PavlovsCat

Thanks, Fleer. I've been cutting back my purchases, even wondering if I should stop spending, but this is pretty low cost and everything I've ever picked up from Aurturia has been top notch. I'm in love with strings and Intro is nice, I just wasn't sure there was that much more that would work for me in the full version. That said, while I mostly rely on organic string samples for string parts, I love sound design libraries like the ones Cinematique Samples makes, so I suppose these are not far from that realm.

Hey all, I have Intro and still haven't decided and can use the advice of those who have the full version of Augmented Strings. I would especially appreciate the insights of anyone who upgraded from Intro -- are the additional presets in the full version worth it?

Back in the day, the founder of GoDaddy and I would have these epic online debates about advertising/marketing strategy. He was a very interesting person and a very eccentric egomaniac, but not a whole lot different than many other successful execs. But yeah, GoDaddy is a terrible choice for website hosting and a mediocre choice for managing domains.

That's really not an argument to my point, which was that SaaS companies that do lifetime deals have a high rate of going out of business. First, Image Line is not a SaaS company. Second, a high rate doesn't mean they all go under. It means a high percentage of these companies go under. It's easy to see why Image Line has done well, because they have a good product with a decent customer base, good word of mouth and DAW buyers purchase a lot of other software after their DAW purchase. CloudBounce plays in a much more narrow space. That doesn't mean they'll fail, but the signs that are publicly available don't reflect that they are a growing company. If they were growing and I heard good reviews, I'd absolutely be game to gamble $99 USD, realizing they could be out of business at any time but hoping to at least get a year or two.

I just did a quick search and found, as usual, some online retailer is selling the CloudBounce lifetime deal for $99 USD. But once again, beware of the company's stability. It doesn't look very good. If they claim they have 300,000 registered users and many of them have free accounts or bought low cost lifetime deals, they don't have a good source of recurring revenue. https://www.waproduction.com/plugins/view/cloudbounce?utm_source=adwords&utm_campaign=US+-+PerMax&utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_tgt=&hsa_src=x&hsa_ad=&hsa_ver=3&hsa_cam=17518099617&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_acc=6930343824&hsa_grp=&gclid=CjwKCAjw_b6WBhAQEiwAp4HyIK0YLchxGEIGzSrvgOgpsY8N6N12XUOgfuwMLTNSPmVSFmIp7dRqbRoCJ2gQAvD_BwE Info on the company: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/cloudbounce LinkedIn shows they have 7 current employees registered, including the founder, who is also an advisor with another company and pitching it to investors (that doesn't mean his main company isn't doing well, but it is something worth investigate. At least one of those employees have indicated they're in search of freelance work and not consulting at the exec level (their position at CloudBounce). I'm a former Fortune 200 strategist and beyond our company strategy, I would advise on businesses my company was looking at acquiring; while someone else handled the due diligence from a financial perspective, I analyzed businesses viability and strategic fit; judging from this company's lack of growth and leadership that has exited since it was getting funding, I would be pragmatic at how long the company's lifetime might be; software as service companies that have been around several years commonly don't sell lifetime licenses for their main offerings; that's what companies desperate for cash do). https://www.linkedin.com/company/cloudbounce/ Of course, none of this means they don't have a good product. I just wouldn't count on enough resources for solid product support or expect longevity for the company. Software as service (SaaS) companies selling lifetime licenses are basically always going to be high risk (of their closing their doors).

ADSR has sold a full version lifetime deal for $99 USD at least a few times over the past couple of years. That offer is what caused me to research Cloudbounce.

That's a dramatic decrease from the prior cost, patience.

25 bucks for an interesting sounding piano with lots of sound design presets? This is super tempting and I've been very disappointed in 8Dio's string libraries for their very inadequate KONTAKT scripting, but scripting isn't really an issue with a piano library. Does anyone who bought this library or the original KONTAKT version want to share their thoughts on the library? I was already contemplating picking up their Wuli library and would also be interested in hearing anyone who bought it sharing their opinion.

