Why are there no instruments in Reaper?

[vdubreeze]

I think the issue of whether added content is bloatware is really secondary to the devs not wanting to have to get support posts about why a synth's LFO won't automate or when the Piano vst will be updated.to support soft pedal.

I don't get how it's so much trouble to find a free VSTi of xyz. If it's any hassle just consider it the cost of it being free and take the 30 seconds to have the link delivered to your burner (throwaway account that isn't used for anything except downloading free plugins) email.

When there are such amazing free VSTi resources as Decent Sampler and the ridiculously generous pianobook site for free real instruments and not-real keyboards, and the KVR archive, I don't want Justin, Schwa and whoever else to pick their heads up from taking care of Reaper to get involved in content. Anyway, as probably mentioned, one person's favorite free instrument is someone else's earliest gag reflex trigger. You get with Reapack and are faced with 4 billion JSFX to wade through So my impression is that anything related to free instrument content would not be pristinely curated through weekly Powerpoint presentations in the Cockos office.

[MiddleC]

Agreed. If you bundle it, you get to support it. I doubt it's a question of cost. Lots of those bundled instruments are stripped down advertisements for the "real" thing, and DAW makers don't pay for them - in fact, they may get a kickback. No thank you.

I've had instruments I got with gear that stopped working with the agreement between the vendor and the manufacturer terminated. I could no longer reauthorize them when needed. I think an example was some Air stuff I got with my Roland Hammer 88 Pro...

[Judders]

Coming from Logic, I was really pleased that no software instruments came with REAPER. I always resented the GBs of stuff I never used taking up space on my HD.

REAPER is the most convenient and easy upgrade process of any piece of software I've ever used. It still brings a smile to my face when a new version is downloaded, installed and opened in less than a minute.

[akademie]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ yes, THIS

[vanceen]

I'm so glad that Reaper doesn't come with instruments.

The developers have focused on making a great DAW and have succeeded at that. There are so many others out there who are very good at making instruments. Leave it to them.

I used Cakewalk (then SONAR) for 25 years, from version 1.0 on a single 5.25" floppy right up to the time Gibson stopped development. In their fading years, I saw very few substantial improvements to the product. The annual "new version" mainly had new instruments and the like, which were mostly useless to me.

Let Reaper be Reaper!

[AZ Entertainment]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee Scarlett

LOL! No, it was only answered about 15 times in 15 different ways.

There's a difference between "I didn't get an answer", and "I don't like these answers so I'll play stupid and keep asking over and over again".

(I'll assume you're just PLAYING stupid, since nobody can actually BE that stupid).

Haha, but I was not asking for reccomendations.

[King Stupid]

Originally Posted by AZ Entertainment

Haha, but I was not asking for reccomendations.

The answer was - because reaper is a resource-light DAW distribution that doesnt come with 16 gigs of bullshit VST instruments that you'll likely never use.

The reccomendations were a polite way of saying pick the VST instruments you'll actually use.

[jinotsuh]

With regards to Cakewalk/SONAR, from memory, at least from a certain point in time, the 'Bloatware' that people are talking about was optional. you didn't 'have' to install it. So if it is anyone's fault for installing 'bloatware' on your system, guess what?

Same with Studio One, I forget how many GB's, but the thing is again, you don't have to install it, it's your choice, yay or nay.

With REAPER, most people already have a collection of stuff they like, what's the point of forcing stuff on to them that they may not even use, I guess it could be like the above and be separate installs, but still.

There are/could be many reasons, many of which have been mentioned previously in this thread, but the number 1 reason, and one which rules over all others, is that the creators decided this is the way it will be, end of story really.

[nicholas]

Originally Posted by AZ Entertainment

I actually have it installed. But the question is "Why are there no instruments in Reaper?"

It's largely a cost/benefit thing. One reason REAPER is so (relatively) inexpensive is because it doesn't force you to pay extra for third party VSTs, Synths, or other add-on software that you might not need, want, or ever use.

In that philosophy/strategy can be found the answer to your question.

Users are then free to choose and use whatever synths, etc they want, from freeware to outrageously-expensive-ware.

Oh, and by the way, don't underestimate ReaSynth:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Reaper/comm...id_a_cover_of/

[mschnell]

There is ReaPack !
(IMHO, it would be good if Reaper would come with ReaPack <optionally> already installed with the distribution.)

Hence the question boils down to Why are there no instruments in ReaPack ? (But in fact there are, such as ReaRack )



(With that the installation size would increase only slightly by the addition of ReaPack.)

