Is MSoundFactory by MeldaProduction the sound-designers wet-dream? / Why should I not buy it?

[Gregorius]

It's neither a "sound designers wet dream" nor does it replace anything. Offering options alone isn't enough for that. The other mentioned synths were not made by coding or math freaks, but real musicians and experienced sound-designers. I think one can absolutely feel that when working with each. What they offer and how they offer it is more precise and targeted.

[] Peter:H []

It's neither a "sound designers wet dream" nor does it replace anything. Offering options alone isn't enough for that. The other mentioned synths were not made by coding or math freaks, but real musicians and experienced sound-designers. I think one can absolutely feel that when working with each. What they offer and how they offer it is more precise and targeted.

Aehm, sorry. Melda is a Drummer and plays in a band. Please don't mistake your personal gusto and feel with "common sense". Melda has his special take on things, granted, some like it or not. But you choose arbitrary "categories" to stick negative stickers (math freak - the term is usually used by the sport freaks in high school which didn't have a clue what math means. follow urs of u-he ... that's what is a math freaks delight) on meldas back. just don't do it. I really like the world full of options, because I can handle them ...
If you want to see what his is special take on being a drummer - https://www.meldaproduction.com/downloa ... mmer-packs

[Gregorius]

Melda is a Drummer and plays in a band

I know he's a drummer. But we're in a thread about MSF, so what has that do with him being a synth user/sound designer/having experience with that? Especially compared to the ones that create synths for a living?

But you choose arbitrary "categories" to stick negative stickers.

Aehm no. I just had to deal multiple times with him, his plugins and read many responses from him in threads. I think math/coding freak is perfectly fine. His plugins contain "coding sugar", things which are pretty useless but hey, he can code it so it's in it. I think that qualifies for a statement like that And I think many people that tried a melda plugin before and uninstalled it quickly would agree with that.

[] Peter:H []

Melda is a Drummer and plays in a band

I know he's a drummer. But we're in a thread about MSF, so what has that do with him being a synth user/sound designer/having experience with that? Especially compared to the ones that create synths for a living?

But you choose arbitrary "categories" to stick negative stickers.

Aehm no. I just had to deal multiple times with him, his plugins and read many responses from him in threads. I think math/coding freak is perfectly fine. His plugins contain "coding sugar", things which are pretty useless but hey, he can code it so it's in it. I think that qualifies for a statement like that And I think many people that tried a melda plugin before and uninstalled it quickly would agree with that.

Excuse me - you said "real musician" in your post to build an contrast to Melda. Cannot remember your own post?

[Gregorius]

I didn't know I have to explain the obvious things that already are in the context of a thread. A synth thread, that is about synth, you know!?

[] Peter:H []

I didn't know I have to explain the obvious things that already are in the context of a thread. A synth thread, that is about synth, you know!?

Oh, please explain. Don't stop. Seems you are very knowledgable ... It's not me who using manipulative language to justify a personal gusto.

[frizzbee]

drummers are musicians now? okaaaaaay funny how some get triggered in such a thread. i understood the essential point made and i agree melda plugins are more of a technical ballpark than a musical one back to topic: i wouldn't use it because it doesn't solve any problems for me but creates them.

[] Peter:H []

drummers are musicians now? okaaaaaay funny how some get triggered in such a thread. i understood the essential point made

Please someone invite Phil Collins to this thread ...

[frizzbee]

please someone invite people which clearly get those very old musicians jokes to this thread...

[] Peter:H []

please someone invite people which clearly get those very old musicians jokes to this thread...

I understood the joke ... just wanted to add a joke myself.

[LaNonchalance]

I'm pretty new to this sound world and I've decided to pick MSF as my first tool.
If you are ok with the meldaproduction way of doing things, you should probably bet on it.
Once you start to understand how it work you just have to think about a sound or a behavior to make it appear.
Maybe the lack of visual representation can be something that we miss ( but on the other hand, that's make you understand why and when you want to use a feature. )
I think MSF will shine with times because for now, its still under development and mostly because the community around this plug-in is not representative of the power that it holds. We can not agree on the workflow but we also have to admit that there is not a lot plug in that can compete with MSF in term of potential(I mean there is, but definitely lot) Imo!