I haven't, but when I researched this company last year, I found that every top manager departed the company except the founder. It once had a minor amount of funding from Abbey Road Studios -- several years ago -- but went through difficult times. It may have other employees, but it didn't look like the company was doing well. That is usually the situation with small SaaS companies that offer lifetime deals. That lifetime may be very short.

Thanks for sharing your recommendations guys. It's testimonials like that that get me to check out new devs and patch designers. I really liked some of the patch banks I heard for Massive and going to make a purchase or two. I really don't have experience doing Synthwave genre stuff, but after watching Stranger Things with my family, I thought it would be fun to write some songs in the Synthwave genre or at least use some of those patches in my songs.

I do appreciate you sharing that @abacab. Admittedly, I've only went through the presets and having gone deeper. I should. As I mentioned, I have been impressed with Arturia's other products, they really seem to maintain a high standard for what they release.

I have the into version. I like it, but I'm not certain it's tempting me for more. I love strings, but I'm undecided on this. I do really like Arturia stuff overall and to me 310 presets sounds like a lot. I've have watched some videos, but what I'd really like is hearing all or a lot of the presets. That would tell me if it's right for me.

Everyone is talking about how much they're interested in the deal, does anyone who has it installed want to give us their thoughts (I always prefer uncompensated reviews from people who buy the product to influencers)?

I LOVE harmoniums! I have several, but I wasn't aware of Neo and will check it out. And if we're talking of slightly off the beaten track instruments sometimes used in rock we love, add Dulcitone, celeste, mandolin, harpsicord, music box, glockenspiel and vibraphone to my list too. For my fellow Dulcitone fans, I'd recommend checking out Sound Dust's library. To move this back to some Orange Tree Samples libraries I love, I'd absolutely put the "Tiny Box" music box in that category. It's currently less than $8 USD in the group buy. https://www.orangetreesamples.com/products/tinybox I LOVE mandolins and the tone and playability of the Evolution Mandolin. It is my absolute top favorite mandolin library. https://www.orangetreesamples.com/products/evolution-mandolin I own a bunch of glockenspiel and vibraphone libraries and Pure Jazz Vibes is one of my favs. https://www.orangetreesamples.com/products/pure-jazz-vibes I think Evolution Rosewood Grand is an under appreciated grand piano library. Check out this demo to hear it in action: https://www.orangetreesamples.com/audio/BenRawles-ImpossibleChoice.mp3 When I was a kid, my mother, a formally trained (she went to an excellent music college for classical piano and organ performance) musician and music teacher worked at music studio with a Steinway and Yamaha grand set up. To my surprise, I was more in love with the Yamaha, as I just liked the tone a little better (this really surprised me as a kid, as Steinway was always seen as the best pianos in the world, so I expected that would be my top choice, but I liked the highs of the tone of the Yamaha; our family had a Baldwin baby grand, and later a Wurlitzer upright, as my mother worked for the Wurlitzer company, and we also had a Wurlitzer electric piano). This piano library is great at cutting through a rock mix and also as a reflective, jazzy or cinematic piano. https://www.orangetreesamples.com/products/evolution-rosewood-grand

I really don't have a B3 library or plugin that I'd strongly recommend, so that's another instrument I'd love a better version of. Would you recommend the IK Hammond B-3x? That sounds like something I'd really appreciate. Although, the reality is, while I grew up taking organ lessons, my playing is so lousy these days I feel like it's a waste of money to invest much, as like you, I have the organs that came with KOMPLETE 13, which are, to be completely frank, completely meh.

I loved Supertramp back in the day too! Friends who rode in my car in my teen years regularly heard vintage Yes, Genesis, The Who, Beatles, Steely Dan, Zeppelin, Supertramp, Rush, ELP, vintage Chicago, Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jeff Beck...

