Sunday, June 21, 2009

I *Actually* Bought Something

I've been having a conversation with Sayer in email, lately. I found his site while looking for shots of stuios (gear porn, anyone?), and he had a fascinating story to go with his pictures, so I emailed him to thank him for posting it.  It's definitely entertaining, I recommend it.

Anyway, we got to talking, and he mentioned that he'd found a deal at Noa Musik (gone now) where you could buy NI's "Synths" package for the price of a single synth. This includes Massive, FM8, Absynth, and Pro-53.  ...Obviously, this was way too valuable to pass up, so I bought one.

Honestly, I bought this for Massive. Since the reviews I wrote (back a few posts), I've done many, many hours of research on probably a hundred different synths, and Massive keeps coming up in the top three. A few days before, I had decided that Massive and Surge overlapped too much to bother with both, so I was going to get Surge, since I liked the interface a little better, and it seemed to nail the classic synth sounds a little better.

...But getting FM8 for free was a deal-breaker.  FM8 just has some really amazingly-clear bell sounds, nice synth stabs, and smooth pads.  ...Plus some great effects.

Having Absynth added also made me re-evaluate it.  I maintain that it sounds a little thin and plasticy.  But it is incredibly flexible, and there's an insane depth to it.  ...Part of the reason I'd avoided it: either you jump in head-first, or you pass on it.  Now I have an excuse to jump.  :)  I'm happy to have this, despite my reservations.

Pro-53?  Meh.  It can't compete with Predator, period.  I haven't even bothered installing it, truth be told.  Maybe someday when I'm bored, I'll cycle through the presets, port them to Predator, and get rid of it.  :)  Something tells me I won't be able to resell it, which is a shame, 'cause I really don't need it.  Maybe I'll give it away to someone.  [shrug]

Anyway, this is my first purchase in a really long time, and it was an excellent one. I regret not buying Surge yet... now I might not have to, and that makes me a little sad, 'cause it was a great match for my style and I'd love to support Vember: they're a great little company. And I'm frustrated that I can't upgrade Atmosphere to Omnisphere yet, either... but I think of the three options, this was the best choice.

...I'm also a little sad that this delays the purchase of Maschine.  ...But that's a story for another post.  :)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

In reference to your year-old post in Moroza's comments at Kahvi, I snatched 4 out of 7 from Moroza and 3 out of 8 from CI: Geonesian; Scholar's and Predators.
You both have talent/potential.
My collection may have included your older act at one point too as it rings a bell.
Good stuff on Kahvi, with some cherry-picking and digging. I'll even edit some songs to suit if they're worth it.
You may see fit to dispense with the dubious caveats, BTW, just say it. ;P

What do you think about FLOSS music software? I have some as-yet-to-use intriguing stuff that seems pretty good on my Pure:Dyne Linux.

Unsure when/if I'll get back to this, but I think this post automatically gives you my email just in case.

It's 2009. Napster was... ~1999? They'll sue away yet, but understand this; that Thee Olde Industry is just about dead on this one's system. Long live The People and the likes of Planet Boelex, Esem, Fieldtriqp, Alexy V, Erin West, Berestez, Mikael Fyrek, Curious Inversions. et al..