pseudopop

There once was an ad in a newspaper with a very special offer: anyone buying a brand new bulldozer would get a 20 pound sack of garden soil - for free!

But at least it's just Kontakt 5 instead of 6.

If you already own some of their products you can get the bundles cheaper. I have Timeshaper 2 and I could get the ShaperBox 2 Bundle for $77.

I can't say about the other instruments but I have Mideast Vocals I & II, Persian Vocals and Balkan Vocals, and I have to say that I'm not very impressed with any of them. I really want to like them but I can't.

I don't use loops, so I can't say anything about them, but some of the issues I have with the playable* voices are:

• With a couple of exceptions all the female voices sound very artificial, like something you would get from an 80's synth. Persian Vocals II is better than the others but that's not much of a compliment. There is just one male singer in the whole bunch.
• There are quite a few cases where the singer flails around the note until they finally hit it. They honestly don't sound like professional singers to me.
• The only vocalizations available are "aa", "mm" and "eh", and for the most part it's just one vowel for a voice.
• The range of the singers is in most cases only a couple of notes over an octave, which isn't enough for me. As if that wasn't bad enough, it sometimes sounds like the highest and/or lowest notes are sampled from other notes, as they sound even more artificial than the rest.
• As far as I can tell there is no real legato and the scripted one sounds awful.
• The voices are too weak and breathy for my taste, there isn't much of resonance going on. The exceptions here are the "mm" sounds in Balkan Vocals, which I actually like, and Gulten in Mideast vocals I.

What saddens me most is that the playable voices don't have that "ethnic" tone that I was looking for. There are very small traces of something "exotic" but for the most part if I didn't know better I would think these are your (below) average western singers.

*) Is this the correct word?

I had to use a new email address, since I had previously subscribed to Beat Magazine newsletter.

In the email I received from Serial Center I got serials for Xhun Little One BE, Thorn Solo, T-Racks One and Zampler Ethnic Symphony (I think. It's not really a serial.). As for the rest...

FXPansion Geist Lite
"Hi guys, unfortunately Geist Lite was removed by the developers. We will find an alternative and let you know when everything is ready."

Waves Element 2
"Unfortunately the serial numbers for this product are empty. Register at https://www.waves.com/account/register and use the Waves Central installer to install the plugin"

I guess I'll email them and ask what's going on.

Nice. I've been eyeing that miniBit for a while. Megaphone looks like something I might need somewhere. And it's just $9...

I'm really glad I don't make synth music or have a piano fetish. Those things seem like money pits deeper than any other.

I figured since the sale page is still there and there is no deadline mentioned it might still be available...

I seem to have trouble getting this. I've tried three different browsers and all I get is an empty shopping cart. ☹️

I bought this today and have to say that it is GLORIOUS. Very foreboding, full of doom and gloom. Perfect for adding those "the horde is here!" moments to your compositions.

You can tune the SFX horns to a specific note and there are also playable horn pads that allow mixing two horn sounds together, which can create interesting effects.

A possible downside is that the soundscape is pretty dark throughout which limits where it can be used. Also, even with the pads I think it's best suited (and intended) for drones, risers and slowly creeping simple melodies. I initially thought I might use this to replace some brass parts, but after playing with it I quickly scratched that idea.

Still, it's my new favorite library. 🙂

I just wanted to point this out in case someone doesn't read the descriptions of the libraries at Time+Space. Seems to apply to most if not all of them.

Quote

"SAVE! If you've previously bought a Gothic Instruments title from Time+Space use code: GOTHLOYA20 when you checkout to save 20% off this title at any time! This code can also be used against other Gothic Instruments libraries. NOTE: You must be logged into your account when you checkout to take advantage of this discount."

Oh, it's a brand. I was hoping for church bells and creaky cellos. 🧛‍♂️

Does anyone have the Twelve Horn Ensemble?

I need to add some doomsday horns into the background of a song. Not quite to the level of Zero-G's Maleventum but in the same direction.

I'm looking for something that is simple, cheap-ish and has character. Rough edges preferred over synthy smoothness.

I have Rhapsody Orchestral Colors by Impact Soundworks that has some brass in there that is soundwise pretty close to what I'm looking for. I also have Session Horns Pro by NI, but they sound a bit too "big band" and processed.

11 hours ago, jude77 said:

I'm with you.  And wait until you've got 20 years in.

I hear you. I already have lots of plugins that I bought only because they were cheap. I can only imagine what it's like for you guys.

11 hours ago, Reid Rosefelt said:

Also what's a good deal for me is a "so what?" for somebody else.

As an aside, this is something I'm still trying learn so I could avoid the slippery slope. I try to think "I'll buy something only if I need it so I can save money and have a lean but useful library where nothing gathers dust", but then comes along "this slightly interesting thing has never been this cheap before", "that sounds nice, maybe I could use this somewhere", "my ears can't really tell the difference but these old-timers are saying it's great and it's a decent price", and the worst of them all: "what the heck, it's only $9.99".

Someone's no-brainer doesn't mean I shouldn't use mine.

I never figured mr. Rosefelt a metalhead. Goes to show you can never tell with people on the Internet. 😉

2 hours ago, rasure said:

It`s actually quite crazy when you think about,  the amount we must have spent over the years on a bunch of 0`s and 1`s.

 Trust me: ignorance is a bliss. I do my personal accounting in the same manner as one would do business accounting, so I know my expenses exactly. The numbers aren't pretty. It's amazing how small purchases add up in time. And I have been collecting plugins and VSTs only for about 2-3 years. 🙀

14 minutes ago, Yan Filiatrault said:

Wordbuilder is not easy to use.

I'm under the impression that most of them need a lot of work to sound good? These are my first vocal libraries with a word builder and I'm hoping they will fit my modest needs. The price is pretty good compared to other word builder libraries, at least.

Same problem here...

21 minutes ago, TheSteven said:

Looks like the site is getting hammered.

This is getting so stressful I might have to do that too.

And looks like JRR is the only reseller for this. Couldn't find it anywhere else.

That line "until stock runs out" adds no small amount of pressure.

I hate this forum.

*sigh*

32 minutes ago, Philip G Hunt said:

Thanks @cclarry - Great deal.  How did you find out about the code?

Do Plugin Boutiques send it to you via email?

I got the code from an email Plugin Boutique sent, but Larry has secret connections so he gets this information about six months before others and then publishes it when the time is right.

I keep forgetting what this topic is about, see it listed and click on it thinking it's about some kind of support group for people with GAS. This was like the tenth time it happened. My subconscious is telling me something, I think.

Glitchmachines Fracture XT is actually on sale right now at Plugin Boutique:

https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/2-Effects/53-Multi-Effect-/3195-Fracture-XT

I couldn't find any information about a previous SD3 sale anywhere, except for the upgrade offer they had some time ago (SD2 -> SD3). That's why I decided to go with the best deal I could find right now.