When I was doing that desert island guitar and bass list, I was thinking about my go tos for my other main instruments. Drums (the instrument I played semi-professionally for two decades; piano and organ were my first; I took some guitar lessons, but never got good at it and with tendonitis, while I own three guitars, I couldn't even try to play them for a minute without pain. the keyboard is much easier -- with regard to pain -- for me) are the hardest instrument for me to narrow down to one sample library, but I think I'd pick a library I don't think I've ever seen anyone praise, NI's Studio Drummer. I'd largely choose it because the rock kit in there sounds a lot like the way I tuned my drum kit back in the day. (I still have two Tama acoustic drum kits in my basement and two Roland electronic drum kits) as well as a few synths and rack mounts from back in the day. (90s and one 88 key midi keyboard from the 00s) . For acoustic piano, I'd pick NI's Noire. OT's Rosewood Grand cuts through a rock mix A LOT BETTER, however, when I'm just sitting down playing piano, Noire is the most inspiring piano library I've ever played, although I sometimes need to replace it to cut through a mix. For a Rhodes, there's no question, The Famous E. I grew up with a Wurly in our house and I am in love with them. It's one of the instruments I've been begging Greg to sample for a long time! I have a few detailed sampled Wurly's but I don't really love any of them. I think Greg could do leaps and bounds better. I'm not sure which of the ones I own is best. When I did "I Am the Walrus" I think I actually used the Wurly samples in NI's Factory library, believe it or not. I tried everything with distortion and the Leslie speaker effect (as a kid, we also had a Leslie at our house, as my mother was a music teacher and working musician) and it sounded closer to the original recorded electric piano on Walrus than any of the other libraries. Is anyone with me that the world needs a great, detailed sampled Wurlitzer electric piano that is on par with The Famous E? That would be ideal. I am in love with both the Rhodes and the Wurly, but I grew up with a Wurly in my childhood home and it has enormous sentimental value to me. So that gets me to my Orange Tree Samples wish list: (1) Hofner bass sample library and (2) Wurlitzer electric piano. I know that the first one is in the works, and I can't wait. But I don't think there are any plans for a Wurlitzer electric piano library -- so I might have to start a petition! (I'm serious, if anyone is on board, I'll put it together).

If I had to trim my sample libraries down to only two guitar libraries, it would definitely be Evolution Songwriter and Evolution Rock Standard. I love the tone of those two and I've always been in love with Les Pauls. For electric bass, Evolution Flatwound with the James Jamerson preset being my go to much of the time.

If I had to trim my sample libraries down to only two guitar libraries, it would definitely be Evolution Songwriter and Evolution Rock Standard. I love the tone of those two and I've always been in love with Les Pauls. For electric bass, Evolution Flatwound with the James Jamerson preset being my go to much of the time.

What styles of music do you do? If you do singer/songwriter or folk rock, I think Evolution Songwriter is a superb choice (I agree with everything Fleer wrote above). It's my favorite acoustic guitar library, hands down. Just playing it, it's so easy to get lost in it. The tone is gorgeous. probably the guitar sample library that I am most moved by since I started using guitar libraries (in the 1980s). If you're doing straight ahead rock and want something that cuts in a mix, I would check into Evolution Steel Strings.

@Walter Cruz Great job! Thank you very much, that was very kind of you.

Yeah, I knew from that first sentence that denial very well. But you're self aware, some here aren't and post how they're not falling into temptation when they're posting in the DEALS forum. We're all deal addicts here. We know about that denial. I kept coming here and buying libraries and plugins for a decade when I didn't even have a DAW PC! I still don't know if I should be thanking cclarry or trying to avoid him!

After just finishing watching the latest season of Stranger Things with the family, I might have to pick this up for some 80s synthwave goodness! The Oberheim Matrix sounds really cool. https://puremagnetik.com/products/vintage-80s-classics-oberheim-matrix-ableton-live-pack-kontakt-instrument-apple-logic-samples

It is amusing that after you enter the coupon code you get the message "good riddance to bad rubbish." I'm not saying that I agree -- because, you know, policy. However, if I did say my viewpoint, it would be "spot on."

Exactly my thoughts. This developer makes top notch piano libraries. For anyone considering this who hasn't tried any of Production Voices libraries before, download the freebies and you'll see that even those pianos are really nice.