Reaktor vs. Separate Plugins?

[rpm]

I know I just missed the Reaktor sale but I am just noticing how versatile it is. So, I was thinking of getting Valhalla Shimmer and The Mangle (granular synth) but then I started noticing all the things you could do in Reaktor with user library additions.

I wonder if it makes more sense to just get Reaktor. It seems like there's a bunch of stuff so I wouldn't really have to buy anything else. I'm on a low budget so I'm looking for long-term solutions, not to keep on buying stuff.

Does this make sense?

P.S. I do both more traditional singer-songwriter and ambient, electronic, experimental stuff.

[GaryG]

I've found the more I dig into the user library, the less interested I become in other plugins. I'm sure there're plenty of unique plugs out there that have no Reaktor equivalent but nothing I can live without it seems. Sure, I've still got other plugs installed (audio damage stuff for instance) but, certainly synth-wise, I'm finding Reaktor ticks most bases.

I'm doing more abstract/experimental/ambient stuff lately so maybe that sway it for me, not sure all the tools you need are there if you were just recording a conventional band for instance (compressors etc).

[rpm]

Great answer, thanks. I wouldn't rely on Reaktor for the common tasks (compression, EQ, etc.). Just more fancy stuff that I can't do with free plugins. And if I can't do something with it that I need to do, it makes sense to get a separate piece of software for that purpose. I mean, starting with Reaktor as the base seems more financially sensible rather than acquiring a bunch of separate plugins and then buying Reaktor.

[Gone soft]

Plenty of reasons to go for Reaktor, but: Look into the handling of ensembles and snapshots versus presets, how these work differently from each other and what you have to do to ensure your project actually recalls as it was. Also you may or may not need to make sure you understand the difference between Reaktor ensembles and Reaktor instruments as otherwise you may use the wrong type and mess up your projects in manners you won't realize until it's too late. These things have been reasons I haven't used Reaktor as much as I expected to, Valhalla and other plugins are a heck of a lot more userfriendly. Also ensembles from the userlibrary may be buggy as there's a lot of confusing stuff going on under the hood not properly understood by all builders before they start uploading, but generally they are improved if someone provides feedback as to what isn't working properly.

Silly me expected to be building my own ensembles or at the very least rip out parts of existing ensembles and modify them as I felt I wanted to go further or have more flexibility than the modular softsynths I allready had allowed me to, I haven't had a chance to come anywhere near that as the shear confusion of just basic stuff like how to make snapshots actually reappear when I reload a project sucked up way too much energy for me intially and put me of Reaktor for quite a while.

Also there's CPU to consider, Valhalla plugins for instance are extremely efficient CPU wise. With Reaktor you mostly aren't sure how much CPU some ensemble will gobble up until you've tried it, and it can be quite a bit. If you're ok with freezing a lot that could be fine and well worth it for all the unique stuff though.

[rpm]

That's an interesting take. I have noticed that with the flexibility and power of Reaktor come some costs like the ones you've mentioned. I'm hoping to keep things simple. Maybe a good way would be to buy a few plugins I need in the short run, and get into Reaktor slowly in the long run.

[audientronic]

If you're on a tight budget, do not pay full price for Reaktor. Although there probably won't be another Reaktor sale for a year, in a few months there will be a Komplete sale and for the same money you can get Reaktor bundled with a bunch of other stuff. There's plenty of things to make noise with until then .

[rpm]

Thanks for the heads up. I certainly can't afford Reaktor at full price. So, I would either wait a year or buy from another user. Komplete might mean I spend months without producing anything, getting to know the software. And I've already wasted years.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

it will likely end up on sale either summer or, f'sure, the end of year

[FLWrd]

Thanks for the heads up. I certainly can't afford Reaktor at full price. So, I would either wait a year or buy from another user. Komplete might mean I spend months without producing anything, getting to know the software. And I've already wasted years.

Check the market place forum. It gets offered from time to time.

[wald]

@rpm: pm me if you want a used copy of Reaktor 5.

Daniel