Craig Fowler

Get off my hard drive!

You say this every time!

First, purely visual impression (from the Youtube still) is that it looks like Kontakt... I couldn't be less excited by this.

Yup, 'tis a goody!

The Hammersmith free piano from Soniccouture is probably the best of the free instruments that I've picked up, though I don't use it much. The Tokyo Dawn free versions are pretty spectacular!

I think if you have one of these the intro price for the long-awaited viola is $99...am looking forward to that!

Ya know, it's a VI that actually made me a better musician ?**piles on the pressure**

Modern U is as good as it gets, Fleer - go on, treat yourself ?

Am a little bummed this doesn't have one of the Lonestar variants!

Blimey, I like a lot of NI stuff, but if they're offering a subscription that doesn't actually include Kontakt full...well, it seems pretty pointless.

I thought about doing that too, but held off. It seems like a good 'deal' for $50, but that same $50 would get you Simple Sam's Signature Grand (also a Steinway D) if you don't have it, and the presets on that are really, really good. Plus, it only takes a fraction of the drive space. I know Fleer is a big fan of the Walker, but I've never bonded with the lite version - and it doesn't even run well on my machine (which handles VSL/Garritan/Bechstein libraries etc without a hitch).

We're now a million miles from Larry's feelings about snow, but I always made a point of hitting the Intelligentsia coffee roasters when I was in Chicago. I'd look forward to it for months (and they have the best mugs in the world. Perfect heft!).

I can vouch for New Zealand ? Best thing we ever did was move here, and I can't think of anywhere better to raise kids (said as someone with a decent job...child poverty rates here are awful). But I'm sorry to hear all this about Chicago (and, obviously, about your sister which is unimaginably awful). I always loved going to conferences in the city and was amazed at how safe I felt downtown (though I guess the Magnificent Mile is heavily policed, and I was going there from Fresno!)

Would be great if somebody told me this wasn't anywhere near as good as Sunset Sound...

Synthogy are gonna have to go harder than that... *Yells into the wind* Why won't they sell the Hume upright separately!!!? I want the uprights, but the last thing I need is a honky tonk and a tack.

These are excellent, excellent plugs! If you don't have them, I imagine this'll be the best $20 you'll ever spend on dynamics/EQ!

Woo hoo - have been wanting GoldPlate for ages!

Does anyone have the SY85 set? I have a dusty old original in my daughter's room, but the convenience of samples would be nice!

Damnit e-cue, you got me all excited

I remember reading the SOS review on this and seeing them in shops...I thought they looked the coolest synth ever!

But this one's "pristine"!

It kinda depends on what else you've got by way of acoustic pianos. It's not bad, and if it was an 'onboard' sound of a stage piano, I'd be pretty happy with it. With that said, I've got the full set of VSL pianos, Garritan, Ravenscroft etc, and in hindsight it was probably silly of me to 'waste' a freebie on the Alan Parsons instrument. If you don't already have at least a couple of piano VIs that you like, it's probably worth picking up!

Is this a 5150 emulation? I remember trying to lift the old 2x12 combo up a flight of stairs and getting stuck halfway!

If you've got the Fuchss, (plural of Fuchs?) you've got the ones I like best already. The Ampeg sims are v good, though not massively different from the IK SVXs.

Geez, why don't companies understand that they just have to own their balls-ups and not make it seem like they're doing you a favour by fixing their mistakes?