Instead of hijacking another thread unintentionally.
I decided to make this thread.
So basically Instead of downloading 800,000 different vst plugins and paying for them. When you got 60 different plugins that do the exact same thing.
I’ve gotten by by mostly using my daws native stock plugins.
Did I download some external fx vsts yes…
Formant filters…pitchshifters, dynamic eqs, and some glitch plugins, reverse effect….etc..
Basically what I’m getting at is that once you know what you are doing….you can save yourself a lot of hard drive space by using plugins effectively instead of following trends…imo the average non producer music listener cannot tell the difference between massive fab synth x and its competitor vst plugins…if you know how to sound design mix and compose music effectively.
The latest 800 vsts that do the exact same thing isn’t gonna make your tracks sounds better because the difference between those vsts are some different lines of code that results in slight differences in digital signal processing…
Feel free to agree or disagree…when sharing your thoughts.
Just to play advocatus diaboli, here is the main reason why you really need that shiny new plugin X:
It’s true that it is to 96% exactly the same as plugin Y, BUT that 4% difference is EVRYTHING that matters. You know that humans share about 96% of their DNA with monkeys? Yeah, that’s right.
I personally spent too much money on plugins, and lots of them I don’t use anymore, but a lot of them are just very convenient to use, some of them are fun to use and some do stuff that you can’t do with a DAW. For instance, Serums LFO-point modulation was extremely rare last time I checked, spectral morphing is still rare and so on - but do I use stuff like that often? Not really. You can often reach similar sounds in a different way. On the other hand, I’m really happy when I can include something like LFO-point modulation in a synth patch just to know that this new sound was only possible with that specific synth
So, yeah, nobody needs all those plugins - learn your tools and be happy. You can make great music with any one of the big DAWs without problems.
Shiny new tools can be convenient and fun, though. But always test everything before buying - chances are you do not profit much from most tools and testing often shows you that there is more hype and shine than real value…
This is pretty much how I feel about Shaperbox and whatever that one that Weaver Beats uses and talks about all the time; the DAWs I use just do all of that shit by default and don’t really need the extra interface. Or, you know, presets that don’t appease my picky-bastard self anyway.
But, there’s a huge caveat…
You’d think that all FM schemes that look reasonably the same are indeed identical under the hood, for one example, but math is often way more personalized, custom and generally vast than that; some effects (for another example, Multipass VS BYOME) have completely different limits and thus change their application - one is clearly better for mixes while the other is way more suitable for absolute destruction. Likewise, I could probably twist and bend my DAW’s EQ into behaving like Shade, but why reinvent the wheel when I could be doing more enjoyable shit?
You did mention trends in particular, though, and you’re not wrong; the vast majority of, “Hey, check this thing out!” is just a bunch of stupid nonsense that adds absolutely nothing to the experience, IMO, but I don’t look down on anyone for just wanting to use something quick to make a track. Not all sound-designers are musicians and vice versa, so it’s nice to be able to choose your own adventure. Preset packs are the same way.
I also make blatantly stupid bullshit in my spare time, so there’s even personal value in that.
I don’t use serum, but I’m watching this guy’s video about it. If I had to really boil it down, it sort of seems like an A/B (+ X, Y, etc) switch where you have two or more modulators and a dial to multiplex between them, but I wonder if there are subtle differences and things you can do with it that he is or isn’t doing in said video. Obviously getting to the end result is different, but I’m sort of thinking about it in overly-fundamental terms.
I could see this being really cool for MSEGs, too, although obviously the Serum / Vital scheme combines the two. Take it one step further and you could have a revolving bank of segments on a curve generator or something
Yeah, some Synths can morph LFO forms with multiple functions or fade between different forms (SynthMaster does it pretty well and Pigments for instance), that can come pretty close to it in effect. LFO-point modulation can be a very interesting and flexible way to modulate your modulation source. I just skipped through the vid but I think he is doing it mostly as some form of fast LFO-crossmodulation - that’s nice but it can also be interesting for slower stuff and when combined with an expressive controller, changing the LFO form with MPE y-value or the modwheel or whatever.
I tend to get choice paralysis when I have too many plugs or VST/AU instruments. If there are too many choices and options and variables. It is very easy to get bogged down in the “decisions” rather than moving forward with the creation.
Saying that, having a few really good and reputable ones in the mixing/mastering realm really helps.
I only have SynthMaster 2. Below the LFOs, beside traditional LFO controls for delay, phase and so on, you have Noise and S-H, but on the left side you also can switch to “Dual” mode and then you can select two forms and “fade” between them. This is pretty flexible since there are a lot of forms available, but of course you have to look for the right ones for your sound. I like Serums LFO point modulation better, because you can directly change the forms however you like it with mulitple other modulators and so on, but the “dual mode fading” in SynthMaster is a close second imho…
Not sure about the bugs, maybe they fixed some stuff in later 2.x updates? I’m not using it often these days but I think it worked fine for me most of the time IIRC… I would say def give it another try if you want to play around with the modulation stuff…
