Magic Russ

Muz3um presets for Rapture can be found here http://patcharena.com/downloads/index.php?subcat=83&ENGINEsessID=9133e8654dbb81493f3d191f6e7fc437 Note towards the bottom of that page are 30 presets I contributed.

You should also be able to find the Muz3um bank for Z3ta (also updated version for v2) which is based around the sound (and waveforms) of more vintage synths.

I seem to recall that Line 6 at one point included a model of their old models because their users liked the old one better than the new and improved one. Also Guitar Rig has had a SansAmp model for ages.

I guess if you go back far enough, having Triangle II primed me to buy a copy of Pentagon I (a few years before Cakewalk bought rgc:Audio and included it in Sonar)

SynthMaster CM

It's been a while since I used those, but both are pretty good

Even if you got it free, it isn't a deal if you never use it. You lose time downloading, space storing it, and often end up with another person spamming you. Over the years I have gotten a fair amount of usage out of Triangle II, Synth 1, Crystal, etc. Some of the Cymatics freebies have, if not found my way into projects, have provided the basis for inspiration. Various freebies from Arturia and NI over the years have also proved useful. Some other freebies such as OGrady's Wurli have seen action as well. On the other hand I have six years worth of Heavyocity holiday freebie packs I haven't used. Similar with the Ghosthack samples I have downloaded during their advent calendars. I don't think I have used any of those freebies from Acustica either. This is not to say these aren't quality products, I just haven't found use for them yet. So what are the freebies that have been worth it and which haven't?

That controller probably helps a ton with getting realistic bends and vibrato. The keyboard player has more of a "guitar player face" than the guitar player.

Live (2001) actually came before P5 (2003) or Kinetic (2004)

As someone who used to use Project 5 a lot, Bitwig had a similar look and feel when it came to workflow. I've tried Ableton a few times but could never really get on with it. That may sound surprising considering that BW developers came from Ableton, but Bitwig has for me been a bit more intuitive than some of the other things I have tried. Of course they do have a few weird things, like Tap Tempo being only accessed through a weird shortcut, but overall a good mix of simplicity and power. Apparently Bitwig also imports FL and Live projects now. Another thing you may want to look at is Mixcraft. It's a good hybrid of linear and pattern based. I considered it as well during the Great Panic but there were a few things which annoyed me, most of which I have heard have been fixed.

Turns out the problem was an old version of their download manager.

During the Dark Times, I looked at a lot of other DAWs. There were a lot of things I liked about Studio One, but it didn't click. I also picked up Bitwig as a replacement for P5 and I use that from time to time. However, CWBL has stayed my primary.

Apparently everyone wants the creamy vintage mojo because I can't connect to their server.

I'm guessing 3 LO-FI FX YOU'LL ACTUALLY USE ... the other 2 would be vinyl and bit reduction.

Took about 15 minutes after registering to show up in my account. Still waiting on the download.