Two new synths from AIR MusicTech: Vacuum & Loom

[Ingonator]

Just a little FYI, everyone with Live 9 suite or Live with M4L, has got some pace stuff on their computer. Don't know who else uses it, but what I'm trying to say is, it does come from unexpected places. So they may be right to some extend.

This could be correct. Somehow i seemmed to ignore this when installing Live 9 Suite.
Anyway what is that PACE Interlok protection in Vacuum Pro about? C/R or something else? I could not find details so far.


Ingo

[contrast]

I wrote the original version of this post quickly at work. I got home and heavily edited it to fix some typos and bad grammar, and to add some better explanations of things.

I bought Loom, but had to get it refunded. It is indeed 64-bit only, which was my reason for the refund request, as I'm still on a 32 bit DAW. The installer actually gives you an option to install a 32 bit version, but doesn't install a plugin DLL if you pick it. Not sure if they are planning on one for the future, but if so they didn't mention it when I asked for the refund.

The copy protection is the software version of PACE and doesn't require an iLok.

Despite not being able to make regular use of it, I did fire it up in a 64 bit DAW just to check it out. You can have a look at the show and tell video linked earlier if you need an overview of the general concept, so I'll get right to my thoughts.

The main thing that stuck out to me was that the modulation scheme sucks! You can see in the videos that the modules have a knob in the upper left corner, and the other parameters are sliders. Only the knob can be modulated by the three slots on the module. You'd think three slots for one parameter to be overkill, but slot 1 is always an envelope, slot 2 is always an LFO, and slot 3 is always control data like velocity. A poor setup indeed - aside from wasting space, if you want to do something like combining a fast and slow LFO on a knob, you can't.

It keeps getting worse. The other parameters can actually be modulated, but only by using the XY pad on the morph page to interpolate between macro knob states. The macro knobs control preset parameters on the various modules and can't be remapped. Furthermore, you can't actually see what they are changing without switching back to the main page. The XY pad does have a built in LFO that traverses whatever path you've set up on it. The factory presets make extensive use of it, often just having a vertical line set up on the left side to turn the entire mod page into a difficult to route triangle LFO, which in my mind is just further evidence of how many pooches they screwed while dreaming this crap up.

Sorry to write so many words about the modulation setup, but it's one of the worst I've ever seen. The kicker is that there seems to be no technical reason or design limitation that there's not just source-dest-amount controls in place of the three dropdowns per row that are already there. I find it flabbergasting, but YMMV.

The modules themselves are fairly vanilla as far as this kind of thing goes. A few seem quite useless to me - Phrase is basically an arpeggiator hooked up to a sine wave, Random Drops is similarly of questionable usefulness. Tail seemed like an inferior version of Razor's pseudo-reverb. The filters mostly (all?) have frequency as the main knob, so the more unusual parameters are tough to automate. A lot of the other modules also beg for a better modulation scheme.

One of the things I did like was the "start" parameter available in many places that allows lower partials to bypass the effect. There is a module I forgot the name of that's advertised as being percussion oriented which also does some cool things to the partials. The two preset modules in the upper left that define the basic spectrum you're working with also seemed nice.

There is at least one pair of near-duplicates, which are called Peak EQ and Emphasis or something like that. Since they do almost the same thing, you'd like for them to have a different parameter on the modulatable knob but of course that isn't the case. Unfortunately this kind of lack of attention to detail and usefulness sort of permeates the whole plugin - recall the previous mention of the 32 bit option in the installer and the modulation scheme.

I also spent a little time flipping through presets and there were a number of good ones. Obviously if you buy on presets alone, the above concerns mostly don't apply, and I'm sure someone will do a patch demo at some point.

Anyway, I'm sure I come across as quite critical of it, but from the perspective of someone who mostly programs his own patches, I would still recommend giving it a go if you have the chance (tough without a demo, of course...), a 64 bit DAW, and you already have Razor. There are some good ideas in there and maybe you will get on better with the modulation setup than I did. If you don't have Razor, though, I'd have to recommend looking that way first, since it's something like a third of the price and very well thought out.

