Discuss the various methods you use in music production, from compressor settings to equipment type.
By macman Mon Jan 03, 2005 11:26 pm
The more interviews i come across in EQ Mag/Scratch/ etc more Producers
are using the EXS24 for everything along with trilogy for Bass.

I'm running MPC3000/5080/Triton R/SE1X/Motu HD192 Logic 6 and some nice outboard......

I have run some test with the EXS24 and find that it lacks punch even with a HD192 soundcard. I think its to do with the EXS24 Playback engine.

I can see a 100 softsynth sounding better then a se1x on bass. That shit cost melike 1499.00

Anyone else tried this!!!!

By lo-fi Tue Jan 04, 2005 5:10 am
I think the sound of EXS24mkII is pretty decent, it's on a par with the rest of Logic's sound engine, which sounds pretty damn good to my ears.

HOWEVER, I can't even begin to count the ways in which the EXS24 user interface SUCKS!

It's designed for people who use sample libraries and realistic multi-sampled string sounds and stuff. It probably works great for them - you load up a ready-made patch, tweak the filter a little and play it.

But that's not what I (and most MPC users) use a sampler for. Most of us use it to quickly grab sounds from records and sequence them. This simple procedure takes AGES on EXS24, and after you've sampled a sound, saved it, selected a keygroup, and loaded the sound into it (yawn), you don't even have a full set of filter/envelope settings for each sample! You have to assign each sample to a seperate 'group' to even get a filter offset parameter per sample. The filter has a choice of HP/LP/BP, with different slopes and a 'drive' control, but these settings have to be the same for all samples in the program!!! It's ridicoulous. Oh and it uses two seperate windows (WTF?) which sometimes can't find each other's settings... Joy.

EXS wasn't designed as a 'drum-sampler' or a 'phrase sampler' but more as a sample-library-playback-device, and it's absolutely useless as a 'samplist's sampler', if that phrase makes any sense.

Oh and Scratch mag is for little kids. It has some alright interviews, but anything technical in that mag is just silly. A typical monitor review would be something like 'it sounds very nice and the bass goes down real low...' Oh, great, I'll buy those then. The whole mag is just product placement with some half-assed comments. Like it has pictures of some turntables and then it says 'these turntables come in many different colors!' Wow. It's made by a bunch of guys with no knowledge whatsoever trying to make a quick buck and it shows.

... Sorry for the rant(s)...

BTW, I haven't yet heard a softsynth that sounds better than my SE1x. What are you using?

By macman Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:13 am
I totally agree with you on all of that!!!

I have SONIC IMPLANTS for strings which is amazing.....but i to cannot find anything to touch the SE1X. Brought mine about 3 years ago and love it!!!!!

Also the 5080 has got that great thick Roland sound.....i find the softsynths sound like there worth...........cheap

My friend has one to but now uses Trilogy for bass and the Minimoog plug which i think sounds half assed.



Thanks for the reply

By Knoxximus Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:24 pm
I would like to cop an analog synth, but it just seems so complicated. :? I mean, do you midi it? Or just sample the sounds into the MPC and play with it? I guess you could do both...I dunno where this post is going....I guess I'm just totally clueless and intimidated by analog synths.

There....I said it. :shock:
User avatar

By digital_bastard Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:08 pm
Analogs are a breeze to program, at least pure subtractive ones. Now, FM synthesis on the other hand... :)

By nanoloop Thu Jan 06, 2005 11:08 am
Knoxximus wrote:I would like to cop an analog synth, but it just seems so complicated. :? I mean, do you midi it? Or just sample the sounds into the MPC and play with it? I guess you could do both...I dunno where this post is going....I guess I'm just totally clueless and intimidated by analog synths.

There....I said it. :shock:


the se1x is midi you can sequence midi data and parameters on the mpc, you get a fair bit of controll from your mpc.