abacab

Just commenting on this observation. More memory won't make the PC perform any faster. Any extra beyond what you need is just a waste of money, best spent on a faster CPU or more SSD storage. Trust me on this, as I have been building PCs for over 20 years.

Using the VM Mini Plug-in Host I am able to load the free Vital VST3 wavetable synth into my VM session. It's a very capable wavetable sound source! You can init the Vital preset to just get a raw wavetable oscillator sound source at the Plug-in Host outputs, for patching up with VM modules for further sound shaping. This shuts off the other internal Vital sound processing, except for the ENV1 for (D)A(H)DSR. Or use any of the other internal Vital filters, envelopes, modulations, etc., if desired before outputting audio to other VM modules.

I agree. I'm only using 16GB here, and never seem to run out of memory for my typical use. I'm not one of those users that sees a need for 100+ tracks with a heavy sampler use. There was only one occasion that I thought that I may need 32GB, or more, and that was when I imported a full orchestral template for Spitfire BBCSO Core into Studio One. It was over 100+ tracks plus sends and buses, etc. And every instrument track used an instance of the Spitfire Audio Player with its samples loaded into memory. Yep I maxed on that one, LOL! That was just a look-see, as I am not into composing for full orchestra. Was just curious if I could load a full orchestra. At most I may be actually interested in trying some orchestral section ensembles, or adding orchestral instruments to other arrangements. If you are going to be doing film scores for full orchestra, some extra RAM may be in order. But otherwise, nah!

Yes, I caught that. I'm guilty of the same thing at times, LOL! I usually scoop up interesting or dirt cheap plug-ins that I don't have time to check out right away, then forget about them. Now I make it a habit to always check before I buy! And definitely check it out! If you find NI's The Giant- Cinematic snapshots the least bit interesting, try out Objeq Delay on your favorite instrument. You might be surprised at the change in timbre you can introduce with it!

More detail from the AAS manual: Exciting an object such as the skin of a drum by hitting it with a mallet results in a complex vibrational motion. It is this vibration of the object that will create pressure waves in the surrounding air which will propagate to our ears as sound waves. In Objeq Delay, the input signal is used to excite different kind of acoustic objects. In other words, we listen to the signal through the object or as if it was filtered by its natural resonances.

I wouldn't limit it to EDM. I think it falls into the "sound design" category, one that you can use to mutate a real instrument into something unreal. Probably not for straight-up rock. But maybe more for progressive, electronic styles. As a synth guy I always look at these type of things as tools to turn everything into a synthesizer. The initial instrument is just a wave generator. Even a piano! From the AAS manual: Objeq Delay is a creative effect processor based on the combination of an acoustic filter and a delay unit. The input signal is first processed through acoustic resonators such as drumheads, strings, plates, and bars and a traditional filter module allowing to add acoustic resonances to the sound and change its timbre. The signal is then sent to a versatile stereo delay allowing for the creation of complex rhythmic patterns or echo effects. Objeq Delay is entirely based on Applied Acoustics Systems (AAS) physical modeling technology and uses no sampling nor convolution algorithms. Sound is processed by solving, on the fly, mathematical equations modeling the different types of resonators and effect components.

Phase Plant has been on sale since the v2 release a couple of times for $99. And that now includes all of the essential plugins, so no need to buy a bundle. They still have a few "premium" plugins for sale, as well as the sound expansions.

I tried the Hyperion demo. Awesome sound, but that interface and I didn't click.

For a non-rack virtual semi-modular synth, I would recommend taking a look at Kilohearts Phase Plant. Combine as many generators, modulators and effects as you need to create your own unique sounds. Your new patch view is basically a blank slate, much like an empty rack is. No patch cords though, and it's very intuitive and inspiring to work with once you grasp the basics. You have to choose from the supplied modules, as there are no 3rd party add-ons. The modular architecture is designed that way as a closed system where you can create limitless combinations. Choose from regular waveforms, wavetables, samples, and noise for your source sounds. Make use of an extensive selection of factory wavetables or design your own with Phase Plant’s advanced Wavetable Editor. Start with solid foundations to create original layers and combinations of sounds within one synth.

You made a good point about the polyphony. Many of the VM modules come in monophonic or polyphonic variants, so you have both bases covered, as needed without unnecessary patching. And with the Plug-in Host and Mini Plug-in Host modules, you can drop in many of your favorite 3rd party instrument (VSTi) and FX plugins into the rack so that they can become part of your signal flow. I believe that Cherry used the design philosophy that if it made sense to do something slightly different in software than real hardware, go for it within reason. At least that is the approach they take with their standalone synth emulations.

Just kidding of course. A fine example of Craig still putting in the hard work like he did to explain the workings of Cakewalk Sonar to us mere mortals... ?

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AndertonS1-e--sweetwater-publishing-the-huge-book-of-studio-one-tips-and-tricks-e-book-by-craig-anderton "Written by industry legend (and award-winning engineer) Craig Anderton, this clearly written, profusely illustrated e-book gives you the tips and tricks you need to maximize Studio One’s potential in your projects."

