Tezza

According to the Native Instruments site, NI studio drummer and abbey road stuff is 24 bit, not 16. Studio Drummer has a lot of processing already applied (you can turn it all off) and way to much room and overhead mixed in by default, according to my tastes anyway. Sounds shrill and spacey out of the box. Once you tone that stuff down it sounds a lot more solid. Turning everything off and Multi outing to the DAW gets more control over raw sounds and choice of reverb. I don't really like the reverbs that come with Studio Drummer. Also, if you don't already know, you can turn down the room and overhead and adjust attack, decay etc on each kit piece from the Kit tab, independently from the mixer.

Don't worry, I've had Komplete 10 for years and still have not got around to learning Reaktor. I think the advice here is good, pick one and learn it. If your a manual person, there is always that. I'm a video person, I like to learn by sitting down with the VST on my DAW and then playing instructional videos on the TV while I go through it. As a result, I like to check what video instruction is available around the place before I decide which VST i'm going to learn next.

I think I recently did the same course. Took me back to the days of using Acid, all those individual samples placed on the timeline and using the volume slider on the sample for faux velocity changes. I don't think I could get that deep and repetitive into that again, I agree with what you said about midi notes and a drum sampler and think in terms of midi loops.

NI drumlab drove me nuts, it kept randomly changing the volume and sound of the samples for no apparent reason and I could never work out why. It wasn't because some humanize or randomize button was pressed. With the NI drummer stuff like Studio Drummer and Abbey road, I can't route the Crash or Open Hi-Hat or the rides to tracks of their own...annoying and you can't change the kit pieces. Groove Agent, I couldn't gel with it, might give it another shot. It would be nice to have a drum VST for Acoustic stuff where you can choose your own kit pieces in addition to those suggested and has great sounding samples and you can route all the individual drums to their own track in the DAW easily. Some triplets and tasteful slower fills for romantic Jazz wouldn't go astray. Can superior do that? A lot of these VST's are like heavy metal or Rock, with a bat out of hell drummer.

You don't have to use one or the other, you can use the different options together, I sometimes use NI's Studio drummer (drum VST) for the kick, snare and hi-hats and having access to the grooves which can be good starting points sometimes. I also use Battery 4 (sampler) for the cymbals, toms, percussion etc and other stuff and also will place one shot samples directly on audio tracks, use them all together. I think the key is making sure they all have a track to which you can then do your eq and compression and assign a send to an FX track reverb so they sound like they are all in the same room and gel with everything else, you can also choose your own reverb rather than being stuck with the drum VST reverb. For this to work, the samples have to be as dry as you can get them. I turn off all the processing in NI Studio Drummer before routing them to a track and choose relatively dry samples for battery as well. I'll take the kick, snare and hi-hats and route them from Studio drummer to their own tracks then every cell in battery has it's own track and any one shot samples placed directly on audio tracks also of course have their own track. For EDM, I tend to use just Battery. I would like to use Battery for everything but NI removed the acoustic kits from 4. To be honest, Battery is a bit overkill, so many cells and features, I would be happy with a simpler 16 cell drum sampler with multi out, since I would only be using it to trigger the samples and doing all processing in the DAW mixer. Mixcraft has one, Studio One also has one but Cakewalk does not and neither does Cubase. It's all you need really. It would also help if you can load different velocities of the same sample into each cell like Battery can do. EDIT: I remember Cubase has Groove Agent, I remember playing around with it some time ago but I couldn't get it to work properly, might be worth another look. There's probably third party drum samplers around the place that are small and functional.

