School me on Nexus 5

[twal]

Or maybe you mean a synth/sampler plus a rompler on top using multiple instruments, but Nexus 5 is probably hated on for two reasons: 1) It was just a rompler before and a lot of producers moved onto Kontakt and/or Omnisphere and 2) People in these forums don't see it as a capable synth versus other options, perhaps.

[nusound mind]

What use for it do you have in mind? If sound design, you're unlikely to make the most unique, cerebral & abstract, never before heard on planet earth blip-squiggle-bloops, but to me I like it b/c;

My 5 main synths are Serum, Phaseplant, Omnisphere 3, Diva and Kontakt.


So the use case for Nexus would be rompling though standard Moog/Juno/Prophet style saw/pluck/pad/lead presets, finding something close to what I have in my head, and using the backend to make relatively minor adjustments. Basically replacing Diva, of which I just can't stand the UI/UE (heresy I know!), without needing to buy a whole slew of VA emulations with skeuomorphic UIs.

I mainly use it for pads and arps. I esp. love the shimmer/grain reverb. It sticks about 50% when I audition it. It's less a happy accident machine, I don't use it for anything too complex, I use layers for thickening and presence and it sits in the mix nicely i find. In terms of drums, it might work for percussion? but I haven't tried it nor do I expect to, as I have that covered w/ Stylus, etc.

It sounds good, cpu cost is low and it comes w/ good samples. I don't buy soundpacks which is a lot of the appeal it seems, so can't speak to that. The stock sounds it comes with are more than enough for me.

I tend towards a 'see what happens' approach, w/ the occasional 'I have a song in my head' so generally speaking I do like happy accidents. If you have a firm idea of what you'll be using it for I think it can fill that role well, depending on what genres you tend towards.

I have Diva and Serum out of the 5 you listed, Serum 2 gets used a lot and Diva some, I do think it overlaps w/ Omnisphere, though less deep, which depending on context, may be a good thing. I personally already have too many synths to get lost in, if making music is the aim then that, at least ime, can be a hindrance more than a benefit, depending again on your style of workflow.

[BBFG#]

For sound, Tone 2 blends the easiest with Omni IMO. Rob Papen Blue is good towards that too. Unfortunately, they're skewmorphic and may not fit your UI tastes. Nexus appears to be a money suck to me and I probably will never considered it for that reason. Not with so many other (and better) options available.

What other options besides Omni do you believe? Nexus was a revolutionary product and now is a fully programmable synth. Omni is same. Halion, Falcon great synths obviously but not serious romplers in my opinion. I'm presuming you mean great synth/exceptional rompler or perhaps something else. For one man show, nothing really beats Omni in this department but if we are talling rompler/synths with loads of contact and great programmability I don't believe there is anything above Nexus 5 except Omni; or perhaps I'm not thinking correctly at the moment. But what do you mean by better options?

The OP has Omni and Diva and said he wanted options to maybe replace Diva. So I simply gave a couple of suggestions along that idea. Better and cheaper than jumping into another plugin trying to overlap with Omni; and more expensively. I've listened to the demos and just haven't been impressed by Nexus at all. Otherwise, I would suggest the OP just stick with what they have until something hits in way that they don't even have to ask anyone else's opinion.

[billinder33]

Any reason not to use the Plugmon Mona skin for Diva. Changed the game for me using Diva. Now I actually enjoy creating patches

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into this one. Not really a fan of Skeuomorphic designs, but I'll definitely consider this as a potential lower cost option over spending money on a different synth.

[billinder33]

Otherwise, I would suggest the OP just stick with what they have until something hits in way that they don't even have to ask anyone else's opinion.

There's some good logic in this.

I could also take a shot at updating my NI Komplete package so I can move up to Kontakt 8. I don't think the tweakability is any different, but I hear the browser has been changed so possibly the preset hunting is better now.

[Trancit]

I recently bought the cheapest version of Nexus as it was on sale even a bit cheaper I think around black friday and I must say I am very very happy with it...

I don´t think you will be more happy in terms of sound design in it though...
It´s engine, while very powerful is very convoluted with steady going through tabs and everything is somewhere else...
It´s manageable of course but I do not find it very enjoyable...

What I find it amazing for is using one of the million presets as a starting point and editing what´s already there... taking away oscillators/layers, adding new oscillators/layers, changing FX, etc...
With it´s very low CPU demand (especially the FX) with nonetheless an amazing sound you can use tons of instances in a project without even noticing it...

Contentwise I can asure you that there is only a very little amount of drums or even any multi drum presets... there are some but 99% are musical presets and especially the Pads (but many other parts too) are absolutely beautiful and useable over a wide range of usecases...
Especially here with high voice counts Nexus incredible low CPU shines.

I did regret rapidly back in the days to have bought Omnisphere 2 and sold it after one year of fighting with it (and it´s 90% ugly presets) but Nexus was one of my best purchases of a synth ever!
I must state though that I am a big fan of the preset creations of Manuel Schleis and alike... I find them the best presets on the market so I have Avenger 2 with several preset packs too...
Big thumbs up from my side!

[wagtunes]

This post is directed specifically to the OP. This track, with the exception of kick, snare and vocals, is all Nexus. All stock presets. This is how easy it is to put together a production with this synth. If you're in a time crunch and need something quickly, this is your go-to synth. It almost mixes itself because everything sits just right, right out of the box. I had to do very little to get this track to sound like this. But you be the judge.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim/into-the-nexus

[billinder33]

This post is directed specifically to the OP. This track, with the exception of kick, snare and vocals, is all Nexus. All stock presets. This is how easy it is to put together a production with this synth. If you're in a time crunch and need something quickly, this is your go-to synth. It almost mixes itself because everything sits just right, right out of the box. I had to do very little to get this track to sound like this. But you be the judge.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim/into-the-nexus

We do way different styles of music but there are many times where I want these kinds of 70s/80s/90s/early 2k's type sounds but I'm always going crazy and losing my discipline configuring Serum and even Omni.

