What's the state of entry-level basic FX these days?

[TrevorMag]

I'm wondering what the next www.cloneensemble.com plugins project should be.
Is there a need for a "just the basics" package (parametric EQ, compressor/gate/limiter, delay, reverb, phaser, flanger/chorus, vibrato/tremolo, analog warmer)?
Obviously the potential market would be someone starting out rather than the advanced Waves-buying folk here.
But if every multitrack app comes with a decent set, or there are plenty of free/v.cheap sets available, then I probably shouldn't bother.

[Hink]

Hi Trevor how are you? Unfortuntely I think the market is very flooded in all the areas mentioned by you. Bass chorus is awesome, there still aren't a lot good bass pluggins imo and I might consider keeping that in mind. Clone ensemble is very good too....I have to admit since buying your clone ensemble I have put like 700 bux into vocal software and I think your CE and spaceboys choir boy are both very good.

But I still say cater to some bass stuff...an amp pluggin that gives you that clean power sound (not over driven), eqs tailored to bass...ect...just my opinion...

[diverdee]

I think that any dev creating a package like that would have a job on really.
They'd need to be extremely cheap as well as decent quality I believe, as they'd be compared to high quality freeware as well as some of the cheaper quality pay stuff & good quality host inclusive pluggies.
Sonar users have the ultrafunk sonitus effects thrown in - so theres little they need on the basics frot - they're damn good effects.
Dunno about SX, last time I looked the included FX did nothing for me personally, apart from a couple which were excellent-ish (that multiband tube distortion thingie? & the multiband comp).
I use live & like the included FX (although i'd like a variable knee on the compressor) & am growing enamoured of the ability to chain them.
Best bet is doing some research on what's included with the various packages - for me (reason & ableton live) i've found there's very little I need at this point, i've virtually cleared out my freeware folders & realistically there are only a few more specialised payware plugins I am looking at purchasing.
That's just me though.
Hope the input helps.

[butter]

This is a tough one as Kjerhaus pretty much has the essential "starter pack" for effects. I say go for it anyways though. I think it's entirely possible to have too many instruments but you can never, ever have too many effects.

[Reverse Engineer]

This is a tough one as Kjerhaus pretty much has the essential "starter pack" for effects. I say go for it anyways though. I think it's entirely possible to have too many instruments but you can never, ever have too many effects.

That i would agree on completely. They really have cornered the market with the classics series. I'll have to agree on the "too many instruments" thing also. There was a time when, instead of "tweaking" quite indepth, i'd do it for a short while and then load up some other synth hoping to get the sound i wanted. but now i've narrowed my collection down to a bunch that are so far apart from each other, the only option i've left myself is to tweak more as a change in synth just wouldn't cut it now (not that it ever did really.)

[greendoor]

There are a number of holes in the affordable VST plugin market that I can see:

Pitch correction - a poor mans autotune.

Modulated delay - while Kjaerhus GMO-1 sets a high standard, it can't offer delays set to the millisecond. A bigger choice of waveforms, and the tempo syn and phase offset are big advantages though - so you sort of have to chain a delay and GMO-1 if you just want a classic good, controlable modulated delay.

Chorus. To be frank, I don't think anyone has really nailed the perfect chorus yet. Most of them suck when mono'd. That isn't good for serious projects.

A complex chorus or modulated delay package would allow the user to select the number, and pan position, of - say - 8 delays. Each could have their LFO syncable to host tempo or free running - with individual control of waveform, phase, filters and regeneration.

[dusted william]

Hire a pro GUI designer and marktet alien solo and CE more heavily.

come up with something like this.

http://www.anarchysoundsoftware.co.uk/h ... hythms.htm

but without the pops and delay. I have yet to try version 2, but I would get pops on beats where the attack and delay was really tight.

dw



There is nothing like alien solo in the price range.

dw

[dover666]

The market is flooded with plenty of bloatware vst/I. go ahead and make some good fast effects, that do what they do well- everyone will love you except for the fat dumb bastards that made all those plugs out there that DON'T work.

[TrevorMag]

Chorus. To be frank, I don't think anyone has really nailed the perfect chorus yet. Most of them suck when mono'd. That isn't good for serious projects.

But I've already done a chorus
I can understand the problem with mono though. If you do want to push my Bass Chorus (it ain't just for bass) to mono, make sure you set its mode to mono (duh) or Dual. Don't try it with Haas or Stereo mode - it'll suck...

