Going all freeware (well... almost)

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by bladerunner

have you seen this synth?

http://www.progressaudio.co.uk/

it has a very automation-like synthesis method. interesting stuff.

You can also look at massTurboTar; it uses another way to do it but has about the same result (morphing all controls over time) but probably gives yet another sound palette. It can do things close to vector-synthesis and wave-sequencing.

https://www.youtube.com/results?searc...sturbotar&aq=f

[wwjd]

this is a great thread and I am referring people to it now also.

Nothing worse than just starting out and having to wade through hundreds of pages of synths wondering which ones suck and which ones are rare gold.
This guy is posting some of the best of the best, and I agree with his picks.

this is the only list of it's kind that I have found. Biased or not, it's the only one and it is really good. Better to have 3 good synths, than 50 you don't know or ever use. It can be overwhelming. This guy's list sorts it down to the best of the best. he left some off I like, but I respect that because the parameters are 3 to 5 MAXIMUM listed.... not 50. Plug them in, pull them up and make music, not spend forever sorting VSTs

Keep it going man! Great job!

I keep checking back to see if you updated. I did notice ODO links are down - maybe it's back up now, but haven't checked lately
Nope. ODO still down. for a few weeks now. Wonder if it will ever come back?

[bladerunner]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

You can also look at massTurboTar; it uses another way to do it but has about the same result (morphing all controls over time) but probably gives yet another sound palette. It can do things close to vector-synthesis and wave-sequencing.

https://www.youtube.com/results?searc...sturbotar&aq=f

theres some great ideas there. i like the fact that you can blend between modulation sources rather than just select them individually. good visual feedback as well. might have to download and have a play with that one...

[brainwreck]

hey technogremlin, if you haven't already, check out watkat (tape delay sim). it's not a versatile effect, but it has a lot of character for being a plugin. http://www.genuinesoundware.com/?a=showproduct&b=36

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by wwjd

I keep checking back to see if you updated. I did notice ODO links are down - maybe it's back up now, but haven't checked lately
Nope. ODO still down. for a few weeks now. Wonder if it will ever come back?

Thanks for your support

I noticed Odo's site being down. Seems he's working on an new site. We have to wait and see I guess

Originally Posted by bladerunner

theres some great ideas there. i like the fact that you can blend between modulation sources rather than just select them individually. good visual feedback as well. might have to download and have a play with that one...

Yeah, had put it aside myself but the possibilities of that thing are pulling me back to it. Maybe coming weekend I can spend some time with it.

Originally Posted by brainwreck

hey technogremlin, if you haven't already, check out watkat (tape delay sim). it's not a versatile effect, but it has a lot of character for being a plugin. http://www.genuinesoundware.com/?a=showproduct&b=36

Not sure about this one. It seems they did a lot of work to emulate the problems of the original, not something I look for in a plugin. I like the sound of old gear but when they state:

it gets hot and the background hum gets worse in time... you should turn it off every now and then; the tape is never completely erased, and the capstan motor flutters...and it gets worse if you touch it while it's spinning; heads tend to get dirty very soon, infact you should clean them often. This is true for the actual hardware unit, and for the digital simulation as well!

... then for me they are focussing on the wrong part of the emulation.

[brainwreck]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

Not sure about this one. It seems they did a lot of work to emulate the problems of the original, not something I look for in a plugin. I like the sound of old gear but when they state:

... then for me they are focussing on the wrong part of the emulation.

i didn't pay any attention to all that hoo ha. i usually flip off the interface, get something nice sounding, and maybe play with the hack control a bit (my favorite part of that plug). it's definitely not a plugin that i use a lot for recording, but i do play with it quite a bit.

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by brainwreck

it's definitely not a plugin that i use a lot for recording, but i do play with it quite a bit.

Well, I'll take it for a spin this weekend, see if it has some unique things up it's sleeve

[bladerunner]

i have finally got my own plugins down to exactly what i personally need to make music. this is my 'ultimate free plugin' setup and it really is surprisingly minimal. i have ditched every single payware plug i have and i have also ditched anything that needs an installer - these are all simple dll's that you just place in your plugin folder. simple. this means that if i so wish i will have a completely portable studio i can place on a usb stick, which of course, is cooool!!! no nagging copy protection or placing of files god knows where on my computer.


