Maize Sampler Future..

[SampleScience]

And what about UVI Workstation? Did anyone try that? AFAIK 3rd party developers can develop synths/sample-libraries for this platform but I couldn't find much information on this topic.

If you want to develop UVI instruments, you'll need Falcon and a license from UVI. I have a non-disclosure agreement with UVI so I can't tell you how much it costs to license the UVI technology, but let's just say that you'll need money.

A cheaper alternative is Sforzando: you can develop instruments for it that are GUI-less and it'll be free, but if you want a GUI it cost a very reasonable amount of money per year. It's a lot cheaper than UVI, but you don't have access to the copy protection you get with UVI (which will increase sales according to some developers).

[KTlin]

If you want to develop UVI instruments, you'll need Falcon and a license from UVI. I have a non-disclosure agreement with UVI so I can't tell you how much it costs to license the UVI technology, but let's just say that you'll need money.

Thanks for the info!
What are your thoughts on the development process using Falcon compared to Halion. Is it better, simpler, more complex? Does it have some advantages over Halion?

.... you'll need Falcon and a license from UVI.

Do you also have to pay UVI a certain percentage from every sale you make?

A cheaper alternative is Sforzando: you can develop instruments for it that are GUI-less and it'll be free, but if you want a GUI it cost a very reasonable amount of money per year. It's a lot cheaper than UVI, but you don't have access to the copy protection you get with UVI (which will increase sales according to some developers).

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll take a look at Sforzando. How would you compare it to the other options mentioned in this thread (Maize, Hise, SynthEdit, Flowstone, Halion, Falcon/UVI Workstation) in terms of complexity, features, easy of use, etc?

Cheers

[SampleScience]

Sforzando is good if you want to sell sample-based instruments, but you won't be able to create effects with it. That's the advantage of using SynthEdit and/or Flowstone. However, Hise Sampler can do both and is good for sample-based instruments. In my opinion, that's the best of both worlds. It's much more complex but you have much more control over the end product. Also, it's free and if you want to sell plugins made with it you just have to give a small % to its developer. The % is very reasonable considering the amount of work that goes into software like Hise Sampler.

I haven't used Falcon because I decided to go with Maize Sampler instead of UVI. So I can't you much about the process of creating UVI instruments with it.

Do you also have to pay UVI a certain percentage from every sale you make?

Yes. There are an upfront fee and a % of each sale. It may have changed though, I looked at UVI as an alternative years ago (around 2017).

If I were you I would create a professional website with a couple of products made with an easier framework like Maize/FS/SE and if it gets serious I would contact UVI or another company to expand on what is already built. These companies will ask for your website to see if they want to do business with you, so it's an important step in the process. It will make you look much more professional than if you have no website.

[KTlin]

Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts on this!

I'd have a couple more questions:
- from all these softwares you tried which one do you think offers the most options/features and the best workflow for the design of the GUI? As I said earlier, so far I've been only using Halion and for the GUI creation I think it's quite powerful (it has tons of ready-made graphic elements like knobs, sliders, buttons, etc) so it's quite easy to create a good looking and complex GUI.

- you said that you're not able to create effects with Sforzando. What do you mean by that? It doesn't have some built-in effect modules (like reverb, compressor, eq) that you can use inside the instruments you're building? Or it's just that you can't create effect plugins with it?

- one more thing about Sforzando: the instrument/sample-library you're creating with it gets exported as a self-contained plugin or it needs some kind of player like the instruments created with Halion/Kontakt/UVI?

Also, it's free and if you want to sell plugins made with it you just have to give a small % to its developer. The % is very reasonable considering the amount of work that goes into software like Hise Sampler.

But, if I understood correctly, you also have to pay $700 for the Juce license, so I have to take this into account. By the way, for instruments created with Sforzand do you also have to pay a fee/percentage for every sale you make?

