I've purchased Nebula 3 Pro recently and as someone who used to look at the reviews and cringe, that thing is a BEAST. Give it 2 weeks and you will be speechless. As always , its a matter of knowing what works on your source material best. For those who use Slate's VTM , imagine that depth that it gives you but on everything. Oh, and the reverbs.. Altiverb sounds like a stock reverb compared to some programs( not that i don't use them ) haha.

 

w4rr1or,
Have you downloaded HO's free "All you Can Eat" library?

http://www.nebulapresets.com/?page_id=6602

Simply an amazing pro audio gift, I recommend it be the first library any one new to nebula download..... it is massive and his work is top notch, and free.

 

I haven't! Is it everything HO makes?

Thanks! Ill check it out

 

If you can't try the pro version of Nebula the free version is pretty cool to kind of get an idea of what's up, but it really doesn't do Nebula justice. A lot of the 3rd party samplings are absolutely incredible, but I'm pretty sure they all require pro. Have you checked out any of the free Aquas? Ochre and Red are actually really good, but I honestly get way more use out of my Nebula eqs.

@ Hans242 My bad bro, I guess I read it wrong. I agree though, Nebula is incredibly cpu intensive.

 

TEACH ME, MASTER!

 

I was looking at Nebula as something that gives me the ability to try some analog emulations that sound better than native plugins (as many have praised them) for free, with the free version. But after reading more about it, I have given up trying it because of:
- different workflow,
- cpu hog,
- latency (I've read that if you turn a knob in an EQ u can't hear the change that it does instantly) and
- more time needed to read the manuals and get used to it.
I just need something that gives me fast results, but that's me. Maybe someone else will love it.

 

Ok, some conclusions from all this reading:

- Nebula is relatively cheap for what it can offer at 139 Euros. I suppose people's complaints (as well as praise) about sound quality and analog recreation has to do with proper gain staging and understanding the tolerances and limits of the audio gear emulated.
- The vast number of third-party libraries are the bread and butter of Nebula's power.
- the learning curve is steep, but once you get there, it's audio nirvana.
- It's only VST/AU, so Pro Toolers are screwed unless we turn to Patchwork or others, with the toll on workflow.
- It is a CPU drain, so it has to be used judiciously.
- It can be replaced by UAD plug-ins and other native plug-in suites if one knows what they're doing, but Nebula will get you there faster once you learn it.

I see it like a tool to dress up your tracks before you start mixing. That is, you get your recorded tracks, treat them with the warmth and depth of Nebula's convolution libraries, render them, and you're good to go. No need to mix with Nebula on the tracks anymore. Another use would be as a summing box for your two bus or your stem tracks with the right console emulations and stuff.

Am I willing to put the dough for this convenience? I'm still thinking.

 

Exactly everyone who diss it most likely have´nt even tried it or even if they did try it they did NOT learn HOW to use it.
Its those boys/girls that need Waves One Knob plugin i guess ?
But then they will say One Knob have ugly GUI so that wont work.
So i guess the only thing they need is better EARS so an Ear-training course might help

 

Last edited: Feb 11, 2016

It took me awhile well a really looong time before i started to use this plugin i simply didnt have the patience to learn how to use it and back then. I first tried it when the CM version came out in 2007 if i remember correctly?
And it needed help from the Nvidea Cuda Cores GPU card to function if you didnt have a monster machine..

Then in 2013 built myself a new desktop with i7 and lots of memory so now i have start using it and i had to read many many tutorials on their website and on GS and i also dl a video tutorial.

Beacuse exactly like a Daw you have to "tweak" it first before you even start to use it.

And then i started to search for third party lib:s
I can say that it sounds fantastic compared to anything else it takes TIME WELL ALOT OF TIME to learn this but who cares?

When i build my next machine i gonna use my i7 as a server and have Nebula and other plugins installed on that machine.

 

Last edited: Feb 11, 2016

Here some tutorials for those who dont judge by GUI and hearsay and from people who didnt take time to learn the plugin

https://www.udemy.com/nebula-explained-professional/ (this can be found on piratsites if you cant afford it)

 

Correct, very cost effective & most issues are user error. Newbies to Nebula want to treat it like an algo plugin, which it is not. The #1 Nebula issue is gain staging, which you have to properly do in the analogue world, but can get away with in the box. Everyone wants to push Nebula's input until distortion to "get that analogue saturation", like has become popular on algo plugins. This only distorts nebula and leads most new nebula users to dislike it. The secret with nebula is that the analogue saturation is already there, because it is a sampled convolution. If a preamp library samples hitting the input transformer hard, you just select that library and enjoy true instant harmonic saturation, not the fake algo 2D crap they keep selling us. Most of the preamp libraries give us options, but not all. Each developer makes their library to their liking.

