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Hey internet music braintrust, I could use some plugin recommendations. I'm building a new work computer, and I'm planning on ditching some of my plugins that require extra dongles or pain-in-the-rear end DRM. I'm specifically ditching Waves because I use very little of what I have and I don't care for their business model. But there are a few plugs that I either can't find a good replacement for or I just don't know what's out there and any good. For what it's worth, I mainly work as a sound designer for media, so weird is better than musical in most cases. Here's what I'm looking to replace: Morphoder-- I'm more interested in its ability to cross-modulate two sound sources. I have other vocoders that cover a lot of the same functionality otherwise. SoundShifter-- Specifically, I would love a good pitchshifting plugin that does really good real-time pitch changes. I know I ran into one at some point but I can't remember the name for the life of me. Enigma/Metaflanger/MondoMod-- In other words, I could use a really out-there flanger/phaser/whatever with a lot of parameters and options. Vitamin-- I'll admit, I don't really know what the hell Vitamin is or quite how it works, but I use it a ton to beef up different parts of the spectrum. I think in general I get a lot of use out of sonic enhancers, especially low-end enhancers. If it makes a difference, I'm on PC. I also wouldn't mind a straightforward, transparent compressor to replace C1, but I have DAW compressors to fill that need for the time being. I'd love to hear recommendations on that too, though.
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Feb 25, 2017 19:21
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Gaspy Conana posted:TAL-Dub-X is really nice and made me curious, do you guys have any favorite/must-have $10-$50 VSTs or VSTIs? I've mostly ignored that range assuming they're probably not-that-great, but I'm probably missing a lot of good stuff. LoudMax is free but it's my favorite brickwall limiter. (And still actively maintained.) http://loudmax.blogspot.com/ Magic AB is a little out of this range ($64 USD) but is a super useful tool for mix referencing. You can load up a bunch of other tracks/mixes, set loop points in each one, get RMS comparisons between your mix and the reference track, all in one place: https://www.samplemagic.com/details/184/magic-ab MeldaProduction has a similarly priced tool called MCompare that combines some Magic AB features with some MeterPlugs Perception features (and there was a war over it between meterplugs and melda on Gearslutz when it came out), but Magic AB can't be beat for usability. Also, this one's slightly out of range (~ $62 USD), but Trackspacer is pretty brilliant- it is a sidechaining compressor that only compresses overlapping bands. For example say you've got a bass track that has some interesting upper-frequency crunch that you want to keep but you don't want the bass freqs to step on your kick. You put Trackspacer on the bass track and sidechain it to the kick, and the plugin will only compress those lower conflicting frequencies but preserve the rest of the bass track. https://www.wavesfactory.com/trackspacer/ Oh yeah- Nicky Romero Kickstart. ($15 USD) It's a sidechain pumping simulator- instead of actually sidechaining to an external key channel, you select the shape, phase, interval, and mix amount of the pumping effect. So easy to mix trance style drums with this. This is actually a trimmed-down version of Cableguys VolumeShaper, which is only $34 USD, but I find Kickstart quicker and easier to use. Radiapathy fucked around with this message at 21:58 on Feb 25, 2017 |
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Feb 25, 2017 21:49
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I'm wishing I could upgrade from T-Racks 3's Brickwall Limiter to the Stealth Limiter thing they've got now. Gonna have to wait at least until tax return gets in, but honestly I ought to hold off - not like my mixes are suffering too much just 'cause I'm using an older limiter, I never hit it very hard at all and mainly use it as a peak catcher I have got really good use out of Loudmax in the past - didn't know it was still maintained, cool, I'll check that out again. GS-201 as mentioned above did get a 64-bit update, but my final thoughts on it are that it reminds me more of the RE-20 pedal that Roland/Boss put out than an actual Space Echo. It was cool in 2010 but I don't think I'd put it up as a top notch plugin these days. Cool effect but ultimately a little algorithmic sounding? I still enjoy using it to mess around but I don't think it'll make it on any recordings, has some unusual behaviors (and the reverb is odd, but not the same odd as the actual Space Echo units)
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Feb 26, 2017 01:14
