Im downloading the deno now, and have a few questions.


I dont have any interest in building synths, hence the reason im looking at Sessions. Is there a big library of (pref free) synths available? Are they any good, or amateur rubbish?

How stable is it in Orion Platinum? I had a lot of trouble with Carbon last year and deleted it.

Its a lot of money, $250, is it worth it?


Any other thoughts welcome, thanks

Any links to free librarys would be good too, so i can try them in the 30 day demo.

Vurt will reply soon,
you cant download anything from the lib till you are regged.

happy new year Dave

topaz wrote:

Vurt will reply soon, you cant download anything from the lib till you are regged. happy new year Dave

Thanks mate. Is there no other stuff about apart from NI libs then?

is it worth for 250$? well as always it depends on your needs but I'd say yes,d efinitely.

By 250$ you get a collection of great synths, from which i would point out:

Junatik: a great junoesque sounding synth, great for basses (just amazing) and abrasive pads.

Carbon and Kaleidon: brother synths with an unbelievably good filter with which you can make amazing atmospheric pads, among other things.

3x: from the user library, one of the best substractive synths I've listened to.

MS-20: a very good substractive synth that emulates the Korg.
and a list that amounts up to 20 or so great sounding synths.

I haven't regretted it.

yeh tons, Erics stuff for starters

http://ew.panicnow.net/Reaktor.htm

and Willk's stuff now free

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=61188&highlight=reaktor

Kriminal wrote:

topaz wrote: Vurt will reply soon, you cant download anything from the lib till you are regged. happy new year Dave Thanks mate. Is there no other stuff about apart from NI libs then?

one of the ebst musical purchases I ever made. And for me it'sno even about the synths. It's about the sample manglers, rythm machines, sample machines, kick ass reverb effects, etc etc. It can do anything, from huge kicks to laien soundscapes.

Oh, and it's 179$, not 250$


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=BXhPqaQJb1! -605270437?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=SearchBar&A=sea rch&Q=*&shs=reaktor&image.x=2&image.y=6

Montana wrote:

one of the ebst musical purchases I ever made. And for me it'sno even about the synths. It's about the sample manglers, rythm machines, sample machines, kick ass reverb effects, etc etc. It can do anything, from huge kicks to laien soundscapes. Oh, and it's 179$, not 250$ http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=BXhPqaQJb1! -605270437?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=SearchBar&A=sea rch&Q=*&shs=reaktor&image.x=2&image.y=6

You can use Sessions as an FX Insert/Send?

"
You can use Sessions as an FX Insert/Send"

uh hell yeah. You wouldnt believe the shit it can do. It can make any sound in the world. Reator has effects ensembles that load up like any other vst effect.

It has finalizers, surround reverbs, analog filter boxes, spring tank revebrs, chorus's, you name it, Reaktor can do it. Want an alien steel rain storm to envelop a flute track? Reaktor can do it. Want to make it sound like your lead synth is floating through space for forever, twisting and shimmering like a struggling minnow throughout time? REaktor can do it.

of course, Reaktor Sessions have synths, samplers, effects...and all are great actually!

I've had session for about 6 months following advise from Vurt and others on this forum and would recommend it to anyone,
There are enough worthwhile free synths/fx on the NI user library to keep anyone happy for years (literally). The quality of some of these is superb I've downloaded 2 new ones this week (Hegel and OB-Xa) and in my opinion they sound just like the moog modular and Oberheim they are emulating.
If your into 'algorythmic' / weird stuff / sample mangling its a must have.
The drum machines are excellent (especially Limelight).
I got mine off ebay for 100GBP and there's no problem with transfering ownership.
Only moan is... its CPU heavy.

I like Reaktor and would recommend it to anyone. Lots of great synths and effects. I will say that even if you don't want to build stuff, Reaktor is still more flexible than Sessions. Instead of running multiple Reaktor instances as inserts, for instance, you can run all the effects in one window with Reaktor. It has basic modules for things like mixers, etc. If you have energy XT, it's a little like that as far as modular routing goes. It's one way to save on CPU. I do recommend pumping up the sampling rate of Reaktor itself as high as is reasonable for your system (I use 88.1), because the sound becomes noticeably different substnatially better at higher sampling rates. You can set the sampling rate for Reaktor separately from that of the host.

Have fun.

-c

there's more than enough great free synths (and fxs) in the library.. they will keep you busy for many months (years) to come

you wouldn't believe the FX!
they're incredible.

Krim, get onboard, man..

At the very least it'll give me a chance to answer some of YOUR questions..

Seriously, you'll dig the hell out of it, & yeah, not many problems in Orion, GREAT fx that you'll put to excellent use..

Reaktor's an awesome supplement to OPlat..

