Is Pluggo for me? Sounds like it is...
Apr 19 2006 | 5:42 pm
Recently I updated my Mac and got a dual 2.7 G5, 8Gb RAM, and I loaded OS X 10.4.6 on it.
I have gotten all my apps (Live, Reason, Cubase, Reaktor, etc.) to port over pretty well except NI's Kontakt 1.5.3. My inability to get a straight answer as to why this is (10.4.6, or what?) has led me to question whether I should upgrade to Kontakt 2...or look for some new blood, which brings me here.
The reason why is this: I am looking for some powerful, intuitive, and creative sound sculpting/mangling tools since I mainly use(d) and LOVE(d) Kontakt for messing sound up. (I should mention that I am also generally non-interested in getting a realistic bassoon sounds, for example). Kontakt's various sampler "modes" (time machine I & II, beat machine, straight sampler, etc) allow me to get nutty with the pitch/formant/time mangling, and the mod routing is fantastic, powerful, and simple.
Pluggo has been in the back of my head for a while now, but it seems that now might be THE time.
How's the pitch and time, and granularity shifting? How's the mod routing? How's stability? How do the plugs react to Tiger 10.4.6 (I only saw one post about that and how it related to 2 plugs--any others?) Are there any RAM-addressing limitations for my 8gigs? Will it make me spend more time happliy maiking sound in my studio? (Well, I can pretty much guess that answer.) Is the $199 price as ridiculously reasonable as it sounds?
Thanks in advance for any input, all of which is welcome. I will continue to browse the site and educate myself, but I always like to ask questions, too.
best-
.nick
- Apr 20 2006 | 3:15 pmHey,Grab the demo and get into it. It buzzes a bit every minute or so, but is full featured, and is the best way to find out if you really want the package.If you run in to any problems we shall be happy to help you out in support while you are in the demo period.support at cycling74 dot comCheersAndrew
- Apr 20 2006 | 6:50 pmHi Andrew!Well, between my post and your response, I d/l'ed and printed the manual, bought and d/'ed Pluggo online, and played with it last night, buzzing and all.I think it's fantastic.I didn't explore the instruments yet, but I am thrilled with the plugs. I have always wanted something this "toolbox-y" and I can't wait to experiment with Pluggo's modulators.Another thing I like to do is find news ways to squeeze new sounds out of sounds that I record. I play guitar, so I often compose and record on guitar since I'm familiar with it--but then I like to make it not sound exactly guitar-y. Let's see what I come up with!One thing I noticed is that there are quite a few mono effects that I would've expected to be stereo--why is that?All I need now is my serial and auth....nick
- Apr 20 2006 | 10:46 pmThe reality of Pluggo is that it is now quite an old plugin set, and a lot of the original code was done back in the bad old days. Please let us know which of the plugs you would like to see improved or changed - we'd be happy to look at any suggestions for future updates.CheersAndrew
- Apr 21 2006 | 1:35 pmAndrew-Yup--I noticed a lot of 1999 copyrights when I was initially perusing the plugs.Nowadays there's a trend towards monstrous CPU-load and/or do-everthing behemoth apps. I find that slightly older apps that are optimized/ported to run on newer OS'es in newer hosts tend to have some very nice qualities and advantages such as stablity, simple interfaces, and lower-CPU load. It's also why the mda VST plugins (from the 1998-2000 era) follow me to whatever computer I am on--simple, effective, reliable, and CPU-cheap. Oh, and free.So with that in mind for Pluggo, regardless of age, I still couldn't resist the $2 per plug!After working with them a bit, I 'm sure I'll have some thoughts, so I'll send them your way--you asked for it! ;)best- .nick
