Plogue OPS7 (bit-accurate DX7 emulation!)

[midi_transmission]

Plogue GUIs looks pretty timeless to me. I have zero problems with the look.

[digitalboytn]

Plogue GUIs looks pretty timeless to me. I have zero problems with the look.

I like his approach to the graphics...

The focus is on the sound

[nominil]

Plogue GUIs looks pretty timeless to me. I have zero problems with the look.

Same here. I like flat UIs and find that they're easier for me to engage with, partially because of issues with my vision. That's one thing I like about Plogue's stuff as well as Live and its various instruments.

[gentleclockdivider]

Compared to the alternatives I'd think someone would be rather ungenerous if they didn't consider this the best DX7 emulation of the bunch, ..sound wise ..at least

Soundwise, it is good, indeed (never said the opposite). But it's basically its own quality. The "best"?... NO, it isn't. Because the DX7V doesn't fall "that" behind, soundwise (it even has DAC alternatives, which OPS7 lacks), and has a lot more to offer "soundwise".

When I look at a synth, the least of my concerns is if it is 100% faithful to the original hardware. I prefer another kind of orientation, one that privileges functionality and features over "purity". I'm not a "purist"... never been.

Yes ops 7 is the best emulation to date.
If you fancy gigabytes of ram usage when loading arturia stuff , good for you .
Ops7 loads in the blink if an eye , it's gui might not win any beauty contests but it's gets the job done easily .
Perhaps you haven't noticed but plogue is all about accuracy , and that's the main reason why ops7 is so well received.
As you said it yourself , you 're not a purist so perhaps it's time for you to move on .

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

FMR also tests and does presets for Arturia from what I recall so he may not be the most unbiased juror.

[fmr]

FMR also tests and does presets for Arturia from what I recall so he may not be the most unbiased juror.

I'm not unbiased, that's true, but it wasn't be who brought DX7 V to the table. I only reacted to a (very stupid) provocation. During all my older posts I always avoided any kind of comparison. And the fact I am collaborating with Arturia doesn't blind me. I bought OPS7 right on the launch period.

Regarding my criticisms, I am not criticizing the fact the GUI is simple or flat. I value a lot FabFilter plug-ins, for example, and their GUI is flat as well. The problem is OPS7 GUI, contrary to some opinions here, DOESN'T GET THE JOB DONE (far from it). It lacks several important aspects, which I mentioned before (so I will not go through them again). Those that find it get's the job done maybe are not that interested in exploring FM synthesis in deep, and are satisfied with just using it as a playback machine.

AND THERE IS ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT ASPECT: As you can see by reading through the thread, a lot of people are complaining about the patch management. That is, indeed, perhaps the worst aspect, and a complete mess. Clearly, that wasn't well thought and planned.

And I am doing a much better service to the developer by expressing my criticism (IF he cares to listen to it, which I doubt) than you are with your choir of lauds. And, for the record, don't bother trying to shut me out. You will not succeed.

[gentleclockdivider]

FMR also tests and does presets for Arturia from what I recall so he may not be the most unbiased juror.

Regarding my criticisms, I am not criticizing the fact the GUI is simple or flat. I value a lot FabFilter plug-ins, for example, and their GUI is flat as well. The problem is OPS7 GUI, contrary to some opinions here, DOESN'T GET THE JOB DONE (far from it). It lacks several important aspects, which I mentioned before (so I will not go through them again). Those that find it get's the job done maybe are not that interested in exploring FM synthesis in deep, and are satisfied with just using it as a playback machine.

You're tripping
What you're basically saying is that ops7 is defended by fanboys and/or preset hunters
I'v been into programming fm for decades (as you are apparently) , and a lot of othe who have purchased it
Ops 7 get EVERYTHING done what's needs to be done for the fm side of things .+ some verry usefull extras.
Yes ,the patch browser can be streamlined but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that dx 7 sysex and ops internal farmata system are two separate systems ,and therefore the system can be confusing , but once you figured it out it just works !
I am sure plogue is doing everything to make it even better .
No wonder the developer ignores you.
I am curious about those lacking aspects that make ops7 uncapable of deep fm exploring

[digitalboytn]

The problem is OPS7 GUI, contrary to some opinions here, DOESN'T GET THE JOB DONE (far from it). It lacks several important aspects, which I mentioned before (so I will not go through them again). Those that find it get's the job done maybe are not that interested in exploring FM synthesis in deep, and are satisfied with just using it as a playback machine.

