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Amicus717

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Posts posted by Amicus717

  1. Posted

    Just now, Matthew Sorrels said:

    I don't really use it all that much.  That's true for all the Sonokinetic phrase libraries though (and I have almost all of them, only missing Tutti and Espressivo).  They are great libraries but at the end of day it's just loops.  Magical and mixable loops with all sorts of interesting overlaying abilities sure, but still just a loop.  The drag MIDI does help a bit though.

    Yeah, that's kind of where I'm at with their stuff. There are times when it is exactly what you need to put a realistic final touch on an orchestral piece - and their libraries are gold when those moments come around. But mostly, they don't get used a lot. 

  2. Posted

    55 minutes ago, Matthew Sorrels said:

    Largo is the 2nd largest Kontakt Player library I own at 100.6 GB.  Only thing I have larger is Spitfire's Bernard Herrmann Toolkit at 136.5GB.

    Matt, what do you think of Largo? Use it much?

  4. Posted

    Oh, I know what Sonokinetic is all about - I own Grosso. Maximo and a couple others. :)

    But they are kind of hit and miss in regards to usefulness. However, based on the demos and walk-thrus, Capriccio's articulations and phrases strike me as being a bit more useful in more situations, but its kind of hard to tell...

  6. Posted

    24 minutes ago, Matthew Sorrels said:

    Maximo is nice (for a phrases library).  I think the first freebie will totally break their website.

    Yeah, I have no illusions about my chances of grabbing it, this year. I was getting gateway errors on the site within seconds of the countdown clock hitting zero. 

  8. Posted · Edited by Amicus717

    Great track. I really like it.

    I have a few RSM albums (Of Mists and Magic, Elevation, Fiery the Angels Rose), and I really love them. And I listen to their tracks on YouTube, so I've probably listened to other stuff you've written without even realizing it, Tapsa. 

     

     

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    This is actually pretty nice -- at least for what I do.

    I already have quite a few vocal libraries like this, but it never hurts to have some options and variations. I can think of whole lot of uses I could find for this library. 

    A nice steal at $15

    • Like 1

  11. Posted · Edited by Amicus717

    I just grabbed this, because I like having light, easy-to-run sketching tools on my laptop -- and for $29, well why not? I spend more on coffee during a regular work week.

    I've had Virtuoso for about an hour, and played through the various patches, so this is a really preliminary impression.  I can say that Virtuoso is pretty much exactly as Reid described: efficient and fully-featured library for sketchpad work, and sounds very decent for its type. I don't find it hugely realistic, and I suspect it will create sketches that are going to be a bit synthy to my ears. But they will be detailed and realistic enough to test ideas, and give a good sense how an orchestral arrangement will sound when rendered on higher-end stuff.  And that is going to be very handy. 

    It's got the usual Kirk Hunter quirkiness about the interface and performance options, but it's easy to get a grasp on how it all works, the controls are simple and it has way more articulations and variations than I would have expected given the size of the library.  

    Some of the sounds are surprisingly decent -- the brass and string section legatos are better than I expected, the kettle drums patch is actually really good, and there are some nice rolls and hits.

    I don't like the piano at all; some of the the timpani samples have a rather ugly ringing to them; and the brass and string shorts are less then stellar.  I also haven't come across a harp patch, which is a shame. 

    The woodwinds are perfectly decent, although they are all solo instruments rather than sections. There's a full set of percussion, including totally useable cymbals and snares. 

    The overall sound is kind of hazy and ambient, and I very much doubt any of these patches will end up in my main template or in any of my finished productions.

    But's that not why I bought it. I think Virtuoso will be a really great sketch tool, and I think it might even work better in that capacity than the libraries I am currently using for that purpose, including Da Capo, Symphony Series Essentials, and Red Room Palette. I like those other libraries, and they will remain in use, but Virtuoso seems like it will give me a lot more options in a much smaller footprint that will run easily on my laptop. 

    I'd have never paid $299 for this, frankly. But $29.99 is totally worth it, if you need this kind of tool. 

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

  12. Posted · Edited by Amicus717

    Yeah, a brand new engine: "Our brand new OPUS software engine replaces PLAY and has been years in development. "Many improvements were made to the PLAY software engine over the last decade but we suddenly had a unique opportunity," says producer Doug Rogers, "we were able to bring Wolfgang Kundrus in as head of software development. He was the mastermind behind the creation of Cubase, Nuendo, and Studio One. Then we were able to bring in Wolfgang Schneider, the creator of Kontakt. With these two titans of the music software development now on the team, we decided it was time to develop a brand new software engine from the ground up. The OPUS software engine is the realization of this effort. Not only is it faster, more powerful, more flexible, and better looking than PLAY, it comes with some incredible new features such as individual instrument downloads, the ability to start playing instruments while they're loading, customized key-switches, new effects for the mixer page, scaleable retina GUI upgrades for legacy products, a powerful new script language, and many more features that allow you to completely customize the sound of each instrument. It's one of the most exciting developments in the history of our company and will be the launching pad for many exciting new products of the future."

    I am very curious to try it.

    • Like 2

  17. Posted

    I have Joshua Bell Essential. So far it does everything I'd want a solo violin library to do, and at the moment I have no urge to upgrade to the full version. It's a very nice library.

    I have the Friedlander one, too, and it's solid and expressive. I find Joshua Bell to be a bit more refined and elegant. Both are really good.

  21. Posted

    I bought a used RME Babyface for $300 a few years ago, and it has been the best interface I have ever owned, hands-down.  Sounds great, works perfectly.  In the entire time I've owned it, I don't recall a single crash caused by the hardware or drivers.   

    At $300 it was a total steal, even for a 7 year old interface - I could sell it tomorrow for $500, and I bet it still has years of life left in it.   

    • Like 1

  25. Posted

    Just now, bitflipper said:

    Got tired of my mouse falling off the edge of my mouse pad, often in the heat of a virtual zombie battle. So I got one that's 35" wide. An early birthday present for myself. At least, that's how I justified the $18 expense.

    I assume its the mousepad that is 35" wide? 'cause that would be a pretty big mouse...

    :)

    • Haha 2
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