KVR Audio

HREQ · Post by **HREQ** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 2:15 am

Hello, I currently have FL studio, kontakt komplete, alot of synths, and some other stuff. Lately I've been thinking of selling kontakt and just buying one of those sound canvas things, where they have the choices all pre selected for you like an Roland SD90, SD50, etc or maybe even just an Integra and using that.

For me, I feel like, I put so much work in trying to get the VST to sound good and mix well, and audition so many but not find a magical sound that I want to use. I feel like I spent more time fiddling with the instruments then composing music. I have been thinking of getting those hardware modules where everything is almost premixed for you, and I heard the sounds sound really good. Also, all my favorite composers used them in old video games. But I also wonder, maybe those sounds are way too outdated now?

I was just about to purchase composers cloud to compliment my kontakt komplete ultimate, but now I am thinking of selling all VST instruments and buying a hardware rack and just using that only. What do you guys think? I kind of hate spending hours making a sound to sound good, and I just make music for myself and my own creative projects, nothing pro. I maybe want to release my own album, or my own game with music, so I think maybe all these super high quality sample librarys maybe should be left to professionals? And I should get one of the romplers instead. What do you guys think of this idea here?

zenophilix · Post by **zenophilix** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 2:41 am

I agree with this to some extent. The majority of VSTs out there seem to have an unreasonable amount of knobs and buttons strewn all over the interface, and it can often trigger moments of "F--- this.". I usually like to download presets for whatever VST I'm using, and just tweak from there, sometimes randomly turning knobs in hopes something will work.

Actually, it works pretty well sometimes. Maybe give it a shot before selling everything off?

my first rubbish post. yaaaay.

Oh, hey, if you're thinking to sell Komplete, would you accept $100?

(Kidding, of course.)

rod_zero · Post by **rod_zero** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 4:20 am

I agree with your problem, but you could just cut down on the virtual Instruments.

I just use the included stuff with Live and a couple of soft synths.

Michael L · Post by **Michael L** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 4:40 am

^^^ This. Make a template in your DAW with only those few synths you really love, to clear your head. I did & it helps.

deastman · Post by **deastman** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 5:27 am

You have a lot of options, which I consider a good thing. Choose one of those options, and just stick with that one thing for a while. Switching to a convoluted hardware workflow is just an excuse to buy more tools instead of buckling down and making music.

I should listen to my own advice once in a while!

Zexila · Post by **Zexila** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 5:54 am

Personally got back from "greener grass on other side" to Logic again and using factory/stock thing exclusively, don't know about FL, but Logic also got good channel strip presets where you get instruments with effects, kinda cool really.

But again, whatever makes most sense to you, personally fiddling around and mixing is all the fun for me, but my workflow is separated, first it's composing and rough arranging with "place holder" sounds, than fun starts. It happens that those "place holder" sounds ended up being "it" after hunt for more "higher quality" or "right" ones.

So your problem is mainly that you got too many options and even after that you need to spend more time polishing that to sound how you want it, yeah, that's the thing with choices these days, you end up polishing best turd after seeking for it long enough.

There's no single perfect solution, wanted to hook up a friend to just make music and after research, my humble opinion is that you unfortunately need to carefully cherry pick your setup and still spend considerable amount.

Let's make this easier a little:

How much you rely on synth sounds and how "modern" those need to be?
How much you rely on acoustic sounds and how much realism is needed for them?
How much factory/stock DAW offering really covers your needs?
How do you feel about Omnisphere?

For example, my synth sound needs are kinda basic and personally lean more towards organic side or even in synth doing acoustic kind of thing, that's my sweet spot actually in some cases, for example, mine string ensemble needs are quite modest and even those synth presets fit the bill, but I'm picky about flutes, so investing in some nice specialized HQ flute library is a must for me, but on other hand just using decent synth could do me, so for me, Logic factory stuff is ace and got me covered pretty much. So overall, few acoustic stuff needs realism, for others stock covered, synth side, stock covered.

DJ Warmonger · Post by **DJ Warmonger** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 6:52 am

I agree with your problem, but you could just cut down on the virtual Instruments.

There is commercial solution for that in a form of VIP software + keyboards. In order to manage these dozens of plugins you need smart plugin browser

How do you feel about Omnisphere?

Omnisphere is another solution of this kind - a library build around browser.

And yes, I agree that currently existing music software is just too complex to ever be used. I gave up Blue 2 just for the reason it was too big to manage. I also have tons of software I never tried just from Ableton Suite + Max4Live, despite owning only a handful of synths. Serum gets upgrades and new features every few months... the list goes on.

My advice is the following: focus on making music and try new software only if you really have to. Also learn a habit to delete unnecessary samples and plugins from your system altogether to get better focus on these which are useful.

