Live Screenshots

[Dosage]

Would any of you care to upload some screenshots of a live project of yours, whatever view, with whatever vst's//effects open.. It just helps me getting ideas for arrangement. Thanks alot.

[AdamJay]

http://www.djadamjay.com/files/LiveScreenShot.jpg

this is from a track i did with Brian Kage.
The plugins you see are from the master channel, as you can see there was alot of compression done on the main mix.

I arrange everything in realtime (record direct to 24 bit .aif in a resample channel). So i do not use the arrange view. All the clips are assigned to computer keys, and faders / fx parameters are assigned to controls on my UC-33.

So with the 3 or so scenes you see, i'm able to just "jam" out the arrangement. in the end it sounds a bit more natural and fluid, not as contrived.

[feyshay]

I'm still pretty new with this. Live has a compressor, reverb, autofilter, why use plug-ins? Why are certain ones better, and if so what would be the best ones to get (even ones that are not freeware)?
I've checked out a good site KVR-VST (I think that was what it was called), but the amount of downloadable VST's were unbelievable. I was overwhelmed by choice and had no idea what was even worth downloading--what would be superior to what is already within Live 4 with Operator.
FYI, I also have Reason 3.0.
I searched the forum but could not find a good post on this.
Thanks.

[feyshay]

Oops. Dosage, I'm sorry I just hijacked your post.

[AdamJay]

I'm still pretty new with this. Live has a compressor, reverb, autofilter, why use plug-ins? Why are certain ones better, and if so what would be the best ones to get (even ones that are not freeware)?
I've checked out a good site KVR-VST (I think that was what it was called), but the amount of downloadable VST's were unbelievable. I was overwhelmed by choice and had no idea what was even worth downloading--what would be superior to what is already within Live 4 with Operator.
FYI, I also have Reason 3.0.
I searched the forum but could not find a good post on this.
Thanks.

Live's reverb is a cpu hog for one.
Live's Autofilter's frequency response leaves alot to be desired (only operates from 46hz to 12.5khz)

No plugins are better than others, they are all just different. For the same reason you have 300 different models of cars to choose from when you purchase an automobile, you have 300 different compressors to choose from. The interfaces are different, the response is different, and thus the overall sound of plugins are different. Some use enough less cpu than others that i'm willing to try to get more out of them than i would Ableton FX.

as far as the best ones to get, that comes down to preference. download freebies, and download demos. find out what you prefer the most.

right now my favorite plug is the filterscape bundle. its a synth, filter, and eq. www.filterscape.com

[randyh]

No plugins are better than others, they are all just different.

Woah woah woah. That's a bold statement. You didn't think that would just slide by did you? Seriously, some plugins are crap and some aren't. I'll admit that once you get to a certain quality level, it becomes more a matter of taste, but don't try to say that the Sonalksis compressor and Compressor I are "just different".

Anyway feyshay, a really good free plugin pack is at http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/ (Classic Series). I also recommend continuing to hang out at kvr-audio (the forum that is). You'll learn a lot there.

-r

[AdamJay]

No plugins are better than others, they are all just different.

Woah woah woah. That's a bold statement. You didn't think that would just slide by did you? Seriously, some plugins are crap and some aren't. I'll admit that once you get to a certain quality level, it becomes more a matter of taste, but don't try to say that the Sonalksis compressor and Compressor I are "just different".

Anyway feyshay, a really good free plugin pack is at http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/ (Classic Series). I also recommend continuing to hang out at kvr-audio (the forum that is). You'll learn a lot there.

-r

some people want and use crap plugins. its a tool, and tools are subjective. is a jackhammer a better tool than a butterknife? yes indeed it is far more powerful, but what if i just want to cut a piece of bread?

the point i was making is tools themselves are subjective, and that is why there are so many of them. everyone has a different way of working. if money is a HUGE issue then the crappiest plugin in the world that you've been using for 3 years might be your most valuable tool.

"every tool is a weapon if you hold it right"

[feyshay]

Thanks for some of the tips/links. I don't mind spending a bit if I get a decent product. It is hard to know what is worth spending money on versus what I could get for free. I'm willing to spend if the product is superior.
I'll continue to check out the KVR-VST website. Any other rec's would be appreciated.
I also have Sound Forge 7 BTW.

