abacab

Rick-rolled, LOL! ?

Nice integration is a bonus if you have one of those! I got my KeyLab MkII last year. Switch to "Analog Lab" mode, and you are good to go.

Grabbed it today! 6 free add-ons are also automatically added to you library. The free Assembly Kit add-on needs to be added separately.

That's hilarious!!! ?

Yup!

The distinction between them is not all that useful IMO, unless you are seeking an MPE instrument that was designed by the MPE controller manufacturer to assure the most compatible integration possible, e.g. ROLI Equator & ROLI Seaboard. That's probably not a bad idea with such a new "standard". But since MPE is a new "standard", the virtual instrument developers can add MPE later to existing instruments to make them compatible. So at a minimum you at least need the controller and instrument to be MPE compatible, plus if you plan to use these in a DAW, that also needs to support MPE (not all do). So it's still apparently the bleeding edge of new technology. First adopters will be the pioneers that smooth the road ahead for everyone else. Then there is the Osmose keyboard with 3D controls in every key, coming soon from Expressive E for $1800. https://expressivee.happyfox.com/kb/article/188-osmoses-current-state-of-development/ It has an embedded sound engine, and is also an MPE MIDI controller. "Osmose embeds Haken Audio’s unique EaganMatrix sound engine: From virtual analog to FM synthesis, physical modeling and everything in between, never has a synth engine provided so much potential for expressive control. Explore an infinite landscape of incredible acoustic and electronic sounds." https://www.expressivee.com/2-osmose

Agree that no emulation will ever be perfect. Arturia did go to great lengths to get them close, and added a few new things where software made it possible to improve on ease of use over the original hardware. I have never played the originals except for the Casio CZ (which I still have), so I cannot compare them except to recordings made with them over the years, and to my ears they are close enough for anything I am doing. Plus the detailed graphics are inspiring! I think that the most contested emulations per the so-called purists are probably the Moog Mini and ARP 2600. Plenty of words spilled on these over at KVR, as there are clones from several developers to compare them to. But I don't pay them much attention. These sound good to me, which is what matters most. I also picked up the IK modeled Hammond B-3X in a IK Total Studio Max crossgrade a couple of years ago. That one is authorized by the Hammond factory, so I believe it sounds authentic. I would probably give it a slight edge over Arturia's, but not by a lot. So now I have both and probably won't mess with Arturia's version much, but it did come with the bundle. So at $249, you are getting 28 instruments for about $8.90 each. So for that price it's ok not to use them all! I also got the entire KORG Collection 3 (10 classic synths) for a cheap upgrade from KORG M1-LE, that includes the Triton and Triton Extreme. That collection is also a nice mix of classic analog and digital synths. Who better to model the original circuitry than KORG itself? Though just as with Arturia, it's best to buy the bundle rather than a la carte.

Well, I have 4 of them...

Disclaimer - I don't have an MPE controller yet, so I cannot comment on the accuracy or reliability of this info. But since I do have some of the listed compatible instruments I have been watching the market for an affordable controller. The choice of instruments started out meager, but is steadily growing. Agree that the choice of controllers is still meager. List of MPE controllers: https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/mpe-midi-polyphonic-expression Best MPE synths include Arturia Pigments, ROLI Equator, Audio Modeling SWAM, and several by U-he [Hive, Diva, Repro, Bazille]: https://www.idesignsound.com/best-mpe-vst-synths-samplers-effects/ Many other synths include MPE now, such as various Cherry Audio synths, Surge, Synthmaster, Dawesome Abyss, Serum, NI Reaktor, UVI Falcon, etc. Not aware of many MPE samplers yet, other than Steinberg Halion, but SWAM has physically modeled real instruments that cover some of that ground. MPE Compatibility Matrix | Keith McMillen Instruments: https://www.keithmcmillen.com/matrix/#software List of compatible software from ROLI here: https://support.roli.com/support/solutions/articles/36000037202-compatible-synths-daws-and-instruments

Big GUI???

Probably not, as I have no idea what that is...

Version 1.5.0 Release Notes (March 29, 2022): Improvements ● [macOS] Support for hardware-accelerated graphics via Metal ● [Ampire] Faster preset switching ● [Ampire] Optimized IR resampling Fixes ● [Ampire] Audio clicks when toggling plug-in processing on/off ● [Ampire HD Pack] Metal Machine+ computes invalid audio data from high input amplitudes ● [macOS] "Manage Plug-ins" button has no function when Finder option "Show all filename extensions" is set ● [macOS ≤ 10.15] Ampire causes CPU spikes and drop-outs ● [VT-1] Metering input selector switch state not recalled ● [macOS] Fat Channel VST3 plug-in window resize issue in Cubase 10 ● [macOS Apple Silicon] AU does not draw UI in Ableton Live 11 ● [macOS Monterey] Possible crash as soon as new extensions are installed Known issues ● [Ableton Live] AudioUnit plug-ins are not fully compatible. Please use the VST3 version

Good thing that I don't have a spare $1399 sitting around... Would probably settle for a Sensel Morph, but they are perpetually out of stock. https://morph.sensel.com/pages/morph-availability

And rolls!

It is 28 instruments. I meant to type that above but my keyboard inserted 38 instead. Fixed!

The V Collection's biggest difference with IK Syntronik and UVI (I also have Syntronik Deluxe and UVI Digital Synsations) is that the Arturia Synths are modeled emulations with detailed original synth front panels and parameter controls. Not sample based clones with fake one-size-fits-all unrealistic UI panels. And since they are modeled, the synths have a relatively small disk footprint and the presets load almost instantly. https://www.arturia.com/products/analog-classics/v-collection/details

$1399 USD list price. Got two emails from ROLI, and no discount code. There isn't even a place to enter one in the shopping cart.

You have Analog Lab V (V as in version 5). V (as in virtual) Collection 8 is a complete product that includes Analog Lab V plus the full suite of 38 28 software instruments that are represented by Analog Lab presets. You also get more presets in the full collection. The Analog Lab is an excellent preset browser & player only (fine for many folks), but if you own the full software instruments you will be able to open the full emulated synth interfaces for parameter editing, as well as create and save your own presets. Analog Lab still makes a very useful front end for browsing the collection, and even allows you to layer 2 synths in a multi preset. Edit: made typo when typing 28 instruments. Fixed!

Resistance is futile! You will be assimilated.

That's where Steinberg lost me when I was shopping for a new DAW back in 2017 when Gibson bailed out on Cakewalk. They wanted me to buy an eLicenser to just demo Cubase Pro. So I cross-graded to Studio One 3 Pro. No regrets! Now on S1 5 Pro, and it keeps getting better!

Yep, I bring my own instruments. Been doing this for a while, and have accumulated many of them. But for first timers, the PreSonus offerings are a great value and sufficient to get rolling.

I put my MIDI hardware in a storage closet 10 years ago. Studio One can do anything with in-the-box virtual instruments that I need it to. The rest of the features are a bonanza! The only shortcomings for S1 that I have seen others express is possibly the MIDI hardware support, and post production abilities. Those users claim that Cubase excels in those areas, and would switch to S1 if they were covered more comprehensively. But not an issue for me. No regrets!