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 7:21 am

Stop making excuses. There is no ROMpler that sounds better than Kontakt's factory library or good add on libraries. If you're swamped with too many choices, something like an Integra is only going to let you browse though things faster. Regardless as to what types of instruments you decide to use, the end of the chain is always going to be you. Spend more time making music and less time obsessing about the actual sounds. If the music is good, you can always go back and find a better sound or use an EQ to help it sit in the mix better. This is true for hardware as well. I love the sound of my Neptune (an analog mono) but it's so damn obese that it is often too much for a part. I'm really intimate with it though so now I know when to go to it and when not to, but even times when I've decided that it's dominating a mix, a quick parametric EQ is usually all that's needed, or god forbid, thinning out the arrangement a bit to make room.

DrGonzo · Post by **DrGonzo** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 7:40 am

zerocrossing wrote:Stop making excuses. There is no ROMpler that sounds better than Kontakt's factory library or good add on libraries. If you're swamped with too many choices, something like an Integra is only going to let you browse though things faster.

Yep - Kontakt by far has the most innovative and great sounding library and no rompler can compete in terms of versatility and sound. But sound quality is not the end-all of all. Workflow also has to be considered - and that's when I start bleeding through my nose every time I use Kontakt. Something about Kontakt just make me want to scrub the floors or do the dishes. For me - Kontakt is an instant creativity killer. I am aware that lots of users are finding Kontakt to be fantastic - thumbs up for them!

I recently bought a Yamaha MOXF rompler. 741 megabyte samples - and the bloody thing kicks ass. Not just that - it takes less than 15 seconds to boot and the time to change sound from a grand piano to a trombone is instant. That scores fcking high on in the workflow meter. Does it sound as good as Kontakt? No. Of course not.

You know what I started to do? I started re-sampling my favourite Kontakt libraries and use them in my other samplers (both software and hardware). THAT bloody kicks ass. Great great sounds + great workflow = Carl happy

/C

recursive one · Post by **recursive one** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 1:25 pm

If you are used to software workflow dealing with a hardware synth would be as such a huge factor slowing your creativity down unless it has a good DAW integration (afaik Yamaha MOX6/8 has a VST plugin but I don't know how well is the VST integration implemented).

You may consider a software workstation instead, like Halion Sonic or Air Expand. Not sure about Omnisphere, it is often said to be lacking bread and butter sounds

Btw I have a rompler (an entry level Yamaha workstation) and I have no use of its sounds except that sometimes I want just to play keys without loading my DAW and plugins. To my ears, real intruments sound better in Komplete and what is supposed to be synth sounds in this Yamaha is total garbage. It is one of the cheapest romplers though (but still it costed me more than a Komplete license).

DrGonzo · Post by **DrGonzo** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 1:51 pm

recursive one wrote: Btw I have a rompler (an entry level Yamaha workstation) and I have no use of its sounds except that sometimes I want just to play keys without loading my DAW and plugins. To my ears, real intruments sound better in Komplete and what is supposed to be synth sounds in this Yamaha is total garbage. It is one of the cheapest romplers though (but still it costed me more than a Komplete license).

Good points that pretty much sums up what I feel too. Good hardware is more expensive, but nicer to use since you don't have to load plugs + libraries all the time. Software gives you better sounds & is cheaper but is less tangible.

/C

nickamandote · Post by **nickamandote** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 2:04 pm

Try software romplers like KORG M1, Wavestation, Proteus VX. Hardware like Roland JV or XV series. Sometimes a synth is nice to have it depends what are you searching for. It may be nice to use a synth for a certain lead and just use a preset for a pad for example.

recursive one · Post by **recursive one** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 6:58 pm

You may look into Calliope - seems to be just what you may want, a collection of bread and butter workstation type sounds. Works with Kontakt (also with free Kontakt player), currently 49 USD

http://sonic-cat.com/calliope/

nickamandote · Post by **nickamandote** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 7:01 pm

recursive one wrote:You may look into Calliope - seems to be just what you may want, a collection of bread and butter workstation type sounds. Works with Kontakt (also with free Kontakt player), currently 49 USD

http://sonic-cat.com/calliope/

is has some very good sounds like it

V0RT3X · Post by **V0RT3X** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 8:10 pm

If you learn about sound design, you will eventually learn ways to categorize the various tools you own. It does take a while to see what each tools strengths are and what the best tool will be for a certain task. In the end you want to buy a tool that helps you acheive a overall "sound" that you can call your own.

Sure, the overwhelming possibilities are easy to get lost in, and starting out can be confusing (trust me i was there). I spent lots of time learning what kind of sound i want to recreate. A lot of that is provided by workflow and the tech behind a certain instruments design.

Because of my interest in electronc music, I had to learn a lot about the principles behind various synthesis types. Sound design isn't easy but its rewarding.

Now i don't feel so overwhelmed, I've put a great deal of time learning my setup and have demoed many plugins and have chosen tools that i feel are best for my own sound.

If thats what you want then you will need to put in the time and research.

If you really don't want to learn how to craft your own "sound" because it requires hard work then by all means use romplers. Only you will know what makes you happy, and by the way no amount of plugin presets will truly give you your own sound until you learn how to make your own.

VST virtual instruments too much choice hindering creativity vs hardware romplers?