Zolton

The Boom, she returns. 

The Boom Library Lucky Wheel is back up and prepared to spin. Log in and check your user area menu to find the link.

(Or prepare to take the many spins you accumulated if you kept the inactive page in a tab for weeks and checked every day to see if it was working. OCD is a bitch, yo.)

Man, not only that -- it looks like the mad rush for the freebie knocked a whole day out of whack. According to the advent calendar right now, December 6th doesn't even exist.

That's some serious mojo.

A few of these are really handy/interesting, and the KVR page is definitely helpful, as are the archived release announcements on Rekkerd in some cases:

https://rekkerd.org/tag/wok/

At any rate, I think it's unlikely the site will be reorganized now. This thread's a nice reminder, but the plugins were set free seven and a half years ago:

https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2016/06/29/wokwave-vst/

24 minutes ago, jngnz said:

Yeah, last year someone on VI-C won something. Some really big library as well, iirc. But the win rate is very clearly like 0.000001%.

Yeah, I can vouch (as a one-time winner and a part-time math nerd) for the tombola drawing. Not only were your odds quite reasonable with that one -- around 1.5% of winning something, if you'd scored one of each color ticket -- they were also calculable.

(Or estimable, in the sense of "able to be estimated", as the pool of tickets was 6000 total for ~30 giveaway prizes and holding one or more tickets makes you eligible for all.)

If the spinnywheel rules are the same as last time, it's much more of a crapshoot. If I understand correctly:

Every two hours, there's a "magic time"; whoever spins closest (and presumably prior to, unless Spitfire has an accurate-to-the-millisecond time machine handy) the magic time wins that time slot. But you can only spin once a day (i.e., every 12 "contests"), you don't know how many (thousands of?) people are participating each round (without access to the server logs) and you can't know whether the magic time for your current spin already happened half an hour ago, and you're well and truly oozing out your lifeforce watching the pixels go 'round.

Which is perhaps less estimable, in the sense of "worthy of great respect".

On the other hand, it is probably more "democratic", in the sense that a greater pool of people has some (small) chance to win, rather than just obsessive clickhounds setting alarms for half-four in the gloaming to Pokemon up their precious e-tix for a chance at some free bitcrushed bow scrapes recorded in a coffin in the back of a lorry speeding down the M1.

As such a clickhound myself, I miss the tombola. Also, I resent the characterization. Also also, the bow scrapes are divine.

49 minutes ago, GoncaloL said:

Im a bit confused, that JRR link sends you to HO diamond edition? Is that description outdated?

My understanding is that there's now a single edition of Hollywood Orchestra on sale. There used to be "Gold" and "Diamond" (and perhaps other) versions, and I think since Diamond was the highest tier -- and the content that's carried forward to the "Opus Edition" (I think) -- the "Diamond" label is still used sometimes.

But basically, if you're buying new (and EW doesn't allow second-hand sales, so new is usually the only option), it's the Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition, or HOOPUS. The "Diamond" bit is sometimes tacked on -- the KVR product page calls it "Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition Diamond" repeatedly -- but there's just the one version, unless you happen to have a perpetual license already for one of the legacy versions.

EastWest themselves don't seem to use the "Diamond" designation anywhere and don't explain the history anywhere, as far as I can tell. But the above fits what I've seen at various stores and forum discussions. 

14 minutes ago, Rational said:

Thanks. Looks promising. Can't find the versions tab nor code yet though.

Sadly, I've heard that ZeroG closed the loophole on the "penny upgrade" deal. Still, if their sale is still on, the upgrade may be lower than usual. 

The tabs (which don't look particularly like tabs, true) are on this page, just under the "Click here to find out what our customers think of Ethera Gold 2.5" text: 

https://zero-g.co.uk/collections/ethera/products/ethera-gold-2-5

In the "Versions" text, under the Vocal Edition, you should see this text (or just copy the code from here; it's generic and public):

Quote

Upgrade to Ethera Gold 2.5 Full Edition anytime. Use code EG25VEUP-110 in the checkout.

NOTE: This code will only work if you have purchased Ethera Gold 2.5 Vocal Edition.

