Replicant Progress Update...
From the original Analog Industries archive. Some links and images from that era no longer resolve.
Okay, Elle has made the Replicant page on the AD site live, so you can have a gander at the proper screenshot and feature list and such. I whipped out some quick demos, but I will probably replace these in the near future.
Steve Hamman put up a nice little demo on his blog, as well, if you missed the mention in the comments of a previous post. It’s probably a better example of what Replicant can do. (What Replican do? Something like that.) Anywho, the AU version is out for testing, although none of the AU testers has written me back, so I’m nervous that we’ve created a monster or something. It works for me, for what it’s worth. I’m writing presets today and tomorrow, while Adam works on the manual. In short, it’s getting close. I absolutely guarantee that, unless Something Bad Happens, it’ll be out before the New Year. (How’s that for a caveat?)
19 comments
So, having listened to the demos a bit more I have to ask: Are you guys paying rights to the estate of Lee Perry? You know, for digitizing him into plugin form?
Son, Lee Perry aint dead even a bit. You can pay him in cash and in person.
Unempty: I don't think it's so black-and-white as you suggest...
Fuck black-and-white, it's retarded.
Or maybe 'noisegeek' means how like AutoTune is paying fees to singers that can actually sing in tune?...
Anyways, Merry X-mas to ME!
(Even if it ends up a few days later.)
<<< ignore.
I just realized 'noisegeek' was joking, sorry.
Ehm, can I say I do not like the demo you linked in your post? It definitely does not bring me to buy Replicant... sorry (nothing personal for Steve, of course). I think you need more "musical" demos for your plugs...
"nothing personal for Steve, of course"
Of course, I take no offense. What's funny is that for me, that is a fairly musical offering. You should have heard the noise I was making with it this weekend.
This brings an interesting point up, though. When we're only doing audio demos, it's basically impossible to create demos that everyone will like, musically. Early on (and you can hear this with our earlier products) I asked Wade Alin to make sophisticated musical demos, which I thought really showed the plugs in their best light. However, we got a lot of complaints where people couldn't tell what the fuck was going on, because Wade is a very technical and subtle programmer, and uses a _lot_ of automation on the effects.
So, I guess for someone that maybe doesn't know what a certain plug is supposed to do (like the 907A/914 for example), it's kind of hard to get a sense of what in the song is getting altered by the plug and when. So we switched to more traditional "here is your bass, here is your bass effected" kind of audio demos. These aren't very much fun to listen to, from a musical standpoint, but they do a better job of explicitly showing the plugin's abilities, I suppose.
Personally, I don't care for them. They're no fun to make at all, I'll say that much. I think something like what Steve did is far more interesting.
-CR
Well, I get your points.
Anyway regarding your conclusion you're lucky if you can say you don't care about them. Since you do not offer trial versions I think demos are important.
Or you're lucky if you're able to sell just thanks to the concept behind the product...
Sounds like hardware's nostalgia, I know...
I didn't say I don't care _about_ them. Of course, I care, as the first audio demo is the first thing people click on when they visit the product's page. Obviously, we want to put our best foot forward. I just vastly prefer what Wade was doing for us to these short little "here's a track with a plugin on it" things.
However, the market speaks, and we listen. Or some marketing bullshit like that.
-CR
Man this thing sounds amazing.
Aphex Twin or Squarepusher are probably spinning in their graves.
I think there is room for both kinds of demos, the Wade-style in a mix and then a few utility-style clips. It's impossible to convey the full function of any machine in an audio clip, but they can be pretty good at conveying the general idea.
It's also impossible to show how the plugin handles in actual use, which Replicant does quite nicely. It's very obviously laid out, and easy once you come to grips with each function available.
The set-up I mentioned at the end of my blog entry with all the triggers set to the same MIDI CC has become my favourite thing in Replicant. Especially if you deal in the occasional really loud sound. I've set it up with a low bit rate, which can drive the volume through the roof, so it's a great tool for distorted blasts in volume, especially I've found on spoken word samples and the like.
I prefer to see both types of demos. One with the plugin on a track in isolation so you can understand what the hell is going on and one full on finished piece so that you can verify it does indeed do something musical in the context of a finished song.
Otherwise it's hard to tell if a) the plug has been heavily post processed with some extra mojo. or b) it's difficult to fit into a mix.
There is absolutely no need to defend or excuse any of the demos by AD and shamann; in every one of them the plugin speaks eloquently for itself as a useful, and yes, 'musical' tool. I'm really impressed and intend to purchase the AU version.
Holy crap, I could've sworn I remember reading his obit a year or so back; but it seems the upsetter is still around.
Anyway, my only point was that Replicant seems to be particularly well suited for achieving certain Dub effects easily. Never a bad thing in my opinion.
As far as the audio demos go, I always find the most unorthodox examples to be the most informative. Run something like "O, Fortuna" from Carmina Burana through something like Replicant and you can get a very clear sense of what it's doing to the input, whereas with a four to the floor beat it's a bit harder to hear what's unique about an effect.
Cheers for the amen break Chris... thats gives me a clear picture of EXACTLY how id use it... im sold.
then again... i make drum & bass.
hey, how does one beta that AU?
I've tried to contact Chris but he does not reply to emails, bah....
I reply to emails that make grammatical sense and come to the proper address. Writing my personal address four times in as many hours to basically ask for free shit isn't the way to get a snappy, well-written reply.
We pick our testers based upon a number of criteria, but mostly it's familiarity. The one thing a company like ours is never short of is people offering to test. Pound for pound, we get nearly as many offers to test as we do sales. So just asking rarely does the trick. Although, I'm moody as fuck, so you really never know...
-CR
Holy fuck. Can't wait to use this beast. Livecut, suppatrigga and the rest need more friends! :)
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