Eusantis wrote: ↑21 Nov 2021
What do you think is the best DNA Labs rack extension? I have Hydronexius and Glacius. Are Helium and Aquios worth going, for me?
Honestly, I think Glacius is the strongest. I like all of them, although I was disappointed with Aquios at first (having loved Hydronexius, DNA's first RE). Partly that was because the Aquios interface was really hard to read, because everything was so tiny and squinty. Fortunately, all that has changed since the HD update, so I've revisited it and realised it's a really nice instrument. All the DNA synths look amazing in HD, and were clearly designed with that in mind. It's just a shame they've had to wait so long to really shine.
Aquios has some lovely brass/orchestral patches that lend themselves really well to scoring. Helium is an interesting concept, but I'm not quite as keen on the heavily modulated sound it generates (with its signature pitchshifted release thingy) as I am on Glacius. Helium is definitely well designed, but it's probably not so well suited to the kind of music I make - but your needs may differ from mine, obviously.
In my opinion, Glacius is a superbly designed instrument that will be hard to beat in the category of 'advanced rompler synths'. It seems to be VERY well thought out. (I know purists will argue that these aren't synths, technically, but I think that's a somewhat pedantic position to take. Is there really any difference between starting with a sample rather than a waveform or a graintable? Yes, you may sacrifice some flexibility in using a rompler, but the sheer weight and sonic oomph of DNA's patches can often give you a fantastic starting point, which can be pretty inspiring in its own right.
If I were in your position of already owning Hydro and Glacius (my two favourites of DNA's), I'd definitely recommend picking up the factory expansion packs for Glacius. They're HUGE, and normally pretty expensive at $49 to $59 USD, but Jason/DNA has an amazing offer this week: 75% off everything ordered direct from his site. I grabbed the second and third Glacius Expansion Packs yesterday (4GB and 7GB of samples respectively, I think) for approx £21 for the pair instead of £84. Ridiculously good value, and if you already like Glacius, this will give you a lot more material to play with and tweak without necessarily having to learn a new interface.
His other smaller refills are in the offer too, and the bundles work out crazily cheap. I picked up one of the custom bundles of 12 refills for $12.50 - just over $1 per refill, including the two new 'Combinator 2' instruments, Pyrogenesys and Nexius C, which are currently £9 each if you bought them from the RS. For that price, it's a no-brainer, if you already like DNA's stuff.
I know there are a few people on the forum who really seem to have a negative attitude towards DNA, for some reason, but I've always been impressed with Jason's patchbuilding skills - and he's always been really responsive to emails etc. I think perhaps the demo songs sometimes don't show DNA's refills in the best light, because for some reason they tend to sound a bit 'samey', but the patches themselves are damn good, and capable of a far greater range of styles than the trap-oriented demos might suggest. (When I first booted up Hydronexius, it immediately screamed Prog Rock to me, which is about as far away from Trap as you can get.)