how good is the operator

jerryroy · Post by **jerryroy** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:49 am

can somebody tell if the operator is good for syths because i cant seem to make anything at all with it it seems useless

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:18 am

in my mind operator is a synth that either you get or you don't. it is very basic but very good. it'll only do what you make it do but it can do quite a bit when it's coupled with lives own plugs.
I use it on almost all of my songs at least to some extent.

myspace.com/fasterfaster

you'll hear operator basses and pads and all of that. even alot of the drums are operator. though alot of fx have been used and you'll find it hard to know which sounds are operator and which aren't but I'd say a good 25% of the sounds you hear on there are operator.

but... to be honost (and I'm not trying to be elitist in anyway) if you don't get it then you just don't get it ya know?
I don't think it's for everyone.

Robert Henke · Post by **Robert Henke** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:39 am

A friend of mine who plays bass for Burnt Friedman recently bough himslef a new bass. For a lot of money. So i asked him what is special about this one? He said, well, you know, this is an excellent replica of an old bass, the modern ones sound all great and perfect, every note is right on them, but this one is different, some notes come very loud, others are very low, some are brighter then others, i really have to learn it, it is fantastic. So, i asked, is this a good bass then? And he repied: no, its is terrible, but I will make fantastic music with it and have lots of fun.

R.

wavejumper · Post by **wavejumper** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:49 am

ha Robert, it's not such a terrible synth, honestly...or did I miss the point of the anecdote?

minimal · Post by **minimal** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:23 am

or you miss the irony?
I understand robert's post as a way of saying that is what you make out of it / how much fun you have with it that counts, more than the quality .(which, in a case of a synth, is quite diffîcult to judge, since is really how you use it that makes the difference)

pulsoc · Post by **pulsoc** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:06 pm

jerryroy wrote:can somebody tell if the operator is good for syths because i cant seem to make anything at all with it it seems useless

Unless you already have a good idea of how the different elements of a synth work Operator is probably not a great starting point. The presets are limited and interface isn't conducive to learning.

What kind of sounds are you going for?

I have found that the Karma vst (donationware) is helpful, it is modular which means you can disengage or change connections to get a feel for what does what.

Robert Henke · Post by **Robert Henke** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:55 pm

My point was, that the question of "good" is relative. No irony intended. Operator has it`s pros and cons, all widely discussed here allready. Finally it comes down to personal taste. And with personal taste there is no such thing as good or bad. If you like it you like it, if not then not. From a more rational perspective Operator makes it easy to produce certain types of sound and makes it more difficult to get other types just as every synth on this planet. Appart maybe from the ones that do all kinds of synthesis but then they might lack "charcter" what ever this is.

Robert

Kodama · Post by **Kodama** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 2:29 pm

Robert, will Operator Ever get Aftertouch support, since it appears that Live in general never will?

dj superflat · Post by **dj superflat** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:11 pm

i like the bass story, but the holy grail is, of course, the pre-CBS fender or whatever that plays as well as any warwick or whatever new wonder bass (the 58 les paul that plays better than a PRS, etc.). so i'm not sure your friend got his money's worth.

as for operator not being easy to program, that's just weird to me. what synths are easier to use? there are very few nobs on the interface, many do multiple things, and the ability to change the order of the operators is just awesome -- makes every patch into effectively 6 patches that you can easily audition (that's my favorite feature, surprised other softsynths don't have same). not saying you can easily get certain sounds, but frobbing with operator easier than on other synths.

Plastic Hassle · Post by **Plastic Hassle** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:32 pm

My two cents...
I'm maybe unusual here in that Operator is the first synth I've ever used, after getting some basic ADSR, LFO etc knlowledge from Simpler.
I really like it. Especially for complex evolving pad sounds. You just have to play with it. Play like a game, where you try to get a particlar sound and end up in a different, perhaps surprising, place. You can't actually go "wrong" I think. However I found, after a while, that it just didn't have the particular sounds I was looking for, '70's Berlin School electronica, Aphex - SAWII kind of stuff. I found these via the Arturia Minimoog V (after using the demo version that came with the DVD of the Moog film). Now I use both and don't feel I'm missing out on anything. Er so... where was I? I dunno, horses for courses innit? Operator sounds very 21st century, very Berlin and very Ableton, it looks cool in a sort of brutalist concrete multi-storey carpark kind of way too. Hope that helps.

feyshay · Post by **feyshay** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:23 pm

I have always like Operator, although not for the beauty of the interface, but it is elegant in its simplicity. Someone above stated that they did not think it was a good learning synth. I think that it is, actually, as are some of the synths in Reason. I have a few other synths that I have mucked with, Absynth 3 and Reaktor 5. Reaktor is a beast, but some consider the best. I've really liked Absynth 3.
For $100, I'd say Operator is worth it.
JerryRoy--What synths have you found useful? How is Operator different from those synths (barring presets that you have downloaded).

dj superflat · Post by **dj superflat** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:40 pm

horses for courses -- does that mean you pick the horse for the given track? i take your meaning, just not a common expression in US english. i'll ask google.

udp · Post by **udp** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:00 pm

I've used Operater on every track I've written since it's release. I've found it incredibley fast to program. I use it for everything from Basses to Leads and drum sounds too. Ofcourse I use it in conjunction with Lives effects, that is what it was made to do.

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:41 pm

+1. Ever since I got my filthy hands on this synth I've been using it more and more. The only thing right now I DONT use it for is these massive, swirly, bleepy, granulated pad clusters... But, come to think of it, I think I'll just rack a bunch of them and filter it up, add grain delay, and bob's yer uncle.

Who knew Live6+Operator would be a Reaktor Killer?

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:47 pm

Machinate wrote:
Who knew Live6+Operator would be a Reaktor Killer?

thats a bold statement...

though I never got into reaktor

I have been layering operator with freeware plugs to get really great results. using operator plus mda dx10 or cheesemachine (or both) in a rack can get some suprisingly lush stuff.

how good is the operator

how good is the operator

Re: how good is the operator