Most of the big companies (plugins and sample libraries) are selling you glamour - shiny GUI and marketing bullshit.
I've found that the products from the indpendant developers are way better.
The only Ilok shit that I would buy is GRM tools, if I need them for some project in the future (unlikely).
The rest of the boutique Ilok crap is replacable - there are more than enough cheap or freeware solutions that are great, but not shiny.

 

There's a time when those would have been fighting words. Now, I can only conjure a shrug and a "Meh" as I type this on a fairly expensive MBP that will be antiquated junk in two more years.

 

Me too. I bought it over 10 years ago with Komplete3 and although so many new "larger" pianos came over the years I have yet to find something that would replace beautiful Steinway from NI's Akoustik.

 

Mac time ended when Copylefter dipped...

As far as Mac plugins having "low-quality?"

man that's a subjective statement. I mean, I don't want to argue, though debating is ok... But ummm... yeah, I own all the Soundtoys stuff, and yeah, that stuffs as good as it gets... I just can't get enough of Decap, Deviloc, Radiator... and now that Echo Boy Jr??.. dude I LOVE THAT THING!!... I loved echo boy, but I have to admit, I still was using Abletons Simple and Ping Pong delay quite often; at times when I didn't want to get crazy with delay programing... Now I have almost replaced them wit Echo Boy Jr.*

*If it's called Echo Boy Jr.... isn't technically Echo Baby?

 

"With a sampled instrument this ambitious, a developer is inevitably going to push the system-requirements envelope. HZ Piano requires 211GB of drive space but headroom of about 400GB during installation. Spitfire can ship it to you on a hard drive, but one that’s for installation and backup, not streaming."

http://www.keyboardmag.com/gear/1183/review-spitfire-audio-hans-zimmer-piano/57493

 

Yes, that is why they are in 90% of the major studios in my part of the world.

 

So is Pro Tools. Just saying.

Anyway the win/mac conversation is dumb and so is this thread. This dude started buying plugins because he was jealous of all the cracked stuff other people could get that he couldn't. How noble.

Soundtoys is spectacular and I use them in every track but not objectively superior to any number of cracked plugins. In fact the modulation system in for instance Filterfreak kind of stinks. Their distortions and delays are fantasic, but I kind of hate the little sequencer in their mod system.

 

It's not over for WINDOWS USERS, BUT for MAC USERS, YESSSS !

 

Last edited: Dec 23, 2016

I totally agree. People don't consider if Mac/OS X went away (which it won't) Microsoft would become a monopoly and have no competition.
Then, they would jack prices and do whatever they want. Do you really want this?
To the op, Soft Tube ,Eventide, Fab Filter, Izotope, etc., I'd say is pretty decent stuff. But, that's just me.

 

Best comment ever!!!!!

 

Beyond dispute, Fabfilter and Izotope, which are cracked on both OS, are elite developers. Better yet, Klanghelm doesn't even have protection and I would call MJUC and SDRR elite plugins.

As the old AS meme goes, if you can't make good music with the nearly endless supply of cracked software, you just can't make good music.

I say this as a guy with maybe like two cracked plugs. But to say all the best stuff is uncracked is beyond absurd

 

If you're a mac user, you're wasting your time by visiting these sites. What's left to be cracked is simply uncrackable at the present time. Windows users? Well they got it made. Lol.
I'm a mac user, so don't take this as an insult, but rather an honest opinion from your side of the table... we're shit outta luck, my dear friends.

Or are we? You can make perfect music with what is already available. Matter of fact, you can probably replicate the synth & drum & bass sounds of just about any song. Matter of fact, guitars, too... from virtual instruments to amp sims to samples to reverbs & pedalboard vsts, both sides are golden. If you can't make a good song from this, then I'm sorry to inform you making music probably just isn't you're thing.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Dec 23, 2016

Compared to my 8mb Akai S2800 Bösendorfer that Hansi thing totally sucks and doesn't even sound like a real piano

 

Nah, you cant.You need the latest 2016 cracked stuff to be able to compete with Pitbull.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Dec 23, 2016

Pitbull sucks. Lol.
If you play his music in reverse, you can hear a guitarist, a drummer, a bassist, & a singer, all decomposing in a box. Or even more terrifying, if you play it forward you hear Pitbull.
His head is bald because why? Well that's what happens when you sniff your own farts too much. Some people have it from aging. Not him. He sniffed his own farts once & one time he just got way too close to his own ass & *poooffff!* another fart came out & bye bye hair!!

 

Well I use fabfilter and psp plugins a lot and I agree they are absolutely top class.
But i downloaded them years ago.
Same with Izotope.
I used years and years audioz downloaded plugins and I would build a monument To the people who gave me this opportunity because i never had the money To buy plugins.
I was just wondering why the crack situation with mac plugins just stopped and meanwhile I noticed that very good plugins prices dropped and I Came to the conclusion that maybe it's worth now to give the developers the right amount of money to help them produce Even better stuff.
Don't take me as a Rookie please, i just wanted to start a debate since i feel things are changing for freelance producer.
Cool. Happy Christmas to everyone

 

Best answer ever

 

Some cracks are non-PC.

 

This dude started looking for a better sound and better definition of sound. My Friend next time use your brain before writing something please