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MockingQuantum posted:Enigma/Metaflanger/MondoMod-- In other words, I could use a really out-there flanger/phaser/whatever with a lot of parameters and options. Lagrange is good & free http://www.kvraudio.com/product/lagrange-by-ursa-dsp also Valhalla do a free Phaser thing https://valhalladsp.com/shop/modulation/valhalla-space-modulator/ and a free delay/pitch shifter thing https://valhalladsp.com/shop/delay/valhalla-freq-echo/ Kilmers Elbow fucked around with this message at 01:33 on Feb 26, 2017 |
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Feb 26, 2017 01:30
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Radiapathy posted:Oh yeah- Nicky Romero Kickstart. ($15 USD) It's a sidechain pumping simulator- instead of actually sidechaining to an external key channel, you select the shape, phase, interval, and mix amount of the pumping effect. So easy to mix trance style drums with this. This is actually a trimmed-down version of Cableguys VolumeShaper, which is only $34 USD, but I find Kickstart quicker and easier to use. e: With TAL Filter II you could also use the highpass filter to get the bass out of the way of the kick or whatever, instead of ducking the volume. A bit like that Trackspacer mentioned earlier. Flipperwaldt fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Feb 26, 2017 |
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Feb 26, 2017 01:42
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wayfinder posted:Dude Valhalla Just any Valhalla, or is there a fave? VintageVerb looks pretty great.
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Feb 26, 2017 11:29
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They're all great! The reverbs especially so. I'm a huge fan of ValhallaShimmer
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Feb 26, 2017 12:17
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Flipperwaldt posted:For free. It'll probably miss some conveniences those other plugins have. Also smh, you can do this with built into DAW modulation tools and it's poo poo that this fumbling with plugins is somehow easier in most of them. I also prefer to use plugins over built-in DAW mechanics for a lot of things because that knowledge/workflow translates across DAWs. It's the main reason I never used Ableton's instruments. I can use my same third-party instruments in any DAW I want without having to relearn everything. Radiapathy fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Feb 27, 2017 |
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Feb 27, 2017 00:33
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I think you misunderstand. I'm lamenting the poor implementation of modulation options in a couple of DAWs. The built-in options should in my opinion ideally be the quickest/easiest but often they aren't. Also, the plugins you suggested seem great and cheap and massively convenient.
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Feb 27, 2017 01:50
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If I had Komplete Ultimate 10, I'd honestly be DAW agnostic, and would probably switch to Reaper. As it stands, I'm tied to Logic and by extension OS X because I prefer it, and it has (excellent) default included plugins. And I'm only referring to Logic 9, I don't even have X. I really enjoy using Logic, but a the same time, I'd love it if it had the audio editing workflow of Reaper. And I wish I had more plugins to use with Reaper. Sure, I have Serum, the GForce retro synths, Addictive Drums 2, Amplitube 3, Pianoteq, and a few others, but not much else with regards to what comes with Logic.
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Feb 27, 2017 02:30
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:If I had Komplete Ultimate 10, I'd honestly be DAW agnostic, and would probably switch to Reaper. As it stands, I'm tied to Logic and by extension OS X because I prefer it, and it has (excellent) default included plugins. And I'm only referring to Logic 9, I don't even have X. Are you mostly concerned about losing Logic's effects, or synths? I don't know Logic super well but I bet you could get cheap and excellent replacements for your most-used fx even without dumping the cash for Komplete. The only effects I use frequently from Komplete are Replika and Transient Master, though there's good comps and stuff in there.
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Feb 27, 2017 04:16
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MockingQuantum posted:Are you mostly concerned about losing Logic's effects, or synths? I don't know Logic super well but I bet you could get cheap and excellent replacements for your most-used fx even without dumping the cash for Komplete. Man, I'd have to look into what I use the most from Logic to answer that. Maybe I do have enough right now. Actually, I just realized that years ago, I bought the Kirk Hunter Emerald/Ruby Collection... As an EXS24 library  I use that all the time.
