Your thoughts on Geist 2

[pdxindy]

Wondering if there is a Geist 3 update in the works

I have no idea if there is... but Geist 2 really doesn't need anything. Just fix up a few bugs and tweak a few things that could work easier and Geist 2 is perfect.

Of course, as someone suggested, rolling the Tremor synthesis into Geist as a Geist 3 would be useful.

[Straight2Vinyl]

Hopefully they keep doing maintenance updates at least, so users don't suddenly have a useless vsti. I may have to pick this up the next time it goes on sale, though I think I get a lot of what it offers already with Renoise, Battery, Drumlab and Stacker. Also, I probably spend too much time learning new vsts rather than just mastering what I have. Still, that polymeter step sequencer looks pretty cool.

[pleasewinner]

If somebody would do a deep dive Groove3 type tutorial series I would buy it in a minute(the tutorial series). Geist 2 screams out for this treatment. I still favor Geist the 1st because when I open it up it doesn't make my ADD hurt so bad. Geist 2 literally makes my eyes twitch. I still try to use it, because I paid for the damn thing, but ack! The tutorials that FXpansion put out are fine, but not enough to stop the spinning head. I need somebody to walk me through every single nook and cranny so that I can use it with a peaceful mind. Come on power users, somebody step up.

[scott_free]

I need somebody to walk me through every single nook and cranny so that I can use it with a peaceful mind. Come on power users, somebody step up.

The manual is really quite good: it's deep yet easy to understand. It will take you through every single nook and cranny. Check it out here.

[LiteOn]

When it came out I decided to stay with Geist I.

I've started off with Guru, and for my liking it evolved too much into an "all-you-can-think-of-producing" system. Most of these new features I really don't need to quickly sketch some beats.

To be honest, Guru was exactly that: simple and quite easy to grasp and use. Fortunately it still runs here with Cubase 10 Pro and jBridge.

[Mister Natural]

^ +1

I also went from GURU > G1 > G2 with increasing levels of difficulty. Geist2 requires a lot of time and patience to get there - at least for my brain and pieces. LiteOn is correct that GURU was/is a terrific platform for programming. I find it more fun to work with than Geist.

[plexuss]

I don't find Geist 2 that difficult to use - However I don't go in and tweek every sample and get into the level detail that it allow for. I just keep it simple - drop samples in, cut and sequence. maybe a little tweeking of obvious bad sounds. layer, mix. done.

Here's an example:

https://soundcloud.com/musicofplexus/poltergeist

[moonchunk]

I still find Geist2 enjoyable. It requires reading the manual though, that's for sure. It doesn't help to read Guru's manual (maybe) and the Geist 1 manual as well, to get where it is coming from.

Unfortunately I couldn't get the Spitter to work in the 64 bit version. But I just do my sampling from my DAW with the 32 bit version (the DAWs I use support it), and then open up the 64 bit version when I'm done sampling the tracks. It is possible to sample directly from Reaper into Geist 2, but spitter is more convenient since I sometimes find the track routing in Reaper mysterious and a chore.

[someone called simon]

It doesn't help to read Guru's manual (maybe) and the Geist 1 manual as well, to get where it is coming from.

Did you perhaps mean 'doesn't hurt' rather than 'doesn't help'? Because it's a strange thing to say otherwise...

[FapFilter]

It is possible to sample directly from Reaper into Geist 2, but spitter is more convenient since I sometimes find the track routing in Reaper mysterious and a chore.

Isn't this just a matter of dragging the track's I/O routing button onto the one on the desired track or plugin, in this case Geist 2 and voilá: send created?

Did you perhaps mean 'doesn't hurt' rather than 'doesn't help'? Because it's a strange thing to say otherwise...

I never really used Geist 1 as i always preferred Guru, but why would you consult a manual from preceding instruments when the proper manual is readily available?
Sure, the basic workflow might be generally quite similar, but each have their own ways in certain areas.