SYNTH/SOUND SOURCES: Oatmeal. this will also be the source of all my drum/percussion sounds. i have been using this fantastic synth on and off for the past few years and i can confidently say that it is capable of synthesising all of the kinds of percussion i use. it also has a wicked dirty sounding reverb that can be made to sound quite spring-like with the right tweaking (i do love spring reverbs). bass, pads, textures, atmospheres, fx, leads, strings... it's going to do it all...

the major thing i have ditched here is shortcircuit. i looked over my (unfinished!) projects from the last year or so and found that i use audio far more than i trigger it from a sampler so out it goes... if i do need a sampler there is always reasamplomatic.

SOUND MANGLERS: KTGranulator and Charsiesis. these are two of my very favourite sound mangling plugins (i also love ohmforces frohmage but it has been ditched as it uses an installer...). i am quite a fan of granular style synthesis (although i think it is best heard in moderation) so these take care of all my granular fetishes. all other sound mangling is going to be provided purely by synthesis within oatmeal.

the rest of the plugs reads thus:

Spitfish, Blockfish, Floorfish, Dominion and Endorphin. made by digitalfishphones, these plugs are just fantastic sounding and super stable.

P1-Tapedelay. my favourite free tape delay emulation. every parameter can be automated without any pops, glitches or crackles which is essential for a tape delay emulation.

Barricade limiter, PC2 compressor, Ferox, Timemachine, Omniverb. All made by Jeroen Breebaart. again these sound fantastic and are super stable. they are also very low on resources which has been a major consideration when choosing my ultimate free plugin set up.

Voxengo MSED and Overtone GEQ. i like to play around mid and side channels to achieve interesting imaging now and again and overtone eq is a very nice colour eq. voxengo plugs are super stable too.

Ambience reverb. needs no introduction... the best free reverb out there imo. can be a bit resource hungry but it's well worth it.

TLS Pocket Limiter. simply a great limiter.


and thats it for 3rd party plugins! i will, of course, be using a fair amount of reaplugs notably reaeq, reacomp, reafir and readelay (readelay has become a bit of a secret weapon of mine for sound mangling lately - i might post some mp3's soon of the results i have getting out of it...).

i am very much a minimalist when it comes to a lot of things. i like to restrict myself and then get the most out of the tools i have. this list really is the culmination of about 3 years of downloading, testing, comparing and playing around with software. now, AFAICT these are all super stable, super sounding, super plugins! i have purposely avoided anything synthedit/synthmaker as although there are a few gems out there, they are ultimately built using a buggy platform to start with and stability is a key issue for me. i really, really hate my workflow interrupted by stability issues! aaaagh!

of course, all of this is pretty subjective but i just wanted to give you all the benefit of 3 years worth of sifting through plugins! it is also worth mentioning that this list is very much tailored to the kind of music i make - electronica/techno of the more experimental kind and i tend to bounce everything to audio so that i can further cut, splice, mangle, rearrange and generally fuck up.

i probably wouldn't have embarked on this mission quite so head on if it wasn't for your thread Technogremlin go freeware!

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by bladerunner

i probably wouldn't have embarked on this mission quite so head on if it wasn't for your thread Technogremlin go freeware!

Wow Bladerunner, really great to see where you have ended up. I'll admit that my list is already quite a bit bigger then yours (I'm still a gearslut ). But I know most of the stuff you're listing here and I could go quite the distance with your selection as well. Great choices

Now I'm not doing 'your' music genre exactly although my 'electronica' might come close (basically oldskool Tangerin Dream inspired stuff). So I'm looking forward to hear some tracks you do with this setup. And maybe some day we can do a collaboration on something


Now if I can find the time this weekend I will add some stuff to my own list

[mabian]

About breebart freebies, I agree that's great stuff but very under documented imo. Is there something around that explains the various controls?

About spitfish, I found a clever use of reacomp internal sidechain much more effective; I also liked very much dominion, but it can be very CPU hungry sadly.

What would you choose then for something like flanger/chorus etc.?

Maybe Kjaerhus Classics?

Thanks,
Mario

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by mabian

What would you choose then for something like flanger/chorus etc.?

I was missing that too But I think Bladerunner don't need that as he's now building his complete patches on Oatmeal that has a great Chorus build-in.

... or maybe he is waiting for me to make a selection, as chorus/flangers/phasers is what I'm up to next to test and select

As for the DigitalFishPhones stuff; my absolute favorite is still Endorphin (it's my runner-up to replace VintageWarmer).

