Other Virtual Intruments

Evolve Mutations 2 is a software instrument created by Heavyocity that runs inside of Kontakt (or Kontakt Free) from Native Instruments. It is the sequel to Evolve Mutations 1, and a complement to the much larger Heavyocity Evolve library. It contains percussion instruments, melodic instruments (pads, leads, sampled acoustic instruments, etc), and stingers/transitions. The software is installed directly downloading it from the Heavyocity website or the NI website. Authorization is completed using the NI Service Center. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE This software is super easy to use. It includes a bunch of loops that are simple to use and even tempo synch with Kontakt/DAW. The trigger effects are a valuable upgrade from the predecessor, Evolve Mutations 1. The Kontakt GUI was also updated, and looks very impressive. My impression is that the rhythmic loops in EM2 are more interesting/complex (or less repetitive) than EM1. I hear a lot more editing in the loops like stutters and distortions on individual hits in the loops. This makes the loops less boring to me. The melodic instruments include some really good acoustic guitar samples that have been treated to have a cinematic flavor. There are also several acoustic piano instruments that have some nice effects applied. I really like how these instruments sit well in a mix with very little tweaking. The pads and synth sounds are a little weak in my opinion, and I actually like these type of instruments from the EM1 library better. There are some atonal pads that are pretty good for background ambience for movies, however they don't really go well with music that is in a particular key or has a melody because the pads are atonal. OVERALL OPINION Evolve Mutations 2 is a relatively small sample library of cinematic sounds. Although the original Heavyocity Evolve library is much larger (and more expensive), I think there are a lot of improvements in sound that the Heavyocity team developed since Evolve was released. EM2 is smaller, but has better sounds in my opinion. Unless you are a major film composer, EM2 has plenty of usable sounds to add a little cinematic flavor to you music.

Evolve Mutations is software instrument that runs inside of Kontakt (or Kontakt Free) from Native Instruments. All the sounds were sampled by the Heavyocity team and then used dumped into several Kontakt .nkx instruments. Mutations is the software 'younger brother' of the original Heavyocity Evolve library. Mutations contains brand new sounds from the original Evolve library, but it much smaller in comparison. Since the release of Mutations, Heavyocity and Ni have released Mutations 2 with even more unique sounds. Both of the Mutations libraries are relatively small in comparison to other cinematic libraries, but are great complements to the larger libraries nonetheless. The software is installed directly downloading it from the Heavyocity website or the NI website. Authorization is completed using the NI Service Center. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE This library is really easy to use, however it lacks a few key features that Heavyocity has added to their other libraries (Mutations 2, Damage, Evolve update) like trigger effects. I've found that I don't use the trigger effects a lot, but they can some great special effects in specific situations. I suggest experimenting with layering different instruments by opening multiple instances of the software in Kontakt. The drum loops are perfect for layering, but the melodic instruments can sound really cool by layering one instrument with a sharp attack with a different instrument with a long sustain. This software is like 'instant car-chase' music. However, the typical criticism or downside of the software is that the CSI/Bourne Identity/cinematic sound can sound a little cliche. This software definitely captures the cinematic sound, but there is a fine line between sounding just like everybody else. OVERALL OPINION If you are looking to add some cinematic flavor to your music, Evolve Mutations is a great (inexpensive) way to achieve some decent results. The library is really easy to use. There are tons of great loops that are triggered by simply pressing a key on your keyboard. The one shot drum hits are great for adding some extra impact to your tracks. I really like the melodic instruments in Evolve Mutations. I thought these were much more usable than the original Evolve library. There are some great quasi-electric guitar sounds included where a sampled strat is turned into pad. The mod wheel can be used on many of the instruments to mix a rhythmic 'sample-and-hold' type effect in the background. This alone can add a lot of 'movement' to a boring pad, but can make a dense mix sound clutter if overdone.

All of East West plug ins are very good, “The Dark Side” is another one from them, it is a 40GB collection that comes on a DVD. It does take up a good amount of hard disk space and it will use some CPU. You will need to make sure that you have a Dual Core PC with a fast processor or else this will run really slow on your system and it will make it pretty much unusable. It does require iLok and iLok is not included with the purchase of The Dark Side. It can run on your Mac and your PC. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE All of the presets and sounds in The Dark Side are arranged into groups so you can find them easily. It comes with basses, guitars, keyboards, strings, FX, Synths, and all of your percussion sounds. Most of the sounds in The Dark Side are not really clean. They are “dark” and muddy on purpose to give that scary eerie feeling to it. I would not purchase this if you are not looking for dark sounds, because that’s all this really is. OVERALL OPINION But this is most definitely the best “dark” type of synth and VST plug in that is out to this date. But I must warn you it is not for everyone. I suggest reading some reviews before purchasing, you would not want to waste your 350 dollars buying something that you can not return. I wish they mixed in some cleaner sounding synths and instruments so it was more of a total package instead of just geared toward dark music and sounds. It would make it a lot more appealing. It is great if you are into those type of sounds, but it just was not for me, I made a mistake purchasing it and have moved on. It does run great, but I can not do too much with all of the dark and eerie sounds.

