Do you still use 32 bit plugins?

[dellboy]

The benefit of performance may be minimal, to non-existant. The benefit of being future-proof, and to push developers to develop future proof software, is rather the thing for me here. And for people using large sample libraries, and with a big amount of RAM, we don't have to discuss the benefits, they are obvious.

If large sample libraries are so important,then all the 80s Pet Shop boys songs must be rubbish according to current thinking. The Beatles "Strawberry Fields" haunting Mellotron flute is redundant as well,even though it roughly equates to 8 bit. The large sample library myth is just that,a myth. I have an 18th century violin that sounds brilliant when played by a good violinist,but sounds awful in my hands,perhaps I should throw it away and get newer technology. Hans Zimmer used all his musical skill to get around all the inherent problems of short samples, and with 150 film scores to his credit,many of them in the 8 bit to 16bit eighties they still sound good to my ears. I recently parted with my Tascam 144 portastudio after 25 years, I rarely managed to make much music of any note with it,but in the hands of Bruce Springsteen,the very same model was used to record "Nebraska" which must equate to less than 16bits. In reality a good musician will make good music with anything much to hand.But big capitalist corporations will keep promoting the myth that if you only had the very latest.....................

[chk071]

If large sample libraries are so important

I didn't say that they are universally important, where did you get that from? I hardly use samples, so why would a big sample library be of importance to me? It is a fact that they are important for others though, and that multi sampled instruments are superior in timbre to the stuff used in romplers on small memory hardware in the past. So, if you make use of more than 4 gigs of RAM, there is no alternative to using 64-bit.

[Guenon]

If large sample libraries are so important,then all the 80s Pet Shop boys songs must be rubbish according to current thinking. The Beatles "Strawberry Fields" haunting Mellotron flute is redundant as well,even though it roughly equates to 8 bit. The large sample library myth is just that,a myth.

Of course it's not a myth. It's just different. You can achieve wildly different things with different tools. If someone needs large orchestral libraries (or similarly sized tools) for their material, it doesn't in any way, just by existing, detract from Pet Shop Boys or The Beatles, haha.

If you don't need tools like that, it's okay. If Pet Shop Boys or The Beatles didn't need them, that's more than okay too, not to mention a bit obvious . If a folk singer-songwriter playing a mean acoustic guitar doesn't need them, really cool. And so on. Now, if someone does need them, it has no bearing in either direction. That is to say, it doesn't mean their music or approach is flawed, and it doesn't mean everything else is obsolete, either (as the straw man goes).

Having all these options at one's disposal is just awesome. These days, I tend to leave it at that

[thecontrolcentre]

funny that you ask as up until several weeks ago, I was 32bit.
With the transition to WIN10. I took the plunge and changed all my critical plugs to 64bit. LIVE and everything except my old Bootsie plugs, le Cab, and CamelPhat which I couldn't find my old 64 bit installer.

Frankly, everything sounds exactly the same
:=)

Do you notice a performance difference that is related to your DAW and plugins being 64 bit?

I don't know about others but presumably going 64 bit often means a new computer, so obviously there'll be a performance increase straight off. The difference I noticed is Live can load as many samples or plugins as I need faster, and without compromising latency or audio. The SSD disks probably make a difference here too, as well as all that extra RAM.

+1 to what Guenon posted. We are so lucky to be so spoiled for choice.

[chk071]

funny that you ask as up until several weeks ago, I was 32bit.
With the transition to WIN10. I took the plunge and changed all my critical plugs to 64bit. LIVE and everything except my old Bootsie plugs, le Cab, and CamelPhat which I couldn't find my old 64 bit installer.

Frankly, everything sounds exactly the same
:=)

Do you notice a performance difference that is related to your DAW and plugins being 64 bit?

I don't know about others but presumably going 64 bit means a new computer, so obviously there'll be a performance increase straight off. The difference I notice is Live can load as many samples or plugins I need faster, and without compromising latency or audio. SSD disks probably make a difference here too.

True dat, hehe. I was interested to see how my new computer with a SSD affected performance and all that, but how are you supposed to make a fair comparison with your 8 year old machine, with a HDD which operates in snail speed. Or with a operating system (Windows 7) which has a worse performance than both successors. From what i can say though, the switch to 64-bit didn't make a huge impact, if any, and that's also what i experienced with other 64-bit vs. 32-bit applications i used before. Some start lightning fast though. But, again, that's rather down to the programming part i guess. Something like the sluggish Firefox (sorry fans) will never start up very quickly, regardless of bit version.

