In Praise of Absynth

[generaldiomedes]

Yes, it is an interesting phenomenon. I rarely hear people say "bass guitar, oh that's so dated." Or "conga drum, that's so dated." It's not like every avenue of synthesis via Absynth has been done to death or anything close. There seems to be this line of thinking that goes "if a sound has been used once than it's old." .

When we talk about dated, I am assuming people are talking about quality of the sound not the type of sound or the content of the sound. Analog fidelity of real life instruments is not a factor of what decade we are in, but craftmanship. However, as CPUs get faster and algorithms improve, the quality of virtual instruments improves over time.

[Neon Breath]

Yes, it is an interesting phenomenon. I rarely hear people say "bass guitar, oh that's so dated." Or "conga drum, that's so dated." It's not like every avenue of synthesis via Absynth has been done to death or anything close. There seems to be this line of thinking that goes "if a sound has been used once than it's old." Glad most people don't feel that way about guitars.

Wrong analogy. With a guitar there is no technological interface, it’s you and the instrument. With a plugin you 100% rely on the computer. With a plugin you are dealing directly with technology and you entirely depend on it. Computers changes, specs change, other new plugins arise because of technology advancements in different fields. So eventually even if you don’t want to, the plugin will be outdated (filters, aliasing, GUI, overall rendering sound etc) because of the computers & the tech keep changing, so plugins must move forward in the same direction and the same speed. Not saying Absynth is now a piece of trash and shouldn't be used anymore, but it can't just be as good as it was 20 years ago with all the computer advancements. To me it’s a non-sense to have plugins running on constant changing computers that stay the same for 20 years. One day or the other if it's not updated at some point, it'll be obsolete & will disappear. That's how software work.

Are you using the same cell phone you were in 2004?

[glokraw]

This all assumes everybody has heard the absynth sounds,
to enable some consensus, that the consensus itself is that
the sounds are now second rate, and could be identified
as lousy old absynth sounds in a mix, and hence that a song using
those sounds would be a dud.

Which is absurd on the face of it. And considering Absynth can import,
morphmangle, and randomize sounds, in capable hands,
it's a capable tool, and always will be. Most of the nuances
of great plugin advancements are lost in the mix, when not
tortured beyond recognition by poor song crafting, and mediocre
musicianship. The kind of songs that could actually highlight
such advanced sounds, don't fit the music industry mass sales paradigim.
And then there is the limit of human hearing, and the rarity in time and place
of quiet listening environments, where audiophiles could actually
phile the audio they hear. (tm)
Cheers

[Teksonik]

Absynth was the worst purchase I ever made (I paid full price). I think it was 10+ years ago and I'm not sure there was even a demo available at that time. I bought it on faith and to be honest I don't even have it installed any longer.

I guess I still have a license but it's for the old 32 bit version.

[jancivil]

This all assumes everybody has heard the absynth sounds,

Worse, it assumes that the individual making the assertion has heard *all* sounds one can arrive at with Absynth. That is the definition of absurd.

"Its filters are dated" - really? The cloud filter is passé now, what. It's as though we're talking about fads.

[Teksonik]

Inspired by this thread I checked my studio computer which is still running NI's Service Center instead of the new Native Access to see if I even have Absynth 3 installed. I do not but I noticed something weird.

Why is Rob Papen's Predator 2 and Synapse Audio's The Legend showing up in NI's Service Center ?

[chk071]

Probably because they're NKS compatible plugins.

[pinki]

Look at all the complaints of how supposedly "dated" iOS looked at version 6. Apple gave us the mess of iOS 7 and its legacy. Every time i use my iPhone 4 with iOS 6 on it, i think "this looks so elegant and modern" while my iPhone 6s with iOS 10.x looks reminiscent of a modern paint program mockup of 1985's graphics capabilities. Overblown hate at one app with green felt resulted in throwing out the baby with the bathwater, and then burning half the house down.

Ha! I so so agree with you. I ditched iOS after version 6 due to its infantilising visual nature. But I'm odd like that...

[Teksonik]

Probably because they're NKS compatible plugins.

I've got Papen's Blue 2 and U-he's DIVA and they show on the list of NKS compatible synths but don't show in the Service Center. But the point is no other developer's plugin should show up in NI's Service Center and show as "Activated"

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/s ... -partners/

I don't have any NKS capable hardware so don't pay any attention to what plugins are supported or not.

Sorry, don't mean to hijack. Didn't think this deserved a separate thread.........

[glokraw]

Absynth was the worst purchase I ever made (I paid full price). I think it was 10+ years ago and I'm not sure there was even a demo available at that time. I bought it on faith and to be honest I don't even have it installed any longer.

I guess I still have a license but it's for the old 32 bit version.

Value is pretty relative. I bought Hive mainly because of one sound that
competing intruments are likely capable of, but didn't have out of the box,
much like buying a sports car, to augment a pickup truck.
I think far too many absynth presets are just lazily detuned drones,
marketed to burnouts happy playing the black notes, but I blame that on NI,
not the instruments potentials, and their choice likely cost them many sales,
hence that lack viability for more updates.
Why not sell Absynth for a little cash towards some new synth
that you'll enjoy using?
Cheers

[JerGoertz]

I think far too many absynth presets are just lazily detuned drones,
marketed to burnouts happy playing the black notes, but I blame that on NI,

What do you have against the black notes???

[glokraw]

I think far too many absynth presets are just lazily detuned drones,
marketed to burnouts happy playing the black notes, but I blame that on NI,

What do you have against the black notes???

They poke up between the white notes, and require extra dexterity.
I'd be happier if they were all the same height, and the color just
there to keep me from getting utterly lost.

[Teksonik]

Why not sell Absynth for a little cash towards some new synth
that you'll enjoy using?
Cheers

Someone saw my post and offered to buy Absynth 3 from me so transfer in progress. Hopefully the new user will give Absynth more love than I have.........

[egbert101]

<delete>

[glokraw]

Why not sell Absynth for a little cash towards some new synth
that you'll enjoy using?
Cheers

Someone saw my post and offered to buy Absynth 3 from me so transfer in progress. Hopefully the new user will give Absynth more love than I have.........

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy
Iris 2 is bundled with Glitchmachines Cryogen effects, and a cinematic library
for $75, I'd buy it if I had more than three personalities

https://www.pluginboutique.com/bundles