My take on ReFX Nexus

[dalor]

EDIT: another pointless post for a pointless thread.

[afreshcupofjoe]

NEXUS! Yay I win!

[op519]

And is it my imagination but is Purity the same as Superwave Tarkus - in other words Varporware? It was announced in February 2006 with "will be sold soon", now we have end of the year. Definitely reminds me of Musiclab and that eternal "RealGuitar Electric Edition"... er... postponing phenomenon. Well at least there's no link to purchase this thing on the page.

Purity has been available since 28th November 2005.

About the other stuff (ie. Nexus) I'm staying out of it. I don't want to be banned from the refx forums

[Foxglove]

At first I was going to comment on the fact that the lack of controls (LFO) in NEXUS wasn't such a huge flaw if one follows the tradition of the ROMpler. But while I was typing my post, I thought about the ROMplers that I use, mainly Atmosphere and Trilogy, and then reflected on how often I use the added controls, and futhermore, how relieved I was when they added host sync to the LFOs in a later update.

So I guess it might fare well with the preset junkies, and although many of use do use presets, I'm pretty sure that your more-than-average KVR member is comfortable enough with basic synthesis to want more control out of it.

[brokenwind]

Brokenwind is an obvious stooge of reFx. Just read the first post in this thread... there's WAY too much detailed knowledge of the product, it's presets, competition and development. Is Brokenwind meant to have got all that from a few MP3s ?

I put ReFx alongside Arturia: both use stooges.

A stooge because I know so much about how it works? Not exactly. The reason I compared it to an E-MU XL-1 is because I owned and used that for a while and Nexus strikes me as very similar in concept and genre. I also learned how ROM synthesis works. Had you asked me a couple years ago, I would have called Nexus a wavetable synthesizer because I didn't know the difference between ROMpler, PCM synth, and wavetable.

As for knowing about Nexus itself? Well...no I didn't go only by the MP3 demos. I also went by what was posted on the website and the discussions in articles on this very board (before Nexus was released and the discussions turned to crap).

I waited anxiously like everyone else to see what Nexus wanted to be. If I wanted to be a stooge, I'd be a stooge for Access

As for Freeform's post: Yes, Nexus is a VST stuffed with samples. You can get the same sounds from sample CDs if you would like. I believe the existence of synths like Nexus is convenience. The convenience of having a plug and play collection of already-set-up sounds with decent effects that you can stick into a project and use. I personally love those kind of synths. If you want to manage sample CDs, then that's ok. You have the patience or desire to do it while I and many others don't. As for the price, of course it is going to be higher than a sample CD because of the convenience of having it all ready. It's like saying a burger is cheaper if you make it yourself - it is because you didn't have to pay someone else to make it for you.

I'm not a stooge for ReFX. Of course I don't have a way of proving it and I can't force you to believe me, but that doesn't bother me.

-edit-

root via the web, that'd be a neat trick or a really poorly configured server Razz

i found your theoretical hacker jesting quite comical though. please keep it up.

It was indeed a sarcastic joke. The difficulty of executing such a hack isn't that hard if circumstances are right. The specific security hole that I thought of when making the remark was a buffer overflow vulnerability in OpenSSH that existed a while back. The vulnerability allowed you to gain a root shell via SSH which then allowed you to run any command on the server. As far as I know, you had to allow root logins to begin with for the exploit to work. I strongly doubt the server hosting this site has an OpenSSH version that old.

End Rant(tm)

[Compyfox]

A stooge because I know so much about how it works? Not exactly. The reason I compared it to an E-MU XL-1 is because I owned and used that for a while and Nexus strikes me as very similar in concept and genre.

As EMU XL-1 owner myself, I'd say they're both far from each other. Sure the XL-1 is a rompler but if I look at the specifics and what was already written in magazines about the Nexus, the XL-1 has a bit more to offer.

For example you can do more in-depth editing, create your own layers, create your own patching and routing (though this is hard without an editor!), you have a tad more filters, etc. And this all in a small ROM board. Okay you have no fancy trance gate, but still.

