Zolton

I was sorely tempted by Continuo 2 and Polyscape 2 for 23 bucks or so, but sadly the coupon doesn't work for the latter. It does, after a bit of testing, work for Analog Tales 2, if that's of interest.

I'd probably cave and go for Continuo 2, Analog Tales/Nightmare and something else, but I've already got most everything else on the cheaper side, so I may wind up sitting this one out. Great find, though!

If you're already in the ecosystem (with paid plugins that count toward bundle discounts), it appears that the credits built up are not affected by the discounted prices, which results in huge savings for some.

So if, for instance, you'd bought a few plugins that count as $50 toward the cost of the MMixing bundle, which is normally $710, you still get a full $50 off while the bundle is $249. If you're a little deeper in (as I was) and dig the Melda paradigm, the narrowed gaps may be in no-brainer territory.  Just make sure you're logged in when you check out the prices on the site. 

Two additional perspectives on the question of "need" (or general usefulness) w/r/t MModernCompressor:

From what I can find (e.g., this description on Gearspace), it's less directly comparable to MTurboComp (LE) than to MDynamics. It seems like a stripped-down version of MDynamics built in the same framework -- so if you happen to have MDynamics, you probably definitely don't "need" MModernCompressor. (Though I've seen some folks say the "lite" version is nice and easy to use.)

More broadly, if you're firmly planning at some point in the future to buy one of the Melda bundles, these cheapie one-off sales come in handy to whittle the prices down to more budget-friendly levels. It definitely helps to know which doodads are in which bundle (Melda's comparison chart is handy for that), and whether a particular plugin thus gets you nearer your goal. 

Melda's policy is to lop 70% of your purchase price off the relevant bundle(s), and they assume anything bought from a reseller was purchased at half price. So the reduction to your eventual bundle price is ~35% of the full price of the plugin.

In this case, MModernCompressor sells on the Melda site for $53 and is included in both the MixingFX and MasteringFX bundle (as well as the TotalFX and MComplete bundles), so it would reduce the price of any of those bundles by around $18. If (and only if) you're dead-set on someday getting one of those bundles, buying one for less than the discount applied to the bundle cost is essentially saving a couple of bucks by starting a payment plan. (Ideally, the plugin is also useful in some way.)

Another way to consider "relative value" for Melda reseller sales, in the context of a future bundle buy, is what the plugin effectively costs in the context of each bundle (which are heavily discounted from the individual plugin prices). Just for instance, the MixingFX bundle has 33 plugs for ~$700; dividing the one-off prices of each plugin into that total proportionally (so the more expensive ones stay more expensive), MModernCompressor -- in the context of the MixingFX bundle -- is "worth" around $11.85 of the total price. The MasteringFX bundle has fewer plugins for the same price, so MModernCompressor is "worth" more to the value of that bundle -- a little less than $15.

Also, for anyone who is thinking of Melda bundles and can wait it out, there's at least one end-of-year sale (and maybe others) where all the bundles are half-price. That takes the biggest chunk out of the equation, but a strategic low-price grab here and there can add up, too.

29 minutes ago, Niky Serrano said:

@Zolton I think that you haven't included in your Excel file this one:

Landscape => https://www.plugin-pusher.com/products/klang_landscape

 

Yeah, I waffled on whether to include that one, and a couple of other free libs from Cinematique that can be found on their site here:

https://cinematique-instruments.com/inst_all_sites/inst_all17_free.php

Despite Plugin Boutique "assigning" Landscape to Klang on their free Kontakt instrument page, the CI site lists it separately from Klang -- and the Landscape interface doesn't have the "KLANG" branding that the other set does.

Still, all the little mini and/or free libs from Cinematique, Klang -- or KLANG -- are made by more or less the same crowd, so far as I'm aware. What qualifies one of them a Klang or not-Klang is a mystery to me -- but it's an excuse to peruse 10 additional freebies on the CI site!

2 hours ago, Niky Serrano said:

Using Google I have found a web site with some Klang products that I hope that helps if someone is looking for them

https://www.plugin-pusher.com/manufacturers/klang

 

Thanks, Niky -- I hadn't seen that site before. It looks like one of the price trackers that have popped up recently -- it looks like it's tracking Plugin Boutique, but not Loot Audio, as it only has the PB prices on the individual item pages (including the ones that are free on Loot).

