View Poll Results: Agree or not?
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Free is the way to go!
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16 |
10.96% |
You get what you pay for!
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29 |
19.86% |
Somewhere in between...
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101 |
69.18% |
07-29-2012, 01:05 PM
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#1
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 603
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Just like porn, there are so many great free plug-ins on the net why pay for them?
Well, at least that's my opinion. I'm fairly tight on money but even if I had more dough I'm not sure I'd buy a lot of plug-ins. This isn't so much a slam against established pay developers but more of a pat on the back for the freeware guys that are coming out with some really great stuff!
I also know that I, being your average bedroom recording guy, probably won't notice a big difference in the overall sound quality of my songs. In other words, plug-ins (free or pay) are not what's holding my songs back.
YMMV! Anyone hold a similar view as I do?
__________________
John
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07-29-2012, 01:20 PM
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#2
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,296
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I think it has a lot to do with availability of choice.
In some areas, I am sure you can easily get away with using free plugs, but in other areas, there simply will not be a suitable option, in relation to the quality you can achieve with a paid plug.
The existence of a market creates more options while the free arena caters to the whims of various developers, which leads to some awesome stuff, but within limited spheres of useability.
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I am a universal adaptor.
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07-29-2012, 01:21 PM
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#3
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,638
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the big boys do make some amazing stuff. never heard freeware that compared.
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07-29-2012, 02:22 PM
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#4
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Gaylord Michigan
Posts: 1,696
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I've always thought that plug in makers are like song writers. Some of them, but very few, are good enough or near good enough to be making big money doing it. They love it and keep improving. Others are just crappy or so so. So so songs are a dime a dozen and plugins too.
But....there are some great free ones such as Terry West and Variety of Sound OR SOME OF THE ONES THAT COME WITH REAPER.
Then there are the Pro Tools Mercury pack and such that are like $10,000....or some such amount. I just have to wonder.....is it really that good......maybe?? I'll never know.
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07-29-2012, 02:27 PM
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#5
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Posts: 1,095
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Sometimes knowing exactly what you want when you want it is worth the money. Especially if they do a better job than the free stuff. Just depends on the value you place on your tools too. Not to say free stuff aren't as good. But its all in the perspective of the person using the plug ins.
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07-29-2012, 02:52 PM
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#6
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Unwired (probably in the proximity of Amsterdam)
Posts: 4,868
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Sex > pr0n. I'll even take mediocre sex over the best pr0n there is. In these cases, at least, imho quality is not a matter of money. It is about interactivity and intimacy. And it usually works best in a long-term relationship, where honesty and integrity are core values.
In effect, I don't really pay to get access to binaries. Meh. But I do want to help the people making the tools and toys that I use to make my dreams come true, wherever and however I can. That may indeed simply take the form of a payment or donation, but also making a bunch of presets, creating a GUI/skin, giving constructive feedback wherever I can. I typically have no problem at all donating (generously, even) or paying whatever happens to be the price tag, but if that's all there is to it, it actually feels kind of cheap. Like, eh, prostitution.
All the very best stuff I have is both invaluable & priceless to me.
PS: mods, consider moving this thread to the Lounge?
__________________
˙lɐd 'ʎɐʍ ƃuoɹʍ ǝɥʇ ǝɔıʌǝp ʇɐɥʇ ƃuıploɥ ǝɹ,noʎ
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07-29-2012, 02:56 PM
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#7
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,268
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I have purchased from the inexpensive developers, ones like DDMF, and recently One Small Clue (poise). I've also taken advantage of sales on the more expensive stuff, like IK's VI's. Not too bad if you catch them at the right time.
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07-29-2012, 03:58 PM
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#8
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Somewhere Between 120 and 150 BPM
Posts: 7,968
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Yeah my teenage son agrees too, and so he doesn't cost me any money I tell him how GRAYYY888 they are.
I love 'em.
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07-29-2012, 05:03 PM
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#9
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 6,290
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This....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Banned
Sex > pr0n. I'll even take mediocre sex over the best pr0n there is. In these cases, at least, imho quality is not a matter of money. It is about interactivity and intimacy. And it usually works best in a long-term relationship, where honesty and integrity are core values.
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...almost brought a tear to my eye.
Great analogy. Well said. Well written.
(Do you make VST's?)
__________________
"F" off.
Last edited by dea-man; 07-29-2012 at 06:50 PM.
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07-29-2012, 05:10 PM
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#10
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 20,859
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XITE-1/4LIVE
Yeah my teenage son agrees too, and so he doesn't cost me any money I tell him how GRAYYY888 they are.
