|
I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on Decapitator and maybe EchoBoy while the sale is on. Is it worth the extra money to buy the while Soundtoys bundle? I've heard great things about Decapitator and EchoBoy, but almost nothing about their other effects.
|
#
¿
Nov 27, 2015 17:43
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 11, 2024 23:51 |
|
|
Pollyanna posted:I have a feeling that this question has been asked before, but: what's a good, simple, OSX compatible 2-oscillator subtractive softsynth for a beginner? I'm working through the Syntorial demo, and it wants me to find a 2-osc synth with one of those mix knobs and amp envelopes. Unfortunately, basically nothing is labeled the same way Syntorial is, so I can't tell what maps to what between their synth and whatever I'm messing with. I've found a few, at least whatever there is for OSX, but they're always really confusing and it's hard to tell what does what. Primer VST  Really though, Synth1. Great synth to use for the "On your own" Syntorial exercises. Yeah, the interface is barebones, but it has everything you need and sounds great. This thread also has some beginner tutorials that use Synth1. If you have Live, Analog can be used to follow along with Syntorial. Syntorial usually does a pretty good job of explaining other common labels or layouts for various controls. Take notes. For instance, instead of the osc mix knob, some synths have individual osc volume controls. Just a different way of doing the same thing and shouldn't prevent you from using that synth with Syntorial. Syntorial does use common labeling though, so I'm a bit surprised you aren't finding other synths with similar labels (Synth1 is pretty close). Regardless, if you spend a little time reading the documentation for whatever 2 osc subtractive synth you pick, it shouldn't take too long to figure how the controls map to Syntorial's labeling.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 3, 2016 01:46
|
|
|
Zartans Lady Mask posted:Good to know. In that case, I'll just pony up for a fresh license. $399 is pretty good. I don't recall seeing it much lower than that since Komplete 8 was on sale for ~$360 in 2013. The one reason to hold off would be Komplete 11 is probably on the horizon, and 11 will include Reaktor 6 instead of 5. It's also possible some other plugins will be updated as well, but I wouldn't hold my breath (other than Battery, most of the staple Komplete plugins haven't had a major version update in ages). However, it could be many months before 11 is released, and many more months before it goes on sale for this price. So if you want it anytime soon, now is a good time to pull the trigger. Even if 11 does come out soon, 10 still has enough to keep you busy for a life time, or at least until a big upgrade sale comes along.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 15, 2016 00:14
|
|
|
I'm looking for a drum VST for quickly generating somewhat realistic sounding drum tracks to accompany guitar and bass recordings. I have some experience programming drum tracks, but I don't want to spend that kind of time on the drums when I'm just recording guitar jams or covers. Is EZDrummer 2 the answer? The "Tap 2 Find" and "Song Creator" features make it seem like it'd be a breeze to throw together an entire track, complete with fills. And the "Edit Play Style" feature makes it look easy to add variations and ghost notes. I know there are other options out there, like Addictive Drums, BFD3 and Superior Drummer 2, but unless I'm missing something, none of them seem like they have the aforementioned features for quickly putting complete tracks together. Anything other than EZDrummer worth consideration for my use case? I'd like whatever I end up with to be able to put together some quality funk and soul beats, if that changes anything (don't mind if this requires getting an expansion as well).
|
|
#
¿
Sep 2, 2016 02:00
|
|
|
Trig Discipline posted:BFD has a lot of really easy-to-use templates too, might be worth a look. Also Realitone just released some sort of drum thing for Kontakt which looks quite neat and I just generally like Realitone so I kinda want to buy it even though I don't need it. Realidrums looks pretty cool, though it does look very rock focused without any genre expansions. Might try it for 30 days and see how it goes.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 3, 2016 01:02
|
|
|
I was hoping Toontrack would have a black friday deal for EZDrummer, but instead they've gone and discounted Superior Drummer to be cheaper than EZ. I imagine Superior has better samples and offers more customization/flexibility, but what had me interested in EZ is it's quick workflow and ease of use for finding grooves, adding variation and creating full song backing tracks. From what I can tell, Superior doesn't have the same workflow and ease of use features as EZ. Is that true?
