Which plugins are hyped too much in your opinion?

[DJErmac]

Wait, some of you talk to musicians? My mom told me never to do that.

[ruslan.st]

Pricing and customer support has big influence on how plug-ins are valued on forums. Plugins made by customer friendly developers sound better.

[zerocrossing]

I think the biggest hype seems to be those who go on about Cherry Audio. Their plugins sound very lackluster to me. The best thing I can think to say is that they are cheap and low CPU.

The only people I've seen here go on about Cherry Audio have been negative. Most of the positive comments I've seen have been more generally positive like, "pretty good for the price." As for CPU, if you think they're low CPU you either haven't used any other plugins or you haven't used any Cherry Audio plugins. I bought some of them but I don't really use them because the CPU usage is too high.

To answer the original question, when it comes to hype from the companies it's all too much. Sales is about creating desire. When it comes from users, none of it is too much. People like what they like.

When I had an older computer, I purchased their Voltage Modular and a lot of add on modules. They were lower in CPU than Reaktor Blocks or Softube Modular. They sounded OK, and maybe they’re not hyped around here but I see a lot of talk on social media about them as if they’re some sort of breakthrough in analog modeling. To me they sound like plugins released in 2005.

[zerocrossing]

Plugin Alliance — Their Facebook group reminds me Heaven's Gate members wore the same black and white Nike sneakers.

So true, but they do have a lot of solid plugins. I was using Brainworx’s Blackbox HG-2 on a bass guitar a few days ago and it beat out several other saturators. Sounded so perfect for the tough but round sound I was after. I bought it for next to nothing, too. Some dude sold me a ton of Plugin Alliance plugins for like $20.

Arturia — They've improved tremendously since the 90s and fortunately started doing something other than vintage emulations like Pigments (solid but no, not "life-changing") and Efx Fragments. Surprised no one mentioned the company's self-hype with plugins "You Will Actually Use". Makes it funny when people try to get rid of them. But the braggadocio turned into confidence when they addressed Behringer cloning the KeyStep.

I personally feel the hype is well deserved. Pigments, maybe not so much, but as someone who owns and have owned a lot of hardware synths, I feel their plugins really nail the ol’school vibe and bring things to the table like MPE. Fragments gets a lot of use too, as does their Delay Eternia and whatever they call their Reverb Intensity.

Freakshow Industries — Plugins are fine but the way some people lap up the anti-establishment marketing reminds me of the sweatshop-produced Che Guevara t-shirt trend. Prince Harry wore one.

I think they get a lot of attention because they’re pretty refreshing in an era filled with, “oh look, another vintage compressor!” They’re weird. You can tell they’re made by someone who made them for themselves and could not care any less about making it on the next Tic-Tok sensation’s video. They’re not plugins you use all the time, but when you do, they’re fun. I also bought them because the developer seems like someone I’d want to do some mushrooms with and play music for an afternoon. So I guess I believe the hype.

[HAL76]

The trend seems to be that smaller devs get all the praise, while big brands are burned down consequently. Popularity seems the antichrist here.

That is an intersting finding. I can´t share it like this, would differentiate a bit - but mainly ask for the reasons.

I think that communication and interaction might make the biggest part of that tendency.

How do the companys communicate? How do they try to convince us? How do they act?

Seen like this Yamaha seems pretty cool to me. They don´t praise their products too much, don´t claim to hava e"nailed" a certain sound and also don´t just try to convince you with statements of their endorsement partners. And they don´t gry to convince people in internet forums. They seem not to mind about what people say.

For me many others should get aware of the fact that advertisement (of what kind ever) can have negative effects, especially when it´s too much of it. I´d never buy Nicos MIDI pack for example. Or try SMAVA. And I don´t buy at mediamarkt for two decades already sibce they had this slogan "mediamarkt - I am yet not stupid".

I rather trust the grandmotzer from around the corbner than stars who live in LA an tell me tales to get my money LOL

[pough]

When I had an older computer, I purchased their Voltage Modular and a lot of add on modules. They were lower in CPU than Reaktor Blocks or Softube Modular. They sounded OK, and maybe they’re not hyped around here but I see a lot of talk on social media about them as if they’re some sort of breakthrough in analog modeling. To me they sound like plugins released in 2005.

