Is ReFX Nexus2 worth getting?

[braj]

There is much more to music than sound design.

There's much more to sound design than music?

Definitely A sound designer doesn't even have to be a musician, they may be painting a backdrop for someone else to paint a musical picture into.

[braj]

And all the sound effects that are used in films etc.

[payt69]

I don't think that's fair at all, a great pianist doesn't make a piano but they sure as hell can paint an incredible picture with music. There are plenty of people twiddling knobs that don't even know what a 'chord' is

I'd love that cup of tea

A piano is like a pianist's pencil or brush.. you sit down behind it with a blank sheet and start creating music.

In Nexus everything is much more predefined. You press a key and complete sequences and arps start playing, and it's all finetuned to sound like that song you heard on the radio or club or whatever.

Nexus' tagline is kinda similar to paint by numbers too: 'All you will need to create the next hit' isn't too dissimilar from 'I painted it myself!'. There's a similar philosophy behind both products: the company wants you to believe that you're the one who is doing the creating, while it was really the one who made the product who envisioned what the product was going to be used for in a rather specific way.

You can make a painting that looks like Van Gogh as much as you can make that track that sounds like Gaga or Deadmouse or whatever rules the charts or the floors these days. Just fill in the numbered shapes with the predefied colours, or just make a similar track using the predefined presets and there you go.

Nothing wrong with that.. it's just a different approach. There have to be Aphex Twins and there have to be Benga Boys..

[braj]

Well I've never used Nexus nor really checked out their advertising, I am just speaking from a perspective of using a rompler, expecting they have all sorts of patches included, not just extremely specific presets. Nearly every synth out there has some finely tailored patches with very specific mimicry going on it doesn't mean that is all they are capable of.

[braj]

Haha I have no idea who Aphex Twins or Benga Boys might be

[payt69]

Well I've never used Nexus nor really checked out their advertising, I am just speaking from a perspective of using a rompler, expecting they have all sorts of patches included, not just extremely specific presets. Nearly every synth out there has some finely tailored patches with very specific mimicry going on it doesn't mean that is all they are capable of.

Indeed.. even my Andromeda has some presets that lend themselves very well into a particular direction. The difference is that i can take that sound and change everything about it until it sounds nothing like what i started with. I don't think you can do that with Nexus, but correct me if i'm wrong.

And if your thing is to change sounds to the extent that you can really call them your own, then i don't think Nexus is the best choice of synth to start with, since there are synths out there that lend themselves to that purpose in a much better way. Nexus' strength is that it provides finished sounding presets that you can just drop in a track and be done with it.. kindof fire and forget.

Time and again you'll hear producers defend their use of Nexus by argueing that it saves them time. They need to meet deadlines and don't have time to fiddle around with 18db/oct notch filters, modulation matrixes, or even a chord scheme for that matter. They need to 'produce' and do it as fast as possible, because they need to make a living. They surf along the wave of whatever is the latest craze, and all they need is a tool to do it fast. That's where Nexus shows it's 'strength'.

I don't think i need to explain why this kind of music isn't interesting to me, and nor are the tools that are being developed to throw those tracks together.. it's just not what i seek in music.. but YMMV

[braj]

Well I just had my first look at their product page. Though I don't mind limited controls on the surface I like to get deeper than that when I want, for example I love Trilian because it has some tailored controls by the sound designers on the main page, but you can dig down deep when you want. You are right that it doesn't give you so much to tailor the sounds, but I still think it depends more on the notes you are playing to determine if it is paint by numbers or not. It certainly sound like they are aiming it at 'commercial' producers more than musicians, but I bet there is some compelling content there. The arp looks very interesting to me for one thing.

IMO if it were a free player with that limited interface, with a pro, deeper version available ala Kontakt, I wouldn't mind getting it and a couple expansions over time. My only issue with it really is the price.

[Brittlestem]

In Nexus everything is much more predefined. You press a key and complete sequences and arps start playing, and it's all finetuned to sound like that song you heard on the radio or club or whatever.

You press a key and *for some presets* a sequence or arp plays. Dance Orchestra, Hollywood, FM, Total piano, Bigtones 3 banks - you aren't forced in to buying trance expansions.
It's like saying "Well Zebra comes with an Arp bank so it must be for the masses - unlike me who is TEH ARTIST. Massive has a gazillion dubstep banks so IT MUST BE USED FOR WUB WUB."

[braj]

Is there no accessible controls besides what is on the surface of the GUI? Nothing deeper available in that LCD?