I tried VCV and then the Softube Modular. Both are excellent sounding. Then I installed Voltage Modular Nucleus (free). https://store.cherryaudio.com/bundles/voltage-modular-nucleus "This collection of 22 modules and over 130 presets is the ideal novice's introduction to modular synthesis. This package includes all of the fundamentals of subtractive analog synthesis, including oscillators, filters, envelope generators, amplifiers, and mixers, plus a sequencer, arpeggiator, and a full suite of useful utility modules and powerful effects modules. With Voltage Modular Nucleus, you can discover the thrill of patching modules together in new and endlessly creative ways, and explore all of the capabilities of Voltage Modular, absolutely free." I decided that the Cherry Audio developers have made a good effort to maximize the ease of use of a modular system, especially for modular newbies. It is very intuitive, and fun to explore. It sounds great and comes with many presets to learn from. With many inexpensive bundles available, it also seemed to avoid that very expensive rabbit hole of acquisition if modular addiction took hold. I upgraded to VM Core + Electro drums when it went on sale. I've now got all the modular I can absorb for the time being! Just pick what works for you. An oscillator is just an oscillator, it's what you do with it that really counts! ?

No. That was a Sonar bundled license. CbB comes with SI-Drum Kit. Neither Addictive Drums or SI-Drum allows you to import your own samples to trigger, but you could trigger their internal drum sounds from an MPK. Since drum kits are mapped to MIDI notes, anything that sends a MIDI note + velocity should work OK.

Well that is probably at least 6 year old hardware at this point. Expecting it to perform well with the latest software tools is a bit of a stretch. Also mastering tools like Ozone are intended to be used after the mixing stage, where they are the only plugin running, and everything else is already bounced to audio.

Soundpaint sent me a thank you coupon for 15% off anything, so I used it to grab the 1972 Wurli yesterday for $17. Nice! It will be interesting to see what can be achieved with it as far as the many sound design capabilities of Soundpaint offer. Layering and blending it with acoustic piano or guitar, or some of the more creative samples they offer. Fertile ground for sure! If you haven't got them already, the Free Angels and Free ASMR libraries are no-brainers, as they cost nothing. I have those as well as the free 1928 Steinway and the paid 1975 Gibson Soul Guitar ($20). https://soundpaint.com/products/free-angels https://soundpaint.com/products/free-asmr

OK, I've checked out The Giant. That's an impressive one! Especially The Giant - Cinematic, it has some very ethereal presets! That part definitely falls under the "odd/unique character pianos / pianos with a twist" category! Layer that with the Giant - Basic Giant, and you have a "Giant" piano pad!

I'm still absorbing VM Core, Year Two Collection (FM Bundle, Vector Bundle, Vintage Voice Bundle, Polymode Module), & the PSP Ultimate Modular Collection). ?

It seems that Cakewalk sometimes translates certain imported MIDI data into Cakewalk project attributes that are not visible in the MIDI event viewer. I think @scook shed some light on this a while back, but I don't recall where.

You will need a drum VST that you can load your samples into. Cakewalk does not include this, so you will need to get one from a 3rd party. Anything that you can load samples into and trigger from a MIDI controller would work, but some are dedicated to drums. Here is a pretty basic drum sampler for free. It seems to be quite popular! https://decomposer.de/sitala/ Sitala is a free drum plugin and standalone app: Sitala‘s beauty is simplicity. It‘s fast and musical. Six knobs. Sixteen pads. Drag and drop. Playable like instrument. And for non-percussion samples there is the free Grace sampler: https://www.onesmallclue.com/ Grace is a stable and compact sampler with a great streamlined workflow and a strong feature set. https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2015/09/14/grace-sampler-free/ https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2010/09/28/bpb-freeware-studio-best-free-vsti-samplers/

That will make @Fleer 's day!

I'd have to agree on that opinion of Noire. That one and Una Corda are the only NI pianos from Komplete that I have installed here. Might need to check out that Giant. And the EZKeys Upright Piano is the only keys library that I have from Toontrack. I figured that since I already have other grands, I would get some variety going. A very piano sounding piano! Sounds like it belongs right in the living room for singer songwriter stuff, rather than in a concert hall.

I have the Abbey Road Collection. That is a very cool and unique set of plugins. Worth keeping up with, and I WUP'd them once to get the upgrade to the Waves v12 with the new preset browser and the scalable interface. That is the thing with WUP, you don't have to do it every year, only if it's an upgrade that you want or need. Also have the Scheps Omni Channel, and that's another very cool and useful plugin that is a keeper. It's light on my system and it can make almost any track I put it on instantly sound better! I'd take or leave the H-Series collection, but got it for a good price. Same with the Inspire Virtual Instruments Collection. My favorites are the synths Element, Codex, and Flow Motion. The rest are mostly sampled keyboards, that I have duplicates of elsewhere. If I could only keep one of them it would be Element. Never bought into any of the other flagship Waves FX bundles. Now that I have collected other brands of FX I don't feel that anything was missed. Having a dozen compressors or EQs does not help me out much. If anything, I really need to delete much of what I've got, LOL! Some of the other miscellaneous Waves plugins here were either outright freebies, or buy & get free deals. Not go-to by any means, but some are fun special FX. For example: Brauer Motion, Kaleidoscopes, Ovox, LoFi Space, Berzerk Distortion, CLA Echosphere, Manny Marroquin Tone Shaper, etc. Oh yeah, an honorable mention for the Waves One Knob series. I've collected 5 of them as freebies! Sometimes you just want one knob. Preferably one that goes to 11. ?