PavlovsCat

No need to apologize @Fleer. Stuff like this keeps us on our toes, challenged -- someone had to figure out where the discount was from. Kudos to smde for figuring it out! Now the question for me is, do I finally by that Acme compressor I've long considered (feel free to share your opinion anyone who owns it or has a strong opinion). I am intrigued by your list, Fleer. and will check those selections out.

It isn't a processor hog on my machine, but, as I recall, it does use more resources than many of my other professing plugins. I picked this same deal up last year and am very happy with MixBox. It initially caused a crash in a project, but the problem has never happened again. I would definitely recommend this deal.

You're in good company. Most of this forum's regulars are 50ish or more. Some see you as a youngster!

Sounds good. Which train should we get on to get the magazine after you're done with it? I kid. I kid. I still love to read a magazine or newspaper with a good cup of coffee. I mostly do it electronically, but there is something cool about holding a physical magazine or newspaper when enjoying that coffee (or tea, if you prefer).

I stumbled on the developer maybe 4 years ago via Triple Spiral Audio. I love the libraries they sell. Have I ever used one in a production? Nope. But I fell in love with the sounds! https://www.triplespiralaudio.com/

Beautiful Void Audio is discontinuing some of their libraries and discounting them up to 90%. They require the full version of KONTAKT. I own a number of this developer's libraries and really love his work. I suppose they're best classified as ambient, lush, sound design synth patches. From the developer (posted in a Facebook group I'm in): "I will be discontinuing a few Kontakt libraries after February 29, 2024. Most are discounted for up to 90% until that time! (sorry I'm late on posting this). I've created a dedicated page so you can browse these instruments. They all require the full version of Kontakt - version info is in the product title and the product description: https://www.beautifulvoidaudio.com/soon-to-be-discontinued/ These libraries all use the free photosynthesis engine. My plan is to bring most or all of these libraries back in a dedicated UI and engine, with newer sounds as well. Thanks!"

jngnz feels strongly against this dev's plugins. Personally, while I have a couple of plugins they gave away free, I've never actually tried any of them yet (although even if I did, I definitely don't feel I'm qualified to have a really knowledgeable opinion on compressors, I barely know what I'm doing with them). Any other opinions? I'm definitely not discounting jngnz. He's going to school for audio and knows a lot more than me. While he can be pretty savage, I think he's knowledgeable and I take his opinions into account when I look at plugins and sample libraries. His post also reminded me that a YouTuber whose videos I enjoy -- White Sea Studio is the name of his channel -- did a video on a Tone Emporer compressor a while back where he recommended against buying it because of undesirable artifacts. So, with both jngnz and the White Sea Studio guys negative critique of their plugins, I am hesitant to download and install it. (I don't blindly go on others' advice, but I don't have sound engineering expertise, so I tend to check to see what more knowledgeable people have to say about plugins before I buy them, and if they say something isn't good, I pass on it).

I take too long to write posts, so I rarely make them (and then I post it and find grammatical errors -- I really need an editor). I should just stick to my freebie threads and leave everything else to the fastest typists. It seems every time I see something in an ad, an email or a Facebook group I'm, it's either up here, or up in minutes. At least I have my freebie threads! I suppose I need to stay in my lane! Hahaha.

Are you sure? Look at the time. I'm pretty sure we tied. Could it be??? In any event, it's no big deal if the mods delete mine. But I'm kinda amused by the possibility that we could have placed it at the same time. I scanned page one, then did a search and nothing came up before posting. I noticed yours before one hour and it showed the identical post time as mime. So I'm calling it a tie! But I know cclarry, and you and I will never match cclarry! Anyhow, if the mods see this, you can kill my thread. No problem.

Tone Empire SoulSquash Soul / Funk Vibe Vintage Audio Compressor Pedal - Reg. $39 USD Now FREE (Not certain of sale end date) Introducing the SoulSquash Vintage Audio Compressor Pedal: A sonic time capsule brimming with retro allure and modern finesse. Sampled and accurately replicated with Tone Empire's proprietary NM2 Neural Network technology, this pedal embodies a pristine and clean solid-state sound, adding a touch of nostalgia to your audio. Its intuitive design and minimalist controls channel soulful and funky vibes, ensuring effortless integration into any setup. From pianos to clavinets, orchestra to bass, vocals to drums, the SoulSquash pedal delivers an enchanting compression that enhances every note with a touch of soul. Elevate your sound with a pedal that captures the essence of vintage punch and versatility, inviting you to infuse your music with a dash of timeless charisma. Controls Compressor: Control the input gain into the compressor processing . Output: This is the control for output attenuation after the compression processing. Thick: This switch adds a Lo Eq Bump post compression for a "thicker" sound! Input Adjust: Use this control to further adjust the input signal gain before processing. Output Adjust: Use this control to trim the final output of the processing after the dry mix . Dry Mix: Add the original unprocessed signal to the mix as parallel processing. System Requirements Mac macOS 10.13 or later (Intel / Native M1 supported) (64-bit only) VST3, AU, or AAX Intel i3 / AMD Ryzen or equivalent 2 GB RAM / 300 MB HD Required Screen resolution - 1024 × 768 Note: M1 Mac users running Logic Pro (10.7.2 and above) or Ableton (11.1) please use the 'M1' installer. For all other DAWs please use the regular 'Mac' installer. Windows Windows 10 or later (64-bit only) VST3 or AAX Intel i3 / AMD Ryzen or equivalent 2 GB RAM / 300 MB HD Screen resolution - 1024 × 768 https://www.pluginboutique.com/products/11093-Soul-Squash