I should have included handy links to the free Klangs in the original post; here they are:

On Cinematique's site, the Klang page is here (click "For Free" to filter for the 6 currently free ones):

https://cinematique-instruments.com/pages_instr/page_klang.php

On PB, the dedicated "Free Klang" page is currently broken, but the 4 freebies are available among the free Kontakt instruments here:

https://www.pluginboutique.com/categories/55-Kontakt-Instrument?free=true

And on Loot Audio, the Klang page is here (sort by "Lowest" to drive the 7 freebies to the top of the list):

https://www.lootaudio.com/category/kontakt-instruments/Klang

Not sure whether anyone else would be interested, but I've been curious about the state and scope of the Cinematique Instruments-spun out Klang series, so I took a little dive into the history and current availability. In short:

Cinematique started producing small Klang instruments for Kontakt (and often Ableton) in September 2019. Most are heavily processed, perhaps intended for ambient, background or soundscape design. The first handful were released for free, as was one new instrument per month (or most months, at least) for a couple of years. As the series got more popular, some instruments were released with a small price tag (~5-25 Euro) and some (now quite a few) have been discontinued. I have a bunch, and use a few, and since several Klangs are currently available via Plugin Boutique and Loot Audio for $5-6, they make intriguing stocking stuffers / monthly freebie-getting fodder.

I was curious what the collection as a whole looks like. So here it is, as best as I can tell:

In total, 80 Klang instruments have been released, not including 6 in the "Sampl" and "Konzept" categories that sold for higher prices (15-25 Euro, with one freebie), and which don't appear to be available via any of the shops now.

Forty Klang instruments were released for free; 14 of those are currently still available for free, either on Klang's site directly, Plugin Boutique or Loot Audio. In early 2023, Klang went through a revamp and has changed the interface of their instruments; none of the six new-style freebies on Klang are available through a reseller. But none of the eight old-style freebies from PB (4 free) or Loot (7 free) are currently available from Klang.

The offerings available directly from Klang (28 instruments / 6 free, "new-style"), Plugin Boutique (50 / 4) and Loot Audio (41 / 7) are kind of a jumble. Everything available at Loot is also available at PB, and PB has a few extra, though Loot's (US) prices tend to be slightly lower, and some of the freebies at Loot cost money at Plugin Boutique. Altogether, a total of 69 Klang libs are currently available (which is nice), for no more than 5-6 bucks or Euro each, depending on where you might strategically want to throw a couple of bucks to get a freebie or top off a shopping cart.

Anyway, if anyone's interested in the gory details, I've dropped a spreadsheet with availability info below. Happy Klanging.

State_of_Klang-202305.xlsx

I thought the description and link combo was a bit odd -- 20 loops in a "50-in-1" bundle would be an awfully nimble bit of math! -- and I think there's a slight mix up. 

VST Alarm does have a "Trap Veterans 50-in-1" bundle deal for $24.95 (96% off), via the link above.

The free Toronto Guitars loop pack (also by Trap Veterans, gratis for 28 days) is available here:

https://vstalarm.com/product/toronto-guitars-by-trap-veterans-limited-time-free/

Just be aware (if it applies to anyone here) that the first-purchase $10 in points can't be used on products on an "initial discount" sale. 

So if you wanted to try a trick similar to MrFigg's above, you'd probably want to use your big guns/discounts on Pluralis first, then circle back to grab something else with the first-purchase ten bucks off.

3 minutes ago, Brian Lawler said:

Jeepers.  My "special customer price" at Sonible for owning five of their plugs is 179 Euros for the Dynamics bundle.  I took the Best Service deal for $41.41  I doubt that Sonible direct is going to beat that.   Arg!  I got a "No serial numbers available" email from Best... Probably a miss-price.

I wondered if it was a mistake, since each individual plug is the same price as the bundle.

On the other hand, the Dynamics bundle price is somewhat comparable (~$54) at D-Fused Sounds and Sweetwater ($49), which suggests either the neighborhood of the price is legit, or the mistake was on Sonible's end when they sent out the deals and they'll have to sort out each reseller separately. 

Looks like Plugin Boutique has the sale, too -- no discount at all right now on the Dynamics bundle, but $99 for the smart bundle, same as Sweetwater and consistent with BS ($91) and DF ($110).

If you happen to own any of the individual libs in either package and log in to buy from Sonuscore directly, the prices dip a bit lower:

$39 for Volumes 1-5

$49 for Volumes 6-10

Not so fantastic if you have three or four, maybe. I just have V5, so the first one's fairly tempting.

17 minutes ago, wallace said:

Correct me if I’m wrong, seems like Rift is at its lowest historical price.

Ditto, so far as I can tell, for Morph EQ, which I've had my eye on for a while. Thanks for the heads up!

There are many -- many, many, many, many, many -- threads discussing Ethno World, World Suite, EW's Ra/Silk/Gypsy, Tarilonte, Strezov libs and NI Discovery series, among others, in the usual places (including right here) over the past couple of years.

