KVR Audio

elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Fri Dec 11, 2015 4:53 pm

I'm short on time for thoroughly demoing both of these product so I'm hoping members here have experience using both!

I'm looking for a plugin chainer for processing effects in both parallel and in series.

I have checked out Magma so far and it does seem to do what I need, but I don't need the extra modules but am curious if there are any gems in the Magma bundled effect modules.

Now for PatchWork, I have not had a chance to check out.

My biggest draws to PatchWork are the obvious features advantage, up 64 plugins (AU and VST) again both serial and parallel chains (up to 8 vs the 4 in Magma).

At the surface it would seem that PatchWork is the easy choice, but are there any drawbacks to using PatchWork?

Are there any workflow issues that make it difficult to pull off a simple dual (chain) signal, routed in parallel with only 1 plugin per each chain?

VariKusBrainZ · Post by **VariKusBrainZ** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 6:41 pm

Cheap and chearful is Vstforx, it's modular so can combine plugins however you want but has some unique standout features

Funkybot's Evil Twin · Sun Dec 13, 2015 7:01 pm

I was just using Patchwork a lot today, and if you read the active Patchwork 1.7 you can find my comments from today on how to speed up the workflow in Patchwork. That said, although it's workflow is a little slow at times (no drag and drop to reorder effects, plugin browsing is tedious), it's capable of amazing things. I was able to create some AMAZING sounding delays today by chaining a few things together and putting effects in the feedback of the delay.

Another option to check out might be Mux:

http://www.mutools.com/mux-product.html

I'd probably describe it as "Patchwork meets Reaktor." It's something I demoed, really liked, but never bought for some reason. I should probably get around to doing that one of these days.

VariKusBrainZ · Post by **VariKusBrainZ** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 7:19 pm

Patchwork allows feedback loops ??????????

Funkybot's Evil Twin · Sun Dec 13, 2015 7:57 pm

VariKusBrainZ wrote:Patchwork allows feedback loops ??????????

Not what I meant. I meant I put a delay at 100% wet, inserted other effects into the wet feedback, then used the global mix control to blend the delay back into the main signal.

LGK_Dude · Post by **LGK_Dude** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 11:27 pm

Another one to check out is agent by nyvr. If I didn't already own patchwork I would've purchased this Instead. LOVE the fact you can search plugins by name, and that every plugin has a mix control (neither are true of patchwork). Worth demoing for sure.

elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 11:28 pm

VariKusBrainZ wrote:Cheap and chearful is Vstforx, it's modular so can combine plugins however you want but has some unique standout features

This is f**king nice!

It's not what I'm looking for, but I would still use this! Off to download the demo (and that was one terribly cheesy video... but effective).

jbuonacc · Post by **jbuonacc** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 1:12 am

VariKusBrainZ wrote:Cheap and chearful is Vstforx, it's modular so can combine plugins however you want but has some unique standout features

are these guys still in business?

EDIT: duh. updated back in September. good to see!

elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 1:23 am

LGK_Dude wrote:Another one to check out is agent by nyvr. If I didn't already own patchwork I would've purchased this Instead. LOVE the fact you can search plugins by name, and that every plugin has a mix control (neither are true of patchwork). Worth demoing for sure.

I've been working on getting this setup since my last post. Quite a few crashes on the plugin scanner and its difficult to determine which plugins it is getting hung up on.

I'm not a big fan of the challenge/response, especially with a new company. If they go under I hope they're prepared to switch to s/n, or to simply remove the copy protection. I don't mean to be pessimistic, but its a tough market.

And I'm surprised... Valhalla plugins and Bittersweet didn't pass the scan.

LGK_Dude · Post by **LGK_Dude** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 1:49 am

Yeah, took a long time with the plugin scanner but the good thing is remembers where it gets hung up and continues. I don't own Valhalla, and unfortunately my demo expired so I can't go back and see which of my plugins failed, but maybe if you send nyvr an email they can help you figure out which plugins are failing? That is a very good point BTW, as I remember my system doing the same thing.

Either way I still think its worth going through the long scanning process to see if it will work for you, as it does seem to be the most powerful chainer, at least that I've used. Wish they would give you a longer demo period though!

elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 2:06 am

LGK_Dude wrote:Yeah, took a long time with the plugin scanner but the good thing is remembers where it gets hung up and continues. I don't own Valhalla, and unfortunately my demo expired so I can't go back and see which of my plugins failed, but maybe if you send nyvr an email they can help you figure out which plugins are failing? That is a very good point BTW, as I remember my system doing the same thing.

Either way I still think its worth going through the long scanning process to see if it will work for you, as it does seem to be the most powerful chainer, at least that I've used. Wish they would give you a longer demo period though!

I finally was able to get it through the scan process.

This does appear to be very powerful, except unless I'm missing something... This only allows for two simultaneous chains, with up to 8 plugins per each chain?

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 4:45 am

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bharris22 · Post by **bharris22** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 2:16 pm

I am pretty sure that there was a Nyrv Agent CM version recently, so you can try a cut down version of Agent for a nominal amount.

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 3:32 pm

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elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 4:34 pm

I did get Nyrv up and running, but it was crash after crash, after crash... so finishing the plugin scan was painfully slow. I also don't have some insane amount of plugins, but this is just a long process with Nyrv Agent.

I like what it offers as a Macro palette, but for routing options I find it limited.

What I really want is a Kore 2 replacement (and I can do without the preset management) or a GuitarRig like rack that loads other plugins... but what I want from GuitarRig is the containers for routing audio. That would be my dream setup just because of its ease of use.

My most common scenario that I'd like eliminate is the need to create multiple copies of the same track with different inserts (or chains of insert plugins) on each track which are then routed to my returns/bus tracks.

I could like Nyrv if it offered more parallel lanes.

I could like PatchWork if it offered a plugin browser and if the AU drawing errors were fixed, but as seeing its on version 1.7.x, I'm guessing it won't be. I really don't like that it loads from the plugin folder (Finder), because if I'm working on the fly, I'd like something quicker.

Magma is interesting, but it loads only VST (as far as I can see, and would love to be corrected here). I also have no need for the included FX, but those are easy enough to ignore.

I still need to check out Metaplugin (which I'll do tonight). I'm definitely motivated with the included 4 band and midside splitter as built in modules (which is very nice, but not essential).

And for die hard Kore 2 users that are wondering why I don't just keep using Kore 2, its because I'm getting Kore2 crashes when loading certain AU plugins... which to me means, its time to move on to something supported (but what a beast Kore 2 is).

BC PatchWork vs NF Magma vs Nyrv Agent