And you'll be able to use my ensembles as well..

Especially with the way you build sampler instruments..

Take it to the next level, man..

I think that Carbon had some problems with the free version that appeared on cover disks. Seems to be more stable as a reaktor ensemble.

the Spacemaster reverb is very very nice. I got easyverb recently...spacemaster actually uses less cpu than easyverb. Oh, and it sounds nice too.

Previous reaktor versions sounded kinda samey to me. But the newest version rocks. I think it helps that they got Doctor Sync of SyncModular fame working for them now.

please note:

the demo is at v1.04 , from 10.15.03 ...
you may experience some frustration working with this version ...

sessions is now at v1.13 , and much improved ...

in all fairness , you may find the cpu hit , for some .ens , to be a tad excessive ...

the user library , accessible to registered users , contains , at this time , 1856 .ens for use in the program ...

in addition , there are many third party
.ens available , both free , and commercial ...

as others have stated , reaktor has many outstanding fx available , as well as synths , samplers , and hybrids ...

given your general stylee preferences , you will not find uses for all of these
.ens , but i'd imagine you would get alot of mileage from many of them ...

i'd love to see what you could do with some of the beat .ens ...

the demo . afaik , will only run those .ens included in the demo download ...

normal wrote:

the demo . afaik , will only run those .ens included in the demo download ...

Correct, normal, & as such, it does little to display the vast potentials Reaktor has..

This is one case where I would encourage you to take the word of your peers & not your ears..There's simply NO way that the demo library is able to adequately represent the 1,800+ objects in the User Library..

Knowing you, I would say that sooner or later you are gonna be tempted to mess with ensemble structures, especially custom samplers..But Sessions is a great way to get your feet wet, & if you need any modding done, to an extent I can do that for you as well as ew..

A few ensembles DO have a higher CPU, but that's becuase they do mind-bogglingly cool things..

Trust me..get it.

I'll just echo what's been said here,Dave...get it.You won't regret it
ew

Notron User wrote:

Previous reaktor versions sounded kinda samey to me. But the newest version rocks. I think it helps that they got Doctor Sync of SyncModular fame working for them now.

He's been working for them since before 3 came out-he had a lot of input on 3 as well as 4.
ew

It's the FREAKING BEST.

You could not possibly be disappointed with Reaktor Sessions. No way.

I've had it for a little over a year now and I never get bored of it.

The FX is awesome ... this is my primary use with it. I just picked up a new awesome FX called Herman Filterbank. I don't know how faithful it is to Sherman Filterbank but it sounds amazing, it just completely destroys your sound. Unregonizable.

And this other filter called MenaceFilter. 4 filters, 2 comb, and LP and HP. And these filters aren't granny's filters, they mean serious business. Cover your ears.

And the delays! Don't get me started on the delays. There are just too many.

There is a MAJOR problem with it... it's a guilt trip. I don't feel right when I use some of the massive FX that just make a track for me.

I've also never used any of the synths/effects it came with except for Steampipe. That ones realy cool. I find it to be bit of a CPU hog, especially with the packaged reverb. I mostly use really complex ensembles though. If I want something simple I'll use Classic effects.

I prefer something from G-Media for analog emulations, but when you want cutting edge futuristic sounds it's Reaktor, no question.

OK, someone point me to the cheapest UK supplier

Kriminal wrote:

OK, someone point me to the cheapest UK supplier

dunno if you're serious or not, but you should be

cobalt wrote:

I will say that even if you don't want to build stuff, Reaktor is still more flexible than Sessions. Instead of running multiple Reaktor instances as inserts, for instance, you can run all the effects in one window with Reaktor.

You can do that in Sessions as well-just save the instruments separate from the ensembles they're part of.Then,create a new ensemble and add the instruments you want...
ew

CypherOne wrote:

Kriminal wrote: OK, someone point me to the cheapest UK supplier dunno if you're serious or not, but you should be

I am, im gonna play with the demo till the end of the month, and buy it then. I have an Audiophile soundcard being held for me locally, so with both those, my PC will be boosted considerbly

i'm also eyeing up Sessions too, but one question in regards to upgrading, am I correct in assuming that the electronic instrument add-on packs are fully compatible with sessions? On a technical side-note, what are the vocoding capabilities like, as I do freelance sound-design work i tend to use vocoding a lot to create a number of exotic sounds, I currently use Reasons 512FFT, I take it Reaktor can do some higher resolutions. I have the Carbon demo, and while it was buggy and CPU intensive (well, for my computer at the time, now running a P4 3.0 GHz), it was great fun.

also, how much are the Session users missing out on new synths which use new macros and structures - are Session users able to use synths with macros etc that didn't ship with the original product?

