Pulsar II vs. Powercore

Acid Man · Post by **Acid Man** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 7:17 am

Perhaps not the best place to ask this question, but here goes...

I recently attended a demonstration of the Powercore and the Pulsar XTC. First thing i noticed where the effects used by both cards. I got the idea that the fx from Pulsar where quite basic and the fx from the Powercore where very smooth and nice sounding (especially reverb).

Any comments on that?

Cheers,

Ryan

ronaldmeij · Post by **ronaldmeij** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 7:36 am

yep powercore is top notch soundwise...

i heard it , but never worked with it ...

to bad

ronald

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 9:34 am

Hey AcidMan, I think I know you from AF

Let's see here:

TC PowerCore. Runs only on Mac right now. If the plugins are "TC native quality" then I wouldn't be happy with it -- if its like their hardware stuff OH MY I bet it sounds great. The main thing, is just like the "XTC" mode for Pulsar, is there will be unavoidable latency.

Creamware Pulsar. With V3, it sounds much better right out of the box. People are saying really nice things about the masterVerb and I can run 8 of them on the CUSL2. Lots of free plugins, but most only run in the "real time" DSP environment -- XTC support is still pretty much only Creamware devices at this point. To get the full advantage of the card including the ProPack, you'll want to get a full Pulsar Classic or Plus card. I also really like the TimeWorks verbs, and the PT reverbs -- particularly larger PT verbs which eat up more resources, they sound really nice.

If latency isn't an issue and the TC card isn't based on the TC native reverb, and you use Mac, you will probably love the TC PowerCore.

janila · Post by **janila** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 9:57 am

The two cards aren't really comparable. The Pulsar2 is a full studio card with IOs, synths, samplers, routing, mixing etc. The TC Powercore is only a VST-DSP card. The problem with Powercore is that all the VST-plugins have to be partially rewritten for it. Therefore the card won't do much before there is support for it. And the plugins will cost, a lot. Soundwise the Powercore will propably get better reverbs and other complex plugins. I woulnd't expect anything weird for it for a long time.

jupiter8 · Post by **jupiter8** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 10:47 am

From what i've heard it is the same reverb algorithm as Protools and that is THE reverb.
I don't think there will ever be a reverb for Pulsar that good. So if your after effects only i believe the Powercore is superior by far quality wise.
But as always effects (especially reverbs) are a matter of taste so be sure to try them out first.

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 11:09 am

I'm not disagreeing with you jupiter8, but can you list the reverbs you've tried on the Pulsar platform?

EarlyFirst · Post by **EarlyFirst** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 12:40 pm

I don't think there will ever be a reverb for Pulsar that good.

All I will say is your wrong

Paul

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 12:41 pm

What are you trying to say EarlyFirst?

And when can you prove it?

peripatitis · Post by **peripatitis** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 2:32 pm

Cw will never be able to create a reverb in the quality of a t.c. one the same way you won't find a synth in a pulsar card that could compare to a , let's say waldorf one.
The only way to get an excellent remark would be to compare it with other studio in a box sollutions.If you are trying to find a equivelent reverb in pulsar you are just dreaming , they don't have the time neither the experience for something like that , cw is a company with a different aspect and goal
this doesn't mean that you can't have a good reverb in a pulsar.On the other hand t.c.'s
card is i feel overpriced comparing even to their hardware effect processors and are betting a lot to possible third party developers which i am not sure that they'll bother to rewrite their code since computers are getting faster everyday and perhaps the need for a dsp card would be minimised.
If you consider buying the t.c. card buy it for the f.x. already provided and not for the possible collaborations from other companies.Finally if you want a only fx solution card check out also universal audio's powerefects card which is significantly cheaper than t.c.'s and perhaps will do the job as well(www.uaudio.com)
cheers

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 3:01 pm

Cw will never be able to create a reverb in the quality of a t.c. one 

What did you think of masterVerb? Maybe not Creamware but a thirdparty working for Creamware...

let's say waldorf one. 

Uhhh... I strongly disagree with this statement, having owned an XT and owning a Q Keyboard. Pulsar sounds every bit as good as these, although lacking in knobs and small LCD screens.

peripatitis · Post by **peripatitis** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 3:10 pm

I haven't yet heard the master reverb and
i wish that you are right one this.
I totally disagree though about the waldorf
stuff , i don't think that pulsar filters are even close to the xt's or the q's ones
not to mention pulse's and with the exeption of the modular pulsar is way down in the modulation abilities.