The only thing that I find a regretful is the documention, because it's such a complex tool and you know that it could do some crazy thing but if you don't even know that you can do it, you'll miss too much of his potential. But once again it's still in development

[pdxindy]

I do not use a lot synths nowadays. Frankly just Zebra2, Surge and Live's Operator. And I reduced my setup on purpose; nevertheless I'm temped to buy MSoundFactory. It's modular with a heap of sound generators and fx's and have great routing possibilities. And the updates are free. I'm a bit familiar with MeldaProduction stuff and have barely a problem with the GUI. However, I successfully fought my GAS a while ago and I want to keep my setup minimal. Therefore I'm looking for the cons rather the pros to buy MSoundFactory. So why should I not buy it?

Thanks to all.

P.S.: I rarely use presets so for me it's only important to make my own sound design. So I don't care about the quality of presets and/or devices for MSoundFactory.

P.P.S.: I demoed MSoundFactory and really like it so far. With this thread I just want to rule out it's not a relapse to GAS.

Hey, if you really like it, go for it... I find the MSF Gui to be a near total turnoff. But you seem to be fine with it.

More importantly, what is it you want to accomplish? Are you just looking to have fun exploring sounds with a huge complex synth? You already have an amazing sound design environment in Ableton Live. The Instrument Racks can layer anything. Between Zebra, Surge, Operator and Sampler/Simpler, plus the AAS synths that are part of Live, you have the building blocks to make any sound that you would make in MSF and with a better sound quality.

Over the years I have found less and less interest in super synths... I prefer simpler synths that do something really well. The incredible sound quality of RePro for example will not be duplicated in a super synth like MSF.

I used to use Live, but now Bitwig. The concept is the same though. Either Live or Bitwig is itself the sound designers wet dream. In either DAW, using included instruments plus a few choice plugins, I can create any imaginable sound.

MSoundFactory is almost like a DAW inside the DAW... except an actual DAW like Live or Bitwig is much more useful and flexible modular instrument with a better workflow.

Okay, you asked why you should not buy it and there is my argument.

[David]

I seriously don't know WHY I subject myself to reading threads like this one. And usually I don't. But I love MSF, and can't resist; my own damn fault, I totally admit.

Rant ahead, skip it now warning:

There's a lot of great info and sharing to be found on KVR, really appreciate that; will never leave for all that good and generous stuff.

But SO much of what goes on here is synth and sound-design lovers clashing swords and bashing heads with folks who seem only to want to Produce! Produce! Produce! Faster! Faster! with the latest synth they've used primarily to get rid of other synths. As if having as few synths as possible is ALWAYS what any synth owner's main goal in life should naturally be. As if having to use synths in the first place is more a chore than a pleasure, to be kept to an absolute minimum…

Sweet JEEZus! I'm so glad you like what you like, and do what you do.
And so bored hearing about how badly you think what you don't like must inherently be for ANYone else as well. And how f-ing obvious it is what a "good" filter, a "good" oscillator, a "good" ANYthing is compared all the "obviously" suck-y ones. Do I have your ears; your goals!?!? Do I WANT to have your ears, your goals!?!?!?

"Should I get/will I like…?" threads here might actually be useful if they were required to be nothing more than polls, with two optional clearly described ballots, one for folks who like and collect new tools, as much for their own sake and simply because they're new as for any other end (music-making simply assumed to be a related pleasure), and another for minimalist producers who only use these tools for some other much more primary goal, and are always wishing they were better (music-making assumed to be the only important thing).

All done now, sorry to interrupt, please proceed.

[David]

I do not use a lot synths nowadays. Frankly just Zebra2, Surge and Live's Operator. And I reduced my setup on purpose; nevertheless I'm temped to buy MSoundFactory. It's modular with a heap of sound generators and fx's and have great routing possibilities. And the updates are free. I'm a bit familiar with MeldaProduction stuff and have barely a problem with the GUI. However, I successfully fought my GAS a while ago and I want to keep my setup minimal. Therefore I'm looking for the cons rather the pros to buy MSoundFactory. So why should I not buy it?

Thanks to all.

P.S.: I rarely use presets so for me it's only important to make my own sound design. So I don't care about the quality of presets and/or devices for MSoundFactory.

P.P.S.: I demoed MSoundFactory and really like it so far. With this thread I just want to rule out it's not a relapse to GAS.

It sounds like all the important issues one might have with MSF have already be solved for you, esp. that you've already found you like actually usingit! Pretty much all the cons I've read so far seem to come from those who tried it and DIDn't like it, for whatever reason.

I can't quite imagine what other cons there might be left to discover…?

