SOUND ON SOUND

[resistorman]

I wonder if the Knif Audio Knifonium is included in the any plugin for $29.99 deal?

It's not mentioned in the list of exclusions, but then none of the other instruments are in that list either, somehow I doubt it :(


Martin

It sure is! It's the best “analog” bass software synth I’ve ever used. Sorry I missed it at $15, but it’s certainly worth $30.

[desmond]

I picked up another of the bx console plugs... but independently, not in the current sale. :shh:

£9 for the Focusrite was a nice deal, as it's one I was interested in but not sold on. It's not full of character like the SSLs or the API/Neves, the EQ is quite clean and surgical and the layout/interface is a bit weird (but I control all these via my controller with the same consistent layout anyway), but the compressor is great in this thing - worth it for this alone.

Another flavour in my expanding channel strip collection is always good. I might pick up another channel strip in the sale maybe, I'll wait and see whether we get another monthly voucher to reduce the sale price further - then I might pick up the Lindell (Neve) 80 or SSL G perhaps... we'll see how the mood takes me! ;)

[desmond]

So did Martin pick up the Knif in the end?

[Martin Walker]

No, I haven't bothered yet, especially since I knew (like no.7 buses) there would be yet another identical voucher along today (and there was).


Martin

[Martin Walker]

So did Martin pick up the Knif in the end?

Just (finally) bought the Brainworx Knifonium, although it was still a close run thing.

1. Downloaded the demo, and initially loved the preset sounds :thumbup:

2. Discovered the nine added FX units, disabled those, and immediately thought the Knifonium presets were totally bland without them :thumbdown:

3. Fiddled about with the VCOs, VCF, VCA and was decidedly underwhelmed :thumbdown:

4. Went onto YouTube to remind myself what all the fuss was about, and couldn't find anything exciting among the host of Brainworx plug-in demos :thumbdown:

5. Discovered various folk grumbling about its huge CPU plug-in overheads :thumbdown:

6. Tried to remember what prompted me to be inspired by the hardware Knifonium in the first place, tracked down a couple of demos made with the real thing :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

7. Realised it was largely about the Saturation, Feedback, FM and Ringmod features, so had a fiddle about with those on the plug-in, then immediately bought the plug-in for just £27 :clap:

Overall impressions - there's a great VST synth hiding in there that's well worth owning at sale price, but the online demos don't do it much justice because they mostly miss its real strengths, instead insisting on plodding though the basics and FX.


Martin

[desmond]

Phew! That was a rollercoaster..! :lol:

It wasn't that inspiring to me when I've heard it in the past, and I don't really like the look of the interface that much. I think I'd probably like the Oberhausen more, but to be honest I'm really not much of an Oberheim guy either... and I'm trying to buy stuff that I will use, rather than just because it's cheap.

[Martin Walker]

Phew! That was a rollercoaster..! :lol:

Watching this was the clincher for me.


Martin


KNIFONIUM SteampunkSpaceSpies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-gGuo17lYA

"This piece of music is done entirely (including percussion and sound effects) with the Knifonium.

I felt that there were plenty of demos of the instrument in its raw state (not multi tracked) so I had to see how far I could take this. The tune had been hanging in my brain for about 3 weeks, and the Knifonium seemed like a very Steampunk Sci-Fi instrument, so this is what I had to do...
Enjoy! Drew Neumann"

[Zukan]

I looked at it yesterday and the demos did nothing to entice me towards trying it.

I have a ton of very good sound design synths that have all the features I need to create great sounds BAR the distortion paths that Knifonium offers. Reading your views has tempted me to have another look at it. Thanks.

[desmond]

Last day of the sale, and they've reset all three promo codes for the plugin hoarders among us.

LYS1-2999
LYS2-2999
LYS3-2999

I've managed to resist so far... stay stong! :?

[AlasdairEaston]

In the end I've used three vouchers (before they refreshed them - oh dangerous times!) and I'm really happy with what I've got.

