What are your favs so far ?

[duncanparsons]

On pushtec = does it make a difference holding shift for fine tuning? I'm at work and can't try.. just a guess, or try ctrl or alt

DSP

[LeftoverLasagne]

Just click on the screws to get a short explanation about the plug. Further information are explained in the localized manuals.
Hold [Alt] for example to finetune the frequency. Alternatively you can right click on a knob to assign it to a midi parameter. You can tweak the EQ using MIDI CCs then.

Btw. we decided not to include a master gain. Usually your host has enough gain faders. In a mastering case you usually have a limiter (with a fader) behind our plug.

Furthermore all bands are always active, allowing no CPU reduction. This is because in the real hardware they are also 'processed' even in zero position.

Leonardo

P.S.: The plugin is hardcoded and assembler hand-optimized

[Juanjo]

+ abOUT pUSHTEC :
I noticed it is easier to tweak the frequency in a very accurate way in No-GUI mode than in Gui mode. I started from a 80hz positionned knob, tweaked it (i wanted something close to 80, let's say 83or 84, and it jumped to 100 ! But in no GUI mode, it was very accurate).
And yes, as mentionned above, some knobs or faders for adjusting input/output level woudl make it really killer.

I think Pushtec offers fixed freq steps by default because they were there in the original hardware... you can ignore them easily by pressing [Alt], as mentioned in the manual and suggested by Duncan
Also, I think that a Volume control on the gui was discussed in the betatest phase but discarded in the end... note that you have a Volume parameter available for automation which I think is Post, or if you need Pre-gain you can use GVST GFader/GGain or the new Sonalksis gain and metering plug for total control.

EDIT: Ooops sorry, Leonardo beat me to it

[jens]

+ abOUT pUSHTEC :
I noticed it is easier to tweak the frequency in a very accurate way in No-GUI mode than in Gui mode. I started from a 80hz positionned knob, tweaked it (i wanted something close to 80, let's say 83or 84, and it jumped to 100 ! But in no GUI mode, it was very accurate).

rtfm!


You need to hold alt while turning the frequency-knob for discrete changes...

[jens]

Btw. we decided not to include a master gain. Usually your host has enough gain faders. In a mastering case you usually have a limiter (with a fader) behind our plug.

first of all I rather use it for tracking anf then you can't do proper A/B comparisons without a master-fader!

Furthermore all bands are always active, allowing no CPU reduction. This is because in the real hardware they are also 'processed' even in zero position.

I see - so what processing are the bands doing when the push/pull knobs are set to zero?

P.S.: The plugin is hardcoded and assembler hand-optimized

Yes, that's obvious as it's all in all rather low on the cpu.

[puffer]

Anna: Honestly, I didn't expect to be impressed by this, but, uh, wow. It sounds incredibly nice, and the GUI is really elegant. This is great right out of the box.

Hi Puffer and thanks for that comment!

I guess that the only thing you knew about Anna before trying it out was how it looked from the screenshot. Out of curiousity, what was it about it that made you expect "less" ? I think visual appearance and graphical interfaces are important, so I'd be most thankful if you'd give me some input here. This is after all my first "real" VST release (the public betas of the compressor and the EQ does not count as valid releases yet imho ) and it's always good to learn what different people think about things

Stefan, What I would be refering to is admittedly my own predjudice. A hybrid VA synth with FM and a mod matrix - my first reaction is "ho hum." I have more than a few of these and they do the trick quite well. And made from a Dev kit? Double "ho hum." Granted I know nothing about SynthMaker; didn't know that you in fact are the developer of SM. So, expecting I guess some bog-standard oscilators and a filter that was sort of thin. And I'm not a user who dismisses dev kit plugins out of hand: I don't care about the development environment, but rather a stable, usable and unique plugin that begs for me to find a place in my work-flow.

