PavlovsCat

Yes, it's certainly the same library as the full KONTAKT version. Micah's Choir is one of the real gems on Pianobook, IMO (there are a lot of them, for sure, but it takes some work to find them). While the library is already available for the free Decent Sampler in addition to the full (paid) version of KONTAKT, I think it's great that they made the library available for the free Labs player too, as I'm sure that there are some people who were previously unaware of the library. Plus, I'm all for greater choices. I'm sure that there are some people who prefer LABS over Decent Sampler and visa versa.

Funny, researching the piano, trying to figure out if The Lumineers ever recorded with it, I found Jermiah described as the band's drummer of three albums who switched to piano on his solo album but just found Wikipedia describes him as a drummer, percussionist and pianist. I'm just trying to figure out if that piano is one used on some Lumineers songs. I've listened to people playing the piano in a solo context; I'd love to hear it with say acoustic drums, acoustic guitar and electric bass guitar, to see how it sounds in a folk rock type mix.

Yeah, until you find out that he's the drummer in the Lumineers, not the pianist. (Don't get me wrong, I love drummers, I am one. I just realized that this wasn't the pianist in the Lumineers. Even more, on his solo album, he used a different piano.)

Yeah, I was a bit intrigued by Cinematic Frozen Strings and was contemplating getting that library. So just to be clear, you couldn't really see the Firewood Piano used in a folk rock context?

Thanks for the insights. So, I take it's not the piano that's used on Lumineers songs like Ophelia? I just did a search and realized that Jeremiah Fraites is actually the drummer in the Lumineers, so I'm guessing that it's not that piano. So, when you say it wouldn't work in rock and roll, would you also say that you don't think it work in more folk rock scenarios more like Damien Rice's music that is more acoustic based?

Thanks, Fleer. I originally was very excited when the Mrs Mills Piano was released -- as I am a huge Beatles fan and I LOVE the sound of their gear (heck, if you went into the song section of the forum, you'll find I've done covers a several Beatles songs), but I just didn't find the sound would fit much of my music, so I've counted it out (whereas, I love the Jangle Box Piano, which I bought a few weeks ago). @Fleer when do you find yourself turning to the Firewood Piano? From seeing so many of your posts through the years, I think you probably have more commercial piano sample libraries than I do and I'm curious when you feel it really fits in your music? I'm thinking it would work well for folk rock type situations, do you know, if it's the same piano used on Lumineers songs like Ophelia? Because I really like that sound and I think it is. It's almost a bar room / saloon piano sound.

I have a $10USD voucher from purchasing Jangle Box Piano, which I really like and I'm contemplating buying the Originals Firewood Piano -- even though I have literally dozens of commercial piano libraries. I'm a hobbyist that does rock and folk rock music. I was hoping to get thoughts from my fellow forum members who bought Spitfire's Firewood Piano. I checked out some reviews of the piano and the Music Tech review was pretty favorable, but noted they thought it could have used more layers. I'd love to get the thoughts of some of our own forum members who own it and learn, (1) are you happy with the library, (2) do you feel that the layers are an issue and (3) what do you like best and least about the library. I've contemplated picking up their Intimate Strings library, but I mostly use solo strings with minimal reverb in my music and the demos I've heard of it -- and videos by "reviewers" (people who are affiliate marketers/sellers of the library, kind of like calling a used car salesperson a car reviewer) -- all have a lot of "room" in it. That is, I don't think it's added reverb, but the room the samples were recorded in. I have yet to hear anyone reviewing the libraries address that, but am basing it on what I hear when they play the sample library -- I've never heard a dry mix, so I would expect it's just baked in to the samples. Anyhow, I would love thoughts on that library from anyone who owns it. Thanks, Peter

This sounds really good. ❤ the Frame demo.

The demo sounds pretty cool. Does anyone have this or other commercal libraries by the developer? I got some freebies years ago that were just okay, but this sounds really good.

As much as I don't appreciate Wave's WUP strategy, I picked this plugin up when it first came out and I really like it. While I own a lot of Izotope and like their products a lot, I find I prefer Ovox to VocalSynth 2. At $24.99, which I think is no-brainer territory for this type of voice controlled synth, I'd recommend anyone looking at vocal synth plugins to download the demo and try it out.

Thanks, Larry! You had me at harmonium. I love harmoniums and Jon Meyer has put out some nice libraries. Absolutely going to be downloading this one as soon as I'm in front of my PC.

I saw Rush live twice during the 80s and 90s. I bet a lot of forum members who play/ produce rock music have seen them live. For me, the true test of any rock band is how they perform live and Rush was fantastic live. Absolutely 10/10 for live shows.

I've tried (by playing her songs I thoughtwould most likely appeal to her), but my wife has never gotten into Rush's music. But she fell in love with the band members from watching one of the Rush documentaries with me. And marrying a former rock drummer, she definitely has an appreciation for rock music and mourned the loss of Neil and today mourned the loss of a huge Rush fan and a very talented drummer, Taylor Hawkins. When musicians pass that were a part of so much music that has moved you so greatly throughout many years of your life, it's like losing a friend. RIP, Neil and Taylor.

