KVR Audio

Kindred · Post by **Kindred** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 1:56 am

I just picked this up as part of the no brainer deal last week and have been going through it.

So far I am pretty disappointed to be honest. It seems to have one sound - harsh digital electro-ish stuff. The best I can do if I want to use it is to run everything through a tube compressor and apply tape compression to soften it slightly.

My other complaint is the synthesis engine. I just played around with the Kick synth engine for ten minutes and couldn't achieve anything even remotely approximating a useful house or techno kick drum.

Is this just user error? Can any fans of Tremor give me some tips on how they were able to get some use out of it?

Winstontaneous · Post by **Winstontaneous** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 6:53 pm

Tremor is indeed weird, it has a truly brilliant programming/modulation interface mixed with harsh, distorted stock sounds and a fairly unintuitive synth paradigm. It's frustrating because Geist, its sample-based stablemate, sounds so fookin' good, and since Tremor munches a lot of CPU making these gritty tones.

Most stock Tremor sounds are way too distorted to be useful. In "Kit" mode, audition Bass Drum "Presets" until you find something close to what you like. Open the Synth editor then turn off both Pre and Post Drive, and bypass the Filter, or at least turn down Filter Gain to "0". Also be sure there is no distortion active in the Master FX section.

It would take more $$, but Simon Stockhausen (aka Sampleconstruct's) Tremor soundbank sounds really good and reveals the power lurking under Tremor's hood. Considering Simon's lineage, wouldn't expect anything less.

raymondwave · Post by **raymondwave** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 7:51 pm

I felt exactly the same when I demoed it. I've been tempted to pick it up during a few good sales, but glad I've kept my head. Maybe another demo when nothing else inspires, unless the demo was time period (can't remember).

CrystalWizard · Post by **CrystalWizard** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:50 pm

yes, like he said go through the patches and turn off pre and post distortion. whomever programmed the factory patches surely does like distortion. i was underwhelmed by the factory patches so i started slowly building some of my own. between making the synth patches and the rhythms this is a long term project., so, i invested in sonic charge microtonic for some short term answers.

elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:13 pm

Actually you can create just about any drum type you wish to create with Tremor. If there's anything to be said about Tremor it's that it is not limited to any specific style...

With that said, it does take a significant amount of time to dial in your desired sound, since everything begins with designing your sound, and then processing it through on board fx (or outboard if you choose).

I sold Tremor a while back because most sounds for my needs are already sampled, can be created quicker via other synths, or require live drumming. For me it wasn't worth the time to create what I wanted.

Still... Tremor is extremely flexible and varied. You can create as many acoustic sounding drums as you can create electronic drum clones. You can also use it for non-drum sounds too. Very flexible.

codec_spurt · Post by **codec_spurt** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:27 pm

I don't know if you heard the demos FXpansion put up?

That would be a good reference point for what I'm going to say.

Tremor can do full tracks. Warm, fat, thick, cutting, the full sonic spectrum.

But you need to be able to program it.

The sound 'engine' in it is raw, bit like the analogs it was modeled from. Was it modeled from analogs? I don't know, maybe i'm talking shit. It uses so much f**king cpu it must have been modeled on something.

It sounds killer to me. It just needs to be tamed. Even I would take a long time getting to grips with it. And I do. First, I'm not a great sound designer, but I know my way around. Second, I don't have a computer to do it justice. Tremor really needs a modern multi-core processor. No way around it. It is a thirsty beast. That is all the modeling stuff going on. It was explained.

I'm also a bit pissed off that only the older version works on XP, the latest version will not even install iirc. If you have problems installing it on XP then get the older version which I believe they still provide and it should work. Oh well.

There are some great patterns in there and it approaches the whole sequencer thing in a 21st Century style. You have to try it to see. It really is a lot of fun and a real joy to use. They got tricks no one else thought of yet. At least, I have never seen them before.

Yes. The sounds are raw. But they can be tamed into beautiful noises.

See the demos they posted. If you don't like them, then you don't like Tremor. But I love it to bits. I'm still trying to come up with sounds like that. But I know it can make it. Rest is down to me. And my cpu.