I love 'em.
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That's cruel. But he'll figure it out.
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07-29-2012, 09:37 PM
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#11
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 217
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just like porn, its mostly copyright violation and most of it is shit.
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07-30-2012, 09:40 AM
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#12
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 227
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Quote:
Originally Posted by midiot
just like porn, its mostly copyright violation and most of it is shit.
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Actually, most porn and free VST's are limited versions of the full product released widely on the internet to attract the interest of new and old users alike. The OP was not referencing "warez".
As for the actual question:
If you don't mind having your VST take it's clothes off, look at you suggestively, and then get a message saying "to see the rest go to ...", then free VST's will get you there. But if you specifically want to see that 3-way chain with whip cream and spatulas, you're likely going to need to go purchase the entire 1 hour video to see it.
In other words, both offer varying levels of features, support, and flexibility. Try the free - if you find yourself still wanting get the full versions.
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07-30-2012, 10:15 AM
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#13
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Sheffield, UK
Posts: 1,007
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I think very few plugins are really needed, and I use whatever I find does a job best whether it's paid or free. SonEQ and Reaeq for example are the best Eq plugs for me personally and are both free. Fabfilter Saturn is at the other end of the scale being fairly expensive but to me it beats any other saturation plugin around, and has a few tricks up its sleeve that as far as I know no other plugins can do, which is what justifies the expense. It really depends what kind of plugins you're talking about, but there are several paid plugins I can think of that have no free comparable 'counterpart'.
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07-30-2012, 12:15 PM
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#14
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,173
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I am all for free VST-VSTi's, and there are a LOT of great ones out there. But where they fall on their face is Reverb IMHO....
__________________
Yep's First 3 Years in PDF's
HP Z600 w/3GHz 12 Core, 48GB Memory, nVidia Quadro 5800, 240GB SSD OS drive, 3 480GB SSD Sample/Storage drives, 18TB External Storage, Dual 27" Monitors
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07-30-2012, 12:22 PM
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#15
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,371
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All I have to say is that I prefer to use free vsts from cockos,karma and voxengo rather than using stolen wares from anyone else.
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07-30-2012, 12:32 PM
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#16
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,296
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smurf
I am all for free VST-VSTi's, and there are a LOT of great ones out there. But where they fall on their face is Reverb IMHO....
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There are some cool free impulses though, aren't there?
Algorithmic though, yes, agree...
__________________
I am a universal adaptor.
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07-30-2012, 12:52 PM
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#17
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 603
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Just to be clear, even though I have my fondness for free plug-ins, I did buy REAPER and BFD ECO.
Good posts so far.
__________________
John
Last edited by Serenitynow; 07-30-2012 at 01:18 PM.
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07-30-2012, 11:01 PM
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#18
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Polandia
Posts: 3,578
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I'm mainly free plugs user, since I'm cheap plus my work isn't worth any money anyway. There's more than enough cool free effects, VAs and high gain amp sims. Only things I paid for are drum samplers (because figuring out how to put free samples into some free sampler is quite tedious) and clean/crunch/bass guitar sims (not many of those for free) - but here POD farm bundled with audio interface comes to the rescue
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07-30-2012, 11:31 PM
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#19
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 850
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I had tons of plugins in the past. Most of them free, some payed. I use very few now. Aside of the good built-in stuff Reaper already offers, not much else is actually needed. A bunch of additional Eqs, Dynamic processors and IR Convolution processors, maybe some time related effects, a sampler or two... and what else? Who actually needs 50 compressors, 35 equalizers, 40 some delays...
Of course, we need to know the stuff. I think we all had to try myriads of plugins and suffered of some degree of the plugin acquisition syndrome before choosing our to go and secondary tools.
My tools are mostly within reaper, along with a few actually good freeware and a very small bunch of well chosen (via demos) payed plugs. I also use some outboard gear too. No concerns about compatibility or updates. They work everywhere all the time.
I don't care about the price or the buzz too much. Many highly acclaimed and flashing looking plugins don't surpass the Cockos plugs in average performance. Snake oil... anyone remembers that?
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07-30-2012, 11:33 PM
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#20
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Sheffield, UK
Posts: 1,007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy Hamm
All I have to say is that I prefer to use free vsts from cockos,karma and voxengo rather than using stolen wares from anyone else.
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I'm pretty sure the OP wasn't talking about using wares, just paid plugins Vs free ones.
