Does anybody have any thoughts with regards to Matthew Friedrichs clone of Make Noise’s Maths module - Floats.
Being a fan of Maths, I came across the Floats module via a random search but I’m a little concerned that Mathew doesn’t seem to be an active member of this community and his modules aren’t available via the VCV plugin manager. And that obviously means I’m unable to see how well Mathew is maintaining his modules.
My biggest concern is purchasing something that’s no longer maintained, and that, in turn, may signify that the module won’t be able to take full advantage of future VCV advancements.
He’s still active as a developer. And, of course, buying his stuff will be a stimulus for him to keep maintaining his modules.
There was indeed some discussion about Floats, and Make Noise was not happy, but Matthew changed the design and functonality (a bit).
I don’t remember he was banned from the Plugin Manager, because he chose to offer his stuff through a different channel anyway. But I may be wrong. Anyway, I like his stuff, and his support is great.
He chose not to distribute on the Plugin Manager. Although he never asked, I wouldn’t have allowed his original panel, but last time I checked it would have been fine.
I definitely now feel secure ref Matthew’s long term commitment to VCV although I must admit I would prefer it if he offered his wares via the VCV Plugin Manager. Considering VCV is still a pre v1 beta, I value those developers that are an active part of the VCV community (inclusive of the VCV Plugin Manager). I understand that I’ve come to the VCV community a year or so into its development and this forum is a relatively new home (with Facebook being the previous official online community/support mechanism) but we’ve already seen developers like Animated Circuits and Blamsoft abandoning the platform so the cohesion of a united platform for VCV and it’s 3rd party developers is greatly appreciated from my admittedly personal perspective.
With regards to Floats specifically, the question I’ve been asking myself is whether a Maths clone serves the same purpose in virtual form as it does in my hardware modular. The versatility of Maths is greatly appreciated when rack real-estate is an issue but the majority of things Floats provides are possible with individual modules from a variety of other 3rd party VCV developers. Rampage (Befaco) covers many of those bases alone and the remaining gaps should be possible via other modules.
I think Floats is an awesome option for someone using VCV for learning purposes before they make a more substantial investment on a hardware modular setup. And on that basis, I think the £35 asking price (over £40 by the time local European taxes are added) is on the high side for something that has to be purchased blind (there’s not even any videos available where Floats can be compared to Maths - apart from a single short video from about 12 months ago by a Floats customer). Hardware Maths can be nabbed for around £150 so that compounds the value proposition question with relation to a third party clone.
I think Mathew could learn a trick or two from Vult, who offer free modules that cover the majority of bases - which is perfect for learners looking to see if modular is apt for the way they’re wired. And premium modules with refined tweaks that more experienced synthesists will appreciate.
I remember i saw his facebook post months back where he referenced the free demo floats, i couldn’t find the original post, but someone did link it at one point, so here it is, but not sure if if it works anymore because i don’t see a way to download it, i’m on a mobile device though so that could be why. https://gumroad.com/l/FloatsFree
Worth it for the ability to have like 6 or 7 Maths in your patches all doing some crazy unspeakable modulation. I’m sure Rampage covers much of the same territory, but I’m used to working with Maths after years of owning the hardware module, and some of the functionality is second nature / muscle memory at this point. It’s one of the most popular and recommended hardware modules for a reason. It’s capable of a lot, encourages experimentation, and the layout/design is really well thought out.
I own a hardware Maths, and that informed my original interest in a VCV version. As I mentioned before, I’m totally sold on Maths hardware as (in my case) I’m limited to 2 rows of 104HP. Creative utility modules like Maths pay for themselves quickly in this situation. However with a virtual Modular, rack real-estate isn’t an issue, and there may be other ways of achieving the same(or similar) tasks.
The main reason I’ve decided against a Maths clone at this stage is that I already find myself falling back on old familiar hardware habits and I want to force myself to explore more of the 3rd party library. Funnily enough, I ended up buying a hardware Rampage after using the VCV version. I’m a firm believer in forcing yourself to use new workflows as this often brings about fresh creative explorations.
