#487

we have this bundle at work, and I’ve found myself really liking bx_masterdesk! sometimes I’m tasked with “mixing” solo acoustic performances captured with just a stereo portable recorder, and this one really helps me get them sounding good quickly with a minimum of tweaking.

1 Like
#488

finally got a chance to use the GRM Tools Evolution pack. these are some of the most inspiring sound sculpting tools i’ve used. i’ve had the flux ircam ones for a while and those are great for spatial processing but i always wanted to try the older grm freeze and more creative plugins. i’d say they’re definitely worth buying, if you’re inclined to buy software. Evolution in particular is immediately gratifying. love these

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also the weiss ds1-mk3& maximizer are really nice but with so many alternatives it seems like i may be better off sticking with what i’m used to like the l3. it seems really hard to pick and choose between all of these high quality mastering reproductions/emulations. there are so many

7 Likes
#489

This is a great set of tools. I usually think of Evolution as ‘sound design only’, but I actually just used it on a mix where we needed to marginally smear a bassline without making it reverby and mush. It worked really well!

2 Likes
#490

look promising!

#491

I’ve been using this a lot lately for making drum kits to chuck into the Squarp Rample - it’s excellent - they’re a match made in heaven (as Rample operates with layers and kits, and XO is great for helping you find drum sounds similar to the ones you already have).

4 Likes
#492

I love XO. It’s become the only software drum sampler I use. It’s dead easy to do random walks in sample space to get wonderful evolving kit sounds. After using XO all other software samplers just seem less interesting in comparison. (I emphasize “software” here because modular/hardware drum samplers are much more robust than software drum samplers imo.)

3 Likes
#493

For the XO folks, do you use the built-in sequencer, or sequence from the DAW? The only reason I’m on the fence is DAW integration, and/or having to use the built-in sequencer if I don’t gel with it.

#494

I do both, but lately I’ve mainly been using the internal sequencer as it forces me to commit, at least in the way I have been using it. I program my drums, and then record the pattern by routing the samples to individual tracks in Ableton. I like doing it this way because it gets me from midi to audio faster and keeps me from infinite tweaking which is a trap I tend to fall for. I do generally record the audio with several ‘similar sounding’ kits, to keep some sonic options available to me, though. Can’t fully help myself! :smile: I think this was probably my favorite plug-in purchase of 2020, as well. Edit: forgot to mention I got it at a 50% discount through Plugin Boutique! It’s probably not on discount anymore right now, but it’s worth keeping an eye on as XLN wasn’t running a discount at the same time. So it pays off to check.

3 Likes
#495

I generally start by sketching out ideas in the built-in sequencer & then dropping the midi into the daw. XO’s sequencer has some neat tools to push & pull your beats off the grid, kind of like groove pools in Live but better. The downsides are that sequences are short in XO and it doesn’t have note probabilities, so I need to export sequences to get all of the functionality I want.

2 Likes
#496

I use the Sugar Bytes DrumComputer to sequence XO and it’s an amazing pair. I’ll never make beats another way again.

1 Like
#497

Gonna drop a link in here: SSL Native Plug-ins | Solid State Logic

This seems like a pretty solid bundle, and even for the monthly cancellable price ($25/mo), you’d have to subscribe for 4 full years before you’d hit the same cost as buying it outright… this seems like a pretty phenomenal deal to use for a month or two to try out.

1 Like
#498

I am a big fan of Izotope RX7 De-Click, but every once in a while I find something that it just can’t deal with.

Today I was trying to deal with some clicks from modulating levels in Akemie’s Castle, but they wouldn’t go away. There was some interesting FM noise in the same frequency range where the clicks were prominent, and I tried several different things to preserve the noise but kill the clicks. Finally I found that ZPlane Peel could isolate the frequency region and then Bitwig’s peak limiter could clamp down hard on the clicks, which were louder than the general noise level.

That solved the worst of the clicks, but there were still some later that were in a more dynamic section. Out of desperation I started searching for other click repair plugins, tried Waves X-Click, and it did the job!

It’s possible that the Izotope and Waves plugins will each cover territory that the other won’t, but it’s also possible the Waves one is just better… I guess I will find out over time. I’ve already found some things that X-Click won’t fix, but RX7 could do it in multiband mode, though that’s a slower-than-real-time process. So I guess like many things, the answer is “get both” :grin:

This project I’m working on has a lot of YM2612 in it as well as Akemie’s Castle, and recording techniques (and plugins too) that emphasize the fluttery noise and scuzz, but sorting out unwanted clicks from the rest is kind of a nightmare scenario. So far I haven’t found anything where I can’t get the results I want though :slight_smile:

3 Likes
#499

the export options are really good. you can get raw sample sounds, processed hits, processed loops, and midi data out in seconds.

that said, the way that i settled into working it is just setting up a channel to resample it, pressing record and clicking and dragging through sounds. in other words i am not using like 90% of the app… i haven’t checked, but i have to imagine that it’s possible to do this same workflow with something like that open source app someone linked me a few posts above + soundflower.

the sequencer seems pretty good (i especially appreciate the ‘nudge’), and i 100% haven’t sat down and figured out exactly how you’re supposed to use it all in practice with hotkeys, etc. i am just not a big enough fan of sequencing with a mouse to bother. i try to get my computer music sounds from midi to audio as early on in the arrangement process as possible, so the above process works best for me

#500

I will always cape for the Kush / UBK omega plugins. They’re cheap, simple and sound gorgeous. The range is perfect and the main knob usually goes from ‘almost nothing’ to ‘just a bit too much’ which is so rare to find for me in these kind of saturation / vibe plugins. 458 is my favorite, N has also a very warm quality that’s difficult to replicate with other plugs, A is the one I use less as I find it a bit too abrasive. Haven’t got TWK because I have real tweakers and it felt like a waste lol.

Since building my new music comp some months ago I tried to streamline my plugin folder and mixing workflow and I am experimenting with using the same set of tools for everything and I found out that I really don’t need so many different compressors and emulations. I use Pro C and Pro Q for everything, and if I want a vintage channel / saturation I just throw an Omega in the chain and I’m pretty happy with the result.

5 Likes
#501

I can’t seem to find anything definitive on the site - it says “no ilok dongle needed”, but do you still need the ilok software thingy running in the background?

#503

Yes you need the ilok license manager software

#504

It doesn’t run in the background. You just run it once to activate the plugins. You can forget about it unless you plan to move them to a different machine.

2 Likes
#505

Are there no types of effects/features you hadn’t used before, or is the plugin bundle just better at the usual tasks (compression, saturation…)

#506

Id strongly suggest the Brainworx SSL over the Waves. There are always sales and you can own an unreal SSL E or G emulation for $50. Brainworx did a great job with these plugs.

4 Likes
#507

Oh did they add hotkey functionality to XO? This was on my wishlist, especially for things like navigating sounds. Will need to update.