£150 seems to be best UK price from the big boys AFAICS

slainte rob

pricer wrote:

also, how much are the Session users missing out on new synths which use new macros and structures - are Session users able to use synths with macros etc that didn't ship with the original product?

Sessions will load any ensemble containing any macro that wasn't saved in a newer version of Reaktor then the one the user has on his/her own machine..

But I still need my R3 dongle to load the old R3 stuff I should add..which once saved in R4 format will load okey dokey..

I got mine 2nd hand for £80 inc p+p soundonsound

http://www.soundonsound.com/readersads/Search.php?session=bce5e305e593 2bf8f2dc2bed225a523f&session=bce5e305e5932bf8f2dc2bed225a523f&ProdDesc =reaktor&Cat=24&Manufacturer=0&ManufName=&NoDays=30&OrderCat=1&OrderDa tAZ=2

one there for £70 right now.

Kriminal wrote:

OK, someone point me to the cheapest UK supplier

after you register be sure to check out the thread on the Reaktor user forum called "vote for ensemble of the year".

There were quite a few excellent ensembles that slipped under my radar this year including white grains, orange grains, and rontgen (all made by florian erdle). Be sure to check those out. Heres a link to th thread but Im not sure if you can read it if your not registered.
http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=1576&upper=index.php?id =forum_us%26type=2&lower=forum/showthread.php%3Fs%3D62f0bb2fa3395f7634 b04e063ba7ac1e%26threadid%3D15471

and.....dont forget to try out "thriller" ....its amazing

pricer wrote:

i'm also eyeing up Sessions too, but one question in regards to upgrading, am I correct in assuming that the electronic instrument add-on packs are fully compatible with sessions?

Yep-they are.

Quote:

On a technical side-note, what are the vocoding capabilities like, as I do freelance sound-design work i tend to use vocoding a lot to create a number of exotic sounds, I currently use Reasons 512FFT, I take it Reaktor can do some higher resolutions.

Nope-you're limited to 64 bands.However,you can change slope,offset,peak release ,etc. so the 64 bands really isn't that much of a liability.After all,the hardware vocoders that I'm aware had less bands than Reaktor's.Besides which,if 64 isn't enough for you,if you have the full version of Reaktor you can build your own.
ew

Quick question and sorry if this is easily answered by reading "stuff" elsewhere... I'm feeling lazy

Does Sessions allow one to swap out/change/load new samples in the sample table (when an ensemble is using one of course)?

Of course it does
ew

OzoneJunkie wrote:

Quick question and sorry if this is easily answered by reading "stuff" elsewhere... I'm feeling lazy Does Sessions allow one to swap out/change/load new samples in the sample table (when an ensemble is using one of course)?

yep basically you can do everything the big boys can except alter ensembles or build your own

still if your a musician let someone else build your toys (thats what i do and im more than happy with sessions)

the quality of the Reaktor fx are the great surprise in picking it up.

the odd surprise is the number of auto-generator self-starting ensembles. i'm not sure how others use these, but rather than let them run free and use up cpu and control them with track volume envelopes, I record a 2 or 4 bar wav file, acidize it and put it in an audio player, often mangling along the way.

full track freeze if sync is assured is another option with some hosts

Reaktor doesn't have the highly efficient cpu usage that say absynth an dfm7 have. it's more in line or above something like albino or rhino. probably because of its modular structure.

so i'm just saying freeze or some other method of capture is a very useful method with Reaktor

"the quality of the Reaktor fx are the great surprise in picking it up."


totally agree about this. I had no idea, and they are one of my favorite things about it.

soulkraka wrote:

Im not sure if you can read it if your not registered.

Yes, you can read the NI forum if you are not registered.

vurt wrote:

yep basically you can do everything the big boys can except alter ensembles or build your own

Actually, you can build and alter your own ensembles with Reaktor Session, you just can't design the modules from scratch. You have to find (or create) instrument files from existing ensembles, and you can wire them yourself. It's can get tricky, but I've done a few using Junatik and some effects.

I'm sure the pros like Ew and Bluedud can walk you through it.

Cheeso wrote:

I'm sure the pros like Ew and Bluedud can walk you through it.

LOL!

Who's that guy?!

HAHA-I meant BlueDAD!

Damn lazy fingers...

Oh, by the way, Sickle, I finally got the Vanguard stuff sorted. Thanks alot man.

Cheeso wrote:

Oh, by the way, Sickle, I finally got the Vanguard stuff sorted. Thanks alot man.

Mike's a cool guy. It was just a busy time for everyone. Glad it's all sorted..He DID tell you you also got a license for Trasher II, right? I forgot all about that one..

You know, I saw that, but I didn't download it because I didn't pay for that...but hey, if I got it free, I'll take it!

Cool!