Absynth/Reaktor for Sound design

[D'Animation]

What would people recommend for creating space vehicles/planetary stuff? have a new animated pilot heading my way after xmas and want to have some ideas going. The stuff i've done before was 50% library effects, 50% synthesised via Reason (good program but hate it in REwire to Protools) but i've always been intrigued by Native Instruments Absynth/Reaktor (doing a special at the moment so its only 99$!!) - i believe they could be used as fx filters for vocoding and alike as well as creating sounds too. I know they are pretty deep programs (Reaktor especially) but i've a good knowledge of how synths work etc so not too worried about that.
Anyone have any thoughts on what might be best suited?
Thanks
D

[Kyle S]

youll prob love it both. reaktor has a much steeper curve than absynth.

[dsteinwedel]

Both can be made to work for atmospheres. I've used Absynth quite a bit to create textures and BGs. I definitely prefer to use it as an effect for real sound rather than as a signal generator.

As for vehicles--you can make them work (lots of control over pitch and filter curves) but you'll need to start with synth signals. It wouldn't be my first or only approach but I'm not much of a synth man myself. Someone who knows how to use those signals well could do some pretty cool stuff with the programs.

If you know the basics of a synth (signal to filter to effect to master) you'll be up and running Absynth in under 5 minutes (but it will take you a while to get to the bottom of its feature set). Reaktor is much more powerful but will take longer to get up and running.

Also, Absynth is buggy as f*ck when working within ProTools (Absynth 4 + PT 7.4). Not sure about he native version or inside other DAWs.

-Dave

[D'Animation]

Cheers for the info Dave, I wouldn't be stuck to a synth myself but i do find the synth based fx to really add something else to a vehicle - my base is usually mangled airplanes/cars etc and then add the synthetic layer with a synth. And yes unfortunately, everything i read about protools and native instruments is bad news

Can you just use them for their fx and filters for extreme mangling?? i often use Virus Indigo TDM just for the filters
D

[_taylor]

Originally Posted by D'Animation

Can you just use them for their fx and filters for extreme mangling?? i often use Virus Indigo TDM just for the filters
D

Absynth absolutely, I would image Reaktor as well.

[ggegan]

I'm very curious about Absynth 5 and whether it plays well with PT8 and also Kontakt 4 in PT8. I have heard so many different opinions about them. People say Native Instrument products have been buggy in PT in the past, but there haven't been many reviews of the latest versions.

Conversely, many people seem to favor Kontakt over Structure, but the opinions come mostly from the music world. I'm wondering how they work for sound design - not music sound design but film sound fx design. Komplete seems like a pretty good deal, but I'm also interested in Kyma, which is expensive.

I don't have unlimited funds, so I need to be smart about my tool investments and go for reliable aps that give me a lot of bang for my buck.

[soundboy]

I'm not one to spend someone else's money, but at $99 this weekend, I'm getting Absynth and Reaktor.

[soundguydave]

$99 each is a good deal, but $499 for the Komplete 6 bundle is a really good deal too, especially if you would use guitar rig or any of the other instruments.

[Big Andy]

For $499 you can also get Omnisphere. From what I've heard and my experience playing with it, there is really nothing that matches it's level. For example, the entirety of the sound design for "District 9" was done with it.

[tilman]

Originally Posted by Big Andy

...Omnisphere. .... For example, the entirety of the sound design for "District 9" was done with it.

sorry but I can not believe this...

but I need to try omnisphere just to hear the synthesis engine which must be great. However I miss the possibility to load your own sounds into omnisphere.

Reaktor & Absynth:

I like using some of the reaktor fX ensembles as insert fX in soundminer.
But most of the reaktor ensembles are for groove and beat mantipulation.
I think it would be great to develop more fx ensembles that can be modulated
freely with x/y pads or multistage envelopes. most of the reaktor ensembles are good for beatchopping.

absynth is a better choice. but the granular oscillators could have more parameters.
and spectral synthesis and a morphing algorythm would be cool fo absynth

[AKA]

For this price, seriously - you should get both ;) but to your original post :

Originally Posted by D'Animation

What would people recommend for creating space vehicles/planetary stuff?

Well... that pretty much depends on how you want them to sound.
no pun intended.

[nickmaxwell]

I picked up Absynth over the weekend, primarily to be used in sci-fi and vehicle sound design (although I'm sure I'll find many other uses for it). This synth is amazing with its ability to load samples, set up basic looping options, and go to town with the processing. The Cloud filter and Aetherizer are real standouts, as is the option to "mutate" sounds toward the characteristics of other patches using a pretty deep set of parameters. This was a complete no-brainer purchase at the $99 price, something I rarely say about any tool.

[D'Animation]

Thanks everyone - will pick up Absynth this morning and probably pick up Reaktor next week (just to keep for a rainy day!). Omnisphere I looked at ages ago but i do hear a lot of fx, especially game audio stuff, comes from there. As for Kyma, well i wish! On the other hand i have heard Reaktor being called a 'poor mans Kyma' which is intriguing too!

Right now lets see if you play nice with ProTools...
Cheers
D

[Blank]

I own both reaktor and absynth, I use both for sound design and electronic instruments patches since years. Reaktor at this price is a solid deal, even if you don't think about building your own instruments. Absynth is pretty good for ambiance, evolving atmosphere, especially if you add the waveforms pack from Galbanum ( Galbanum | sonic science aural allusion | Architecture ABS ).

Since version 5 Absynth is running really better with PT, reaktor still a bit shaky but it's not that bad once you've figured out the file management system.

[Big Andy]

Is anyone out there using Mach 5? I have been playing with it at West LA Music and it is a lot of fun. I was watching the Wall-E behind the scenes and saw Ben Burtt using it.... so I assume if HE is using it that must mean it's good.

[Big Andy]

Originally Posted by Big Andy

Is anyone out there using Mach 5? I have been playing with it at West LA Music and it is a lot of fun. I was watching the Wall-E behind the scenes and saw Ben Burtt using it.... so I assume if HE is using it that must mean it's good.

So I just spent some more time playing with Mach5 and from my experience and what a couple sound designer friends have told me... Mach5 is far more user friendly than any other sound design program. It goes deeper than absynth and the ui is far easier to work through. I had it down pat in about 15 minutes but I would still have a lot to discover. It allows infinite layers and you can set up deep "rules" to effect key triggering and effect modulation. You can also import audio from any format, a function a lot of synths don't have. The only thing omnisphere has over Mach5 is the amount of start up sounds you get with it.

I know this is an Absynth vs Reaktor thread, but we should discuss all of the options out there while we are at it.

[D'Animation]

Mach 5 looks pretty cool - especially as its not locked to one sample format....BUT for 99$ each, native-instruments got my money!
Am currently doing extreme pitch and yaw moves in Absynth
Not sure i should buy anything else for awhile, looks to be a hell of a lot to work out just with these two.
Yet Waves/Flux/URS/Mcdsp are all doing 30% or more sales....
D