A heads-up on a thread over at prosoundweb on Brad Blackwoods mastering forum:
http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/7955/0
Some good things so far.
Voxengo on ProSoundweb.com
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- KVRer
- 13 posts since 13 Sep, 2004
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- KVRer
- 27 posts since 31 Dec, 2004
Nuff said as far as I am concerned. Given that in any wish list there must be a price, quality/utility trade off, the above comments provide some welcome reassurance as regards my ears. I am not a Voxengo fanatic (some other manufacturers seem to have fanatics and apologists for all their products), and I have effects by other companies, but at the price point there is curretly little competition for Voxengo plugs.
Out of choice I have remained with native plugs rather than go for DSP boards, buy I accept these have had and probably still have their place. My personal native choice arises out of cost benefit anlaysis (instruments and musicians vs effects). For me the only way I can presevre choice is to choose motherboard and processor upgrades and additional processors when necessary rather then get locked into one propriety set of plugs.
That said, I would like better GUI's so that they look as a s classy as the plugs the guys I work with some of which I also have (e.g. Wave Arts, Elemental Audio, Izotope, UAD, WAVES et al) it seems the look is sometimes important to some people than functionality and sound the end of the day it is all about sound for me, and for me there is currently nothing to compare with Voxengo plugs anywhere near their price point (and long may that be so!).
Whilst some users must require the additional processing power that DSP boards provide, I would recommend you check out the best native plugs also so that you are sure you are not missing out.
Out of choice I have remained with native plugs rather than go for DSP boards, buy I accept these have had and probably still have their place. My personal native choice arises out of cost benefit anlaysis (instruments and musicians vs effects). For me the only way I can presevre choice is to choose motherboard and processor upgrades and additional processors when necessary rather then get locked into one propriety set of plugs.
That said, I would like better GUI's so that they look as a s classy as the plugs the guys I work with some of which I also have (e.g. Wave Arts, Elemental Audio, Izotope, UAD, WAVES et al) it seems the look is sometimes important to some people than functionality and sound the end of the day it is all about sound for me, and for me there is currently nothing to compare with Voxengo plugs anywhere near their price point (and long may that be so!).
Whilst some users must require the additional processing power that DSP boards provide, I would recommend you check out the best native plugs also so that you are sure you are not missing out.
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- KVRAF
- 3846 posts since 15 Mar, 2002 from Underworld
I can't understand why people don't like Voxengo GUI's? What is "not so pro" about them? They're exceptionally functional and great looking! I simply don't see a difference between, let's say, Waves GUIs and Voxengo GUIs? Sometimes there are too many controls, but Aleksey is implementing them in the best way I can imagine - drop down menus, instead of heaps of buttons that can get confusing...
I really dig Aleksey's GUIs
, please don't change anything!
Cheers!
I really dig Aleksey's GUIs
, please don't change anything!Cheers!
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. - Jiddu Krishnamurti
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- KVRAF
- 9064 posts since 1 Aug, 2003
..and, easy on the eyes. Maybe it's the cheery colours? Reminds me of ConcreteFX: Vocal, Adder, Kubik etc. used to look great (easy on the eyes, functional, beautiful) but some people complained they didn't look "pro". CoFX made a new GUI for Kubik 2: a grey oneDuX wrote:I can't understand why people don't like Voxengo GUI's? What is "not so pro" about them? They're exceptionally functional and great looking!
Seems that some people won't take a GUI serious unless it looks bland and boring, and imitates old hardware (and it's restrictions
).I think the GUIs of Soniformer and CurveEQ OTOH are exceptionally functional.
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- KVRist
- 322 posts since 2 Mar, 2005
There not bad, very practical but wouldn't object to them being changed. As much as a GUI doesn't matter it does if you know what I mean, especially in drawing new customers in.
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- KVRist
- 125 posts since 7 Jan, 2004 from London, UK
I think its that grey colour that makes it looks not so "sharp" like those expensive plugins - say the Sony Oxford series for Powercore or the Waves ones - they look "clean". But I love Voxengo and would use it over the others.
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- KVRist
- 382 posts since 6 Apr, 2005 from Fair NJ, the Garden State, US
There's a lot that's great about Voxengo, but the gui's really do bug me. I don't find them easy to work with quickly, and they look very homebrew. I mean, look at Elemental Audio, as mentioned. There's not mystery buttons with labels that don't mean anything unless you study the manual deeply, and everything's shiny and pretty.
Yeah, who cares about GUI's? On the other hand, there's no reason to pretend the most of the voxengo gui's aren't pretty awful.
Don't know what this has to do with the topic, but all the same . . .
Yeah, who cares about GUI's? On the other hand, there's no reason to pretend the most of the voxengo gui's aren't pretty awful.
