KVR Audio

elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Thu Mar 12, 2020 6:44 pm

That’s one I’m looking forward to. I haven’t used their products yet, so this will be nice to check it out. 6 month trials are okay with me because it might take that long to try it out.

cptgone · Post by **cptgone** » Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:35 am

Thank you, Focusrite.

planetearth · Post by **planetearth** » Thu May 14, 2020 1:54 am

The current offering is Amplify Studio, from Ampify Music. According to the dev's website, "Ampify Studio is the new desktop product available for Windows and Mac from Ampify", yet the website shows a stock photo of someone sitting at a table in a coffee shop, using a smartphone. The software appears to be an app -- not a plug-in -- to arrange loops and "sounds".

You get the free version of Ampify Studio, though "additional sound packs and features are unlocked", according to the site. Most of what's in the free version is geared toward EDM (of course). I haven't tested out the additional content.

I don't want to sound ungrateful. Focusrite doesn't have to do this, and I really appreciate what they've offered so far. I don't know how many of you will get much out of this though. It doesn't seem that it will help you with your current projects, since you work within the app, using a relatively small set sounds and loops (from the "8,000" the dev claims to offer) provided.

Steve

Local Man · Post by **Local Man** » Thu May 14, 2020 2:36 pm

planetearth wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 1:54 am The current offering is Amplify Studio, from Ampify Music. According to the dev's website, "Ampify Studio is the new desktop product available for Windows and Mac from Ampify", yet the website shows a stock photo of someone sitting at a table in a coffee shop, using a smartphone. The software appears to be an app -- not a plug-in -- to arrange loops and "sounds".

You get the free version of Ampify Studio, though "additional sound packs and features are unlocked", according to the site. Most of what's in the free version is geared toward EDM (of course). I haven't tested out the additional content.

I don't want to sound ungrateful. Focusrite doesn't have to do this, and I really appreciate what they've offered so far. I don't know how many of you will get much out of this though. It doesn't seem that it will help you with your current projects, since you work within the app, using a relatively small set sounds and loops (from the "8,000" the dev claims to offer) provided.

Steve

So it's another canned loop thing.

From their website: "We know how hard it can be finding that spark of inspiration"
No, it's not that hard. If it was so hard for me to find inspiration I would do something else with my life. (I don't know baking maybe?)

There's nothing wrong with using pre-made loops in your productions, but this plethora of loop providers that's popped up over the last few years are so ridiculous in their marketing that it's almost predatory.
It reminds me of all of the meal kit delivery companies that try to convince people that buying groceries and making a simple meal is so hard that you should just pay them a 400% markup on ingredients to take the load off. You sad, simple mark, let us make it all better for you.

sprnva · Post by **sprnva** » Thu May 14, 2020 4:22 pm

It's BIAS FX 2 LE now. They must have switched it out.

From 14th May to 9th July, Plug-in Collective members can download Positive Grid’s BIAS FX 2 LE for free.

Fleer · Post by **Fleer** » Thu May 14, 2020 6:15 pm

Is that better? Anyone using it?

operandx · Post by **operandx** » Thu May 14, 2020 6:20 pm

I've just given it a spin. In my view it is awful - ymmv of course. But it sounds bad, harsh, nasty and cabs are dull. As far as effects, I tried the compressor, in which universe is this a compressor? Give it a try, it's free and I may just be a grumpy old git.

I will be removing it from my drive.

Fleer · Post by **Fleer** » Thu May 14, 2020 6:45 pm

Thanks

Aloysius · Post by **Aloysius** » Thu May 14, 2020 6:48 pm

Tried v1 and it truly was awful. Seems v2 is no better.

Local Man · Post by **Local Man** » Thu May 14, 2020 8:22 pm

Haven't they already given this away a couple of times?

I can't remember exactly because the Bias stuff is always being given away somewhere.
The only thing I've liked by them is their distortion pedal. It's kind of fun and interestingly tweakable.
Everything else I'd call usable at best.

Fleer · Post by **Fleer** » Thu May 14, 2020 8:39 pm

Guess we’re biased

Teksonik · Post by **Teksonik** » Thu May 14, 2020 9:21 pm

I'm seeing both Ampify and BiasFX. What the heck I'm bored I'll install both on my internet computer.

planetearth · Post by **planetearth** » Fri May 15, 2020 8:37 am

I've never had much luck with the Bias stuff. I've had to re-install the "Pro Series" EQ (which is still in alpha builds apparently, at v0.0.9.277) so may times that I've given up. And the Positive Grid stuff doesn't seem to be too well-received on KVR when it comes to amp sims.

Their support has been helpful when I've needed it, but I don't think I've ever actually used any of the plug-ins in a project. Yes, YMMV, and for the price, you really have nothing to lose.

Again, not trying to sound ungrateful by any means. I appreciate that there are only so many devs who are interested in "giving away" plug-ins in the hopes that Focusrite customers will buy other stuff from them. I don't know how much longer they'll continue to do this (they owe us nothing, after all), but I'll be thankful for whatever they decide to offer...whether or not I bother to install it.

Steve

ChamomileShark · Post by **ChamomileShark** » Sat Jun 27, 2020 3:55 pm

Got this earlier (odd I usually learn about the new plugins here and don't get an email from Focusrite anymore)

"Latest Sound Collective Offer Opens Up To Plug-in Collective Members

Sound Collective’s latest giveaway is FrozenPlain's Obelisk - a plug-in that allows you to easily explore new harmonies for your melodic lines and makes writing chord progressions, effortless.

As a gift from Novation’s Sound Collective, Obelisk is now free to all Plug-in Collective members.

Whether you're new to music theory or a seasoned pro, Obelisk is an incredibly useful MIDI tool that will not only prove invaluable in bringing depth and musicality to your tracks, but is sure to improve your understanding of harmony in the process.

You can download Obelisk from your Focusrite account under the "MY SOFTWARE" tab for free, until the 6th August 2020 (16:00 BST). "

Anyone tried this? How does it stack up against Scaler2?

planetearth · Post by **planetearth** » Sun Jun 28, 2020 3:31 am

I don't see that offer yet. Mine still shows Ampify (which I still haven't used), and BIAS 2 FX LE.

Side note: I thought I'd already redeemed the offer and installed BIAS 2 FX LE, but I went to the site anyway. It's still a bit of a confusing mess trying to get into the store from the Focusrite link (various links and pages keep logging you out of your Positive Grid account), but I was able to finally get to the downloads. I was correct in thinking that I'd redeemed the BIAS 2 FX LE offer, but the downloads page showed an update on June 23, 2020, and it said it was "UPDATED". The last time I'd downloaded BIAS 2 FX LE was May 11, 2020, so I tried to download it again...only to find out it was the same version from May 11. Same version number, same file size, everything.

That pretty much sums up my experience with Positive Grid -- more or less from Day 1. I wish I could recommend them, but I think you have to be fairly patient with them and really like their amp sims and other effects to deal with the confusion.

Steve

EDIT: Even though I've cleared out my cache and cookies since my last visit to Focusrite's site more than a month ago, I decided to refresh the page while there, and lo and behold! The offer for Obelisk appeared.

The "purchase", download and installation went smoothly. I'll try it out tonight and compare it to Scaler 2. (Scaler 2 is pretty powerful, so I'll be surprised if this is comparable. But I hope it is!)

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