I just want to say that after playing with Albino again, I've come to the conclusion that it has the best presets I've seen in a long time! Well, at least since Absynth... Thank you R P!

PS: Atmosphere, with its thousand patches or so, is in another realm altogether.

VirSyn Cube and Tera are no slouches either.
or z3ta+

Actually, i agree about z3ta+, great presets, but I was dissapointed by the factory sounds in tera..don't get me wrong, Tera is an absolutely fab synth, and since i bothered to spend some time with it i came up with some nice sounds, but the factory ones are too thin...

Ofcourse, Albino's presets are just so good..

the 75 extra are well worth the 20 bucks too

i love Rp's "moving pads" type sounds..some real tear jerkers in there

yep, you buy Albino for Rob's sound design, that's the big sale point. Tera's library was somewhat sedate compared to it's capabilities, I agree, still, it's a good overall library of timbres.
Rhino has some great sounds, just not in the hundreds, otherwise that would have to be included.

Um its just a matter of tast, best presets .. they are good, if you want instomatic dutch trance machine !

B.

Yeah, after trying Tera and Dcota, I've noticed that Tera is alot more powerful, but Dcota has far superior presets. The first 20 presets I tried in Dcota were all awesome sounding and very useable. Tera's were decidedly unimpressive.

Well, Z3t4+ has better trance presets and usual presets then Albino
Z3t4+ is the way to go
I think that all the NI products got nice presets......
And Tera got good presets, and D'Cota too..

If I can be honest..... then I think that all the products from Linplug have bad soundquality.
It seems like all the of their plugins need some FX to sound big....
I never get that feeling with NI stuff or Z3t4+
Just my 2 cents

safeaim wrote:

If I can be honest..... then I think that all the products from Linplug have bad soundquality. Just my 2 cents

Just to counter your opinion there, but I think delta lll sounds fantastic..especially with the presets made by lunasol (who by the way, also did some for z3ta ).

I think D'Cota is my favourite (specially for having this ! button (Randomizer)) for its presets. I also find the interface very inspirational.

A quick question. Has anyone tried Steinberg's Plex?

jim

Quote:

if you want instomatic dutch trance machine

I think that's doing Albino an injustice, it's alot more than just a 'dutch trance machine'! The sound design is excellent and possibilities are endless, it's an allround great synth.

6.

arcturus wrote:

A quick question. Has anyone tried Steinberg's Plex? jim

Yes I have Plex too. Its an interesting idea, but I must admit I have not had much sucess with developing patches from scratch. Tweaking the presets is fun, but my own creations always seem to be pretty bland (probably my lack of talent rather than Plex's fault )

arcturus, I use Plex too. It requires you to think differently. Whether that's good or bad is something you won't know until spending time with it. The sample data is ok, nothing better and could have been vastly better with a bit more diversity. But I've found by using the LFO page you can make some wonderfully evocative sounds.

I'm in the minority when it comes to liking this synth.

Wanted to throw my bits into the ring.

After trashing Plex over and over (I still hate how quiet it is), I have to say that some of the sounds I've created are slowly creeping into my mixes. Plex is more organic sounding than the others mentioned here so its not a fair comparison.

Albino's presets are the absolute bomb. You can't help but create with them.

D'Cota is total crap. I've missed the boat entirely on this synth. All it does is hang notes in Logic (I'm not alone in experiencing this problem), the sounds are too over produced (i.e. you can't use them without somebody saying "Hey, that's D'Cota"), and it is the hardest and most non-intuitive synth to program that I have ever used. Maybe if the freaking notes would stop sticking I could mess with it more but its not worth the headache.

safeaim wrote:

If I can be honest..... then I think that all the products from Linplug have bad soundquality. It seems like all the of their plugins need some FX to sound big.... I never get that feeling with NI stuff or Z3t4+ Just my 2 cents

Same here, the albino presets are well done and the architecture of the synth is good as well, but unfortunately it lacks on sound quality...
A friend is using that synth and when he asks me what to improve on his tracks I almost every time find the albino sounds and advice to replace them with a better sounding versions of the patches...

Summa wrote:

safeaim wrote: If I can be honest..... then I think that all the products from Linplug have bad soundquality. It seems like all the of their plugins need some FX to sound big.... I never get that feeling with NI stuff or Z3t4+ Just my 2 cents Same here, the albino presets are well done and the architecture of the synth is good as well, but unfortunately it lacks on sound quality... A friend is using that synth and when he asks me what to improve on his tracks I almost every time find the albino sounds and advice to replace them with a better sounding versions of the patches...

I find your opinions very interesting..could you possibly describe WHAT it is about the albino(delta 3 engine?) sound quality that lacks?

I agree that ElementP, Alpha and DaOrgan are all utter poo but not RMIII, Delta, Albino, or CronoX2

Summa wrote:

Same here, the albino presets are well done and the architecture of the synth is good as well, but unfortunately it lacks on sound quality...

Hey Summa, clean out your ears!

Albino sounds great, man, real lush!

Quote:

I agree that ElementP, Alpha and DaOrgan are all utter poo but not RMIII, Delta, Albino, or CronoX2

Wow, someone else shares my view that Element P is rubbish, mind you perhaps the 'P' stands for 'Poo', you never know.