BTW.: compare: Any Linux distribution "comes with" hundreds of applications that can optionally be downloaded and installed by the appropriate package manager.

[Charango]

Originally Posted by mschnell

...

BTW.: compare: Any Linux distribution "comes with" hundreds of applications that can optionally be downloaded and installed by the appropriate package manager.

After following this thread for a while, I'd like to add my tuppence worth (or 2 cents if you're from across the pond).

I think you hit the nail on the head here. In the Linux world there are so many packages available that you have to choose what you want to install.

The debate about adding VSTs or not, and if it's "bloatware" or not boils down to (IMHO) the notion of "Minimalism" which we discussed over in the Linux forum here:
https://forum.cockos.com/showpost.ph...5&postcount=24

Briefly, the desire for "more stuff" is a basic human impulse, which we are all prone to and should try to keep in check if we don't want to be constantly dissatisfied because we will never be able to have "everything". We are veering into Buddhist philosophy now so I'll stop here

I prefer Reaper the way it is now, mean and lean so I can add the instruments I want, BUT there is one positive side to having the added "bloatware", which is you can try out things you might never have tried otherwise (synths in my case), so it becomes a discovery and learning process for relative noobs who didn't want to take the time to look up the instruments themselves. Also, as mentioned in a previous post, you can always decide to install them or not.

[enroe]

Originally Posted by Charango

In the Linux world there are so many packages available that you have to choose what you want to install.

Well, it's the same in the Windows world. There are so many free synths
that I don't have the time to try them all.

Originally Posted by Charango

The debate about adding VSTs or not, and if it's "bloatware" or not boils down to ...

... to the question of which synths or which multisample instruments I
personally need.

[enroe]

What I like most is the way your write it:

Originally Posted by Frank Lee Scarlett

"wHy dOEs rEAper nOT hAVe aNY iNsTrUMeNTs"

[fakemaxwell]

Originally Posted by nicholas

Oh, and by the way, don't underestimate ReaSynth:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Reaper/comm...id_a_cover_of/

I think spending a little time on ReaSynth would be great. Agree that there is no need for extra bloat or loops, but a resource light synth is always a good starting point for people trying to make music in a DAW.

[Softsynth]

Originally Posted by fakemaxwell

I think spending a little time on ReaSynth would be great. Agree that there is no need for extra bloat or loops, but a resource light synth is always a good starting point for people trying to make music in a DAW.

Or spend the fraction of a single second downloading the miniscule little superior synth Charlatan:
https://www.blaukraut.info/

[fakemaxwell]

Originally Posted by Softsynth

Or spend the fraction of a single second downloading the miniscule little superior synth Charlatan:
https://www.blaukraut.info/

Or, I could use one of the many synths I own from the likes of u-he, Spectrasonics, Fabfilter...

Just because there's free alternatives available doesn't mean that I wouldn't be a little interested in what a fully built out ReaSynth would look like, even if I'm not the one benefiting directly.

[Softsynth]

Originally Posted by fakemaxwell

Or, I could use one of the many synths I own from the likes of u-he, Spectrasonics, Fabfilter...

Just because there's free alternatives available doesn't mean that I wouldn't be a little interested in what a fully built out ReaSynth would look like, even if I'm not the one benefiting directly.

I'm making the point that the built in synth can be replaced almost instantaneously with something better which also has no noticeable drive footprint at all too. If I remember correctly it was under one megabyte.

Maybe that's mean spirited somehow?

[akademie]

Originally Posted by Softsynth

I'm making the point that the built in synth can be replaced almost instantaneously with something better which also has no noticeable drive footprint at all too. If I remember correctly it was under one megabyte.

Maybe that's mean spirited somehow?

BTW, I can't see macOS nor Linux installers for Charlatan VSTi (for example)?
So not a good candidate...

Reaper being multiplatform, including its simple while powerful ReaSynth is the right thing.

[/AND/]

I moved from FL Studio to Reaper a year ago. In the past I regularly used FL Studio's synths because I wanted to keep everything in-house, especially regarding long-term functionality of projects. So I know a few FL Studio's synths really well (Harmor, Sytrus, Transistor Bass, 3xOSC, FPC, etc.).

That being said, when I moved to Reaper I found out I can't use my favourite synths anymore, because IL intentionally stopped developing the VSTi's, in order to keep us/me locked in their ecosystem. This got me really pissed off, and decided to move over to other synths and plugins.

