Nexus is a software rompler - there is no hardware involved. It comes with a huge library of sounds and you can buy expansions for ~$80 each. The samples/presets are pretty high quality, but by the time you purchase all/most of the expansions, you've pretty much paid the same as a Virus TI. And, no, you can't use your own samples with Nexus.

If you want to learn to make your own sounds, I'd suggest buying a decent software or hardware synthesizer, but if you just want a large library of EDM sounds ready-to-go (and with some considerable editing capabilities), Nexus is great for that.

___________________
cryophonik.com | facebook | soundcloud

Sonar Platinum | Ableton Live 9 | Logic Pro X | Access Virus TI2 Keyboard | Kurzweil PC3X | Nord Lead 4R | NI Maschine

Live is fun to play with, is def isn't a bad one to start up with, it is priced pretty sweetly as well. The nexus is software, you plug it into your host program and do your thing. Here is what somebody else said about it:
"its a popular vst for those who want to get the good sounds quick and not want the hassle of tweaking presets. a lot of artists use it but if your into the sound design side of producing avoid it. some people say half the leads sound the same and they do coz i have friends who use it and i have heard many of the sounds it has.
however there are expansions u can buy for it that will expand the amount of sounds at your disposal. all i can say really is go to the site, download the demos and decide for yourself. personally i like to make my own sounds so its not a vst i would be in a hurry to buy."


budget stuff:
The best softsynth deal going on at the moment is the $400 NI- Komplete thing, if you are wanting something that is good for learning though, the vanguard seems to be pretty nice for that purpose.

You will still want to get a music soundcard, some monitors, and a midi controller for your bare minimum of hardware needs. You probably want to spend about 1k on the monitors, 200ish on the midi controller and 200ish on the soundcard, so basically, sacrifice the sli motherboard and double high end video cards and other gamer upgrades, spend them on music stuff instead, and it about evens out.

quote:

Originally posted by Zombie0915 budget stuff: The best softsynth deal going on at the moment is the $400 NI- Komplete thing,...

Yeah, no kidding! BTW, I do own Nexus2 and most of the expansions, and I'd definitely recommend the Komplete 5 package over Nexus2 because it's an incredibly diverse bundle of synths and samplers at a dirt cheap price. The only issue I can see is that it may be a little overwhelming for some people, if they're just getting into music production.

___________________
cryophonik.com | facebook | soundcloud

Sonar Platinum | Ableton Live 9 | Logic Pro X | Access Virus TI2 Keyboard | Kurzweil PC3X | Nord Lead 4R | NI Maschine

I like nexus ,and for the filler sounds you need it is good , but to many amature producers are using it whole , so did i at one point until i discovered v station ,sylenth1 etc...
I usually take a preset and processes the hell out of it.

But when you listen to mass marketed stuff like cheesy artists, such as basshunter and darren styles using the whole sequence presets without any tweaking , i think this is putting people off using it.

___________________

Bring on my soundcloud ya!

Thanks for the tips and info.. im definately looking into the "ready to go" samples for now, unless I just really can't get the sound im looking for, then i'd start with tweaking...

In terms of setup, Im using a 23" wide screen and a 19" wide. I have an external sound card - Presonus... and a Midi controller...

I guess im confused with how to start on Nexus... i downloaded the demo and only see sound libraries... so the question was, can I use Ableton live to playback the Nexus sounds?

i dont use abelton , but it should be the sameish as FL , in one channel insert an intstrument , nexus, and do that for as many intances as you need.

___________________

Bring on my soundcloud ya!

perfect...thanks for the help...

i certainly hope this app will be good....

in the past ive used Roland Mc 505 and then bought a Yamaha Motif.. i just wasnt feeling the sounds... I guess what im looking for, is a similar setup to the producers out of Norway: The Blizzard... those guys blow me away with their tracks and remixes...

quote:

Originally posted by shukuris In terms of setup, Im using a 23" wide screen and a 19" wide. I have an external sound card - Presonus... and a Midi controller...

monitors, I meant, the audio kind, your speakers

looks like you got things covered pretty nicely aside from that

quote:

Originally posted by Zombie0915 monitors, I meant, the audio kind, your speakers looks like you got things covered pretty nicely aside from that

LOL oh Studio Monitors... ya pretty much running these M-Audio ones.. they are not pro... but they have a clear sound for now!!

Don't get Nexus. If anything, get a soft-sampler like Kontakt3. There's enough free samples running around on the net. You can manipulate the sounds until thre's no tomorrow. With Nexus, you're stuck with what you have without much control over the sounds. Nexus takes some cpu usage as well. If you get Nexus, you're going to want to get a bunch of nice effects. Otherwise it's not that great.

Get Kontakt3 or Komplete5 for like 600 bucks or so. And you have everything you'll need in there. You'll like Nexus when you first play with it, but after a while it gets boring and the sounds can't be changed much (no oscillators).

Just my advice...

Nexus is great for having sounds that need minimal processing and making your workflow faster. You are not going to learn to program a synth with it since its a rompler, but is has very powerful editning/tweaking capabilites.

quote:

Originally posted by SGL You'll like Nexus when you first play with it, but after a while it gets boring and the sounds can't be changed much (no oscillators).

NOT true, maybe you did not spend much time with it or spend any time playing with the fx, or amp/filter modifier of the mod capabilities.

Secondly Nexus/refx has one of the best user forums of any vst I have seen. Manuel and Mike are on there constantly taking questions and suggestions for the software. Since you have to be a registered user to get on the forum it is intimate and they are very helpful even on the noob questions.

___________________
Best,
Justjabbin


averyparkermusic.com

twitter: Avery Parker Music