XLN Audio - XO - Improvement, Pros, Cons

[LoveEnigma18]

Got response from XLN Audio support. I find their support prompt and helpful.

Here's a way to disable automatic scanning of folders. Unfortunately, I cannot check it since being away from home studio. Could someone please check and confirm if it works?

Sure, it is possible to set this up in XO with a system file, you can add that to your user folder for XO.

Create a text file called:
disable_startupsync.txt

And place it in your user folder for XO:
Documents\XO\xxxxxx\Settings\

*xxxxxx = folder with numbers specific to the user

Please give this a try and see if you can get the automatic startup scanning to be disabled, let me know if this works for you.

[boriskarloff]

Got response from XLN Audio support. I find their support prompt and helpful.

Here's a way to disable automatic scanning of folders. Unfortunately, I cannot check it since being away from home studio. Could someone please check and confirm if it works?

Sure, it is possible to set this up in XO with a system file, you can add that to your user folder for XO.

Create a text file called:
disable_startupsync.txt

And place it in your user folder for XO:
Documents\XO\892083\Settings\

Please give this a try and see if you can get the automatic startup scanning to be disabled, let me know if this works for you.

I will try it in two hours. I will let you know.

[boriskarloff]

Ok. Tried it. No luck. It scans folders over and over again...

[LoveEnigma18]

Ok. Tried it. No luck. It scans folders over and over again...

Oh Thanks for testing. I will let them know.

[machinesworking]

Reality check:

XO Lite, MSRP: $119.95, Sale: $71.97
XO (Full), MSRP: $179.95, Sale, $107.97
Geist 2, MSRP: $199
Battery 4, MSRP: $199, Sale: none/Komplete lowers individual price
Nerve: $199, Sale: no sales

XO is very competitive with the field.

Battery 4 and all of NI's plugins often go on a 50% off sale.
Same with Geist 2. Same with MPC 2 and Maschine. It's disingenuous to suggest that XO isn't in the same price point as competing software.

Factor in how much the AI categorization is worth to you then add the kit/loop builder workflows. The problem with adding more pads is that the design goal is to have a one-page GUI per-workflow. It would grow twice in height or require scrollbars for all three workflows. I can see it accommodate time signatures (or at least 16 or fewer steps), but very few sequencer allow this in practice. Geist 2 does (per-pad, as well!).

Maschine is the only other sequencer I know of that doesn't do multiple odd time signatures, even then it allows for workarounds. Maschine and pretty much any other drum sequencer allows for 16 pads on a single page.

As for patterns, you can export MIDI clips and arrange them in your DAW. The issue is accessing more patterns in the GUI and a way to trigger them. I doubt XLN wants to do that; previous changes had minimal GUI impact. With XO you can build a personal MIDI drum loop library.

It's weird how all these other sequencers figured out how to do this but it's somehow impossible for this one? crazy.

Conceptually the sequencer is there to preview the kit you're building in context of your mix, and to possibly build loops for export. You want a $200 sequencer plus best-in-class AI, it is nowhere near that pricepoint. XLN's marketing copy is focused on search-build-export. There's Space, and there's the Edit tab that contains "The Playground". Keep moving to the right and you get the export panel.

Yep, works real well in 4/4
The preview is a shit show in any other time signature.

If you grasp and accept that you'll find a a very fast and fun kit- and loop-building workflow. Many people work with audio loops, but if people want drums sequenced then I empathize that they'll need another more focused tool to that end. Personally I use it with both Battery and Geist 2 depending on my goals and will easily recommend either. In some DAWs you have a drum rack tool or sampler. Of course, the point of having seemingly redundant tools is to optimize workflow.

Again, outside of 4/4 the sequencer is worthless. For anyone looking to use it at all, outside of bog standard 4/4, it's a $200 AI engine. With that in mind, it's twice as expensive as Sononym.

To be fair the way I can look at this and still enjoy XO is a stunted Battery with great AI. Using two instances would get around the sequencer and 8 slot limitation, but even then XO doesn't allow you to change MIDI assignments to the 8 slots, so it's only really possible to use it like this with serious workarounds, either two MIDI tracks or some Rack routing in Live or Bitwig etc.