So I discovered a bunch of incredible synths that I now use. For example Surge, Vital, Sitala, Cardinal, Odin 2. In my opinion they are even better than IL's own stuff, even while being free. This really blew my mind. You can't see this until you really try these things.

I am glad that I moved on from FL Studio. The program became stale, and the management team (especially the boss, Scott) became arrogant pricks.

So my advice: dive deeply into these plugins, you'll discover an awesome high-quality world.

Oh, and try Linux

[Softsynth]

Originally Posted by akademie

BTW, I can't see macOS nor Linux installers for Charlatan VSTi (for example)?
So not a good candidate...

Reaper being multiplatform, including its simple while powerful ReaSynth is the right thing.

Good point, well spotted. Scratch that for non Windows users.

My favourite multiplatform freebie Surge XT is too resource hungry for absolute blanket recommendation though most machines will be absolutely fine, just not in the spirit of the concept of zero footprint and absolutely any CPU.

I think of fair few other tiny ones that I like are Windows only unfortunately for the object of that exercise.

[sekim]

Originally Posted by /AND/

That being said, when I moved to Reaper I found out I can't use my favourite synths anymore, because IL intentionally stopped developing the VSTi's, in order to keep us/me locked in their ecosystem. This got me really pissed off, and decided to move over to other synths and plugins.

Just be careful where you go. NI and Antares and iLok all burned me by abandoning versions of product license activation. In NI's case they arbitrarily ceased activating B4-II so it is now abandonware. Sure, I have IK's wonderful B-3X endorsed by Hammond themselves, but B4-II still sounds good to me and I like it on some things even today. But more to the point, I payed several hundred dollars, back when several hundred was worth a lot more than it is now, and I still have a valid license agreement they are not in compliance with. And its not a technical issue, the product still runs perfectly in demo mode... And of course as you mention, there is the whole issue of being able to reopen an older project.

In Antares case it was a cooperative effort with iLok. iLok changed their technology a few years ago and it killed Autotune 6 in the process. I understand that sort of thing happens, but Antares position was "Tough sh!t. You got to use it for a few years and if you want to continue to use our products you have to buy a new license. And no, no discount from us because we refuse to activate your admittedly valid and legal license. Oh by the way thanks for paying us and not using a crack, sucker." And of course I still have a valid license agreement which they are not in compliance with. I can download the old software from Antares, my iLock license is still on iLok, and both companies tell me "Too bad sucker. Spend more money and we'll make it work again, for a little while anyway."

As a result, I have not spent one cent with either NI or Antares since, nor will I. Which now that Izotope and Plugin Alliance are part of NI would have been a problem had I not bought what I wanted from these two the last year or so. But now I get to face the possibility that entire investment becomes abandonware at any given moment by NI. Not good...

[Softsynth]

Originally Posted by /AND/

I moved from FL Studio to Reaper a year ago. In the past I regularly used FL Studio's synths because I wanted to keep everything in-house, especially regarding long-term functionality of projects. So I know a few FL Studio's synths really well (Harmor, Sytrus, Transistor Bass, 3xOSC, FPC, etc.).

That being said, when I moved to Reaper I found out I can't use my favourite synths anymore, because IL intentionally stopped developing the VSTi's, in order to keep us/me locked in their ecosystem. This got me really pissed off, and decided to move over to other synths and plugins.

So I discovered a bunch of incredible synths that I now use. For example Surge, Vital, Sitala, Cardinal, Odin 2. In my opinion they are even better than IL's own stuff, even while being free. This really blew my mind. You can't see this until you really try these things.

I am glad that I moved on from FL Studio. The program became stale, and the management team (especially the boss, Scott) became arrogant pricks.

So my advice: dive deeply into these plugins, you'll discover an awesome high-quality world.

Oh, and try Linux

I bought 2 of them years ago as VSTs and just downloaded the most up to date versions for VST tonight (and new unlock codes) from the IL website.

I see they are no longer on sale as VSTs to new users though - you can still download them to brand new hardware and unlock them on new hardware.

I just installed image Line Harmor and Harmless into Windows 11 just now. This is the version with the nicely scaling vector GUIs.

No idea if any new developments have transformed these synths since the vector GUI updates?
I like the Harm synth family sound but I wouldn't be installing Fruity Loops to run their DAW as a plugin to see if there is any radical updates.

[Schrodinger's Cat]

Originally Posted by Glennbo

I absolutely HATED how Cakewalk puffed up the Sonar install with lots of crap I didn't need or want, junking up my HDD.