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2016 22:38
|
|
|
I believe some of the synths NI sells are just skinned Reaktor patches, so you can definitely go a long way with Reaktor (or Max).
|
|
#
¿
Nov 30, 2016 21:52
|
|
|
I got Soundtoys last black friday and haven't have any issues. iLok License Manager was just set and forget. It's not some virtual USB software that stays running in your tray/background at all times as far as I can tell (at least on OSX). I think I've only had to re-enter my login info once when Sie-Q was released a couple months ago. I haven't had to move licenses to a new computer yet though. I didn't consider Soundtoys an option when they required a dongle, but I've had no regrets picking up the bundle now that they are dongless. Their plugins are great.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 29, 2016 11:36
|
|
|
Haven't used it, but it seems like you'd end up with a bunch of samples and plugins you're never going to use. I'd rather pay a bit more for Splice Sounds to be able to choose what samples I get.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2017 18:49
|
|
|
Something like Reaktor or Max/MSP would at least be a good place to start. They will let you focus on learning how to design the synths or effects you want to build rather than having to learn the design and coding at the same time. Once you are ready to actually code a plugin they will still be useful for prototyping what you're going to build. Depending on why you want to make a VST, you may find you don't ever need to move beyond Reaktor or Max.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 15, 2017 20:18
|
|
|
They used to require a dongle, but not anymore. Pretty sure owning even 1 "Little" will get you a decent discount on the full bundle, so it's worth picking one up now if you ever plan on getting the bundle. IIRC they've done some pretty big black friday sales in the past, which is coming up (e.g. $300 for the whole bundle, even less if you own any individual products like these Littles).
|
|
#
¿
Sep 20, 2017 18:27
|
|
|
I'm by no means an EQ expert but: some are transparent, some are designed to mimic specific analog hardware. Some give you more control over the shape of the curve. Some might give you the option of having separate curves for left/right channels and/or mid/side channels. Some may have a built in spectral analyzer so you can see a visual representation of how the EQ is affecting the audio in real time. Interface differences can also have a significant impact on ease of use. Some also may have additional novel features. One that comes to mind is Eventide EQuivocate (they were offering it for free a few months ago). It has a sidechain input you can send audio to. While you have it listen to the audio, it adjusts the EQ curve to match the average curve of the audio you send it. You can then adjust the strength of the match from 100% to -100% (which completely inverts the curve). Pretty useful and quick for cutting the prominent frequencies of one track in another track in order to give the first track space in the mix (inverting the curve), and also can be used the other way to make one track sound more like another track (matching the curve). Honestly, if you use Live, the latest version of EQ8 is pretty drat good. I wouldn't drop money on an EQ plugin unless there's a very specific feature you know you need.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 13, 2017 03:37
|
|
|
K-EJ posted:Native Instruments has released their Christmas freebies. A free phaser, $25 voucher, and entry for a prize drawing: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/specials/happy-holidays-2017/ The phaser doesn't work on Mavericks wtf  And yeah, if you want to make a synth sound guitar-like definitely start with some sort of guitar amp/pedal sim suite like Guitar Rig, AmpliTube etc if you can.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 15, 2017 22:38
|
|
|
Yeah but the guy that demos Omnisphere jams out so they're cool in my book
|
|
#
¿
Jan 5, 2018 23:51
|
|
|
If you have Ableton Suite and have never taken a deep dive into Sampler, it has some surprisingly powerful sound design capabilities. Slynk gets into it in the 2nd half of this video.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 10, 2018 01:35
|
|
|
EZDrummer is very focused on putting together drum tracks quickly without having to write any MIDI if you don't want to. For any given beat you can easily change how 'busy' any piece of the kit is (e.g. more or less snare ghost hits) or which drum is the focus of the beat. Tap2Find is also pretty cool. SuperiorDrummer didn't used to have any of these features, making it more of a different product rather than an upgrade, but it looks like they added all of this stuff in version 3. Superior gives you much more control over how you want each drum to sound. I believe it also uses higher quality samples, but EZ still sounds good. One thing about EZDrummer is you're probably gonna want to buy an EZX or 3 to give you access to more than just the 2 kits it comes with (kinda depends what styles you produce), and potentially some additional MIDI packs on top of that. I believe they have deals on getting EZdrummer + 2 EZXs at a discount, and you can get a 6 pack of MIDI at a decent discount as well, but the point is you might have to spend a bit more than the base price if you want more versatility. I've never used addictive, but I've heard good things about it. I don't think it's beat finding, tweaking and song building workflow are quite on EZDrummers level, but it does have some similar stuff. Honestly just download the demos and see which you like better.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 12, 2018 04:06