Anyway I think Albino is outstanding, although I think it's a bit limited, trance trance trance, it's quite difficult to manipulate the presets to make anything other than trance sounds - mainly this is with the lead/pad sounds, i think the basses are cracking and use them in nearly everything I do (musically that is, they be no use to me when fishing or playing golf now would they?)

I really shouldn't put Da Organ and Alpha in poo category, as Da organ does have a decent rotary section and Alpha is based on big brother delta, just a VERY trimmed down version, but Element p, absolutely, pure rubbish..I don't like to actually bag a synth, and hey, i own all of linplug's stuff, but i can't find a redeeming feature in this synth..I went through every single preset and spent hours tweaking and could not come up with ONE single sound that had any depth..just all tinny poo poo lol..

Re Albino being fro Tranceheads, YEAH

Element P takes very little CPU to drive it, so what I do is use three instances, slight pan left right and centre plus a little tweaking to the synths to beef up the sound. This is real easy to do in FL Studion (by use of layers) along with a little chorus or reverb and off you go.

Spe3d

While Albino has the best song-friendly patches, Rhino and ABSynth has the best overall patches. Some of them are amazing.

Robert

In my opinion, z3ta+'s presets are a little more experimental, while the presets in Albino are more easily useable. The good thing about the 2 of them is that with either one of them, just a little tweak here or there gives you something in between - useable, and interesting.

I'd love to see RP do a preset bank for z3ta+

Quote:

I'd love to see RP do a preset bank for z3ta+

Oh FUCK YEAH!!!!

Rob, are you reading

I have to admit that Z3ta+ is my most favourite synth ever that I own a copy of. There is not a lot that cannot be done with it, really wacky stuff or more mellow. There are tones of presets that come with it (640) and many to download.

To get the basic sounds of other synths there are many waves to choose from right from the beginning as well as modify these or add your own.

Brilliant

Spe3d

But the Albino is one of the hospital cleanest synth I ever heard, makes a lot of cream and milk but cannot be dirty.

Do you mean the pads it produces or the basses?


~ingo

Have they fixed the issues with Logic Audio for Mac yet? I've put off buying it until then.

Hi there LJ,

I've been playing with it in Logic 6.1, and all's well, except... it's quite taxing on the CPU (I'm on a single 867). When I play a 3-note chord repeatedly on a big patch, the sound craps out. At first, I thought it was a bug, but it's just Logic having a 'tilt' (pinball). The problem is solved by reducing the polyphony on Albino to 3 notes. This same problem will also be resolved by the purchase of a... G5!!

I plan to grab albino friday, so I will reply back......to me, the 100 something presets in the demo, really are not helping this thread for me(I thought they weren't to good honestly).......so I will hold my judgement till I get it

o.t. are the 75 buyable presets THAT good for 30$ or no? (650 seems enough)

I have to fall in the "don't like albino sound quality" category. To my ears there's something thin and flaky about the sound. Maybe it's just me but I think z3ta+ is much more solid sounding.

Count me in on the "I like Albino too".

Do I think that it can be used in every context? No. Is it better suited to certain sounds than others? Yes (but which synth isn't). I don't find the sound of Albino to be big and full necessarily. However, I find it clean and lush. I do not find it thin to the point where it is grating.

In fact, sometimes a little thinness is a lot better than an arrangement full of big-sounding, full, in-your-face sounding patches all lumped together (can we say mush?).

For what it is and to compliment other synths, Albino is excellent and, as mentioned in this thread, there are a bunch of excellent, well-programmed patches that come with this puppy.

I'm with Ned.

Is the Albino really that thin then? Why has it gone up in price?

Spe3d

Quote:

In fact, sometimes a little thinness is a lot better than an arrangement full of big-sounding, full, in-your-face sounding patches all lumped together (can we say mush?).

Albino and DeltaIII: They are a good idea, but personally I don't like them, not because I find them almost trance-only synths, but also the filters seems to be not in order, I don't ever get a clean sound, the sound can never get great unless i use a EQ on it, that is not a plus, and the GUI doesn't actually scream "PROGRAM ME!", I would like a improved GUI, it doesn't look very pro, I've seen free plugins that look better., and of course, some better filters.
Once again it's the trance-look alike presets that brings the synth down, yes it can be used for other kinda styles but of course it's the sound, that is the most important thing in a synth.
I wouldn't buy it, I will go so far to say that I wouldn't even use it if it was free ...
EDIT:
Sorry, ok I made have gone over the line, it's not that bad....
But it's free speech here, right ?
If it was free I still wouldn't use it, because it doesn't furfill my needs..
Sorry if I have offended anybody.........
But they are in a buisness, they are supposed to handle that it exist better synths, You don't see Fiat owners complain when a BMW-fella says:
My car is better than yours......
I've read the all reviews from Albino and DeltaIII and I'm suprised how many people don't hear the same that I hear, or maybe the just like that little sound, I prefer a bigger and fuller sound.......

Man, this thread sure is a good eye-opener! One person complains that the sound is too clean, and another says it's not clean enough...