Many years ago in an online conversation with Ron Kuper and Brandon Ryan, I remember talking about how compact REAPER's installer was, and the response I got was something along the lines of "yeah, but Sonar comes with over 6GB of content".

The thinking seemed to be that an install of three DVDs including demos, loopz, and beatz was somehow better, just because it was bigger.

^ THIS!!!!

I originally started out on Dr. T's Software on my Atari 1040STE (Because Built in midi ports), then switched to PC, and decided to go with Cakewalk, then Cakewalk blew up into SONAR, with a butt-ton of DX Synths that I loaded up, listened to each preset on each Synth, and promptly forgot about and never touched again, because none of those synths had any sounds I was interested in, unless I wanted some "Glass Space Bells", "Shakuhachi" and "Wooden Kalimba" in my (At the time) Rock Songs.

[Glennbo]

Originally Posted by Schrodinger's Cat

I originally started out on Dr. T's Software on my Atari 1040STE (Because Built in midi ports),

I loved Dr. T's, but first ran it on an Amiga 500, then on an Amiga 2000.

then switched to PC, and decided to go with Cakewalk,

When I got my first DOS version of Cakewalk, I ran it on an i386 bridgeboard in my Amiga 2000.

then Cakewalk blew up into SONAR, with a butt-ton of DX Synths that I loaded up, listened to each preset on each Synth, and promptly forgot about and never touched again, because none of those synths had any sounds I was interested in, unless I wanted some "Glass Space Bells", "Shakuhachi" and "Wooden Kalimba" in my (At the time) Rock Songs.

By the time I bought the first version of Sonar I had a real 486 PC machine, and was no longer running Windows stuff on my bridgeboard on the Amiga 2000. The first couple of versions of Sonar actually included premium plugins that I had planned to buy anyway, so it made real good economical sense to buy the Sonar upgrade and get the full, unrestricted versions of those plugins. I was even still using some of them when I switched to REAPER.

The later upgrades to Sonar included more and more crap though, and it was at Sonar 5 that I jumped ship, because I felt like they were simply filling my drives with tons of crap, just to make it look like I got something for my upgrade fee. Bugs that I had seen pop up over and over, were NOT getting fixed, and that is what turned me into a REAPER user.

[mschnell]

Originally Posted by sekim

. NI and Antares and iLok all burned me by abandoning versions of product license activation.

I in fact decided to buy Reaper and try to do my own software based "Live instrument" setup when NI abandoned "Kore".
-Michael

[LeeKmaiBahlza]

[enroe]

Originally Posted by Glennbo

By the time I bought the first version of Sonar I had a real 486 PC machine, and was no longer running Windows stuff on my bridgeboard on the Amiga 2000. The first couple of versions of Sonar actually included premium plugins that I had planned to buy anyway, so it made real good economical sense to buy the Sonar upgrade and get the full, unrestricted versions of those plugins. I was even still using some of them when I switched to REAPER.

The later upgrades to Sonar included more and more crap though, and it was at Sonar 5 that I jumped ship, because I felt like they were simply filling my drives with tons of crap, just to make it look like I got something for my upgrade fee. Bugs that I had seen pop up over and over, were NOT getting fixed, and that is what turned me into a REAPER user.

Yes, Glennbo,

if we take a step back and look at the history of DAWs, we see that
this was a typical development of the 90s and noughties:

Just as you describe it for Sonar, the three biggest competitors did
the same: Pro Tools, Emagic Logic or Cubase-VST or SX:

Originally Posted by enroe

After the initial versions, the first DAWs got better and better, and quickly
had the "full feature set that is common today". But now the companies
became more and more commercial - there were various buyouts and
changes of ownership - and the pursuit of profit came more to the fore.

Therefore, new versions had to be brought onto the market - and the
marketing people considered how they could make the user buy the new
update palatable. However, since there was little new to offer in terms of
core features and the graphic interfaces were already well developed, they
took the path of "New VST synths and new VST instruments": The DAW
was then no longer just a DAW, but expanded into a conglomerate of
various VST effects and VST instruments, blown up to some gigabytes of
download size.

The historical development also shows that this development was and
is "market-specific" - and that it has little to do with the prices
for the DAWs themselves.

[Anthony Quinn]

My first desktop DAW was Logic roughly 12 years ago, and I made the mistake of spending too much time with its synths and plugins. I can only imagine how much further ahead in experience I'd be if I had focused on third party instruments from the beginning and making presets for them which would have been portable between DAWs, so that when I moved on to REAPER and Bitwig, I'd already have had a running start. I don't even use REAPER's plugins aside from a single ReaLimit on the master. I now want to have my favorite sounds and presets available in any DAW I'm using.

