reFX Nexus 2 worth buying or should I wait for Zebra 3?

[Davias]

By using Nexus your are cheating, if you are not serious about electronic music then go for Nexus. Plus you can replace Nexus by any sample loaded in any sampler, and for free ! No need to invest a penny. If you want to sound like thousand joes (like Avicii OMG !) then go for Nexus, if you are lazy and uncreative go for Nexus... If you want to be part of the elite of sound designing don't even consider Nexus, any free synth will replace it.
















Ooops ? Aren't we in the "How much do you use presets poll ?", sorry mistake :p


Joke appart, the others pretty well summarized the pro and to cons of Nexus vs Zebra, at the end choose what works best for you

[Wormhelmet]

By using Nexus your are cheating, if you are not serious about electronic music then go for Nexus. Plus you can replace Nexus by any sample loaded in any sampler, and for free ! No need to invest a penny. If you want to sound like thousand joes (like Avicii OMG !) then go for Nexus, if you are lazy and uncreative go for Nexus... If you want to be part of the elite of sound designing don't even consider Nexus, any free synth will replace it.
















Ooops ? Aren't we in the "How much do you use presets poll ?", sorry mistake :p


Joke appart, the others pretty well summarized the pro and to cons of Nexus vs Zebra, at the end choose what works best for you

Seriously, two completely different beasts. I would look at what sounds you want to achieve in the next 20 songs you do. Are you going to need some good piano or violin, or do you browse preset categories looking for sounds you recognize in more mainstream genres? Buy Nexus. Do you like sound design, or do Electronica or need very fluent movement to sound without playing fluid passages? Then buy Zebra.

Ideally if you want superb rompler sounds and superb synthesized sound potential, you would get both. Pretty expensive to have it all though, but I imagine with Nexus and Zebra, you could use those two exclusively and never need another synth.

You could achieve similar results on a budget with sound fonts and a couple free synths like Synth1, Crystal, or similar.

[Davias]

I'm asking a very serious question now (not like before :p ) :

Is it a good idea to consider Nexus vs Kontakt ? After all if Nexus is just a rompler, then it is nothing more than a sampler with pre-loaded samples.

Since there's some lib with EDM sounds for Kontakt, which one would you describe as "best" ?

This is the post of Wormhelmet that makes me think about it. If I want a piano or a string ensemble, I think direct of Kontakt, but Nexus could do it also it seems.

So what are you thoughts ?

[jethrobull]

Sound design = zebra. Preset whore = nexus. Neither = booze & drugs.

[Wormhelmet]

Sound design = zebra. Preset whore = nexus. Neither = booze & drugs.

The third option not considered yet. Good reminder!

[V0RT3X]

Sound design = zebra. Preset whore = nexus. Neither = booze & drugs.

Don't forget the hookers!

[RichardNL70]

Nexus doesn't make you creative.

Hmm, yeah, and people who play piano are not creative also… they just use the same preset over and over again.

[Wormhelmet]

Sound design = zebra. Preset whore = nexus. Neither = booze & drugs.

Don't forget the hookers!

Yeah!

Or the zebra hookers - they are your nexus to booze and drugs.

[nIGhT-SoN]

Nexus doesn't make you creative.

Hmm, yeah, and people who play piano are not creative also… they just use the same preset over and over again.

We are talking here about producing Dance Music which is formed maninly from simple chords that almost anyone can do them. You can say you need some creativity to get them right and to make you rock the floor, but let's face it, it's more about the actual sound in dance music, the bass how it sounds, how it fits in the mix, stabs, effects and so on and not really about the performance.

LE: IMHO Nexus is made for producers that have a lot of clients and can't keep up the work with them. Also for those who don't know anything about sound design and wants to make EDM. I can't say there is no utility for it, in studio I'm using it to put ideas that come from nowhere and you don't want to lose the feeling of it, but if I would use it for a comercial release, having the time to make my own sounds, I would feel bad about myself, it's like I would cheat.

[RichardNL70]

We are talking here about producing Dance Music …

Exactly, music! So this whole discussion about using Nexus makes you more or less creative, more or less lazy, etc is absolutely BS.

It's about using "the tools" to meet your requirements and to achieve your goals. This discussion should be about knowledge, budget, goals, music, etc. But over and over again it's about "does size matter?" And we all know that the answer to that question has nothing to do with "big is better".

At some point you will figure out that taste and quality is something completely different. You will have a revelation that creativeness comes not from the tools. Hell, I'm 100% convinced that a good musician or producer can make a quality and creative track with a rock and a string.

I have been a programmer for the most part of my adult life (and even a part of my childhood). I have used many languages, from VB to Java, from scripts to Objective-C. Over and over again I have seen these discussions. I'm currently at the point where I'm a programmer, somebody who implements the requirements whatever language is chosen. The choice is mine, does is make me more or less creative? And besides that, do I need to program my own word processor to be able to write a letter or can I use any of the standard available off-the-shelf software?

