Now that BIAB hosts plug-ins, what are your favorite freebies ?

Posted By: JayO · 12/16/16

Posted By: JayO · 12/16/16

Oops almost forgot to mention...
Now that BIAB comes with sforzando as a replacement for SampleTank, there is a nice free soundbank for sforzando here :

http://www.plogue.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=7090

Again, enjoy !

- Jay

Posted By: Icelander · 12/17/16

For freebies I've got a few "bigcat" instruments, both as vst and sfz that I quite like. They've usually got a very minimal interface and tweaking options compared to the pro stuff out there, but on the flip side are easy on the mind of both user and puter alike...and they sound pretty great for the most part, or at least those that I've kept. I also use the free ones that came from Steinberg, which are already listed above.
Some found here: http://bigcatlists.blogspot.is/2014/05/totally-free-instrument-by-type.html

EDIT: With this new addition I'm also rediscovering the value of soundfonts, which you can now use as replacement (Default Synth) for that awful built-in dls we have from Apple. And since the sforzando application can convert these soundfont filetypes and make use of the sounds like any sfz files, the usability of soundfonts has become even greater.
And my main go-to place for soundfonts that are (nearly) all free: http://www.soundfonts.gonet.biz/list.php

Posted By: JayO · 12/17/16

Nice ! Some good stuff at the bigcats site, thanks !
I'm going to be busy for a while now.

Also, I did see one listed on that bigcats site that I forgot about Versilian VS-1 Upright Piano, very nice free piano.
http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?plugin=VS_Upright_1&id=1890

Thanks.

- Jay

Posted By: Icelander · 12/17/16

Originally Posted By: JayO

Nice ! Some good stuff at the bigcats site, thanks !
I'm going to be busy for a while now.

Well, I'm likewise having a blast grabbing yours, just figured it was only proper to return the favour

Now, if only more people would chip in...!

p.s. That Soundfonts link lists quite a few sfz sets as well as soundfonts, so it should be worth the visit for that only if nothing else.

Posted By: Icelander · 12/18/16

Originally Posted By: JayO

I forgot about Versilian VS-1 Upright Piano, very nice free piano.
http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?plugin=VS_Upright_1&id=1890

- Jay

This place is a nice source of freebies, just a shame only a fraction of their list is Mac savvy though. And even when they are, it's a lot of hit'n-miss when it comes to actual compatibility. Found a every promising guitar vst there, for example, which after installing always resulted in a "no instrument found" error, regardless of which tool I used to test it

Another promising one, an organ vst (which you provided a direct link to), does seem to work only in some apps (MultitrackStudio) and not others (no sound in BBox, not showing in Cubase at all), while yet another piano vst does work and sound fine but as it has nothing to adjust, it doesn't respond to volume changes in BBox (and doesn't show in Cubase at all) and so on...
But it was a fun evening in my book regardless, going through and trying all these different things, so thanks again for these links

Posted By: Icelander · 12/18/16

By the way, for a low footprint, solid tester of both VSTi and AU on the Mac, go find "MultitrackStudio". It's a free (crippleware) dedicated VST/AU host application, with midi import/play capabilities, export to audio and more. Very handy if you want to avoid loading clunky big daw or crash hazards just for the purpose of checking a vst/au.

Posted By: JayO · 12/20/16

Hey Eddie,
I see what you mean about some of those plug-ins being hit or miss with the Mac.
I did notice that most of those sampler instruments at the bigcat site you posted were made with Maize sampler.
Those Maize made plug-ins (including Versilian VS-1 Upright Piano) have a problem with BIAB.
The GUI doesn't show up when using the AU versions, but the VST versions I tried seem to work with BIAB.
Those same AU instruments work fine with all my other AU host programs though.

This is a pain since I mostly use AU plug-ins in Logic, and don't have the disk space to keep 2 versions of the same instruments, which tend to be large.

Hopefully some others will chime in here with their favorite freebies, I can't believe that you and I are the only cheapskates here.

- Jay

Posted By: Icelander · 12/20/16

Oi, watch it!

That last bit actually made me LOL so good on ya there

And I agree with you. Judging by the less than enthusiastic responses I've been getting to my $1 Usertracks in this "Sharer's Utopia" of a forum, I think it's safe to presume you and I are definitely not "the only cheapskates" around here!

Maybe we're just so good at finding stuff that we've already found everything the others are using (and then some)

Posted By: JayO · 12/21/16

Originally Posted By: Icelander

Oi, watch it!

Heh heh !

You know I kid, right ?

How about we just say "broke struggling artist" then ?
That has a much nicer ring than that other "C--- word".

