omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.

As far as you are concerned..

I have bought these synths, and use them all the time.
7
19%
I have done the demo and passed.
8
22%
I bought, was disappointed, wound up transferring the license.
3
8%
I have not tried these yet.
8
22%
I have them, can't use, cpu issues. Not selling though.
0
No votes
They are marketing garbage. Totally overrated.
7
19%
Greatest sounding soft synths ever.
3
8%
 
Total votes: 36

remute99
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 5:26 pm

Re: omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Post by remute99 » Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:15 am

I remember quite liking the demo but it was frelling ages ago and I was broke - fast forward to now and I can't run the demo as it says my time is up.
It would make more sense for it to "run the full version for 10 days and thereafter it makes a noise every 20 seconds" or somesuch - I don't get why some companies make it difficult for customers to try out their gear. :roll:
Mac Pro
Quad-Core Intel Xeon 2 x 2.8 GHz
10 GB RAM
OSX 10.5.6

Evengy
Posts: 454
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2010 8:31 am

Re: omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Post by Evengy » Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:52 am

remute99 wrote:I remember quite liking the demo but it was frelling ages ago and I was broke - fast forward to now and I can't run the demo as it says my time is up.
It would make more sense for it to "run the full version for 10 days and thereafter it makes a noise every 20 seconds" or somesuch - I don't get why some companies make it difficult for customers to try out their gear. :roll:
because people can load instances of diva in their midi tracks, export and never pay for that.
try software from other companies where you need ilok or something to test thi9s software.

remute99
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 5:26 pm

Re: omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Post by remute99 » Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:49 am

Evengy wrote:
remute99 wrote:I remember quite liking the demo but it was frelling ages ago and I was broke - fast forward to now and I can't run the demo as it says my time is up.
It would make more sense for it to "run the full version for 10 days and thereafter it makes a noise every 20 seconds" or somesuch - I don't get why some companies make it difficult for customers to try out their gear. :roll:
because people can load instances of diva in their midi tracks, export and never pay for that.
try software from other companies where you need ilok or something to test thi9s software.

I've got the demo of U-He's Diva installed now - it makes noise every few seconds or so, as I suggested FXpansion should do with DCAM.
I'm not entirely sure what you think you're replying to. :?:
Mac Pro
Quad-Core Intel Xeon 2 x 2.8 GHz
10 GB RAM
OSX 10.5.6

Evengy
Posts: 454
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2010 8:31 am

Re: omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Post by Evengy » Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:46 am

It would make more sense for it to "run the full version for 10 days and thereafter it makes a noise every 20 seconds" or somesuch - I don't get why some companies make it difficult for customers to try out their gear
to that :D you suggested that they give full versions for 10 days and i said that it´isn´t that good. nothing special :D

Linear Phase
Posts: 398
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Location: Ft Lauderdale, Fl
Contact:

Re: omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Post by Linear Phase » Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:00 pm

Sibanger wrote:Sorry to hear Diva ran badly on your system.

It has become my personal favorite. :D

I'm interested to know why you passed it by ? Was it still crashing your system?
Once Fritz and I had the crashes sorted, Diva became solid as a rock. However: Why I passed? Certainly not the sound, "quality," per se. But..

1: I'm using a spanking new hp quad core I just bought. Its not 8 cores, and its not 12 cores, but even with four cores, I was getting "audio road blocks." You know, where the machine simply can not handle the synth. However, if I use just a few voices in Synth Squad, I get the same thing. So, "call that a coin toss," on that point.

2: Even more than the CPU, I'm not sure if, "sounds absolutely analog," is all that important to me. Call that a, "coin toss," with Synth Squad as well.

3: Complexity.. Synthesizers are not compressors, eq's, and reverbs.. IE, I don't care how many compressors I have, each one works basically the same way, but has a different sound. So the compressor, "learning curve," is a not on my list of things I need to go over when I decide if I am, "going to buy a product."

So those are the reasons I passed. I mean, Diva is a great synth.. I can totally hear the difference between, "draft, and divine," and the sound is fatter than fat. Plus the GUI is nice and well thought out. But between the learning curve, the cpu, and the poor integration with my system.. a brand new computer.. I passed. That's all
:)
8)
Linear Phase has left the building..

ttilberg
Posts: 587
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2011 4:55 pm
Contact:

Re: omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Post by ttilberg » Mon Apr 30, 2012 6:12 pm

I have them, and enjoy them. DCAM was my first set of synth plugs I paid for. I have a friend who was sending me clips of audio he was working on, and his bass lines sounded way fatter than usual -- I asked what's up, and he pointed me to Strobe.

