KVR Audio

kanoharuayu · Post by **kanoharuayu** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:17 pm

I heard it's better to go with the mainstream products if you're entering an industry, aka the plain simple ones, so you'll have the same things as everyone else and won't spend unnecessarily

I've been trying to figure out a list of the most essential/standard/products people usually use

so far I've got:
Kontakt Komplete
Serum
Waves Platinum
Nexus

With those only, you also have abunch of stuff, but what else are considered "popular" "standard" ?
Would Omnisphere be considered? Or is it more on the obscurity side...

I feel like it's better to buy the stuff everyone else buys, else you may get 1000's of unused plugins
how many of you have even heard of these?
Sonik Synth (200$)
Yamaha Rev X Reverb(300$)
RND Portico EQ (500$)
Elastik 3 + exp soundbanks
thousands of different EQs/Compressors

Buying the standard proven software lets you collab easier and saves you alot of wasting of time, and money lols

Shabdahbriah · Post by **Shabdahbriah** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:28 pm

Do you intend/desire to make 'sample libraries', and presets?

jp008 · Post by **jp008** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 5:31 am

From your list, I immediately found the Portico EQ to look interesting because it's associated with the Neve name, but when I looked a screenshot of the plugin interface, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be useful for me, since the Q doesn't look narrow or surgical enough (as opposed to something such as Fabfilter Pro-Q).

I view EQ related hardware the same way. Both the external gear and software must have very precise Q value options or I simply wont use it. Wide scooping of frequencies is far too destructive when only certain frequencies are a problem. it's just not logical for hardware or software EQ to lack precision in that manner.

Even the best hardware EQ I've ever used has still only gotten me like 70-80% of the way there, while roughly 98% of most EQ software out there simply doesn't do things precisely enough, for me anyways. That's my take on EQ. Most of the software just plain sucks ! Actually, Pro-Q even has some strange issues with 'whistling' or 'howling' resonances when trying to pinpoint a problem area. I don't think I've ever found the perfect one.. yet.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:00 am

Have you got something to host your plugins yet? These days they all come with a very usable array of included instruments and effects. You might find that a good way to get started, then you can spend money on plugins as you feel you need to. Your host may also inform some of your decisions. e.g. If you use Cubase, you might want to use HALion instead of Kontakt and Groove Agent instead of Battery. Komplete is a big investment, I wouldn't be thinking about it until I had a much firmer grasp on what I might want/need.

Passing Bye · Post by **Passing Bye** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:37 am

Is this another KVR list thread or you genuinely have interest in music making?

vitocorleone123 · Post by **vitocorleone123** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 4:08 pm

Don’t just go buy big bundles and libraries if at all possible. That’s a good way to end up overwhelming yourself and also to end up with things that ultimately won’t fit your music or your production style.

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 5:12 pm

Check your local or nearby brick & morter music stores. Especially if they're the usual chain stores (i.e. GC, SA, etc). The conversation shifts drastically. While many of the ones talked about here and online are often superior or just as good, they are just as often considered, "boutique" and completely unknown by store sales and their customers. So since you're talking about what is "mainstream" to the larger picture, which includes here and there... look for the overlap.
When I travel to those stores, it seems they all come down to just a few "popular" ones and only a couple more that they stock, but are regularly dismissed for various reasons.

What seems the most popular in the south west stores is:

Arturia (V Collection)
NI Komplete (Kontakt inc.)
Spectrasonics (Omnisphere)
Steinberg (Absolute/HALion)

I'm not endorsing any of them in regards to your query though. Just telling you what I regularly observe there. I also see Sonik Synth on the shelves, but that one seems to get dismissed as quickly as it's mentioned. Unless of course it's mentioned first by someone that already owns it (and then the sales person will launch their closing position to the next product from it.)

I've noticed that pianos talked about most often are first, Ivory and to a lesser degree, Pianoteq.