22 minutes ago, antler said:

Odd... I can't seem to pay with PayPal; I'm sure I did previously. Oh well, just a sign I've stretched my budget too far and that I shouldn't push it any further this time around.

If it helps -- or hurts, depending how painful the stretching is -- Skaka's $25 at Plugin Boutique, same as via Klevgrand (plus a freebie with purchase, plus loyalty points earned):

https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/1-Instruments/7-Drum-Machine/8721-Skaka

I'm mulling over Tomofon, which is also the same price both places -- but it's not at all clear that you'd get the two free expansion packs if you buy it at PB. I don't think Skaka has that situation, though.

7 minutes ago, husker said:

Has anyone gone for this deal yet?   I got the license for Fantasy Orchestra, but nothing on the Forbidden Planet.

I sprang (sprung? springeded?) for HOOPUS at JRR, and Forbidden Planet showed up in the EW Installation Manager with the orchestral bits, once I'd registered on the East West site.

I know I'm biased because EW named their browser after my avatar, but these are Uncle E's words (From JRRShop, via KVR), not mine:

Quote

You thought Black Friday was over...

The best deal has just begun...

It will launch a thousand Interstellar soundtracks. It will launch a thousand Hobbit soundtracks.

It will launch a Hobbit into space.

EastWest Hollywood Orchestra Diamond + Forbidden Planet, now $299 instead of $1,394
EastWest Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra + Forbidden Planet, now $499 instead of $1,394

Receive Forbidden Planet FREE when you purchase and register EastWest Hollywood Orchestra Diamond or Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra between November 26 and November 30, 2023:

https://www.jrrshop.com/eastwest-hollywood-orchestra-opus-edition-diamond

Also available directly from the Opus' mouth, if you prefer (and likely anywhere else HW Orchestra bits are sold):

https://www.soundsonline.com/orchestral/hollywood-orchestra-opus-edition

Edited to add: As one might expect, though, coupon FORUM at JRR whacks another $30+ off. (No love with coupon GROUP, but still, wow.)

The (relative) bad for me this BF: I paid $25 for Dawesome Love on November 1st.

Honestly, I've used it a couple of times since then, and it's pretty great. I don't feel bad at all for the price, even if it's FWAP at PB now.

On the good side, going back a month into the "preseason" sales, and with several bits of good luck/timing/circumstance, an additional $250 has turned into:

NativeInstruments Razor
ImpactSW Javanese Gamelan and 5 Ventus Winds
Arturia DIST Coldfire and EFX Fragments
HY Slicer 2
Toybox Audio Nano Pack 3
Sonuscore Origins 1-5
Plugin Boutique Scaler EQ
Sound Dust Dust Engine #2
Strix Pripyat Pianos
4 RigidAudio Kontakt doodads
Puremagnetik Stages
MinimalAudio Impulse sample pack
2 Punkademic Jason Allen online classes
HoRNet Harmonics Pro
PulseSetter Epic Babies
Updates: Glitchmachines Cataract 1->2, AAS VS-1 -> VS-3, Soundiron Iron Pack 10 update

Freebies including: Immense Audio Legendary, Toybox Tangle Pack Lite, TDR Prism, Inear Bref, Aberrant Lofi Oddity, BPB Dirty VHS, UJAM Mellow 2, Excite Vision 4X Lite, Slate Heatwave, a new Unify lib, 3 HoRNet plugins, 2 Thenatan plugs, VST3 updates to free Valhalla plugs (had forgotten to update these earlier) and assorted other Pianobook/Reaktor User Lib/vendor goodies.

I had a few more pennies saved up for the season, but dammit, I'm tired. And I've got a lot of new stuff to learn. Maybe I'll buy the dog some squeaky toys and call it a year.

14 minutes ago, Starship Krupa said:

Am I the only one who picked up on the A|A|S $49 upgrade from Ultra Analog Session to Ultra Analog VA-3 w/Motion soundpack?

Possibly! Though I was very happy to get a String Studio VS-1 to VS-3 upgrade for $35, if that's anywhere close.

Quote

Still thinking about ChordJam w/Freezr for $32.