My overall impression is that out of the set of: modern, playable, affordable, comprehensive, realistic and flexible, you can get two, or possibly three, with any given choice. Personal preference, familiarity with specific instruments/styles and individual priority for each characteristic above heavily influence the available opinions.

Personally, I'm a hobbyist with great interest but not great expertise in various "world music" styles, and have tried to lean on the less expensive, more playable and mostly-Kontakt-based side, perhaps at the expense of precise authenticity, wide scope or other perks. I'd venture to guess the most relevant opinions would be the ones from people with the same general use cases / priorities as you, if you can glean those from the comments here or elsewhere.

Looks like Frozen Fuzz is either accidentally in the "For Free" section on the website when it isn't, or is accidentally listed for 8 Euro when it shouldn't be.

Might be worth checking on later, if you're Jonesing for a freebie.

24 minutes ago, Starship Krupa said:

Umm, Melda hack version?? Would that be a preset for one of the MeldaProduction limiters? I have 2 of them.

Looks like a preset for MWaveShaper -- the video describing it is referenced in the BPB item linked above, or directly here:

Redpillz has a link to the preset in the YT video blurb -- not positive this is the one dubdisciple was referencing, but probably it is, unless there are a number of DIY Melda-flator hacks floating around.

Edited to add: When the above video finished in my browser, the Paul Third video dd mentioned loaded up right after. Not sure which came first, or whether the two methods are identical (need to watch later):

This blurb is right under the "Formats" section on the page linked above:

Quote

FOR REPLICANT 2 OWNERS

If own Replicant 2, you can use the code REP3UPGRADE at checkout to get a US$49.00 discount on Replicant 3. Must be logged in to the account that owns Replicant 2 to receive the discount. 

I found this explanation (evidently blessed by Melda) explaining the differences between MAutoDynamicEQ and MDynamicEQ in a KVR thread from a few years ago:

Quote

The difference between those two specific EQ's is that MAutoDynamic has the following that MDynamic doesn't:
-Auto-equaliser (allows you to mimic the frequency curve of another sound)
-Modulators (though they both have multiparameters)
-7 bands as opposed to 5

MDynamic has nothing that MAutoDynamic doesn't have.

Also, a note for anyone considering the BOCS bundle at Loot -- from what I understand, Retcon (also on sale at a steeper discount %, but 10GBP rather than 6 for the bundle) is the BOCS 2.0 version, with all the functions of the three apps in the bundle, and other bells and whistles besides (in an interface that's both unique and may require some digging through the manual, according to the SampleCast review embedded on the product page).

Not affiliated in any way, but intrigued enough by Retcon to try to suss out the package differences and fiddle with putting it into the cart a time or two.

Also from Cymatics, and free for a limited time:

https://cymatics.fm/products/mystery-sample-pack-vol-4-v1

(They say for 24 hours, but the link where I initially saw it is a couple of days old and the code worked this afternoon, so... ??)

One quick note/caveat: Unless I'm seeing it wrong (or it's just me), the "ridealong" gift for MGranularMB is MBitFun (also part of the free FX collection), and not MBitFunMB.

I was thinking of jumping on this if both were MB, but I already have the (free) BitFun, and I've seen MGranularMB lower at least once, so I might wait it out a bit longer.

I do wonder if the non-MB currently showing on the page is an error, though -- a freely-available effect isn't so much a "gift", and the other three deals say you "get M(whatever) worth $(value) for free", while the MGranularMB page says this:

Maybe they'll switch it up at some point, to match the other current deals. Especially if Larry's copy above came direct from Melda, and they've just horked up their own plans a bit.

Edited to add: It appears the same set of deals is also available via AudioDeluxe, where they (hopefully correctly?) list MBitFunMB as the MGranularMB freebie. The second plugin doesn't show up in the cart, so I'm not sure where exactly it gets included -- but MGranularMB is a buck cheaper there, another 10% gets auto-knocked off and WAProd Imprint is auto-included in the cart for free, so it may be worth a look at AD if you're interested.

I was intrigued when I saw this a day or two ago. I'd advise anyone thinking of grabbing it to kick the tires pretty thoroughly; everyone's mileage will vary, but the recent feedback I saw -- including a post here from last January and several other posts and reviews on various sites -- led me to personally give it a pass.

It may also be helpful to know that, according to MSD, it appears PB had Composer Pro S 1.5 on sale at $40 for all of December. The chart suggests it was on sale for $85 multiple times through most of 2022, so if $40 is the new going rate, you might expect to see this one come around again (and again, and again...)

Ah, nuts. I saw some folks also sharing it on VI-Control earlier today, so I hoped it was still valid. (Especially since I hadn't used it yet, either!)

