FYI!! Melda SoundFactory ON SALE til JUNE 30

[mevla]

That said, Vojtech is very friendly, it is just the marketing hype that can feel a bit tiresome.

Which is examplified in the supermarket muzak music used in many Melda videos. I mentioned that in the Melda forum once or twice.

The UIs are actually quite good nowadays. The fact that they look the same across the Melda product range is not only a bad thing, it's called internal consistency for a reason.

What I really like is this consistency. All of the submodules that can be found i many plugins. One learns it once, and it can be applied creatively to all the others.

An early contact with Vojtech for me was when I had some problems running MDrummer on a platform that is not supported by Melda (Linux). Vojtech sent me debug versions of MDrummer that generated log files which I sent back to him for troubleshooting. After going back and forth a couple of times like that he found the problem. I was pleasantly surprised that one would spend time to help with a platform that's not even supported. So right there it started off with a good impression.

Doesn't mean that the products are bug free and do no need any improvements, but it said something about attitude. And in my book it's important.

[David]

If we make a device/instrument (whatever you call it) and share it through the online presets will it load as a device or just a preset (like the MPS presets already there without the device screen)?
And if it will load as a device with the module screen, will the presets that we make within the specific device load after sending it through the online exchange?

I just posted a couple of things to the Online Exchange to test this. One is a Global Preset with no associated Device (Flangowacko), and the other is a Device with a couple of Instrument presets (Bartok w FX). And there's a 2nd version of Bartok… called Bartok w FX Fixed?, because the first one was still affected by a bug that's hopefully now fixed, in which GPresets would be saved with a different associated Device and would load with the wrong Instrument presets (I know, all totally confusing). The "fix" in the second version corrects this, I hope. I loaded the RIGHT device while the original GPreset was loaded, and sent it out with that name change, and it appeared to be OK when loaded back in from the Online download; (whew…)

Would be glad to hear back from anyone about if the fix worked.

[mevla]

How do you see that as money going out on the part of Melda? It’s free for you, $100 bucks for many. I would agree if it cost them a dime to give a previous customer a discount or give it to them for free. Like I said, money moves in a single direction with Melda. Anyway, whatever again, I can’t pull the wool from in front of anyone’s eyes. Peace....

Let's take you initial comment conclusion:

"It’s about taking money in, not the other way round. "

There's a word for that.

Business.

Within the domain of a capitalist business, Melda still manages to give away all new plugins, presumably for life, to people who get the complete bundle.

You cannot call that as "money going out" since it's not tax-free contribution to charities for instance, but for the capitalist business model it gets pretty good. And as many people here reported, they are not actually paying $100 for MSF, but less.

So maybe, just maybe, you could check it out before going further with wool in front of people's eyes.

And if you are a first time customer (like, if the tone of your original comment is ignored), I do have a coupon that you can use for a 20% saving.

[wagtunes]

In a day and age where MOST companies go out of their way to make the user experience as EASY as possible, YES, the Melda UI decisions are abominations. And I am a user of their products. I made a 300 patch library for MPS. Do you have any idea what kind of a NIGHTMARE that was?

No idea. I'm very clear about it. I mentioned it here, as well as in the Melda forum: I did not catch onto the MPS. I find it too cold, there's some kind of velocity curve default that makes it sluggishly different from all other synths I have, and the sounds by themselves, with their coldness upon which modulations are added tend to produce a jerky type of result.

This said, 1) I use a lot of Melda's audio processing plugins, as well as MDrummer and 2) Now that I spent some hours with MFS (interwoven with some entertainment provided by this thread here, but also by u-he's Hive2 presentation and comments) I can foresee, for the use I do of synths which is not sound design (although I do try to get to know the synths for learning synthesis) that MSF can become part of the regular synth arsenal. Unless, the final version tries to reproduce faithfully the sounds of the MPS, in which case it could be a deception.

Being totally objective and as an outsider to this product type in general, coming from another piece of software like Photoshop, which is a great example, I'd say Melda's goal was to discourage users from doing any programming with their products and just use the presets. That's how bad the UI is. So yes, abomination is a perfect description for this train wreck of a UI.

As I am using Melda products, and as many others do, I actually find that the UI is quite creative. Since you made a parallel with another software, I'd say creative in the emacs sense. Or closer to music, in the Renoise sense. Lots of possibilities for a creative spirit who wants to delve into, a chunk at a time while still be perfectly usable for regular use.

Sorry if that offends you.

