Ableton Forum

I thought Operater sucked ass the first time I played with the demo. Then I realized that you have to add the effects. It started sounding much better after using two or three Operators at the same time, and throwing some effects on a return track. So yeah, the only thing that bothers me about it is the price!

am wrote:a prediction for the future....



...give it a couple of months....



...when the user library is up and running...



... me thinks the Operator will been seen in a more positive light.

maybe they will do something about the cpu usage with updates too...

this thing is definatly growing on me, got some really great digbass sounds bouncing round the place through the filter delay

but then i remember i could get imposcar instead for little bit extra dollar

Spent last night playing with the demo, and it is a fun little synth once you get to know it. However, I do think it's still way too expensive, it should be closer to $49 IMO. There's just too many already established plug ins at this price point IMO, and Operator doesn't really bring that much new to the table to justify the cost.

I think Ableton did right in making a synth like this to complement the samplers, I just think they are asking too much for it.

Yeah, it's the price that kills it for me. I thought software synths were supposed to be cheaper than hardware, but I'm sure it would be possible to pick up a Yamaha DX100 (also 4-op FM synthesis) off eBay for around this price!

dunc

duncjam wrote:Yeah, it's the price that kills it for me. I thought software synths were supposed to be cheaper than hardware, but I'm sure it would be possible to pick up a Yamaha DX100 (also 4-op FM synthesis) off eBay for around this price!

dunc

Do you know any websites that cover 4 operator synths? Everything i find is either fm7 related or has examples for synths with more operators.

As much as alot of people wanted Operator I dont seet this as a upgrade. Its more like a plugin instrument correct? I want to know whats new in Ableton underpinnings if this is considered a 4.1 upgrade. Please inform me what I might missing here to better my understanding.

hehe i got a dx100 for a fiver at my local carboot sale, it was heaped in with a load of casio tones and crap keyboards in a big carboard box. Happiest day of my life so far, the poor bastard who sold it to me couldnt understan why i would want it "cos it didnt ave any speakers" and then he probably smiled as I ran off screaming like a little girl with it clutched in my hands.

Emissary wrote:hehe i got a dx100 for a fiver at my local carboot sale, it was heaped in with a load of casio tones and crap keyboards in a big carboard box. Happiest day of my life so far, the poor bastard who sold it to me couldnt understan why i would want it "cos it didnt ave any speakers" and then he probably smiled as I ran off screaming like a little girl with it clutched in my hands.

heh! Nice one!

My feeling is this is one kleines first ventures in synth designing.? He's done a good but If this was available as a third party VST I highly doubt Ableton would achieve decent sales. I think many would scoff at the interface, price, and head straight to FM7.

Ableton has been riding the "we can do no wrong wave" in the media for about a year now and perhaps their confidence has allowed them to pitch the synth at such a high price. ?

The synth is good but I agree with the majority that the price is to high. I also agree with many that Ableton has more pressing needs with Live itself rather than doing a Steinberg.

my 00.2c

hoffman2k wrote: Do you know any websites that cover 4 operator synths? Everything i find is either fm7 related or has examples for synths with more operators.

http://www.vintagesynth.org/yamaha/dx100.shtml

Good to see ableton taking the step to write complex software synthesizers.

Operator seems to be a bit expensive, and also takes too much CPU per voice. Sound quality is just what you might expect from an FM synth without built in effects. Its great as a basic synth if you are a producer, but it sucks if you are simply doing a side by side comparison with other synths souped up in reverb, and glimmering in the experience of years of patch programming.

I like the concept though, a simple FM synth that can do more than fm, and is really, really easy to get your hands on. Something that might spark the desire to "synthesize" and muck around with parameters, instead of just presets: simple tool, complex mind, great results.

I believe that as usual, ableton is a company with a healthy long term outlook, and even if operator is a bit underwhelming, the experience that they gain from having built this product is going to be visible one way or another.

-Aurelio

Let me start by saying I'm a HUGE fan of Ableton and Live. But I just tried the demo of Operator and I really don't hear any difference between that and say something like the freeware program "Crystal". And Crystal is capable of even more (at least it seems that way, I only tried Operator for a few minutes.) I know that they put a ton of time and money into development and have to make that back somewhere, but I can't see spending $150 on it after just buying the upgrade to 4.0 not too long ago. And there are a ton of really excellent free synths out there. My 2 cents. Thanks.

Yes, I must agree, I have many FM synthesis SW synths already, including the free Crystal version, so it's not exactly what I would spend the money one, maybe instead purchase Absynth 3.0 that could do much more for a little bit more money.... --Kent

Or rgc:audio z3ta+ for the same price... no competition really.

dunc