If you wind up biting (I'm thinking the same, but with Riffer), my understanding is that (a) JRRShop has the best price ($27 in the "Blowout" section) and (2) though it's not mentioned there, Uncle E suggests licenses bought there are also eligible for the Freezr freebie when registered on Audiomodern's site.

(If there's any worry about getting Freezr that way, Loot Audio is also sub-$30 for ChordJam, explicitly offers the freebie and offers up to five freebies with purchase [though you'd have to pad the basket a bit to get the last two, which kick in around ~$32 and ~$44 in the cart].)

Just in case anyone else is in the same boat I was (or perhaps similar boats also floated substantially):

I had bought the Ethera Gold Vocal version a while back, with the option (via a code provided on the Ethera Gold "Versions" tab on the product page) to upgrade to the full version for $26 at any time. 

With the initial Ethera discounts a few days ago, that was reduced to $21. 

With the "boosted" discounts: $0.01.

Worth a check if you're eligible for any Ethera loyalty or upgrade disounts at Zero G.

For me, the counter (with the label "Time Left Until The November Deal Ends") looks like it started counting down from 5 days around the time Larry posted.

Hard to say whether this is the only November discount, but it may be, just as a taster for future goodies.

Nah, Larry's just keeping all the deal dishes fresh.

That first thread went stale pretty quickly.

Nice!

Looks like the same deals are up on Plugin Boutique now, through November 30th, if the freebies/cash back there are of interest:

https://www.pluginboutique.com/manufacturers/13-Kilohearts

On the Kilohearts site, my plugin bundle completion is usually 25% off the full price of the remaining plugins, but is 50% off now, though the individual plugins aren't currently on sale. I'm not sure it gets better than that when the plugins are on sale, so it may be time for me to bite.

I don't see any official announcement yet -- unless this post on the kHs Twixxer feed counts:

Quote

It's Friday tomorrow! Fridays are great!

But the prices I'm used to seeing for the stuff I'm missing are a little lower. Specifically, Phase Plant at $99, Multipass at $49 and (based on my delta, anyway) plugin bundle completion around (an additional) 25% off.

Maybe log in at kilohearts.com and have a peek.

7 hours ago, aidan o driscoll said:

Playbeat is $37 at JRRSHOP with the coupon GROUP

https://www.jrrshop.com/audiomodern-playbeat

One wonders with many of these BLACK FRIDAY deals at the mo is one better waiting for the day itself where you might get an on the day further reduction %. Especially as most are now coming out early with there BF deals

According to MSD, Playbeat was down a little further last year at Best Service, so waiting may be smart:

https://musicsoftwaredeals.com/price-history/playbeat-3-by-audiomodern/

On the other hand, that was apparently also an early BF deal (the date listed is 11/11), so it's hard to know for sure. And BS's current Audiomodern sales (Playbeat/Loopmix for $45 each, Riffer/Chordjam at $32) aren't near the lowest at the moment.

It does look like most current deals (for Audiomodern and others) are running near or through the end of the month, though, so it's probably best to hold off to see whether any other shops hop in or lower prices further. 

Getting pretty fidgety sitting over here with an itchy trigger finger, though.

It's been a little wonky before in different ways -- for a while, the links to download awarded samples weren't working -- but I've never seen the Lucky Wheel URL result in a 404 error page before. 

That could be bad news, but I'm hanging onto a little sprig of hope (and an open browser tab) that the easiest way to disable the Wheel for a while was to move it during the holiday sales. Seems like they would have announced if they were removing it forever, but you never know.

41 minutes ago, Anxiousmofo said:

Anyone grab this yet? I have tons of Pendle's stuff and will likely buy it but am just curious about initial impressions and what it is like. 

It's nearly functionally identical to the Dust Engine #1, if you have that. Three sound sources that you can blend together as you like, with additional controls to adjust the transient, EQ, envelope, arp, (pedal) drive, "thump",  delay, reverb, chaos and swing, with appropriately quirky possibilities hiding among some of the more standard options.

The most significant difference I see, other than the three main sources being entirely different, is that the last fader-y thing at upper left in Engine #2 controls a sub bass, where in Engine #1 it added vinyl crackle or cassette hiss.