Oh, yeah. The Vintage Modular. I keep forgetting about that one. Modulars just aren't my thing, so I guess we were mostly taking past each other. The standalone synths use a lot more CPU than I like. I often end up swapping in u-he Zebra or something to save CPU.

[kritikon]

"This is a stupid thread."

Seconded. Overhyped is a word that's overhyped, similar to underrated. Have to laugh every time I see Youtube comments banging on about stadium-filling, million-selling bands of yesteryear being "underrated". Usually it means the commenter hasn't heard of them, usually because they're so young. Overhyped is a similar phrase - just a reason to slag other peoples' favourites for no other reason than trolling. Lots of which has been done in this thread...

...personally i think ALL software is overhyped. Except the software that I use.

this post whelmed me, by just the right amount, not over or under.

I guess that would be euwhelmed to paraphrase from medical-speak? Whelming is an oft forgotten artform.

[fairlyclose]

I´d never buy Nicos MIDI pack for example.

I'd never hear of this before, looks pretty useful for me. Thanks

[jamcat]

Have you seen the Unison MIDI Chord Packs?
They're fire!

[yellowmix]

So true, but they do have a lot of solid plugins.

That's what's frustrating. We all have a lot of their plugins and there is some good info in the Facebook group but the way legit critique is censored and people are dogpiled and kicked out if they don't toe the line discourages people from contributing or visiting. It's petty and ugly.

And to be clear, I like Pigments and Efx Fragments. But young producers are literally asking if it'll be "life-changing" (it's not happening on KVR but I won't link to it. People set them straight). Who knows what marketing they are seeing or who they are talking to to arrive at that but it's not healthy. This ties into the hype for trap and drill or whatever shovelware. It's unscrupulous people preying on people that don't know any better.

Hype should be questioned!

[zerocrossing]

So true, but they do have a lot of solid plugins.

That's what's frustrating. We all have a lot of their plugins and there is some good info in the Facebook group but the way legit critique is censored and people are dogpiled and kicked out if they don't toe the line discourages people from contributing or visiting. It's petty and ugly.

And to be clear, I like Pigments and Efx Fragments. But young producers are literally asking if it'll be "life-changing" (it's not happening on KVR but I won't link to it. People set them straight). Who knows what marketing they are seeing or who they are talking to to arrive at that but it's not healthy. This ties into the hype for trap and drill or whatever shovelware. It's unscrupulous people preying on people that don't know any better.

Hype should be questioned!

Well, it is life changing. They didn’t have it, then they did, and they’re life had changed. I think a lot of people have little lives these days.

[MJACau]

I'm not going to pick on individual plugin makers, because coding is hard.
I have far less tolerance or respect for companies that all they do is push the crappy same low effort trap beat sound packs, used by said famous DJ.

[SamDi]

KVR:
-In general all plugins which have a good price/value ratio (and are good plugins) but it's talked as if they could compete with top notch products, costing factor 5-> from Valhalla, TDR
-Most from U-he, especially Zebra and Bazille
-Synths favoured from people stuck on 70/80ies era: all Minimoog, OB, Sequencial Circuits, Roland, DX7 clones
-Synths, favoured from people stuck on 90ies Mainstream-Trance era: Dune3, Spire, Sylenth

Youtube:
-Serum (OK it's industry standard at EDM, but it's too omnipresent and the meanwhile there are better synths)
-NI the whole Komplete stuff, just a cashcow - no innovaton. (Reaktor and Kontakt still cool, Massive X would be cool but somehow half-baken, but they all get too less love)
-Izotope stuff, the same as NI. Just throwing new versions on the market, but no innovation there.

[Etienne1973]

...
-Synths favoured from people stuck on 70/80ies era: all Minimoog, OB, Sequencial Circuits, Roland, DX7 clones
...

OUCH! I know I'm retro.

[JerGoertz]

All the plugins I use are underrated. The ones I don't use are overrated.