PavlovsCat

I'm contemplating Custom Shop EZX, have you installed it? If so, I'd love to get your thoughts. The demos sound pretty good to me. I already have Melodyne 5 -- although I still haven't mastered it, I'm slowly getting better.

That's a pretty nice list and the stuff you're contemplating also looks superb. I have the 145B from Skybox Audios (the Hammers + Waves developer) and it is superb and really inexpensive right now for what it is, IMO. Everything I've heard from Slybox Audio sounds superb. I don't own the Joshua Bell Violin, but I've heard that it's a great library from a number of people that have it. FabFilter gets raves from every pro in the audio and composing world I know. Soundtoys is pretty respected. I never heard of Oeksound.

I was already planning on picking up SoundPaint's Dirty Clav, which I think is $25 USD, but for $7 USD with my Jam Points this is intriguing. But my honest opinion of SampleTank pianos and electric pianos is that I find them really disappointing. The Wurli's in SampleTank just don't have the dynamics a decent Wurli has, which I'm guessing is due to the sampling not being detailed enough to capture the velocity layers for that. But this library sounds like it's better at dynamics based on the videos and demos. I'll almost certainly pick it, and getting two Clav libraries for $33 isn't so bad. IK has a couple of mallet based libraries at the same price that sound interesting too. Malletension and Malletopia. https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/stmalletension/?pkey=sampletank-sounds-cinekinetik-malletension

Do share your songs when you finish them! I like what I've heard from you in the past and I'm a huge prog rock fan from way back (I grew up on Yes, Genesis and King Crimson).

I just bought their prepared piano and was considering the Clavitube. @Patrick Wichrowski, do you own it? That is, if you do I take it that you would you recommend it? If so, I'm definitely going to pick it up. With my Jam Points it's a measly $6.99 USD. Let me know!

If Sonar goes subscription only, I'll be updating my Studio One Pro 3 (or whatever the order of those words are) license and joining you using that DAW. I hope BandLab makes a pricing announcement soon. If Presonus does a 50% off upgrade deal before Bandlab makes their pricing announcement I'm going to be quite perplexed. I have probably 50 unfinished projects in Cakewalk, so switching over to another DAW would be a major headache I would not look forward to. I can't rate anything I've bought because I still need to install a SD I have sitting around -- by three current drives are filled with little space to spare. - I bought United Plugins Quick Muse and got the UJAM acoustic bass freebie (I really am not a fan of the UJAM approach, but I wanted to see what it would be like to work with a bass library with their more automated approach). - I've bought IK's Fractured Piano. I don't love Sampletank pianos, but I thought a prepared piano will be a different story and I liked the demos. With my jam points, I think it was only 7 bucks. - I picked up 8Dio's String Quintet and got their free 1928 Scoring Piano, I'm still contemplating picking up some the EZx Custom Shop from Toontrack and some drum libraries from a small dev out of New Zealand -- maybe my favorite place on the planet -- called Analogue Drums. I did a thread for their BF sale and you can pick up a detailed drum kits that sound they were legitimately recording on analog tape for $14.50 USD starting Friday. I was heartbroken to have seen these guys close their doors during the pandemic -- they own a recording studio and this is a side project. However, they recently re-opened and I am pretty darned happy to see that. I recommend checking them out and let's make sure that they don't close again. Their libraries sound awesome and they're dirt cheap, even at regular price and crazy cheap as of Friday. I do not personally know the dev, besides being a fan who follows them on Facebook and thinks they're excellent at what they do.

That yet gave me the biggest laugh of the day! I appreciate and share your pragmatic outlook! So good, so far. 😀

Holy cow, once again, you've impressed me with how honest and thorough you are, jngnz! Relab stuff ranking high, no surprise there. I had the sense that Audio Ollie is super talented and I should have grabbed that strings deal when it came around; I think it was $49 USD for a week and now it's $99 . That Polka Sound dev is my pal over at another forum that shall not be named. He's a really good guy. Although I'm not big into accordions. Sonible De-Ess or whatever the name is is something I should pick up. I can't say that I'm surprised about the Splash Sound ranking. The dev is a really nice guy, but yeah, I deleted his piano library from my hard drive. Fortunately, it only cost 5 bucks (USD). I absolutely love Pendle's stuff, but I couldn't get myself to buy a sample library without hearing at least something, so I passed on it. Even though a number of our regulars have praised Phase Plant, it doesn't really sound that special to my ears; I probably wouldn't buy it unless it was ridiculously cheap. I suppose the Inlet Audio Viola is the surprise for me. I didn't love the developer's demos for his cello library and didn't listen to his other library demos after that, but I know that Fleer posted good things about one of his libraries too. I'll have to pay more attention and check out if the deal is still on.

