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Xfer Nerve

I've been trying out this demo and it's pretty cool - love all the features and the additive capabilities for sample-sculpting. Anybody else using it? Any thoughts or issues that I should be aware of before I pull the trigger? I'm particularly interested in any issues with the latest update because the demo is still v1.00. It looks like drag/drop of MIDI was added in the latest update, but I obviously can't try that with the older demo, so can someone confirm that it is working?

Also, can anybody confirm that it is a 64-bit app on Windows? I'm seeing conflicting reports on the web, the demo is 32-bit only, and the product webpage doesn't say.

Basically what metrum should of been.

I bought Nerve last night, but only had a little while to check it out. To answer my own questions, in case anybody else is interested, the v1.01 update is 64-bit on Windows and the drag-n-drop functionality seems to work fine in Sonar X1 and Studio One v2. I'll test it out further this week and try wrapping it in PT9 (there is no RTAS version).

I also picked up this awesome little goodie called LFOTool (only $25):

http://xferrecords.com/products/lfo-tool

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Originally posted by Looney4Clooney Basically what metrum should of been.

Well, Metrum was never meant to be a drum machine/sequencer. I personally don't have any interest in a dedicated kick drum instrument, but I understand what they were trying to do. But, not surprisingly, it doesn't seem like it had much success.

I tried Xfer demo but could not seem to find a way to get my samples into it!

Out of interest what does this bring you that your NI Maschine does not?

Are you using it's own samples? Kicks in particular interest me. Mind you I've been thinking of getting a hardware kick maker as all my hero's seem to be using them, such as;

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Originally posted by Richard Butler I tried Xfer demo but could not seem to find a way to get my samples into it!

Click on the Load button in the lower right-hand corner, or just drag a sample from your desktop onto a pad. Very simple.

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Originally posted by Richard Butler Out of interest what does this bring you that your NI Maschine does not?

Nerve has the additive engine, which is great for completely reshaping samples, better groove extraction, better sample editing, etc. But, to be clear, Nerve isn't going to replace Maschine - I just like to have lots of drum instruments at my disposal and I configure them to operate with Maschine as the controller.

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Originally posted by Richard Butler Are you using it's own samples?

As I mentioned, I just got it yesterday, so I haven't used it in a production yet. But, like most drum instruments, I'll probably use both the factory content and my own samples.

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Originally posted by Richard Butler I tried Xfer demo but could not seem to find a way to get my samples into it! Out of interest what does this bring you that your NI Maschine does not? Are you using it's own samples? Kicks in particular interest me. Mind you I've been thinking of getting a hardware kick maker as all my hero's seem to be using them, such as;

that sounds very good man, get it.

That LFO tool is neat, I think I'll pick that up. Thanks for sharing.

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Originally posted by Sean Walsh That LFO tool is neat, I think I'll pick that up. Thanks for sharing.

I think I might actually get as much use out of LFOTool as I do Nerve!

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Originally posted by cryophonik Well, Metrum was never meant to be a drum machine/sequencer. I personally don't have any interest in a dedicated kick drum instrument, but I understand what they were trying to do. But, not surprisingly, it doesn't seem like it had much success.

the problem with metrum is that it should of been for all sounds , not just kicks. More than 3 layers. This is a good replacement as you can have many layers, lots of enveloppes and effects as well. Battery lacks a few features. In fact why is NI ignoring battery.

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Originally posted by Looney4Clooney the problem with metrum is that it should of been for all sounds , not just kicks. More than 3 layers.

Yeah, that would have probably made it much more successful (and justified its $199 price tag - i.e., the same price as Nerve).

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Originally posted by Looney4Clooney This is a good replacement as you can have many layers, lots of enveloppes and effects as well. Battery lacks a few features. In fact why is NI ignoring battery.

I'm surprised that NI hasn't ported some of Battery's features (particularly the layering features) into Maschine and just eliminated it. They haven't really given Battery much attention in a while anyway.

does machine exist as just a program ? Or is it a hybrid only ? I like battery but honestly, i mean they should just have a cell style layout for kontakt if you want. it is purely a visual thing that makes battery appealling.

I used to use oldschool samplers so it is just against the way I work to have audio samples in the arrangement unless it is a bounced track. The issue is that with mac and the multiple outs that force 1 core processing makes it hard to really develop sounds by having a barrage of FX on the multi outs.

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Originally posted by Looney4Clooney does machine exist as just a program ? Or is it a hybrid only ?

You can't buy it as a standalone, but the software will operate in standalone mode (i.e., without the h/w unit connected).

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Originally posted by Looney4Clooney I like battery but honestly, i mean they should just have a cell style layout for kontakt if you want. it is purely a visual thing that makes battery appealling.

That's a good point. Seems that a few developers (e.g., Steven Slate) are releasing drum instruments for Kontakt, so I'm surprised that they haven't implemented a Battery/MPC-style interface module for it.

you have machine right ? Is it stable ? How does it integrate with your DAW ? Does it show up as instrument with multi outs ? Can you run several instruments with stereo outs ?

It have this aversion to things that look like Rap producers might buy. not a race thing, i just think rap producers are just fucking aweful.

I plan to start making EDM in the new year.