I do not believe there's any rational explanation for these design choices beyond a short sighted vision of what XO would be useful for. There's too many examples of software drum machines that can do all the things XO can't. Plus most of this isn't down to XO not moving at least somewhat in that direction, it just stops short. It's a design choice, not a price point consideration.

I've often thought that some of the best ideas come from programmers that aren't musicians, but because they aren't musicians they make terrible choices in how the software will actually work. XO is IMO a great example of this.

[LoveEnigma18]

Ok. Tried it. No luck. It scans folders over and over again...

I just got to know from their support that it did not work for you probably because the number above in the folder path is personal for my account. You would need to use your existing numbered folder for it to work, so just modify the number in the path to yours and it should work.

[boriskarloff]

Of course I put the text in my own directory. (there are already some txt files for XO preferences). It was clear that the number is varying from user to user.

[LoveEnigma18]

Okay, I am away from home studio, so I just wanted to be as explicit as possible. Well, can't do much about it then. I will try it myself when I get the chance.

[boriskarloff]

Ok. Wil be better to try it yourself. FYI till September I've had PC with win7 and had no problems with XO but with new build with Win10 I started to have problems with XO scanning...

[plexuss]

Reverb.com has made their vintage drum sample library free. I just found out about it and am downloading now so I can't say what's in there but it appears to be all single hits. It's a 1.4G d/l. Good food for XO. You need a Reverb account to d/l...

UPDATE: Downloaded and installed. 2.5G uncompressed single hits. 1535 samples.

https://reverb.com/software/samples-and ... collection

[SLiC]

Reverb.com has made their vintage drum sample library free. I just found out about it and am downloading now so I can't say what's in there but it appears to be all single hits. It's a 1.4G d/l. Good food for XO. You need a Reverb account to d/l...

https://reverb.com/software/samples-and ... collection

Cheers for the tip- also downloading!

[WatchTheGuitar]

Reverb.com has made their vintage drum sample library free. I just found out about it and am downloading now so I can't say what's in there but it appears to be all single hits. It's a 1.4G d/l. Good food for XO. You need a Reverb account to d/l...

https://reverb.com/software/samples-and ... collection

This has been the case for maybe more than a year, but a good reminder for anyone without it.
May as well point out the entire Samples From Mars collection is at it’s lowest price ($39) and will only be that low for a few days then it’ll be a long while before it goes down there again

52.58 GB (unzipped) of Instruments & Samples

https://samplesfrommars.com/products/al ... -from-mars

[plexuss]

I have all the Samples from Mars products. I was purchasing them when they went on sale and then I was offered a deep discount on completeing the collection. They are excellent. Not just in XO but in general, I really like the character and style of their sampling.

Sadly since I switch from Logic to Reaper I haven't delved into how to use the SFM libraries in Reaper. In Logic they just worked seamlessly with the Logic samples instruments. I'll have to figure out what would work, and ideally be free, in Reaper...

[WatchTheGuitar]

ReaSamplomatic 5000 is a basic sampler that comes with Reaper, you can load the WAVs from SFM into it and adjust key ranges to suit.

Some more free third party plugins mentioned here...
https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2010/0 ... -samplers/

TX16Wx Software Sampler by CWITEC may be the better choice as the article says it will import EXS files.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I have all the Samples from Mars products. I was purchasing them when they went on sale and then I was offered a deep discount on completeing the collection. They are excellent. Not just in XO but in general, I really like the character and style of their sampling.

Sadly since I switch from Logic to Reaper I haven't delved into how to use the SFM libraries in Reaper. In Logic they just worked seamlessly with the Logic samples instruments. I'll have to figure out what would work, and ideally be free, in Reaper...

In addition to the advice on ReaSamplomatic, the Reaper Media Explorer got some much needed love recently. Lots you can do in terms of organizing samples there.

If you want a freebie instrument that's simple to use and integrates nicely with Reaper check out Sitala.

https://decomposer.de/sitala/