My poll idea is dying a very savage death! 🤣 Well, how about this, Carl shared his Best Deal (he also shared his worst deal, but I thought sharing the best would be fun and useful), since my poll idea has died a quick death, I'll revise the title and ask people that.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, Bapu, cclarry and everyone in the forum.

I was actually thinking about a poll in deals group on Facebook that cclarry and are in. At the end of every week or month (or some period of time) the group administrator does a poll where everyone votes on the best deals during that period. Everyone gets to add a deal in case the admin missed something. But it's interesting, entertaining and it can also be really useful. Of course, it also would take some time to compile (again though, as long as you allow the community to add to the list and change their votes, it's not a big deal if it's not perfect when you start it and people add a lot to it). But I enjoy those lists and often rely on them. They've been responsible for me noticing deals and freebies before they expired that I otherwise would have missed. Anyhow, it's just a small idea I wanted to put out there and see if anyone was interested in it.

So many things I could post. @Fleer do you have anything to say about this BF deal on WUP? Is it, indeed, the sale that you've been waiting for? Because I'm pretty sure that it wasn't on my list.

Can we really hold out for a year???? I've been watching a couple of solo cello libraries but this is the one I want the most. If Orchestra Tools sends out another $25 USD holiday credit to their customers like they've done the past couple of years, I'll probably pick up their LA Sessions solo cello to get my fix and keep hoping that Sonixinema has a deep discount on their Contemporary Solo Cello library. FTR, I already have several solo cello libraries, I just really love the sound of a cello and appreciate the difference in the tone and playing of each library. I suppose you could say that I love cellos at the same intense level that I love Wurlis.

Carl, you're a pro and every study I can recall ever seeing on software subscriptions has found that professionals (or B2B) feel completely different -- opposite -- from the average consumer when it comes to software subscriptions.I don't have that recent study at hand, but it's a third-party study focusing on consumers and the subscription software model (if I find it, I'll update this post later). I believe it found that millennial consumers on up have a mental limit of two or three software subscriptions. As you go up in the generation groups to Gen X and Boomers, they're far more resistant to software subscriptions. As I wrote previously, Gen Z sees this stuff very differently. I'm pretty certain that the majority of Adobe's 12 million subscribers are business users. But that's not say that studies and real-life successes don't exist in the consumer world for the subscriber model for software and in the sample library world they're pretty rare. I think we're seeing what appear to be B2C successes (I don't have access to these company's balance sheets) like LoopCloud largely due to their having a younger demographic than the multisample market. My company, a dot com, has a good deal of software subscriptions and as a business person, I like software subscriptions. As a consumer, I have, I think 4 streaming service subscriptions in addition to cable TV. But for my music hobby -- and I realize that I reflect my demographic (I'm in my 50s) -- I'm very resistant to subscriptions for my DAW and sample libraries for the reasons I mentioned earlier. If Cakewalk goes subscription only, I'll switch to another DAW. That mindset is pretty typical of consumers age 40 and up. Composer Cloud appears to be successful. FTR, I hope that Musio succeeds, I think it would be good for sample buyers, as it will help to bring done prices even for those of us buying perpetual licenses. But Loopcloud and Splice are aiming at a younger demographic than Musio, one that isn't so resistant to the subscription model. Multisample developers like Cinesamples are trying to do what Composer Cloud does, but you obviously need a pretty extensive product portfolio. Perhaps Cinesamples has it. If not, they can always look into bringing in third-party developers, but of course, that will mean higher subscription fees. In any event, I really enjoy our conversations and thanks so much for all of the knowledge you've shared with me and the community in this thread. I appreciate it.