Don't forget good headphones and reference tracks. If your in a bad acoustic space or using cheapo monitors (or both!) , having decent headphones and using well mixed, professionally produced commercial reference tracks similar to your own song can really help. Ultimately, you have to get to "know" what your monitoring sound is like. I had a reasonable studio but now am in a bad acoustic space using KRK Rokit 5's, not ideal. Thankfully, I will be returning to a dedicated room for my studio soon. However, I have 3 sets of headphones to check various things and some good reference tracks so at least what I do sounds ok in the car and the hifi etc. I think of it simplistically as 4 main areas: BASS Bass and Kick drums are the most important to get right regardless of what genre your in. You've got to have the groove that can stand on it's own without anything else. To properly hear the bass for mixing purposes, you need big speakers and a well acoustically treated room. If you don't have that, then high quality headphones can suffice. Your better off using these for mixing bass than small speakers or a bad room. If you can't reliably hear it to begin with, then you can't take the boom and flabbiness out of the bass area, it will jump out at you in different ways depending on what you play it back on. Also, listen to the sound quality of the bass on commercial recordings, similar to your song, copy it if you have to. You won't get exactly the same sound but it will put you in the ballpark, you can then tweak it to suit your tastes better. Boom usually sits around 100 to 160hz area, and flabbiness can be dealt with using an envelope shaper, upping the attack and dragging in the release. Setting a high pass filter to taper off really low stuff if you want...done! MIDDLE This is like the "color" of the sound. You might set up a great sound for your piano or guitar on your monitoring system but when played back on other system's, the same tone isn't there any more or it's suddenly more tinny and harsh and prominent or hard to hear, the solution if your in a bad space is again, high quality headphones until you can get a better space. Boosting the EQ with a narrow Q and running that across the spectrum will reveal the culprit(s). TREBLE This is the high frequencies which might sound great on your monitoring system but leap out at you or disappear when you play back on other systems. Again, the solution, if you are in a bad space is.....good quality headphones. Same as for middle. There are many plugins to shape the sound, have to research the net but learning how to use the plugins on you tube or other is more important than actually buying them.. I think it is better to prioritize learning over buying. SPACE This is the stereo or 5.1 space, where all the instruments are placed, you can get part the way there with headphones but you really need to set this using appropriately spaced monitors in a real room. It doesn't matter so much if the room isn't ideal or the monitors are cheapo but they must be spaced appropriately. So the solution that might be good for those who do not yet have a dedicated room set up acoustically with decent large speakers is, try to get 6 inch speakers minimum. Make sure they are spaced according to manufacturers directions and you are in the right place to listen to them. Use a bedroom or room with soft furnishings to combat the harshness of the walls, anything is better than nothing. Get 2 sets of headphones, 1 closed back for tracking while recording instruments and vocals (these don't need to be expensive). The Sennheiser HD 280's and 380's will do the job nicely. Even top quality studio's use these for tracking. Then invest is some decent open back headphones. There are plenty of options out there depending on your budget but these will be instrumental in you being able to monitor check the bass, middle and treble and they will really be shaping your sound. Then, you are done! Now go for it! Use the monitors while creating and then check with the headphones, chuck it on a USB stick and play it back on the Hifi and in the car. You should be able to get a sound that transfers well while you dream of or make your super studio.

Implants are about $2800 - 3000 Aus here in Australia (if you shop around). If they need to do other work like building up bone, then it can go as high as double that. I have extras cover which is only $30.00 per fortnight, that allows me to have up to $1000.00 a year for "major dental" so what people do is have the implant put in in December ($1000), then it renews in January when they have the Crown put on the implant (another $1000) and they pay another $800 - 1000 which is the out of pocket expense. Also, many in Australia have "dental holidays" because if you go to India and other Asian countries you can get implants for as low as $250 - $500 Aus total cost. They can do the whole thing in a day but you can't chew on it for 3 months. I only need one but people who need more tend to consider this option. This is not available at the moment because of Covid. The Australian Dental Association won't recommend dental holidays saying that the treatment might not be up to Australian standards but that is rubbish, I've seen the surgeries, equipment and techniques they use and it is top notch. The ADA is just trying to keep business in Australia. There is also another technique for people who may have less bone than optimal, a "micro implant" which is smaller than a full size dental implant so it needs less bone to grip on to. They don't recommend them for Molars but for upper frontal teeth they can be used. It definitely pays to do your own research to get answers and don't just take the advice of one Dentist.