I don't know if I'm being too PC (no, no, not a computer!), but coming on to a thread just to bash a synth and say stuff like, "I wouldn't use it if it was free", is totally rude. If I see a thread about a synth that I couldn't care for, I don't get involved, or if I do, it's because it's buggy and/or the company is ripping people off.

As for the Trance focus, well, I don't write trance music. But I can easily see Albino being used in one of my upcoming ambient, drum n bass, downtempo, elektro, electronica, electroacoustic pieces.

Hi Spe3D,

Spe3D wrote:

Is the Albino really that thin then? Why has it gone up in price?

No. I guess that I used a poor choice of words. It is not thin IMHO (at least not in a bad way). However, if you're looking to get big sounds like Atmosphere or Moog Modular, I don't think that you will achieve your goal with Albino.

Some people here are saying that it is a trance-only synth. Again, I'm with Ned on this. It's sounds can be used for a wide variety of styles and it is completely up to you how it gets used.

Download the demo and see what you think. I could care less about what someone else thinks about a tool that I use to make music. What works for me doesn't work for the next person. You need to make your own choice. I, myself, like Albino.

wow . . . . .

I'm with Ned on this one . . . . . . .

A Synth is what you make it . . . . . . If all you see is Trance music then your pretty limited in creativity.

I don't write much trance music but I'm doing a Jazz Fusion Piece with just Albino and Drums . . . should be done soon. Also doing a percussion piece with Albino due to their filters . . . which kinda of suprises me someone didn't like them:(

I think their filters are one of their strong points.

Oh Well . . . . . good luck everyone !

PS - By the way Ned . . I went to your site and listened to some of your music . . . WOW . . . really great and very talented . . . .I Love it ! !

ljpro1
Larry Ortega
LJ Productions

Thanks for clarifying that Nando,

Albino has been on my hit list for some time; pondering has cost me, (well at least not yet) as the price went up.

To be honest I have tried the Demo a while back and thought the sounds were rich sounding, smooth, calm and pleasant. I need something like that to compliment my rather outlandish sounds.

Thanks again

Spe3d

Spe3D wrote:

Is the Albino really that thin then? Why has it gone up in price? Spe3d

Good question, good question.....maybe because of their new marketing strategy: put a box around it and sell it through stores -> the Placebo FX.

Quote:

Good question, good question.....maybe because of their new marketing strategy: put a box around it and sell it through stores -> the Placebo FX.

Yep!

I understand the marketing strategy particularly in light of the RP pair up on this synth, I also hold a great deal of respect for the company. This among many other reasons is why I have not launched into a full on moan about the price going up, instead I am going around sulking.

I think it’s a worthy addition to any collection but wont be in my collection for a long time yet (moan moan) placebos were never any good with me. I have probably got an eye for quality when I hear it (if that makes sense).

(Not that chopping up MP3’s is a good example of that; heck I wished I had not entered that comp.)

Mind you it has its advantages, I get to really explore the abilities of what I already own.

Waffle, moan

Spe3d

I have a bank of 12 patches for the Albino at:
http://www.freewebs.com/teksonik/synthpatches.htm
I don't think they are trance.Check 'em out!

I don't do trance but I've used Albino for something (leads, pads, bass - a wide variety of sounds) in almost every track I've done since I bought it.

I think the assets of Albino need to be considered in context. That is to say, in the context of a song, not from listening to the sounds in isolation. There's something about it (and Rob's presets of course) which makes it absolutely the easiest synth I've come across for inserting into a mix with little or no fuss. I don't think that's thinness, though.

Delta is a bit different to me - I tend to use it more when I want a slightly harsher sound that I want to lift out of a mix.

Anyway, the bottom line is, of course ... download Tek's patches

ljpro1 wrote:

PS - By the way Ned . . I went to your site...

(Mutual Admiration Moment)

Larry, you're no slouch yourself! I really enjoyed your Beat It Up piece! So musical, so alive, so joyous! I also was touched by your piano piece, as my mom also passed away in 2001, a few weeks before yours...

Anyhow, if anyone is interested in hearing what I'm talking about, visit ljpro1's website for yourself http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/130/larry_ortega.html, and listen to an excellent drummer/percussionist do his thing!

PS: really like your home-made samples! The piece that features them is really rewarding if one listens to the whole thing!!!

PPS: Larry, please send me an email so you can keep me updated on your activities!: ned@nedfx.com

I got the downloable version last night, and yeah it is very good indeed.

Mighty Hero would it not have been better to send Peter an email with your concerns rather than a public forum display. I am sure Peter does not what his servers attacked by a load of people trying to find these links even if they are off site, and think about this before a reply.

Spe3d

let me PM him then.

(if it's YOUR site, one would think they know what link they are sending out)


and I was replying to this thread, because it does sound good

Quote:

let me PM him then.

Good point, Sorry Mighty Hero,

Spe3d

Oh! And another thing Might Hero, I agree and understand what your saying there. You just don’t know these days who is who and what I think would be a shame as you indeed point out is that Peter could well be loosing money on this oversight.

Hope it gets worked out,

Respect!

Spe3d