[bladerunner]

Originally Posted by mabian

What would you choose then for something like flanger/chorus etc.?

Maybe Kjaerhus Classics?

Thanks,
Mario

good question. i actually spent quite some time auditioning the various modulation effects out there and i personally liked blue cat audios the best. this was before realising that i hardly use modulation effects myself, i just thought i should have some should i need them... but then deleted them after making a few decisions (see above post) but anyhoo...

http://www.bluecataudio.com/Products..._FreewarePack/

they are all in the free plugin pack linked above. to my ears they sounded much better than the kjaerhus classic's and the TAL freebies.

[mabian]

Right, I know the Bluecat bundle but didn't like modulation effects, pity there's no stereo phaser - only payware.

But I also cannot find a better free chorus than Betabugs MonstaChorus, even if it's sadly a bit unstable sometimes.

Also take a look at CamelCrush for serious sound distortion mangling - but probably it has an installer...

Thanks,
Mario

[bladerunner]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

Wow Bladerunner, really great to see where you have ended up. I'll admit that my list is already quite a bit bigger then yours (I'm still a gearslut ). But I know most of the stuff you're listing here and I could go quite the distance with your selection as well. Great choices

thanks and cheers for an inspirational thread Technogremlin! i'm actually really looking forward to getting stuck into some sound design/tune writing with my chosen sonic weapons. i have always worked best under restrictions - indeed i think an artist needs them to a certain extent.

Originally Posted by technogremlin

Now I'm not doing 'your' music genre exactly although my 'electronica' might come close (basically oldskool Tangerin Dream inspired stuff). So I'm looking forward to hear some tracks you do with this setup. And maybe some day we can do a collaboration on something

i do love tangerine dream and i do (self!) indulge in delay laden arpeggio's now and again great fun. they are definitely a big influence although my stuff doesn't sound much like them. a collab sounds cool

i must admit, i may be adding endorphin and dominion to the list (and that will truly be IT!). a lot of my recent sound sculpting experiments is the result of compressors and sound/transient shaping - have you ever heard any autechre from the last 6 or so years? they use compression in such a beautiful way.

[bladerunner]

Originally Posted by mabian

Right, I know the Bluecat bundle but didn't like modulation effects, pity there's no stereo phaser - only payware.

But I also cannot find a better free chorus than Betabugs MonstaChorus, even if it's sadly a bit unstable sometimes.

Also take a look at CamelCrush for serious sound distortion mangling - but probably it has an installer...

Thanks,
Mario

hi Mario i used to use camel crusher a lot but i haven't had much use for distortion lately. it is a great plug though. i also used to find the betabugs stuff quite unstable. i was quite a fan of their limiter but then i discovered the TLS pocket limiter... just brilliant.

one of the things i liked about the bluecat bundle was that parameters will very smoothly automate (because i usually automate pretty much everything ). this really isn't the case with any of the other free ones i auditioned. it depends what you want to use them for i guess.

[bladerunner]

dominion and endorphin added to the post above. how could i forget these beauties! now that's truly it...

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by mabian

But I also cannot find a better free chorus than Betabugs MonstaChorus, even if it's sadly a bit unstable sometimes.

Also take a look at CamelCrush for serious sound distortion mangling - but probably it has an installer...

I'll take a look at MonstaChorus, downloaded their complete free pack some time ago. Camelcrush is already lined up for the upcoming distortion shootout

Originally Posted by bladerunner

i do love tangerine dream and i do (self!) indulge in delay laden arpeggio's now and again great fun. they are definitely a big influence although my stuff doesn't sound much like them. a collab sounds cool

Aaahh, great. I see a collab coming somewhere in the (near) future

Originally Posted by bladerunner

have you ever heard any autechre from the last 6 or so years? they use compression in such a beautiful way.

I'm listening to an online ambient station on a daily basis and there is quite some Autechre being played there, great stuff indeed.

Originally Posted by bladerunner

dominion and endorphin added to the post above. how could i forget these beauties! now that's truly it...

We'll see about that

[ugh]

Originally Posted by bladerunner

good question. i actually spent quite some time auditioning the various modulation effects out there and i personally liked blue cat audios the best. this was before realising that i hardly use modulation effects myself, i just thought i should have some should i need them... but then deleted them after making a few decisions (see above post) but anyhoo...

http://www.bluecataudio.com/Products..._FreewarePack/

they are all in the free plugin pack linked above. to my ears they sounded much better than the kjaerhus classic's and the TAL freebies.