Also the sound is different in my opinion. The XL-1 is what you make out of it (electronic, noise, techno, pop, etc), the Nexus however aimes for a specific and humongus sound. So all in all, you can't really compare those two units with each other.

[koolkeys]

It's ironic, how out of everyone in this thread, those bashing brokenwind and then brokenwind himself, that brokenwind seems to know more about what he is talking about then about everyone else. He at least has places to have learned what he is saying, and actually understands the product, etc. Most others here are all going on pure speculation and total unproveable points.

The fact that some(most) of those bashing Nexus are probably just doing it for attention because it is funny to them. In reality, it is getting really old. So if someone stands up and decides to go against the grain, they MUST be working for Nexus. At least that seems to be the case.

I have nothing to do with Nexus or reFX. I'm just looking from the outside of this all and it's really not funny any more. Ok, so you hate reFX, Michael Fleps, and Nexus. We all know. Can't you get over it or did Nexus do something bad to you? Is it your life's goal to bring reFX down? Considering that they are independent developers who have provided quality products for years to people here, including great customer service according to the posts I have read, yet you still keep trying.

You're not going to hurt the company that bad, I would guess. KVR is only a part of their overall userbase and audience.

Here I go again, another endless rant. I really wish I didn't have to work tonight. I could be sleeping right now.

Brent

[FaX]

Brokenwind is an obvious stooge of reFx. Just read the first post in this thread... there's WAY too much detailed knowledge of the product, it's presets, competition and development. Is Brokenwind meant to have got all that from a few MP3s ?

I put ReFx alongside Arturia: both use stooges.

A stooge because I know so much about how it works? Not exactly. The reason I compared it to an E-MU XL-1 is because I owned and used that for a while and Nexus strikes me as very similar in concept and genre. I also learned how ROM synthesis works. Had you asked me a couple years ago, I would have called Nexus a wavetable synthesizer because I didn't know the difference between ROMpler, PCM synth, and wavetable.

As for knowing about Nexus itself? Well...no I didn't go only by the MP3 demos. I also went by what was posted on the website and the discussions in articles on this very board (before Nexus was released and the discussions turned to crap).

I waited anxiously like everyone else to see what Nexus wanted to be. If I wanted to be a stooge, I'd be a stooge for Access

As for Freeform's post: Yes, Nexus is a VST stuffed with samples. You can get the same sounds from sample CDs if you would like. I believe the existence of synths like Nexus is convenience. The convenience of having a plug and play collection of already-set-up sounds with decent effects that you can stick into a project and use. I personally love those kind of synths. If you want to manage sample CDs, then that's ok. You have the patience or desire to do it while I and many others don't. As for the price, of course it is going to be higher than a sample CD because of the convenience of having it all ready. It's like saying a burger is cheaper if you make it yourself - it is because you didn't have to pay someone else to make it for you.

I'm not a stooge for ReFX. Of course I don't have a way of proving it and I can't force you to believe me, but that doesn't bother me.

-edit-

root via the web, that'd be a neat trick or a really poorly configured server Razz

i found your theoretical hacker jesting quite comical though. please keep it up.

It was indeed a sarcastic joke. The difficulty of executing such a hack isn't that hard if circumstances are right. The specific security hole that I thought of when making the remark was a buffer overflow vulnerability in OpenSSH that existed a while back. The vulnerability allowed you to gain a root shell via SSH which then allowed you to run any command on the server. As far as I know, you had to allow root logins to begin with for the exploit to work. I strongly doubt the server hosting this site has an OpenSSH version that old.

End Rant(tm)

Oh come one the EMu boards have multipliers , function generators , a full modular patch matrix , way more filters , lag generators , tempo syncable LFO's and Envelopes for starters, not to mention loop point modulation , various envelope configurations and the like.
The raw waveforms in those synths may have been sampled and in rom but they where and are easily as flexible as a modular synth prgramming wise in right hands also.
I used to own an Emu Audity 2000 and that baby has some serious programming mojo under the hood.
And don't get me started on either the Morpheus or UltraProteus either.