I run this in Kontakt 5 with a Macbook pro i7 with 8gb ram and an RME Fireface 800. So far I have had no compatibility issues. I have not needed to reference the manual as this is a basic, straight forward sample set. The set up is as simple as installing, then going into Kontakt and locating the file. After it loads, you have all your options sitting in front of you. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I have only used this sample set a couple of times but so far it has saved properly in my sets and I have had no playability/sequencing issues so far. I give this a 10 out of 10 for performance. It is a relatively simple instrument and Soniccouture has always done a great job at making sure the stuff they release performs properly, even when it is a free sample set. I have had this for about two months but really only use it sparingly. The main reason it only gets a little use is because is sonically reminds me of the Glassworks sample sets and I really like those. When I want this odd pad sound, I usually reach for the Glassworks first. OVERALL OPINION What I like most about it is it was free. Had it cost something, I probably wouldn't have purchased it, only because I already own Glassworks and these are fairly similar sonically. There isn't much to say about it that would be bad. It has a nice GUI, the samples sound great and it plays great from a keyboard. It also has a few nice options like Reverb and High pass filter to give it that old recording thin sound. Because it was free, the value is the best it can be. I have attended some Bali Gamelan performances in my time and have always loved the style. Although I have never seen anyone bowing anything at these performances (mainly flutes and mallet instruments) I imagine this sound would fit in very well. Like I said before, I believe this sample set and glassworks are very similar, although glass works is superior due to its plethora of options and it's collection of rare instruments. Again, because it was free after 3 purchases, you would be a fool not to grab it if you can.

I run this on a Macbook Pro i7 with 8gb ram and an RME Fireface 800 running Kontakt 5, Ableton 8 and Logic 9. So far, there has been zero issues with this sample set. It is a fairly simple instrument so I don't believe you will need to reference the manual for anything if you are already familiar with how Kontakt works. The setup is very simple, just install it and locate the file using Kontakts browser and open it up. The GUI is very clean and relatively basic. You get some basic controls including Attack and Release, Cutoff and Resonance, and some effects which include a High pass filter and some reverb. Everything you can do with this instrument is sitting right on the face of the GUI so everything is accessible. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE So far I have had no bad issues with this plugin. Everything seems to work properly and I can get what I need from it in a matter of minutes. Whenever I use this in a project, it saves and operates perfectly fine. I give this a big 10 out of 10. It sounds better than any music box recording I have ever made and it's already set up to be played via keyboard/midi. Oh yeah, and it's FREE!!! I have been using this for a few months now. I stumbled across it when I was looking for a Music box sample for a soundtrack I was writing for a friends anime film. He and I were very pleased with the sound quality and were able to right and record the part with in an hour. OVERALL OPINION What I like most about it is it sounds fantastic and is very easy to use. I also like that I didn't have to shell out any money for it. There isn't anything I could imagine complaining about. It works well and sounds good, what else can you expect from such a simple instrument. You can't beat FREE. This is the first dedicated music box sampled instrument I have ever used. I have used many Music box patches in various synths, but this one sounds far better than any of those. I highly recommend this plugin, go pick it up today!

I run this in Kontakt standalone and in both Logic 9 and Ableton 8 on a MBP i7 with a RME Fireface 800. So far, no compatibility issues. If you are familiar with Kontakt already, you won't need to reference the manual. I haven't done so yet. Yes, all the functions are easily accessible. Essentially this is just a simple sample player with a couple effects (Lowpass, Hi pass, phaser, reverb and delay). All the samples are organized into three headers: Ambience, Impact, Rhythm. This is "code" for -pads/melodic instruments, -percussive instruments and -loops, essentially. This is a rather fluid way to set it up actually. They have also included some combinations that are really nice. You can find some really awesome pads in that section. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE So far no glitches even at low Buffer settings and no work lost. It has never caused any crashes or any other problems so far. For what it is, it does it well. When I need some interesting "ominous tones" or general ambience background noises, this is the first sample set I think of now. I have there "Water Harp" sample set too which is great, but is far less versatile. I like most of the loops and do use those occasionally, but I usually manipulate loops when writing right in my DAW as opposed to inside a Kontakt instrument. Better work flow that way. I have been using this only for a few months. OVERALL OPINION What I like most about this sound set is there is a lot of excellent quality sounds in here. I use these most in genres like electronica and minimalism, but I would imagine a composer for film, video and such would love this. This does tend to lead a little more to the dark side of ambience though. Sometimes, if I close my eyes, it sounds like I'm watching the move Underworld. I don't really have any complaints about this. The samples sound great and come in handy when you need to create that feel of space and mood. The price is fairly expensive, and I actually didn't pay for these out of my pocket. With that being said, I probably wouldn't have bought them for myself as I don't personally do many video scores, but I do find myself using these more often than I thought. Even throwing a few of these background pads in the mix at low levels for intros, outros and breakdowns can give your track a lot of space and dimension. This is probably the first one I've used in this style. I'm glad I have access to it, but I probably wouldn't spend that much of my own money to buy it.

Native Instruments Massive threat is a great vst that can be used in almost any software that you use as your daw. FM8 gives you complete control over the synth, and has a ton of presets that will get you p and running right away with sounds that are radio ready. Unlike other Native instrument vst’s that came with FM 8 when I purchased it, FM 8 is a little easier to understand. You can edit the sounds of FM8 a lot easier than you can of a Massive or Absynth. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE The thing I like the most about Native Instruments Massive Threat is the control you have over the arps. There are a few effects you can use as well. Not as many effects that I would like to have but there are enough to do what you need, any extra effects I just use in the mixer of my daw to add some more. OVERALL OPINION Overall the Massive threat has worked great on my windows computer and has never crashed. I bought this software in a package from Native Instruments for around 499, but this vst software is worth any price. Plus with Native Instruments you can get all of your updates right to your computer downloaded for free and right away. You need to create an account with Native Instruments first, but once you do that you will be good to go for life. You can even save some of your favorite sounds or presets and add them to “your favorites” and use them at anytime. This is just incase you forgot where the sound was or what category it was in. Anyone looking for quality sounds coming from a vst software must try this, its top of the line and easy to understand. It outshines its competitors.