produce some interesting results.
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Oct 5, 2015 16:05
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Imogen Heap + Soniccouture = A sample library I won't be able to pass up. http://www.soniccouture.com/en/products/28-rare-and-experimental/g50-box-of-tricks/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJlxwU5aBOw quote:Every aspect of Box Of Tricks has been shaped by Imogen Heap. Now we just need them to get Laurie Anderson to do one...
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Oct 8, 2015 18:25
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The DUBTurbo team have just released the single ugliest virtual instrument I have ever seen: They're following the inkjet printers/razors model by giving the plugin away for free and charging for expansion packs. The video's kinda funny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9jB9DjecCw I love how they're like, "HOLY loving poo poo SIXTEEN OUTPUTS" as if every other drum sampler ever created didn't already offer 16 outputs. Look, it might be a great plugin.  But that interface though...
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Oct 14, 2015 04:11
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Did they misunderstand "3D perspective" as "30 perspectives?"
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Oct 14, 2015 04:36
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New, from your friends at pusturbo
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Oct 14, 2015 04:38
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Holy mother of god, that's terrible looking.  is going on with the keyboard image at the bottom?
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Oct 14, 2015 11:07
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:Holy mother of god, that's terrible looking. Also, why are the drum pads are camouflaged.
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Oct 14, 2015 15:49
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I like to think the drum pads were supposed to be textured but were dithered with four colors.
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Oct 14, 2015 15:51
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I remember how one softsynth, I think it was OLGA, had a little spot near the top that you could click, and it would put a piece of junk up there, like an ashtray. Looked great, too. I do enjoy the coffee stain on the M-Tron, though.
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Oct 14, 2015 16:57
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It looks like a PS2 music game or something, should pair well with the SLAM DAWG
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Oct 14, 2015 17:01
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So I've got a bunch of waveforms in Serum... is there, like, a standard library of these things? I'm wondering how deep I should start thinking about making my own when there are many who've come before me who've been doing the same. Is there some compendium from mailinglists? Crazy DnB forum archives?
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Oct 22, 2015 20:17
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Hey do any of you have experience with London Symphonic Strings? It's 75% off at VSTBuzz right now. http://vstbuzz.com/deals/75-off-london-symphonic-strings-aria-sounds/?mc_cid=fb36f78d19&mc_eid=badadf5de4 I've already got a poo poo-ton of orchestral libraries, but it's hard for me to not just impulsively hit "buy" when I see a big one for that cheap.
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Oct 22, 2015 20:57
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Oct 22, 2015 21:07
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Is that how that works?
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Oct 22, 2015 21:12
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I suppose you're not entitled to profits of a crime, should you get convicted for it. I expect it's easier to say what would happen to the money then what happens with the status of the actual copyright.
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Oct 22, 2015 21:28
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'i like tuh' is one of the year's best tracks, just ret-con buy a license. i hear sylenth 3.0 is dope.
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Oct 22, 2015 21:42
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UVI just released a "new" instrument, Falcon. I say "new" because this is really just MachFive 4, just UVI-branded. (No one on KVR seems to know what the deal is; my own guess is that UVI were the original authors and MOTU was just a licensee.) While it's frustrating for people who just recently purchased MachFive (no apparent upgrade path), this new version adds a lot of new effects and sound generation features, in addition to expanded modulation options. It truly looks great. MachFive 3 was a great sampler/synth, too, but never really caught on like Kontakt. It didn't help that MOTU only sold it as a boxed product, the manual was only available in paper form, and there was zero documentation on the scripting capabilities (so essentially only licensed UVI developers could make any Kontakt-level instruments with it). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5zqgQoSQcs It isn't cheap (although the intro price is lower than MachFive's crossgrade price), but it's a top-tier sampler with a bunch of synthesis and FX capabilities.
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Oct 28, 2015 19:46
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Gotta give some props to the Charlatan soft synth. I thought it was a bit limited to start with but I've been using it for nearly all my subtractive synth stuff lately. The noise section rules, and it is just the right kind of simple. http://www.blaukraut.info/
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Nov 1, 2015 10:48
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After fighting the urge for almost a whole week, I bought Arturia V Collection 4 with my NI discount thingy. Just playing with it this morning and sweet drat some of these sound amazing. Some of the interfaces could use a bit of help, but the sounds are just mmmmmmmmmmm
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Nov 3, 2015 21:37
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Two questions: 1) if I were to manually move all my VST .dll files (so I'm on PC, obviously), would it cause major headaches, besides just having to point my DAWs at the new locations when they go looking for plugins? 2) If so, is there any utility that exists out there to help clean up and consolidate vsts?
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Nov 4, 2015 01:39
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MockingQuantum posted:1) if I were to manually move all my VST .dll files (so I'm on PC, obviously), would it cause major headaches, besides just having to point my DAWs at the new locations when they go looking for plugins? 2. While it won't help you actually move the files, I wrote a program called UltimatePluginTool which can locate all your plugins and help you weed out duplicates. It also has a number of features specific to Native Instruments products (for example, you have to repair most Native Instruments products if you move their plugins in order for things like Maschine and Komplete Kontrol to work properly), but the dupe finder works for all VST2 plugins. (Will probably add VST3 support in the next update.) If you enable both "show singles" and "show duplicates" in the dupe finder, you can browse through all of your plugins at once, whether they're duplicates or not.