|
|
|
I've been resisting the urge to upgrade to Komplete 11 from 8 for a couple of years now. Looks like it'll finally pay off. Massive X, Kontakt 6? Yes please. Hopefully they do a summer sale on upgrades like usual.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 6, 2018 19:44
|
|
|
I've been pondering picking up a Valhalla reverb for a while now. Do you guys like VintageVerb or Room more as a versatile, go-to reverb? Been leaning toward VintageVerb but I've seen a lot of people rave about Room as well.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 18, 2019 18:03
|
|
|
Heads up: iZotope RX Elements is on sale for $10 right now at B&H (normally $130): https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1356812-REG/izotope_10_rxe_rx_elements_audio.html Believe this will give you a cheaper upgrade/crossgrade path not just to RX Standard/Advanced, but some other iZotope products/bundles as well (e.g. JRR shop has some deals on crossgrades from "any Elements" going right now: https://www.jrrshop.com/izotope), so might be worth picking up if you have plans to pickup other iZotope plugins in the future.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 19, 2019 00:43
|
|
|
Best video I've seen so far going over Massive X's architecture and capabilities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TofNkfl0Ng (by the Syntorial guy) Not really sure I prefer this over other new-ish synths out there, but it looks like it's only $100 to upgrade from Komplete 8 to 12 right now which also gets me Reaktor 6 (from 5), Form, Monark and some other stuff, so it's gonna be hard to pass up.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 28, 2019 21:09
|
|
|
How does Iris 2 compare to NI's Form? Seems like there's some overlap there.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 2, 2019 01:13
|
|
|
Any recommendations for something cheap to pickup ($5-10) for grabbing Iris that is actually useful? Am thinking maybe the $10 InstaChord bundle to inspire some new chord progressions and styles, but if anyone has other recommendations I'm all ears.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 2, 2019 22:24
|
|
|
Anyone here have the Korg Legacy Collection? I've had my eyes on it for a while and it looks like I can grab it for $100 right now since I bought a Korg controller a while back. I have the ARP Odyssey on iOS, which sounds great IMO and I'd love to have access to it as a VST (technically can use it as an external instrument via routing MIDI to the iPad and audio back to the computer, but in reality I almost never set that up), but how is the rest of the collection? I know a lot of plugins are a lot older than the relatively new ARP emulation, so I'm wondering how they hold up sound quality wise. I've also heard there are issues with the GUI scaling on some of the older ones, but Korg has said they are going to fix this at some point. Also, on the convolution reverb note, if you have M4L there's built in convolution reverb devices that are pretty good.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 6, 2019 22:54
|
|
|
Vastarien posted:You can't get it for free? I bought a Korg Taktile controller a while back and I was able to get it for free. Did the controller come with a software bundle pin? The only Legacy Collection related plugin my bundle has is the M1 Le (which gives me an upgrade path to the full collection): https://korg-license-center.com/index.php?hl=en It does look like they added Ozone Elements to it as well, so thanks for the heads up!
|
|
#
¿
Aug 7, 2019 23:34
|
|
|
You can actually get the MPS 2.1 crossgrade for only $126 from JRR shop if you're logged in, which means you can get the suite from scratch for only $225 (get Ozone advanced / Iris from PB, then MPS from JRR): https://blowout.jrrshop.com/izotope-music-productionsuite-upgrade-advanced I've been considering pulling the trigger (currently have Ozone Advanced), but I'm not sure I'd actually end up using enough of it for the price to actually be a huge deal. Primarily interested in Vocal Synth, RX Standard and Melodyne Essential. Not sure I'd actually end up using Neutron and Nectar that much.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 13, 2019 19:28
|
|
|
That Sonivox stuff is pretty much always on sale too, I believe. The individual orchestral modules (e.g. strings, woodwinds) are often only $5 a pop, and I think I've seen them for as low as $1 each (at least strings). So that pack isn't as great a deal as it may seem.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 21, 2019 20:41
|
|
|