Michu · Post by **Michu** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 3:37 pm

have you tried prism? second thing that blew me away - sounds different from other stock stuff and you definitely can't complain about modulation.
try it thru masterverb of course

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 3:38 pm

It has everything to do with how you program it. I agree, I prefer the sound of the Waldorf filters but to say the Pulsar is not as good is just not true. I even prefer Pulsar's sound over all the Clavia Nord stuff. It is a different sound and color and is very much as good as any VA currently on the market.

BTW you shouldn't knock Pulsar verbs until you LISTEN TO THEM

[ This Message was edited by: subhuman on 2001-09-27 16:39 ]

jupiter8 · Post by **jupiter8** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 4:26 pm

I created quite a stir did'nt i.
I have tried most of the Pulsar reverbs exc. the Mastereverb and Sonic timeworks.
I have tried plenty of native reverbs and a LOT of HW reverbs and the TC Megareverb is by far my favourite.
So it is not a disbelief in the Pulsar-programmers it is just that i think the TC Megareverb is the best i've used.
But as we all know that is matter of opinion and not facts so...

marcuspocus · Post by **marcuspocus** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 6:33 pm

About the Prism, it would be nice to compare it with the DSPMatrix it was made from, how close to the original it is, or maybe it's better?

And this is a thing i found, listen :

The VolksZampler included in the Pulsar V3 Propack, is only a wrapper around a real DSP modules. That is why when we are NOT in XTC mode it WON'T work in Logic, or Cubase...

The DLL if ONLY 20k, this is NOT a VSTi. This is king of a remake of the STS3000 with Volkszampler facade, fit in XTC environnement.

Go check the files in your installation.

I'm pretty sure i'm right.

I've tryed to install the REAL VolksZampler from the promo CD that Subhuman sended me, and this is completely anotheer type of installation, and there is 2 .DLL, VZampler.dll VZRec.dll (later one is the recording input i think).

This explain why we are not able to use the volkszampler in Pulsar mode as an VSTi insruments plugin inside Logic for example.

Michaelj · Post by **Michaelj** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 7:02 pm

Does wolkzampler now work for mac ?

Acid Man · Post by **Acid Man** » Thu Sep 27, 2001 11:38 pm

Finally if you want a only fx solution card check out also universal audio's powerefects card which is significantly cheaper than t.c.'s and perhaps will do the job as well(www.uaudio.com)
cheers

Uaudio was also demonstrated with the TC and CW. The person who did this demo was so bad, he didn't even take the time do make a demo song. This was done by the local dealer. Also this guy was telling a technical story which none of the attendees understood a word of. Offcourse this doesn't say anything about the board, however I wnader if you get good support??

Ryan

Peezahj · Post by **Peezahj** » Fri Sep 28, 2001 12:23 am

Support's for sissies.

Seriously, though, after years w/ my Pulsars & a couple months w/ my UAD-1, there hasn't been too many times when I've needed to ask for help let alone had to even open the manuals (the UAD-1 only comes with 2 loose sheets, dunno if a pdf manual exists). The UAD-1 is not at all deep & only offers 7 different plug-ins, the fact that they're 7 of the best effects offered_anywhere_makes it a worthwhile investment.

TC should never have come out with the Native bundle, it lowered everybody's expectations of what they have to offer & surely has affected the Powercore's sales. Remember that's it's a TC Works product, not a TC Electronics product.

Acid Man · Post by **Acid Man** » Fri Sep 28, 2001 12:43 am

On 2001-09-28 01:23, Peezahj wrote:

Remember that's it's a TC Works product, not a TC Electronics product.

Is there a big difference between the two. I heard from the guy that gave the demo that they exchange info and tech specs. Or is this a sales pitch.

Can the Native Bundle bring a system to it's knees or are the fx very bad, or..?

[ This Message was edited by: Acid Man on 2001-09-28 05:27 ]

Robby · Post by **Robby** » Fri Sep 28, 2001 9:54 am

On 2001-09-27 19:33, marcuspocus wrote:
And this is a thing i found, listen :

The VolksZampler included in the Pulsar V3 Propack, is only a wrapper around a real DSP modules. That is why when we are NOT in XTC mode it WON'T work in Logic, or Cubase...

The DLL if ONLY 20k, this is NOT a VSTi. This is king of a remake of the STS3000 with Volkszampler facade, fit in XTC environnement.

I just tested that, because I couldn't believe what you were saying, sorry

I found out that the DSP meter of the XTC didn't change at all when loading or removing the XTC-Volkszampler, but the Cubase CPU-meter did react on that. I wish it was a STS3000-remake with DSP usage, but what I've seen is the opposite