Don't let the dentists pull out teeth unless you have had 3 different opinions from 3 different dentists that nothing can be done. Some dentists have shares in false teeth/implant manufacturers and other dentists, especially "dental surgeons" want the extra work associated with bridges and implants etc. Don't think that a "dental surgeon" is better than a common dentist. What you need is a good dentist that can keep your original teeth in your mouth. Some Dentists have this idea that pulling out teeth is "treatment". How can that be when it leaves you with a functional disability ? Why don't they just cut off a finger or leg and call that "treatment"? Unless the dentist has presented you with an affordable plan for replacing the unsaveable tooth before they take out the old one, look elsewhere. I had a front Molar pulled out, 3 dentists and an endodontist said nothing could be done and it was causing all sorts of problems. I am going to have the implant put in but not the titanium one, the Zirconia one, have been waiting for the infection to clear up. These days, the implants are very straightforward. They take a 3d image of your lower teeth and print out a template on a 3d printer. They then fit that template to your lower teeth and it contains a hole to steady the drill over the implant site, they then drill out some gum and place the implant using the hole in the template to guide the drill so it fits exactly where it should. They usually fit the implant, then the crown at a later time but in some cases, they can do the whole thing in one appointment with one injection. Don't muck about with dentists, make sure they have the modern equipment like CEREC machines, 3d printers, implant templates and a choice of ceramic, titanium or Zirconia implants and also make sure they have experience in using the new technology. There have been advances in technology which mean you don't have to put up with missing teeth, false teeth or destructive bridges. If you get stuck with a dentist that is not fitted out with the latest gear, the options for both saving your teeth and replacing them can be limited, primitive, painful, life changing and....unsuccessful. I've had the front lower Molar, (the third one from the back of the teeth) removed for a few months and it's not terrible now the gum has healed but it is quite noticeable when chewing, I can chew with the 2 back remaining teeth a bit better now but I am now just waiting to get the implant done. When you lose teeth on one side, you tend to favor the other side which means your chewing unevenly over time which is bad for your jaw. I tell the dentists that I am a Jazz singer and my teeth are of paramount importance. I do a lot of research to get the right dentist for the right job. Any time a dentist has said a tooth needs to be removed, I seek another 2 opinions and an endodontist as well if necessary. This alone has saved another 2 teeth from being pulled out. Make no mistake, regardless of what they say, some dentists will pull out your teeth unnecessarily. It pays to do the research of your local dentists.

I've only got Studio One 3 and have thought about upgrading but when I run 3 I don't really like it. Sounds thin and sterile to me and won't play the end notes of midi which is a bit of a workflow killer for me, along with other stuff that they might have fixed by now. If I take a midi file of 4 chords, each with 4 or 5 notes, major sevenths and extended etc, rich sounding chords and play that file in Cubase with NI's grandeur, I get a sound that is loud, deep and rich with nice harmonics. If I take that exact same midi file, use the same piano, same preset, same volume and play it in Studio one 3, it sounds softer and thinner, like the bass is reduced, it has a more metallic sounding midrange and the upper frequencies contain a high frequency distortion. On closer listening the distortion appears to be coming from the ringing of the strings which sounds ok in Cubase but presents as a noticeable distortion in Studio one. It's not just volume either, If I turn up the volume then I just get a louder version of what I've previously described. In electronic music, it wouldn't be such an issue but in a sparse production with just vocals and a piano and acoustic bass or something, the difference is noticeable. The metallic sounding midrange is not unpleasant and gives a different, even nice sheen to the piano, a different sound, but like I have said before many times, different DAW's sound completely different to me, nothing like the same. I'm sure you could fatten it up with eq etc and get the same sound out of each of them but out of the box with the same settings, they sound noticeably different to me. I don't know if 4 and 5 are the same or whether they've changed things. 3 wont play the last half or so of a midi file if the transport is started halfway through the midi notes in the chord, something I find really annoying, I like to hear the preceding chord or what is left of it before the rest of the passage, don't know if it still does this, maybe there is a setting somewhere.

Thanks Abacab, that's great! Not overkill but it's got what you need.

Do you have control of ADSR? Attack, sustain, decay, release.

Thanks Sander, great news! another Xmas present woohoo!

I've found I have Analog Lab lite in my Presonus account but when I attempt to redeem it, I am directed to the downloads page on Arturia's site but there is no Analog Lab Lite there, only Analog Lab.

How do you save all the presets from different synths into folders of the same sound type.

Growing older isn't necessarily the cause of bad health. Most health problems come from inactivity, obesity and an atrocious diet, not old age. It's just that as many people age, they can become inactive, obese and don't recognize they need to change their diet to something healthy because they've been feeding their gastric system with rubbish for 60 years. The gastric system also slows down with age. Sitting is the new smoking. Activity is really the key, it keeps the bones, muscles, heart and lungs strong, promotes good sleep and keeps the weight down. As we age, we also tend to underestimate what we are physically capable of. Medical "professionals" are the wrong people to see as they have a business model that profits from illness. They want to fill their waiting rooms with old people who believe they have to take 7 different medications on a daily basis and visit the doctor once a week. Keeps the money coming in for the Pharmaceutical companies and themselves. The doctors themselves know full well they are dealing with health problems from inactivity, obesity and poor diet, not "old age". They know the cure is lifestyle change but they don't make money from that. As a guide, at 60 years of age, you should be able to run 3 times around a football pitch, do 2 sideways running across the width of the pitch and 1 sprint the length of the pitch forwards and 1 backwards. Many would be lucky to make it halfway around once and wouldn't be able to sideways run without clicking their hips. If your obese, doing something like this would be dangerous, you could damage your knees, click your hips or have a heart attack. This is what you should work up to slowly. Best for obese people to do walking or swimming. Need to watch those knees because if you haven't exercised for a while and your weight is on the knees, you can damage them which can set back exercise attempts greatly. We used to diagnose a lot of people with "WLS" or "weak legs syndrome". Strong legs = good health, weak legs = poor health.