MrSargent posted:I recently purchased a Komplete Kontrol A49 keyboard and am really loving it so far. It came with Komplete Start which is a really watered down version of Komplete, but has gotten me familiar with their ecosystem and a few of their instruments / effects. I noticed that they have a discounted upgrade to Komplete 12 Select available for $99 and with my two vouchers totalling $50, that would be a pretty cheap upgrade. Now of course, Komplete 12 Select is missing a lot of the instruments / effects that I would really like to own (they appear in the full version), but I am thinking that this upgrade price is a steal and would definitely reduce the cost to upgrade in the future to the full version of Komplete. Would be interested in hearing people's feedback on Komplete 12 so far. I mostly make hip-hop music and it seems like a lot of my favorite producers all own Komplete 12. Double check the fine print: they might not let you stack vouchers, and also might not let you use vouchers on discounted items (though I think the $99 upgrade to Select is normal upgrade pricing, not discounted). Komplete is great, especially if you're just starting out and don't already have other plugins that overlap with what Komplete provides. However, Komplete Select is very limited from what I can tell. It looks like the only staples it contains are Massive and Monark. No Reaktor, no Kontakt, no Battery, no FM8, no Absynth, no Guitar Rig, no Massive X. Select will give you a cheaper upgrade path to Komplete proper, but might give you much in the meantime. If you can get it to $50 with your vouchers it might be a decent deal for Massive + Monark + cheaper upgrade path, however, if not, keep in mind NI does sales on upgrades periodically (usually at least in the summer, but maybe again for black friday or around the new year) that often cut the upgrade costs by 50%. So if you can wait, there will be a better time to make the move to Komplete. Ruffian Price posted:What the hell, I thought all hardware came with Select? Are there pricing tiers? Start is completely free for anybody.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 23, 2019 20:52
|
|
|
Korg Collection for $100 or V Collection for $200?  I have Oddysey and Mono/Poly on iPad and want to get access to them as VSTs, because they are awesome, and I'm sure the M1/Wavestation/MS-20 will be worth some fun as well. V Collection just has sooo much stuff though, and I've been lusting after the CS-80 emulation. I do have some of the V Collection sounds covered with Komplete though, and part of me thinks the money would be better spent getting a u-he synth like Diva or Repro for those vintage sounds. However, there is an appeal to having all the emulations w/ presets to play around with for inspiration, rather than another bread and butter synth.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 28, 2019 20:12
|
|
|
Simone Poodoin posted:Some plugins and sample packs from Applied Acoustics Systems today at Humble Bundle. Anyone tried them? Worth $20? If you have Live Suite (or have used it), some of the AAS plugins are the basis for a few instruments. Ultra Analog Session > Analog, Lounge Lizard > Electric, String Studio > Tension. the Ableton versions are sometimes stripped down a bit, and are missing FX (as you are expected to use the Live's effects). Keep in mind, what is offered in that Humble Bundle are the 'Session' version of those plugins, which I believe are 'lite' versions rather than full versions.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 25, 2020 20:00
|
|
|
DreadCthulhu posted:I don't think you need the iLok if you buy the full $500 package, or maybe I'm remembering this wrong. You don't need an iLok USB dongle, but AFAIK you still need to use the iLok License Manager software to activate & manage activations(which tbf isn't nearly as bad as having to use a dongle). Splinter fucked around with this message at 09:51 on Apr 26, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Apr 26, 2020 09:49
|
|
|
I wouldn't say Massive X sucks. If you already have/know something like Serum or Pigments (or other bread and butter wavetable synth) there's probably not much incentive to pick it up. If you're looking at individually buying your first bread and butter wavetable synth, Massive X may not be my first choice either. But if you're getting it cheap (e.g. as part of a $99 Komplete 12 upgrade sale) or as part of a new Komplete purchase, it's a powerful tool to have available and a fine alternative to the others for filling that wavetable synth role. I'd agree the interface isn't as intuitive as something like Serum and others, but part of that is it's more modular, and I found it wasn't too hard to pickup as someone who had experience with the original Massive. I think its biggest downside is there isn't nearly as much youtube content for learning Massive X as there is for something like Serum.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 2, 2020 21:28
|
|
|
While those free iZotope Elements deals are always nice, you can also currently get the full version of Nectar 3 (NOT Elements) for only $30 (!) right now, which is an incredible price even for a sale. Nectar 3 includes Melodyne Essential as well, which alone is a decent deal for $30. https://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/izotope-nectar-3
|
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2020 19:03
|
|
|
Qylvaran posted:This wasn't in evidence when I visited the link. I wonder if it was an error? That or it just expired between yesterday and today. Weird that it has a "SALE" flag, but doesn't list a discount. Looks like it expired  . Must have only been a 1 or 2 day thing.Qylvaran posted:Sweetwater has the same thing at $100 through the end of August. I'm thinking of getting it, since I've been doing a lot with vocals lately. Worth it? Disappointed that I missed out on the $30 offer, though. I can't speak to whether it's worth it at $99 as I only just got it on Friday night and haven't had much time to play around with it yet. I believe $99 is the base price for Melodyne 5 Essential (you get 5 w/ this despite the product listings sometimes saying 4), so if you think you'll make use of Melodyne you're already getting your monies