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Originally posted by Looney4Clooney you have machine right ? Is it stable ? How does it integrate with your DAW ? Does it show up as instrument with multi outs ? Can you run several instruments with stereo outs ?

Yes, I have had my Maschine for a couple of years now. It's very stable and NI updates it with improvements and bug fixes pretty regularly. It integrates perfectly with Sonar, Studio One (both VST) and Pro Tools 9 (RTAS) and it works very well in standalone mode. IIRC you're using Logic, right? I'm not sure if there are any problems with the Mac version, but I don't see many complaint threads.

As for routing, you have tons of flexibility there. It shows up with 16 stereo outputs and you can assign pads, groups, instruments, etc. to each output. Each pads has slots for effects (built-in or 3rd party plugins). TBH, I typically don't use third party instrument plugins within Maschine when I'm using it in my DAW because it's not as flexible as just using them in the DAW itself. I will occasionally use a third party effect plugin within Maschine, though (e.g., if I want to route several snares or kick drums to one Maschine group and compress them with Pro-Q). The drag-n-drop functionality is great, too - you can sequence parts within Maschine and drag either the MIDI or have it bounce down to audio by just dragging it into your host.

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Originally posted by MSZ that sounds very good man, get it.

I think my Wife has it on my Xmas list, damned I'll be itching to get into the studio on Xmas day, that will down down well!!

It's sad that Native Instruments did not put much more thought into battery, although I always felt the interface was a bit clunky and a bit convoluted and not very smooth. I really like the independent fx on every sample and the way to change parameters on any number of selected samples.

However, Maschine has caught my eye, especially with the get 2 free add-ons promotion and $100 off the Audio Komplete 6 promotions. The only thing about Native Instruments that confuses me is why they feel the need to release things on so many platforms. Ie. Kontakt, Kore, Reaktor, Battery, and Maschine. It's not a huge problem since I own them, but i wish they would find a way to conglomerate all of those products into a more unified product line, which they are starting to do by ceasing development on Battery.

However, I think from the business side of things, they are smart. Since consumers don't want to buy a new version of something, but rather releasing constantly completely different yet similar to get people to shell out their cash.

quote:

Originally posted by J.L. ...why they feel the need to release things on so many platforms. Ie. Kontakt, Kore, Reaktor, Battery, and Maschine.

And, don't forget their new Studio Drums (or whatever it's called).

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Originally posted by J.L. ...conglomerate all of those products into a more unified product line, which they are starting to do by ceasing development on Battery.

Just to clarify my earlier statement, I don't think that NI plans on discontinuing Battery 3 anytime soon. I actually recall seeing some threads a few months ago just after the Kore2 discontinuation announcement/debacle where NI reps said that there are no plans to discontinue B3.

But, to your point, I think that NI is actually trying to do more or less what you suggested by focusing on Maschine and essentially making it more DAW-like. One of the cool things about this new paradigm is that you can load Battery 3 as an instrument into Maschine and have the best of both worlds. It's a very powerful approach, but, to be honest, I haven't taken the time to explore it that much.

I just checked out Nerve as well and am thinking of getting it. Have you had much time to play with it? Worth it?

E: just to be a little more specific, it seems like a great tool for quickly getting some drum-fill type effects that I personally find add tons of spice to any house track. yay/nay?

Yeah, I actually used it quite a bit last night. It's got a very intuitive workflow and, yes, it's pretty easy to get some good fills going with the repeat function and with some of the gate effects, etc. I'm sure that I'll discover even more ways to get fills and transitions going as I dig deeper.

I owned Guru and Geist previously, but I got rid of them because they just didn't fit my way of thinking the way that Nerve does.

Excellent, thanks. I'll be getting both of these tools on the weekend.

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Originally posted by Sean Walsh Excellent, thanks. I'll be getting both of these tools on the weekend.

Vids to check out. The second vid will give you some great ideas for building fills with Nerve. I am loving Nerve - Steve Duda is a brilliant developer!

duda should make daw. i'd buy it.

i don't really see the point of this to be honest. Use Kontakt and your daw. THe biggest downside is well first the rigid quantization settings. It should be required for any sequencer type tool to take midi data.

Anyways, i don't really see the point.

quote:

Originally posted by Looney4Clooney THe biggest downside is well first the rigid quantization settings.

Well, that's partly true. Hard quantize is only applied when you're punching notes into its sequencer (I don't think that can be disabled), but you can easily offset, nudge, create and apply groove templates, etc. after the fact. Having the ability to drag/drop MIDI would be cool, but not necessary - you can still use it in that capacity by just triggering Nerve directly from your DAW (i.e., just like Kontakt). Nerve's best feature in this regard, though, is its ability to extract the groove from any REX or RX2 file and apply it to any pattern. For example, if you have a percussion loop, you can drop that into Nerve (you'd have to convert it if it's not already a REX/RX2 file, though) and it will analyze the groove, including all of the offsets and accents, and you can save the groove and apply it to any other pattern - it's great for lining up e.g. congas from one loop to hihats within Nerve. I've been using Kontakt for years, but I prefer having the dedicated sample editing features in Nerve for drums. YMMV, of course.

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