PLASMONIC - A new synth from Brian Clevinger

[Funky40]

Particularly when you’re often switching between this and other plugins and daw controls that pretty much follow the usual conventions.

thats the underrated one here.

[mothra]

I guess it's like Absynth, you either learn to use it or don't. Some guis click with some, others not so much. With Absynth, the rewards definitely outweighed the learning curve, Plasmonic is just the same. I think Brian likes to challenge folks to think a little differently and come up with something new.

[ThomasHelzle]

Yeah. I personally find the interface of a guitar very awkward, since it forces my hands into strange positions and it never really clicked for me, but man, the sound is really worth it...

Seriously, if you love the sound of Plasmonic as I do, the GUI is the least problem, once you familiarised yourself with it.
It's really well thought out, even if not "standard".
Probably my favourite synth these days.

Cheers,

Tom

[martiu]

Thank you Tom, but the UI is very important for the workflow.
If it feels like a task and not fun and enjoyable, is not worth it.

[vurt]

Thank you Tom, but the UI is very important for the workflow.
If it feels like a task and not fun and enjoyable, is not worth it.

whatever happened to suffering for arts sake?

[ThomasHelzle]

[martiu]

Thank you Tom, but the UI is very important for the workflow.
If it feels like a task and not fun and enjoyable, is not worth it.

whatever happened to suffering for arts sake?

if a synth is ugly and with weird controls structure, i don't use it, there is always alternative somewhere with good structure and good looking UI.
Life is too short to use ugly synths with weird controls

[vurt]

nothing worthwhile, is easy

[martiu]

I can get similar sounds with Chromaphone, not the same because AAS has no wavetables, but close.
But look at this UI, it invides you to play with it, just look at it, so beautiful

1f972.jpg

l_cz2b_m.png

[lotus2035]

Does it have dark mode? White UIs scare me.

[martiu]

Does it have dark mode? White UIs scare me.

no, only white

[glokraw]

Assuming a fair price when compared to what's on the market, my first condition for a purchase: Is there sound that I love and can use with little or no interface modification, and modify with the effects I have and am familiar with?

The second condition: Is the interface tolerable for the minimalist preset changes I might attempt?

So I'm not looking for more smorgasbord synths, many great ones exist, and I have plenty of them.
I'm happy to trade some money for direct access to sounds I know I'll enjoy using. The demo has convinced me, so the savings-spree has begun for a circa November purchase.
Fear not the slider in the dark!

[rubez]

I don't get the interface argument. If it was only making dumb supersaws like the countless synths before it, fine. But it is doing something different so it is no surprise it looks and feels different. You either love the sounds or you don't. UI is kind of irrelevant. If it operated in the same way as what you are used to you would probably end up with the same familiar sounds you always make. Maybe let the synth guide you for once.

This demo is achingly beautiful it has convinced me to purchase a licence

[pdxindy]

I can get similar sounds with Chromaphone, not the same because AAS has no wavetables, but close.
But look at this UI, it invides you to play with it, just look at it, so beautiful

I've had Chromaphone for years. I like some of the sounds I get from it. I suppose the GUI is pretty in a certain sense, but I always find Chromaphone frustrating cause modulation is so limited. Plasmonic has easily 100 times the modulation possibilities. Chromaphone is also having a kind of form over function. Too many tabs and that are not necessary.

I don't really enjoy using Chromaphone from a GUI/workflow perspective. I enjoy doing sound design more in Plasmonic. Partly because it is far far more flexible and partly because I just like the workflow a bit better. Not that Plasmonic is my favorite in terms of workflow, but it is acceptable and better than Chromaphone.

[ThomasHelzle]

I can get similar sounds with Chromaphone, not the same because AAS has no wavetables, but close.
But look at this UI, it invides you to play with it, just look at it, so beautiful 1f972.jpg
l_cz2b_m.png

Interesting.
For me it's totally different. I went back to using Chromaphone 1.
a.) It has the best GUI AAS ever did IMO.
b.) Other than Chromaphone 3, it is very light on CPU. Chromaphone 3 brings down my new and rather hefty Laptop with just a few notes, especially if I use any modulation.
c.) Other than you, I do not enjoy using Chromaphone 3 at all. Tons of clicks, too many tabs, silly UX decisions like those fading-in next-previous preset arrows - who on earth wants that? I want to click on that frigging arrow right away, not wait for it to appear!

So in that light, I take Plasmonics and it's GUI anytime over the endlessly repackaged core engine of Tassmann that AAS sells to us in many plugins, without really changing much in the sound department. They only add bloat and ever-changing GUIs and more and more CPU load.
I am so tired of that, as much as I love the basic sound.

So yeah, choose your poison

Cheers,

Tom