Oh boy, another VA synth. This time from Waves!

[Smedberg]

I always have my net hooked up so I really don't know. I guess that is that "cloud" thing.......I think though you CAN use a usb stick (which I guess is similar to a dongle.........cripes........I get confused........)

You can have the licence file in "the cloud" meaning you need Internet connection.
Or downloaded on your computer HD.
Or on a USB stick for easy moving to other computers.

Thanks for clearing that up, I knew they changed it but I wasn't sure exactly what they did.

So you can download the demo also to the USB stick?

Have not done any demo myself but this is written on Waves page:
"All Waves demos run for 7 days and require activation on a computer or USB flash drive.
The demo period begins once you activate the license. "

[ouroboros]

Do you need a dongle to use the demo?

No, but though waves has dropped ishlock, they are a bit complicated to get installed, etc. Easy if you already have waves stuff.

Thanks!

[hibidy]

I always have my net hooked up so I really don't know. I guess that is that "cloud" thing.......I think though you CAN use a usb stick (which I guess is similar to a dongle.........cripes........I get confused........)

You can have the licence file in "the cloud" meaning you need Internet connection.
Or downloaded on your computer HD.
Or on a USB stick for easy moving to other computers.

Thanks for clearing that up, I knew they changed it but I wasn't sure exactly what they did.

So you can download the demo also to the USB stick?

Have not done any demo myself but this is written on Waves page:
"All Waves demos run for 7 days and require activation on a computer or USB flash drive.
The demo period begins once you activate the license. "

That should be kosher then for 99.9% of peeps. You have a choice. You know, it wasn't that long ago you DID need an ilok!

[dalor]

14 pages. Wow. Does that mean Waves marketing team gets a pay rise?

[hibidy]

No, but it means that some anti-fanbois are rockin' hard.

Hey, I used to be one of them before they ditched the copy protection on top of copy protection scheme

[cyphersuit]

This is a sad thread. If you want to read about the experiences with the synth you'll have to read through over ten pages for two first hands on experiences.

Shame on you, KVR.

[MFXxx]

This is a sad thread. If you want to read about the experiences with the synth you'll have to read through over ten pages for two first hands on experiences.

Shame on you, KVR.

Yep I am starting to get despondent to these threads.

Waves do produce some great products, not every dev' can satisfy every ones personal taste, passion or need. They've moved away from iLok which has been a lot of peoples grudges and use cloud or your own usb for portability between systems, despite the fact that this has proven less secure than ilok.

I own and have supported financially a lot of vst developers both paid and freeware (donations). No ones efforts should be depleted undeservedly and that appears to be what's happening here.

I actually like this synth and can see myself using it reasonably well. This year so far I've purchased Lush 101 and Waves Elements, with The Drop in the pipeline. It's not a lot of money in the scheme of things at the intro price ($99 or 60 quid). It sounds good, there is more to it's sound than some of the flagged comparisons and I am sure people will, if they give it a chance, agree with me the sound has a certain mojo. It's not a ground breaking synth but it is worthy. Sure there are others similar but not the same to my ear.

My first reaction influenced by the GUI and interacting with Elements that hit my mind was the similarities to a Roland V Synth. I am not saying this is a V-Synth, but that's how it struck me. There's a nice array of presets and I want to get into programming the sounds. On that point the downsides, the knobs are not over reactive and I am sure we will see an update on that sometime in the future but not a big issue.
The sound is nice, has a creamy feel but not as good as Diva (side note I wish Diva skin was a little more colourful ) imho however, the CPU/ASIO overhead is very good with elements.

I would love to hear some comments from some of the respected dev's and end users here on Elements. I believe it deserves a demo and the intro price is about right. I am sure it will come up in their sale in the future we will see.

Personally I like it and it has a place. Time will tell.

[Lotuzia]

I must say that Element its a really impressive and unexpectedly good release from Waves. It barely uses any CPU, unlike DIVA, Zebra and Oxium, which have me constantly watching the CPU meter. So far most of the included patches sound very inspiring and musically useful, which is another refreshing plus compared to the others. I'm really looking forward to spending more time with it this weekend.

-e.B

Hmmm just a little answer because it is OT, and I dont want to derail this thread :

Base of benchmark Quadcore 9650 PC 4 years old : An average Oxium bass or lead takes 5/7% cpu, keys with 6 notes chords around 11/15%. I've made some complete tracks with 4/6 Oxium instances + battery drums + reverb ( rather demanding one) + Limiter on master bus without having to freeze anything on this reference machine ( search for "pandemoxium" in youtube for examples of such tracks )

Yet, its true some of the patches ARE demanding cpu wise, especially when using unisson + long releases + double filter structure. But you can also use only the not demanding patches : You have the choice ( not counting that Oxium alway runs in HQ mode, there's no low quality mode on it )
________

Back to Elements

[cyphersuit]

I must say that Element its a really impressive and unexpectedly good release from Waves. It barely uses any CPU, unlike DIVA, Zebra and Oxium, which have me constantly watching the CPU meter. So far most of the included patches sound very inspiring and musically useful, which is another refreshing plus compared to the others. I'm really looking forward to spending more time with it this weekend.

-e.B

Hmmm just a little answer because it is OT, and I dont want to derail this thread :

Base of benchmark Quadcore 9650 PC 4 years old : An average Oxium bass or lead takes 5/7% cpu, keys with 6 notes chords around 11/15%. I've made some complete tracks with 4/6 Oxium instances + battery drums + reverb ( rather demanding one) + Limiter on master bus without having to freeze anything on this reference machine ( search for "pandemoxium" in youtube for examples of such tracks )

Yet, its true some of the patches ARE demanding cpu wise, especially when using unisson + long releases + double filter structure. But you can also use only the not demanding patches : You have the choice ( not counting that Oxium alway runs in HQ mode, there's no low quality mode on it )
________

Back to Elements

yawn.

[Albert.VST]

But you seem to believe we all desire 'real' analog synths. We all have different needs when it comes to synths it seems.. what you need in a synth is far different than others..

Well, looking to the responses to e.g. Diva, most here DO desire emulations of analogs.

[Wormhelmet]

But is it $99 (or $200) better than Synth 1? I am always looking for low CPU hit plugin synths. For anyone trying the demo, what is the biggest CPU hit on the patches provided?

[Kriminal]

But is it $99 (or $200) better than Synth 1?

given thats its cross platform and multi OS, and will get support, its def worth something. Havent had a chance to try it yet, but will be doing so at the weekend.

[maxxxter]

DELETED

[Wormhelmet]

I just listened to the demos and checked out the GUI. I like the GUI, although a little cluttered. I really like the single page controls on simple synths. When I get things that have so many pages, it just leaves me uninspired to write my own presets. The demo sounds very good. I didn't hear anything to make it stand out extraordinarily from some other va's, but it had some meat to the sound and could get quite glassy sounding too. Mostly I like the one page control.

I tend to look for softsynths that provide instant gratification like my SH-32 or former Quasimidi Polymorph. Mostly still use Synth 1 for that simple control feel and nice meaty sound you can dial in with a driven filter. I have never owned a real analog synth. Plenty of good vst's though.

I'm price spoiled from buying iOS apps unfortunately and find the extra price increases of vst's to be a value in being able to use them as plugins in the DAW, not for design or sound.

[DHR53]

Funny, I think it sounds better than a lot of "favorites" is easier to program, and uses no cpu. It's ridiculously easy to use the sequencer to make moving, interesting sounds... this is clearly a case of less being more. I'm talking myself in to this. Ha!