Going all freeware (well... almost)

[V'ger]

Originally Posted by satyatunes

Reverberate LE is another good reverb with impulse. I'm not sure how better it is than SIR.

I prefer it as it can be run with much lower latency, but it's not freeware so doesn't fit the thread.

Also from Liquidsonic is Filtrate LE, a brilliant EQ, but again not free.

[V'ger]

Also want to give a shout out for ZynAddSubFX which imo has some of the best string/pad sounds of any freeware, but generally good range and low CPU usage.

[Luxi]

Still follow this thread tho.
Great one! Great how you only select the best ones.
Beside I use some other suggestions given here.
My favo is ODsay.
And Reaper is just great, had to say that. :-)

Is there any way to conclude the verbs on page 1 can do better then Mo Verb?
That's cuz I use it a lot now. But maybe it's not listed, cuz it's not a full / free version.

[bladerunner]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

This one is especially for Bladerunner:

The Blooo-synth developer has updated his synth to get rid of the locking-up problem on certain hosts. It works in Orion here now and from messages on KVR it also seems to work in other hosts that gave problems first. So you might check it out again

I'm quite sure you will like it as it is very good sounding (tmo), extremely low on CPU and I think it can be fully automated

http://fullbucket.de/music/vst.html

hi TG or should i say the crimson warlock (i'm do_androids_dream over there btw) i did try the update but the same problem rears its head again within minutes of playing and switching presets. i'm sure the dev will get there eventually. what i got to hear did sound very good to me.

btw. i have departed a long way from this thread now... vaz plus and alpha 3 are both back in the plugin folder as is psp nitro... can't live without 'em!

[bladerunner]

Originally Posted by V'ger

Also want to give a shout out for ZynAddSubFX which imo has some of the best string/pad sounds of any freeware, but generally good range and low CPU usage.

gorgeous synth but sooooooo buggy unfortunately.

[MadMadRiver]

Originally Posted by JHughes

Does LinuxSampler absolutely require an ASIO device? And how do you make it work within Reaper since there's no VST. Thanks...

LinuxSampler currently only supports ASIO on Windows.

This is from the LinuxSampler HOWTO:

The Windows version comes as a self extracting .exe file which will install all the necessary modules to run both the server ( linuxsampler.exe ) and the GUI client. In addition it installs the VST plugin ( LinuxSampler.dll ) in the default VST path (which usually is C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins )

So if you have Reaper set up to scan the C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins folder, you will see LinuxSampler in your VSTi list. Adding LinuxSampler to a track will first start up the LinuxSampler engine and then the Fantasia GUI.

[JHughes]

Cool, thanks.

I did uninstall it though since I was able to convert maestro to sf2.

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by Luxi

But maybe it's not listed, cuz it's not a full / free version.

Yep, only ful freeware is listed. I want to stay away from discussions about how donationware and such are not really freeware (and I concur on that).

Originally Posted by bladerunner

hi TG or should i say the crimson warlock (i'm do_androids_dream over there btw)

Yeah, figured that one out a while ago already (I have several versions of the movie and I do have some PKD stuff on my bookshelves)

CrimsonWarlock is my 'old' nick that I'm still registered under on so many forums. I added my current nick there in my sig because of all the reaperites running around on KVR

Originally Posted by bladerunner

i did try the update but the same problem rears its head again within minutes of playing and switching presets. i'm sure the dev will get there eventually. what i got to hear did sound very good to me.

OK, you might have to wait for the next update then. Maybe post your experience in the Blooo-topic over at KVR. Or I can post there and point him to the Reaper download for testing

Originally Posted by bladerunner

btw. i have departed a long way from this thread now... vaz plus and alpha 3 are both back in the plugin folder as is psp nitro... can't live without 'em!

No problem, your still welcome here although you now have to sit in the other corner

[Luxi]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

Yep, only ful freeware is listed. I want to stay away from discussions about how donationware and such are not really freeware (and I concur on that).

Understood, no discussion need about. :-)

[wakkaman]

hello everybody!

I've been a silent lurker for some time now - this is a great thread; can't wait till technogremlin'll get to compressors - Stumbled upon a very nice little synth (don't think its been mentioned)and decided to chip in!