Will it get old fast, not be developed further, is the dev a flake? No to all that AFAIK.

Is it actually not as unique as it appears? Definite No, IMO.

Are you only temporarily thinking you'd enjoy having a new thing in your minimalist set-up, and will regret adding to it, esp with as complex and deep a thing as MSF? How can anyone else say?

Will MSF potentially become so fascinating that you neglect your other tools? Well, that's certainly what happened to me, for at least 6 months after I got into it. But for me that was just the sort of deep immersion I always hope for with all my tools/toys… And rarely get, truth be told.

Will it be hard to re-sell if I change my mind? It doesn't seem to go for much used here on KVR…

Did any of this help? Hope so…

[David]

…
Therefore I'm looking for the cons rather the pros to buy MSoundFactory. So why should I not buy it?

Thanks to all.

P.S.: I rarely use presets so for me it's only important to make my own sound design. So I don't care about the quality of presets and/or devices for MSoundFactory.

P.P.S.: I demoed MSoundFactory and really like it so far. With this thread I just want to rule out it's not a relapse to GAS.

Hey, if you really like it, go for it... I find the MSF Gui to be a near total turnoff. But you seem to be fine with it.

…

Over the years I have found less and less interest in super synths... I prefer simpler synths that do something really well. The incredible sound quality of RePro for example will not be duplicated in a super synth like MSF.

I used to use Live, but now Bitwig. The concept is the same though. Either Live or Bitwig is itself the sound designers wet dream. In either DAW, using included instruments plus a few choice plugins, I can create any imaginable sound.

MSoundFactory is almost like a DAW inside the DAW... except an actual DAW like Live or Bitwig is much more useful and flexible modular instrument with a better workflow.

Okay, you asked why you should not buy it and there is my argument.

A very thoughtful response, thanks:)

Much as I enjoyed reading this, I must say I personally feel quite the opposite. IOW, I find DAWs and super-synths to not be at all similar as sound-design tools or environments, nor to have at all similar workflows. And to be clear, I've as much time invested in them as with synths, super and otherwise, having been extensively diverted recently from my MSF obsession by both Max4Live and Reason Players, without spending any less time inside my main DAW, Logic. (Come to think, this is quite probably the reason I've so far not gelled with Bitwig as it seems by far the most synth-like DAW out there, and I can't quite get my head around how it seems to me to deprecate 3rd-party synths in favor of doing "it all" just with BW tools. I DO LOVE the idea of the DAW as the main source of modulation! Yes!!)

I've certainly seen other synths I own and use referred to as more like DAWs than synths (Omnisphere, Avenger, Rapid, etc.), and see what is meant. But I've never myself used any synth as an arranging/sequencing tool nor as a source of or processor for MIDI.

Specifically re MSF, there's no DAW I know of currently offering anything like the depth, elegance, or flexibility of the grids in MSF, nor the extreme range of modules both for sound creation and sound processing. (And all without the regressive insistence on virtual jacks and plugs—wires for pete's sake, dangling in front of the controls—WHY all this non-helpful nostalgia!??!)

The new device that does come closest IMO to usefully and innovatively blurring the line between DAW and Synth is pluginguru's Unify, which also keeps quite separate the functions of sound creation+processing (plugin hosting) and sequence-arrangement+ MIDI routing/mangling.

I admit I'm fascinated to learn more about how you or anyone actually does, or might, use a DAW for sound design in preference to a super synth (setting aside any plain old distaste for complex synths, which I certainly don't share, btw:). Maybe this is the future and I'm just not up to speed with that yet, or simply haven't yet grasped what my existing DAWs can do. But I doubt that this is as much the case as that no workflows work for all goals, nor for all operators!

More importantly, what is it you want to accomplish? Are you just looking to have fun exploring sounds with a huge complex synth? You already have an amazing sound design environment in Ableton Live. The Instrument Racks can layer anything. Between Zebra, Surge, Operator and Sampler/Simpler, plus the AAS synths that are part of Live, you have the building blocks to make any sound that you would make in MSF and with a better sound quality.

Again, I disagree…because for me, what distinguishes MSF is all that is unique about it, which allows and even forces me to think differently about what have up til now become very familiar paths towards synth programming and sound processing. It simply offers in plain sight options for routing, enclosing, grouping, and modulating isolated functions that may be hidden inside other tools but are more likely actually trapped inside them, not able to plucked out and re-assembled in any way at all, let alone elegantly.