I bought some VFX before through Humble Bundle, however, they were astronomical in size and I ended up not being able to download some of them. My internet is not the best though.

"we already own something that might be better than the thing we are buying" I feel exposed. I've got Komplete Ultimate 10 and there's a few things there I've never used, like Reaktor, took a look at it, little boxes joined by lines, couldn't get it to work, that was enough. If I can't get something to work and get a decent sound out of it in 5 minutes, I'm gone. Sure, you can download learning videos for everything but if the GUI sucks that badly to begin with, are you really going to use it once you've done all the tutes? When there is so much other stuff around that might suit quicker.

I think the response by Dimi was more of a polite, generic response "Thanks for the comment and the suggestion! I will forward it to the development team". He will most likely pass it on, but as I said before, they would have to change a lot to incorporate the suggestion. I cannot see them prioritizing this issue, so I don't hold out much hope that anything will change. It might get some more support on the KVR forum, see what happens. Thanks for voting it up on the kVR forum!

That KVR forum is pretty big, I am not a member there but I have read posts there. At first glance, I didn't see the developers listed, I joined and posted a similar post to the one I posted here. I don't hold out much hope about anything being changed though because they have invested so much into these Amplifikation and Efektor names.

I use Kuassa amps and pedals, I like them, mainly for a clean or light distortion sound. Only one thing bugs me about them, the way they show up in my DAW with Amplifikation and Efektor in front of the name, I can't see which amp or pedal it is because those terms take up all the room in my FX slots. This is really annoying, means I have to click to find out what it is. I have complained to them directly about it but got no reply. Kuassa is such a cool name, I don't know why they don't use that instead. It also looks amateurish "Amplifikation Vermillion" instead of something like "Kuassa V" or "Efektor CH3604" instead of "Kuassa Chorus". So irritating. It does affect whether I use them because something like "S-Gear" or "Guitar Rig" fits so nicely in my DAW FX slots and it's so easy to know what it is and where to find it. That's the other thing, the pedals and amps install under different categories in Cubase, Vermillion installs under "Distortion" and Matchlock installs under "Other". It happened to me today. I was working on a song that has a number of guitar parts and came up with another simple finger picking part while playing the electric. I bought up the midi roll to transcribe the part into midi, put an electric sampler in there and then grabbed an amp. I went straight to S-Gear because it's easy to find and shows up easily in my DAW FX slots. I actually wanted to use a Kuassa amp but in the heat of the moment, with a guitar hanging on me and one hand holding that and with a number of other guitar tracks already there, I didn't want to fumble around trying to find and identify things. I might try out a Kuassa amp on the material later. I wouldn't get the Clarent amp (I might try it) but that is only because I don't have a guitar that I think would be good for it, I use a fender strat with low output pickups.

Nearly got me on windows until I realized it was 888mb and I knew the windows download was 772mb. Mac users have to download 888mb, windows users only 772mb.

https://fxhome.com/hitfilm-pro/whats-new A ton of bug fixes, some enhancements and a few new features but it's not life changing (depending on what your system is). I figure I'll give it a go, even though there might be problems with the new version. If there are problems, I can either pay to upgrade or go back to version 15. The way I use it, there is not a lot of difference but that might be different for others.

Good call Lars, I'm in the same boat, 3 days to go for me for free updates. Probably would have forgotten if not for your post! Thanks!

Wondering if anyone is using Kali Audio monitors, like the Lone Pine series. They seem to get good reviews and the Lone Pine series are very well priced. I was thinking of trying the LP6 because it is just the right size for my set up. The only bad thing I've seen about them seems to relate to an annoying hiss that may have just been present in the early models or it might be a feature, don't know. https://www.kaliaudio.com/