Really an 'EPIC' update? Captain Epic Plugins Walkthrough

It's been 2 years since I last looked at Mixed In Key's Captain Plugins so have they come far since version 5 and is the new version really "Epic"? MIK sent me over a copy to try out and in this video I wanted to give you a full walkthrough of the new features, all the things I like about the plugins and some that I'm really not keen on!

00:00 - Introduction
01:14 - Captain Chords
02:08 - New Chord Progressions
03:20 - Chord Inversions
04:20 - Chord Complexity
04:57 - New Editing Notes
05:51 - New Rhythms
08:24 - WHERE IS THE SWING?!
09:26 - New Build-in Sounds
11:13 - Phase Plant Sounds
12:50 - VST Instrument Hosting
14:16 - Captain Chords Verdict
14:59 - Captain Deep
15:27 - Deep's Rhythms
15:57 - Editing Basslines Manually FINALLY!
17:44 - Chord Overlay
18:02 - Captain Deep Verdict
18:40 - Captain Beats... oh dear
22:29 - Beats Verdict
23:36 - Captain Melody
25:21 - Melody Layouts
26:18 - Shape Control
27:39 - Rhythm Controls
28:37 - Captain Melody Verdict
29:02 - TIP Importing Midi Files
32:00 - Captain Play
32:51 - Mapping The Keyboard
33:48 - My Verdict on Captain Epic

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[DirtySecretz]

Bit of a long one this I know but it is 5 plugins in one so wanted to do it justice! Let me know what you're thinking to the new version below :)

[AutPen]

I mostly watch videos of less than 10 minutes on here, but this one kept me engrossed for much longer. It was very helpful in explaining the various features of this suite of plugins and I like that there's no obvious bias in your review, as you explained the good and bad points in a way that seems honest and real. Nice one!

[soniksaint]

I don’t think you need these plugins to be a sound module or even have any built in fx. You can just use one good piano for chords, good bass and and one or two drum kits and then transfer to whatever you like to use. You can add the swing afterwards. I think the price is super reasonable for all of these plugins and it’s an amazing tool for inspiration.

[BassamAbusamra]

This is the kind of video that actually help in making correct decision before buying a piece of gear. Thank you.

[conorjake-rwct]

There is a swing knob ! Humanize .
I like this pluginn !!!

[garycummingsjr.]

It gets interesting when you run scaler through caption chords. You can also drag in your own midi and pay with different keys and rhythms. Plus add different bass lines to midi you already have.

[RobbieStyles]

A totally honest review! I got Captain when it first came out. Saw the potential but as you mentioned it does feel limited, even with all the upgrades since. Now you have to pay for the latest upgrade, its a no from me.

[daviHuggMonster]

I got it a few months before the epic upgrade and actually upgraded it (reduced price) it is a nice starting point but as you mentioned it the beat plugin is so old school.

[BFHPET]

how is the deep compared to bassdragon?

[sonsofmedusa]

How the hell do you run this plugin in Pro Tools?

[gmnyz]

Well said. Their focus should be more on the midi and beat features than the actual sounds.

[devarni]

I agree with you. I actually only find Captain Chords interesting. With it, you can really quickly find suitable chord progressions and then build the rest based on that. Deep, Beat or Melody I found rather not so helpful and the results partly even very strange.
Scaler2 I had tested once, but I found it too complicated. IMO Captain Chords Epic is better and easier to use.

[e.d.]

Thank you for the informative video. In my opinion, Swing should be set in the DAW. The integrated sounds only serve as an example/preview, unless it has been routed to a VST plug-in. I don't find this so tragic. You are right about Captain Beats, of course they could simply ad midi files. But here it's more comfortable. The sounds are always assigned to the right notes in the preview and you don't have to search in any folders. As inspiration or due to a lack of knowledge, I find Captain Beats quite nice. Of course, there are much better programmes like Playbeat.

But all in all, I have to say that it is very tiring to work with these or similar plug-ins. Especially the presets are mostly the usual standard chord sequences.

[alsoulmusic]

I've upgraded and I like the new features. That is mainly because of how I was using it before. For my workflow I've enjoyed Captain Chords for quickly building chord progressions. Everything else is gravy. It is much easier add notes and do inversions so that is even more up my alley. I really didn't use the rhythmic stuff before. I might end up using the other modules a bit more often now. Of course it is not everyone's cup of tea.

[mhhollomon]

FYI - Phase Plant is the soft synth made by Kilohearts. The sounds marked as (PP) look like they are all factory presets that come with Phase Plant.

[CornellPhillip]

I see Captain Plugins Epic as an idea pad. I don’t think it was made to rival any professional DAW or sound module. It was meant for chord, melody and bass ideas and it think it does it very well. After putting the idea together I most likely would edit the finer details to my liking.

I like it for what it’s meant to do, help create ideas.

[VentureNW]

Completely understand what you mean. I have Instacomposer and Blue Cat's Patchwerk to direct it in the places I need it in Ableton and I have never bothered to wrap my brain around it much, as I use Scaler all the time and sometimes I use Melody Sauce which is just down right easy to use. I would add though, I never use the sounds in any of these, as I just take the midi and drop it on my plugin instrument's track.

[tobrsun]

I don't get why they charge you $49.50 extra to upgrade to epic as a previous user when new users don't have to pay that upgrade price at all, I feel like they only get away with it because their plugins are catered to beginners who aren't used to buying plugins.

[vcodev]

I think they heard your voice, now captain plugin added swing to all their plugins, please do an updated review that would be awesome!!!

[massimogurinidj]

Few friends and me made a drinking game with this video. Everytime you say however we drink. 3 people died.