The XLA-3 and the Purple Audio MC77 are just fantastic. Since I got into this caper, I've read countless times about the magic that happens when using the hardware units they're modelled on. I already had plugin emulations of them -- they came with the NI Komplete bundle that first got me started. But I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. There was no magic in them, at least not to my ears. But within moments of installing these brainworx versions, I totally got it. Huge smiles! I stuck the XLA-3 on some vocals, and even when applying it pretty firmly, it just sounds lovely. Thick and present and controlled, but still with life and character. And the MC77 on a drum bus, aiming for that big rock drum sound was instant satisfaction. And it's not unsubtle either. Small changes to the parameters really did sculpt the sound in a pleasing way. Great on bass too. I'm going to love using both of these.

The final buy was the Lindell 80, which I've looked at a number of times. I'm really enjoying it today. It's a bit of an unusal interface with those strange knobs but no problem to use at all. I'm presuming that's just the way the hardware looks. Bags of colour and character if you want it (you can go wild overdriving the preamp with great results) but it seems capable of non-crazy, solid performance too. Early days though.

All in all, it's been a great few days for buying plugs ins! Now if I was to look at using one more voucher... it would be one of the EQs (2098? Bax? Lindell TE-100? NSEQW-2?). The thing is, do they really make much diffence? Really? I've got a good few tools that can boost or cut whatever frequency. Can these be that much different? I've already got Digital V3 and Maag 4, as well as the channel strip EQs and the ones that come in NI Komplete. Surely I can stop spending now?

[Martin Walker]

Surely I can stop spending now?

Perhaps have a discussion with your counselor about this ;)

As for the BaxEQ, I downloaded the demo several years ago and liked what it did a lot, but given that Brainworx insist on keeping the same aspect ratio for their rackmount conversions (i.e long and thin), the marking around the controls on its front panel were so small on my screen that I could literally only read them using a magnifying glass, so i declined the special offer :headbang:

YMMV


Martin

[AlasdairEaston]

Yeah, they have made some funny choices, Martin. I'm loving the Townhouse compressor but it's in that format too, and the meter is really small and kinda feeble looking. By contrast the MC77 is absolutely giant on my screen, funnily enough with pretty swish looking meters.

I've made the mistake of downloading some free trials of the EQ plug-ins, inc the Bax. The thing is, I started off this music production adventure thinking "I'm not going to get sucked into all that talk of mojo and fairy dust. That's all just hype and marketing". Then I've since discovered it's not *all* hype. There really are great tools to be had that *do* make a difference. Man, life was so simple when I held to my blinkered rules and kept my eyes and ears closed to all these fancy toys! :headbang:

EQ trials, here I come...

[desmond]

I'm all plugin-ed out for now now, I think....

[Kwackman]

I'm all plugin-ed out for now now, I think....

Poor deluded boy! :bouncy: :bouncy:

[AlasdairEaston]

I'm all plugin-ed out for now now, I think....

Me too. I just discovered that those codes have only been re-activated in the sense that they're now back available for use *only if you hadn't already used them*. That's a pity cos I'd spent ages and decided that the 2098 EQ sounded great. Slightly smoother and just more expensive somehow than the Digital V3. I was testing it mostly on a full rock band mix and on the drum bus too. The top end shelf sounded really smooth to me, really classy when I boosted by about 2dB. I also removed some low mids and was shocked when I bypassed it to check what I'd done. Without it, everything sounded a touch dull, slightly clanky and a tiny bit cheaper. :oops: I hadn't noticed that before I started fiddling. Live and learn.

The plugin also sounded especially lovely with the THD turned up a bit.

To be fair, my Digital V3 on the same settings also made things much better, just not *quite* as classy as the 2098, especially at the top end. Maybe I'm fooling myself but that's my honest thoughts.

I think I'll pick up the 2098 at the next sale.

Cheers,
Alasdair.