REVISED POST: Whats the best Black Friday deal you've seen or taken advantage of in 2023? THE BELOW IDEA DIDN'T TAKE OFF. SO I'VE ONLY LEFT IT HERE FOR REFERENCE: A Best Deals of Black Friday poll could make us aware of deals we missed before they disappear and also be entertaining. A separate poll for Best Black Friday Freebies would also be useful, as there's been a lot of really good freebies from sample libraries to plugins and many of them are time-limited deals. I'd do it but my threads have been a magnet for trolls and it would especially be disappointing for a poll thread if people invested the time to vote and watch and someone comes along who gets a thrill by making attacks on others, and there are a very small, but still very aggressive group of those folks in this forum that appear from time to time and I'm the current target of their venom. Consequently, if someone is game to do these polls, I think it'd be useful and fun and I'll happily participate.

I have yet to click -- but this is one of my most anticipated Black Friday sales of the year! I fell in love with their solo cello libraries. UPDATE: As a marketing strategist I sincerely respect that they don't deep discount most of their libraries. That helps protect the brand identity So kudos to the dev for that. But as a sample buyer, darn, 30% of on Contemporary Solo Cello isn't enough to win me over.

Same here. JRR is not a very useful site for researching products.

I have contemplated Musio, but, as cheap as Musio's promo pricing is, I don't find subscriptions are a good choice for me as a hobbyist. Add to that -- and I don't want to get into specifics -- but I've heard that Musio isn't selling very well. Consequently, I do question its future. To succeed Cinesamples is going to have to sell to A LOT of millennials on up, and hobbyists in those demographic groups are incredibly resistant to software subscriptions. I was recently reviewing some related studies. B2B/pros love subscriptions because they fit with the way businesses operate, while consumers feel very differently about subscriptions (note that Gen Y is significantly more receptive to software subscriptions than older generations). I posted in this forum that Waves and another developer would fail with their subscription-only services right after they introduced them and I received some pretty harsh criticism for it only to be proven right within a very short period -- but it was not exactly a giant leap to make. Anyone who knows the research and especially strategists, realize that making software subscriptions work with consumers is a significant challenge. So, it came as no surprise that both companies soon pulled that strategy. I do think that there is a way to succeed and eventually we'll see more developers in this space succeeding. Although I'm not certain if Cinesamples is on the path to success with the subscription model. Time will tell. But that issue aside. If we only focus on Musio -- and not the question of whether or not the service will be around in a year or two -- the reason it's not a fit for me is very simple and practical. Right now, Musio is doing promotional pricing to get as many consumers aboard as they can get with this service in order to make it viable. 90 bucks is certainly a very appealing price for their libraries. But that is Cinesamples heavily discounted promo pricing that ends Dec 31, 2023. Musio is not going to renew at anything close to that price. It will be renewing at an amount that is a multiple of that price -- I would guess that is Musio survives 2024 and renews it would be at $299 - $399 per yr. 299 or $399 per yr is far beyond what I want to spend to rent sample libraries. And renting sample libraries for a yr leaves me with a future problem. Let's say that I use 40 Musio libraries in 5 dozen projects that I never completed over the course of the year that I had my subscription. After my subscription ends I will be facing have to replace all of those libraries in 5 dozen projects and likely having to play or edit those parts over again with the sample libraries I replace them with. It's going to be a massive PIA. And that is the reason why I don't bite on a price that otherwise seems fantastic.

Wow, thanks much for sharing all of that knowledge. For anyone researching choirs your posts are a goldmine of information. My budget is tight -- and while your writing for large audiences, my audience is largely my two kids and some friends. The fact that I can even afford pro level choirs as a hobbyist and really don't have much use for them is a nice surprise to me. I know Tawnia from 8Dio and she told me that she was planning on some major price reductions, but didn't tell me any specifics, so while I had an idea, I didn't know this stuff was going to get discounted this much and it puts libraries I previously considered put out of my price range into my price range. I've really only been using freebie choirs to date. So, to your point below regarding the 8Dio libraries having the best price/quality ratio on the market, and considering I'm on a limited budget and rarely use choir libraries and currently just have freebie choirs, I'm going to listen to all of the 8Dio choirs you mentioned, Lacrimosa, Liberis, Requiem Pro, Silka / Insolidus, and pick one or two that I think sound like the best fit for me. Eventually, I want to get a children's, men's and women's choir. But I'm also looking at drum and solo cello libraries, which I use incredibly more than choirs, and trying to hold to a fixed budget.