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Feb 27, 2017 04:45
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Waves MetaFilter is on sale for $49 USD today. This is one of my top 2 or 3 favorite Waves plugins. It's a filter with a huge number of modulation options. I specifically bought it for its MIDI mod capabilities, but it has a lot of other non-typical mod/sequencing features built-in. The closest equivalent I know of is Cytomic's The Drop ($99 USD). The Drop might actually have the slight edge on total features/flexibility, but MetaFilter has suited all of my personal needs. If you've not used Waves before, they have a cloud-based DRM method. I avoid the "soft-license" option for various reasons, but they let you install your licenses to a generic USB key (similar to ilok/elicenser dongles). This is what I do, and it's worked fine for me, but different strokes...
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Feb 28, 2017 18:43
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The Drop has the drop on most filter plugins. Heh. 
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Feb 28, 2017 22:56
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK-jQty9rrQ
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Mar 1, 2017 01:32
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Gaspy Conana posted:TAL-Dub-X is really nice and made me curious, do you guys have any favorite/must-have $10-$50 VSTs or VSTIs? I've mostly ignored that range assuming they're probably not-that-great, but I'm probably missing a lot of good stuff. Aly James plugs. I have his his Simmons drum machine emulation SDSVX and his Oberheim plug OB-Xtreme. The simmons plugin let's you shape everything from the click, tone, noise, decay, and the bend of the pitch if you want. There is a slot to load a custom eprom so you can run a Linndrum sound through the processing of the Simmons. There are tools out there to tun wavs into eproms but it's a pain. Great plug if you like that 80's drum machine sound and want a lot of control. I use it for that retro toms roll. The OB-Xtreme is dead simple to use and the sounds you can get out of it are absurd. For the specific Oberheim sound I like it better than the bigger synths like diva. Both synths are 15 euros. Just listen to this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmP5dAtkBhE Those are the 2 I own. He has a Linndrum emulation called VPROM for 40 euros that I understand to be the closest thing to owning one. There are sega master system and genesis chip emulations there for 10 euros a piece, but I have no idea how good they are. Only thing to keep in mind is outside of the vprom you would need to bridge the plugs if you use a 64 bit host. I haven't had a problem yet. Also, it took me a few days to get my download link, but at least all your reg info is embedded in your vst file so you don't need to register or install anything.
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Mar 2, 2017 10:44
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Ahh yeah! I love that guy! I have his FM Drive, which is a beefed up Sega FM emulation. It's pretty cool that he personally emails you links to downloads with your name in them too. Well, back in 2013 he did. I hope he x64-izes everything because it all seems to be pretty high quality and I'm incredibly lazy. Do any of you guys have the old Arc Dev vsts? I can't find them anywhere. Gaspy Conana fucked around with this message at 13:01 on Mar 2, 2017 |
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Mar 2, 2017 12:58
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Gaspy Conana posted:Do any of you guys have the old Arc Dev vsts? I can't find them anywhere. e: the maker at some point released this same package for free at one point, so I'm assuming this is ok to post, even though they are not hosting this themselves anymore. Flipperwaldt fucked around with this message at 13:53 on Mar 2, 2017 |
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Mar 2, 2017 13:42
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Gaspy Conana posted:Do any of you guys have the old Arc Dev vsts? I can't find them anywhere. I'm still hoping ET-301 gets a 64bit update but it's unlikely.
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Mar 2, 2017 15:43
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Does anyone here have experience using Logic and third party plugins on a Hackintosh computer? I have Amplitube 4, and it works fine on my old actual MacBook, but for some reason when I'm using my Hackintosh I can't add any other plugins before it in a chain without getting an error message that Amplitube has stopped working. What's odd is that I can add as many as I want after it, and even drag them above Amplitube with no issue. Placing new ones above it though will 100% ensure that I have to restart the program. e: Also in the case that I can't fix this, what are some of the better amp sims out right now? I used to use Guitar Rig but I wasn't a fan of most of the amps they had so I switched. Danyull fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Mar 19, 2017 |
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Mar 19, 2017 18:32
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Hey I use those things! Logic on an El Cap hackintosh, I just chained a compressor and then amplitube and it didn't have any issues, and then made an Amplitube->S-Gear->Guitar Rig->Amplitube chain and it was also fine, and then added random plugins while playing and it all carried on as an aural mess quite nicely. Maybe something to do with your sound setup? I use a firewire interface, no onboard stuff. http://www.scuffhamamps.com/product/s-gear I really like how responsive S-gear feels, easily my favourite of the main sims.
