Hi guys, great to be here … this Scaler 2 is an awesome peice of kit.
Feel guilty suggesting any improvement of this software, but how about making Scaler a standalone program, so you can use it outside of your particular DAW to work on new projects.
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Welcome @Phillyn17
You will find several threads here on the forum that discuss stand alone options.
One that is popular with some of us is NanoHost from Tone2.com. It is free, light weight, stable and junkware free. I’m on Win so I can’t speak for Mac. I use it almost every day when I’m sketching out ideas either dragging midi out or recording an audio clip. To date, and with a number of hosts like that out there, there has not been a lot of interest in redirecting developer assets towards a standalone version…but you never know.
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Hi TMacD … Can you explain how I can use Scaler 2 with that programme please? Or do you just use the softwares’ FREE version as an editing tool alongside Scaler 2?
Thanks …
All OK thanks … I downloaded and installed the NanoHost software, and eveything seems to be running fine. So helpful to be able to run the programme outside my DAW.
Thanks for your help TMacD.
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Although I do use Nanohost if I am just exploring Scaler, I also use Cantabile Lite (it’s free) and manages more than one VST, unlike Nanohost.
https://www.cantabilesoftware.com/free-vst-host
The reason is that you can load up and connect other VST’s, so it’s outside a DAW, but does allow you to explore how the eventual patches will sound. Here it is with DUNE 3. (which , I have to say, is a fabulous synth for Cinematic, Ambient and EDM)
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downloading now…thanks!
This one works really fine. Thanks for the idea.
I hear a lot about this synth from friends. The preset demos remind me of the classic sounds from late 80s early 90s workstations, where they layered multiple sounds. It also sounds a bit like Diva, which I have and use. I read Dune has over 8000 internal oscillators. Makes me wonder if at full capability it may run into CPU issues like Diva does with its most exquisitely analogue style sounds.
You are correct re CPU usage. DUNE does provide for the user to manage polyphony and modulation to reduce CPU if needed; there is a chapter in the manual on CPU optimisation. However, the synth (unlike Omnisphere) is monotimbral, so you need a DUNE instance for each independent voice.
It’s not a synth to run on an i5. I’ve taken in some cases to recording the DUNE audio to a clip(s) in Live and then switching off the DUNE input and playing the sample in a track.
I looked at Diva and listened to a couple of YT demos - it’s a great sounding synth. The UI is also good and familiar to anyone whose used an analogue synth. (I had an Oberheim Matrix rack, which had the world’s worst user interface ever.)
DUNE is unashamedly about EDM, Trance and ambient, and has some great patches, albeit ones which would make @ClaudioPorcellana wince and reach for the ‘all notes off button’.
I’m still running on an i5 with just 4 physical cores at 3.6 GHz. Suffices for most task. I can run 3 instances of Diva at high quality, as long as the PC doesn’t do anything else (makes a big difference).
For more advanced tasks, I offload stuff to the 2 GPUs, like my Blender animations. And yes, bouncing synth audio in the DAW also helps to build bigger ensembles, but that doesn’t work so well for jamming. Sometimes the “lower quality” setting in Diva even leads to very interesting sound effects.
I looked at a few demos of Dune 3, and I think I am covered on those sounds with my existing setup, but thanks for sharing anyway 