But Anna has a meaty sound, which made me sit up right away. And, yes, I'm a sucker for a good interface, and the graphics are really well done. The envelopes are responsive and easy to tweak (and cool looking!); seeing the changes to the wave display when cranking the FM is a nice touch. Everything is laid out in a sensible and logical fashion. This is what I meant by out of the box: I didn't have to first read a manual before being able to tweak usable sounds from it. I'm (more or less) neophyte synth user, so an interface that is easy to get around and get my mind around without having to pin up a signal chart is always nice. With Anna once I started grabbing and twisting and turning on and off I felt as if I'd been using it for a while.

How's that for too much information? Hope that's what you were asking.

But while I have your attention: the stability is still a little on the wonky side. I tried bringing a second instance into my Dev Challenge track, with the first one bounced and disconnected, and it ate my CPU. Completely locked-up Sonar. And while the spikes aren't completely pushing my CPU meter into the red, they are still there. Granted, this is a project I'm building completely with Dev Challenge plugs, so who knows what code it's conflicting with, but I'm keeping this plug on hand and will look forward to further optimizations.

But keep up the fine work, my friend.

[stefancrs]

Stefan, What I would be refering to is admittedly my own predjudice. A hybrid VA synth with FM and a mod matrix - my first reaction is "ho hum." I have more than a few of these and they do the trick quite well. And made from a Dev kit? Double "ho hum." Granted I know nothing about SynthMaker; didn't know that you in fact are the developer of SM. So, expecting I guess some bog-standard oscilators and a filter that was sort of thin. And I'm not a user who dismisses dev kit plugins out of hand: I don't care about the development environment, but rather a stable, usable and unique plugin that begs for me to find a place in my work-flow.

But Anna has a meaty sound, which made me sit up right away. And, yes, I'm a sucker for a good interface, and the graphics are really well done. The envelopes are responsive and easy to tweak (and cool looking!); seeing the changes to the wave display when cranking the FM is a nice touch. Everything is laid out in a sensible and logical fashion. This is what I meant by out of the box: I didn't have to first read a manual before being able to tweak usable sounds from it. I'm (more or less) neophyte synth user, so an interface that is easy to get around and get my mind around without having to pin up a signal chart is always nice. With Anna once I started grabbing and twisting and turning on and off I felt as if I'd been using it for a while.

How's that for too much information? Hope that's what you were asking.

But while I have your attention: the stability is still a little on the wonky side. I tried bringing a second instance into my Dev Challenge track, with the first one bounced and disconnected, and it ate my CPU. Completely locked-up Sonar. And while the spikes aren't completely pushing my CPU meter into the red, they are still there. Granted, this is a project I'm building completely with Dev Challenge plugs, so who knows what code it's conflicting with, but I'm keeping this plug on hand and will look forward to further optimizations.

But keep up the fine work, my friend.

Great feedback! Thanks! And I get where you're coming from about the expectations, nothing odd about that! "Anna" will serve as a good testbed for us SM developers now, both when it comes to bug hunting and when it comes to optimizing performance. I'm very happy to hear that you enjoyed using the actual interface as much you did! If you know of any good enhancements, feel free to suggest them, I'll note them all

Anyway, stability and performance will increase until it's good, and again, thanks for the extensive and useful feedback!

[Moe Shinola]

Chris Roberson wrote:

I'm kinda tickled someone actually remembered the RetroSyn.

Actually, one of the presets on Retrosyn is still to this day about the nice synth bass I've heard. I'll DL the MiniVyn again and keep you posted.

[Moe Shinola]

Previous post:
Chris Roberson wrote:
Quote:
I'm kinda tickled someone actually remembered the RetroSyn.


Actually, one of the presets on Retrosyn is still to this day about the nice synth bass I've heard. I'll DL the MiniVyn again and keep you posted.

The preset was the Ringmod Bass. Lots of other great sounds on that synth too.
I re-downloaded the MiniVyn and got the same result when I un-comporessed the file so I don't know...

