VST instrument "master" software
Good morning, all!
So I've been mulling over how to make more efficient use of all these VST instruments that I have lurking in my computer - all the ones in Sonar, as well as Omnisphere, Komplete, and others - in a way that is more efficient. As many of you, I'm sure, also suffer from "too-much-software-and-too-little-time-to-master-it-all" syndrome like me, what suggestions so y'all have for pulling this all under one roof? For example, I need a string sound: I can pull up a dozen different VSTs and check them each out, which takes forever, or I could use "magic software program alpha" and type in "strings" and get 50 options across all of my VSTs that are installed. I had hope for the Akai Advance VIP software, but after the seemingly big splash it made a year ago, if I search for more recent updated reviews and opinion, the consensus seems to be that it's not quite ready for primetime. I can appreciate the difficulty in writing software such as this because I imagine the only way it really works the way I dream for it to work, is for a company to painstakingly catalog and tag every instrument in any collection out there. Probably the best example I can find of it being done well is with the NI Komplete Kontrol series of keyboards, but it's a pretty closed system as far as I can tell. Akai's VIP does integrate with Komplete to a fairly deep degree and gives one some control as well outside of that NI universe but it seems still not quite barking up the right tree. Moreover, the reviews on Akai's VIP are VERY mixed...
That being said, is there something that seems to fit the bill "best" that works great for Sonar users? I've filtered though dozens of posts about midi controllers and keyboards and such on these forums but there really isn't much of a consensus. I know that Nektar had a keyboard that maps to Sonar but I'm not so much looking for the mapping as much as being able to search through libraries across multiple different VSTs. In fact, I don't need the keyboard even as part of the equation, just some software would do the trick.....
Any thoughts?
PC: Win10 pro (64), home-grown (core i7/1tb Samsung EVO SSD/3tbx2 SATA/16gb/1gb nvidia/dell U2410x2); SOFTWARE: Sonar Platinum, Studio One, Ableton live, Komplete, Omnisphere 2, Keyscape, NI Komplete, Sony Vegas 15, SoundForge 11, Adobe CC; HARDWARE: RME BabyFace Pro, UA LA-610 MkII pre, Mojave MA-200/Rode NT1-A x 2/SM58's/Adam P22a mon; INSTRUMENTS: Taylor 814CE, Fender Amer. Deluxe J-Bass, Fender American P-Bass, Lanikai uke, Roland TD-30KV v-drums, Fender custom strat, yamaha C7 grand, NI Komplete 49, Ensoniq ESQ-1, Yamaha RX-5