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07-31-2012, 01:46 AM
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#21
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 68
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07-31-2012, 02:42 AM
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#22
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Civitavecchia (Italy)
Posts: 574
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smurf
I am all for free VST-VSTi's, and there are a LOT of great ones out there. But where they fall on their face is Reverb IMHO....
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talking about reverbs, I think it is way better to invest in some used real box than wasting money on plugs. IMO.
__________________
"You know what a miracle is. Not what Bakunin said. But another world's intrusion into this one".
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07-31-2012, 02:46 AM
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#23
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Sweden
Posts: 1,541
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There is a saying - ignorance is bliss.
If believing that only difference is money paid - then go for free stuff.
But get the free stuff from developers own home page - or a site that has a link to developer - or you might get something that is installing virus and other malware. Probably easiest way to do that - with an installer to something else, or an envelope around a VST even than runs during scan.
I had plenty good use of free synths like FreeAlpha, Prophet P600 and NeoKiller. But they don't match the sound of Arturia synths.
Had plenty good use of Kjaerhus Audio free Classic series, and was about to look into his Gold series - but had gone bankrupt until then. But now very affordable Waves stuff outperform any of the free effects I used.
Apart from being good starter packages, free and low priced stuff also put downward pressure on prices for more expensive commercial products. The general policy in pricing is going down - that's what I think anyway.
__________________
-- Windows 11 Pro, i7-12700F 2.1GHz 32G, RME Digiface USB Audient ASP800 Lexicon MX200, Reaper 4.78 --
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07-31-2012, 02:52 AM
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#24
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 2,533
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I'll pay for plug-ins if I can't locate a free one which serves the same purpose, with the same degree of quality a paid plug-in (might) offer.
I'll also sell paid plug-ins when the company who makes them can't get their dongle (oops, I mean DSP card) to work properly in Cubase, Vegas, nor REAPER. Can you guess who this is about?
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07-31-2012, 05:04 AM
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#25
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Lincoln, UK
Posts: 7,926
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I've spent money on drum VSTis (SD2- quite a bit, but it is good) and reverbs (Valhalla is v good), but most of my plugins are stock, freeware or low-cost small-outfit company output (Jeroen Breebart, Voxengo, Camel, etc).
Can't find a good electric bass guitar VSTi for free though, I'm looking for a relatively low-cost recommendation...
>
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07-31-2012, 05:55 AM
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#26
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 603
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stu
I'm pretty sure the OP wasn't talking about using wares, just paid plugins Vs free ones.
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Exactly...thanks!
__________________
John
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07-31-2012, 05:59 AM
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#27
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 20,859
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I use a lot of free stuff, but I have to say, with a few exceptions, I prefer the commercial offerings in nearly every case. The main reasons for this are stability, usability, and functionality.
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07-31-2012, 06:13 AM
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#28
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Near Cambridge UK and Near Questembert, France
Posts: 22,754
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Quote:
Originally Posted by planetnine
I've spent money on drum VSTis (SD2- quite a bit, but it is good) and reverbs (Valhalla is v good), but most of my plugins are stock, freeware or low-cost small-outfit company output (Jeroen Breebart, Voxengo, Camel, etc).
Can't find a good electric bass guitar VSTi for free though, I'm looking for a relatively low-cost recommendation...
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I cold nip up and do sessions for ya? Discount for bulk?
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07-31-2012, 07:23 AM
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#29
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,371
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stu
I'm pretty sure the OP wasn't talking about using wares, just paid plugins Vs free ones.
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I know, but for the most part when I sit at someone's DAW and they have the entire Waves library and every other high end vst package on the market it makes me sick.
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07-31-2012, 08:04 AM
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#30
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 9,090
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Quote:
Originally Posted by planetnine
I've spent money on drum VSTis (SD2- quite a bit, but it is good) and reverbs (Valhalla is v good), but most of my plugins are stock, freeware or low-cost small-outfit company output (Jeroen Breebart, Voxengo, Camel, etc).
Can't find a good electric bass guitar VSTi for free though, I'm looking for a relatively low-cost recommendation...
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Check THIS one out planetnine. I have tried (and purchased) quite a few, and this is by far my most favorite. very simple, great sounding, and affordable.
__________________
The Sounds of the Hear and Now.
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07-31-2012, 11:21 AM
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#31
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Sheffield, UK
Posts: 1,007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy Hamm
I know, but for the most part when I sit at someone's DAW and they have the entire Waves library and every other high end vst package on the market it makes me sick.
