jayhosking wrote: ↑17 Oct 2017
Expanse really is an amazing beast. What I get out of Europa, in comparison, is much better CPU usage, a better workflow, and ultimately sounds I wouldn't have created with Expanse. I'm not sure one synth is better/worse than the other, at least from my perspective (which is someone who makes almost all their own sounds). If I'm trying to work quickly and stack up the synths, I'll probably reach for Europa first. If I'm trying to take my time dialling in a specific sound, or stretching a sound beyond my immediate imagination, I'll probably reach for Expanse.
But yes, Grain is an inspiration machine.
That kind of fits with my feeling that Europa fills the niche of Subtractor for the contemporary age (fast, useable, great results) and Grain fills the niche of Malstrom (creative, unique, organic). Still no Replacement for Thor though. Even eXpanse isn't quite the same kind of beast. Maybe Avenger or Omnisphere is the closest thing to a modern upgrade of that kind of semi-modular approach.
I'd pay for a standalone Grain RE without hesitation.
I'm still on the fence about R10 though. I'm really not sure about the R10 upgrade just to get Grain- I'd probably pay more NOT to get all the extra "content", because I prefer efficiency and workflow.