The code I'm aware of (from this thread, among others; end date unknown) is:

$5 off any product at APD - APD-NWVBBYY9-5-OFF

Looks like APD's newest deal is Sugarbytes Egoist -- 60% off at $39.99 (minus $5, if the recent coupon is still active).

This is the lowest it's been at least since MSD started tracking, though APD had the same deal back in May of 2020.

I'm well intrigued at this price, though I'm also still learning my way around Loopmix and not sure how well Egoist holds up after nine years. I know Fleer's a fan, from past comments. Anyone still/recently using Egoist and having a good time?

4 hours ago, kitekrazy said:

SYNTH-1 Mini Collection seems to have a broken link.

Yeah, that one oddly seems lost to time, at least officially.

From what I gather (from, e.g., BPB), it was a set of 7 Kontakt 5 presets and associated samples originally released in early 2018. At that time, Karanyi Sounds was Karanyi Music, with a different domain name to match, which is now defunct and not so obviously Wayback-able, so the links from contemporary posts are fubar'ed.

The SYNTH-1 item in the NI "Best of 2023" post cribs the description verbatim from an earlier NI blog post "5 free 80s-inspired synth libraries for KONTAKT", from May of last year. It's possible that the direct mega.nz link was active when that original post was written, but went stale in the interim and the (same) guy who went back and copied his old text for a new blog item didn't bother to check it. Pretty sloppy and/or lazy -- unless the link did work for a while recently and Karanyi noticed and decided they didn't want to serve the files any longer. 

For what it's worth, it seems the SYNTH-1 material was a precursor/inspiration for Karanyi's Synths DX product. The SYNTH-1 patches, released in February 2018, came from the OB-6, Roland Super JV, Oberheim Matrix 6 and Matrix 1000, Yamaha DX7 and Moog Minitaur. And the Synths DX description says (emphasis mine):

Quote

This boutique library contains 9 analog and pcm synth gears such as DAVE SMITH OB6, MOOG MINITAUR, MOOG SUB 37, NOVATION X STATION, NORD LEAD 2, OBERHEIM MATRIX 6, OBERHEIM MATRIX 1000, ROLAND SUPER JV & YAMAHA DX7. We recorded and designed these synths in Budapest and Los Angeles during the summer of 2018.

So maybe they improved their techniques on the same equipment and didn't want the first-try stuff lying around. Unfortunately, DX is still for Kontakt full only, the samples are encoded rather than SYNTH-1's raw WAVs and it ain't free -- though it was on sale for three bucks in December.

2 hours ago, kitekrazy said:

I wonder how many of these require proprietary installers.

Having dabbled with nearly all of these at some point, it's not terribly many, depending on how you count.

Heavyocity definitely uses its own installer/portal, as does 8Dio. Impact Soundworks uses Pulse downloader, so that's more or less of an issue, depending on whether you have it installed for other purposes.

The Strezov freebies are/were directly downloadable, but you do have to register those in Native Access, so it's an extra step. Ditto for the Heavyocity Foundations Piano, so that's a double-dip of extra finagling (though lovely once set up, by most accounts).

(Not for nothing, but if you're already knee-deep in Native Access fiddling, both Strezov and Heavyocity have other very nice if sometimes niche freebies available. It's a lot easier to grab a few and configure them assembly-line style, rather than all at once, if you're interested in more than one.)

When I grabbed it a while back, XPERIMENTA Preparato Piano was a simple download, but they've moved to Pulse for their newer Minima 2 freebie, so there's a possibility that's been Pulse'd as well.

So far as I know, Karanyi, Rhythmic Robot, Pianobook, Pettinhouse, Samplephonics and the others on the list all support direct downloads -- though for most, they'll ask for an email address and/or an account setup.

For anyone who may be interested in New Nations offerings, this free collection also comes with a $25 gift card in the "Bonus" download file. The text file states that the minimum cart value must be $25 to apply the coupon -- I was able to add the coupon with a lower total, but I didn't try checking out in that state.

The free bundle is made largely of construction kits (20 total), drum kits (20 with hits, loops and MIDI) and MIDI (chords and melodies), with bonus generically-named "drums" and "instruments" VSTIs that I haven't tried out. (Samplers from their range of VSTIs, perhaps?)

With the $25 code, it's possible to additionally get one of their "ultimate MIDI" packs for free, or one or two sample packs/VSTIs in some combination for $1 or less, depending on your interests. Or, obviously, $25 off something pricier. The NN store includes a few products from other developers (Infinit, Pyrit, Double Bang, possibly others), which appear to be eligible under the code, as well.