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Nov 4, 2015 04:29
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It depends on what authentication is used. I've got a number of plugins that required me to enter the serial numbers again. I've also had plugins that worked fine as a copy in another folder, but wouldn't actually work being moved. I don't think these things are typical; I actively avoid stuff that needs online activation because it's a pain in the rear end on my production pc. Some plugins apparently came with an installer that hardcoded paths (like to their presets in an appdata folder) in their registry entries, which I could only get to work by re-installing them to the right folder. This was a small minority of probably relatively old and uncommon plugins though. Anything from bigger names, with a huge user base, using some sort of activation center program to keep track of licenses or iLok or whatever is probably going to be less of a problem, I suspect.
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Nov 4, 2015 12:32
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As someone who obsessively organizes everything music-related into really abnormal paths, I think I've run into just about every rear end in a top hat plugin location problem there is. I (try to) keep everything totally outside Program Files/C: in general, then split everything between an SSD and a big storage drive. Most plugins/software are nice about it, but some have REALLY bad problems with being moved, not to mention the ones that don't give you a choice of where to install at all (MusicLab stuff). There's only one solution I've found that fixes ALL of them with no effort. Behold the Symlink: http://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/hardlinkshellext.html If you're not a Unix person and don't know what they are, you still want this bad boy. In a nutshell, it will let you move absolutely anything you want to any other location on any drive you want without the OS "knowing". This means the problems mentioned above (not working after being moved, hardcoded paths that cause the plugin to fail if you move other stuff, not being able to change the VST3 install location) are totally bypassed because Windows/the plugin "sees" it as still being where expected even though the actual file is wherever you moved it to. They're awesome for a ton of other stuff not related to music, too. Totally worth the 15 minutes it takes to understand how they work and permanently solve the stupid amount of trouble you have to deal with otherwise.
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Nov 9, 2015 05:30
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Ableton Live 9 removed symbolic link support in its browser (worked fine in Live 8). Is there an easy way to convert those to hard links? What are the drawbacks?
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Nov 9, 2015 09:41
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This sounds pretty nice. http://output.com/products/exhale/
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Nov 11, 2015 14:49
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It seems like a lot of VSTs are focused on either softsynth or effects. Are they considered a good choice for actual instruments like pianos, guitars, violins, etc.? I know drumkits exist, at least. Should I find good plugins for those, or is it more worthwhile to record acoustic and electric instruments yourself?
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Nov 17, 2015 08:17
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Pollyanna posted:It seems like a lot of VSTs are focused on either softsynth or effects. Are they considered a good choice for actual instruments like pianos, guitars, violins, etc.? I know drumkits exist, at least. Should I find good plugins for those, or is it more worthwhile to record acoustic and electric instruments yourself? There are a lot of sampler-oriented VSTs out there that are used for acoustic instruments. Kontakt is probably the best known, though others exist (HALion Sonic, Mach Five, others I've never used). Native Instruments makes a free version of Kontakt called Kontakt Player that is usually sufficient for a lot of the libraries out there, so you may have some luck in finding some free or cheap acoustic instrument libraries for it. If you're interested in recording your own acoustic instruments, you can certainly get better sounds than some cheap/free sample libraries, but it's a huge time and money sink to learn the ins and outs of good recording techniques (not to mention having to be able to play instruments in the first place). It all kind of depends on what direction you want to go. One thing that might be worth looking into is physical modeling synthesis. It's generally only successful in believably recreating certain kinds of instruments, and I don't know whether there's many free VSTs that use it, but it's an interesting field of synthesis nonetheless.
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Nov 17, 2015 08:25
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Record all you want!  There are really decent sample-based replicas of many physical instruments. These can be packaged as separate VSTs, sample packs, or libraries for various sampler formats. There are also some physical modelling VSTs that aren't sample-based. With drums, you'll have loads of options and it's really more a matter of finding the ones with the right sound, not the ones with the one true way of delivery. The easiest will in almost every case be getting raw WAV samples and dropping them in your sequencer natively (almost all modern music-making programs have a built-in sampler device).
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Nov 17, 2015 08:27
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Pianoteq has a physically modeled piano that kicks your CPU in the nuts but does not consume a gazillion gigabytes of disk space. Kontakt's own library is pretty good but it's a gateway drug, NI really wants you to buy Komplete.
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Nov 17, 2015 23:09
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Laserjet 4P posted:Pianoteq has a physically modeled piano that kicks your CPU in the nuts but does not consume a gazillion gigabytes of disk space. Most computers made in the last 5 years should be able to handle Pianoteq just fine. Also, it's loving impeccable how nice it sounds, being completely and totally, well... math-driven. I'm always having to remind myself "none of this is sampled". Well-worth the price.
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Nov 18, 2015 05:23
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Most of the NI piano libraries suck except for Alicia's Keys and The Giant IMO. Pianoteq is far better especially in terms of options.
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Nov 20, 2015 19:46
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This is my favorite piano Also i just grabbed a Maschine mk2 and drat SON it owns.
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Nov 20, 2015 22:12
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Am I the only one that loving hates using kontakt? I use it a lot since there's a ton of cool stuff made for it but I'd rather just add a VSTi to a track and have it go rather than dealing with their dumb wrapper. It has a lot of weird issues that I have to work around.
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Nov 22, 2015 07:33
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cat doter posted:Am I the only one that loving hates using kontakt? I use it a lot since there's a ton of cool stuff made for it but I'd rather just add a VSTi to a track and have it go rather than dealing with their dumb wrapper. It has a lot of weird issues that I have to work around. Really powerful tool, pretty far from intuitive, though. Unfortunately its closest competitors, HALion and Falcon/MachFive aren't much less complicated.
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Nov 22, 2015 07:59
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