There are a lot of great free plug-ins out there, and I've been told I'm a "cheapskate" (that's according to my wife anyway

), so I do like to try out as many of those freebies as I can .

Needless to say, a lot of them have gained "permanent resident" status in my plug-in folders over the years, hence the long list in my first post.

- Jay

Posted By: Icelander · 12/21/16

It's all good, no worries

Seriously speaking, I suspect the real reason for the lack of participation in this thread is simply because we're having it in the "wrong" place, i.e. the lesser frequented Mac forum, and that's all there's to it.
Anyway, how about sfz sounds & banks, have you been seeking out for any of those for the new sforzando compatibility? I've got some pretty awesome things in that department already...and all completely free, of course

Posted By: JayO · 12/21/16

I assume that you've found this place :
http://patcharena.com/tag/free-sfz-instruments/

I've downloaded a few but haven't had a chance to give them a good test yet.

- Jay

Posted By: Icelander · 12/22/16

Originally Posted By: JayO

I assume that you've found this place :
http://patcharena.com/tag/free-sfz-instruments/

I've downloaded a few but haven't had a chance to give them a good test yet.

- Jay

Actually, I don't think I had seen this particular place. Though some of its items I've seen (or got) elsewhere, some I most certainly have not.
Never presume knowledge

p.s. I used to own that Casio CK-10 keyboard, so this link turned out to be an extra personal treat for me!

Posted By: Janice & Bud · 12/26/16

This thread serves to even more profoundly illustrate what a tiny percentage of the power of biab that I use...or for which I'm even aware of. For a production I generate real drum and realracks, dump them into Logic Pro X and take it from there with a host of Izotope products. And return to biab only to regen tracks.

Posted By: Icelander · 12/27/16

Originally Posted By: Janice & Bud

This thread serves to even more profoundly illustrate what a tiny percentage of the power of biab that I use...or for which I'm even aware of.

To me that's precisely the beauty of not just this section, but this whole forum. It's such a 'mixpot' of so many views, experiences & ideas that one is bound to discover new ways and methods to use this one tool that combines us all

Posted By: stevend · 12/29/16

Hi all...while I am a long time user of BIAB-Windows, I am a new user of the Mac version...My question is simple, and I am a bit ashamed I can't figure it out...

I can certainly route the MIDI through the IAC to sampletank, or Sfz, put the instruments on the correct channel, and be fine.

I can even select the instruments in the plug ins...but I have been unable to get sounds using just the plugins...tried changing channels, forcing MIDI, etc..yet, I can hear the sound when I activate the keyboard..just nothing when I hit play (even though the mixer shows messages in the channel).

Can anyone give me some hints as to what I might be missing?

I figure it has to be simple, I am just not seeing it...

thanks!

Steve

Posted By: Icelander · 12/29/16

Originally Posted By: stevend

Hi all...while I am a long time user of BIAB-Windows, I am a new user of the Mac version...My question is simple, and I am a bit ashamed I can't figure it out...

I can certainly route the MIDI through the IAC to sampletank, or Sfz, put the instruments on the correct channel, and be fine.

I can even select the instruments in the plug ins...but I have been unable to get sounds using just the plugins...tried changing channels, forcing MIDI, etc..yet, I can hear the sound when I activate the keyboard..just nothing when I hit play (even though the mixer shows messages in the channel).

Can anyone give me some hints as to what I might be missing?

I figure it has to be simple, I am just not seeing it...

thanks!

Steve

You can start by selecting the default Built-In DLS as your output, instead of the IAC or other external drivers, then quit and restart BBox and see if that hasn't fixed it. Other than that I'm afraid I don't have the answer for you. You'll have much more success with solving this if you create your own thread dedicated to just your issues.

Posted By: JayO · 12/29/16

Originally Posted By: Icelander

You can start by selecting the default Built-In DLS as your output, instead of the IAC or other external drivers, then quit and restart BBox and see if that hasn't fixed it. Other than that I'm afraid I don't have the answer for you. You'll have much more success with solving this if you create your own thread dedicated to just your issues.

Try what Icelander says, and also make sure you have the proper audio output device selected in BIAB.

Go to the "Preferences..." menu item and click the "Audio" button, then click the "Audio Devices" button.

Here is what I have set up, I am using an M-Audio interface that is also my system default device.
hopefully this helps.

- Jay

Posted By: JayO · 12/29/16

Also, just discovered a new guitar amp sim. that's not too bad.

http://www.lostin70s.com

- Jay

Posted By: Icelander · 03/31/17

The following thread has some relevance to this subject: http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=402007