KVR Audio

Stefken · Post by **Stefken** » Fri Jan 26, 2018 10:29 am

Geist 2 is on sale 50% and might be a good buy.

What are your thought on Geist 2?
* Some say it's a DAW all in itself and 'anything you ever need'.
* Others on Gearsluts say that they made an overcomplicated monster and basically f**ked up the workflow and GUI.
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/electro ... sucks.html

I'll check out the demo but as this tool has quite the learning curve, I'd like some advice from people who already have experience with Geist 2.

What would I like to use it for?
------------------------------------------

Some of the other drummachines have a quite simple sequencer. I like it that Geist has a nice sequencer that allows e.g. polyrhythms and probability. I don't care much for the modulation system that I find over the top. I like that you can expand it with extra sounds and I'd also like to control other drummachines by routing the sequence to another vst. I expect Geist 2 will be able to do that. Then I can program the sequence in Geist and let e.g. Revolution play the sounds.
I understand that you have only one sample per (layer in an ) instrument while Revolution has numerous samples per velocity?

Schmidi · Post by **Schmidi** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 6:02 am

Option 2 in my experience. I hate to say that because it is quite ambitious and had some serious modulation.

In it's current state, it is useable but not all that stable. I experienced many seemingly random bugs, that are not obvious, so you've already made ten more parameter changes and then realize something went wrong and have a hard time tracing it.

Honestly, I prefer version 1 more than 2. If you can spring for a little more I would recommend getting a used MPC Studio or Touch. I love my touch, and having a dedicated controller adds a lot to the experience.

deastman · Post by **deastman** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 7:46 am

Personally, I found Geist 2 a huge improvement over version 1 in every respect. That thing is tremendously powerful, and yes, it really could be a DAW by itself. I tend not to use its full potential like that, but I find it very fun for programming drums, slicing samples, and so on. When Arturia's Synclavier plugin came out, I used Geist to sample single notes from a bunch of preset patches onto pads, and then created some really interesting sequences with control over probability of triggering and so forth. I just find it very creatively inspiring.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 8:15 am

Geist 2 is far better than 1. It has some lingering bugs, but there is a new beta out very recently so they are still working on it and bugs are getting fixed.

It's great for sampling. So freakin easy to sample your synth sounds straight to pads. Geist sampling fun for me!

Creating patterns is easy and powerful. My favorite pattern creator. Then you can also just drag the patterns into your DAW and they become midi clips.

The modulation system is fantastic. It can seem strange at first cause it is different. Learn it.

You have one sample per layer on a pad. But you can have 8 layers and they can be velocity split, play random etc.

Geist sounds great. I make my own kits from sampled synths and it is really easy to get results that sound like they are from a commercial soundset or production. Not exactly sure why, but Geist just sounds good easily. Some fantastic FX.

I find Geist easy to use. I started back on Guru, so I suppose Geist 2 might seem a bit overwhelming to someone seeing it (or any predecessors) for the first time.

I consider it hands down the best drum machine plugin... and a no brainer. At 50% just get it.

Apratim · Post by **Apratim** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 8:34 am

Stefken wrote:Geist 2 is on sale 50% and might be a good buy.

What are your thought on Geist 2?
* Some say it's a DAW all in itself and 'anything you ever need'.
* Others on Gearsluts say that they made an overcomplicated monster and basically f**ked up the workflow and GUI.
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/electro ... sucks.html

I'll check out the demo but as this tool has quite the learning curve, I'd like some advice from people who already have experience with Geist 2.

What would I like to use it for?
------------------------------------------

Some of the other drummachines have a quite simple sequencer. I like it that Geist has a nice sequencer that allows e.g. polyrhythms and probability. I don't care much for the modulation system that I find over the top. I like that you can expand it with extra sounds and I'd also like to control other drummachines by routing the sequence to another vst. I expect Geist 2 will be able to do that. Then I can program the sequence in Geist and let e.g. Revolution play the sounds.
I understand that you have only one sample per (layer in an ) instrument while Revolution has numerous samples per velocity?

if they feel that geist 2 is "an overcomplicated monster and basically f**ked up the workflow and GUI"
then they havent used mdrummer. its a monster of its own. i would say that no other drum vst can be compared to it but the UI is enough to cover up the whole screen and complex enough to confuse au5

leaving what the guys at gearsluts say
i would say go for geist
or if you can battery at cheap prize go for that instead

morelia · Post by **morelia** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 9:24 am

Great sounds, great features, don't understand it, too lazy to read the manual, to little time to learn more than 1% of the features.