Senor Fernando...

What drugs are you taking ?

That statement is pure fantasy and quite frankly,a load of BS...

But don't worry...

Nobody is going to try and shut you up or shut you down...

You comments are far too entertaining for that...

I like those westerns where people shoot themselves in the foot...

I'm stocking up on the popcorn

[foosnark]

Those that find it get's the job done maybe are not that interested in exploring FM synthesis in deep, and are satisfied with just using it as a playback machine.

After some initial playing with downloaded DX7 patches, I have 100% built my own sounds using OPS7 and the GUI is just fine for that as far as I'm concerned.

(And I am very into FM, although it's been more on the modular synthesis side, usually with just two operators but more complex waveshapes and modulation, sometimes with cross-modulation or exponential FM but forcing pitch tracking to stay stable with a PLL, etc.)

[midi_transmission]

By the way. I guess nobody minds enhancements in the preset browser. Like propper keyboard navigation, which still doesn't work here. It's not perfect, but I thought it's mainly about the look, which is fine for me and I think even a bit timeless.

[PAK]

AND THERE IS ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT ASPECT: As you can see by reading through the thread, a lot of people are complaining about the patch management. That is, indeed, perhaps the worst aspect, and a complete mess. Clearly, that wasn't well thought and planned.

Actually, when I read the devs thoughts on this, I "got" why he'd made the decisions he did. But "making sense" (after reading posts) and "intuitive" aren't the same. So it comes down to whether you think OPS7 "brings" enough to justify any learning curve. This is hardly steep for the patch saving! But it does require an awareness of the patch types and what gets saved with what.

IMO The sysex previewing is excellent too - It allows you to audition large amounts of sounds quickly and easily. One of the changes I hated, between FM7 and FM8, is that FM7 would just import a bank, where FM8 would demand to convert first (so it could use the tagging system NI had implemented). OPS7's complete lack of need for ANY tedious dialogues is awesome, and hugely speeds up the auditioning process!

I will take this approach, over a fancy GUI, 1000x over. IE "Know what sysex is? Can you point at a folder? Great.. then how about we get on with it, and I don't assume you want to poop on your patch database importing a gazillion useless patches?" We need a lot more of that type of approach, frankly! Plus switching patches, like ROM 4b "St Helens" then "Explosion", and having it behave just like the DX7? C'mon.. That's kinda cool

In terms of your points, about the GUI, especially if you consider the aim - which IS towards DX hardware authenticity, it's functionally fine. I wouldn't disagree, if you're seeking deeper control, there's other ways you might present an overview of information like interactions between operators, or to allow complex MSEG editing of envelopes etc. The recent F'EM instrument looks kinda cool, for example. But, I'll take sonics over looks when it comes to this stuff.

[[nx]]

I know ,totally OCD stuff ..
Getting rid of the black empty boxes makes it look so much better
And , U(ltra)OCD stuff: the green display shouldn't touch the button , it's just bad ui allignment , them pixels need room to breathe
If you tell me how to get rid of the black boxes myself , I'd be a happy puppy !
Great update nonetheless

Just picked up OPS7 with the BF sale. Love the sound and I the look for the most part, but I agree that it would look so much a better with these minor suggestions. Happy nonetheless.

[SebAV]

Don’t you think PX7 UI is near perfect, if only it had graphical interactive envelops and key scaling ? Without REs size and aspect ratio constraints, extending on this design will reach anybody wishes.
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6817a ... 200-80.jpg

[abi]

I just bought this in the bf sale and am having great fun with it. Best money I spent this year, so thanks plogue!

I miss an opportunity to copy the envelopes, I think this should be implemented.

For the moment I use this IOS-App as a remote, which I can recommend as it has a nice gui and is quite cheap at 3,99 Euros:

https://apps.apple.com/de/app/kq-dixie/id1330269027

I have used this to control Dexed in the past but with OPS7 it works even better as plogue´s sysex implementation allows "bidirectional controller exchange", even using Logic. everything i do in the plugin is reflected in the ios app and vice versa.

Sorry if this all has discussed before!

[abi]

Is the implementation of a filter considered? of course I could just slap one on the channel, but it would be nice to have an "inline filter" to be able to control it via midi effortlessly.