Is there an issue with the Stuffit expander maybe?

[blakflag]

So far (still have a few to go through):

best presets - Anna
best gui - Pushtec
most laughs - Superubbish
most original - Pondular/Collide & play
most likely to be used for real - grizzly

Many had no presets, which is not too good when you're auditioning 26 plugins. Presets let you quickly see what it's supposed to do.

I just couldnt get Craud to work. Maybe I will try it again at 44.1khz instead of 48khz because it was just not happening for me. Interesting idea though.

I really didnt enjoy the "installers". I tried my best to make an orderly directory with subdirectories for each plug. But it still turned out a god-awful mess because each installer had its own idea of where to dump things. Next year maybe encourage devs to just archive up their plugs. Better yet just distribute one installation package of all plugs, and one combined "MUST READ" document for installation steps that must be taken.

[.jon]

My votes are based on the current personal preferences and the special Real Life Usability Assessment Method.

1. Cubix / Psychic Modulation

Great concept, an intuitive groove box with an integrated synth and sample loading option. Proper documentation and clear, functional and good-looking GUI that is not too big. Earned a place in my VSTi folder,does not happen often.

2. Drum mic Positioner / Sound Spectral

3D panning, simple and functional, sounds great. Will get a lot of use.

3. Lunch Box Battles / Brambos

Fun and inspiring, but earned the vote by the possibility to export MIDI and audio.

4. Pondular / Mopiskevin

Vote for originality, definitely the coolest looking VST ever. Implementation calls for hands-on sound design. I like the idea of looking at the visual distraction rather than some dials, just listening to the tweaks. Beautiful sounds as well.

5. Rezon8 by XGmode

Instant gratification, fantastic sounds and lots of exploration potential. Very clear and usable GUI.


Some honorary mentions:

Grizzly / Majken - well done
Drive5 / Fretted Synth Audio - cool sounding distro unit
Anna / Stefancrs - obviously a deep synth with superb, gorgeous graphical controls, I'd vote if I needed yet another monster synth.

[Chris Roberson]

Previous post:
Chris Roberson wrote:
Quote:
I'm kinda tickled someone actually remembered the RetroSyn.


Actually, one of the presets on Retrosyn is still to this day about the nice synth bass I've heard. I'll DL the MiniVyn again and keep you posted.

The preset was the Ringmod Bass. Lots of other great sounds on that synth too.
I re-downloaded the MiniVyn and got the same result when I un-comporessed the file so I don't know...

Is there an issue with the Stuffit expander maybe?

Ahh yeah, I remember that one. It behaved outside of what I had intended the original program to do because even when the synth was in mono mode, the second FM oscillator would go to a different pitch, kinda having that Odyssey duophonic effect. I believe consequent fixes and updates removed what allowed that effect to work though

But i'd recommend using WinRAR to decompress the file, not only do I find it to be the most stable and well-equipped decompresser, it just happens to be what I used to compress it in the first place.
you can get it at www.rarlabs.com , I believe.

[LeftoverLasagne]

best gui - Pushtec

THANKS - means a lot to me

[R.A.W.]

I really didnt enjoy the "installers". [...] Next year maybe encourage devs to just archive up their plugs. Better yet just distribute one installation package of all plugs, and one combined "MUST READ" document for installation steps that must be taken.

i prefer archives as well but i don't think that will ever happen. there are some plugs that need to install some additional files to the system to work and not every musician is a geek like me.
e.g. grizzly installs a font to the "%windir%\fonts", without that it has an unreadable gui.. other plugs (not here in the DC) install runtime-libs to the system32 and so on, so for the average user without much knowledge installers will be the way to go in the future.

[sinkmusic]

Uloop seems fine, but it needs a proper GUI.
I managed to make it work only in Ext (with a crash), and once the loops are running, you can't go back to the shortcut list, and as only shortcuts can make the plugin work, you're stuck...
With some usability improvements in the interface, it could become a nice thing.