NI Pro 53 Appreciation

[JDN]

I've owned a whole lot of real analogs over the years(Rolands, moogs, Sequential, Korgs, etc) and I have to say, this Pro 53 is sooo underrated. I really think it's one of the few VI's that really sounds like an analog synth, and I own the Arturia, and like, and have tried most of the others, various moogs and arp VI's, etc. Sure it doesn't have a lot of the "candy" and excessive effects a lot of other VI's have, but as far as a really great analog synth VI, I love me some pro 53.

I really don't understand why NI dropped support and updates? It's a really great part of the Komplete package IMO and was a motivating factor when I bought in originally back in the day.

[Simonator]

thumbsup

I agree with you.

When I got my new Macbook Pro, I had to go to a LOT of hassle to hack it back onto OS-X 10.5 Leopard, primarily because so many unfinished projects feature this discontinued synth.

One of my favorites for creating my own patches- nice and simple & direct. Love the filter & filter envelopes.

Have to say though DCAM synth squad does sound much more like analogue hardware... but still NI did discontinue this very prematurely!!

[JDN]

Originally Posted by simonator

thumbsup

I agree with you.

When I got my new Macbook Pro, I had to go to a LOT of hassle to hack it back onto OS-X 10.5 Leopard, primarily because so many unfinished projects feature this discontinued synth.

I'm OS 10.6.3 still rocking pro 53, it was part of my komplete 4 and even though it's discontinued still runs on current OS and shows up in NI registered products and NI service center. I did upgrade to komplete 6 but considering it's not part of that at all shouldn't matter

[jeremyglover]

when i bought komplete 4 the pro 53 was the one the jumped out for me sound wise, it really is a lot of fun. i sucks that it's not continued.

jeremy

[JDN]

Originally Posted by passivepeter

when i bought komplete 4 the pro 53 was the one the jumped out for me sound wise, it really is a lot of fun. i sucks that it's not continued.

jeremy

Yea Long before Kontact was useable, the Pro 53 sounded great, was rock solid, and had instant preset access and simple intuitive tweakability to anyone with basic knowledge of analog synths, and it was efficient because it was before the GUI became more important than the sound. Why discontinue? Anyone know of any good sites of user presets?

[Simonator]

Originally Posted by JDN

I'm OS 10.6.3 still rocking pro 53, it was part of my komplete 4 and even though it's discontinued still runs on current OS and shows up in NI registered products and NI service center. I did upgrade to komplete 6 but considering it's not part of that at all shouldn't matter

Seriously?? Wow.

I'm still on Komplete 4... when I tried installing it under Snow (November last year) I had no Pro 53 even with the most recent update for it at the time.

How about Spektral Delay & Vokator? Do you have those running under Snow?

Originally Posted by JDN

Anyone know of any good sites of user presets?

I've attached here a couple that I made.
'Metro 5' was inspired by the bass in Metro Area's 'Caught Up'... but then tweaked to fit the track I was working on.
'My Brass' is my attempt at a NY house style synth brass with a little bite before the filter envelope cuts it down with a little 'ughh' kinda feel (I know that doesn't sound like it makes sense... but have a listen!)

[Arcadia]

Pro-53 has always been my favorite NI plug-in. Used it on more tracks than any other. It will be sorely missed.

[Oli]

I like it too. It sure has its share of haters though.

I thought Pro52 was pretty cool for the time. I seem to remember a lot of really bad soft synths available back then. IMO, Pro 52 had more character to its sound than most of its competitors.

I guess people who can compare it to the real Prophet 5 may have some concerns with the emulation, but I like it anyway. Would love the chance to play with the original though.

[Yoozer]

Originally Posted by simonator

Seriously?? Wow.

I'm still on Komplete 4...

Upgrade to 6, get all the neat new stuff without dumping the old. Cheap now, too.

[Simonator]

Originally Posted by Yoozer

Upgrade to 6, get all the neat new stuff without dumping the old. Cheap now, too.

Yeah... I got an email about that 50% off upgrades sale that just started... makes it VERY tempting.

If only I wasn't stoney broke :-(

[zerocrossing]

Originally Posted by JDN

I've owned a whole lot of real analogs over the years(Rolands, moogs, Sequential, Korgs, etc) and I have to say, this Pro 53 is sooo underrated.

I feel the complete opposite. When I started checking out software I was super impressed with Absynth and Reaktor so I gave Pro 53 a try and it struck me as one of the least interesting VAs at the time and that was 5 years ago. Now, I'm sure it's buried even further by VSTs such as Sawer, DCAM, ACE and XILS3. To each their own, I guess, but the reason Pro 53 was discontinued was because most people felt like I do and I'm sure it's sales reflected that. I guess they came to the point where they had to do a major overhaul of it's engine or scrap it and they chose to scrap it.

