Technostica

Thanks Carl. 👍
I've just started a Word Doc and your input is the first entry.

I was late to W10 as I was happy with W8.1 with Classic Shell.
I have the Pro version so it was a bit easier to lock it down and it's been fine for DAW usage.
I still don't particularly like it though and my desktop might be on it for just under another two years. 

Fortunately, I can take my time getting used to it as I still have my Latitude laptop and Desktop on W10.
Hopefully, I will migrate completely before the three year warranty expires ! 😄
I just ordered a 990 Pro 4TB for £155 after Samsung cashback. 
It's single sided so a safer option for a laptop and at that price a steal.

Some good deals on Samsung SSDs in the UK with the cashback.
870 EVO 4TB for £96 via Amazon!

I bought a lot but I also sold a lot so the net cost to me for music gear is a profit, otherwise I wouldn't have bought so much gear.
I'm ignoring the laptop as it's for general purpose usage, although it's more powerful than my i9-9900 desktop!
For £640 with a 3 year onsite warranty it's a steal.
I just have to build up the courage to face dealing with Win11 and then I'll open the box. 😃

This is an older library but still available to use as a base for $94.50.
 

https://www.bestservice.com/en/complete_orchestral_collection.html

This is everything from the last  two months but most is from the last two weeks:

Ableton Live 11 Suite Upgrade from Lite
AudioThing Dials
AudioThing Gong Amp
AudioThing Lines
AudioThing Noises
AudioThing The Orb
AudioThing Wires
Ben Osterhouse Cell Sampler
Ben Osterhouse Cello Textures
Ben Osterhouse Sea Sampler
Ben Osterhouse Viola Da Gamba
Celemony Melodyne 5 Studio Update
Cherry Audio Eight Voice
Cinesamples Randys Prepared Piano
Exponential Audio Stratus 3D and Symphony 3D
Flux Ultimate Plug-In Pack
IrcamLAB TS2
Native Instruments Komplete 14 Ultimate
Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S61 MK2
Native Instruments Maschine Mikro
Pitch Innovations Fluid Chords
Pitch Innovations Fluid Pitch
Sonarworks SoundID Reference for Headphones
Soniccouture Balinese Gamelan II
Soniccouture Waterphone
Sound Particles Panner Collection
Soundiron Phonautograms
Tracktion Dawesome LOVE
Tracktion f.'em
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14
Zoom U-24
Zynaptiq Morph 2

Paris Texas by Ry Cooder.

I made the mistake of RTFM for Gamelan II and as this is such a rarity for me, I entered an altered state and when I came round there was an email in my inbox from Best Service with order details. 😁
I have heard Gamelan played live in Bali and whilst I don't want to try and create that style of music, it looks to be an unusual source of metallic percussion. The engine gives plenty of possibilities for sound design which pushed me over the edge.

It was the last day of the sale and it was over midnight but maybe it was still mid evening in Bali so the price was honoured! 😃

4 hours ago, Kiloteq said:

Sorry I must have misunderstood, this was the thread talking about the BF duration.
I am amazed at NI's excellent response as well.🤐

To clarify.
I bought 13 last week so we are over a year since release of 14 and I don't think NI even have a grace period.
The free 14 update was purely at the discretion of a UK based retailer and was a one off.
They made a mistake and I wasn't bothered or complained and they gifted me the Update.

1 hour ago, Nick Blanc said:

I'm a little bit ashamed, but I have a feeling some of y'all are underreporting.

I don't know what you mean! 😇

I am only part way through as a lot of sales don't end until next week, so I haven't made a big list yet.

1 hour ago, Kiloteq said:

It must have been a Grace Period period. I am still in K13 CE because it was a few months before that period. I envy you!🙂

It's been out for over a year. There was some mix up and I think they wrongly told me that it would register as 14 as NI had done something behind the scenes. It registered as 13 and I didn't complain as it seemed hard to believe to get 14 at that price. But I told them so that they wouldn't tell others and they phoned and said they'd email a  free update to 14.
Mind blown.

12 minutes ago, Carl Ewing said:

Wait what?? Was this from a prior version upgrade? Or you started from scratch and got K14 CE for $410 total...and on a harddrive?? If so, please go to jail, that's stealing.

It was from scratch, so 13 Full and 14 Update.

Two glitches so far.
One involved my brain, which led to me buying the wrong AudioThing Hainbach plugin. So that left me owning 5 of the 6 and I then found the last one on AD with a freebie included, so now I am complete.
It was fate obviously.

Talking of Komplete, I bought the boxed version of K13 CE with the hard drive for $410. They ended up giving me a free update to K14 CE which was very generous.
I also bought Kontrol S61 Mk2 from them for $350 but no free update to the MK3!

