MOTUNATION (formerly UnicorNation) is an independent community for discussing Digital Performer and other MOTU audio software and hardware. It is not affiliated with MOTU.
Forum rules
This forum is for most discussion related to the use and optimization of Digital Performer [MacOS] and plug-ins as well as tips and techniques. It is NOT for troubleshooting technical issues, complaints, feature requests, or "Comparative DAW 101."
The demo seems to leave a lot of EQ artifacts, IMO. Anyone use this? 4149 is not all that much if it does what it says it does. I'm just not convinced by the video and hesitant to d/l yet another demo.
Another Eventide fan! I've got Black Hole, Omnipressor, TVerb and H3000. Plus an H9 pedal on my live pedalboard. That thing rocks.
So I did download the demo of the Unveil software you linked, and got right to the end going back and forth with iLok and it said I'd installed too many demos, something to that effect. Too bad, I could use something like that if it worked. El demo no bueno.
2020 iMac 27" 3.6GHz 10 core i9 • Mac OS 12.2.1 • DP 11.04 • UAD-8 Octo card • Midas M32R
They sample a 1920s 85 key European piano but I don't know what. It has some interesting sounds. Last thing I need is another piano VI but, at $8, oh hell...
Use this code to get 25% off in March: SILENCE25 This brings the price down to $7.49 ($8.01 after tax in my part of California).
It requires the full version of Kontakt but a stand-alone version will be released at the end of the month. I don't know if that will be extra or included when released.
DP 11.34; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1 2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
stubbsonic wrote:Make sure you listen to the demos before you click buy.
I did. There are some spots where I can use this such as a commercial bed and a demo I'm working on. My go-to for these things was an old SampleTank mono but I'm not upgrading to ST4 just to use it anymore. I'm not seeing this as a solo instrument but who knows?
This puppy is designed to be tweaked and manipulated—not too many piano VIs have a distortion setting and it's all on one page. For many projects, that's the ticket. It's lightweight at only 620MB.
I'm in one of those shelter in place counties in California right now and over 65 so I'm not going out to eat these days. Might as well spend the $8 somewhere else.
DP 11.34; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1 2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
monkey man wrote:It sounds to me like there's a persistent, mid-range resonance peak going on in all the demos I listened to.
...
Funny you should mention that. I heard it, too and that's what I liked about it. Looking for something lightweight that can sit low in a mix without getting in the way of the bottom end. For something called, Dark Grand Piano, it's not all that warm.
Lush, full-range, a gazillion samples per note etc. ... got plenty of that. If I use Dark Grand on one project, I've made out. Looking at using it on two.
I also picked up FluffyAudio's My Piano at their $10 we're giving 100% to Lombardi sale. They're based in Italy. It's a dink little upright but it sounds a lot better than my wife's Knabe spinet. No idea where I would use it but $10 and it goes to relief so what the hell. I picked up all their freebies while I was there including Bamboo Xaxophone (free but not on the freebies page) and looked at some of their other offerings. Rinascimento looks very interesting—haven't touched my lute in years. Can't imagine I'll ever have the time for Dominus but it speaks my language.
OK, far from cheap, but on sale 20% off (plus take off another 10% if you buy at AudioDeluxe), Audio Modeling's amazing modeled instruments. I purchased the Flutes and the Solo Strings Bundle and am knocked out by the instruments' playability. Haven't spent a lot of time with the instruments yet, but had a chance to test run the Flute, Cello and Violin, and had a number of OMG! moments as I explored.
I have already enjoyed the Wallander flute quite a bit, as it is super playable and responsive particularly when using breath control, but the AM flute takes the realism factor up significantly, and the superb playability remains. I was happy.
As for the strings, I found myself completely blown away. I've been doing strings for pop and soundtrack productions for years. As we all know, sampled strings sound amazing one note at a time, but connecting the notes in a realistic way is where the illusion typically suffers. I'm not a big fan of keyswitching, as that approach is so unlike playing a real physical instrument, and I typically improvise string parts in real time, then build from there. Having heard a few fairly amazing demos of the AM strings, I have always been intrigued by their promise of playability.
I was not disappointed. I find AM allows me to seamlessly move from quick articulate legato runs and smooth un-smeared note transitions to aggressive attacks with complete dynamic and timbral control. I assigned BC to Expression, Expression Pedal to Bow Pressure or Bow Speed, After Touch to Vibrato Depth and Modwheel to Vibrato Speed. Completely immersive. Closer than I have ever before been to playing a real violin or cello. (I've yet to try the Bass and Viola.)
Although there are those who build complete orchestrations by playing multiple layers of solo AM strings, my immediate thought is to couple these modeled strings with my sampled string libraries for quick rich, yet detailed sections. Samples for body, AM for attack and articulation and to connect the notes realistically. Blend to taste.
I haven't had s much fun playing strings since I first MIDI'd together my DX7 set to its FM violin and an EMU Proteus string patch.
Unfortunately, I do not believe AM offers any demo version of its stuff.
PS: I just checked the Audio Modeling site, and there is no mention of the 20% off sale. However, As of 5:52PM PST today, AudioDeluxe still has the sale price up.
MStereoSpread looks interesting. $45 on sale plus -$10 for signing up. And if you have American Express points, they accept those, which essentially makes it free (sort of).
Haven't played with it yet (it's late) but will. Sale ends this weekend (usually $89). They also have a lot of free plugs and some pretty high end stuff. Worth a look.
I haven't checked the plugin out, Magilla, but you might want to make sure it's 100% mono-compatible or the fold-down will result in phase cancellation.
Polyverse's free "Wider" is 100% mono-compatible, so you might want to check that out if it's not too late.