I am thinking of upgrading my reverb situation. I just demoed and couple of plugs (ArtsAcoustic, RaySpace, M2, Masterverb) against my usuall arsenal (Sonitus Reverb, Lexicon Pantheon, Glaceverb, ConvoBoy, Ambience). Out of all the native plugs RaySpace won the $100 category and ArtAcoustic was the overall winner.
I don't have a dongle key so I can't demo CSR. I don't have a PowerCore so no demoing going on there.
Here's my thoughts:
- The Crossgrade to CSR is $100 less than the full version. I was thinking of getting an E-MU card for the software bundle, which includes CSR-crossgrade-qualifying programs like Amplitube and T-Raks.
- PowerCore Element is about $350. This would give me an entry into the PC world of Oxford, Virus, VSS3.
I may buy an E-MU 1212 anyway because A) it seems that the Windows XP64 drivers are supposed to be good, B) the software package (including ProteusX LE) looks nice, and C) I could possibly sell my M-Audio Delta R-BUS for a possible profit (Roland RPC-1s are found on eBay for $250 or more. The $100 off of the CSR sounds nice, if CSR is that much better than everything else native.
To get the best from PowerCore I think I'd have to invest in VSS3 or DVR2, but I could possilby get started with the stock 'verbs. One issue with the PowerCore is I'm using an Asus A8V Deluxe motherboard and there appear to be issues with Athlon X2s (near future move), PowerCores and the A8V Deluxe.
I really want to boost my reverbs. I think I'm OK on dynamics and delays (GlissEQ, PLPara3, Sonitus, Marquis, Blockfish, Voxformer, AnalogFlux suite, Kjaerhus classic), even though I could see myself looking at the PowerCore Oxford stuff.
OK so....
CSR vs. PowerCore?
What's the verdict? For a little more than the price of the PowerCore Element I could get the 1212 and the CSR crossgrade. Or I'd get the Element and start from there. I'm partial to native solutions as they will scale better and minimize hardware/software conflicts. I don't plan on running 450 instances of MegaVerb so the 1 Element card should be more than enough, or so I think now
Also I'm running Sonar 4, but I might move to another app (Samplitude, Nuendo, PTLE) for mixing. What do you guys think.