[Diskclaimer]

So....

Any more screenshots???

[randyh]

No plugins are better than others, they are all just different.

Woah woah woah. That's a bold statement. You didn't think that would just slide by did you? Seriously, some plugins are crap and some aren't. I'll admit that once you get to a certain quality level, it becomes more a matter of taste, but don't try to say that the Sonalksis compressor and Compressor I are "just different".

Anyway feyshay, a really good free plugin pack is at http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/ (Classic Series). I also recommend continuing to hang out at kvr-audio (the forum that is). You'll learn a lot there.

-r

some people want and use crap plugins. its a tool, and tools are subjective. is a jackhammer a better tool than a butterknife? yes indeed it is far more powerful, but what if i just want to cut a piece of bread?

the point i was making is tools themselves are subjective, and that is why there are so many of them. everyone has a different way of working. if money is a HUGE issue then the crappiest plugin in the world that you've been using for 3 years might be your most valuable tool.

"every tool is a weapon if you hold it right"

I understand what you're saying and I could see myself arguing your side of this age-old subjective/objective debate on a different day. In the end I can't prove that one plugin is actually superior to another other than to show that far more people prefer the sound of one of them over the other. But that still might not prove anything to you if you only make music for yourself or whatever. For me, it proves it to a sufficient degree so I believe in stuff like "Pultec Eq's are awesome and better than so-and-so eq".

Another thing worth mentioning on this topic is that there is a big difference between sound-design and production/mixdown/mastering. If you're doing sound-design, sure anything goes. You're probably just looking for something unique to call your own. But during those other phases (particularly mastering) crap tools just won't cut it if you want your stuff to have that "pro" sound. Again, if you're just making music for yourself and don't care, then fine. But you won't catch me putting a free compressor accross my main mix (at least unless something else comes out).

Feyshay, If you want the best bang for your buck (my subjective opinion of course ), check out www.voxengo.com and the www.kjaerhusaudio.com site i mentioned earlier. Awesome stuff at really great prices.

That said, I think that Live's build-in effects are good enough for a beginner. I never use Compressor I though as I think it sounds like complete crap. Compressor II is pretty good though.

-r

[randyh]

So....

Any more screenshots???

sorry for the thread hijacking

I don't have any screenshots but I'll say that I agree with AdamJay's method of getting patterns set up and the "jamming" them live. It's a great way to get a good feel for how your song should go and you can record your performance and make adjustments in the arrangement. It somehow ends up with a much better "feel" if that makes any sense.

-r

[AdamJay]

I understand what you're saying and I could see myself arguing your side of this age-old subjective/objective debate on a different day. In the end I can't prove that one plugin is actually superior to another other than to show that far more people prefer the sound of one of them over the other. But that still might not prove anything to you if you only make music for yourself or whatever. For me, it proves it to a sufficient degree so I believe in stuff like "Pultec Eq's are awesome and better than so-and-so eq".

Totally, and i was just playing "anything goes" for the original poster. As it was the easiest way to answer his question as to why there are SO many plugins available.

obviously by my screenshot, i do prefer certain (expensive) plugins over others so there definitely is a level of Quality that must be met for mixing down. But i also prefer to work in realtime which makes it a balancing act of quality/cpu usage. Fortunately Waves plugins are quite effecient for their quality, Vintage Warmer on the other hand is not but if i have the headroom to fit one in in realtime, i will.

as far as 'bundles' go, i think the TC Native Bundle 3.1 for $199 is one of the best deals out there. Its been discontinued, but you can still find it for sale. I've never had stability issues with it and those plugs have been nothing but reliable and the quality is way up. If anything the TC Native Bundle has kept me from buying a powercore dsp, as they give me alot of what i need (waves 4 platinum helps too ) Bang for Buck = TC Native all the way.

[genshi]

Here are older screenshots before Operator came out. This was for the Live 4 CSi CD-ROM that I wrote:

http://www.jido-genshi.com/live4_tutori ... n_view.jpg

http://www.jido-genshi.com/live4_tutori ... t_view.jpg