antler

Their prices are all over the place. I bought a library from them during a sale when it went for a fairly good discount - they then offered a bundle containing that library for a lower price a few days later. If it was a one-off/rare occurrence I'd just write it off as bad timing on my part (you win some, you lose some); it's happened quite frequently though. Makes you wonder if they offer the bundle for such low prices so frequently, why can't their vouchers be used on their sale items? Maybe bundles I'd understand, but single products too?

It looks like a different beast from Kontakt: Kontakt is a deep sampler that 'plays' like an instrument; this looks more like a sound/loop player with an integrated online library of sounds (no disrespect - right tool for the right job). I suspect there could be three reasons why this is sub-only: It 'contains' all of PA's plugins, so selling this separately could be seen as a 'cheat' way to get their plugins It's too hard to decouple plugin access from online library access It's aimed at people who are likely to accept subs: people that like to buy plugins would probably go for Kontakt, which can most likely do what this can and more. Of course, this is just speculation on my part - it could be that none of the above are true.

The smallest library footprint I've seen yet for SoundPaint

I think instead of 1, 2, and 11 speaker bundles, they should just allow for build-your-own bundles: choose how many speakers you want and whether or not you want a calibration mic; the price is calculated dynamically.

I think they're separate instruments in the same series - the first one was based on electric guitars; this one seems to be based on piano samples

Possibly it's only available if you take a subscription with them? Missed opportunity in my opinion - they could have made the sampler available to use, but lock down access to the online sample pool.

I think it depends on where you live. Authors get automatic copyright in countries that signed up to the Berne convention. As I understand, the US has done so relatively recently and may still require copyright registration - I don't live there though, so could be wrong on that one.

yeah... shame though - I've read good things about them and they were one of the companies that didn't go the iLok route. I probably have enough reverbs anyway, though I might pick up a few Valhalla ones if I get reverb-GAS

Surely you mean you haven't missed it Aether... (sorry - bad joke) Too bad. I was thinking of maybe picking something up from them at around Black Friday this year; I might reconsider. I remember a similar thing happened with Sample Modelling - they had an internal dispute during which the SWAM instrument line was unavailable for purchase. They eventually separated into two companies: Sample Modelling for the Kontakt libraries, and Audio Modelling for the SWAM instruments.

I suspect not. The 'downtime' was probably to focus on building and releasing SoundPaint which I've read can blend sounds in a way that Kontakt can't (as I understand, neither is 'better'; more a case of use the right tool for the right job). Another reason SoundPaint libs are probably coming out faster is that 8dio already have samples from the Kontakt versions - many of the SP libs are ports of the Kontakt versions. There are also some new string Kontakt libs that have been released recently. With the number of samples that they advertise, I'd imagine it takes a while to get those processed.

You can try emailing them your APD purchase receipts and seeing if they count towards anything.

Do they expire? If not, just keep hold of them - I remember some teaser images of their upcoming plugins; I think there's a saturation one coming in the future called The Oven or something like that? If they work with their pop-up shop plugins, they might be handy there too.

Strange co-incidence that both Spitfire and Sonixinema release a product called Resonate on the same day...

Worth considering the drive even if you only plan to download - I've repurposed some of my older versions as backups, e.g. for IK sound files

Good reference material!

Wish they'd update them off iLok

Yes, but you'll have to buy every piece of software that you use again to get a compatible version ?

The first library captured without using microphones? ? ... bet it'll have the smallest footprint yet ?

I prefer their previous model too. They do try to sweeten the subscription deals with access to their mastering service and music publishing services though.

Loved Oblivion. Also absolutely loved Dragon Age and Neverwinter Nights.

True; I'd also extend that list to fighting games, driving games, and games that require fine directional movements/movement speeds, e.g. 3rd person stealth/action games

I found the controls ok with keyboard/mouse, but then again, I generally find keyboard/mouse easier than a controller for FPS games.

Are there any advantages of using this over built-in DAW features?

While these bundles aren't specifically discounted, they are a discount vs buying individually - these are good items to add to a shopping list, for the occasional storewide coupons.

@Auddict The piano looks great - when does the intro pricing run until please?