I often tell them how much I enjoy my U-he synths and have only received the tilted puppy stare back. They repeatedly tell me they've never heard of them. Hence, "boutique". And many of the ones you find mentioned here will be the commenters' favorite, but equally considered "boutique" as well.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 2:50 am

A lot of the reasons those titles are in physical shops is because those companies, Spectrasonics excepted, also make hardware, so their distribution channels are already in place. I don't necessarily think it is any measure of their popularity or anything else.

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 3:40 am

BONES wrote: Wed Oct 14, 2020 2:50 am A lot of the reasons those titles are in physical shops is because those companies, Spectrasonics excepted, also make hardware, so their distribution channels are already in place. I don't necessarily think it is any measure of their popularity or anything else.

Exactly! "Popular" is such a relative term and those B&M's will always suggest what they have in stock.
When I worked the stores, people would often come in and ask what the "best" was and the answer was generally whatever we had most in stock.

As I said previously, what is popular here is often equal or superior to what they're selling there. So for OP purpose, I felt it is probably better to see where the offline/online products are generally the same. And according to area. Some areas may not have the same distribution, and others really force them to go online anyway. While still others have no online to know otherwise.

Without knowing more of the OP desires and details, this generalization of alignment is all I can offer.

Most of us here know, the list of popular and great synths can easily fill the next 50 pages.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 3:46 am

I meant "popular" as in "sells a lot of copies", not in the "everybody likes it" sense. I think a lot of that software just sits on the shelves in shops. The sort of sales tactics you're talking about are rife here in the mobile phone market. If you walk in without a very clear idea of what you want and they'll sell you whichever $1500 phone they get the biggest commission on. And even if you do know what you're after, they'll do their best to talk you out of it and sign you up for something an order of magnitude more than you need. They are absolutely ruthless.

mdstudio · Post by **mdstudio** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 3:52 am

kanoharuayu wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:17 pm Would Omnisphere be considered? Or is it more on the obscurity side...

Omnisphere is definitely popular, especially for cinematic stuff https://www.spectrasonics.net/company/filmtv.php

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 4:41 am

BONES wrote: Wed Oct 14, 2020 3:46 am I meant "popular" as in "sells a lot of copies", not in the "everybody likes it" sense. I think a lot of that software just sits on the shelves in shops.

Yes, as in sells a lot of copies, both in store and online. That was the alignment I was referring to as a starting point. I even mentioned Sonik since it was on the list but seems to gather more dust on the shelf in the store. Ruthless was the old days. Now most sales people are little more than clerks. Not real closers.
So these sell well and have a "popularity" in both places.

Really depends on how far down the rabbit hole the OP wants to go from there...

AdvancedFollower · Post by **AdvancedFollower** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 8:45 am

kanoharuayu wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:17 pm Buying the standard proven software lets you collab easier and saves you alot of wasting of time, and money lols

There are so many plugins that this just isn't feasible unless you're prepared to spend tens of thousands to "save money". There isn't really a "standard" when it comes to plugins, and many producers have their own "secret weapons" and so on. Trying to collab by sharing project files is doomed; one missing plugin, sample, waveform or preset might cause the entire project to fail to load.

Also if you're using different DAWs (e.g. one is on Pro Tools, the other on Cubase), it doesn't matter if you own every plugin and sample pack in the world, it still won't be compatible. Same if one is running a slightly older version of the same DAW or plugin as you. Presets from This Plugin™ v8.0.5.6 might not be compatible with This Plugin™ v8.0.5.4.

What you usually do when collaborating is share stems as .wav files. If you only collaborate with one or a few people, I guess you could agree on a standard set of DAW, preset packs, sample packs, plugins etc., but that's unusual.

enroe · Post by **enroe** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 6:15 am

kanoharuayu wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:17 pm I heard it's better to go with the mainstream products if you're entering an industry, ...
Buying the standard proven software lets you collab easier and saves you alot of wasting of time ...

When I see how you start your "musical life", then I very much doubt that you
will ever really make music at some point.

leeleema · Post by **leeleema** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 2:29 pm

Just get a decent DAW, as others have suggested, and learn that. There is no point in getting anything you've listed. Also are you going to check your own post? What does "entering the industry" actually mean?

What's the most popular, standard options for sample librarys and plugins?