KVR Audio

kevvvvv · Post by **kevvvvv** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:56 am

I've always used NI products, but never loved them as they're always too complex and fiddly for me to really enjoy.

When using NI product I have to know in advance what I'm trying to achieve.

Knowing this, I can map my way through the maze of possibilities their software offers.

Spectrasonics products are equally complex (try digging into Steam if you don't believe me).

But they let me explore with confidence, peeling away the layers as it suits me.

I'm not required to know in advance precisely what I want to do.

I feel much better working this way.

Why can't NI learn from this?

Spectrasonics also offer lots of free training videos, so I can bone up on the "deeper bits" at leisure.

By contrast, NI offer the appearance of intuitive usability (mostly with the new browser). But I don't think they really believe in it.

Deep down they have a "no pain no gain" philosophy. Synths must be complex to be any good.

And now Spectrasonics are outclassing NI by a mile

ericj23 · Post by **ericj23** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:00 am

kevvvvv wrote:I've always used NI products, but never loved them as they're always too complex and fiddly for me to really enjoy.

When using NI product I have to know in advance what I'm trying to achieve.

Knowing this, I can map my way through the maze of possibilities their software offers.

Spectrasonics products are equally complex (try digging into Steam if you don't believe me).

But they let me explore with confidence, peeling away the layers as it suits me.

I'm not required to know in advance precisely what I want to do.

I feel much better working this way.

Why can't NI learn from this?

Spectrasonics also offer lots of free training videos, so I can bone up on the "deeper bits" at leisure.

By contrast, NI offer the appearance of intuitive usability (mostly with the new browser). But I don't think they really believe in it.

Deep down they have a "no pain no gain" philosophy. Synths must be complex to be any good.

And now Spectrasonics are outclassing NI by a mile

whatevah

Spin Boyz · Post by **Spin Boyz** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:06 am

hibidy · Post by **hibidy** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:13 am

Ah debates, they be fun.

Off topic, trilian arrives tomorrow. Thinking about braving kore 2.1 so that I can use some of kore's hardware for trilian.......

then again........

Aroused by JarJar · Post by **Aroused by JarJar** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:21 am

I think "whatevah" as a reply to a legitmate opinion is trite.

NI interfaces are fiddly IMO as well, but they do improve immediately on a big-ass screen. And stuff like the midi-learn with interpolation in Reaktor, for example, has been fantastic for many years now.

Tren · Post by **Tren** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:03 am

Synths don't have to be complex to be good and I don't think NI have that philosophy. It's just different design ethics, it's the same with sequencers and I guess any piece of computer software (right up to an OS level!)

They're all tools, if you can make them work for you - all the better

kevvvvv · Post by **kevvvvv** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:50 pm

Tren

Synths don't have to be complex to be good and I don't think NI have that philosophy.

Synths don't have to be complex, it's true.

But there are a lot of ways that NI let this creep in.

Here's a case in point:

NI excel at tiny interfaces.

Such as all those Kontakt player 3rd party products like Colossus, Ethno World etc.

The menu system is so tricky to use. My mouse keeps slipping off.

And the writing is so tiny it's not the easiest to read.

Yet NI were satisfied with this state of affairs for years.

In practice, their philosophy was design complacency so long as the tech spec was strong.

PaulSC · Post by **PaulSC** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:59 pm

I find the Massive interface, and most aspects of the Absynth interface, to be quite intuitive. I learned both instruments quickly, and I admire how they've been designed. I consider both to offer substantially more sophisticated synthesis capabilities than Omnisphere (which is also a great instrument), so it's not surprising that at some level there's more complexity to deal with in those NI instruments.

firepile · Post by **firepile** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:11 pm

kevvvvv wrote:I've always used NI products, but never loved them as they're always too complex and fiddly for me to really enjoy.

Maybe you should stick to the Kore soundpacks?

Blackinfinity · Post by **Blackinfinity** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:21 pm

The problem with Spectrasonics, is that the interface for many users are too simplified, the more advanced used does not want to flip through million of pages, we want everything on one page if possible...To get a better work flow and overview your synth... Omnisphere really lacks this... I think the interface could had been done bigger, also lees "free space" on the interface, there is alot of unused space on the interface which could had been used for something. I wish that you would be able to choose different interface which suit the user more... But I really dislike this "zoom in" concept... it could had been done in an better way. I also wish that you could expand the interface with a mouseclick to get more controls on the screen.

kevvvvv · Post by **kevvvvv** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:36 pm

Blackinfinity

The problem with Spectrasonics, is that the interface for many users are too simplified, the more advanced used does not want to flip through million of pages, we want everything on one page if possible

Good point.

Do people want:

> everything on one page?

> or to be shown as they need?

...

PaulSC

I find the Massive interface, and most aspects of the Absynth interface, to be quite intuitive.

It's good that you're expert at synths.

But I'd take a guess that the majority of users don't have your skill level.

uselessmind · Post by **uselessmind** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:44 pm

kevvvvv wrote:
I feel much better working this way.

I don't.
For example working with Omnisphere felt really complicated.
FM8 on the other hand feels like they actually sat down and thought long and hard what makes sense for this kind of synth.
Sure, there are quirks, like fiddly envelope handles

. But overall the whole interface makes a lot of sense.

And now Spectrasonics are outclassing NI by a mile

I don't think they are, at least not as far as user interfaces go.

What not only NI can learn is that there is more than one way to to something right.
What NI can learn is that overall they are doing a decent job.

Though i do agree with the "tiny" comment to some extend.

eduardo_b · Post by **eduardo_b** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:18 pm

>NI could learn from Spectrasonics

Who could take lessons from whom is very much a personal view based on how some UIs feel compared to others. My complaint with NI's stuff is the lack of tool tips for the multiple pictographs that only make sense to an experienced user of their UIs. Overall, though, I find their UIs no worse than some and better than others. I'm not a big fan of multiple menu pages unless there's a compelling reason for them, and even then they should only be one page deep.

Sampleconstruct · Post by **Sampleconstruct** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:23 pm

Omnisphere is just another fancy Rompler, boring and one can't load one's own samples which is making everybody using the same sounds again. Not the way to go imo.

Liero · Post by **Liero** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:24 pm

Native Instruments: Germans

Spectrasonics: Americans

Nuff said.