Stefken · Post by **Stefken** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 9:24 am

pdxindy wrote: Geist sounds great. I make my own kits from sampled synths and it is really easy to get results that sound like they are from a commercial soundset or production. Not exactly sure why, but Geist just sounds good easily. Some fantastic FX.
.

Would you say that Geist is more of a creative pattern generator that you have to make your own?
Or is the provided content also good quality?

I installed the demo but it seems buggy as not content was installed.

Can anyone compare with the new Evolution plugin.
I think Evolution sounds great but i find the sounds more pop-like. I'm more into house, techno and drum and bass and sounds with a harder edge. Also inserting some synth sounds is interesting. I don't care much for numerous cowbells, conga's and other softer stuff. Evolution seems more invested in that softer stuff.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:33 pm

Stefken wrote:
pdxindy wrote: Geist sounds great. I make my own kits from sampled synths and it is really easy to get results that sound like they are from a commercial soundset or production. Not exactly sure why, but Geist just sounds good easily. Some fantastic FX.
.
Would you say that Geist is more of a creative pattern generator that you have to make your own?
Or is the provided content also good quality?

The provided content is high quality, there is extra content that can be purchased, you can use samples from any source and it's great for creating your own.

And of course you can do stuff like use included content, layer your own on top, and re-sample that.

Kinh · Post by **Kinh** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:02 pm

This interests me too and I'm-a-curious to know if it does anything ableton cant

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:50 pm

Kinh wrote:This interests me too and I'm-a-curious to know if it does anything ableton cant

There really isn't anything Ableton can't do. It is more what Ableton can't do with an easy workflow compared to Geist.

Creating patterns is fast and fluid in Geist... for example, you can drag out a line of 16th notes and with a key modifier make it a smooth velocity ramp. With another modifier you can drag out notes and make them every 2nd or 3rd or 4th etc step. and still do the velocity ramp.

It's not exactly fast to do that stuff in Live, particularly the velocity ramp. So if I am drawing a number of patterns and variations of patterns, it is easier to make them in Geist, then just drag them into the DAW (I'm using Bitwig not Live these days but it works the same)

Then there is sampling in Geist. You can use threshold mode and play a bunch of different hits from a few different synths and they are all automatically individual samples and assigned to the pads. Fast, fluid and fun.

shonky · Post by **shonky** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:43 pm

pdxindy wrote:Creating patterns is fast and fluid in Geist... for example, you can drag out a line of 16th notes and with a key modifier make it a smooth velocity ramp. With another modifier you can drag out notes and make them every 2nd or 3rd or 4th etc step. and still do the velocity ramp.

It's not exactly fast to do that stuff in Live, particularly the velocity ramp. So if I am drawing a number of patterns and variations of patterns, it is easier to make them in Geist, then just drag them into the DAW (I'm using Bitwig not Live these days but it works the same)

Unless I'm misunderstanding you, this is fairly easy in Live:

1) Draw notes you want to apply the ramp to
2) Ctrl and click at the highest point
3) Drag the mouse to the other end of the scale while holding down Ctrl and adjust the ramp to your requirements.

I did ask the same question about Geist 2 elsewhere on this forum as I already use Live and am not particularly sure that it adds much that I can't do already in Live. Never quite sure what the point of having a sequencer within a DAW is, given that you have as many engines as you need, can do polyrhythms by simply changing clip length and recording into Ableton and dropping the sample directly on a Simpler or cutting to drum rack isn't that complex.

5Lives · Post by **5Lives** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 3:08 pm

Is FXpansion even still in business / working on stuff? Geist 1 was awesome in many ways with a horrible browser.

ere2learn · Post by **ere2learn** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 3:17 pm

Just released a beta for Geist2 a week ago

@Shonky - Its just a lot quicker,you try reverse,pan & add stutter to individual hits in any daw & its work,just simple select\drag in Geist.Then you have some very nice effects & modulation section for mashing samples

spirit · Post by **spirit** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 3:44 pm

Absolutely awful, click-heavy, over-engineered, bloated piece of shite. Definitely the worst plugin I've ever bought. I demoed it and liked the range of functionality and thought that with enough study the clouds would part and the flow would come. Nope. Using it in reality on tracks is just tedious and painful, and an absolute buzzkill. The GUI and workflow is laughably hopeless, prime features are buried deep in menus and you'll be left going from place to place in the GUI for basic functions. The gold-standard in how to cram a plugin with features and specs with no regard to usability. Avoid it.

Distorted Horizon · Post by **Distorted Horizon** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 3:52 pm

5Lives wrote:Is FXpansion even still in business / working on stuff? Geist 1 was awesome in many ways with a horrible browser.

Acquired by Roli at 2016.

https://www.fxpansion.com/news/fxpansion-joins-roli/

Your thoughts on Geist 2