Craig Fowler

Only about 40 are native at this point

My upgrade price would be $799 which isn't bad. A few years ago I'd have seen this as a killer deal (and for someone coming in cold, it is).

Seems fairly pricey given the alternatives available from UAD and IKM...anything to set this one apart (asked as someone who has only ever picked up freebies from Arturia).

It's hard to beat PA for the sheer scale of what they offer. I believe there are deals where you can get a year of Spark for $99 which isn't bad. I think I actually like their B3 emulation more than IKM's, which was already stellar. And IMO the UAD reverbs are the best out there; all excellent and covering tons of ground (spring, capitol chambers, hitsville, Lexicon, plate etc).

The UAD 160 is the only plugin of that model I have, but I've always liked it

Looks like this is prob related to these going native tomorrow!

airgigs

@PavlovsCat have you tried the broken Wurli? I picked it up in this sale along with the All Saints organ (which is brilliant) and quite like it...though I'm more partial to the Rhodes!

I'm kind of amazed that IK manage to get significant numbers of people to sign up for these promos because they run group buys so often. Not complaining at all, but many of us are prob in the position where there just isn't anything left to get from them. Or perhaps there is, but joining a group buy now to get the couple of things you're missing doesn't make sense when you can hold off and get more out of one a couple of years down the line.

I have used UALURKER4LIFE multiple times and combined the thanks coupon with the SAVE25...although I think there's a limit on how often you can use the SAVE25.

I don't have the Softube one, but I sprung (ha!) for the UA AKG-BX20 a few years ago and it's fantastic. Great on vocals as well as guitars! I've picked up a few others over the years (e.g., one of the PSP spring verbs) but don't use them.

Honestly, I'm happy with the non-pro Session Horns! Admittedly, I don't want/need them to do anything 'fancy'. I need punches/hits, swells, and falls, and I get the nice, bright sound I'm after from SH. I find it very convincing and easy to use. I really like the Straight Ahead Samples horn libraries, but I've only tried the sole instruments which tend to be on the mellower side and jazz-focused. Their newish Atomic Big Band (or their very-new ABB lite) might give you what you're after. What they're achieving with the smart delay function is pretty incredible.

Lowest price yet on T-Verb...but not low enough!!

Totally agreed; taking purely on the quality of their products - and on the value they provide if you know how to play the game to get the best prices - IK can stand up proud in any company. If you're after a really straightforward experience...well, that seems to be the dealbreaker for some people!

Yeah, IK have a good thing going when it comes to reverbs. The Sunset Sound pack is up there with the best, and the CSRs still hold up pretty well. I need to get around to actually trying out FAME and Stone room properly!

My dream would be for Toontrack-midi style draggable strumming grooves. Prob only an afternoon's work, right @Greg Schlaepfer? j/k

@Greg Schlaepfer I think the sound of the evolution libraries is fantastic. I do find it hard to get to grips with the complexity of the strumming engine, though. It's cool that you can do so much with it (e.g., stroke direction as well as articulation; how many strings are played etc) - but presets that represent 'bog standard' and basic strumming patterns that are ready to roll without much editing would be very welcome over in this corner, too!

The samples in BFD really are terrific. But, if you're used to (or rely on) the user-friendliness of Toontrack products, and value the sheer range/editability of midi grooves, I don't think you'll have the patience for BFD3. I didn't get on with the gui at all, and trying to make it do what I wanted to just sucked the fun out of making music for me. Obviously, others may have very different views. In particular, I recall folks who hook up electric drum kits to VSTs being pretty stoked about the playability of BFD3 (esp cymbals, I think).

UADx should allow you to install only the Dimension D chorus via UAConnect without installing any other plugins. With that said, I *thought* that the only two ways you could have the native plugins were (a) by having a piece of UA hardware associated with your account, or (b) subscribing to UA Spark. Happy to be corrected on this, though.

I don't think it's fair to suggest that Andrew is scamming anyone (though maybe your comment wasn't directed at ISW). With that said, you're right that the way the music software market works has shifted. I feel bad (a bit anyway) for 'taking advantage' of the ISW coupon. Unfortunately, it's become very difficult to tell whether a 'glitch' is a pricing/tech error versus something hidden as an Easter egg to drum up quick business (or that might have initially been inadvertent but then is allowed to run for so long that the company is at least tacitly endorsing it). . Cinesamples and AudioOllie are the audio software devs that most recently come to mind as having had 80% off (or thereabouts) 'glitches' that were allowed to run for several days after people had checked with them whether it was legit. And, with the way coupons are stacking at UAD at the moment, I've bought several of their plugins (including sampled instruments) this month at 90% off. When even UAD have started playing in PA pricing territory (I got Ravel and Waterfall for $24 each!), it's easy to start thinking that this really is the new 'norm' for everyone...even if it isn't, as was clearly the case for ISW. What I do appreciate from Andrew's comments here is some insight into the impact NI licensing could have and the way those costs are based on full price rather than a discounted one.

That's...a pretty douchey move. If go into partnership with PA, you *know* that your product is going to get massively discounted. I don't own it, but I'd be pissed if I did!

The Eden bass sim is one of the best out there and I use it alot. But I've got most of the Kuassa stuff as well and it's absolutely top notch. The bummer for me is that the TGX-85 is out of stock. I still have a hardware SY85 synth (well, my daughter has it), but I'd love a software version.

Thanks Tom! And now comes lots of reading and beating my head against a wall to try and understand it ?

Bit, I've wanted to ask this for a while. What does your sig mean? ? What is this truth?

That's what I thought, too - kinda of a bizarre thing to run the 'same' promo at twice the price. Certainly doesn't look like much of a deal anymore.