worth (it including Melodyne is one of the main reasons I got it). One thing to watch out for though is I'd expect some pretty big iZotope sales come November (black friday time), so it's possible either Nectar will be cheaper then (though doubt we'll see $30 again), or some sort of bundle that includes Nectar will be available for not much more than its current sale price (as long as you own some existing iZotope plugins, which these free 'Elements' deals usually count for--probably the #1 reason to grab free or < $10 iZotope sales). So if you have your eyes on other iZotope stuff, it might be worth waiting, but if you could get a lot of use out of Nectar now (which you mentioned), I think that's still a good price. Since that sale is going through the end of the month, the best thing you could do is download the 10-day demo and try it out for a bit before making your decision.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2020 20:47
|
|
|
Interested in seeing how GR6's modelling compares to GR5. If there's a noticeable improvement that might be worth the sale price upgrade (usually $99) for me. Otherwise, pretty underwhelming release.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 3, 2020 18:05
|
|
|
If you own V Collection, Pigments drops down to $49 and $99 for FX Collection. Pulled the trigger on Pigments because why not at that price. Oh poo poo, they got me.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 13, 2020 03:00
|
|
|
Drink-Mix Man posted:So potentially silly question: I'm not really hearing much of a difference between Decapitator and a number of cheaper/free saturation plugins, including Cubase's stock saturation. Is there something subtle I'm missing or do these vsts all essentially do the same thing if you work them right? Decapitator is a very well done model of analog hardware saturation effects. Some built in or cheaper saturation effects may not be trying to do any actual analog modeling, while the ones that are trying to do analog modeling might not be as well done as Decapitator (and of course Decapitator isn't the only well done option). Whether or not you need and expensive analog saturation plugin is a separate, impossible to answer question. Saturation is already often times supposed to be a subtle effect, and when used in that manner that means the differences between plugins are going to be even more subtle.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 18, 2020 22:47
|
|
|
I got the SoundToys bundle on a similar black friday deal years ago, and I'd say I use Decapitator, EchoBoy, FilterFreak 1/2 and PhaseMistress the most (and Crystallizer but to a lesser extent). There are a few others I feel I should use more, but for whatever reason haven't made it into my "go-to" reflex yet. In terms of how they compare to Live's built-in effects: Live's effects are generally much more transparent and in some cases more single purposed. SoundToys are generally much more colored and in some cases are a combination of multiple effects. In some cases you can probably get close replicating SoundToys plugins with built-in Live effects, but will often take a lot of effort and won't always get you 100% of the way there. SoundToys also tends to have more/better presets and controls for getting you close to where you want to be quickly. I see effects like SoundToys more as complimentary to Live's plugins, rather than overlapping but 'better'. If I'm adding effects to a guitar track for instance (or otherwise still working on the sound design of a track and want something more warm/hardware sounding), I'm almost always going to opt for a SoundToys plugin over a Live plugin, but if I already have the sound I want dialed in and need an effect more for mixing purposes, I'd grab a Live effect. EchoBoy in particular is awesome IMO. If you're on the fence because you already have Live's Echo, I'd definitely grab the SoundToys demo and compare the 2 (roll through the presets and play around with them on a few different sounds) to see how they compare (and in general this should really be the process for any plugin purchase that offers demos).
|
|
#
¿
Nov 19, 2020 21:28
|
|
|
u-he stuff is all 50% off right now (via NI for some reason), more if you get the bundle. Lets see if I can resist the urge to pickup Diva even though I have absolutely no need for another vintage analog modeling synth.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 17, 2020 18:01
|
|
|
UncleBlazer posted:Arturia’s V8 being on Splice’s rent to own is seriously tempting... what’s $25 a month right You end up paying a lot more going that route (unlike Serum where the rent price works out to about the same as the one time price -- plus the one time price never goes on sale)...isn't it for 24 months? V Collection will drop to the $250-$300 range for new users when they do their big sales, and I've even seen it as low as $200 if you managed to pickup a freebie Arturia plugin when they do a promo. So at the end of the rent-to-own you've paid at least double what you would've paid if you waited for a sale on the one time purchase. Just save your money until next Black Friday (if not sooner...maybe they'll do a summer sale).
|
|
#
¿
Dec 18, 2020 00:45
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 11, 2024 23:51 |
|
|
If you have Live, these AAS instruments are the basis for a few of the built in instruments (Ultra Analog = Analog, Lounge Lizard = Electric, Strum Session = Tension).
|
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2021 18:02
|
|