KVR Audio

bugs · Post by **bugs** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:10 am

Any one have a suggestion for a replacement for Nexus 2.

icontakt · Post by **icontakt** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 2:52 pm

Why do you need a replacement? What do you not like about it?

I love it. And there's no replacement AFAIK.

golemus · Post by **golemus** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 4:18 pm

bugs wrote:Any one have a suggestion for a replacement for Nexus 2.

The closest match might be Steinberg HalionSonic (Hypersonic successor), but it requires a dongle (like most of Steinberg products). No support for dongles from here.

I was thinking about the same question for a while and ended up to Korg M1. It does not match the sound quality of Nexus but has a large variation of patches. And it changes patches in instant --> much better workflow.

When needing sound quality I would maybe use Kontakt. It has a horrible workflow for browsing/changing patches and takes ages to change a patch (compared to Nexus) but it is very affordable if you buy Kompact. First drafts with M1, then better patches with Kontakt or something, that is what I am thinking now.

I think I asked the exactly same question here 1-2 years ago and got a lot of answers, you could try to dig it from my profile ...

fastlane · Post by **fastlane** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 4:20 pm

Very hard to beat Nexus2 but for a more organic approach their is DCam

osiris · Post by **osiris** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 4:25 pm

You can't replace Nexus. I have most everything and some sounds can't come close. I do very much like Pink Noise Studio's soundbanks for Kontakt. I just bought Virology and it's stunning. I want Revolver and Analogue Monsters.
I'd very much like to check out CFA's Kontakt banks also, but my hard drive is becoming very full.

zvenx · Post by **zvenx** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 4:49 pm

I recently bought it and whilst I am not in love with it, I can see why a lot of ppl are....of all that I have licenses for, the one most similar to it I find in terms of sound. (bright, lots of reverb/delay etc) is ElectraX by Tone2..... I think in a year or two if electrax gets further development and soundbanks it may be a good substitute.....soundwise for me they are equal, just nexus has a lot more bread and butter and just tons of patches in general.
rsp

inaheartbeat · Post by **inaheartbeat** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 5:50 pm

Hard to answer the question without knowing what music you make and what features you use in Nexus 2. Also do you know how to do sound design yourself and do you want to take the time? I have Nexus 2 and 9 of the expansion libraries. I could design similar sounds on my Virus TI2 or Omnisphere but why bother if it is done already? Also if you use the trancegate you can replicate that effect but it is so easy to use in Nexus why take that time to do it in something else?

Ken

MacQ · Post by **MacQ** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 6:39 pm

inaheartbeat wrote:Hard to answer the question without knowing what music you make and what features you use in Nexus 2. Also do you know how to do sound design yourself and do you want to take the time? I have Nexus 2 and 9 of the expansion libraries. I could design similar sounds on my Virus TI2 or Omnisphere but why bother if it is done already? Also if you use the trancegate you can replicate that effect but it is so easy to use in Nexus why take that time to do it in something else?

Ken

Never a truer reply have I read on KVR. It's all down to personal preference, and I'll choose the quicker option 9/10, if the results are negligibly different, from a creative perspective. If this is your job, you have to hit tight deadlines sometimes, and Nexus is a life-saver for a lot of these kinds of sounds.

Don't get me wrong, Kontakt + Libraries is where it's at for me personally, with Hypersonic 2 and Sylenth1 filling in on stuff, but Nexus is the instant-useable option that can really help get a track or a cue "there". That sort of indefinable distinction between what is "professionally produced", and what is merely adequate (and doesn't get you hired). I think it's a great layer, but I don't feature it much.

By way of an anecdote:

I did a thing for ESPN last year and had to come out of my testosterone-mega-drums w/orchestra introduction music into a song they'd licensed ("All I Do Is Win" by DJ Khaled ). To make the transition work, I had to come up from a slower caveman-toms pattern into this track over the course of like 8 bars. So I pulled out Nexus and added those saw-brass stabs in, and it was instantly seamless without much tweaking. With the current "supersaw-driven" nature of mainstream popular music, it's a great tool.

Or, if you want "cool" but not necessarily "mainstream", go with a hybrid approach maybe in the form of thinking more about FX processing than about oscillators. Make the sounds cool with the FX path. A really handy tool for this is Plogue Bidule, where you can lash up FX routing visually, creating all kinds of "edgy" sounds from a simple Synth1 + Guitar Rig + YourFavouriteDelay + ... you get the idea. I really enjoy that approach.

~Stu

bugs · Post by **bugs** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 7:36 pm

Thanks everyone. The answers are about what I expected. My Tower now needs to be replaced unfortunately - I was really excited about it - well, that the way of it all.

bugs · Post by **bugs** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 7:39 pm

MacQ wrote:
inaheartbeat wrote: Or, if you want "cool" but not necessarily "mainstream", go with a hybrid approach maybe in the form of thinking more about FX processing than about oscillators. Make the sounds cool with the FX path. A really handy tool for this is Plogue Bidule, where you can lash up FX routing visually, creating all kinds of "edgy" sounds from a simple Synth1 + Guitar Rig + YourFavouriteDelay + ... you get the idea. I really enjoy that approach.

~Stu

Yep - sound design.

Ninety9 · Post by **Ninety9** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 10:37 pm

If you just produce Trance is Nexus2 and a few Trance expansions enough on its own or are there still things you need that Nexus doesn't provide. I'm more of a tweaker than a programmer and the Trance demos on their site are stunning.

bugs · Post by **bugs** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 11:06 pm

Ninety9 wrote:If you just produce Trance is Nexus2 and a few Trance expansions enough on its own or are there still things you need that Nexus doesn't provide. I'm more of a tweaker than a programmer and the Trance demos on their site are stunning.

Actually, I am a "classical" and film-type music composer--ocassionally done some dance, but only is context. I have a small virtual hybrid ochestra and I feel that Nexos 2 or the like would fit in very well along with Omnisphere, Absynth and CronoX3. I suppose I could do most in Omnisphere.

bugs · Post by **bugs** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 11:06 pm

bugs wrote:
Ninety9 wrote:If you just produce Trance is Nexus2 and a few Trance expansions enough on its own or are there still things you need that Nexus doesn't provide. I'm more of a tweaker than a programmer and the Trance demos on their site are stunning.

Actually, I am a "classical" and film-type composer--ocassionally doing some dance, but only in context. I have a small virtual hybrid ochestra and I feel that Nexos 2 or the like would fit in very well along with Omnisphere, Absynth and CronoX3. I suppose I could do most in Omnisphere.

LeVzi · Post by **LeVzi** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 11:30 pm

As someone said, it's definately worth looking at Tone2's ElectraX, it's got amazing power for a synth, and yet it seems realtively untapped.

Plus it's got the Tone2 excellent effects built in.

Does pretty cool wobbles too , surprising the dubstep producers haven't jumped on it yet.

ElectraX

osiris · Post by **osiris** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 11:48 pm

Kontakt has MANY options for what you do.,

Nexus 2 Substitute