Pink synth from Signaldust: http://www.signaldust.com/plugins.html

It's really, really simple; at the first glance you probably wouldn't even think of trying it. And yet it sounds really good and has this thing to it - i don't know - perhaps it's somehow musical.. however i tweak it, it just sounds good despite the limitations of its sound shaping facilities!

A charming little synth this is, quite inspiring.

Cheers!

[wakkaman]

Originally Posted by bladerunner

i'm do_androids_dream over there btw

haha, funny!
I think you and me had an exchange of goods at the KVR marketplace.

a small cyberspace this is!

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by wakkaman

can't wait till technogremlin'll get to compressors

I have to admit that I'm still a little terrified to start that particular job

But I do have a nice pile of free compressors, limiters, expanders, etc. collected

Originally Posted by wakkaman

Stumbled upon a very nice little synth (don't think its been mentioned)and decided to chip in!

Pink synth from Signaldust: http://www.signaldust.com/plugins.html

I'll check it out. Maybe it makes it to the runner-up list Some other nice stuff there too, will download that limiter as well

[carbon]

Originally Posted by V'ger

I prefer it as it can be run with much lower latency, but it's not freeware so doesn't fit the thread.

Reverberate LE not freeware?
Aah, I see, it's good to make a donation:

Although you are welcome to download this plug-in for free, if you find it useful please consider a donation of at least £15 (€15, $20USD) or whatever you can afford. Click To Donate

[technogremlin]

OK, this was laying around for a while; Phasers

I didn't try to get each and every free phaser on the planet because there are some usual suspects that are the favorite for one or another. So here are the contestants:

- Kjaerhus Classic Phaser
- SupaPhaser
- TAL-phaser
- CloneEnsemble Bass Phaser
- Sweetboy SH-1 phase sifter
- Blue Cat's Phaser

SupaPhaser is nice but again this one is donationware so I leave it for that. I need to add that it doesn't stand above others the same way that their reverb does.

TAL-phaser has to much ringing (flanging) as does Sweetboy SH-1 phaser. Blue Cat's phaser is versatile but not really my taste, and it can also sound flanger-ish (can be good or bad depending how you look at it).

The Kraerhus phaser sound very musical so that one stays in my list, as well as Bass Chorus; somehow the CloneEnsemble stuff has a whole quality of it's own.

[bladerunner]

Originally Posted by wakkaman

haha, funny!
I think you and me had an exchange of goods at the KVR marketplace.

a small cyberspace this is!

haha! small world indeed! was that discovery, alpha 3 or firebird? (think thats all i bought over there)

[bladerunner]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

CrimsonWarlock is my 'old' nick that I'm still registered under on so many forums. I added my current nick there in my sig because of all the reaperites running around on KVR

awesome name btw. very psychaedelic/prog rock! although it does make me think of rick wakeman in a cape for some reason...

[cerendir]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

The Kraerhus phaser sound very musical so that one stays in my list

Yep, definitely a good choice. I went looking for a phaser plug some year ago or more, I believe I tried several of those you mentioned, but the Kjaerhus one was the only one that sounded and behaved like I felt a traditional phaser should. Admittedly phasers aren't my favorite mod effects but I've owned enough pedals and guitar preamps and multi-fx units to have some idea of what they "should" sound like

[technogremlin]

Darnit, I ran into the post-size limit with the OP. Luckily I had a few posts below it that didn't contain anything useful so I moved the actual list down to my next post after the OP. The runner-ups are also in another post below that and I just added a few big synths that are really good although I don't use them: Elek7tro II, Crystal, Voyager and Atlantis.

Phasers are also in the list now with links

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by bladerunner

awesome name btw. very psychaedelic/prog rock! although it does make me think of rick wakeman in a cape for some reason...

Yep, that's the association I liked for the name. I actually came to it after seeing the movie 'Warlock' with Julian Sands

Used that nick for years on several audio forums and then all of a sudden someone started to register pages on music distro sites under that name. So it was kinda stolen from me. I already had a domain registered for technogremlin so I used that name for new registrations. Funny thing is that it has nothing to do with 'tekno'

Oh well, on KVR I'm still the warlock

Originally Posted by cerendir

Admittedly phasers aren't my favorite mod effects

Same here, but nevertheless an effect that I like to have around for when I need it anyway. I also like that Classic Phaser can sound very subtle.