Don't know what this has to do with the topic, but all the same . . .
Grist for the glamour mill.
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- KVRAF
- 2217 posts since 15 Jul, 2003
i thought owning so many other Voxengo plugs I could pass on this new one
and I carefully managed to avoid reading the other thread, but now I've gone and read those comments and started down the long slippery slope of picking up another incredible Voxengo product
and I carefully managed to avoid reading the other thread, but now I've gone and read those comments and started down the long slippery slope of picking up another incredible Voxengo product
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- KVRAF
- 2685 posts since 14 Jul, 2005 from Australia
I personally agree about the points made on the Voxengo GUIs, I would say that Elemental Audio (my favourite) & Waves are far superior, i'll explain why...
1. You can type a value directly for any parameter
2. Every parameter is labelled so you know exactly what it is
3. Each option per parameter is a full description, not a single letter. For instance, rather than F, S, U modes in Crunchessor, we should have "Fast", "Slow", "Crush" or something like that, it doesn't bother most people to have a larger GUI to fit these things on.
4. In EQs, there is no way to set a high frequency accurately (for example you see 16.34 kHZ instead of 16,341 Hz), and in HarmoniEQ it is impossible to adjust any point with 100 % accuracy as you are totally relying on your mouse. Sometimes when using the mouse, you select one value, and when you let go of the mouse button, the value changes and that can get rather frustrating.
5. The general look (knobs, background colours / images) to me look very plain, at least all text / meters are easy to see, but the look in general isn't all that inspiring.
6. Extensive use of knobs in Voxengo plugins, hardly any sliders. It is a known fact that in software, sliders are more comfortable to use than knobs.
I think that now, all Voxengo products are well established and most areas have been covered, it would be really awesome if Aleksey focused on the GUIs. Kjaerhus plugins suffer from similar limitations, especially when it comes to typing in a value for a parameter which is also impossible with Kjaerhus. But honestly, I love the plugins and think they compete with everything when it comes to sound.
No rudeness intended, just my opinion guys.
Cheers
Fots
P.S.: wrench45us I also grabbed the new compressor, totally rocks ! Maybe the best available in native format for character
1. You can type a value directly for any parameter
2. Every parameter is labelled so you know exactly what it is
3. Each option per parameter is a full description, not a single letter. For instance, rather than F, S, U modes in Crunchessor, we should have "Fast", "Slow", "Crush" or something like that, it doesn't bother most people to have a larger GUI to fit these things on.
4. In EQs, there is no way to set a high frequency accurately (for example you see 16.34 kHZ instead of 16,341 Hz), and in HarmoniEQ it is impossible to adjust any point with 100 % accuracy as you are totally relying on your mouse. Sometimes when using the mouse, you select one value, and when you let go of the mouse button, the value changes and that can get rather frustrating.
5. The general look (knobs, background colours / images) to me look very plain, at least all text / meters are easy to see, but the look in general isn't all that inspiring.
6. Extensive use of knobs in Voxengo plugins, hardly any sliders. It is a known fact that in software, sliders are more comfortable to use than knobs.
I think that now, all Voxengo products are well established and most areas have been covered, it would be really awesome if Aleksey focused on the GUIs. Kjaerhus plugins suffer from similar limitations, especially when it comes to typing in a value for a parameter which is also impossible with Kjaerhus. But honestly, I love the plugins and think they compete with everything when it comes to sound.
No rudeness intended, just my opinion guys.
Cheers
Fots
P.S.: wrench45us I also grabbed the new compressor, totally rocks ! Maybe the best available in native format for character
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- KVRian
- 903 posts since 14 May, 2003
Sadly, if the GUIs were more attractive, it would probably increase sales, especially among the MTV crowd.
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- KVRian
- 1398 posts since 9 Dec, 2002
For me, Voxengo plugins rank very highly in the looks department - they look like tools instead of gadgets.
Usabilitywise, yeah, there could be some improvements, altough I'm not exactly sure whether inputting EQ frequencies to the exact Hz in the upper range really offers anything significant compared to dialing in the frequency and listening to what happens...
(especially as long as a way to dial in more accurately, via shift/alt/ctrl+dragging or something similar is provided)
Wouldn't exactly consider sliders that much more useful compared to knobs either - you wouldn't be getting a really accurate visual representation either unless the sliders really offered a pixel-to-unit view, which would make them awfully big in some cases. In other words - I wouldn't exactly state it as being a "well known fact", simply because most people saying so aren't even taking the basics into consideration. Instead of realizing the subject revolving around accurate representations, it's commonly stated that sliders give a nice, quick impression on things like ADSR, but the fact remains that you aren't seeing anything accurate unless there's enough room for the accurate representation.