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Mar 20, 2017 02:26
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Hey guys. Waves has sales every weekend and I try to post if I think one is particularly cool. Today (Saturday) the Tony Maserati Signature Series is on sale for $129 ($399 normally). It includes 7 of his plugins that can be used to treat everything from bass, to guitars and vocals. I am thinking of buying it even though I already own the bass plugin. http://www.waves.com/bundles/tony-maserati-signature-series
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Mar 25, 2017 08:08
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Tony Maserati - he sounds really trustworthy.
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Mar 28, 2017 20:23
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I don't get it. Are you saying these plugins aren't that good?
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Mar 28, 2017 22:20
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This is one of those weird Waves sales where some of the bundles prices are lower than the normal individual plugins they include. The API 2500 compressor is usually $299 USD but the whole API collection bundle is right now $249. (The individual plugs are on sale too... I just picked up the 2500 for $89.) The JJP Analog Legends bundle is now $199 USD but its individual components are still regular price ($349 and $299). I bought this last night because I wanted the Pultec emulations. Also, the Kramer PIE compressor is currently available at $249 individually, but the Tape, Tubes & Transistors bundle it's part of is only $179. (Got that too!) I was already shopping for these things anyway, so it was a timely sale for me. The only Waves plugin I wanted that I couldn't find on sale was the V-EQ3. EDIT: @MrSargent - For what it's worth I have all of Waves' Signature Series bundles. I think there was a giant sale on all of 'em at once a few years ago. Anyway, the only one in the whole bunch that I've found a use for is the CLA series. I've used the Vocal, Drums, and FX plugs from the CLA bundle on several tracks, but I just never got the sounds I was looking for out of the others. It's mostly just a sound preferences issue, although the Kramer plugs are intentionally pretty barebones in terms of their feature set (for example, no time syncing options on the delays because he believes in using your ears to set that stuff, etc.) And to be more specific, I'm just talking about the "signature series" bundles which are all about emulating a given producer's go-to processing chain is for different audio sources. This is different from the producer-branded analog emulation bundles which are just simulations of specific individual pieces of gear. Radiapathy fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Mar 28, 2017 |
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Mar 28, 2017 22:22
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MrSargent posted:I don't get it. Are you saying these plugins aren't that good? I mean he sounds like a Goodfella.
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Mar 29, 2017 10:42
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Kilmers Elbow posted:Tony Maserati - he sounds really trustworthy. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/tony-maserati-mn0000007535/credits
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Mar 29, 2017 11:29
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iZotope is giving away DDLY Dynamic Delay, but only until April 2 (today, where I live) https://www.izotope.com/content/izo...tm_term=April+1 I just played around with it for a few minutes and I like it quite a bit. Trashy, filtery, distorty delay.
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Apr 1, 2017 23:42
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Anyone have an Arturia MiniKey Mk II? I'm thinking about picking one up because I want a small format midi controller that's very knobby, but I'm curious how well built they are, and how responsive/terrible/just ok the touch strip pb/mod things are.
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Apr 2, 2017 23:31
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I'm not that familiar with Arturia's line but if thats the one that looks kinda like a Keystep, the controls on my Keystep were *much* more responsive than I thought they would be. I don't tend to do much with either (having had bad controllers in the past and just figuring out other solutions) so I'm not the hardest sell, but they felt easy to control, if a little imprecise (they're kind of small). At the end of the day it's still touch strips and slim keys, and I'd still take a real wheel if precision mattered, but for just bending up the full range or whatever they feel pretty nice. Using the mod wheel strip and a MIDI-CV converter in a patch panel I got decent filter sweeps on an analog synth. It's better-built than I thought it would be - decently solid, but still something I'd use a lighter touch on. I've heard horror stories about Arturia quality but fwiw it feels tighter than my Microbrute (which itself held up real well, other than some chassis rust that was probably a fluke).