[lion_cub]

What you might want to consider is the current state of unimaginative GUIs. Most GUIs, including the Kjerhaus, seem to be modelled on hardware designs. Whilst this may have been a necessity for hardware for the sake of efficiency, to impose that sort of limitation on software is not sensible (IMHO). A few exceptions stand out though, like RaySpace reverb which is a genuine attempt at something different that utilises the screen space. Sound should be as much a visual experience on computer as is it is an audial one.

[shamann]

Pitch correction - a poor mans autotune.

Check out GVST's GSnap which is currently in beta, free, and the bee's knees.

I think there are a lot of good basics packs out there, many already free. Other than the Kjaerhus classic series, there's the xhipeffects pack comes to mind, the betabugs effects, the GVST effects, and lots of folk are still using the mda effects after all these years.

The commercial stuff that I keep an eye out for mostly are character effects, stuff that won't necessarily satisfy all applications of a given effect type, but things that are a fairly unique approach to common effects and that will give a certain kind of sound really well - stuff along the lines of the Audio Damage effects. I have other filters and delays, but the 907a and Dubstation are really good for their specific functions. Sure I can build their functions out with bigger apps or effect chains, but in many cases it is so much easier to use something wrapped in one package if it's done well.

If you are going to go phaser, chorus, delay, reverb, then go at it by giving a really good and specific variation on the idea. Also consider making it flexible in use and ideal for live use (lots of control over the sound, easy to use, real-time widget adjustment, etc). I think stuff that is designed for people playing real-time - plugins that you'd approach like guitar pedals or synth modules - that's where a lot of the market lies right now. Either that or great big many-in-one packages like Guitar Rig or Amplitude, but then, those are so expensive that they'll likely require big marketing/distribution budgets in order to sell at all.

Stuff I'd like more of:

- ring modulators. I know ring mod is just a*b, but very few ring mod plugins throw in musically useful impurities into the process, and as a result, virtually all software ring mods tend to sound very little like their hardware counterparts and for the most part all sound the same (except several which have musically non-useful impurities that sound like ass, stuff like frequency stepping).

- under-served distortion effects. There aren't a lot of software octave dividers. There aren't a lot of fuzz effects with their own sound, so many are just straightforward waveshapers that sound like all other waveshapers.

I'd just like more stuff that has it's own sound and isn't riddled with bugs or sloppy design. If you ever go through and evaluate similar effects all at once, you'd be amazed at just how poorly implemented and uninteresting a lot of plugins are.

[Jafo]

This is a tough one as Kjerhaus pretty much has the essential "starter pack" for effects.

Yep -- the only thing they really lack is an amp sim, but the Simulanalog suite and Voxengo's Boogex fill that gap very nicely. (Although the thought of a Classic Amp gives me the tingles...) Plus, there's the BuzzRoom and Digitalfishphones stuff for subtly different flavors of compression and warming and the like.

However, I'd still say there's room for more. The Classic series is superb and extensive, but any good coder can match that. A far better way to compete would be to offer a different sonic signiature. The Classic series has a high consistency from plug to plug (try swapping plugs and you'll see what I mean), and lends itself well to a certain beautiful Alan Parsons 70's sort of mood that I find extremely appealing -- but there are so many other equally valid... spirits? tones? whatever. There is a character to the Classic series that invites you to use them.

So, I'd say that anybody who wants to do a new series of basic effects has three things to address: quality of code, range of effects, and that ill-defined, nebulous but very real thing called character.

[greendoor]

But I've already done a chorus
I can understand the problem with mono though. If you do want to push my Bass Chorus (it ain't just for bass) to mono, make sure you set its mode to mono (duh) or Dual. Don't try it with Haas or Stereo mode - it'll suck...

This is my point exactly. It is possible to make a chorus that sounds lush in stereo, and still sounds great in mono. For serious radio/tv quality, mono compatibility still matters greatly. All the classic radio hits sound great in mono, and just get better in stereo.

We have a situation now where many VST plugins sound great in mono, but collapse to crap in mono. That means - not suitable for greating hit records.

It's not hard to make a great chorus that doesn't suck in mono. It's necessary. That's why my suggestion, which was very specific, would provide a solution.

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[jplanet]

I agree that there is a shocking lack of bass-specific plugs. It would be interesting to have a bass multi with an amp sim and a crossover so that you could apply effects like chorus to the top end only.