And so now I am always looking to avoid vendor lock-in, which as others have mentioned extends to cross-platform compatibility between Mac, Windows, and Linux, but also to only using third party plugins that can be offline installed with serial or keyfile, since everything else forces me to make a compromise on the dev's behalf which usually causes loss of stability. For example, I own licenses to 3 plugins from one dev which require challenge/response for offline installation, and when I tried that, the response key would still timeout every two to three months and I'd have to find the response file on my computer and drag it back on, which is not what I intended to spend my time doing when I was inspired to sit down to the computer and opened my project which had these plugins in it.

And building an offline system was the greatest thing I did because nothing hangs or slows down from a hundred third party plugins randomly trying to call home and have a long conversation about how to drag my system performance down during my inspirational endeavor to finally work on making music.

Anyways, I wish I had this mentality from the beginning because eliminating that tomfoolery is a massive boost to creativity and for building positive experience over time while simultaneously giving peace of mind from having maximum portability.

So, my answer to the question is that it's not something most REAPER users are wanting, for many practical reasons.

[DarrenH]

It would be like a DAW coming bundled with a guitar. No guarantee someone would like that particular guitar enough to justify the additional cost of the DAW.

[King Stupid]

Originally Posted by DarrenH

It would be like a DAW coming bundled with a guitar. No guarantee someone would like that particular guitar enough to justify the additional cost of the DAW.

Or like buying a 16 track reel to reel and getting a kazoo, a tuba, a banjo and didgeridoo bundled.

[Unleash The Fury]

Not all of us are picky/hard to please with instruments

I just bought a $10 harpsichord vst instrument and I'm happy than a pig in shit. It sounds glorious in my metal song.

If Reaper came with instruments I'm sure they'd all be more than usable and worth whatever price it would be. Hopefully if it did come with any bloatware, it would be optional to install.

[Barrail]

It's like saying, why isn't there any food in my new fridge? Everyone fills their fridge with what they want.
I don't want my new fridge filled with stuff I don't like. Beet or cream sprinkled with cinnamon, for example.
I don't like cinnamon cream

[Blastrio]

I think that's the way it should be. When I buy a fridge that's worth 1000$, I don't want the seller to sell it to me for 1500$ because they already filled it with food that they chose. I want to fill it with my own.
When you're buying any other DAW, you're paying for instruments / samples that you might not want.
Although nowadays most DAWs have basic barebones versions that cost a lot less than the full ones.
But anyways, I think that's the right way to do it.
Besides there's so much good free stuff nowadays (synths, virtual instruments, FX, samples, etc) that you could perfectly produce some top notch music without paying a penny for any plug instruments. Provided you have the talent and the skills of course.

Besides that, not free, but you can get some amazing stuff for very cheap. Plugin boutique and Audiodeluxe often give away very good free plugins (once a month) if you purchase any plugin at any price. So just go for a 5 or 10$ plug and you get a free one (they gave away Massive for free a few months ago. Old, but still good. Like me I'd like to believe).
Computer Music magazine have a huge bundle of good Synths and FX, most of them feature limited but still very capable. You can get a subscription for about 35$ a year and download all that stuff. Or even get a sub at 15$ for one month on a magazine site like Pocketmags and download the whole shebang, plus tons of samples from previous issues if that's your thing (you'll have access to all the previous issues).
Knobcloud is also a nice place to buy plugs for heavily discounted prices (they're legit. I've bought and sold a few there. Just bought Khs Slice EQ for 10$, regular price 79$).

You know what? Get PhasePlant and MSoundFactory whenever there's a half price sale (they're not cheap, but on sale, worth every penny), and you're pretty much set in terms of synths. Take some time to learn them and you might not need any other synth. Maybe Tone 2 Warlock. I think it's 60$ regular price and it's amazing.
There's never been a better time to be a musician.
Except of course 10 years from now, when we'll be able to just plug a cable on our temple and transfer the whole song we're hearing in our head to the computer when we wake up. All mixed and mastered.
Until then, Reaper is your non-bloated friend.