And to answer the OP's question: i have not used every drum solution under the sun, but i was enjoying Guru and now Geist 2 from the get go. It's the pretty much the only way i'm sequencing my drums in software land.
It might of course still not be perfect (i'd still have a few feature requests, as with anything, there's mostly still room for improvements) but i'd happily continue using it in it's current state even if it was discontinued altogether and never updated again as i've not seen competing products trouncing it yet

[mxbf]

grabbed this tonight. I don't really understand why people hate it so much. it works perfectly and the sounds are quite good.

why the hell would anyone want to work with Ultrabeat or Drum Racks when they can get something that sounds good and has a great sequencer out of the box? it makes no sense to me, personally.

i have had no difficulty learning it but maybe I'm underestimating my enjoyment of dealing with annoying software. I play Dwarf Fortress and enjoy really intense games and shit so I don't have a problem messing around with complex software

[mxbf]

as i've not seen competing products trouncing it yet

lets be honest... nothing comes close. taking all drum synths and drum samplers together...:

-Xils Stix is nice but it doesn't sound too great and it lacks as many features. it's runner up. I mean... frankly Ultrabeat actually is basically the same thing, just uglier. So... how does Stix significantly improve upon Ultrabeat? (for logic users)
-Tremor is better than Stix ultimately but I also kind of think the sound range is limited and kind of tinny. I think it's better than Stix but they're both good. The thing is, Tremor gives more modulation options. Tremor is pretty damn good but if you use it alone, you'll be let down imo.
-Ultrabeat is good but when it comes down to it, the factory sounds are just downright f**king worthless if youre a serious producer.
-Ableton DrumRacks are pretty good. The factory sounds are not good. Using the piano roll as a sequencer is not good. Modulating things using the envelopes is not good. Editing velocity is not good. No probability. Drum chopping is not good. Sequencing variations is not good. It's good but I just find that getting great results out of it is just too much work for me, better to get something that is fun and sounds good from the start.
-Drumvolution/Revolution from WavesAlchemy: I personally feel these are probably runner up. I just grabbed Revolution on the sale at PluginBoutique. I look forward to trying it. I have found that with drums, sampling is adequate. It just sounds better. I like tremor and I like Stix but on their own they lack the oomph that you really need in my opinion.
-Drumspillage: nah.
-Reaktor/Drumlab: Massive/Polyplex... these are nice sound toys. But using them in a full production is not fun, I haven't figured out how to route sounds in an effective way. Controlling them is too confusing. I could try to figure it out, and I have before, but I don't recall ever being able to figure it out. They sound excellent but actually using them from a production standpoint is difficult.

[FapFilter]

lets be honest... nothing comes close. taking all drum synths and drum samplers together...:

i'm sure it will still sit pretty comfortably on- or near the top of the game for a long while, i just have no hands on experiences with many of it's competitors (just going by specs).
Maschine and the Akais should be the closest

Battery is also great if you don't need the sequencing and slicing options within the plugin. (Oh and sampling of course ... then again, this feature seems to be missing from at least 95% of otherwise creme de la creme software “samplers“ aswell)

I also love Tremor, but it's “just“ a synth with no sampling capabilities at all and many of Geist's bells and whistles missing.
Put a few more functions into Geist and it's finally a complete DAW itself regarding the sample side of things.

[samsam]

Revolution on sale in tempting

[Saukar30]

Im working on mapping my MPK261 to Geist 2 right now. MIDI control on this is outstanding as you can assing pretty much everything (except for the slicing functions) so you can be mostly mouse free when youre ready to jam. I wish more developers would include this level of MIDI control for all synths!

Like others have said, I dont understand the hate for it. Its almost exactly everything possible in a box. As far as the sound, Its really what you feed it. Its not too confusing, it just has a lot to it. Gotta read the manual to understand the flow. I bought Geist 2 around October or so last year and have spent a lot of time with it. Personally I think its almost perfect execept for a few bugs.