Yep, and over time each has become popular for specific libraries. The best 3rd party dev's have their own sampling chains designed specifically for Nebula. Here is what everyone is currently known for.

Acustica Audio - Acqua Mastering EQ's
Alex B - EQ's & Consoles.... his comp's are coming into their own and he has a great preamp library. Nobody today comes close to his consoles, and I mean nobody! His Neve AMS88RS is my personal favorite and I'm a diehard SSL guy, lol.
Tim P - Compressors! - His current work are the closest to analogue we have ever seen in the box. I'm currently in love with his LA3A and Summit TLA100. Rumor is he is planning a Sta-Level soon.
Cupwise - Compressors & verbs - He leads the way with his newest Plate Of Legend, it's an amazing and adjustable real analogue plate. His comps rock and his radios are crazy odd, but fantastic sounding for sound manipulation, there is nothing like them anywhere.
AITB - Verbs - They were one of the top EQ companies but have been dethroned.
HO - Everything.... you can get his "All You Can Eat" for free now.... it is an amazing library, a pro audio best buy IMHO, that is now free. I personally would buy Nebula just to use his free library, it's that good and that big. FWIW, his preamps are my favorite.
CDSM - Tapes, Tubes and tape saturation. He sets the standard for Tapes in the box, nobody does it better. Everything else he makes is high quality frosting on the cake.
VNXT - Verbs - known for their EMT 140, EMT 240e.
STN - Verbs & Filters - H3000, Lexicon 480L, TC5K and many others. They are my favorite for verbs because of the vast collection and quality. His filters rock, he also has a set from the MPC 3000 that is on all my drums.
Gene Lennon - TC6000 - He only makes one library but a great reverb library it is
Gemini - Mics and preamps - His 1073 is my favorite in Nebula land.

Yes, put the time in and the output will amaze you, just be prepared to not be able to go back to algo plugins. There is a full video instruction library available, learning Nebula has never been faster.

Nope, the current Nebula 3 Server has AAX, AU, VST and zero latency versions on the latest Core.

It was, but Nebula has been optimized for the latest 2 generations of i7's, current reports are showing staggering improvements. One user posted a video running around 100 Nebula instances live on a new i7 5820K, with CPU to spare.

LOL, UAD is comparable to all the current native algorithm plugins, and IMHO no algo plugin comes close to Nebula in sound quality. Nebula is 3D, algo plugs are 2D.

You are close to understanding it but might I suggest you change your viewpoint slightly. Think of Nebula using the same way you would an analogue chain, then you'll render or use that chain on your lifeless digital audio. Music made using VSTi's is missing the 3D harmonics, Nebula will simply apply what the analogue gear did, just in the box. It's all about signal flow.....

So think of it like you were in a real studio and apply the same chain, because in the real world it is the total signal chain the gives us what we loved about analogue. Endless combinations are at your fingertips without needing an assistant to patch it all.

Take your sampled piano VSTi:
Pull up a HO mic, he has many.
Pull up a Nebula preamp.... currently I love the HO Helios preamp for piano, Maybe a Neve 1073, or RND Portico.
Pull up any of the HO piano EQ presets or a Massive Passive EQ, or any other EQ that you love for piano.
Pull up a LA3A compressor.
Pull up a Console input.
Pull up tape.
etc, until you get the sound your ears are looking for.

Got a lifeless eletric guitar:
Pull up Guitar Rig or any algo distortion plugin
Pull up a Speaker Cabinet
Pull up a Royer 122 Ribbon mic
Pull up a1073 preamp normal or hot
Pull Up a Summit TLA100
Pull up your favorite Tube
Pull up some Tube saturation
Pull up a Culture Vulture
Pull up Tape 15ips
Pull up Tape saturation
etc, until you get the sound your ears are looking for.

Take your Electronic Drums:
Pull up an MPC 3000
Pull up AMS 88RS line input
Pull up SSL 4K Brown EQ
Pull up a transient plugin
Pull up SSL channel comp or AMS 88RS channel comp
Pull up a Studer Tape 15ips
Pull up Tape Saturation
etc, until you get the sound your ears are looking for.