[wakkaman]

Originally Posted by bladerunner

haha! small world indeed! was that discovery, alpha 3 or firebird? (think thats all i bought over there)

Actually, you traded me your ultra analog for a little of my coin

Originally Posted by technogremlin

OK, this was laying around for a while; Phasers

I would like to add Sonic Lions phaser: http://www.sonic-lion.com/effects/li...scription.html
haven't tested the other phazers, so don't know how it compares, but i do like it!

His Synth is pretty impressive too, by the way.

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by wakkaman

I would like to add Sonic Lions phaser: http://www.sonic-lion.com/effects/li...scription.html
haven't tested the other phazers, so don't know how it compares, but i do like it!

Well, as I said I didn't go hunting for every free phaser on the planet. In the end phasing a a pretty standard effect so if you have one or two good sounding ones it's not really usefull to go on and try a whole bunch of other ones.

I'm sure there are others that sound good or even great as well but I doubt any free phaser will be the next incredible free FX find

Originally Posted by wakkaman

His Synth is pretty impressive too, by the way.

I did like how it looked, lots of options, but had to register to be able to download. Didn't like that so I listened to the demotracks instead. Sorry to say but I didn't hear anything impressive, all sounds are actually pretty cheesy to me. In comparison listen to the demo tracks for the Blooo synth I mentioned here before.

[technogremlin]

Added NastyVCS to the EQ section. It's a full mixer strip of course but it had to go somewhere

[wakkaman]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

I doubt any free phaser will be the next incredible free FX find

Point well taken!

had to register to be able to download. Didn't like that so I listened to the demotracks instead. Sorry to say but I didn't hear anything impressive, all sounds are actually pretty cheesy to me.
In comparison listen to the demo tracks for the Blooo synth I mentioned here before.

hmm I agree, those demos are pretty lame. but should one judge a synth by a couple of demo songs? I mean, for instance; If you were to judge synth1 based on its factory presets, i'm sure you'd never put it on your list.

Or do you hear a distinct difference in the sound quality compared to the blooo, sound design in the demos put aside?

[technogremlin]

I tend to think that a demo uses at least a few sounds that show off what the synth is capable of. But you have a point about the default soundset of Synth1. However, no matter how cheesy the sounds are, I can also hear certain sound qualities like the oscillators and filters. And the demos do give a fair amount of insight into that. The Blooo demos blew me away on that point. It's the same reason why I don't like Crystal; it's an incredibly deep synth that can do very unique stuff, but in the end the oscillators and filter are not doing it for me.

Also, too much controls are putting me off as well. I said before in this topic that Oatmeal is the best compromise between options and usability for me. Somewhat of a gold standard By that same standard I don't get excited about Tal Elec7ro II because aside from it's good sound it is a very simple synth options wise.

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by pseudochromatic

If you feel like trying one more, Nomad Factory's Warmer Phaser is really good (Screenshot via Gersic). It even does rotary fx and has a tube sim to boot. It's the only one I've found useful besides the KJ Classic one.

I'll check it out, didn't know this one was released into the wild. I do have a full Nomad Factory FX-package floating around so I know their stuff (I used to be on their beta team ).

[bladerunner]

Originally Posted by wakkaman

Actually, you traded me your ultra analog for a little of my coin

ah, yes of course . how are you getting on with it?

[hamish]

Hi, thanks for the massive thread technogremlin and others

A few pages back there was a link to 'Inspector' that is bad. The rogernicholsdigital dot com site seems to have been flogged off to the usual suspects.

You can currently get the plug (for FREE of course) here: http://www.kaosaudio.com/roger-nicho...nspector-free/

[wakkaman]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

I tend to think that a demo uses at least a few sounds that show off what the synth is capable of. But you have a point about the default soundset of Synth1. However, no matter how cheesy the sounds are, I can also hear certain sound qualities like the oscillators and filters. And the demos do give a fair amount of insight into that. The Blooo demos blew me away on that point. It's the same reason why I don't like Crystal; it's an incredibly deep synth that can do very unique stuff, but in the end the oscillators and filter are not doing it for me.