[luanprins]

The non-emphasis on selling itself with plugin bundles is part of what drew me to REAPER. I needed a DAW to be a DAW, and if I ever thought "what if I used x instrument", I'd just find that instrument. It really allows me to build up the tool set in an organic way and not have a bunch of stuff installed on my machine that I'm unlikely to use or in fact may even distract from productivity. The plugins that are there, though, are nice, especially the utility-based ones like the compressors and EQ. Maybe the devs know that some users will be drawn to a more spartan start. In its way, it's less overwhelming than other DAWs, because it's not like, "here's the thousands of things that aren't a DAW that you also definitely need as a new DAW user." Which to me just seemed like clutter in comparison: I didn't know enough to say I'd even use half of it / would rather build up a preferred tool set.

[Unleash The Fury]

OK but what if all the bells and whistles that it came with, were all stuff that you'd actually use?

To use the fridge example, it's like buying a fridge, and all it does is keep the box at a cool temperature so your food doesnt spoil. Well, it doesn't come with a light; you have headlamps and flashlights now that are certainly better quality and project more lumens anyways.

It doesn't come with a water dispenser; you have a sink, and perhaps bottled water stored in your pantry.

It doesn't come with an ice dispenser because they have bags of ice at the gas station dontcha know? 😊

To reiterate, if Reaper came with an instrument vst package, that was an optional, additional purchase, then why not?

[luanprins]

Originally Posted by Unleash The Fury

To reiterate, if Reaper came with an instrument vst package, that was an optional, additional purchase, then why not?

One of the devs of REAPER, namely Schwa, is the original creator of an awesome synth called Olga, though it's not a "comes with REAPER" thing, there's a discounted licence for personal use in REAPER. https://www.stillwellaudio.com/plugins/olga/

There's a few more things originally by Schwa on that site, really cool stuff.

To me it makes sense. If they could know exactly what bells and whistles I wanted, and magically include it, that would be great, but really for something like virtual instruments, different REAPER users have vastly different preferences, I don't think that would be possible without also including a slew of things I didn't want.

[Charango]

Originally Posted by Blastrio

...When I buy a fridge that's worth 1000$, I don't want the seller to sell it to me for 1500$ because they already filled it with food that they chose. I want to fill it with my own.

Hi,
I don't think that's a realistic analogy in this case.

I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say:

"What if the $1,000 fridge came with samples of different kinds of food that you may never have tried before, like sushi and other exotic foodstuff. They're saying "hey try out this cool new stuff!" If you don't like it, that's ok, just give it to someone else who may need it.

Now, I'm not exactly sure, so don't quote me on this, but I would guess the plugin makers PAY the DAW firms to "advertise" their products in bundles like this. That would be normal business practice. That way, the DAW maker wouldn't have to charge so much for its product and thus attract more clients, or keep it at its original price but would be offering a "bonus" with these plugins still with the goal of client loyalty.

[mschnell]

Originally Posted by Barrail

It's like saying, why isn't there any food in my new fridge?

THAT !!!

[Softsynth]

Originally Posted by Barrail View Post
It's like saying, why isn't there any food in my new fridge?

Excellent analogy!

Originally Posted by mschnell

THAT !!!

Completely agree.
It's like someone coming from an alternate reality where fridges are normally stuffed with lots of different useless to middling taster packs that couldn't make a decent meal for anybody then complaining that you wouldn't know where to start to get food for a fridge if you hadn't seen food in one in the first place!

In such a scenario I would be worried about the capabilities and imagination of the chef if they only relied on the crap that came inside a commercial fridge as the source of their inspiration for their meals!

[bigtop]

There are so many free versions of synths that Kenny Gioia has an entire “chapter” devoted to them on his (most excellent: thanks dear Kenny) video tutorials. I mean how many sounds do we need?

I have paid for Omnisphere (which I love but on which I have spent days grazing on the never ending settings to create many pleasing noises), Native Instruments Komplete (same again), and Xpand 2 (which actually came free with my MIDI controller).

Back when I used a Korg D1600, I bought a Roland XV2020. I spent days using the “editor” to create glorious sounds but when Roland ceased support (about 120 years ago), the unit fell into disuse because programming sounds from the front was not easy to say the least. Then about a year ago I happened upon “Patchbase” (https://coffeeshopped.com/patch-base) and my trusty XV2020 leaped back into use.

All in all I have more sounds available than any human could possibly use.

The moral of my long winded story is that these choices were all mine and not dumped on me by my DAW. REAPER was my replacement for Protools which caused my laptop to throw up most times I tried to use it.

If I was starting now, I’d use REAPER and just content myself with the free sounds out there which Kenny recommends. But then again if I was starting out, well, I’d do a ton of stuff differently!