# NI Straylight: Why?



## Piano Pete (May 28, 2019)

I have been taking a look at Straylight recently, but I gotta ask: why? From my perspective, it looks like any other granular synthesizer. I guess I am even more confused by the instrument when NI themselves already have something like Form in their lineup. 

I would love to hear people's thoughts on this instrument.


----------



## Alex Fraser (May 28, 2019)

I don't have it - to qualify my opinion out of the box. 

NI are stressing that the sample content was made specifically for the instrument and with granular mangling in mind. So, the offering is sample content + engine.

I find a lot of the NI stuff is designed to get you from A > B quickly. Thrill is a good example: It's perfectly possibly to roll your own sounds and samples for a similar effect. But Thrill gets you there quicker. The controls you need without the extra bits. That, to me, is Straylight.


----------



## Puzzlefactory (May 28, 2019)

Audio demos sound awesome.


----------



## Manaberry (May 28, 2019)

See this more as a "signature" granular synth since it was created with Frank Elting and Paul Haslinger.


----------



## EvilDragon (May 28, 2019)

Alex Fraser said:


> I find a lot of the NI stuff is designed to get you from A > B quickly. Thrill is a good example: It's perfectly possibly to roll your own sounds and samples for a similar effect. But Thrill gets you there quicker. The controls you need without the extra bits. That, to me, is Straylight.



It is exactly this.


----------



## Ruchir (May 28, 2019)

Piano Pete said:


> I have been taking a look at Straylight recently, but I gotta ask: why? From my perspective, it looks like any other granular synthesizer. I guess I am even more confused by the instrument when NI themselves already have something like Form in their lineup.
> 
> I would love to hear people's thoughts on this instrument.



I agonised over this as I loved the sound. I ended up buying it, and I really like it. I could probably make something similar using reaktor which I also have, but it wouldn’t inspire me in the same way as the presentation of Straylight, or slot as easily into an existing track. That’s why Straylight, for me.


----------



## j_kranz (May 29, 2019)

Having been somewhat involved in the production of Straylight, I can tell you one of the main driving forces behind this... Yes there are loads great granular tools out there, but its the _content_ that makes this library really move. When it comes to granular, some material that you might think will be great, comes out sounding a bit dull... whereas sometimes its the subtle bits that really 'pop' in the granular setting. This library is so much more than just a 'granular' player... its an actual sample library. We spent a LOT of time producing, recording, mixing, re-mixing, tweaking, trial & error, and re-tweaking every single sound, to get a library full of great _sources_ that actually come out of the other side of granular processing sounding great and easy to use and mix together. I think that's really the 'why' of this... and thats what seems to be getting missed by a lot of people just wanting something to load their own sounds into (which I certainly understand), this is really meant to be an instrument in it's own right with it's own character and sound.


----------



## Piano Pete (May 30, 2019)

Thanks everyone for the comments. It definitely seems like the workflow is a streamlined process, and it does sound fantastic. I think I'll probably pick it up once I finish up my yearly maintenance.


----------



## ptram (Nov 22, 2019)

I've other granular tools (the first one I used was C-Sound). And I feel that Straylight someway and sometimes sounds similar to eDNA Earth. But the way to control that type of sound is very different, and this makes the real difference. You don't just use a sound, you play with it.

Paolo


----------



## Solarsentinel (Nov 27, 2019)

Is anyone tried the new 1.5 version?


----------



## Ruchir (Nov 27, 2019)

Yes, it’s solid.


----------



## SupremeFist (Nov 29, 2019)

Just got this in the sale and if anyone was wondering it runs fine on my dual 3.1 i5, which is under spec. But more than a few other instruments and I'd have to freeze it.


----------



## Mark Schmieder (Jan 13, 2020)

That's strange; I don't remember seeing it go on sale over the holidays, even though I was watching. The audio demos floored me, so this is one of the few products in this category to come along in years, that I already have designated for some specific projects, once owned. I see we all got additional holiday vouchers today though, so I'll re-check the price soon, and maybe watch for a NAMM discount as many vendors run sales during the trade show.


----------



## Dr.Quest (Jan 13, 2020)

It's fantastic! I love the sound of it and the easy way to mess with the sounds. Form and Straylight sound nothing alike. Many granular synths can be weird glitchy type sounds. Straylight is great for underscore and sound design.


----------



## 2chris (Jan 15, 2020)

I think you're buying into good presets, an engine to make your own similar presets with simple wav files, and it has a nice x/y controller to morph between sounds in a somewhat novel manner using granular synthesis. If you have pigments 2, or another synth that can get on this level, this isn't a must buy unless you want some great presets and a quick and easy method to build similar evolving sounds without learning a lot about how to use a complicated synth.


----------



## SupremeFist (Jan 15, 2020)

I haven't even dived into how it works yet but for "instant credible interesting atmosphere" it is amazing.


----------



## sostenuto (Jan 15, 2020)

Cool to see these newest posts .... having somehow missed initial Thread ! 

Was headed toward Pigments 2 ( Promo from Analog Lab 4 ) but for several early critiques giving me pause. Straylight cost, with e-Voucher, sounds justified .. particularly reading through @ j_kranz Post #7.


----------



## tsk (Oct 7, 2020)

j_kranz said:


> Having been somewhat involved in the production of Straylight, I can tell you one of the main driving forces behind this... Yes there are loads great granular tools out there, but its the _content_ that makes this library really move. When it comes to granular, some material that you might think will be great, comes out sounding a bit dull... whereas sometimes its the subtle bits that really 'pop' in the granular setting. This library is so much more than just a 'granular' player... its an actual sample library. We spent a LOT of time producing, recording, mixing, re-mixing, tweaking, trial & error, and re-tweaking every single sound, to get a library full of great _sources_ that actually come out of the other side of granular processing sounding great and easy to use and mix together. I think that's really the 'why' of this... and thats what seems to be getting missed by a lot of people just wanting something to load their own sounds into (which I certainly understand), this is really meant to be an instrument in it's own right with it's own character and sound.



My apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I just wanted to say that Straylight is instrument of the year for me.

I have other paid granular synthesis plugins, but nothing comes anywhere close to this. It's immediate inspiration on almost every single patch. I'm totally blown away.


----------



## chimuelo (Oct 7, 2020)

I hope Maschine + will be able to use it.

I would having a stand-alone with a fast workflow softy like Straylight.


----------