[The Architecture]

Originally Posted by zerocrossing

I feel the complete opposite. When I started checking out software I was super impressed with Absynth and Reaktor so I gave Pro 53 a try and it struck me as one of the least interesting VAs at the time and that was 5 years ago. Now, I'm sure it's buried even further by VSTs such as Sawer, DCAM, ACE and XILS3. To each their own, I guess, but the reason Pro 53 was discontinued was because most people felt like I do and I'm sure it's sales reflected that. I guess they came to the point where they had to do a major overhaul of it's engine or scrap it and they chose to scrap it.

There is soo many more great sounding VST's than Pro 53. I used it back in the day, in 2003 it was cool, but not in 2010.

DCAM is much more powerful and analog sounding.

[DocT]

I once made a few short demos for an NI soundset, and thought that Pro 53 sounded not bad:

http://www.trippler.net/files/mp3/zwei.mp3

http://www.trippler.net/files/mp3/eins.mp3

[keybdwizrd]

I have lots of fun with Pro-53. I have it running perfectly fine on two Macs with 10.6.3.

[The Architecture]

I just started using Pro 53 again, and upon re-evaluation, this thing sounds great! Been comparing it to Sawer, and to be honest, I have heard soo much ugly aliasing in sawer, you could play it melodically. Yet the Pro 53 is soo smooth sounding, with no apparent aliasing. Sure its not the best sounding VST, but its damn fun to use, ill be posting a track that uses nothing but Pro 53 and some drum samples.

[darkgoob]

Originally Posted by JDN

I've owned a whole lot of real analogs over the years(Rolands, moogs, Sequential, Korgs, etc) and I have to say, this Pro 53 is sooo underrated. I really think it's one of the few VI's that really sounds like an analog synth, and I own the Arturia, and like, and have tried most of the others, various moogs and arp VI's, etc. Sure it doesn't have a lot of the "candy" and excessive effects a lot of other VI's have, but as far as a really great analog synth VI, I love me some pro 53.

I really don't understand why NI dropped support and updates? It's a really great part of the Komplete package IMO and was a motivating factor when I bought in originally back in the day.

Hell yes. The Pro-53 is my standard synth. And I have literally tried all of them. There is nothing that comes even close, in my opinion. I really dig the new Animoog though, for its sound it's great, but it still seems very limited and forced, vs. the open purity and diversity that's possible with the Pro-53. It's amazing.

-=DG=-

[darkgoob]

Originally Posted by zerocrossing

I feel the complete opposite. When I started checking out software I was super impressed with Absynth and Reaktor so I gave Pro 53 a try and it struck me as one of the least interesting VAs at the time and that was 5 years ago. Now, I'm sure it's buried even further by VSTs such as Sawer, DCAM, ACE and XILS3. To each their own, I guess, but the reason Pro 53 was discontinued was because most people felt like I do and I'm sure it's sales reflected that. I guess they came to the point where they had to do a major overhaul of it's engine or scrap it and they chose to scrap it.

No, Dave Smith revoked licensing, to make the Prophet '08 (rumor has it). I guess he realized could make much more cash off of hardware, which cannot be pirated!

As for DCAM? Never even heard of it. But I would be shocked if it even holds a candle to the Pro-53, which is perfect. Not because it emulates analog perfectly, but because it doesn't.

EDIT: I checked out DCAM online. Looks OK, if you're making electronica or chill-out etc. But I wouldn't compare it to the Pro-53. That would be like comparing a Bentley to a Ducati. Yes, the Ducati is not going to give you a luxurious ride with all the appointments. But then, that's not the point of a Ducati, is it? With a Bentley, riding in it is the point. Whereas with a Ducati, riding on it is the point.

Let me add: ACE is great. I have been using Zebra for years, and I like the directness of its sound... I like Zebra's interface better though. From what I can tell, Ace is just Zebra with an analog interface so it's less like programming a computer, and more like... being a telephone operator in 1963. Or something.

[Disease Factory]

its ok, not great tho.

[mindseye]

Originally Posted by darkgoob

Hell yes. The Pro-53 is my standard synth. And I have literally tried all of them. There is nothing that comes even close, in my opinion. I really dig the new Animoog though, for its sound it's great, but it still seems very limited and forced, vs. the open purity and diversity that's possible with the Pro-53. It's amazing.

-=DG=-

How do the synths in Logic stack up against the Pro-53?