Craig Fowler

That Trace in Amplitube is really good. I have an early 90s Trace combo that (I think) was a series or two before the one IK emulated, but the sim is uncannily close! It also sounds like nothing else, which...can be a blessing or a curse!

Nice to see a fellow Eden fan! I agree that it would be nice to have some more options in terms of bass amp sims. I'm pretty happy with what I've got (all the IK and Bx Ampeg stuff + the IK Trace Elliot/Softube Eden). I'd be interested in a good Hartke and a more valvey Trace. The price is a really tough sell when there are *already* really good Ampeg options available, and I think the gains are more incremental in the lower frequencies (at least with my hearing), so this offering would have to be really special to make me shell out that much.

It depends on how extreme the felting is. "Heavy" felt can transform the sound into something thick, soft, and plummy. I prefer a lighter felt which just mellows/tames the attack. My upright used to have a light felt, and it could almost feel like playing a rhodes at times. Alas, it wore through and was replaced with a really thick felt that's kinda deadened it. TLDR; a felted piano is a thing of beauty!

It's very useful - quite different from most grands!

Vertikal's worth having!

I feel anxious just looking at that GUI...

Get thee the Eden bass sim if you don't already have one you like (or even if you do!)

BARGAIN!

I feel validated! I *like* the ODS, but the Train II is one of the few sims where the sounds I can get from it actually resemble those in the demos.

Be interested in your verdict on Train II - it's one of my favourites.

I really want the Clarent; I'm just not doing enough music at the moment to justify yet *another* amp sim! It sounds pretty terrific though.

Feel better, Marc! Here's something you can kill time doing if you feel up to it - try out the new Nembrini DC30 and let us know what you think!

The problem with Simeon is that he makes everything sound good ?

There's a post from the VSL account at the Pianoworld forums saying they're shifting from e-licenser to iLok (no dongle required), so I wouldn't read subscription into the changes. Maybe Steinberg just can't be bothered to make the dongles anymore ?

I thought those demos sounded really impressive @Bajan Blue. I'll be getting the Clarent at some point!

You tried the Matchlock, Grem? That's my fave of those I own.

I assume this just means the regular prices become what were the perpetual sale prices.

If I was in the US, I'd jump on this. Admittedly, I haven't tried the recent Tributes, but the early ones were excellent instruments!

No!! Just as I completed my Synchron piano collection...and ran out of drive space!

Gotta feel for the roadie who has to get that up a flight of stairs...

I can't say if it's better, but it's very good! I'm not sure there's anything in the other ranges with that two-stage compression approach, though that's not to say you couldn't get results that were similar. You mentioned Elysia - I really like the mPressor.

I really like the Acme - 'tis very squishy in a nice, interesting way. Of course, I don't exactly have golden ears, so maybe the obviousness of the effect appeals to me in ways that it doesn't to others. It's one of the few compressors I have that isn't just interchangeable with another, though.

Fwiw, the Trainwreck is pretty great imo. The dumble is good too, but less my cup of tea. I'd been looking for an amp sim that did exactly what the Train II does.

Vsl Yamaha Cfx. I bought a lot of piano VIs this year, and most have been very good-to-excellent. This one's so wonderful to play, though, that I'm getting back into proper practicing routines. I'm doing a lot less recording, but am really loving playing and have dusted off sheet music I gave up on 20 years ago! And... it's on sale this month!

Simeon, sorry if you speak to this in the livestream, but with so many Steinway libraries around, does this complement VSL and Simple Sam, or is it redundant? Honestly, as nice a freebie as the Hammersmith was, it didn't entice me to buy the full version or give up drive space for it.