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Yes I know what you mean, I feel much the same when people post total beginner questions but mention they are using all the waves plugs or whatever, they have quite obviously just raided all the torrent sites for 'pro' vsts. The up side to all that piracy though is that when you buy a plugin that has copy protection that is prone to misbehaving, you can grab a torrent that bypasses it. I remember a few years ago I used a studio near me that had big clients - I'm talking platinum album sales. They recorded with warez software because despite paying for it in the first place, the cracked version used less system resources and was actually more stable.
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07-31-2012, 01:21 PM
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#32
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Near Cambridge UK and Near Questembert, France
Posts: 22,754
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Quote:
Originally Posted by richie43
Check THIS one out planetnine. I have tried (and purchased) quite a few, and this is by far my most favorite. very simple, great sounding, and affordable.
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The problem here is that Nate is looking for a Virtual instrument, not a virtual amp.
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07-31-2012, 01:24 PM
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#33
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,027
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At this point in time (been doing this for a good while), I know exactly what I want for my mixing tools. It's hard to find these specifics done with the same level of quality in freeware.
SSL Bundle
T-Racks 3 singles (including LA-2A and 1176)
Lexicon Reverb
Flexible delay with mod.
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07-31-2012, 02:55 PM
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#34
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 9,090
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ivansc
The problem here is that Nate is looking for a Virtual instrument, not a virtual amp.
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Oops.....
There I go again, gettin' excitable and thinking I am helpful.....
__________________
The Sounds of the Hear and Now.
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07-31-2012, 03:01 PM
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#35
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 20,859
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Quote:
Originally Posted by planetnine
I've spent money on drum VSTis (SD2- quite a bit, but it is good) and reverbs (Valhalla is v good), but most of my plugins are stock, freeware or low-cost small-outfit company output (Jeroen Breebart, Voxengo, Camel, etc).
Can't find a good electric bass guitar VSTi for free though, I'm looking for a relatively low-cost recommendation...
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What are you looking for, specifically? I'm looking at throwing together a few sfz instruments (or more) for myself, and I have a pj bass here. I could probably add a free bass in there while I'm doing it.
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07-31-2012, 03:11 PM
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#36
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 239
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When it comes to free plugins the best ones seem to be simple FX types. There are a lot of free sampled Kontakt instruments, and some are good and others are not. I am not a programmer but I would think programming a nice delay would be easier than recording 12 violinists for an orchestral patch. The free Sonatina library is probably the best free orchestral library out there, but does not compare to a commercial library.
I do use the Lepou and TSE amp sims and to me they sound better then the commercial sims. That being said I am trying to find a delay plugin that works the same way that Ableton's ping pong delay. Are there any free ones out there that are as simple to use, but sound as good?
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07-31-2012, 03:23 PM
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#37
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Lincoln, UK
Posts: 7,926
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brainwreck
What are you looking for, specifically? I'm looking at throwing together a few sfz instruments (or more) for myself, and I have a pj bass here. I could probably add a free bass in there while I'm doing it.
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Just looking for a bass guitar instrument that will sound ok for banging demos or backing tracks together.
I use the freebie Forefront one and it's ok for run of the mill plodding basslines with a bit of careful, encouraging, processing, but I'm sure there's better out there...
There you go; Forefront is my reference point -ok if well mixed-in!
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07-31-2012, 03:26 PM
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#38
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Down Under
Posts: 2,148
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Quote:
Originally Posted by planetnine
Can't find a good electric bass guitar VSTi for free though, I'm looking for a relatively low-cost recommendation...
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The Basses in Independece free are still about the best i've heard for free, there very usable thats for sure.
Cheers
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07-31-2012, 04:12 PM
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#39
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 20,859
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Quote:
Originally Posted by planetnine
Just looking for a bass guitar instrument that will sound ok for banging demos or backing tracks together.
I use the freebie Forefront one and it's ok for run of the mill plodding basslines with a bit of careful, encouraging, processing, but I'm sure there's better out there...
There you go; Forefront is my reference point -ok if well mixed-in!
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I'll see what I can put together. It might be the weekend before I get to it, but I'll get to it. I haven't looked at which opcodes SFZ player supports in a long time, so I get to figure all of that stuff out again, but I'm pretty sure that the supported opcodes will be adequate. Maybe we can get you out of Forefront hell.
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07-31-2012, 09:13 PM
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#40
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: California
Posts: 25
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Synth1 and Crystal don't sound so great when compared to NI's Massive or Logic's ES2.
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