Your thoughts on Geist 2

[gondii]

OK, so ... I don't know. A lot of people here are saying all the time that Geist2, Strobe2 and Cypher are essentially abandonware. But is that actually true? First off, I think there are plenty of products that are perfectly usable that don't get new features and updates all the time or at all. Geist2 is still one of my absolute favourite plugins that gets used every single day. I have not had any issues and don't know of anything comparable either. That's just my experience.

But I'm not even sure why everyone is so convinced that these products are not supported anymore?

About four months ago, FXpansion announced Big Sur compatibility on all ROLI vst (which includes the synths mentioned) and that they are currently still testing their products on the new Apple M1 ARM chip (Source).

A user on recording. de wrote to their support and got this reply:

We're pleased to announce that the following products can be installed and run on macOS 11 Big Sur without any known issues:

Strobe2 (+ Strobe2 Expanders)
Cypher2 (+ Cypher2 Expanders)
Geist2 (+ Geist2 Expanders)

inMusic are currently performing tests on BFD3 and BFD Expansions to determine Big Sur compatibility, and we recommend waiting until a statement is released by inMusic regarding BFD3 compatibility before updating. You can get in touch with inMusic Support here. (1)

We are yet to complete testing of FXpansion products running on machines using the Apple M1 ARM chip. We will release a statement once testing is complete, and until then cannot guarantee compatibility with any FXpansion products running on brand new Mac devices.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to our support team here. (2)

The FXpansion Team Source.

And just a month ago, FXpansion released a public beta for Strobe 2 and Cyper. (Source)

[Sea]

I hear ya! I heard when it first came out it was “buggy”. Did the Devs fix GEIST2 where it’s solid now?

[gondii]

I'm not sure, I never had any issues, but others did apparently. Why not just try the free demo?

[Sea]

Its not really dead, it had a recent update I believe.

Sorry, I mean metaphorically dying... Maintenance update I presume? I could be wrong of course but there's no chat about it on the forums or any news from the dev.

I hear ya! I heard when it first came out it was “buggy”. Did the Devs fix GEIST2 where it’s solid now?

[pdxindy]

OK, so ... I don't know. A lot of people here are saying all the time that Geist2, Strobe2 and Cypher are essentially abandonware. But is that actually true? First off, I think there are plenty of products that are perfectly usable that don't get new features and updates all the time or at all. Geist2 is still one of my absolute favourite plugins that gets used every single day. I have not had any issues and don't know of anything comparable either.

But I'm not even sure why everyone is so convinced that these products are not supported anymore?

I think Cypher and Strobe are still fully supported.

Geist I am not sure about. It has languished for a long time. It does get maintenance updates. I don't think it needs new features, but it could use some TLC and refinements to existing features for workflow and there are various little issues that could be addressed. It feels like a very low priority for Roli. I would not be surprised if it was discontinued.

IMO, Geist is hands down the best software drum machine available today.

We will see if Geist gets native Apple Silicon support. If so, I will install it again when I get a new Apple Silicon Mac.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

If it were to get Apple silicon support as part of a future maintenance update, then nothing else, I'd be happy.

That said, I think there could be a way for Roli to MPE-ify Geist in order to make it work really well with Blocks and the Seaboards. Example: things like tuned percussion based on press, or FX based on release velocity. For those reasons, I hope Geist isn't dead and gets an MPE update to make it work with the Roli brand.

[Effectsworks]

I hear ya! I heard when it first came out it was “buggy”. Did the Devs fix GEIST2 where it’s solid now?

Well... It's been pretty solid for me. I'm on a mac and use Nuendo and Studio One.

[sl1200mk2]

I hear ya! I heard when it first came out it was “buggy”. Did the Devs fix GEIST2 where it’s solid now?

If you use it for basic functions and don't scratch the surface too much it's reasonably stable. In my first few days of using it I didn't understand much of the fuss about stability. As soon as I started digging into it more and using it beyond something like I would use Battery for it crashes... a lot.

It's pretty disappointing and frustrating in that regard. You're just getting into something, go to edit and *POOF*... it crashes. I got it very inexpensive on a sale, but I can see see what people were talking about now. The last update was over a year ago, so I don't have much faith in things getting fixed. I tried using it for a few weeks, but haven't gone back to it which sad, because it has so much potential and is very deep (more so than I can bring to potential).

Maybe if Roli folds FXpansion can be brought back to life by going independent again or sold to someone who's interested in realizing what it could be.

[Sea]

I hear ya! I heard when it first came out it was “buggy”. Did the Devs fix GEIST2 where it’s solid now?

If you use it for basic functions and don't scratch the surface too much it's reasonably stable. In my first few days of using it I didn't understand much of the fuss about stability. As soon as I started digging into it more and using it beyond something like I would use Battery for it crashes... a lot.

It's pretty disappointing and frustrating in that regard. You're just getting into something, go to edit and *POOF*... it crashes. I got it very inexpensive on a sale, but I can see see what people were talking about now. The last update was over a year ago, so I don't have much faith in things getting fixed. I tried using it for a few weeks, but haven't gone back to it which sad, because it has so much potential and is very deep (more so than I can bring to potential).

Maybe if Roli folds FXpansion can be brought back to life by going independent again or sold to someone who's interested in realizing what it could be.

So it’s still buggy... even with the latest updates?

I would use if for creating patterns and then placing them in song mode in Reaper. I also would like to sample grooves into the pads like “Intro, verse, fill 1, chorus, bridge, fill 2. Fill 3, ending,” stuff like that, and have them assigned to pads that I can trigger when and wherever I want in Reaper to create a song with my midi keyboard.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Just give it a good demo and see for yourself. I don't find it buggy but my system, workflow, and needs will be different than yours.

[sl1200mk2]

So it’s still buggy... even with the latest updates?

In my experience, yes. I specifically bought it for the sampling/recording functionality and get crashes with that when editing among other things. Try the demo and see if it works well for you... people have different experiences based on workflow. Others have expressed that it works well enough for them, but for me it hasn't at least in how I was trying to use it.

[vertibration]

Its not really dead, it had a recent update I believe.

Sorry, I mean metaphorically dying... Maintenance update I presume? I could be wrong of course but there's no chat about it on the forums or any news from the dev.

What do you want them to do with it? As long as they are maintaining it, that's all that matters.

[codec_spurt]

h
oo

[Effectsworks]

What do you want them to do with it? As long as they are maintaining it, that's all that matters.

What I want? Is some new information about the Geist product line. Are they going to drop it, like Tremor, Maul and Bloom?

It's not rocket science baby.

[Sea]

What do you want them to do with it? As long as they are maintaining it, that's all that matters.

What I want? Is some new information about the Geist product line. Are they going to drop it, like Tremor, Maul and Bloom?

It's not rocket science baby.

You’d think ROLI wouldn’t drop it but hopefully improve it. I don’t know why FXpansion sold out. Perhaps their sales were down.