You don't have to like Nexus, or Zebra or any plug. But making the assumption that people are lazy or not creative by means of the tools they use is… well… clueless. Sorry to offend most of you guys!


PS: No I don't own Nexus or Zebra.

[danbroad]

Welcome to Gearslutz.

[Lotuzia]

Nexus doesn't make you creative.

Hmm, yeah, and people who play piano are not creative also… they just use the same preset over and over again.

We are talking here about producing Dance Music which is formed maninly from simple chords that almost anyone can do them. You can say you need some creativity to get them right and to make you rock the floor, but let's face it, it's more about the actual sound in dance music, the bass how it sounds, how it fits in the mix, stabs, effects and so on and not really about the performance.

LE: IMHO Nexus is made for producers that have a lot of clients and can't keep up the work with them. Also for those who don't know anything about sound design and wants to make EDM. I can't say there is no utility for it, in studio I'm using it to put ideas that come from nowhere and you don't want to lose the feeling of it, but if I would use it for a comercial release, having the time to make my own sounds, I would feel bad about myself, it's like I would cheat.

Well, you are talking here of producing dance music, and seem to have very precise ideas about it, how it is done, and how it should be done ( Not that I consider myself as a big connaisseur in this field but well ..... ), but mainly you're just expressing your opinion about "presets".

Otoh, Nexus can do much more than 'dance music as you describe it'. You should take a look at all the available libraries for it : There are also Strings, Pianos, Guitars, Drums etc etc. As well as libraries for a lot of dance genres, wich eventually can be seen as handy for people writing ... music, for their pleasure, or for their job.

Some basic sound design is also possible, it has envelopes, filters, a matrix modulation where you can control OSC gains, LFO etc, capable FX. Not that much, and not that less, compared to say .... a Minimoog. Actually, all you need to adapt a preset to your track, or totally transform it and be *creative*

Point is that Nexus can produce sounds that the other cant. And the reverse is true. Comparing these two is either useless, either a matter of strict "how to make music" philosophy, but has strictly nothing to do with *the sound*. My own philosophy is there are multiple ways to do good music, the only best one beeing the one "that fits your taste", and not " the one that satisfies your neighbour's, or forum mate member , opinions.

Someone mentioned sampling *something*, putting it in a *sampler* - free ?-, and resulting in getting Nexus for *free*. Its a really good idea. After having (re)synthesised all the sources, with multiple synths, to make them sound like the ones in Nexus ( Only a few years work ), then mapping everything ( just over 1000 presets) and finding the same Fx ( because no reverb sound like another reverb) then make a preset database system like Nexus have, and then offering over the top the same Arp. This before playing actually any note on any instrument, but just to get " the choice" of playing one. Then the same guy could visit the London Orchestra and offer VSL *for free*. Because, yes, its that easy.

Comppared to a sampler, or a rompler that can import its own waves under several formats, Nexus, like Omnisphere, is a closed unit. Then, it offers extensions. ( "Offering" might be discussed, but well ) So yes this kind of instruments is inherently heavily dependant of the sound design made for the presets. Whether you like them, or think you need them, makes the difference, and seals your choice. Still its an unique instrument, with unique content etc etc.

Note : And not to be misunderstood, I dont own Nexus, have played with it on a few occasions, and find it OK to make music ( Some patches just sound good ). I have other romplers, so I passed this one.

So to the OP : Get both ? Get the one that have "the best sounds for you" ? Or else ?

LtZ

[nIGhT-SoN]

You can always make more with Zebra than you can do with Nexus. With Nexus you are stuck with those sounds or what will be released, for money of course. I am that kind of person that likes to have no limits and be able to do what he wants. Using Nexus you can't say you are not limited.

What is nice about nexus is that you get good sounds for less cpu, but the drawback is that you can't do much about that sound. Also what you hear in Nexus, that nice sound, is because of FX (reverb, delay). They are drowned in those FX. Try to disable them and tell me if it still sound that good.

Another -1 for Nexus is that it can cause problems in the mix. You will have more work to do at mixing stage with Nexus than with Zebra (and as usual, if you know what are you doing). Also there are some presets that are out of tune, at least that's how it sounded to me. As I said, I wouldn't use Nexus for a commercial record if time wouldn't be a problem. That's just me. If the thread starter it's like me, he knows what to choose.

If I were him, I would choose Zebra without even looking back and without remorse. I don't say that's what he should do, only if he's like me and have the same vision about music.

[Brittlestem]

I am that kind of person that likes to have no limits and be able to do what he wants.

Where's the "Pretentious Hipster" emoticon when you need it.

[CrystalWizard]

hmmm that neither option sure looks like fun

but seriously, they're tools. use the tool you think suits the job.