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musiclover420
psychonaut



Registered: 11/06/12
Posts: 19,563
Loc: PNW
Last seen: 2 years, 5 months
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Anyone use VST's (virtual studio technology)? Digital Instruments and sound effects 1
#23843239 - 11/17/16 07:48 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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I have been getting back into them after downloading a few random VST synths I never really used much after getting a hardware synth.
Recently I have been looking around though and seen a ton of cool VST effects, I probably have downloaded like 100+ the past 2 or so days.
Won't get around to using them all right away but if anyone is interested I can list some.
Anyone have experience with them though and some cool ones to share?
Here is the site I am currently on, about to check them all out and download a few: http://bserrano.free.fr/Effects.html
They look pretty cool though. I have found a few random similiar sites with some cool VST's I can look for if anyone would like.
Here are what VST's look like:

And here is a free VST synth:

They may look confusing but some are actually very simple and many come with presets which can sound fine on there own and can be easy to tweak/ improve.
You can play the instruments on your computer or via midi hook up a keyboard controller to play on for more ease of use.
Edited by musiclover420 (11/17/16 08:37 PM)
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PatrickKn


Registered: 07/10/11
Posts: 20,564
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Re: Anyone use VST's? Instruments and effects [Re: musiclover420] 1
#23843438 - 11/17/16 08:54 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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Just looking for effects, or interested in instruments as well?
I used to have an enormous collection of thousands, but have cut down to a few really solid ones as stability can be important when you haven't saved for an hour and crash your system trying out a vst you've never used before. That and there are many synths that do awesome things, but that have other instruments that just out-do them in a way.
Some favorites for instruments are:
Instruments:
1. Spectrasonics Omnisphere II (with Trilian libs too)
vimeo.com/117503596
- Love this synth. It's very intuitive to use, and 2 lets you import your own samples and wavetables to make full instruments from. Unfortunately doesn't support multisampling, and doesn't seem to want to at this point. Though it's still a powerful software and I've made some really cool sounds from it. Supports up to 8 channels I think, and you can layer them to specific notes, so certain sounds are on the lower end of the keyboard, and others are higher. Has a massive 60 GB library of sounds to use as well.
2. Xfer Serum
- Really cool synth, really clean sounds come easily. Huge wavetable collection too. Super smooth GUI too, not difficult to navigate.
3. Sylenth1
- Definite classic, one of the best things about this synth is the massive user library of presets that can be found online since it's been around so long and has been used by many. I have something like 20,000 presets. This makes it not just a powerhouse, but an excellent learning tool for getting to know subtractive synthesis, as you can look through tens of thousands of sounds and find one that you like, and then learn how to reproduce it yourself in both Sylenth and other synths. You can get a real feel for how subtractive synthesis works using it.
It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of newer synths, but like any synth it can make great sounds and has many sounds made to play around with. People might think you're limited to electronic dance music with synths like this, but that's not the case at all. You can use it just like any powerful synth keyboards.
Those are my 3 main synths as they cover most of my bases for synthesis. Massive, Absynth and Harmor are all good ones as well, I just never got too in depth with them.
I've only played with it a little bit, but if you want to get truly in depth with computer synthesis, you should check out Reaktor. It's a beast and you can mostly program your own instruments with it.
Reaktor 6: What is Reaktor?
4. Native Instruments Kontakt
This one isn't a synth, it's a player for libraries. Therefore, it has sampled versions of instruments, and there are thousands and thousands of libraries for it. This is my favorite program by far for instruments.
I made a large post about this here.
Effects:
Some of my favorite effects are
1. Native Instruments Guitar Rig
Very capable amp simulator.
2. Waves Bundle
Just a really solid collection of professional effects plugins.
3. Melodyne or Antares Auto-Tune
People think of auto-tune programs as bad, but for studio music they can be quite nice to have around. They aren't limited to voice, they can be used for drums, bass guitar, trumpets. They can bring messy sounding parts into clarity. Really handy.
Here's a video that demonstrates this:
4. iZotope Ozone
Solid Mastering Suite. You can do all this with Waves, or even with default software in your DAW. This is just another way to go about it. All about your comfort level. The basics of mastering and mixing your song remain the same regardless of the route. It's something I myself need more work on at times.
Edited by PatrickKn (11/17/16 09:01 PM)
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musiclover420
psychonaut