[payt69]

In Nexus everything is much more predefined. You press a key and complete sequences and arps start playing, and it's all finetuned to sound like that song you heard on the radio or club or whatever.

You press a key and *for some presets* a sequence or arp plays. Dance Orchestra, Hollywood, FM, Total piano, Bigtones 3 banks - you aren't forced in to buying trance expansions.
It's like saying "Well Zebra comes with an Arp bank so it must be for the masses - unlike me who is TEH ARTIST. Massive has a gazillion dubstep banks so IT MUST BE USED FOR WUB WUB."

Well that may be true.. but stil i think there are plugins that do those things (piano's, orchestra, FM, analog) much better and offer way more flexibilty than Nexus does.. and those plugins needn't be more expensive than a Nexus expansion (though some are).

Those instruments aren't Nexus' selling point.. The selling point of Nexus is quick and easy foolproof assembly of mostly dance tracks, and i think that's what most people buy it for.

[izonin]

Nexus - der Tanzmusik Konstruktor

[Brittlestem]

In Nexus everything is much more predefined. You press a key and complete sequences and arps start playing, and it's all finetuned to sound like that song you heard on the radio or club or whatever.

You press a key and *for some presets* a sequence or arp plays. Dance Orchestra, Hollywood, FM, Total piano, Bigtones 3 banks - you aren't forced in to buying trance expansions.
It's like saying "Well Zebra comes with an Arp bank so it must be for the masses - unlike me who is TEH ARTIST. Massive has a gazillion dubstep banks so IT MUST BE USED FOR WUB WUB."

Well that may be true.. but stil i think there are plugins that do those things (piano's, orchestra, FM, analog) much better and offer way more flexibilty than Nexus does.. and those plugins needn't be more expensive than a Nexus expansion (though some are).

Those instruments aren't Nexus' selling point.. The selling point of Nexus is quick and easy foolproof assembly of mostly dance tracks, and i think that's what most people buy it for.

So...You've decided that all Nexus presets are press and play - except the ones that aren't - and well, *those* presets aren't flexible enough and could be got in maybe more expensive plug-ins (?) but hey, most people - and you know almost all of them apparently - don't even use them anyway. But if they did they're stoopid because they sound just like everyone else. Unless they're don't. But it's all about being creative with what you've got! Unless it's not.

I'd of thought if you were going to spend time away from tweaking your precious Andromeda to new heights of never-before heard analog-ness *yawn* you'd at least use that time to make coherent arguments.

[fisherKing]

who cares what you use? a press-and-play musical phrase by itself is not a song. it's the COMBINATION of parts that matter. if someone uses 'construction kit' pieces and makes a song that moves me...so be it (altho i would never work that way myself, and...i don't have to).

the tools are just tools; the END RESULT is the single most important thing.
so..i don't want nexus2 (yet LOL), but certainly don't mind anyone else using it.

[braj]

Yeah a collage is a respectable enough form in the art world, why is music any different? And I'm not very good at using construction kits to make anything worthwhile so from my perspective someone who can has got a skill I don't possess.

[payt69]

So...You've decided that all Nexus presets are press and play - except the ones that aren't - and well, *those* presets aren't flexible enough and could be got in maybe more expensive plug-ins (?) but hey, most people - and you know almost all of them apparently - don't even use them anyway. But if they did they're stoopid because they sound just like everyone else. Unless they're don't. But it's all about being creative with what you've got! Unless it's not.

I'd of thought if you were going to spend time away from tweaking your precious Andromeda to new heights of never-before heard analog-ness *yawn* you'd at least use that time to make coherent arguments.

Nope that's not what i said.

None of the presets are flexible.. not as flexible as in other synths anyway.

Nexus has a lot of production-ready sounds that are made for specific genres. It's a handy plugin if you don't like to design your own sounds (or if you don't have the time). It's also really handy if you're a wannabe produca who hasn't got a clue how to play a chord or how to design a sound.. those used to be aspects of the craft of music making, but hey.. modern technology takes care of it and you don't have to bother with all those skills you'd otherwise have to learn and master.

It's kindof like painting by numbers: you don't have to think of a design or learn how to paint: you just fill in the numbered areas with the right colours, and hey presto, you're painter!

Nexus is perfect for people who like that idea. If your music is other than the genres Nexus was intended for, or if you like more flexibility it's a good idea to look elsewhere, since there are other synths/plugins that do a better job of it.

Now let's see how you twist this around again to make it say whatever you want it to