Reid Rosefelt

JJShop celebrates their anniversaries every year by selling lots of stuff for the number of years in $$. Many of you remember the great $20 deals. One was AAS's great Objeq Delay. Sadly now everything is going to be $22. 🙁 That price is going to keep creeping up until the deals aren't so crazy any more. You can see what they have up now HERE Nothing that's shooting lightning through my head (yet) so I can hold on to my $$ for the time being. But they will keep changing it. I'm sure @cclarry will keep us updated.

These loops were done by Kyle Z of In Session Audio for his previous company 9 Volt Audio.

Anybody know how long this offer will last?

I just make templates. I have them for Solo Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, Grand Pianos, pads, etc. I'm constantly building them. If I get this, I'll just add it to my two guitars templates. When I get a new library in a category that I don't have a template for, I start one. It's really great in Cubase, because you can load up your favorite patches really quickly in your projects. It's a time-saver and you don't forget about the stuff you have because it's kept in categories. As I am not really an orchestral composer, I find this a better system than some huge 1000 part template. When I write music I start with a blank track and import the instruments I need from my various templates.

I saw this recommended by PluginGuru. It's a plugin that maps the Kicks, Snares, Hats, Cymbals and Toms of a lot of vintage drum machines into GM. It is offered free but the developer does ask for a donation of $5. TPG is going to show how to use it with Unify in today's livestream. But obviously this could be a lot of fun with any MIDI files, and some come with Unify. I love the way this has little images of the original units--a nice touch. Most of these instruments had more sounds, but it's still a very cool thing for free. Apparently there was a successful Kontakt version of this before. You can get this new VST/AU library HERE The Kontakt one is still available HERE Requires Full Kontakt The library contains samples of about 150 old, vintage, obscure, rare and hard to find drum machines. What has been done: Each kit has been mapped in a General Midi format (more or less, many old drum machines only have 4-5 sounds) Each kit has been divided into 5 groups: Kicks, Snares, Hats, Cymbals and Toms Each Group has custom controls for tuning, panning and volume Each kit has custom graphics

This includes 8 NKI instruments; Brazil Guitars 80bpm Classical Guitars Various bpm Club Guitars 120bpm Disco Guitars 120bpm Funk Master Various bpm Guitar Lab Various bpm Phased EL Guitars 100bpm Phased Rumba Guitars 100bpm. Apparently more genre offerings can be found within these 8 NKIs, including Acoustic, Pop and Rock. Even a few bass lines 3,000 loops taking up about 3.5 GB of hard disk space, when uncompressed. Requires FULL version of Kontakt 5.0 or higher. The Zero-G demos are too FUNK-EE! 🤪to appeal to me, leaning too much on the Disco and Funkmeister loops. But "Donbo" Dan's video demonstrates a lot more of the range. I like the Brazilian guitar. Worth twenty bucks? Everybody can always use more Rumba in their template, right? Full SLR Review HERE Steve B said he was actually inspired by this thing.

It may have been just a GC instrument, but it really looks like UVI took a lot of this and put it into Synth Anthology 2. For one thing, most (or maybe all) the instruments are the same. And the graphics are the same. Check out the Andromeda graphic below. So it's not a good deal for me, even at $4.99 as I think I already have it, and a lot more.

I finally checked VI:Control and the original String Flow was introduced at $25 and went to $31. It was not as sophisticated though. It looked like this:

String Flow was Ben's second library (after Cello Textures), but it was the one that put him on the map. I posted it up on VI:Control and all the composers went crazy about it. The general word was that it filled a real hole at an affordable price. One guy showed that you can do something similar with one of the Spitfire libraries (for a lot more money) but not exactly the same way. People thought it was a crazy deal, and it was just the cello then. He's a cellist. I wrote him on Facebook and suggested that he do the same thing with other string instruments. Kind of a "duh" suggestion. He probably would have done it anyway. So then he brought out the violin and viola versions, and you are basically able to get all three for around the price of the original String Flow. (I can't check what it went for then because VI:Control is down now.) I would add that he made many improvements to String Flow before it became String Flow Cello. Generally his stuff is released with an intro price, and then he adds a ton of stuff to it, which comes as a free update. I have made the mistake of resisting his intro price and then falling for the new instrument with all the additional features. 🤬 Somehow I have managed to not buy everything he makes, but... The truth is that all his stuff is very niche, and you have to start out saying, "I'm going to make some music with this." They are kind of like Spitfire Evos. I have all the ones I own in my strings template, but still they are not something I generally reach for. This may give me a kick in the *****.

Is Synth Legacy an early version of Synth Anthology 2?

I wonder if John knew that when he started on this he and Shane would be updating it forever. And then there is the "Deluxe" version that will be out someday, whatever it will be called. This UNIFY is "Standard Edition." So he is probably working on a lot of stuff for that too. Maybe the "Deluxe" version will include more PluginGuru content, more synths, and more FX and MIDI effects. He has a ton of PluginGuru content to draw on. If he puts enough content in, I'm sure we'll all buy it.