What you posted lines up with my impressions of Nexus from what I saw on YT, and I think you've convinced me to take the dive. I owe myself a Christmas present anyhow....

[wagtunes]

This post is directed specifically to the OP. This track, with the exception of kick, snare and vocals, is all Nexus. All stock presets. This is how easy it is to put together a production with this synth. If you're in a time crunch and need something quickly, this is your go-to synth. It almost mixes itself because everything sits just right, right out of the box. I had to do very little to get this track to sound like this. But you be the judge.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim/into-the-nexus

We do way different styles of music but there are many times where I want these kinds of 70s/80s/90s/early 2k's type sounds but I'm always going crazy and losing my discipline configuring Serum and even Omni.

What you posted lines up with my impressions of Nexus from what I saw on YT, and I think you've convinced me to take the dive. I owe myself a Christmas present anyhow....

Glad I was able to help. Merry Christmas!

[billinder33]

This post is directed specifically to the OP. This track, with the exception of kick, snare and vocals, is all Nexus. All stock presets. This is how easy it is to put together a production with this synth. If you're in a time crunch and need something quickly, this is your go-to synth. It almost mixes itself because everything sits just right, right out of the box. I had to do very little to get this track to sound like this. But you be the judge.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim/into-the-nexus

We do way different styles of music but there are many times where I want these kinds of 70s/80s/90s/early 2k's type sounds but I'm always going crazy and losing my discipline configuring Serum and even Omni.

What you posted lines up with my impressions of Nexus from what I saw on YT, and I think you've convinced me to take the dive. I owe myself a Christmas present anyhow....

Glad I was able to help. Merry Christmas!

Bought, downloaded, and waited patiently for my wife to go to bed so I could spend time messing with this.

It's an amazing synth. Like a flagship digital workstation with a massive amount of content and Serum's UI as the configuration editor. Had it mostly figured it out in about 20 minutes, no manual, just modifying presets. There's tons of flexibility and the FX I've tried so far all sound great.

One of the things that dives me nuts about Diva is no matter how much I use it, I can never fully predict what a control is going to do when I move it. It's a happy accident machine (Zebra 3 too). Nexus on the other hand is totally predictable. But not boring either. Definitely fun to use.

And it's not like Serum or PhasePlant where you're constantly being pulled off planet earth into wub-wub-smash-sqelch-screech land. I'm sure you could get there, but Nexus seems to lean into staying grounded in reality.

Definitely what I was after. Thanks for the recommendation and have a great holiday season!!

[Lbdunequest]

Nexus cant come close to the other synths you mention for sound design. First thing that comes to mind, you can't edit the start point of a sample, at least with refx content. This alone is a huge blocker for me.

You can edit start point. Version 5 is full blown synth that is capabale as much as Serum 2 or other synths.

For god sake just do some research.

Version 5 is like a night and day different from version 4.

[wagtunes]

Nexus cant come close to the other synths you mention for sound design. First thing that comes to mind, you can't edit the start point of a sample, at least with refx content. This alone is a huge blocker for me.

You can edit start point. Version 5 is full blown synth that is capabale as much as Serum 2 or other synths.

For god sake just do some research.

Version 5 is like a night and day different from version 4.

Some people just like to run their mouth when they have no idea what they're talking about. It's been a common theme here in the 11 years that I've been here and I'm sure long before I got here,

[Trancit]

You can edit start point. Version 5 is full blown synth that is capabale as much as Serum 2 or other synths.

For god sake just do some research.

Version 5 is like a night and day different from version 4.

I would like to know how!!

The included samples are mostly (if not all) multisamples... and I have not found a way to move the sample start point... and there is no option to open them in the sample editor!

When I import a single sample though I get the option to open the sample editor where I can move the sample start...

So instead of just stating... please tell me how you edit the sample start of factory content or of expansions!

[Lbdunequest]

You can edit start point. Version 5 is full blown synth that is capabale as much as Serum 2 or other synths.

For god sake just do some research.

Version 5 is like a night and day different from version 4.

I would like to know how!!

The included samples are mostly (if not all) multisamples... and I have not found a way to move the sample start point... and there is no option to open them in the sample editor!

When I import a single sample though I get the option to open the sample editor where I can move the sample start...

So instead of just stating... please tell me how you edit the sample start of factory content or of expansions!

Its in the manual written, called phase. Phase also controls sample start position in the sampler https://refx.com/nexus/manual/

In fact sample start point was already introduced in Nexus v4

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

If a man do not chase creativity,soon or later spin the loop,replaying familiar sound.
Nexus is for producers (mostly newbies),who want fast results and as a tool nexus probably worth it for the guys,if the goal is to attack and flood edm charts with tracks,which will be more copy/paste something famous,than a original piece of art,but who cares
It's ok as sound,because it's multilayer architecture,but a serious producer could make way more interesting layering inside the daw using 3-4 different synths,he/she/it knows well,than just one nexus instance,but that's just my opinion.
For people looking for original sound i doub't it's so useful,personally i can't justify the money,if you can,go for it.
Originality of the sound and composition didn't come with spending x money,but after period of time for ideas to grow like a fruit.
Cheers