Labeling could of course be clearer - in an ideal GUI everything oughta be self explanatory, without the need to read explanations for things from the manual.
Nonetheless... there could be improvement. There might even be, who knows
But as they are now, at least for me, they practically scream of quality as they are - as I focus on what I hear them do first and foremost.
And despite the "ooh, purrrty!" factor, something like the recent Amoebe efforts (which do look amazing, Spinner or what was it!), such a look might be a tad too far.
And the next person to once again mention Mully for the job will get something stuck inside them sideways.
(Sorry, but there's GUIs and then there's GUIs. From the mentioned ones, Waves and Elemental Audio are class, and I'd add stuff like the new WaveArts into classy category as well, not forgetting Sonalksis (which I still hold above most when it comes to usability!). If you don't see the difference... oh well.)
There's a lot of stuff involved in UI design, don't forget it. Taking it all into consideration, from usability to appeal and how it relates to possible sales, customs / standard practices and traditions, the list goes on.
Regards,
JMH
Usabilitywise, yeah, there could be some improvements, altough I'm not exactly sure whether inputting EQ frequencies to the exact Hz in the upper range really offers anything significant compared to dialing in the frequency and listening to what happens...
(especially as long as a way to dial in more accurately, via shift/alt/ctrl+dragging or something similar is provided)Wouldn't exactly consider sliders that much more useful compared to knobs either - you wouldn't be getting a really accurate visual representation either unless the sliders really offered a pixel-to-unit view, which would make them awfully big in some cases. In other words - I wouldn't exactly state it as being a "well known fact", simply because most people saying so aren't even taking the basics into consideration. Instead of realizing the subject revolving around accurate representations, it's commonly stated that sliders give a nice, quick impression on things like ADSR, but the fact remains that you aren't seeing anything accurate unless there's enough room for the accurate representation.
Labeling could of course be clearer - in an ideal GUI everything oughta be self explanatory, without the need to read explanations for things from the manual.
Nonetheless... there could be improvement. There might even be, who knows
But as they are now, at least for me, they practically scream of quality as they are - as I focus on what I hear them do first and foremost.And despite the "ooh, purrrty!" factor, something like the recent Amoebe efforts (which do look amazing, Spinner or what was it!), such a look might be a tad too far.
And the next person to once again mention Mully for the job will get something stuck inside them sideways.
(Sorry, but there's GUIs and then there's GUIs. From the mentioned ones, Waves and Elemental Audio are class, and I'd add stuff like the new WaveArts into classy category as well, not forgetting Sonalksis (which I still hold above most when it comes to usability!). If you don't see the difference... oh well.)
There's a lot of stuff involved in UI design, don't forget it. Taking it all into consideration, from usability to appeal and how it relates to possible sales, customs / standard practices and traditions, the list goes on.
Regards,
JMH
Now available with added Inherently Suspect Justification!
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- AcousticHippie
- 4769 posts since 12 Mar, 2003
honestly I've had enough now...jmh wrote:And the next person to once again mention Mully for the job will get something stuck inside them sideways.
nobody forces you or Kingston to like my stuff and it's pretty okay to do so AND say so... but please leave the insults and threats away... would be appreciated
regards,
mully
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- KVRAF
- 2685 posts since 14 Jul, 2005 from Australia
good points JMH, I see what you mean about everything you have metnioned. I guess I say "well known fact" because I had read it in several areas where people were mentioning that sliders are easier to use but you're right, the way that Voxengo plugins handle knob movement is very natural.
In regards to the higher range of the EQ values, I think this all comes down to surgical stuff. Somethings removing a troublesome high frequency buzz/hiss requires such precision. For instance, I remember a little while back I had a recording that had sine wave type sound at around 16 khz, this would give you the sound you get from most old TVs, the high frequency hiss.
Zoning into something like that really does require precision if you get my drift ?
But as you said, they are still very functional plugins and I do believe Aleksey is planning skinning Very powerful skinning too, with variable interface sizes .etc so it's gonna RAWK when it gets done
We'll get there
Cheers
Fots
In regards to the higher range of the EQ values, I think this all comes down to surgical stuff. Somethings removing a troublesome high frequency buzz/hiss requires such precision. For instance, I remember a little while back I had a recording that had sine wave type sound at around 16 khz, this would give you the sound you get from most old TVs, the high frequency hiss.
Zoning into something like that really does require precision if you get my drift ?
But as you said, they are still very functional plugins and I do believe Aleksey is planning skinning
Very powerful skinning too, with variable interface sizes .etc so it's gonna RAWK when it gets done We'll get there
Cheers
Fots