fret_man

... and a bunch of other VI's are free, too.

If you own a bundle you also get the bundle's newly added products when you WUP. That may not be enough of an incentive by itself, but it gets added on to the new features described above.

After my first run thru I noticed that bends only occur at the entry into notes. For bends in the middle of notes you have to use the pitch bend wheel. That sounds good enough but I wish the bend keyswitch worked anywhere - NOT just before the note starts. The gliss and "runouts" sound great. The vibrato control works well, although I was surprised how much different the loop sounds compared to Kontakt's LFO (both options are available as well as manual control, which seems WAY too tedious to me). I haven't yet figured out what "blues legato" does nor why they recommend it being used sparingly. The different levels of dirtiness are useful. This is a fun VI. Edit: I've had more time to play with this and I found it's very import to overlap your MIDI notes to get the proper transitions. Stop overlapping the notes to take a breath. And then overlap the notes again for the entire next breath. When doing so, the "blues legato" really stands out. They're right - it's a very strong flavor that should only be used a few times per phrase. The "ghost note" keyswitch is interesting. It's mainly used to define where to start a legato slide without explicitly sounding the starting note. Liking this a LOT.

Mine! I'm working on a piece with harmonica right now and the VI I'm currently using is too clean - think Midnight Cowboy Theme. I need something a little more grimy.

Surprised this hasn't been reported yet (according to the search I just made): --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our holiday sale has begun! Until January 15th, our sample libraries and bundles are 30% OFF*! Just use the following discount code in your cart when checking out: Holiday2022 We're also including a download link to a bonus gift bundle of 20 freebies in every order confirmation email. If you downloaded last year's holiday freebie bundle, the difference is that the bundle now includes the "Guitar Feedback" freebie patch from this year's group buy. Our holiday sale only lasts until January 15th, so don't miss out! * Sale excludes our newly-released sample library, Evolution Baritone Electric --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm curious what the 20 freebies are. I already own everything from them, so I'll have to wait for one of you to report what they are.

And if you sign up for their newsletter you get an additional 10% off these sale prices!

Yep, just saw that.

I'm also seeing a Syntronik 2 update to 2.1.1.

I was actually thinking of BUYING that Hurdy Gurdy during BF. Once again, procrastination pays off!

Thx!

That's on my radar as well. I'll probably get it regardless of how easy it is. I wouldn't be playing it live anyway.

I don't need this. I bought this.

Had me going there for a bit. I wish Wave Arts was one word. I got confused there.

Maybe turn the "Air" buttons off? Those goose up the treble a bit.

Bolder Sounds has a collection of free sounds. Some of them are surprisingly good!

I've been on a search for good bluesy harmonica VIs to see if I can work one to get a realistic sound. It'll be hard, but I figure I'll need an outstanding tool to start with. So, I've been collecting some and wanted to provide some guidance that might help others. Unless otherwise stated, these are all Kontakt instruments. I report the articulation options right out of the box, ignoring the potential CC-learn capabilities of Kontakt (several of these could make use of setting the MW to adjust Kontakt volume, for example). These are ALL chromatic harmonicas, so I'll have to work them to achieve the diatonic blues notes. Chris Hein Chromatic Harmonica: Internet wisdom says this is "The One" to get for the most realism and flexibility, and I'd have to agree. It's expensive but Best Service has a lite version to try (I got it as a freebie when I purchased my Melodyne5 Studio upgrade 2 years ago) and allows you to upgrade to the full version (on my to-buy list if it ever goes on sale) . This has a 4 octave range . It uses keyswitched articulations (the lite version has a subset of the most used articulations). The MW controls expression and the pitch bend sounds good. The full version (which I don't have yet) appears to have lots and lots of options which would give you the best chance of getting a convincing sound. Pretty amazing really. This might best when used with a MIDI breath controller, which I don't have yet. Note: the Lite version runs on Best Service's Engine platform, which I find very difficult to read. The upgrade and full versions run on Kontakt. Cinematic Double Bass Harmonica: It may not be fair to include this because it's a rather unique harmonica, incomparable to the rest. Think The Boxer. There are a few different nki instruments to choose from. This has a range of C1 to G3 with 2 keyswitches for long/short blows. Pitch bend changes only 1/2 step while the MW creates a funky fluttering sound that models, um, I don't know what. Interesting but not for my dirty blues harmonica. But this a keeper for it's unique sound. Bolder Sounds along with the accompanying Riff Collection: This is FREE (!) and sounds very good, which is surprising for a free instrument. This has a range of A2-C5 (+3 octaves), but the 49 riffs/loops are only in the key of A, which happens to be OK for me. The pitch bend changes +/- 1 whole step and sounds very natural to me. This product utilizes the MW the best of any of these harmonicas, in my opinion, by smoothly adjusting the vibrato depth. While playing the riffs/loops, the MW changes the tempo. I usually don't like working within the confines of loops, but I like this harmonica. And the price can't be beat. Big Fish Audio Celtic Instruments: Very basic harmonica. Range is G3-A4, slightly over 1 octave. No volume adjustments. Pitch bend is only +/-1/2 step but sounds good. MW does nothing. Why bother with this one when a better free one is available above? 8DIO Misfit: I want to like this because it has an interesting feature that randomizes blowing accuracy (accidently partially hitting adjacent notes), which makes it sound human. It has a 4 octave range with many keyswitches to modify blowing attack, long/short notes, and key bends/trills. MW changes volume and pitch bend changes vibrato (not sync'd, none, sync'd). In the end, though, the bends are too long for my use and I can't fin a way to get the bends I want. So - pass. TD Samples Toy Harmonica: This is a very basic instrument with a 2+ octave range (E3 to G5) and 7 blowing noises. But there are no volume or pitch adjustments. No bends at all. You don't get what you don't pay for. I'm sure there are many others in various collections, but I'm guessing those are mostly minimal implementations with severe limitations. But I hope someone can show me I'm wrong.

