VSTI Wish List . . . Please Help!

[Tommy Zai]

Hi! I have a new Apple MacBook, Tascam interface, Logic Express, some Fender instruments, and my lovely voice. I'm into electronic/melodic/moody-eerie-haunting stuff, but with strong hooks. Imagine a cross between Portishead, Moby, NIN, Death Cab for Cutie, Celtic, World, U2, and other nameless new artists on my alternative rock station, with a little Michael Buble thrown in.

To the point . . .

I have to adjust my VSTI (I hope to use only Audio Units) wish-list and need your help.

What do I keep on the list?
What do I cut off the list?
What do I add to the list?

I'm sure many of these instruments overlap in features and some must be better than others for some reason. I need to cut back to make it manageable so I can master some good ones instead of dabbling with a zillion plugins. Also, I don't think I have enough money under my mattress to buy this whole lot. Royalties aren't what they used to be! LOL

HELP!!! PLEASE!!! What would you keep/remove/add if you were me?

4Front Bass 4Front Technologies
4Front E-Piano 4Front Technologies
4Front Piano 4Front Technologies
4Front Rhode 4Front Technologies 2
TruePianos 4Front Technologies
DLSMusicDevice Apple
Analog Factory Arturia
ARP2 V Arturia
CS-V Arturia
minimoog V Arturia
Moog Modular V 2 Arturia
Tattoo Audio Damage
ABL2 AudioRealism
ADM AudioRealism
Helix Audjoo
Cheeze Machine Big Tick
Ticky Clav Big Tick
Rapture Cakewalk
SI-Bass Guitar Cakewalk
SI-Drum Kit Cakewalk
SI-Electric Piano Cakewalk
SI-String Section Cakewalk
Alchemy Camel Audio
Turntablist Destroy FX
GURU FXpansion
impOSCar GForce
MTron GForce
Oddity GForce
EG GSi
MrTramp2 GSi 2
VB GSi
ZD GSi
Morphine Image-Line
PoiZone Image-Line
Sakura Image-Line
Sawer Image-Line
Toxic Biohazard Image-Line
iDrum iZotope
pHATmatik PRO iZotope
Sylenth LennarDigital
Alpha LinPlug
Octopus LinPlug
Organ LinPlug
SmartMusicSoftSynth MakeMusic
Combo Model V Martinic
hypercyclic mucoder
Absynth NI
Battery NI
Elektrik Piano NI
FM NI
Kontakt 4 NI
Massive NI
BassStation Novation
BassStation Stereo Novation
Symptohm Ohm Force
SymptohmPE Ohm Force
Vanguard reFX
Albino Rob Papen
Blue Rob Papen
Predator Rob Papen
SubBoomBass Rob Papen
Stylus RMX Spectrasonics
Thesys Sugar Bytes
Unique Sugar Bytes
Dune Synapse
TAL NoiseMaker Plugin TAL-Togu Audio Line
TAL-BassLine-AU TAL-Togu Audio Line
TAL-U-No-2-AU TAL-Togu Audio Line
KickMaker Teragon Audio
ACE u-he
TripleCheese u-he
Zebra2 u-he
Zebralette u-he
SURGE Vember Audio
TruePianos VST

[Tommy Zai]

I'm in a world of confusion. Please help me make sense of it all. So many choices.

[Muied Lumens]

Get Camel Audio Alchemy and learn it well.

[Tommy Zai]

I had a chance to play with a copy of Alchemy for a few weeks. I liked it very much, but had difficulty because I didn't know if I should screw on my SYNTH head or SAMPLER head. Also, it saved huge audio files like a sampler . . . lots of space. I think it's more a sampler that looks like a synth.

[Winterbound]

[Tommy Zai]

Thanks Guys,
I will certainly get Alchemy, but I found the same dilemma after my research . . . sampler or synth? I think they should have just made it a sampler that synthesizer and gone head to head with Kontakt. The fact that the library will end up over a 100gig by the time I work it and create sounds . . . that's a drawback. Still, it's powerful. There is something nice, however, about a plugin that doesn't take up any space . . . just get the sounds from within. I find Omnisphere and the likes also problematic . . . requiring a zillion gig.
I know myself musically . . . I need a simple powerful set-up that won't get in the way of my creating. I am already caught up in the assortment at this newfound candy-store . . . frozen. I appreciate the thawing. Any other words are very welcome!!!