Get the idea?
Use Reaper to store you Nebula chains.
Use Nerv Agent or Bluecat Chainer to make Nebula chains.

 

Last edited: Feb 11, 2016

@WillTheWeirdo, thanks a lot, Will, for taking the time for such a detailed answer. I guess it's time to give it a serious go. Just a question, the Pro version of Nebula 3 isn't AAX, right? Just the server. I can live with Patchwork. It might even serve to keep my chains linked up.

 

Yeah, only Nebula 3 Server is the latest Core with AAX. There is going to be an upgrade path from Nebula 3 Server to Nebula 4, which is set to drop in April. You may want to wait until Nebula 4 drops if you are unsure if Nebula is for you.

If you do grab Nebula 3, make sure to grab HO's "All You Can Eat" for free. I paid for it several years ago and I though it should have cost more as it is huge and amazing sounding. It will take you months to get through it, lol, yeah it's that big. After playing with it, then look at other libraries.

 

Hey

You are right sorry for bringing confusion into this thread I assumed they were the same guys...

My Bad

Thanx For Your Kind Clarification

That being said now...

the italian mafia plugin crew who are CPU hogz should look into the Californian Reason behind the mixcraft team because at least from my point of view they have better scripting of algorythms in their software

So...if they would just shrink the CPU usage then we could compare

I confirm that anything by Nebula is Heavier on CPU loads than any other system
waves, UAD,

Heavier then running a 32bit plug via Jbridge in a 64 bit Daw

so...not cool for no one
PeaceR

 

That's because Nebula is not an algorithmic plugin, it is a Dynamic Volterra Convolution, you may want to read my post about it and watch the video. This is twice now that you come off as not knowing what you are talking about, researching something before you type may help your posting out a little.

 

Last edited: Feb 11, 2016

@WillTheWeirdo
Now i seriously want to get my hands on this beast,thanks for all the information.
Reminds of me how guitar impulses changed everything.
And some of the best are even free of charge.
You can get impulses sounding 99% the same as Van Halens,James Hetfields or Dimebag Darrel`s,hell there are impulses that mimic the exact sound of specific Metallica albums(Master of Puppets,AJFA etc...) Pantera(Cowboys from Hell,etc..)...crazy!

 

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 11, 2016

what is Nebula's equal (or better) to the UAD's 1073 EQ+preamp (the red knob) ??

after i tried a few libs on nebula, there was nothing convincing, AND that GUI just sucks.. i gave up on it.

nothing sounds better than the UAD's 1073 with the preamp knob turned to full and the 1081 the same way at 10khz, just the 1073 makes fully worth getting UAD at all. imho or if you can afford a real vintage 1073 (WITH the original master board, not the unit just alone)

 

Buddy it is Vectorial Volterra Kernels Technology

Not Voltra

and any Dynamic Convolution engine is made out of an algorythm

Dynamic Line Integral Convolution (DLIC)
http://web.mit.edu/8.02t/www/802TEAL3D/visualizations/resources/DLICArticle.pdf

any vector engine or convolution engined is based on some algorythms even when it's all about creating virtual kernels that will read and decipher the Impulse Response file containning the convoluting values

I don't see what kind of Drill Sargeant Instructions you are trying on me " )

 

Down the rabbit hole we go. Seriously you can't compare the awful uad platform or the copycats slate to anything acustica does. Nebula is simply amazing. There are a lot options to nebula and a lot must be configured right to get the full use out of it. Look up the Udemy videos for nebula , it will explain a lot more. Yes it's a hard gui to understand and to configure it properly takes a lil work but isn't the end it's worth it. The alexb and Henry olongapo libraries are my favorites. You will want the nebula server version as it has the latest core 8 technology. Look up the Udemy videos learn more about nebula and trust me get into it.it will be the best thing you could ever use. The studios I work with have a lot of analog equipment and honestly the differences between nebula and real analogue are so small. Yes eqs you need to run several instances to get all the bands. The old compressors didn't do a very good job of compressing but the new techniques used to sample them have brought out the best in ever compressor. I could go on for hours been using it since nebula 2. Nebula 4 comes out this year and I can't wait. The 1608 I run at home and the a16 library from alexb are identical. Most of the time I'll pull up nebula and add the plugin instead of sending the tracks thru the 1608.

 

https://www.udemy.com/nebula-explained-professional/

This helped me a lot even after years of use this still taught me a few things.and also like will said gain staging learn it.