The plugin has had major problems on my Windows 10 PC that stop it from being able to play one of their libraries. After I put in a trouble ticket with the developer, I heard back from him a week later acknowledging that others had similar issues, telling me that he would get back to me in the upcoming week, but in nearly two months he still hasn't gotten back to me. EDIT: I posted about problems with the plugin on my PC here several weeks ago. The plugin had numerous issues, some I was able to resolve, some that make one library completely unable to be played. I put in a support ticket and the developer got back to me several days later and said he was really busy but would get back to me during the upcoming week. It's been nearly two months and he's never gotten back to me. Other customers have posted here and at another forum -- including our own Reid R. that they've encountered show stopping problems like I have and that the developer has been unable to fix the issues (I believe Reid is on a Mac, I'm on Windows 10). To date, I have yet to see anyone posting the plugin's issues on their machine has been resolved. I have long been a huge champion of small developers, but this developer has clearly released a plugin without it being ready for public release and is unable to provide adequate support for a commercial plugin and sample libraries.

Does anyone here own SPITFIRE SOLO CELLO that can share your opinions and insights on the library's strengths and weaknesses? I'm looking for an extensively sampled solo cello with intuitive scripting and more of a dry character for use in rock productions. The demos and videos all have a good deal of reverb on the cello or it could be the room. I'd be grateful if anyone could clarify. Thanks.

Steve, Larry is the reason why most of us here have to keep working and can't afford to retire. Just kidding @cclarry, you know we love you.

I agree with Frank and Fleer, this is a really nice sounding library and the good news is that of you don't need to own the full version of KONTAKT; it works with the free player, so everyone should get this.

Okay, I just played it for my teenage son. I said, "I thought maybe you'd get a kick out of this old song I wrote that uses a bunch of astronomy metaphors, but it's actually a love song." His response, "Let me guess, the first line is, 'You are a star.' " Okay, he might have heard me playing it, because the first line is, "You are the sun." Oh well, he liked the song and we both did a little disco move to the bridge.

@SPool You've created the feel good thread of the day! Nice job, Steve.

It's songs like this that make me embarrassed to share my music here. I have nothing but respect for you, your band and music. This is top notch all the way. Fantastic job. The songwriting, the playing. the singing. Kudos. I hope that this is your most successful release yet.

I had problems posting the remixed version I did based on feedback. I think this is a lot better than the mix I shared on the original post. Of course, I'm certain it can be a lot better than this, but this is at least a step in the right direction.

Thanks, @Eric Parsons. I really appreciate your advice. I've never automated panning and I'm not very experienced at using delay effects -- although I own a bunch of delay plugins I've accumulated from being a Deals forum regular! If you could recommend some basic things I could try, I absolutely would want to try them. I really only worked as a drummer, and largely played in established bands in the Chicago area -- and that stopped in the late 90s when I had an injury. Consequently, I never really learned much about sound engineering. When I went into the studio or at live shows, I miced up my drums and let sound pros handle everything else letting them know my likes and dislikes. So, I never went into a studio where I had responsibility for the entire mix or got hands on, I mainly just had engineers asking me how I liked the drums in the mix and if there was anything I wanted adjusted. I actually still own a bunch of outboard gear, but it was largely all stuff I bought that a band's sound guy told me to buy! I didn't really know how to use any of it myself. I only ever focused on playing drums! I suppose I'm over explaining because, I think when you tell people that you played professionally for 12 years, they sometimes think that you know about sound engineering, and I don't. I just tried to be the best drummer I could be. Now I'm a terrible drummer and trying to be better at production.

This is an alternative mix I made of the song based on the feedback of a very talented friend who composes music for video games. This doesn't fade out but has an alternative ending that I think is way better than the first version (I posted at the top of this thread). It's still not a great mix, but I think it's better than the one above.

Thanks so much for the kind words. There is actually more to the song, but I thought it was long enough as it is and decided to keep it short for my two kids and three friends who listen to these old songs of mine. Dead serious. There's an entire other section. The drumming on the solo part was originally a lot more interesting, but I was in pain when I played the drum solo part you hear, which definitely sounds very Bonham-ish to the point where I'm surprised no one has mentioned that yet!

Wow, thanks a lot. I should note that I've been impressed with your music, which, of course, are professional, polished productions, unlike my little productions in my home studio doing songs I wrote decades ago and not having played for 20+ years. Because my band project based on around my original songs never worked out, all I ever had were low quality demos I made by myself to show to other musicians to perform. So, I thought, it would be cool to do a better job than those demos, because while I had a good reputation as a drummer back in the day, I never got to play any of my music live and only a handful of musicians ever heard any of it. To cut to the chase, I wanted to show my teenage kids that I was talented back in the day and see if they liked anything I wrote. So far my daughter liked one of my songs and my son has liked a few. So, that's my main audience. I put this out there before I showed it to them.