To each their own. I've had good experiences with NI's libraries. I love Noire, like Studio Drummer, Abbey Road Modern Drummer and many other NI libraries. They run great for me. But, as I mentioned, the heavy duscounting is a trend in the industry. It's notable that NI is deep discounting in the past year, because they're the makers of KONTAKT and the biggest player in the sampler industry. They set the tone. It was rare for them to go as deep as they have in the past year and to deep discount third party libraries at 70+%. While NI historically have had their summer and holiday sales where they discounted 50 percent, they discounted their libraries and third party libraries at 70% or more late last year. Then we have other developers, like 8Dio, that have deep discounted their older libraries at an even deeper level. As a marketing/branding professional, I'm not certain I would advise a developer to discount that heavily, because it trains the market that is the real value of their new releases. But as a sample user / buyer, I think it's fantastic. Detailed sample libraries are more affordable than ever.

Absolutely. It is. I certainly agree. I just strongly suspect that from CInesamples getting very aggressive with their pricing (discounting) for their Musio line and, especially considering the industry trends (that is, that some of their competitors, including NI, are heavily discounting) , that it's very likely that it will impact their KONTAKT line too. There's just too much going on -- pricing-wise -- in the marketplace that makes it likely to happen. Probably more than anything, NI's increasing aggressive with their discounting of sample libraries is likely to have the greatest impact on the marketplace. It does make sense that developers can afford to heavily discount older libraries that long ago paid back production costs. As a sample user, I've been loving it. I picked up Alicia's Keys for 13 bucks this week! Come on CInesamples --Piano and Blue (KONTAKT) for 13 bucks! Make it happen!!!

If this were KONTAKT formatted libraries, it would be a no-brainer. Cinesamples does make excellent KONTAKT sample libraries. However, I'm less apt to invest in their proprietary sampler plugin and my guess -- based on their heavy discounting of their Musio line since they introduced it -- is that they're soon going to follow what's going on in their industry and heavily discount their older sample libraries for KONTAKT.

Forgive this really basic question, but when you record a track, do you see a MIDI track recorded for that track? Are you certain that you have the proper MIDI settings for each track you're recording? I'd focus on just one track and see if you can record one track and get the recorded track to play back after you've recorded it. But I'm not sure if we've established if you have successfully recorded a MIDI track. Can you confirm that you have? It would be worthwhile to you record your screen or even take some screenshots so we can better understand what's going on. As you're not certain if you installed KONTAKT as a VST, it is possible that you could be playing it in standalone mode and not recording anything.

Okay, I was reading through this thread and you, @MrFigg, and @Fleer, along with @cclarry of course (the 🐐 of plugin and sample library hoarding enablers!), are my enablers of the day. 😀 Seriously guys, thanks for sharing how much you like this (I have the earlier free version and am curious how this compares). It helps when navigating the deals to see when a community member has a good opinion of a plugin or library. I value it far above the advice of influencers compensated to promote. Plus, I'm trying to manage my plugin hoarding a little better these days and will be downloading the 30 day trial version of PianoVerb2 before buying. Here's the link to the free trial version for anyone else who's interested in trying PianoVerb2 out: https://www.pspaudioware.com/products/psp-pianoverb2

Thanks for making that, @Hillmy. It was very considerate of you.

Is there an audio demo of it somewhere? I couldn't find any on the web page or on YouTube.

Howdy, my fellow plugin and sample library hoarders! While I always enjoy Computer Music, I did want to see what this freebie was all about. In my experience, Tone 2 makes some nice plugins, so I'm interested! For others who are interested, here's a video on UltraSpace by the Computer Music folks that can help you quickly understand the effect.

I was contemplating putting together a thread, maybe with a poll where we could vote on our favorite pianos. Mainly because I think it'd be great to learn from each other. For example, I have all the free Labs stuff, but I tend not to use it because the libraries aren't as detailed as my paid libraries for KONTAKT and SoundPaint. But knowing you from the forum and PMs -- I'm now going to take another look at the Autograph Grand. @OutrageProductions do you know how many layers Autograph Grand has?