+1

I use the Blue Cat Chorus mostly.
I think all free Kjaerhus stuff has great features but it sounds very muffled (hope that's the right word). I don't understand why it is still advertised so much these days. The TAL-60 Chorus has a nice sound but very limited options.

[mabian]

ugh, can you try monstachorus and tell me what you think about it?

Thanks,
Mario

[technogremlin]

Testing Chorus-FX NOW: MonstaChorus, Blue Cat Chorus, TAL-chorus-60, CloneEnsemble Bass Chorus, LFX1310, SH-1 Chorus, Acrobatics Vento.

[mabian]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

Testing Chorus-FX NOW: MonstaChorus, Blue Cat Chorus, TAL-chorus-60, CloneEnsemble Bass Chorus, LFX1310, SH-1 Chorus, Acrobatics Vento.

No Kjaerhus Classic Chorus ? Not that bad imho...

- Mario

[technogremlin]

- BassChorus: VERY big and fat sound, nice highs very 'breathy' sound, light on CPU
- TAL-chorus-60: a bit dull, limited sound tmo, medium CPU
- Vento: sounds nice, many controls and does tremolo as well, medium CPU
- Blue Cat chorus: fairly good but not outstanding although light on CPU
- SH-1 chorus: again a good one with clean sound, many options and light on CPU
- MonstaChorus: very good sound but also quite heavy on CPU (uses most of all choruses mentioned here)
- LFX1310: somewhat special because you can stack 3 chorus-units with different setting and do some impressive chorusing that way with still a fairly low hit on CPU.

So I'm going with BassChorus for when I need to seriously fatten something up; it has the biggest sound of them all. And LFX1310 for everything else chorus

MonstaChorus also sounds very good but with BassChorus and LFX1310 it doesn't bring anything additional to the table.

As always ymmv

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by mabian

No Kjaerhus Classic Chorus ? Not that bad imho...

How could I forget to load that one up, duh

I actually like the Kjaerhus plugs, I'll keep the Kjaerhus chorus as well because it has some very nice presets and can be tweaked a bit more then others. Not bad on the CPU as well.

Thanks for pointing this glaring omission out to me


EDIT: my selection with download links added to the list in the OP

[mabian]

Time to rediscover BassChorus then.

This thread should be made sticky!

- Mario

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by mabian

This thread should be made sticky!

+1 .... but I'm biased

[keys]

Originally Posted by mabian

This thread should be made sticky!

+1!

This thread has got me sorting out my own VST library - all free already, but HUGE! I have now had a good play with Oatmeal and Synth1 and they will certainly be staying.

I am also on the lookout for a free orchestra set - not easy to find - any ideas?
Keys

[EvilDragon]

Originally Posted by keys

I am also on the lookout for a free orchestra set - not easy to find - any ideas?
Keys

Actually, that's the thing you're still better off buying. Really. That's the only thing that guarantees topnotch quality of recordings.

I'd suggest saving up for Vienna Special Edition Bundle Full (Standard + Extended). It is definitely worth the money!

[keys]

Originally Posted by EvilDragon

Actually, that's the thing you're still better off buying. Really. That's the only thing that guarantees topnotch quality of recordings.

I'd suggest saving up for Vienna Special Edition Bundle Full (Standard + Extended). It is definitely worth the money!

Thanks ED, but on my budget I can only afford 1 of their instruments )
Keys.

[shakey.oberon]

yeah samples are notoriously difficult to get for free, because they take so much time, money and skill to create, especially something like an orchestra. If you intend to do that kind of thing you need to buy a pack

[shakey.oberon]

Imagine sampling an entire orchestra, and doing it well. You aren't gonna ge tthat for free

[EvilDragon]

Originally Posted by keys

Thanks ED, but on my budget I can only afford 1 of their instruments )
Keys.

That's why I said "save up". Really, if you intend to get anything from Vienna, the suggested thing (at 1550€, or $2085) is the one you should shoot for. If you just get Special Edition Standard, there will be some articulations missing and scope of sound possibilities is much smaller. So, do yourself a favor and save up for the whole nine yards, both Standard and Plus, and BOTH extended!

I know I am

[ricdude]

for what you get. Not a perfect orchestra simulation, and you'll have to automate the crap out of it to get it to sound better than a cheap soundfont, but a good deal. I got mine on year-end clearance for about half off retail, so it was an even better deal for me.