Overall, pretty cool IMO. You can leave in the transient and play it "straight", but fiddle with or automate the source mix and effects for lots of variety; or wind the transients down, turn on the arp and hold some long chords while tweaking/automating for pretty lively pads. And many things in between, I'm sure.

I'd go into more detail, but that wouldn't really go along with Pendle's "trust me on this" ethos for this series, now, would it?

Oops, disregard. 

Just passin' through.

9 minutes ago, Kirean said:

Anyway. Found this on the other board, so hopefully this one is true:

I believe (as an owner of the Tina Guo, aka "Artist Series: Tina Guo" library, thinking of picking up Volume 2) the quote you found is correct. 

The bit that made things click for me is in the short descriptions of the products on the Cinesamples site: 

Tina Guo: "Powerful sound-design tool based off Tina Guo's acoustic/electric cello and erhu"

As indicated, that package includes various articulations for three different instruments (including "Tina Guo Legato" and "Tina Guo Legato (Classic)" for the acoustic cello; the former has a few additional controls).

The 3-instrument package is usually (always?) more expensive than "Acoustic Cello Legato" or "Volume 2"; the description (though not the title) for the latter specifies that it's specifically also acoustic-only: "Expansion of Tina Guo Acoustic Cello Legato". 

The "Acoustic Cello Bundle" combines the two acoustic-only libs, while the "Complete Bundle" combines "Tina Guo" (which is a superset of the "Acoustic Cello Legato", plus other acoustic articulations, plus electric cello and erhu content) and "Volume 2", which adds the additional acoustic cello articulations.

They don't make it easy. But I think that's how it all shakes out. And I can confirm that "Tina Guo" has all three instruments, including legato patches for the acoustic cello.

It looks like they update whenever they have new info -- I'm not subscribed to the newsletter, so perhaps they keep folks up to date there -- but for anyone else interested, be aware it's an evolving document. There are several additions to the sales at the link above, including some new bonuses planned and a bunch of additional sales planned for the 15th through 30th at the bottom.

Worth keeping an occasional eye on for the next couple of weeks.

Many thanks for posting -- their recent spreadsheets have been a big help in planning / grouping a few purchases.

Out of curiosity, do they advertise somewhere when they post/update one of their sale spreadsheets? I thought I remembered seeing a link to an earlier one on their site, but I didn't notice one for this sheet.

Also, I wonder if this will be updated again sometime in November. The list of companies at the bottom with no percentages or dates includes several -- Karanyi, MNTRA, Rigid, etc. -- that cycle so often through sales that I can't imagine them sitting on the sidelines all month. A few without specific info have some current discounts (like Karanyi), while others don't have any (e..g, Guareschi) and some only discounts on bundles (Audiowarp, Hideaway, etc.) that may be more in LA's control than theirs.

Anyway, the info that's there is gold. I wish other resellers would put out roadmaps for what's upcoming, when it starts and how long it'll last.

47 minutes ago, jema said:

Bonjour à tous, j'ai lu avec intérêt les derniers commentaires puisque que j'ai le même problème que Keni, mais  la différence   est que je suis incapable de trouver la version 2.0.5 ! ou puis-je télécharger cette version SVP ?

Merci d'avance. 

 

(Apologies for not attempting to answer en Francais)

In your account on the IK site, under "My Products", then "Software", find the Miroslav Philharmonik 2 section. 

There should be a list of links underneath (including "Serials/License", "Download Resources" and others). One of these should be: "Past Releases". Click that, and downloaders for previous releases. (I have Miroslav 2 CE and see versions 2.0.3, 2.0.4 and 2.0.5 available to download, along with the current 2.0.6.)

Hope this helps!

I took a flyer on this for a buck, as Puremag's doodads are generally pretty fascinating.

Unfortunately, the plugin fails to scan in both Cakewalk and Reaper (Windows 11, VST2 and VST3), and throws an error in Cakewalk if I force the scan to list it and try to add it to a track.

Hopefully it's a fixable bug and an update down the line will handle it. The video on their page was actually pretty cool.