NoamL wrote: ↑Apr 23, 2021 4:28 pm
There are some basic red lines for a sampler, things like not blasting your ears, not crashing VEPro, not irretrievably corrupting your project files etc.
so the negative reception of OPUS is pretty fair IMO since those reported white noise blasts are SCARY. Instant dealbreaker for me, no matter how rare or non reproducible. I won't risk my ears - had too many similar blasts with the early 2010s versions of PLAY, (although they were partially my fault for running overburdened templates).
100% agreed. White noises blasts are a big, big no, no. Even if it happens only in 0.01% cases - the idea that it could happen is enough not to use OPUS. My workaround is to put Ice9 on my output (on the monitoring, using Cubase's control room). This does mean I had to pull my overall mix down a tad so I don't accidentally trigger the automuter on a big crescendo, but to me it's worth it having the insurance. When a sound blast happens, Ice9 triggers incredibly fast and it saved me a couple of times already when I had either kontakt or cubase creating static noise blasts (it's been a while, I don't remember the exact conditions that caused it).
NoamL wrote: ↑Apr 23, 2021 4:28 pm
the Orchestrator is a huge deal, esp the ability to program your own presets. I think it really makes HWO competitive for busy composers in a way that HWO might not be able to compete on the pound for pound sound alone. When your choices are THIS, or Symphobia 2... I can see a lot of working composers paying the $1k for this.
Funnily enough the orchestrator is the part I was least interested in. I haven't even bothered to install it yet. I probably should since opinions seem to be quite positive about it, but at the moment I can't be bothered. Maybe there is some vanity/pride thing going on and I'm secretly an old, very grumpy composer on the inside sticking to the "old" ways... but time will tell.
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My own experience with OPUS has left me in two minds. I'm not particularly amazed by the new samples. They're decent, and that's about all that I can say about them at this juncture. The orchestrator largely leaves me cold, so what exactly did I just throw $495 at?
Well, I do sincerely notice lots of improvements in the programming, which is great. Really, there are only two things holding me back from using OPUS more and those are:
- The surround mic also loading in the "classic" mood. I just want the main mic. I already found a workaround for this by editing the .preset files, but I'll need to apply it to loads of files and have as of yet not gathered the will to write a script to make that happen.
- OPUS seems significantly more RAM hungry, even if the classic mood is reduced to just one mic. I have a strong hunch that there's some double loading going on and I'll wait for a couple updates to come around.
For anyone wondering why I didn't get CC. I've had it in the past, it's great, but I simply prefer to own permanent licenses when I can afford to.
(Speaking from experience having used CC on season 1 of a tv show...)
