Tracktion Collective - keep working on it. Not ready for prime time!

[Phattlippz]

After playing with it for 20 minutes, I think the idea behind Collective is solid - kind of a 2023 version of a Roland Sound Canvas/hardware rompler. There are numerous shortcomings though, that should be seriously addressed.

• The quality of sound sources / programming is not up to current standards. Most patches lack inspiration.
  The patches are all over the place from an output level standpoint - that's a big red flag for me - the last instrument with that problem was Big Tick Audio Rhino, which is one reason I dropped it right after buying it.
  As a whole, the presets lack a polished sound - it reminds me of a 90's Korg Rompler with the effects bypassed.
  the user interface seems amateur - like they used some sort of template rather than a bespoke design. The functionality suffers from this clunkiness - I think more editing features could be consolidated to a couple of pages, rather than the 7-8 pages there are currently.
  ]It seems as if you can't assign MIDI controllers to any of the synth parameters, which is a must-have.
  Modulation could be greatly improved with some sort of drag-and-drop system.
  the glide functionality seems broken. Legato mode stays "polyphonic".
  Lots of other comments regarding the arpeggiator, effects etc.

I hope the developers are working on upping the quality and UI of this synth, because I do think there's a need for a "Rompler" style synth with more bread-and-butter sounds for those of us who need those sounds. As it stands, the highly outdated Air Xpand!2 is a MUCH better value, just in terms of quality and variety of sound sources and presets, which is the biggest concern for any Rompler-type instrument. Editing is another issue, but the quality of the voices and ease of use (stacking up to four sample-based voices) gives you what you need with a rompler. But it's way outdated in terms of interface scaleability, editing options etc.

[enCiphered]

Very good summary, thank you. This explains the low price.

[Examigan]

You may want to check out this review also:

https://soundbytesmag.net/review-collec ... tracktion/

[fde101]

The comparison with a rompler is not a particularly bad one as that is largely how I personally view Collective - it serves primarily as a "patch player plus" to give a decent collection of basic/starter sounds to someone starting out, not really meant as a mainline synth.

When you are stringing many sounds together having sounds that are "bland" on their own can often be a good thing. The glitz and sparkle that makes individual sounds stand out can often conflict with other sounds that have similar glitz and the combination can sound worse than if the individual sounds were more plain and basic. If you want sounds that stand up well on their own then use glitzy synths. If you want to make music with a combination of different sounds working together, in most cases such sounds are best avoided. Add your own glitz using FX plugins within the mix once your song is set up.

[Watchful]

Collective does have a pretty decent 4-operator FM engine as well as a basic subtractive engine that loads samples for anyone who wants to get a little more creative with it than just basic ROMpler functions. But as fde101 observes, it's really a starter package that Tracktion received a lot of requests to sell as an independent plugin.

[kalqlate]

Posting over a year later after the last post on this topic... These days, simple sounds become glorious when any one or more really great free and/or commercial effects plugins are applied to taste. So, sure, sounds and features of Collective may be very basic, but my view and practice with all simple samplers and synths these days is to not simply discard them out of hand if they aren't Pigments quality, but to give them a quick try, and upon auditioning, take note if any of their sounds might be an "ok" or "good enough" kernel for shaping into something perfectly amazing for a given role in a particular work.

Haha... actually, with the number and quality of great free or nicely affordable effects being so abundant, ANY dud sound can become unique and amazing. Just place an EQ, compressor, and Lunacy Audio's Beam (or other interesting subtle or crazy effect) on that dud, adjust EQ and compression, hit the Random button on Beam, play a key or chord on your controller to audition the dud sound, listen... if it sounds good and closer to what you want, tweak from there to perfection. If not, repeat. Within three cycles, you're sure to be delighted and view all of Collective's "dull, lifeless" sounds in a whole new light as new sources of beauty, thrill, and inspiration.