I can't say I'm also sorry to see that you link so aptly emotions to this, moreover on the behalf of a stranger, since this is also a common attitude, unfortunately. And one that's also not exactly linked to this concept of diplomacy.

This said, there's enough fuel in here for a new song, isn't it ? (And I'm saying that to myself too )

You said it yourself. You're not into sound design. The song I just made with MSF was made with a preset that just happened to be perfect for the sound I was looking for. After an attempt to program it myself, out of frustration, I just gave up. Life is too short.

And therein lies the problem. You talk about creativity. But the UI discourages creativity because only a masochist would attempt to program this thing UNLESS (and this is a BIG UNLESS) they just wanted to make simple sounds that could be made with pretty much any other synth. And if that's the case, why bother with MSF at all?

Like I said, I'm going to buy it. But for me, it will be a preset machine. If the UI was even CLOSE to being user friendly, I'd be making my own sounds with it.

[mevla]

Like I said, I'm going to buy it. But for me, it will be a preset machine. If the UI was even CLOSE to being user friendly, I'd be making my own sounds with it.

Question: have you followed Chandler's videos on MSF ?

[wagtunes]

Like I said, I'm going to buy it. But for me, it will be a preset machine. If the UI was even CLOSE to being user friendly, I'd be making my own sounds with it.

Question: have you followed Chandler's videos on MSF ?

First of all, I've been programming synths since 1977. Outside of Melda, and Wolfgang Palm's Wave synths (which are still relatively snap and build next to Melda's contraptions) I have NEVER had a problem programming any synth I've ever laid my hands on.

As someone who spends most of his time making music, I don't have the time or patience to watch a bunch of videos to learn how to program the synth. If, after 42 years, I have to do that, then there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with the synth in the first place.

And I have programmed some of the most complex soft synths out there.

Falcon
HALion 6
Softube Modular

So please don't tell me to go watch videos. If I have to do that, then the company has lost me as a programmer before I even begin.

[David]

But the UI discourages creativity because only a masochist would attempt to program this thing UNLESS (and this is a BIG UNLESS) they just wanted to make simple sounds that could be made with pretty much any other synth. And if that's the case, why bother with MSF at all?

Whoa—hold on. Now THIS is total nonsense. It's no more difficult to select and hook together unusual, even unique oscillators and FX in the two grids, than it would be to select ordinary ones in them. And that's ALL you need to do to have just "programmed" a MSF sound, more likely to be a fresh module combo than an ordinary one given the vast range of unusual options, ready for further exploration in either case, just by clicking on any module to see its parameters. And both those grids already also come with dozens of multi-module presets you can try out with exactly the same number of pain-free clicks as adding 1 module in each grid. I was making sounds that raised my not inexperienced eyebrows within minutes of first opening MSF, having watched NO videos nor read a single line of instruction.

I doubt there's anyone reading here who wouldn't spot this for the hyperbolic foolishness that it is. But, still: Why bother making such BS proclamations when you're also so quick to take offense over being disrespected for your opinions? So far, it's been no effort for me to respect anything you've asserted here, whether I agree or not. But not this fake news.

[wagtunes]

But the UI discourages creativity because only a masochist would attempt to program this thing UNLESS (and this is a BIG UNLESS) they just wanted to make simple sounds that could be made with pretty much any other synth. And if that's the case, why bother with MSF at all?

Whoa—hold on. Now THIS is total nonsense. It's no more difficult to select and hook together unusual, even unique oscillators and FX in the two grids, than it would be to select ordinary ones in them. And that's ALL you need to do to have just "programmed" a MSF sound, as likely to be a fresh module combo as an ordinary one, ready for further exploration in either case, just by clicking on any module to see its parameters. And both those grids already come with dozens of multi-module presets you can try out with exactly the same number of pain-free clicks as adding 1 module in each grid. I was making sounds that raised my not inexperienced eyebrows within minutes of first opening MSF, having watched NO videos nor read a single line of instruction.

I doubt there's anyone reading here who wouldn't spot this for the hyperbolic foolishness that it is. But, still: Why bother making such BS proclamations when you're also so quick to take offense over being disrespected for your opinions? So far, it's been no effort for me to respect anything you've asserted here, whether I agree or not. But not this fake news.

Look, you and I are never going to agree on the usability of this synth from a programmer's aspect so can we just let it go? I'm really tired of doing this song and dance over a synth I'm going to buy anyway.

Sheesh, I hate this place.

[wagtunes]

Know what? I'm officially done with this argument.