What I find embarrassing is the amount of software that I consider buying. My wish list on BS for example is total BS. . That's Best Service for those not in the know and the second BS relates to matadors.

Fortunately, I am not that impulsive so I do the research and cross most off the list.
I enjoy the research but do find myself researching some plugins in consecutive years.
Soniccouture Gamelan II is one example but the lack of any video walkthrough has stopped me. Their Waterphone walkthrough sold it to me easily as it has great flexibility.

Kepler is another one I have researched before, but now that it's in the Ton and I already have 'Dame' Edna, the price is probably too compelling for me to ignore.
As was the update to Melodyne Studio 5 for a shade over ten bucks.

So a lot to consider and new things get added to the lists of course. Plus old adversaries lower their prices to deliver a knockout punch.
Randy's Prepared Piano got me this time.
There is a disclaimer at the bottom of the listing which states that 'No dildos were damaged during the preparation of this piano', so it feels like a safe buy. I might need to choose a 'safe word' before using it just in case. Cage, Cage, Cage   😆

I try to limit purchasing licences which can't be transferred unless they are inexpensive. Randy is a cheap sod but Kepler is on the edge.

Thanks for indulging me, have a great day.

I did just buy the Soniccouture Waterphone, so I might need to redo the waterproofing on my Gore-tex jacket. 😃

I'm too embarrassed to say! 🥵

1 hour ago, Pat Osterday said:

Probably will work out well for me.  I just got Falcon recently so have a $100 voucher to spend.  Looking at Synth Anthology 4 and planning out the rest.  Can add another $104 dollar one (Beatbox Anthology maybe?) and pay $20.  Or two expansions and pay $12. Or Sunbox and and expansion for $33.

Now that I've jumped into the UVI world with Falcon, I'm kicking myself for not jumping on one of those Image Line deals. 

I've seen people selling the larger Power bundle for about $200, which is about what it cost.
Even at $250, it's still a great deal.
Take a look on KVR, VI-C, KC etc

Pavlov, please give it a rest with all the drama. Repeatedly bringing up drama about various companies doesn't belong in the deals section I suggest.
VIC has a drama zone for such things, which I think is a good idea, although I know that forum is another drama topic of yours.

Peace

1 hour ago, Fleer said:

Don’t forget to get his freebies from Pulse or Pianobook. He’s taking them down soon. 

I downloaded them last week and it might already be too late now.

4 minutes ago, Brian Walton said:

Hmm...that doesn't make much sense if true.  Extra seat for a product one already has $350 or upgrade from the lowest tier ($50 for $250).

I was thinking it should be something nominal like $30 as it is still tied to an individual user.

If true!
Keep in mind that the full version still shows as €649.
Some companies do odd things like that.
 

So what's the deal with Uhbik, apart from sounding like the Philip K. Dick novel Ubik?
It can't be as trippy as a PKD book surely! 🌈

33 minutes ago, Brian Walton said:

Wonder how much an extra seat for Studio 5 costs when one already hasStudio 5.  It says this can be done but not sure how much it is during this sale.   Would be nice to get another Ilok authorization but also don't want to pay much to get it.  

Shows as €349 with tax for me and for a reference, the upgrade from Essential is €249.

So who was it in marketing and sales that decided to label a reworked John Lennon demo as a Beatles tune?
All of them.

I think I will go and watch the video and then listen to the actual song with my eyes closed.
The problem is that they set the bar so high that it's hard to compete.
I grew up with the two Beatles compilations in the household, so they are like part of the furniture!

1 hour ago, Clint Martin said:

I have studio 4. Is it $29 to upgrade? 

If you can get an Essential 5 serial number, it then costs €9 if bought direct as you use the serial number as a €20 discount voucher; not sure about in $.
If you can't get one for free, they are about $10 or less at the usual sites; KVR etc.

 

If you have a serial number for Essential, you can use it as a coupon to get a €20 discount direct with Celemony.
It doesn't even matter if it has been registered as mine has been. 
Just entered that registered Serial No and it brought the update to Studio 5 from version 4 down to €9.

4 minutes ago, topaz said:

isn't that only lite/intro upgrades ? I didn't think you could buy version > version upgrades anywhere except direct fom ableton ? 

Yes, the options are more limited via third parties.

11 hours ago, Kirean said:

I bought Scaler 2 some time ago. Sase price was $49. Used a token for 25% off and it reduced it from the $49 instead of the real $59 (that it's supposed to cost.) So at least for that the token stacked with a sale.

That's the way it is supposed to work according to support who I contacted last week.

They usually offer the same deal via 3rd parties.