I haven't played much with other options, like Massive, Alchemy, or the ones describe so far in this thread, so my reply is biased -- but I found DCAM to be easy to get into -- I feel like the modulation method from FXPansion is very sensible, easy to use, and ridiculously versatile. Ultimately, I have an easier time modulating the sound how I want it to, because the transmod system is very visual and makes sense.

Do I consider myself a pro at patching these suckers? Not at all lol -- but I do enjoy the sounds they make.

Regarding CPU usage, I have a 2011 MBP and rarely have issues with them. I have online oversampling set to 2, and offline set to 16- this seems like it could easily be part of fixing CPU issues.

Strobe sounds thick, Amber is very cool also. Cypher I'm sure is cool, but I haven't been able to take the time to wrap my brain around it, I still resort to using Operator for FM stuff.

Loading the synths into Fusor is often overkill, but I really enjoy using the sequencing options provided by the Animator. It makes making sequenced, melodic arps a breeze. Sometimes I'm working on a track getting frustrated, and the simplest staggered 1/8 note melodic pattern is a total refresh...

Also, the current poll results are hilarious -- specifically these columns lol:
They are marketing garbage. Totally overrated. 22% [ 7 ]
Greatest sounding soft synths ever. 9% [ 3 ]
It's just a funny array of opinion -- which really just speaks loudly: "Use whatever floats your boat."
Tim Tilberg - Duluth, MN | SoundCloud - Arsenal
2011 13" MBP w/8GB ram | Live 9 Suite, Reason 6.5, FXPansion DCAM/Etch/Maul, Izotope Ozone 5

donmich
Posts: 189
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:29 pm

Re: omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Post by donmich » Mon Apr 30, 2012 8:27 pm

I remember downloading the demo and saying "yuck". I think I even deleted it on first use. I didnt start with fusor and I think some of the presets in the ndividual synths are designed to be used in combo inside of fusor.

Then I had second thoughts and tried it again. Still didnt love it but was warming.

I tried it off and on and started having good experiences. Then I watched the tutorials and I was like "ah!".
Tried it again and loved it.

Bought it, now I totally love it.

I dont know if Fxpansion knows how easy it is to get turned off DCAM from the demo. The presets range from nice to crap to just inexplicable to totally awesome. Demoing the presets in fusor is the way to go in order to get a sense of the sound quality, but the sounds themselves dont seem to know what they want to be,

The unfortunate emphasis on dubstep wobble and sync-ish, skrillex-y sounds in the industry makes matters worse if thats not your bag.

Also, if you are gaga over classic audio rate modulation synths like the prophet or jupiter, cypher is cool but doesnt take you there intuitively and the few Himalaya sounds that are actually named after synth pop classics from Human League, Yaz and DM are close to their namesake but you are better off going with Arturia if you just want to sound like that. He's a great sound designer and has produced the only especially good soundbanks imo, but
Cypher just doesnt quite sound like spot on emulations of the classics. And to their credit Fxpansion doesnt claim that they are.

To get the most out of it you have to be willing to tinker with it unil something clicks.
With the exception of Amber which really does sound like old string machines, my opinion is that these synths should not really be considered emulations of classics but excellent sort of 'generic' implementations of the technology they model. If approached in their own right and their own personalities are allowed to come through, the package is actually quite breathtaking and does offer something quite unique. If you want easy to dial up 'fat' sounds there are countless products. DCAM, to me anyway, seems to excell more at nuance and experimentation.

The filters ARE nice. So nice in fact that I ended up buying Etch almost without trying it I had so much confidence in their tasteful and useable filters. I wasnt disappointed.

Sibanger
Posts: 2231
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:44 am
Location: Melbourne/Australia
Contact:

Re: omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Post by Sibanger » Tue May 01, 2012 7:33 am

Linear Phase wrote:
Sibanger wrote:Sorry to hear Diva ran badly on your system.

It has become my personal favorite. :D

I'm interested to know why you passed it by ? Was it still crashing your system?
Once Fritz and I had the crashes sorted, Diva became solid as a rock. However: Why I passed? Certainly not the sound, "quality," per se. But..

1: I'm using a spanking new hp quad core I just bought. Its not 8 cores, and its not 12 cores, but even with four cores, I was getting "audio road blocks." You know, where the machine simply can not handle the synth. However, if I use just a few voices in Synth Squad, I get the same thing. So, "call that a coin toss," on that point.