[SampleScience]

- from all these softwares you tried which one do you think offers the most options/features and the best workflow for the design of the GUI? As I said earlier, so far I've been only using Halion and for the GUI creation I think it's quite powerful (it has tons of ready-made graphic elements like knobs, sliders, buttons, etc) so it's quite easy to create a good looking and complex GUI.

Hise Sampler, it's doesn't come with any pre-made graphic elements but you can use knobman and browse the knobman gallery for that. It's the easiest software to use to create professional GUIs, you can even create GUIs that are scalable.

- you said that you're not able to create effects with Sforzando. What do you mean by that?

You can't create VST effect plugins like SE/Hise/Flowstone can with it. Sforzando comes with a set of effects that you can use in your instruments though.

- one more thing about Sforzando: the instrument/sample-library you're creating with it gets exported as a self-contained plugin or it needs some kind of player like the instruments created with Halion/Kontakt/UVI?

It needs the Sforzando player to load the instruments, just like Kontakt and Halion can load their own proprietary instruments. It's the same principle.

But, if I understood correctly, you also have to pay $700 for the Juce license, so I have to take this into account.

You're right, you'll have to pay the 700$ Juce license to sell commercial plugins made with Hise Sampler. Plus the per-sale fees, but you save so much time with it that it's worthwhile in my opinion. You can also export to any OS and even create mobile apps with it.

By the way, for instruments created with Sforzand do you also have to pay a fee/percentage for every sale you make?

At the time I contacted the company who made Sforzando, there weren't any per-sale fees, just a yearly fee of 500$. It was years ago though, it could be more now.

If I remember well, Sforzando instruments are script-based, it's easy to learn but there's a learning curve (just like all the other framework, even Maize as its own quirks that you learn to deal with when you create instruments). It's not as visual as Hise Sampler. With Hise, you can get away without any scripting/coding, which is not the case with Sforzando.

[KTlin]

Thanks a lot for answering all my questions! I really appreciate it!
From what you've said it seems that Hise is quite a powerful alternative to Halion. I should definitely give it a try.
So how come you prefer Maize over Hise? Does it have other advantages beside what you've mentioned earlier about the compiling process in Hise being quite complicated?

[Plugworx]

I always enjoy reading your posts SampleScience, very useful information shared. Thanks.

[SampleScience]

Thanks a lot for answering all my questions! I really appreciate it!
From what you've said it seems that Hise is quite a powerful alternative to Halion. I should definitely give it a try.

You're welcome, this is a topic I'm passionate about and I rarely have the chance to talk about all my findings.

So how come you prefer Maize over Hise? Does it have other advantages beside what you've mentioned earlier about the compiling process in Hise being quite complicated?

I like the simplicity of Maize Sampler and the fact that it's super easy to compile plugins with it. I also find it easier to be creative within a limited set of functions. It forces me to think about good ideas instead of features.

Compiling with Hise can be tricky but a lot of people are doing it. I'll probably end up using it myself when Maize will be outdated. If you want to familiarize yourself with Hise, I recommend David Healey videos. They are very good:

[SampleScience]

I've just discovered this: https://gorilla-engine.com/

It's a new framework/software to create plugins. Looks very interesting!

[KTlin]

I've just discovered this: https://gorilla-engine.com/

It's a new framework/software to create plugins. Looks very interesting!

Uuu. This looks very interesting indeed.
It says "Gorilla Engine is currently in an early rollout phase and we’re giving early access to a selected group of creators." so it's quite a new piece of software, that's why it's the first time I hear about it.

[Plugworx]

I've just discovered this: https://gorilla-engine.com/

It's a new framework/software to create plugins. Looks very interesting!

Nice find SampleScience !

[BeatMaker_xyz]

I've just discovered this: https://gorilla-engine.com/

It's a new framework/software to create plugins. Looks very interesting!

You're the best! THANKS Samplescience

[BeatMaker_xyz]

Has anyone gotten a response from Gorilla Engine?

[KTlin]

I got just some sort of an automatic reply so far.

[Plugworx]

Still waiting here.....