Making Music "In the Box"

[bitflipper]

If I was building a synth collection from scratch, I'd start by asking Wookie to list out his VSTi inventory. Of course, you'd have to take out a second mortgage to match it completely, but he's the guy I'd consult.

Or, just fork out the bucks for the One Synth to Rule Them All, aka Omnisphere. That'd keep you busy for a long time to come.

But if money is tight, there are a number of freebies out there that are fun and useful. Here's Music Radar's list. I am a fan of the first one on that list, OBXD. It's probably the simplest one on the list, with a classic feature set that makes it a great starter synth for folks who aren't into synths.

[craigb]

42 minutes ago, hockeyjx said:

I think if you can find inspirational sounds in the box, why is it any different than outside?

If you(and by you I mean anyone) are going to constantly compare to "what you had" or "what you're used to", the only one "in the box" is you IMO. 

YMMV

I'm not comparing, I literally haven't been able to do anything except play my guitar through an amp (without any pedals or anything else).  Plus, with the rest of "life" I haven't had much time or desire for even that.

Joining the livestreams has been giving me the itch to play around with virtual synths, so I'm just seeing what I can do without buying much.

In addition to my guitar, I have a fast PC, Reason, Cakewalk and other stuff, but nothing is currently installed...  I know I need an interface and a software amp sim at the very least.

I'm mainly trying to come up with a wish list that I can start getting once I get paid next month.

Edited June 24, 2024 by craigb

[craigb]

49 minutes ago, pwal³ said:

The one that makes the videos ?‍♂️

Still have no idea.  Got a link to any of these videos?

[hockeyjx]

28 minutes ago, craigb said:

I'm not comparing, I literally haven't been able to do anything except play my guitar through an amp (without any pedals or anything else).  Plus, with the rest of "life" I haven't had much time or desire for even that.

Joining the livestreams has been giving me the itch to play around with virtual synths, so I'm just seeing what I can do without buying much.

In addition to my guitar, I have a fast PC, Reason, Cakewalk and other stuff, but nothing is currently installed...  I know I need an interface and a software amp sim at the very least.

I'm mainly trying to come up with a wish list that I can start getting once I get paid next month.

I didn't think you were, I just will say I actually PREFER amp sims these days compared to traditional amps. That said, I have been super fond of the Roland JC-40 lately though.

[Shane_B.]

6 hours ago, bitflipper said:

But if money is tight, there are a number of freebies out there that are fun and useful.

I've never used any synth other than what came with Sonar and free stuff.

Same with samples. I've never purchased a sample pack. Always used free stuff I found and what was included in my DAW package.

I did the subscription thing with S1 for a while that unlocked all they had to offer. I never used any of it. There were better free sample packs on their Exchange server imo. I've used one of the drum sample packs I got on the Exchange a lot.

The best DI for guitar I've ever used is my inexpensive ART mic pre. All other DI's directly in to the audio interface always sound "glassy" and harsh to me.

I have their comp and mic pre. I'll chained them together at default settings and I can't tell the difference between that setup and an amp, especially after being processed with guitar rig or other amp sims.

A good place to get audio interfaces is Amazon. I got my Presonus interface at a fraction of retail. It was sold as used/refurbished. It came factory sealed. It was literally brand new, or if it was refurbished they did a heck of a job repackaging it.

[mettelus]

12 minutes ago, Shane_B. said:

A good place to get audio interfaces is Amazon. I got my Presonus interface at a fraction of retail. It was sold as used/refurbished.

This is an excellent point. Amazon Warehouse is where returns go, and a good chunk of them are "like new" and rated by condition.  I know for PreSonus specifically, they want a picture of the hardware S/N upon registration, which also entitles you to any included software associated with the gear (you need to research that to see what gear comes with when buying from the Warehouse... often it is a fair amount).

[57Gregy]

7 hours ago, craigb said:

Still have no idea.  Got a link to any of these videos?

John Vere, AKA Cactus Music.

[craigb]

1 hour ago, mettelus said:

This is an excellent point. Amazon Warehouse is where returns go, and a good chunk of them are "like new" and rated by condition.  I know for PreSonus specifically, they want a picture of the hardware S/N upon registration, which also entitles you to any included software associated with the gear (you need to research that to see what gear comes with when buying from the Warehouse... often it is a fair amount).

