Softube Modular

[wagtunes]

There is something slightly perverse to me about getting an emulation of a eurorack modular and then immediately starting to worry about presets.

It's all about the sound. This thing sounds amazing. But as mentioned in other posts before. Not every musician likes to re-invent the wheel every time he's composing/producing music.

Which is why sound designers like myself exist. I just don't relish the thought of coming out with a library that is so limited because of the limitations of the base synth itself. Sure, I could do a 128/128 split and maybe sell them as two separate packages (one for basic and one for advanced) but that's a lot of work for what may very well be minimal return on the advanced pack. Not everybody is going to get the add-ons even if there are only 3 at this point in time. And as time goes on, this endeavor becomes even more difficult to manage.

Truth is, if I get this synth (and I will eventually) I will probably just end up making presets for myself.

[murnau]

BTW: The sound is absolutely stunning!
I agree. This is so consequently orientated on a hardware Eurorack that it takes minutes just to get a simple sound (Midi to CV, Trigger, Gate and so on). So to all the sound designers on here, please keep the presets and sound banks coming!

Creating presets for this, given the structure, is going to be a logistical nightmare outside of using just the stock modules that come with the base package.

You won't be able to make presets with any of the add-on modules because not everybody is going to have them. I can only imagine what would happen if you tried loading a preset that contained an add-on module and you didn't have that module in your rig.

This hinders what designers can do because it's not an all inclusive package.

I can't agree to this concern. Where is the problem to mention right from the start something like: For this presets you need module x and module y etc.?

I can imagine that even some maybe then buying a missing module just because they like the presets. So it could be a win/win situation.

[VariKusBrainZ]

But its not as limited as a real eurorack as you can use as many modules as you like, there are all sorts of tricks to be done when combining modules, if you know what youre doing

[hivkorn]

Ik multimedia have the same preset scheme , there to much preset for add on with amplitube , I own amplitube 3 and orange amplitube (really good emulation) and 95% of the preset are made with additional content.

[tedannemann]

Yes, but I don't know why a capable sound designer couldn't get a full sound bank together just with the standard modules.
As VariKusBrainZ mentioned you can use the modules multiple times and create endless sounds combined with all the utility modules.

[wagtunes]

BTW: The sound is absolutely stunning!
I agree. This is so consequently orientated on a hardware Eurorack that it takes minutes just to get a simple sound (Midi to CV, Trigger, Gate and so on). So to all the sound designers on here, please keep the presets and sound banks coming!

Creating presets for this, given the structure, is going to be a logistical nightmare outside of using just the stock modules that come with the base package.

You won't be able to make presets with any of the add-on modules because not everybody is going to have them. I can only imagine what would happen if you tried loading a preset that contained an add-on module and you didn't have that module in your rig.

This hinders what designers can do because it's not an all inclusive package.

I can't agree to this concern. Where is the problem to mention right from the start something like: For this presets you need module x and module y etc.?

I can imagine that even some maybe then buying a missing module just because they like the presets. So it could be a win/win situation.

That's a good point. If I had a really good sound demo and mentioned on the sales page that you need certain modules, yes, it might get the person to purchase the library and the modules.

But then that leads to another problem and I know this because it's happened.

Some people simply don't read. They then get the library, find certain presets don't work, write to me to complain and then I have to point them to the sales page where it says you need this and this to make it work.

I don't like being at the mercy of my customer having to read anymore than need be and then being responsible to make sure they have all the modules they need. After being in business for myself for over 15 years now, this is one of the first things I've learned. People don't read.

But yes, on the surface, it's a great idea in theory. In practice, speaking from personal experience, it will absolutely lead to headaches.

[hivkorn]

Ok ,I finally understand what you mean ! yes make a preset pack only the initial content is a good idea.I can understand the frustration to load plugins and have a nag 'you don t have the X module' ...I m pretty sure we will have a cloud to share preset in the futur.
I wish audio damage do something for modular (emulation of all their hardware module)

[aMUSEd]

Ableton Live 9 users have reported that plug-in presets are not available when using the Audio Units version of a plug-in. Ableton Live 9 does not support presets in the Audio Units version of plug-ins, so this is not specific for Softube's plug-ins.

http://www.softube.com/index.php?id=support10

That's bs, Live loads aupresets fine from the browser as long as they are in the right place:

Aupresets.jpg

OK I've installed the demo now and can see the problem, It has nothing to do with Live not supporting aupresets because it does (you just load them from the browser, not from the plugin header). Fact is Modular doesn't ship with any aupresets, all of its presets are in vstpreset format, which is actually the default format for VST3 plugins (default for VST2 is fxp/b). However there is something weird about how they have implemented it because you also can't see the library in the VST3 version in Studio One either, you can only load presets 1 by 1 using the single preset loader (the AU works fine though). Ironically even though there are no aupresets the library is browsable in the dropdown preset menu in Logic (I tested this and it appears there is a builtin patch bank - Logic is not reading the individual vstpresets from the hard drive - it can't) but it doesn't show in Logic's library browser unless you save individual patches as aupresets.

This whole thing is a mess and is so badly thought out - what it means is you can only save presets in Modular's native format (vstpreset) from the VST3 version in a host that supports that (and not all hosts that can load VST3 plugins can save in vstpreset format). You could save as an aupreset but then only people on Mac using au hosts (so not Bitwig for example) can use that, there is no way to convert, you could also save as fxp but then it can't be opened in Logic and au only hosts. Why they didn't build in a browser to manage presets is beyond me, nearly everyone does that these days because hosts are generally really sucky at cross platform preset management, they all want you to use their own formats. So bottom line is there is no easy way to save patches in a format that everyone can use.

[tedannemann]

This is the same with every other (standard) VST/AU preset only related instrument/fx in Logic or Studio One 3 (VST3 integration doesn't work for every instrument to it's full extend). So nothing new here...

Truth is I can't stand to have another browser in every other instrument. The original fxp/b concept was a good one so is the new VST3 preset standard. No need for a browser at all if VST3 would be used and implemented fully in every DAW.

[JerGoertz]

Is it possible to buy the Softube Modular "basic system" through JRR Shop? I only see the add-ons for sale there.

[aMUSEd]

Yeah but it's not, and even hosts that can load VST3 plugins don't always support vstpresets properly, if at all (eg Tracktion and Reaper)

[Mystic]

Is it possible to buy the Softube Modular "basic system" through JRR Shop? I only see the add-ons for sale there.

The basic is the one listed for $75, I believe. Modular Doepfer + Utility Module Plugin Package
https://www.jrrshop.com/softube-modular-bundle

All the rest are addons.

[trusampler]

You said a mouthful there, and it was the Truth - .fxb + .fxp worked, it did it's job,and it still does, it is what it is, if developers would have stuck to this, we'd be alot further in terms of integration with synths and hosts. I can't stand when I see a new format, it's like wtf, it's enough we're all on different platforms and daws, at least let the synths keep a uniform language in terms of saving,loading,importing and exporting..

[trusampler]

SOFTUBE, please fix these links, wtf!

404 Not Found
nginx/1.10.1

[aMUSEd]

Looks like you also need to give the preset folder write privileges or it won't allow you to save your own presets either.