2: Even more than the CPU, I'm not sure if, "sounds absolutely analog," is all that important to me. Call that a, "coin toss," with Synth Squad as well.

3: Complexity.. Synthesizers are not compressors, eq's, and reverbs.. IE, I don't care how many compressors I have, each one works basically the same way, but has a different sound. So the compressor, "learning curve," is a not on my list of things I need to go over when I decide if I am, "going to buy a product."

So those are the reasons I passed. I mean, Diva is a great synth.. I can totally hear the difference between, "draft, and divine," and the sound is fatter than fat. Plus the GUI is nice and well thought out. But between the learning curve, the cpu, and the poor integration with my system.. a brand new computer.. I passed. That's all
:)
8)
I'm using a desktop pc with an i7 930 @ 2.8 Ghz which is almost 2 years old now and seems to run very well.
Your reasoning is far enough, although I don't think the learning curve is very difficult with Diva.

Urs is a fucking genius.

Linear Phase
Posts: 398
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2008 4:24 am
Location: Ft Lauderdale, Fl
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Re: omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Post by Linear Phase » Tue May 01, 2012 7:52 am

Sibanger wrote:
Linear Phase wrote:
Sibanger wrote:Sorry to hear Diva ran badly on your system.

It has become my personal favorite. :D

I'm interested to know why you passed it by ? Was it still crashing your system?
Once Fritz and I had the crashes sorted, Diva became solid as a rock. However: Why I passed? Certainly not the sound, "quality," per se. But..

1: I'm using a spanking new hp quad core I just bought. Its not 8 cores, and its not 12 cores, but even with four cores, I was getting "audio road blocks." You know, where the machine simply can not handle the synth. However, if I use just a few voices in Synth Squad, I get the same thing. So, "call that a coin toss," on that point.

2: Even more than the CPU, I'm not sure if, "sounds absolutely analog," is all that important to me. Call that a, "coin toss," with Synth Squad as well.

3: Complexity.. Synthesizers are not compressors, eq's, and reverbs.. IE, I don't care how many compressors I have, each one works basically the same way, but has a different sound. So the compressor, "learning curve," is a not on my list of things I need to go over when I decide if I am, "going to buy a product."

So those are the reasons I passed. I mean, Diva is a great synth.. I can totally hear the difference between, "draft, and divine," and the sound is fatter than fat. Plus the GUI is nice and well thought out. But between the learning curve, the cpu, and the poor integration with my system.. a brand new computer.. I passed. That's all
:)
8)
I'm using a desktop pc with an i7 930 @ 2.8 Ghz which is almost 2 years old now and seems to run very well.
Your reasoning is far enough, although I don't think the learning curve is very difficult with Diva.

Urs is a fucking genius.
Oh.. I stumbled upon this, @ KVR tonight.. http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=348399

I'm willing to bet the audio problems I was having were more of a demo limitation, rather than a cpu issue.. like I said.. brand new quad core, I'm using..

samsam wrote: So the demo limitation is to make Diva sound like it doesn't work well on your system? Nice idea...

:roll: Anyways, I've moved on... cheers
Linear Phase has left the building..

dazzer
Posts: 1240
Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2005 10:24 am

Re: omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Post by dazzer » Tue May 01, 2012 8:02 am

^ Hey that's my quote :P (the name dazzer was taken on kvr although the fukkr never posts there)

Glad to see it's not just me who sees that as a ridiculous way to do a demo version.

rydn
Posts: 59
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2011 5:21 pm

Re: omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Post by rydn » Tue May 01, 2012 11:17 am

I wanted to like them and even bought them during a sale period. And I sold them because uhe stuff is way better.

loko
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2008 3:16 pm

Re: omg, I just downloaded the D-cam Synth Squad Demo.. And

Post by loko » Tue May 01, 2012 12:13 pm

I think they sound excellent! I think it was brought out as competition to massive. It has that similar analog ruffness about it. The bass on strobe is awesome. funnily enough I also prefer Ace though. Ace is the best sounding synth in my opinion. I think zebra sounds weak compared to strobe. I haven't tried diva though.

Regarding cpu hits, Fxpansion do not make their software efficient enough. I tried the tremor demo & that's a cpu hog, although again it sounds good. If more efficiency means lower quality sound, I will put up with higher cpu hits.

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