You guys who think programming this thing is a cake walk, God bless you. Enjoy yourselves.

You guys who think programming this thing is a nightmare, I feel for you. Sadly, don't expect anything to change. I've come to accept that it won't.

And with that, I will no longer respond to anymore posts giving me a hard time about my opinions about this UI. I have officially stopped caring.

Have a nice day.

[David]

There's nothing to disagree with over this particular issue. You've tossed out a supposed "fact" which simply isn't true. Regardless of your experience, it ain't universal.

[MirkoVanHauten]

Don't bother, Wag. Most get what you're saying and probably agree. This thread has shown you're not the only one. The other side isn't alone either. Love it or hate it, I decided to test it and not write anything about it unless it's out of beta. Though I don't expect much to change. But if a big bargain is the motivation behind buying it, I'd recommend testing it more

[GusGranite]

Despite never posting until now I’ve checked this Thread a lot and every time I see it it gets worse and worse

As a bit of a newcomer to KVR I am surprised by the negativity in this thread for what looks to be a really exciting plugin beta released at a good intro price. I know I haven't built up any respect for my opinion on this forum but I just want to share that this is not very inviting for someone new to the forum. The negativity in this thread comes across as disrespectful to the developer and just makes me want to go back to lurking, to be honest.

Not that anyone needs to give two hoots about what I think but I thought it was worth sharing none the less.

Welcome to KVR!
I’m the same way.
For 99$ (As of now) this plugin is as powerful as Stuff like Ohmisphere and Falcon that cost like 400$ and 500$.
Don’t like it? Don’t buy it Haha.
I mean I’m not Probably buying it because I don’t need more of these SuperSynths when I have Falcon and Synth-master to be my overkill everything powerhouses but man if I didn’t have those 2 or I had the extra money I’d be ALL OVER this thing.
Some workflow issues can be fixed, the product itself is incredible.

Also when NI released a solid new Retro Synth and everyone acts like their evil because Reaktor.
Or when people went haywire on Urs because the Repro was monophonic, literally to the point where he scraped plans for different plugins just to create a multiVoice version.
Just the moan culture is groanworthy
We have access to stuff people 30 years ago would be Desperate to have. Stuff people have taken years of their life to make at a reasonable price.
Fully functional powerful synthesizers and instruments that can be carried Around in your laptop. Any sound we could imagine is possible.

But wait...nope hold on...the LFOs open on a different page.

Nevermind then.
Follow me guys we’re going back to the prehistoric age to hit Rocks with sticks, or mabye go to a time even older, like Using Rfex Vanguard or somthing.

Cheers!

Yes, it is quite insane what we can run now and how low the barrier to entry has become. I am totally in awe of Melda, Plugin Alliance, Toneboosters, Fabfilter, Airwindows, etc, etc. (I am learning it is a long list...). Very exciting times.

[GusGranite]

Anyway, newcomer, welcome to KVR!

Thank you!

[Weasel-Boy]

This not really a response to anybody in particular, but more of an non critical observation.

Here’s the thing about Vojtech’s products. They all work fine (and in many cases, brilliantly) from a technical standpoint. What they lack is theatre.

Something like (for example) the interface of Fab Filter’s ProR reverb is a solid example of theatre. You are presented with an interface that not only gets you from point A to point B without cracking a manual, but you are amused and entertained at the same time. And a good deal of that entertainment comes from the flow of the arrangement and graphic design incorporated into the FabFilter GUI elements. These are GUIs that are purpose designed to invite you to explore. Somebody really gives that stuff a lot of thought over there...it takes time and ultimately, you pay for it.

There’s nothing in Melda’s UI’s I could conceivably describe as inviting visually. It is pretty obvious that Vojtech is not really inspired by theatrics. He’s a nuts and bolts guy. He works (I assume) alone and has created a huge body of quality products in a relatively short amount of time, simply because he figured out his aesthetically utilitarian UI template “branding” early on, remaining focused on what (I think) drives him creatively: the nuts and bolts.

I believe his prices are quite reasonable due to the time saved by not getting distracted micro-managing an operatic UI for each and every product. So while you may spend more time working with his stuff, you wind up saving quite a bit of dough. I guess it all boils down to what’s more important to you....time or money.

[Distorted Horizon]

I don't have any issues with Melda UI. Yeah it was complicated at first (years ago), but once it clicked... Besides it's not any rocket science to pick a template you like and then pick the colors that please your eyes. People should focus more on using tools rather than whining how they feel their souls burning because of.. pixels.