[Kayster82]

I just keep a 32bit DAW alongside a 64bit one, simple as switching from an app to another, I can either bounce separate audio tracks from the 32bit DAW for final mixing in my main DAW.. Doesn't take more time than making hardware connections on patchbay..I don't know, people get lazy.. funny when someone complains about no 64bit support and still buying vintage floppy based samplers on Ebay (I saw this in real life!)

[dellboy]

If large sample libraries are so important

I didn't say that they are universally important, where did you get that from? I hardly use samples, so why would a big sample library be of importance to me? It is a fact that they are important for others though, and that multi sampled instruments are superior in timbre to the stuff used in romplers on small memory hardware in the past. So, if you make use of more than 4 gigs of RAM, there is no alternative to using 64-bit.

If you hardly use large samples,why do you need more than 3 gig of ram ?

I have listened to many of the tunes on this site and they seem to be mostly EDM type music which use virtually no ram . Some one like "Wagtunes" (who I think has real potential talent) can definitely benefit from large samples for his orchestral pieces,but ultimately his computer based music serves as a demo, and would eventually be translated into an orchestral studio recording with a full orchestra. To keep it all in context,my first Atari computer had half a megabyte of ram,which was eventually upgraded to 2 megs and a huge 20 meg hard drive. But people like the Human League and the Eurythmics etc etc etc managed to produce world wide hits with such meager tools. I should also add that I use almost all 32 bit (apart from Sampletank 3 64 bit) . My computer is 64 bit win 10, 8 gig ram, which is more than enough for my relative talent.

[highkoo]

32bit only, probably forever.

[Norrin_Radd]

2 left in regular rotation. I really wish I could get them in 64bit so I could get rid of jbridge and this auxhost separate window crap...

Aly James FMDrive and Sonitex.

[dellboy]

Of course it's not a myth. It's just different. You can achieve wildly different things with different tools. If someone needs large orchestral libraries (or similarly sized tools) for their material, it doesn't in any way, just by existing, detract from Pet Shop Boys or The Beatles, haha.


The "myth" that I refer to is, that no matter how many tools we have at our disposal,no tool is better than real musical talent and very hard work and practice. One of my first synths back in the 80s was a Juno 106, no matter how big the samples are,how can they ever be better than a real Juno ? How can samples of a Steinway ever be better than the real thing ? It does not matter how big the samples are ( they will probably soon be terabytes) nothing - bar nothing , will ever make someone with no musical talent into a musician.

That's the myth.

But the gravy train rumbles on.

[Guenon]

The "myth" that I refer to is, that no matter how many tools we have at our disposal,no tool is better than real musical talent and very hard work and practice. One of my first synths back in the 80s was a Juno 106, no matter how big the samples are,how can they ever be better than a real Juno ?.

Of course, but that hasn't got anything to do with the fact that there is a time and place for every tool, and if someone is commissioned to do something that doesn't sound like a Juno or Pet Shop Boys or, or... (you get the idea), they are far better off using the tools that suit the gig. That's all. It isn't a value statement of any of those overall sounds being better; I love retro sounds, and modern sounds made with time tested gear for that matter !

It's just that, if someone is doing an orchestral trailer piece for a game for example, it's of no help if they are absolutely top notch at pulling off an Eurythmics type of track. Or godlike on an acoustic. And so on. The expected style and sound is simply different. They have the musical understanding and top skill, but without suitable tools, they aren't going to turn in an actually appropriate track for the client. Similarly, real musical talent and very hard work and practice etc. can be utilized on all gear, including those huge sample libraries. So why make it all so either/or?

It's not a myth, it's just your bias. In my opinion, again, it's great to have all these options, what ever direction one pursues.

[Muziksculp]

No 32-bit Plugins on my system.

Only using 64-bit Plugins

[Guenon]

How can samples of a Steinway ever be better than the real thing ?

They fit into your apartment and don't cost as much, and you can also compose on a train with them?

[foosnark]

How can samples of a Steinway ever be better than the real thing ?

They fit into your apartment and don't cost as much, and you can also compose on a train with them?

And just try playing an acoustic Steinway backwards, or modulating the sample start position.

[cron]

I'm only using 32 bit plugs on a 32 bit DAW.

When I got this new computer about 3 years ago I made the decision to stay 32 bit as I was convinced I'd be using loads of 32 bit plugs. As it turns out, I don't think I'm using anything that doesn't also have a 64 bit version. The folder on my last machine was jam-packed with freeware going back to something like 2005 and I'm astonished by how little of it I actually miss. I just assumed it was a habit I'd carry over, or at least that there'd be some plugs from the old folder I'd still want to use.

The only thing stopping me making the switch now is that I can't be arsed to spend half a day deauthorising/installing/reauthorising everything. Maybe if I start getting into enormous sample libraries I'll think about it, otherwise I'll wait until I get a new primary hard drive.