[Cabinfever]

Brokenwind, I think it very interesting the things that stooges have in common:

1) They become a member around the time that a particular issue blows up
2) They post almost exclusively about that issue
3) Once that issue dies down they never post again
4) They rarely have any sort of email address, website or other profile information

Hmmm, well now that's you isn't it ?

I regard the pursuit and unmasking of stooges an important task. We found at least three with Arturia, and I think that was useful for everyone - even Arturia.

[advaya]

I regard the pursuit and unmasking of stooges an important task. We found at least three with Arturia, and I think that was useful for everyone - even Arturia.

Wow mate... Such a noble cause, let me be the first to thank you for keeping KVR such a safe place.

[koolkeys]

Well, point number one doesn't match up. He registered before all this started to blow up.

On number two, if you don't post much, or only have a few posts, they very well could be the only topic posted about. I saw a member with a two digit member number just recently make his first post.

Number three, there is no way to tell. Only time will show that one.

As for number four, that fits half of the members here. I do understand what you are saying, and it is true. But that doesn't automatically make him a stooge. Heck, he seems to know about hacking a bit. Maybe he is paranoid because he knows how easy it is, so he leaves those things blank.

It's entirely possible that I'm wrong. But without anything to really show it, who am I to accuse him of being a stooge?

I'm just trying to be fair. I have no idea who he is, and don't claim to. I just know that there is no REAL evidence, only coincidence, for your accusations. People are jut so up in arms about the whole Nexus deal, that they are acting like headhunters and trying to take every angle they can to make the company look bad, when the vast majority of them have no dealings with the company or the product. They've never been harmed by the company, or treated wrong. They just seem to do it for sport. Hardly sounds fair for people who have no idea about your product to be constantly criticizing it and also yourself. I imagine that it would be frustrating as a dev.

I just want someone to give one good reason for as much bashing that has been done here. Not something like "he charges for skins". So what? How does that hurt you? And I'm not talking about "the product sucks" cause nobody here has any idea about that, including myself. The thing is, nobody CAN criticize fairly, as there is no demo available, and it's not exactly against any rules to charge for skins.

Ok, I just downloaded the demo for the newest Splinter Cell on my new laptop. I'm going to try it out. I'm done for the night(unless the game doesn't work, then I'll be bored).


Brent

[No name]

Dear lawd people give it up already, those who are against Nexus will remain that way, and those who are not will remain that way as well. What are you all trying to do, win your opponents over? Since when has such a thing happened on KVR?

[cain]

[Freeform]

If you want to manage sample CDs, then that's ok. You have the patience or desire to do it while I and many others don't.

Consider the structure of Nexus for a moment. The patches are set up into categories. When you buy this, after hearing a short sound demo, you are buying it under the preconcieved hopeful notion that the rest of the sounds won't sound like crap.

Now, not including different filter settings, and the appearance of headroom noise appearing depending on the parameter values of those setting, you are going to spend collectively much more time to test out all of the samples created by a sound creator with much less time under their belt than someone like, say Akai, and collectively you are also relying on the judgement of a small team, rather than the collective judgement of an entire, well established corporation like Akai.

Also, if we view the playing field of sample cds as far as targeting specifics is concerned, alternatively, you can purchase an entire sample cd targeted as specifically the area you need, ie for trance producers "Supersaws! Akai sample cd.". Now on the other side of this, we have the reFX Nexus, which is targeted at many different genres/sounds, which may not collectively be the users area of interest. While diversity is important in ROM based instruments, the flexibility given to a user in the sample cd scenario is much more ultimately efficent than having internal preset effects and a locked ROM bank in my opinion.

- Ben

[echophex]

I bought Nexus, waiting for it to arrive.
No I probably wont buy any skins....I wont be having sex with it so looks dont matter.
No I have never bought ANYTHING from reFX before.

Yes I make music.
Isnt that what all you people whining ought to be doing?!??!?!
Or has your creativity been sucked dry so bad your now trying to suck out another persons?