Thanks, it was the content I was hoping to delete (but I'm keeping a copy of the downloads) in order to reclaim space for samples I think I'd actually use.

As long as I can run faster than you, then I may be OK.

Left to right, I'm seeing a can pop, a can of beer, some Cajun spices, and some iced tea. I think she she's telling them to turn it down, although the LP doesn't seem to be plugged in.

Tell me again, why do I need to keep Sampletank 3 around? I don't need it for legacy projects.

I'm on the lookout for National-style resonator guitar VI's tri-cone or biscuit bridge) and finding myself a little disappointed by the offerings out there. I'm looking for something suitable for dirty, bluesy, roots music. Here's what I've come across so far: In-Session Audio Resonator: only loops, not a true VI Wavelore Instruments Glide: an oldie but maybe one of the best. However, am I reading this right? Slides are only available in a single octave range (G2 - G3, page 8 of the manual - not sure if this only relates to that one string)? That seems awfully restrictive! Orange Tree Slide Acoustic: nope. That's a standard acoustic guitar. (I own this) Amplesound Instruments: ALL of their acoustic instruments (except, sigh, their 12string) have slide options (keyswitch F#0), but none of their instruments are National-style. (I own these) Indiginus The Resonator: a fantastic VI, but it's a dobro (spider bridge), not a national-style. But I may end up using this due to the failings of all the others. But it's a little too clean for what I'm looking for. No fret noise at all that I can find. (I own this) Indiginus Delta Blues Acoustic Slide: I don't *think* this is a National-style, but it's dirty enough that I can make it work. But the slides aren't very flexible and the slide landing notes seem too disjointed from the rest of the slide. This uses a very early style GUI that also seem restrictive. In the end, it'll be VERY difficult to make this sound real. The 12-string sure does sound cool, tho! (I own this) ... and that's about it! Everything else I've found have been very old loops, not virtual instruments. But maybe I'm missing something? Has anyone else tried Wavelore Instruments Glide? Thx!

Yes, that's what I do, buy NOTHING except for the next TS Max upgrade. No group buys. No impulse buys, even if you "need" the thing NOW. Just wait. The first MX buy is a little painful because you already have MOST of what's in there, but it doesn't take many of the new things to make it worthwhile.

I don't think I could find enough of interest to spend it on. I already have $200 in my rewards wallet I can't seem to spend.

These Amplesound freebies all use their own player: Ample Percussion Cloudrum: https://www.amplesound.net/en/pro-pd.asp?id=27 Ample Guitar M Lite: https://www.amplesound.net/en/pro-pd.asp?id=7 Ample Bass P Lite: https://www.amplesound.net/en/pro-pd.asp?id=19

My personalized deal was $34 for Multiphonics CV-1 + Currents! I couldn't resist. https://www.applied-acoustics.com/portal/offers/