Phase Plant... Thoughts?

[Tj Shredder]

It has no competition

There is always competition, I just expressed my very personal reasons why I would not buy it (yet). For others as yourself the many competitors might simply loose.
As such I include beside Bitwig (you get a DAW on top) Reaktor, Fathom, Pigments, Falcon, Halion (a nightmare in UI...), VCV-rack (as soon the VST version is finished), Lion and many, many more. Even the free Surge could be a competition depending on what you want to achieve and what you can afford...
(I know its not modular...)
In my case Pigment won over Phase Plant btw... 69 Euros and MPE -> deal...

Even the visit of a concert could be a competition if you need to choose between The Rolling Stones and Phase Plant and you can only afford one of the two... I would prefer King Crimson and could still get Surge and VCV-rack as well...

[Ryan99]

I tried the demos from both and I prefer Phase Plant. My upgrade price for both are similar, and I will get Phase Plant before the end of the current sale.

[highkoo]

In my case Pigment won over Phase Plant btw... 69 Euros and MPE -> deal...

I have a feeling Pigments v2 and the price won over a ton of people.
The slight limitation of Pigments compared to Phase Plant is what got me using both, but v2 with that price is pretty solid.

[FarleyCZ]

In my case Pigment won over Phase Plant btw... 69 Euros and MPE -> deal...

I have a feeling Pigments v2 and the price won over a ton of people.
The slight limitation of Pigments compared to Phase Plant is what got me using both, but v2 with that price is pretty solid.

God damnit! After reading this comment I gave it a try and damn I loved the sound of it. Also the speed of use. And it has a bit of FM/PM too. Whelp. Another 50 Eur gone.

It made me realize what I don't like about PhasePlant the most, though. The need to work on some basic modules until they become usable. If I want a custom shape, in Zebra, I use MSEG. Boom. Instantly usable. In Serum, I click the Env button on LFO. Boom. Instantly usable. In Pigments, I use the function tab. Boom. Instantly usable. In PhasePlant, I need to add the LFO to the GUI, then change two values in that sync division tab, then click the assign button, assign it, then click anywhere else, so it goes out of the assign mode, then click the edit button and only then I can draw the shape I was after. May be it's just about getting used to.

But still. I have to admit, when I open Phaseplant, I tend to have a really good time. When the subscription renewal email comes, I'll have hard time deciding.

[highkoo]

Yea I agree with all that.
PP is like more of an investment in money, time learning, time programming, but has a big payoff.
Pigments straightforward and cheap, but limited in comparison.
They sound different enough that Im happy having both. Ive tossed Massive totally between the two.

Phase Plant might be like the 1%er synth or something, because I think its more attractive to people who arent worried about wasting money and time on it.

[dionenoid]

when I open Phaseplant, I tend to have a really good time.

That sums it up pretty well for me

[FarleyCZ]

Exactly. An investment. See, when producing, you want to stay in the flow and deep sounddesign session in the middle of it can slow you down. That's why I either like simple (yet capable) synths for immediate sounddesign (Serum, Pigmens) and for deeper sounddesign I like to make my patches in separate sessions and store them for later. For that, I already have Falcon and Zebra. If I exclude what these two can do out of PhasePlant, I'm left with some "too complex for Serum" growls (not THAT many tbh) and some crazy "EQ and chorus on every note" experiments. Is it enough to pay netflix money for 3 to 5 years? I just don't know. But this dilema is driving me crazy and I'm not doing anything productive because of it this christmas, so I'll probably just leave it unresolved.

[Mushy Mushy]

^ Ha, that’s exactly how I work.

If I’m making a simple patch and/or I know exactly how to do it I’ll make it there in the Cubase project. If I know it will involve some learning or will be difficult I close the project and open a new Live session. Helps me focus on the task at hand I guess.

I am intrigued by your too complex for Serum comment though. I made a growl last night in Massive X (just because I wanted to try it) and it sounds epic but could just as easily be done in Serum.

[FarleyCZ]

Well when it comes to the growls themselves, PhasePlant kinda smashes Serum. I think that's the biggest appeal. That's why they sent it to the biggest names in the EDM industry. They appeal to "bruh, that's dope!" kind of producers. Nothing wrong with that.

...but when it comes to my music, I'm thinking how often I need a monster growl. And in which phase of producing I end up making them. Usually it's in the flow phase. And PhasePlant's just too heavy to set up for quick sounddesign like that. I want open that synth and draw an envelope in three clicks maximum.

But true, if i re-oriented from chilled stuff to some monster heavy dubstep or dnb, I'd probably wouldn't leave PhasePlant for days. But in my usecase, Serum might still be a bit more suiting.

Although I have to admit, if you set the price for your synth so high, interruptable rent2own subscription like that is the way to go. I like that I can keep this dilema open. I can ignore PhasePlan untill I need it and when some collab or something asks for it, I can just renew it again. Nice.

[mxbf]

I like most everything about PhasePlant except the quality of the sound itself. It seems like any one of 1000 PluginBoutique "cheap vsts" except they're passing it off as a 700$ professional instrument.

That's just how I feel about it.

[FarleyCZ]

Yeah. They definitely need a better filter models. It's sad, because the oscillator section itself can do amazing stuff. With a better filter it could do wonders.

[anomandaris1]

f I exclude what these two can do out of PhasePlant, I'm left with some "too complex for Serum" growls (not THAT many tbh) and some crazy "EQ and chorus on every note" experiments.

No...
We all know that FM/PM is super powerful, right?
I actually think modulation synthesis is even more useful than additive and physical modelling (it is simpler and requires less resources)
Aside from Reaktor and Max and similar, PP is the synth that offers the most complex modulation algorithms possible.
But you probably need to hit some acoustic research articles on synthesis (JSTOR or similar academic sites). I don't really care about growls or other noises; this thing should be very good for pseudo acoustic instruments (stuff like FM8 and Sytrus etc also can get somewhat close).
My only problem with it is that they won't probably implement microtuning anytime soon (or at all)

WIth FM/PM you don't need filters... idk what is with this obsession over filters.

[mxbf]

I personally thought the idea of "modulate anything" to be great - very exciting. But in practice in use I felt like it was a bit... glitchy? The algos behind the "modulate anything" system just didn't seem to the quality of what other synths have. I don't know the technology that well. Sure user error is part of that, that was just my feeling in general though. I may try it again though just out of curiosity becuase it deifnitely is interesting...

Only problem is interesting didn't seem to lead to good sounds yet for me. I may try again.

[SLiC]

Only problem is interesting didn't seem to lead to good sounds yet for me. I may try again.

Same with me- gave it a really good go, just didn't sound that great to me- same with UA LION - lots of possibilities, just didn't really like the sounds I was able to get.

[perpetual3]

Only problem is interesting didn't seem to lead to good sounds yet for me. I may try again.

Same with me- gave it a really good go, just didn't sound that great to me- same with UA LION - lots of possibilities, just didn't really like the sounds I was able to get.

Same here. Concept is great; unimpressed with sound.