Fat heavy bass drums. Tight little kicks. Snappy snares. Harsh hats. Sweet hats. Growling Bass. Sound FX. The thing is a god damn beast! WTF do you expect?

If I gave you the keys to my Ferrari and you drove it into a wall, would you blame me, or Ferrari, or yourself?

This is VST land, there have to be one or two manufacturers out there on the edges of it all. Spend some time with it, if you can, I am sure it will reward you.

None of this is secret knowledge.

(And bear in mind, I have more of an axe to grind than anyone - due to some kind of anomaly on my system, it took me nearly a whole f**king year to install the thing - I still call it Trauma - it's a little joke we share - so you know, if I have persevered with it, then so can anyone is all I am trying to say)

codec_spurt · Post by **codec_spurt** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:29 pm

elxsound wrote:Actually you can create just about any drum type you wish to create with Tremor. If there's anything to be said about Tremor it's that it is not limited to any specific style...

With that said, it does take a significant amount of time to dial in your desired sound, since everything begins with designing your sound, and then processing it through on board fx (or outboard if you choose).

What he said. What I said.

blackflag · Post by **blackflag** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:31 pm

I just with they'd add the poly rhythmic sequencer and probability effects to Geist,.

codec_spurt · Post by **codec_spurt** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:37 pm

blackflag wrote:I just with they'd add the poly rhythmic sequencer and probability effects to Geist,.

That would be super duper.

But so would drag and drop.

Sometimes you just have to work around it.

FXpansion are a company that do listen, but it seems to me their strength is that they have their own vision, and when that gets rolled out, it's tea time, maybe a bit of light supper later on, but that's it for the evening.

Er..

Sometimes you go to bed hungry.

And sometimes you go to be nourished, and full to the belly, but just wondering what it would have been like to have that one extra fresh cream cake.

Come on, let's keep our cholesterol down!

(Ok, I'll get my coat)

Sendy · Post by **Sendy** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:45 pm

I end up using it to make weird, polyphonic, slowly morphing ostinato lines, a la 90's orbient.

codec_spurt · Post by **codec_spurt** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:49 pm

Sendy wrote:I end up using it to make weird, polyphonic, slowly morphing ostinato lines, a la 90's orbient.

Thankyou and goodnight!

I think that answers pretty much 99 percent of any qualms any future users might have had.

lotus2035 · Post by **lotus2035** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:52 pm

I sold it because it was a CPU hog. If you want something similar that's not a CPU hog and much cheaper take a look at Drumatic 4.

http://www.drumatic.info/

codec_spurt · Post by **codec_spurt** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 10:15 pm

lotus2035 wrote:I sold it because it was a CPU hog. If you want something similar that's not a CPU hog and much cheaper take a look at Drumatic 4.

http://www.drumatic.info/

Got it. Nothing that Tremor can't do. No sequencer either. Which is kind of the point with Tremor - it is a drum sequencer!

lotus2035 · Post by **lotus2035** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 11:03 pm

codec_spurt wrote:
lotus2035 wrote:I sold it because it was a CPU hog. If you want something similar that's not a CPU hog and much cheaper take a look at Drumatic 4.

http://www.drumatic.info/
Got it. Nothing that Tremor can't do. No sequencer either. Which is kind of the point with Tremor - it is a drum sequencer!

Yeah but it's not a CPU hog and the lack of sequencer is of no consequence if you use it inside a DAW.

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 11:40 pm

CrystalWizard wrote:yes, like he said go through the patches and turn off pre and post distortion. whomever programmed the factory patches surely does like distortion. i was underwhelmed by the factory patches so i started slowly building some of my own. between making the synth patches and the rhythms this is a long term project., so, i invested in sonic charge microtonic for some short term answers.

Yeah, I'd go farther and say that FXpansion is pretty in love with overdriven filter stages and distortion. I noticed it first in DCAM. That "hard" FXpansion sound.

But, it's no matter as it's easy to tweak away, though you have to get to know Tremor's gain stages. Once you dig in and learn it, it's a pretty flexible synth engine, a very cool polyrhythmic sequencer and the best modulation system of any drum synth I know. If you don't have time for such things, do get Sampleconstruct's preset banks for it. They're quite good at showing off another side of Tremor.

Tremor - Can it do anything else except harsh industrial electro?