Live Packs..Worth it?

[GLJdrew]

Hey everybody,

Just wondering what everybody thinks about the live packs. I got a few emails after registering Live saying I had some freebies. But a lot of the ones that I think I need aren't free. Operator for one, Max, and some orchestral ones. The question is, if I have Komplete8 do you think I need to also purchase live packs like these? Between the sounds live comes with as well as Komplete doesn't that pretty much cover everything?

Are some live packs easier to use/better geared towards certain midi devices? I have the APC 40, M audio 02, and an axiom 49.

Andrew

[Theo Void]

Depends dude! Some are worth it others are worthless.

[d-track]

no

[JuanSOLO]

I have gotten quite a few from Purmagnetik, however the only one I really use is the TrapKit, it's really a great acoustic kit for 12 bucks that comes with Kontakt and DrumRack installations.

Yet you are inquiring about Operator. I find Operator to be a very unique and useful FM synth. I use FM8 A LOT, but I use Operator just the same, because it just delivers a sound that can't be created with other synths, especially in the sub sonics.

That being said, there is A LOT of stuff that comes with Komplete 8, my suggestion would be get familiar with all that you have already, learn it and learn it well as opposed to suffering from G.A.S. and falling into the illusion that more plugs make better music.

[djadonis206]

No. In my personal experience they've been a waste of money and hard drive space.

[Theo Void]

As w/ all things in Music Production. It's always better to create your own! That way everything you do is totally original. If there some device that u need, make a rack that does it. Live is VERY capable! If u hear a sound that you love, program a synth patch.
Plus, you become better and better

[icedsushi]

As w/ all things in Music Production. It's always better to create your own! That way everything you do is totally original. If there some device that u need, make a rack that does it. Live is VERY capable! If u hear a sound that you love, program a synth patch.
Plus, you become better and better

True, but there are some things that you cannot easily create or program yourself, like acoustic drum sounds of course, unless you are a drummer or have the luxury of a drum set at your disposal to meticulously sample.

So my answer would be yes and no. I do some packs but I'm very selective about choosing sounds that I cannot accurately reproduce myself, like acoustic drum kits or multi-sampled acoustic instruments. I generally do not go for the packs containing synth sounds, especially since some of those samples are more static than having the real thing (or a plugin synth) that has more sound shaping options. I might pick that rare pack of a synth that comes up though, if it has some obscure, vintage or unique character from yesteryear.

About Komplete, I think the size is overwhelmingly huge so I haven't done it mainly for that reason. It would be too tempting to keep continuously going through all those sounds looking for the perfect one and perhaps take my attention away from finishing a track (takes enough time just going through kicks to find the right one). Komplete also takes too much HD space IMO (relative to what portion of it actually gets used) if you are a laptop user, and most likely has a bit of overlap with Suite. I like to keep things lean and focus on the essentials. I have a few NI plugins but not Komplete and the bulk of the size of it which is the Kontakt libraries.

[kitekrazy]

I find the whole Ableton library and live pack system quite confusing. Most DAWs don't have anything like it.

[eddiex]

i only have absynth....and for me, that has totally rendered most of the live presets, and a lot of suite's instruments obsolete.....if you have komplete, you are probably set.

[GLJdrew]

I can definitely agree that having SO much is actually more of a negative than a positive. The question is more about quality than quantity. And that's what I'm after. I wan't the best sounds-like all of us- and I'm just too much of an amateur to even know if the raw sounds in Live8 can compete with ABsynth and the rest of complete8. Hell, I don't even know if the sounds in komplete8 are even that much better. I can't figure it out! Granted I haven't tried reading the manuals yet because I'm still making sure I know the ins and outs of ableton. But like I said, until I really get how to create the best sounds with the tools given in ableton, I can't see the potential of these sounds to compare to other plug ins.

So for now I'll stick with what I got, and I'll let you know in the future how all the stuff in Komplete8 works. But as of right now if any of you are considering getting that bundle I'd say pick the few you want and get them separately. Unless you have time to learn eight new programs that are even more complex than ableton itself.

[rydn]

Puremagnetic stuff does not sound very good to me. Nothing personal...

[mholloway]

amazing how many posts I see every day between kvr, gearslutz and this forum where people say they own Komplete 8 and are wondering what to get next. I presume it's because they've mastered Reaktor, over-used every instrument in Kontakt, and put FM8 and Absynth through such rigorous programming that it's time to move on to something else....riiiiiiight.

That said I'm a total GAS sufferer as well, so I understand how it goes. Maybe that's why I react all the more strongly to seeing it played out again and again.

OP: none of what you've mentioned possibly wanting will be better than anything in Komplete 8. Nor will it provide you with any sounds or sound-making ability that you don't already have.

My personal all-time favorite plugin collection is the Korg Legacy Collection, both analog + digital. Sometimes I wish I'd stopped buying instrument plugins after I'd gotten those....

-M

[GLJdrew]

I actually wouldn't say I've mastered anything about komplete8. I haven't had enough time to even sit down and really just learn about the program. I got it the same day I got ableton and i'm just worried that I started off with too complex of software and it's gonna make it harder to get things going. Whereas operator and sampler look much more user friendly. Since it's part of the ableton suite, the layout of everything is more familiar.

Do you use ABsynth ever? Because I am just overwhelmed by it but I feel like it has infinite potential to make any type of sound I want. Along with Battery3. But again, it's hard to figure it all out when I have little experience with Abelton let alone everything else. Oscillators, LFOs, etc. I'm just starting with electronic music

[smaucher]

no.

[nylarch]

Puremagnetic stuff does not sound very good to me. Nothing personal...

Kind of feel the same way.

GoldBaby is really great quality but has not as yet released Live Packs....I have a few of his instruments for Logic and they are ace. Importing the EXS's into Sampler doesn't work that great. I wish he would release Drum Racks / Sampler instruments....but you do get a set of raw samples that make for some nice Sampler instruments....you just have to build the patches yourself.