Also, too much controls are putting me off as well. I said before in this topic that Oatmeal is the best compromise between options and usability for me. Somewhat of a gold standard By that same standard I don't get excited about Tal Elec7ro II because aside from it's good sound it is a very simple synth options wise.

Yes, what you're saying here definitely makes sense to me; certainly after listening to the Blooo demos.
I find this an interesting subject, i think i'll investigate further and tial those synths side by side. As i haven't got years of experience with synthesizer/or sound design, it's hard for me to discern such subtleties in sound. I just did not develop an ear for that yet, but i'm eager to learn

also, i do wonder to what extent is this matter subjective? I'm sure its not just taste.. there must be some technical aspects that can differentiate bad sound from good sound (of filters and oscillators) - I know that things like: aliasing, sampled waveforms and physical models can define a synths sound quality, but thats where it stops for me.

ah, i guess, thank you for sharing your opinion and knowledge!
i'll be lurking

Originally Posted by bladerunner

ah, yes of course . how are you getting on with it?

well, so far so good i do like the sound of it, its definitely something else. and still, i cant let go of synth1!

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by hamish

A few pages back there was a link to 'Inspector' that is bad. The rogernicholsdigital dot com site seems to have been flogged off to the usual suspects.

You can currently get the plug (for FREE of course) here: http://www.kaosaudio.com/roger-nicho...nspector-free/

Don't know where you saw that bad link, but the link you posted here IS the same link I already had in the list

Originally Posted by wakkaman

also, i do wonder to what extent is this matter subjective? I'm sure its not just taste.. there must be some technical aspects that can differentiate bad sound from good sound (of filters and oscillators) - I know that things like: aliasing, sampled waveforms and physical models can define a synths sound quality, but thats where it stops for me.

I must say that tbh it is largely subjective of course. Taste comes into play obviously. For example I find Crystal sounding very thin but loads of people swear by it, that's why I put it in the runner-up list.

I'm sure that for people, like Bladerunner and myself, having experience with analog hardware synths is part of how we listen to sound. Also, programming sounds yourself teaches a lot of how, for example, the base sound of the oscillator is part of the complete sound. For that matter, I do like synths that do not have loads of build-in FX as they are mostly used to make a basic sounding synth sound better than it is.

[zoid9]

Hey tg,
Adonis 2 crashes Reaper EVERY time I try to load it. Adonis Pro doesn't.Cannot figure out why. I used to have 2 and I cannot remember if this was the reason I got rid of it.

[minimooger]

What do you think about this compressor?

http://www.audiodamage.com/downloads...php?pid=ADF002

[bladerunner]

Originally Posted by wakkaman

well, so far so good i do like the sound of it, its definitely something else. and still, i cant let go of synth1!

i haven't used synth1 in a track for a long time but it does have its place. i find it particularly good for kick drums(!) and other percussive sounds but thats about all i use it for now if at all. it has a very plasticky synthetic sound to my ears - very much like my old korg poly 800. useless for emulating deep growly analogue sounds but highly useful for sweet melody/pad sounds (like those used in trance for instance). great unison capabilities.

[minimooger]

Originally Posted by bladerunner

i haven't used synth1 in a track for a long time but it does have its place. i find it particularly good for kick drums(!) and other percussive sounds but thats about all i use it for now if at all. it has a very plasticky synthetic sound to my ears - very much like my old korg poly 800. useless for emulating deep growly analogue sounds but highly useful for sweet melody/pad sounds (like those used in trance for instance). great unison capabilities.

Syhth1 also good for basses. This new version with the subosc is really tasty for my taste.

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by zoid9

Hey tg,
Adonis 2 crashes Reaper EVERY time I try to load it. Adonis Pro doesn't.Cannot figure out why. I used to have 2 and I cannot remember if this was the reason I got rid of it.

Checked, it's V1 that I have. It doesn't say 'Pro' but it has the big Pro-screenshot in it's about page.