My business partner and I had a third-party store on Amazon for a while.  Yes, they are as evil as people make them out to be!  VERY carnivorous!  Want something nice without having to pay for it?  (For those with no morals or ethics only...)  Just buy it, then take something newish that's laying around the house that you don't want and return that to Amazon saying "What the heck is this??? It's not what I ordered!" for a prompt and completely illegal refund.  Only the third-party sellers get screwed.  Apart from that scenario happening to us, Amazon stole $16,000 worth of product and left us holding the bill.  That was the last straw.  Lots more horror stories where that came from! ?

[Starship Krupa]

Cakewalk comes with a pretty decent sounding amp sim, and there are tons of freebies out there, including free versions from IK Multimedia and Native Instruments.

Plugin Alliance has a free version of its bx_rockrack.

So try out as many different amp sims as you wish, get a feel for whether you like them or not. As far as soft synths, there are multiple free ones out there, and I heartily second the suggestion to try Cherry Audio's Voltage Modular.

A|A|S' Swatches will give you a good idea of whether you like their thing (I do), and in and of itself has 700 fully-usable synth patches.

Oddly, considering that I have licenses for multiple top quality amp sims, Voxengo's free Boogex is the first one I reach for when I want one (although it's not always the one I end up using).

There are a couple of topics on free fx and instruments:

 

[Wookiee]

@craigb as promised the free version of VCV Rack that will work as a VST plugin is called Cardinal. Just do an internet search for Cardinal modular synth for link's.

Apologies for the delay been busy with other stuff.

[craigb]

2 minutes ago, Wookiee said:

@craigb as promised the free version of VCV Rack that will work as a VST plugin is called Cardinal. Just do an internet search for Cardinal modular synth for link's.

Apologies for the delay been busy with other stuff.

No problem Wookiee!  I'm sure I'll need delay (and reverb!) too... ?

[Wookiee]

1 hour ago, pwal³ said:

https://cardinal.kx.studio/

"1219 modules from 79 different authors/brands." ?

And it works too. It was the one thing that irritated me about VCV had to pay for the VST plugin, have pushed how "free" it was.

Inserting links in my tablet appears to be a PITFA (F = furry)

[craigb]

2 hours ago, pwal³ said:

for me, quick test in SO5 the VST3 version caused immediate CTDT, VST2 loaded OK but seems unstable, the GUI (i believe) constantly spiking CPU, i'll look again when i have some time

find some patches here https://patchstorage.com/platform/cardinal/?search_query=&ptype[]=patch&tax_platform=cardinal&tax_post_tag=&orderby=modified&wpas_id=search_form&wpas_submit=1

 

OMG!  WTF?  LOL!

?

[craigb]

6 hours ago, pwal³ said:

yeah i found the caps key ?

[bitflipper]

CAPS LOCK KEY SUX. WHENEVER A PROMPT SAYS "PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE", IT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING.
 

[craigb]

[Xoo]

One of the first things I do on a fresh Windows install is disable the caps lock key.

[Sheens]

A simple Covid I mean Focusrite 2nd gen would do.

Plenty cheap used ones in Irak I mean Ebay.

Edited June 28, 2024 by Sheens

[craigb]

On 6/24/2024 at 10:35 AM, bitflipper said:

Or, just fork out the bucks for the One Synth to Rule Them All, aka Omnisphere. That'd keep you busy for a long time to come.

Since I no longer have any physical instruments, what is the best inexpensive interface for working with this?

I keep watching Luke (aka Synth Seeker), known to a few here like Andy (Synkrotron) and Wookiee using Ableton with a Push interface which is quite different than anything I've seen.  However, I'm not ready to shell out those kind of bucks just yet!  (About $1,600 for the Push with Ableton Live Suite! ?)

Oh, and an Audient EVO 4 is on it's way here for me to try.  I was going to wait, and probably should have!

Oh, well. ?

[bitflipper]

Unless the keyboard is your main thing and you are picky about keyboard action or need a full 88 keys, just about any MIDI keyboard controller will suffice.  Something like this, for example. It's a hundred bucks, has almost all the essential features (except for a 5-pin DIN), and fits in a backpack. I have an older version of this that I throw into my laptop case when I go on vacation.