[technogremlin]

I do have some orchestral soundfonts, but..... it is possible to do very impressive orchestral stuff WITHOUT samples: listen to some old Synergy (Larry Fast) tracks and be amazed what he did with just a few analog synths

The power is in the arrangement

EDIT: something to listen to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa42vQtvgIw

[ugh]

Originally Posted by mabian

ugh, can you try monstachorus and tell me what you think about it?

Thanks,
Mario

I'll have a look at it, might take while though.

Is this BassChrous usable for something besides Basses ? I mostly use Chorus on Vocals and Synthpads.

[keys]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

I do have some orchestral soundfonts, but..... it is possible to do very impressive orchestral stuff WITHOUT samples: listen to some old Synergy (Larry Fast) tracks and be amazed what he did with just a few analog synths

The power is in the arrangement

EDIT: something to listen to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa42vQtvgIw

Thanks for the feedback, yes I will have a look into doing it with synth patches. I suppose what I'm after is not an accurate orchestra but general acoustic sounds similar to stuff by The Enid in the 70's and early 80's. I guess they used a lot of analog sytnhs and some kind of digital hybrid - does 'RMK' keyboard ring any bells with folks? I've probably got the name a bit wrong.

[JHughes]

You could try the free East West Orchestra. I've downloaded it but haven't tried it yet. There are threads about it on this forum.
http://www.soundsonline.com/free-orchestra

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by ugh

Is this BassChrous usable for something besides Basses ? I mostly use Chorus on Vocals and Synthpads.

You can use it on anything as it is just a very versatile chorus. The guy who made it is a specialist in making sounds big; just listen to what his CloneEnsemble plugin is capable of (very impressive stuff there). As far as I know this BassChorus just has additional functionality so it will also sound good on bass-tones.

Originally Posted by keys

I suppose what I'm after is not an accurate orchestra but general acoustic sounds similar to stuff by The Enid in the 70's and early 80's. I guess they used a lot of analog sytnhs and some kind of digital hybrid - does 'RMK' keyboard ring any bells with folks? I've probably got the name a bit wrong.

As far as I know (I checked the gearlist on the albums) he used only analog synths, no digital stuff then. Here's info of his gear around that period that he used on tour with Peter Gabriel: http://synergy-emusic.com/petergabriel.html

[arkima]

Thanks technogremlin, this is a fantastic thread

What everyone has posted here has been helping me clean up my plug-ins and try out some real gems.

BTW - Not sure if Melda Productions free FX vst's have been mentioned but from what Iv'e used they seem pretty damn good so far. Listed as free on thier website though they seem to be donationware if I got it right?

http://www.meldaproduction.com/freevstplugins/

There's a: Compressor,EQ,Ring Modulator, Flanger, Analyzer,Phaser, Limiter,Wave Shaper, Auto Pan, Vibrato, Tremolo, Stereo Expander... nice ui too..

Originally Posted by JHughes

You could try the free East West Orchestra. I've downloaded it but haven't tried it yet. There are threads about it on this forum.
http://www.soundsonline.com/free-orchestra

Thanks heaps JHughes! - done the survey & gonna download tonight..

Anyway I've gotta read over this thread - Cheers everyone!

[mabian]

Originally Posted by arkima

Thanks technogremlin, this is a fantastic thread

BTW - Not sure if Melda Productions free FX vst's have been mentioned but from what Iv'e used they seem pretty damn good so far. Listed as free on thier website though they seem to be donationware if I got it right?

http://www.meldaproduction.com/freevstplugins/

There's a: Compressor,EQ,Ring Modulator, Flanger, Analyzer,Phaser, Limiter,Wave Shaper, Auto Pan, Vibrato, Tremolo, Stereo Expander... nice ui too..

Yeah, good stuff; I don't think they're strictly donationware; paying a small fee (around 22 Euro) give you additional features like theming.

You can also download them as a suite now (it was reserved to donors before...)

- Mario

[arkima]

Originally Posted by mabian

Yeah, good stuff; I don't think they're strictly donationware; paying a small free (around 22 Euro) give you additional features like theming.

You can also download them as a suite now (it was reserved to donors before...)

- Mario

Cool -cheers Mario They do seem impressive from the options there - I'd look into that if I fall head over heals for any of them.. The theming options (re: donation) seem top notch for customizing! But so far I really like the sound shaping qualities they have - kind of fun too on the experimenting!

(-Ari)