Atlas 2 or XO?

[OJ739]

I ended up getting XO and love it. My primary drums now. I even load it in all my projects as a sample manager. Perfect for the way I like to work.

And shout out to support. They have been extremely helpful and responsive.

It does indeed have an amazing sample management AI. I just wish it had more slots available. Seems I can use it along side another sequencer, like Geist or Atlas (may be CPU intensive)

[yellowmix]

Been using XO since it was introduced and it's been updated significantly since then. It was a godsend, and I've got only ~140 GB of drums plus ~80 GB of foley I feed it. I tried Atlas a couple times and it always choked or took forever to catalog, in addition to cataloging really badly. It constantly confuses kicks with toms, hihats with snares, and the orientation doesn't make sense. Haven't tried the latest versions which claims to have improved it. XO's categorization is top-notch, and don't forget to adjust the "druminess" filter to include non-drum sounds (mostly in the bottom area of the map but also along the fringes). Even that is arranged with a clear logic.

The thing a lot of people don't understand about XO is that it's built for exporting. It has a page/workflow expressly dedicated to it. The kit building, auditioning, shaping, sequencing, etc. are all in service of ultimately drag and dropping the raw samples, processed samples, raw loop, processed loop, or MIDI somewhere else. You can use it as a drum machine but it's not trying to be one. That's why I want the sequencer fleshed out into its own product.

If you're a loop-based producer then you build and export loop after loop, then arrange/chop in DAW. You can arrange one-shots in DAW or bring them into a drum rack/machine. Dragging a group of one-shots will drop into individual cells in Battery and Geist 2 (have not tried others). MIDI drag and dropped from XO can then drive Battery and Geist 2 immediately (you may need to adjust octave depending on DAW), I haven't tried others.

If I'm drum sequencing in DAW then I'll usually use Battery, and if I want deep sequencing then I use Geist 2. But XO builds the kit that otherwise would have never happened, and much faster with better results than searching manually and trying to make it work in the mix. By the time anything exits XO, the whole kit is mix-ready.

Another thing many people don't mention is XO's comprehensive factory library. This is from XLN, as in Addictive Drums. They've got fantastic acoustic percussion taken from the entire range, and they licensed electronic drums from (as far as I can tell) Samplephonics. Yeah, it uses two slots but layer some of the best acoustic and electronic sounds together. Then, with the similarity search, bring each acoustic variation into Battery or Geist to create round-robins. Now your electronic drums will organically change with each hit.

On the other hand, if you want an all-in one sample finder and drum machine, Atlas starts to look more attractive.

[Biome_Digital]

The thing a lot of people don't understand about XO is that it's built for exporting. It has a page/workflow expressly dedicated to it. The kit building, auditioning, shaping, sequencing, etc. are all in service of ultimately drag and dropping the raw samples, processed samples, raw loop, processed loop, or MIDI somewhere else.

XO builds the kit that otherwise would have never happened, and much faster with better results than searching manually and trying to make it work in the mix.

On the other hand, if you want an all-in one sample finder and drum machine, Atlas starts to look more attractive.

Yes, these are great points. I use it in the same way. However, I do think BOTH are different enough to warrant using both. XO just needs more channels.

[Biome_Digital]

Coincidently, I've just received an email about a new update for Atlas. Let's see what's new!

[SLiC]

The main difference for me between XO and Atlas is that Atlas is still being very actively developed and improved so it’s the one I am investing time in (I own them both)

Its a real shame XO wasn’t developed further, like it a lot, but it just seems to be getting cheaper and cheaper in almost continuous sales which is rarely a good sign….I still have XO but I am not optimistic that it will relieve a substantial update, ATLAS has completely taken over for me.

[noiseboyuk]

Its a real shame XO wasn’t developed further, like it a lot, but it just seems to be getting cheaper and cheaper in almost continuous sales which is rarely a good sign….I still have XO but I am not optimistic that it will relieve a substantial update, ATLAS has completely taken over for me.

I've said this before, but I think it's quite possible that XO2 is in development. Updates for the current product usually cease and sales start when this happens. XO seems very successful to me, I can't think commercially why they wouldn't want to develop it further to generate more income from it.

[Biome_Digital]

The new update for Atlas is great. Filtering of drum sounds and multi-pad-solo is excellent! Next, EFFECTS please!!

[padillac]

If you’ve followed the progress since their initial releases, people first said Atlas was better because of updates. Then it stagnated, XO was updated, and the opinion switched. Now we’re in a period of more Atlas activity and it’s back to the original opinion.

I agree wholeheartedly that XO should be used to build a kit or basic groove, and then the sounds moved to another tool for more development.

PlayBeat 3 is a cool sequencer that happens to have 8 kit pieces, which matches XO exactly. Personally I want more depth in terms of effects than either provides, so I think the killer combo is XO + PlayBeat + a sampler.

Or XO + Geist (although if you think XO is dead, Geist prob won’t appeal)

[SLiC]

Its a real shame XO wasn’t developed further, like it a lot, but it just seems to be getting cheaper and cheaper in almost continuous sales which is rarely a good sign….I still have XO but I am not optimistic that it will relieve a substantial update, ATLAS has completely taken over for me.

I've said this before, but I think it's quite possible that XO2 is in development. Updates for the current product usually cease and sales start when this happens. XO seems very successful to me, I can't think commercially why they wouldn't want to develop it further to generate more income from it.

I hope so- I have XO as well and don't plan to sell, it but it tends to go one way or another- either a new version or its free with any plugin on Plugin Boutique!

[gondii]

If you’ve followed the progress since their initial releases, people first said Atlas was better because of updates. Then it stagnated, XO was updated, and the opinion switched. Now we’re in a period of more Atlas activity and it’s back to the original opinion.

I agree wholeheartedly that XO should be used to build a kit or basic groove, and then the sounds moved to another tool for more development.

PlayBeat 3 is a cool sequencer that happens to have 8 kit pieces, which matches XO exactly. Personally I want more depth in terms of effects than either provides, so I think the killer combo is XO + PlayBeat + a sampler.

Or XO + Geist (although if you think XO is dead, Geist prob won’t appeal)

XO -> Geist used to be my go to.
Now it's XO -> Playbeat + Sampler

[padillac]

Yeah PlayBeat is cool (I’m just a couple days j to it). I think it’s great with a multi-channel sampler because you can put one basic sound per channel. Then map variations of the sound across different pitches, and use the per-step pitch in playbeat to select different variations. Similar to Geist’s layer select.

[SLiC]

You now get XO FREE if you buy or even upgrade Bitwig

https://www.bitwig.com/

[3lu5iv3]

Haven't used XO yet but Atlas is pretty decent IMO. Generating random chaos is so fun.

[pierb]

Honestly I wish they released a cheaper version of either XO or Atlas just for browsing and cataloguing drum samples.

[SLiC]

Honestly I wish they released a cheaper version of either XO or Atlas just for browsing and cataloguing drum samples.

Have you tried this? https://www.sononym.net/