I'm grateful to Sheens for the thread. But this epitomizes why I always wait for cclarry's posts. AdPaks are $39.50 USD everywhere else but JRR. Only $32.76 with the GROUP code. cclarry remains the GOAT 🐐.

Custom Shop sounds pretty good. I've been hoping they deep discount Indiependent. I have enough libraries and am so deep into Toontrack's drum ecosystem, from SD3 and various SDx and EZx libraries, that I tend to think about how the kit pieces might fit against the ones I currently use a lot. The only time I pick up Toontrack expansions are flash sales and Black Friday, as oherwise, I think Toontrack prices their expansions far too high.

What do you think about the NeuralDSP stuff? I'm just going to say that I am in love with the tones that Tim Henson gets out of a guitar and am contemplating picking up the amp sim he endorses. In my case, while I own a few guitars but my tendinitis makes them too painful to play, so I play the Evolution libraries and put them through amp sims.

@Carl Ewing It cracks me up how just about all of us have the same bad habits of tangents in this forum. No regular could ever seriously accuse any other regular of going off topic with a straight face. So here we are after our gushing praise of Skybox Audio. Seriously though, I bought their 145B Wurli after making a thread on Wurlis and two forum members I previously never interacted with persuaded me to check it out. They were right. I suspect you'll love it too. Back to 8Dio. You guys are big into choirs for cinematic use. I do my little covers and re recordings of songs I wrote in the 80s and 90s. It's rock and acoustic piano based singer songwriter stuff. What 8Dio choir libraries would you guys recommend I check out? I've used big choirs in choruses on rock songs. But I really don't know what to look for beyond a library that sounds good to my ears. Are there other factors I should consider? I've noticed that, Carl, you've written about the versatility (I think that was the word, or a synonym of it) of these types of libraries. My style is just to play things. I don't want to edit MIDI. I'd love to get some good advice on what to look for.

Wow! That's tempting even for me, with the MTro Pro. I don't think anyone could go wrong with either plugin. But I do really want the Pendle Poucher expansion for MTron Pro. Truth be told, if the upgrade wasn't required for Pendle's expansion, I might not bother with the upgrade and instead put it towards the SampleTron 2. I am just slightly disappointed that GForce is charging loyal MTron Pro customers the exact same price to upgrade to VI as users of the free MTron LE/Select. We should get at least a little better discount. Even so, I am a happy GForce customer. Graeme is wonderful to deal with and I Iove their plugins and expansions and can highly recommend them (I would easily give them 5/5 stars). I bought the first version of the MTron back in the early 00s. Although I did the same with Dave Kerzner's libraries even before he worked with IK to create the SampleTron. Both are excellent choices, IMO.

That is a very hostile post but consistent with your past behavior in this forum, Technonista. cclarry, easily the MVP of this forum and an incredibly helpful and likable person, literally quit this forum after your posts -- and another forum member's posts -- harassing him. It's fine for you to disagree with cclarry or me, but it's not fine for you to engage in a series of demeaning, hostile attacks on your fellow forum members,as you've done to cclarry and you're doing to me right now. It is not helpful or the kind of behavior that makes for a healthy forum. It is an attack and bullying. I get that you're a fan of Impact Soundworks, but I don't think your tactics are civil or appropriate. You can defend them without engaging in attacks on anyone who isn't praising them. I'm a writer, so I will highlight the micro-aggressions in your post: 1. "Pavlov, please give it a rest with all the drama." 2, 'Repeatedly bringing up drama about various companies doesn't belong in the deals section I suggest.' 3. "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." Adding Peace at the end of an inflammatory attack on a fellow forum member doesn't deceive any fair-minded person into thinking your attack was any less of an attack. That simply isn't civil behavior. You can voice disagreement with someone without resorting to insults, as you did with cclarry and have done many times in this forum with me.