When you wrote scrolling through the ones you have, I can relate -- and I think a lot of folks here can. I've accumulated so many piano sample libraries over the years, from NI, SampleTekk, e-instruments, Toontrack (ezKeys), 8Dio, SoundPaint, XLN (Addictive Keys), Orange Tree Samples, Embertone, Production Voices, Spitfire, SonicCouture, etc., and filled up multiple hard drives with sample libraries that I've been committing more time to pruning then I ever have. The hardest sample libraries for me to delete (psychologically) are the libraries I've paid for (while I've bought a few sample libraries secondhand, I have yet to attempt to sell a sample library I've purchased). Of course, it's far easier to delete something you got for free. I've long considered buying the Alicia's Keys library, but I had expected it would be included in KOMPLETE standard at some point. I have friends who own it and like it. I like the tone of it. At $50 USD on sale, it was always a maybe. At $13 USD, I bought it as soon as I saw the price (thanks @cclarry!). One edge we hobbyists have over pros is time. Pros -- at least some of the time -- have urgency to purchases. For instance, they'll need a certain type of instrument to fit a project they need to deliver in say, a couple of weeks. Sure, hobbyists may seek out a certain type of instrument to complete a project -- but we aren't on a timeline that has an economic impact. We can "wait it out" until there's a sale. Time's also in our favor when it comes to mature sample libraries. That is, there's clearly been a trend in the sample library business to heavily discount mature libraries, like NI is doing with Alicia's Keys. It makes sense on the balance sheet too, of course. As, when a library is introduced, a developer needs to pay back their production expenses, and libraries like Alicia's Keys surely paid back those costs years ago, so at this point, the costs are basically data storage and transfer, marketing and royalties incurred for each sale. In other words, they can afford to sell it cheap.

13 bucks? Insta buy for me (I bought it as soon as I saw the deal, although I can't help but wonder if it will end up in the next KOMPLETE standard, which I faithfully by with each new version). I've contemplated buying this in the past, but never picked it up. At this price, it was a no-brainer.

I wrote that because I so often see posts when people bring up "Texas Twang" that they don't do that style, so they pass on it without realizing it's a Telecaster; it's pretty versatile. To give you an example, someone in a subteddit I joined: "Love the OTS samples. This one sounds fantastic. It's probably a good thing I don't really do this genre or it'd be a must-buy." And I think he largely passed on it primarily because of the name making him think it's not right for other styles. A lot of people hear the "Texas Twang" name and think that's really the only thing the guitar does, but it's a Telecaster. They've been used on everything from blues to R&B to jazz to Motown to country to all different kinds of rock, including punk.

I love Evolution Texas Twang and use it a lot. I think because of its name, it can easily, and wrongly, be pigeon holed. It's a Telecaster. It's great for rock, blues, R&B...

I've had a chance to check out @Scott F. Thompson's sampled honky tonk piano and wanted to share my thoughts. I really like the character of the piano that was sampled. It definitely has charm. This isn't a pristine sample library. There are some noises in some notes -- creaks (piano bench?), something mechanical -- but I don't really find that hurts the library for the intended style. The biggest downside of the library, IMO, is the lack of dynamics. I believe there are only two dynamic layers, so you can play this piano loud (forte) or really loud (fortissimo). The compressed (Zip) file for the library is 346MB. It's for the full version of KONTAKT. I don't know what minimum version is required. Hopefully, Scott will return and tell us.

I did use that a long time ago (literally probably 15 or so years ago). But I stopped using it after finding internal strummers in guitar VSTs -- first with RealGuitar and later with Orange Tree Samples Evolution libraries. I actually went to Greg (OTS founder) after he released his first guitar and bass libraries to share my thoughts on what I believe a virtual guitar plugin should do, greatly influenced from my experience with stuff like the Cakewalk CAL scripts, RealGuitar, Steinberg's Virtual Guitarist -- because I thought he could build a better version of that stuff and I wanted as a user, but as marketing strategy pro experienced in bringing products to market, I thought my expertise could help him in his business (that is, it would kill two birds with one stone; I'd get what was basically the product I wanted and he'd get a product for his company that was an innovation; at the time, I later chatted with folks from most of his competitors who tried to duplicate the Evolution line like Impact SoundWorks, Big Fish Audio and others that attempted to reverse engineer Evolution and privately acknowledged doing so to me. Anyhow, so flash forward and you'll find the strummer in Evolution libraries is light years beyond that Cakewalk arpeggiator. You can set the timing on a strum, you can use standard sustained notes, mutes, palm mutes, harmonics, chugs, scrapes... It's amazing, but the downside is that it probably takes 15-30 minutes to really understand what you can do with it, so it's not dead simple like starting with a loop-based strum player like Native Instruments Session Guitarists, but, of course, loop players are incredibly restrictive. That said, for someone where those libraries are out of their budget, I think the Cakewalk scripts are an option worth considering, although I still think the strummers connected to guitar libraries are far more realistic. I think the freebies from Ample Sounds include strumming.