Registered: 11/06/12
Posts: 19,563
Loc: PNW
Last seen: 2 years, 5 months
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Re: Anyone use VST's? Instruments and effects [Re: PatrickKn]
#23843535 - 11/17/16 09:26 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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I was trying to torrent omnisphere for awhile It was a pain in the ass though and I gave up... Maybe I would have better luck now. I am limitied on space though, freed up like 40gb but that is all I have. I might be able to get another 20-40 free if I try. I am more interested in effects but I will download any cool instruments I can as well. I found a few clavi/ piano VST's I am excited to try.
I should have mentioned I am mainly looking for free stuff right now, I might save links for stuff to consider buying later but I just spent my music budget 
Got a Novation Ultranova for 270$ used becouse it has 2 cracks in the display Seems like a super versatile VA synth and will probably outperform most VST instruments. I plan on playing vst instruments with it though as well as sending it and hopefully guitar/bass through vst effects. Hopefully I can get it all set up 
Xfer Serum seems pretty rad too though Sylenth1 as well. I have a simple free modular synth similar to how reactor's modular stuff is set up on my phone.
Been wanting to try some digital guitar amp/ effects out, they have come a long way it seems.
I got a few pitch shifters and maybe an autotuner or two just to try. Also the novation synth I got has a vocoder I am excited to try out 
Been trying to keep my recording methods simple but I have slowly been opting for more complex stuff so I do want to get some more mastering/ recording tools for sure 
Thanks for the suggestions! Hopefully before long I will have some extra $ to get some of the more useful nicer plugins.
-------------------- Don't worry about me, I've got all that I need. And I'm singing my song to the sky You know how it feels, With the breeze of the sun in your eyes. Not minding that time's passing by I've got all and more, My smile, just as before. Is all that I carry with me I talk to myself, I need nobody else. I'm lost and I'm mine, yes I'm free
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PatrickKn


Registered: 07/10/11
Posts: 20,564
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Re: Anyone use VST's? Instruments and effects [Re: musiclover420] 1
#23843587 - 11/17/16 09:45 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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I have 8 TB of space to work with at the moment. Had 4 TB of music related programs, Kontakt Libraries and sample sets, and have cut it down to 2 at the moment. I have pirated nearly everything though. The Kontakt libraries alone can sell for 2-600 dollars a piece and I have a few hundred of them. It's nice to have them on hand though, you can emulate an orchestra really well if you had the composition skill with just a few libraries. Jazz bands, Rock Music, Psybient. You name it.
Yeah, if you're not too into pirating though, you're better than I. There is very capable free software out there, and unless you're trying to emulate real instruments there is little reason to buy really expensive software suites if your budget can't afford them. Like, if I was selling music at a stable level, I would buy a few of my favorite instruments. I can't afford to do so for the bulk of what I use. I have bought a few softwares though. FL Studio (with lifetime free updates), Sylenth1 and Serum I've bought. Omnisphere is prohibitively expensive, as are Kontakt Libraries.
A good free VA synth software is Helm.
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musiclover420
psychonaut



Registered: 11/06/12
Posts: 19,563
Loc: PNW
Last seen: 2 years, 5 months
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Re: Anyone use VST's? Instruments and effects [Re: PatrickKn]
#23843635 - 11/17/16 10:04 PM (7 years, 2 months ago) |
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This site has some cool stuff all free/ donationware: http://www.wokwave.com/vstshop/digitalshop.php?start=0&category=0
Lost of cool free effects packs and looks like some cool instruments such as VA and pads, going to download a lot and donate if I can get their paypal.
I am jealous you have 8TB, that sounds like a great system! I am in serious need of a computer upgrade but I plan to wait until I have saved more and have more solid income.
I do pirate some stuff but I prefer to use freeware when possible. That is crazy just the libraries sell for so much but they are probably full of a ton of stuff.
Eventually I want to get some nice horn and other orchestral plugins but most of my musical budget goes to hardware/gear stuff
Will check out helm once I finish at WOK
-------------------- Don't worry about me, I've got all that I need. And I'm singing my song to the sky You know how it feels, With the breeze of the sun in your eyes. Not minding that time's passing by I've got all and more, My smile, just as before. Is all that I carry with me I talk to myself, I need nobody else. I'm lost and I'm mine, yes I'm free
Edited by musiclover420 (11/17/16 10:08 PM)
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