Still just crossgrades and upgrades though. But it's a good time for somebody to buy full Kontakt, as it should only be $124.50 for a crossgrade from an eligible product. Get it HERE on the NI Site. Until June 30th. There are also some hardware+software deals. More info HERE

Yes, Xtra PAKs are fully mixed tracks. When you play with them a lot you discover that they just shuffle around the various Realtracks in different ways. That's why you can't get a PAK that came out after the version of BIAB you own. Each new one takes advantage of the new RealTracks. Lately they come out with a new Xtra Styles PAK at the same time as the release of BIAB and another one in the middle. So, for example, BIAB for Windows 2020 came out in December 2019 with Xtra Styles PAK 8 and now we have 9 in June. There's usually only one between updates, but there's no reason why they couldn't bring another one out in the fall. The way BIAB works you usually get two different styles of music in a Style. But you can actually have many more if you roll your own. Essentially you can make your own presets combining as many styles as you want and mixing them different ways. You can add BIAB loops to them if you want, which might make sense with certain kinds of hand percussion. And you can also take any loop style and turn it into a track with all RealStyles, if that makes sense. There are so damned many now.... You have to filter them to get anything done. When I'm working on something I also have to favorite the styles I like or it is impossible to pick my favorite. One tip: A lot of people don't know that there are two ways to start a BIAB song. You can just replay the current version or you can regenerate a new track. If you have something you like you better be careful not to do the second thing, or the algorithm may create something you don't like as much.

Not yet, but I would expect the libraries/ instruments sale later this summer.

Note that the video is for V 1.5, and they are selling V 2.0. I think it has more features, like microtuning. Also, Aviram Dayan has announced V.5.0. As he's jumping from V2 all the way to V5, I assume this will add a lot of features. On the site, he says that V5 will be available for $50 more. Aviram Dayan confirmed to me that this APD purchase makes you eligible for the upgrade. @pseudopop What makes this "arabic" is the style of play. Western string musicians do not play this way. It's a very different culture. In the same way an orchestral violinist doesn't play the same way as an Appalachian fiddler. It's also good for Klezmer music. There aren't many libraries like this out there, which is why he's been able to sell it for so much $$$. The lowest I have ever seen it sold for is $169. EDIT: The lowest was $90.99 in March 2019. It lists for $259, This is not a loop library it's a playable instrument. I don't remember it being said in the video, but there are the same number of key switches on the left as there are articulation buttons. So you should be able to switch between articulations in real time or during editing. If you use a lot of middle eastern percussion, or other instruments like the Oud or Santur, this can give you more of the sound of middle eastern pop. These are sampled players, but ME pop players often use synths. As you can notice in the video, they have 3 varieties of Korg. In order to get this sound in the past, I've had to make do with loop libraries. There is also a 35% off sale on all Aviram Dayan products on his site right. Get it HERE. If you're looking for something that would work perfectly with this, there is the Eastern Percussion Module from Zero-G. It doesn't have the greatest sounds on a per instrument basis, but it has a ton of ensemble MIDI patterns in all kinds of Middle Eastern music. When you play them all together I think it sounds great, and there's nothing like it, really. I really like it, particularly when I layer in better percussion in front. Zero-G often discounts it a lot. Get it HERE. And of course, there is the NI Discovery Middle East.

Or the Soundspot Vocal Five? Also $5. https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/2-Effects/39-FX-Bundle/6291-SoundSpot-Vocal-5-for-5-Bundle

Yeah, it's weird.

I didn't buy their loops packages, because they are just... loops. You can get millions of loops anywhere and add them to Band-in-a-Box. They do add some styles with these PAKs, but they are styles-with-loops, which, after listening to the demos, didn't interest me. If you want to see what I'm talking about you should buy two Xtra Styles PAKs. With the PAKs you get the performance of a real drummer, changing all the time through your song. If somebody has the loops paks and you disagree, please let me know.

The videos are really good too. You get to know the guy and have a more personal response to how the libraries were made and how they can best be used. The drum video is really interesting for learning about how to mic a drum set. sd Flute+Violin is kind of Olafury Spitfirey. Definitely worth a download.

Thanks @Fleer There's a lot of other interesting freebies from this guy.

If you check out the manual, you'll see it has a lot of drum kits. It's always nice to have more drumkits to use in the instruments you create in Falcon. This is the best price I've ever seen on Falcon Expansions, which are only discounted 30% generally. Essentially this is 50% off, assuming you want two of them.

In my opinion BIAB is better than most (or even all) of the vocal libraries that give you ahhs or oos. Because you have to play them, and all you are playing is samples of separate notes. And sometimes the legato is pretty awful and it isn't convincing at all. But when you use BIAB it is an actual recording of background singers. They just use an algorithm to pick what they're singing and add it to work with the chords of your song. But it is as real as if you brought in singers and recorded them. You get less control of what they sing, sure, but you make it up in realism. I have no issues with using BIAB vocals in any track. To get all the options for the singers, you need the PAKS, and you need to keep BIAB updated

On this one, I was going to replace the BIAB guitar part for this Bohemian Violin improv, but then I just went, "Why? I could play something similar, but it won't be as good." So I ask you, what guitar VIs sound as good as this? That little chord at the end. And they've got a zillion more performances on numerous instruments if you lay out the $$ for the PAKs. Not just pianos, bass, guitars, drums, but also cellos, mandolins, vocals, gypsy violins, celtic harps, saxophones, mandolins, harmonicas, synths, and a wide variety of percussion. It's a really big list and the combinations are endless. You can take all the "RealTracks" and combine them any way you want.

When I was 18, I sold my real red SG to my friend Fred for $100

I can get a nice upgrade price to V7 plus OB-Xa. But will I regret taking this offer?