Hey, what's the best was to go with a drum sequencer/mangler? That's another ball of confusion.

[EdisonRex]

Well, I have Omnisphere and it works really well for me. But it's not for everyone, I agree.


And yeah if you haven't got 4 gig in your macbook, save up for that first, and make it 8 while you are at it. You won't regret it and it'll be harder to do later as in a couple years that memory won't be common.

I have the Arturia 2600V and I use it in quite a few places, but it really doesn't sound like a 2600. It's still a pretty cool plugin and has some fine features. But I think most of the Arturia monosynths/modulars sound much the same.

I have TAL Bassline too. It's not a bad monosynth and it does fairly nice wet bass. It's not as nice as my SE-1X or Voyager, but it does a respectable job.

I have some other things but they're not on your list. And your list is really huge... it's like trying to buy a big studio and cram it onto your macbook. You can cram a lot of components for a studio onto a macbook but you might not need as much as you think.

Not knowing anything about what your music actually sounds like (hint: linkage appropriate here) also doesn't say how any of these things will work for you. It's an eclectic list.

[Tommy Zai]

Simple and Powerful.
I want to be able to create ambient backgrounds with a catchy groove and mysterious vocals. I guess if you imagine a cross between Portishead, Death Cab for Cutie, and some world music . . . that would be close. Spacious, with catchy vocals and cute licks . . . not a zillion instruments going on . . . tasteful and artsy.

I would feel great if I had:

Great Sampler . . . Kontakt is great for real sounds, but Battery seems better for Drums and Alchemy seems great for atmospherics. I'm stuck here already. Can't find one that does it all well.

Drum sequencer/mangler . . . YIKES!!! what a mess out there. Battery is just a sampler that messes with the samples. Can't sequence. So . . . I need Battery + a sequencer or one of the other all-in-ones like Guru, which is next to impossible for me to even see on my screen.

Arpeggiator thingy . . . Thesys?
Some cool FX . . . got them!

10 VSTIs (mixed analogish, hybridish, fm, and experimental-digital)

[Winterbound]

I have quite a lot of plugins that I could recommend to you - I make all Ambient/Dark Ambient/Drone/soundscape/experimental type music so great plugins for Atmospheres is a big thing to me. Since I programme everything and Resample from it I would recommend Kontakt and learning that powerful plugin inside and out. For a Drum sequencer try Desaster Developments Ruction - http://www.d-dev.com/

But really try a youtube search for some of these plugins you can find some nice video overviews by the companies and people who have bought the plugin - this is a great way to see what each plugin is capable of doing.



Darren.

[Tommy Zai]

I will take your advice. Hey, is Desaster Developments Ruction for Mac also?

[DES]

I've had Thesys for a couple of months - great step sequencer program. Has a lot of neat features. I also have the Klee s/w sequencer which is very good too for 'adventurous' sequencing

[Tommy Zai]

[DES]

I'm on PC.

From what I've heard 'round the net Numerology is the one to get for MAC. I've not had a chance to work with it so I can't give you more info on it.

[Tommy Zai]

I just feel the layout and functionality of Numerology is too much. It does more than I would ever need and looks like it. I don't think a sequencer/arp/gate should need much of a manual. Thesys is set up so simply. I keep looking at Numerology because everyone says it's the one to get, but I don't get it!! Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like it would slow up the creative flow, not help it.

[DES]

Do they have a demo for it? If so - download it and try it out. Might be that everything you are seeing is the software with all of its 'bling' showing....

I do know what you mean though...sometimes a good basic 16 step sequencer is enough.

[Tommy Zai]

I don't need all the frills. I just need the thrills. Simple and powerful and fun. For many users . . . they enjoy tinkering like mad scientists, but some of us are trying to get in and get out, creating tunes. .