This version is running stable here, but I'm more and more inclined to get away from these big workstation-like synths. Especially with how easy it is to layer synths in Reaper. Besides, these multi-page UI synths take a lot of time to get into while I can dial up something useful on simpler synths in seconds and finetune a sound in minutes.

Originally Posted by minimooger

What do you think about this compressor?

http://www.audiodamage.com/downloads...php?pid=ADF002

I already have that one installed. Looks nice but I have no idea of how it sounds as I didn't get to that yet. But nevertheless thanks for the pointer of course

Originally Posted by minimooger

Syhth1 also good for basses. This new version with the subosc is really tasty for my taste.

The new releases of Synth1 indeed have brought some nice features

[wakkaman]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

I must say that tbh it is largely subjective of course. Taste comes into play obviously. For example I find Crystal sounding very thin but loads of people swear by it, that's why I put it in the runner-up list.

I'm sure that for people, like Bladerunner and myself, having experience with analog hardware synths is part of how we listen to sound. Also, programming sounds yourself teaches a lot of how, for example, the base sound of the oscillator is part of the complete sound. For that matter, I do like synths that do not have loads of build-in FX as they are mostly used to make a basic sounding synth sound better than it is.

I see what you mean.. man, sometimes i with i was born around that time when hardware gear was the way to go! just to be able to put things in perspective, haha.

thanks for your insights.

Originally Posted by bladerunner

i haven't used synth1 in a track for a long time but it does have its place. i find it particularly good for kick drums(!) and other percussive sounds but thats about all i use it for now if at all. it has a very plasticky synthetic sound to my ears - very much like my old korg poly 800. useless for emulating deep growly analogue sounds but highly useful for sweet melody/pad sounds (like those used in trance for instance). great unison capabilities.

mmm i'm not particularly fond of synth1s sound; in comparison to FXPansions stuff for instance, or Ultra Analog; to me the oscillators does not sound as sharp and punchy - especially in the higher octaves, and the lower ones. thats why i almost never use synth1 for the more important elements in a song, but rather for the "filling".
But the thing is with synth1; it is the first synth i learned to program and by now i know it like the backside of my hand. I can whip out almost any sound i come up with, fast! + i can completely control synth1 with my nocturn, away form the computer; i know the controls by heart! that makes it hard to let it go

Originally Posted by minimooger

Syhth1 also good for basses. This new version with the subosc is really tasty for my taste.

Indeed, i found that a welcome addition!


By the way, do you guys know of a freeware synth with unison voice modulation? like FXpansions stuff.. you can do some really interesting things with that!

[technogremlin]

WOOOOOOT....

I had this version 1 of Scuzzphut6, a very good gating/delay effect, only with a bud-ugly pink UI. There was a version 2 with a much better UI and some more options. Take a look at this beauty here: http://www.kvraudio.com/get/3435.html

However, the scuzzphut website and all his plugs is gone for years now and all download links on the web point to that website. So I had little hopes of ever finding it... BUT I DID

So it's going up on the list, I suggest to grab it while you can

Originally Posted by wakkaman

I see what you mean.. man, sometimes i with i was born around that time when hardware gear was the way to go! just to be able to put things in perspective, haha.

Oh yeah, but that would also mean that you would be OLD... like I am

[wakkaman]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

However, the scuzzphut website and all his plugs is gone for years now and all download links on the web point to that website. So I had little hopes of ever finding it... BUT I DID

man, this thing looks like some kind of soviet nuclear machine!
so, where'd you find it? i sure would like to take this monster for a spin

[technogremlin]

It's in the list. Go to the first page of this topic and you'll see

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by pseudochromatic

If you feel like trying one more, Nomad Factory's Warmer Phaser is really good (Screenshot via Gersic). It even does rotary fx and has a tube sim to boot. It's the only one I've found useful besides the KJ Classic one.

OK, tested this one against Classic Phaser. It's actually very good with a lot of options. But I like Kjaerhus's better for it's subtlety

Nevertheless, this Nomad Factory phaser earns a spot in the runner-up list

[zoid9]

WTF is up with this link for scuzzphut6? I cant seem to get shit.

http://www.kvraudio.com/get/3435.html

NEVER MIND. Got it from the box.net link