[jens]

Is Vacuum and Waves Elements the same type of synth?

BTW: this isn't Team AIR going legit is it?

Nope & nope. It's the ex wizoo team (virtual guitarist, hypersonic, wizooverb), ex air/digidesign/avid, now air/period.

ex-MDA as well... Paul Kellett is imo surely one of the most important developers in the history of VST - he's a legend.

[Ingonator]

@contrast:

Many thanks for the explanation about the copy protection and the missing 32-bit version. I guess that version is planned. I had sent an email to them and maybe they will tell more about it.
BTW i am more interested in Vacuum Pro while Loom seems to be interesting too.

Vacuum Pro seems to be quite full featured and with a quite nice sound so if either they do a 32-bit version or i move to 64-bit i would be still interested in it. Besides that the vacuum tube approach seems to make this instantly unique and the different drive circuits seem to be interesting too.


Ingo

[BDeep]

@contrast
Many thanks for taking the time to tell us your thoughts on Loom. Very helpful.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

very good post thanks so much contrast for the constructive well written "review".

I see there are still no demos for these.. i am a bit interested in vacuum, but not so much loom (even before i read the post above)

looking at it makes me dizzy, and i don't need to spend $200 to get 350 presets.. plus i just have a feeling these aren't gonna be huge sellers (i just do, sorry) and command preset packs from the top designers.

However, regardless of vacuum also suffering from a head spinning gui, i really like the demo sounds enough that i am curious to demo it myself when they release an um, DEMO!

the 64 bit only is a first! got to admit, now it's going to be the 32 bit people who want it cursing!

[Ingonator]

got to admit, now it's going to be the 32 bit people who want it cursing!

Indeed!


Ingo

[brok landers]

Is Vacuum and Waves Elements the same type of synth?

BTW: this isn't Team AIR going legit is it?

Nope & nope. It's the ex wizoo team (virtual guitarist, hypersonic, wizooverb), ex air/digidesign/avid, now air/period.

ex-MDA as well... Paul Kellett is imo surely one of the most important developers in the history of VST - he's a legend.

he is, undoubtly. a big loss for the vst world.

[werp]

Now that I've watched Russ Hughes' show and tell, Loom looks kinda fun, I'm a sucker for pretty graphics.
I may have to blow the $199 after all.
Might just check the exchange rate first. I think the Aussie $ has just turned turtle.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

it's under parity now.. basically it dropped almost 10% in a week. official is around 97.7, paypal will really gut you at around 93.5 to 94

still way better than when it was 60 and er, 50 lol.

but yeah, that beautiful ride we had for a couple years seems over.. the euro is down to mid and below 70's now, and it was around 79-80 in the best days.

[Numanoid]

Spending a couple of hours with Loom, I got to say this has potential to become one of my fav plugins.

The way one can drop in modules, or change them is just genius.

Put in a couple of Phrase modules, and blend them with the level, listen to how the groove melts back and forth, wow.

[wagtunes]

Spending a couple of hours with Loom, I got to say this has potential to become one of my fav plugins.

The way one can drop in modules, or change them is just genius.

Put in a couple of Phrase modules, and blend them with the level, listen to how the groove melts back and forth, wow.

I agree. It's a great synth sound wise and the architecture is amazing. Problem is, when I downloaded the latest demo it blew up my DAW so badly with the worst error messages I'd ever seen in my life that I literally had to reinstall Cubase. So I'm hesitant to try again, as much as I absolutely loved what I heard.

[Numanoid]

Loom is kind to my CPU, had no problems with it so far in FL Studio 11

Vacuum Pro on the other hand is a CPU guzzler on my system (I only got 4GB), I get hits up to 50% when I play chords.

[Teksonik]

Hey great, new synths from Air Music.......oh wait the thread is over two years old. They're not new.......

[Numanoid]

The synths are still around

Maybe the OP could change the thread title to: "Two synths from...."