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Apr 2, 2017 23:52
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Thought I'd give you guys a heads up that https://www.xlnaudio.com/ is having a 50% of sale until the 4th.
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Apr 3, 2017 06:26
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Spoke Lee posted:Thought I'd give you guys a heads up that https://www.xlnaudio.com/ is having a 50% of sale until the 4th. I'm a big fan, having bought Addictive Drums, and then the uograde to AD2. Great stuff, especially if you just wa the drums that sound great already, but also have a ton of mixing potential and control.
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Apr 3, 2017 12:46
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quote:Musikmesse Frankfurt http://www.waldorf-music.info/en/
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Apr 3, 2017 13:08
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Is there a non-granular VST sampler that lets me control sample scrubbing via midi? I can do it with the mouse in Groove Agent but I'd love to be able to do that with a knob/modwheel.
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Apr 3, 2017 13:58
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Spoke Lee posted:Thought I'd give you guys a heads up that https://www.xlnaudio.com/ is having a 50% of sale until the 4th. Their Retro Color thing is grand and wound up in a couple tracks on my album. Speaking of which, I forgot to plug my album.
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Apr 3, 2017 15:07
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Tayter Swift posted:Their Retro Color thing is grand and wound up in a couple tracks on my album.
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Apr 3, 2017 17:15
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NonzeroCircle posted:Is there a non-granular VST sampler that lets me control sample scrubbing via midi? I can do it with the mouse in Groove Agent but I'd love to be able to do that with a knob/modwheel. Fairly sure Ableton's built-in Simpler can do that...
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Apr 3, 2017 18:02
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Thanks! I've been off Ableton (had 8 before) for a couple years in favour of Cubase, just installed a copy of Lite 9.7 on the laptop as it came with my new MPD216. Wow the drum racks have changed, I quite like this new look and workflow. I've been "scratching" using the pitch envelope and rapid pad playing in Groove Agent but its not quite the same as scrubbing (and whilst its not exactly vinyl it's pretty fun for adding a bit of 1999 flavour to my cheesy nu-metal tunes). Edit: oh they overhauled Simpler. Can do start time but not scrubbing back n forth. Still works for my purposes. I guess its only Sampler that does fwd/rev looping? NonzeroCircle fucked around with this message at 23:01 on Apr 3, 2017 |
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Apr 3, 2017 21:08
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You could also try Granulator II by dropping in a sample and turning off 'spray'. It has a File Position dial that you can scrub with. You can map that dial to MIDI or use the LFO max4live widget. Also, not quite related but also fun in Ableton, right-clicking a Ping Pong delay, switching it to Repitch mode, switching from Sync to Time, Feedback all the way and start messing around with the Delay Time amount. Those low values are especially fun. E: You said non granular. Welp evacuate meatspace fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Apr 8, 2017 |
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Apr 8, 2017 02:00
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Gym Leader Barack posted:Hey I use those things! Logic on an El Cap hackintosh, I just chained a compressor and then amplitube and it didn't have any issues, and then made an Amplitube->S-Gear->Guitar Rig->Amplitube chain and it was also fine, and then added random plugins while playing and it all carried on as an aural mess quite nicely. Maybe something to do with your sound setup? I use a firewire interface, no onboard stuff. Popping back in to say thank you so much for this suggestion. I tried to drag Amplitube along through the problem I described before and eventually got tired of it, so I stopped trying to record anything for a while. I decided to demo S-Gear today and had my wallet out less than half an hour after first opening it. It's been about 4 hours since then and I haven't even looked away from my DAW until just now. I had no idea how much time had passed.
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Apr 13, 2017 01:25
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