PavlovsCat

19 minutes ago, Tezza said:

Are the Klangs worthwhile?

I realize that you were asking Larry, but I just wanted to share that I really love a lot of the KLANG libraries. I've downloaded the freebies and also paid for some (they're really inexpensive, small sound design libraries). Check out the demos and you'll know if it's to your liking or not. But I really like what Cinematique Instruments is doing with this line. 

Thanks for that list, @Reid Rosefelt I own libraries from a number of devs you listed as not allowing resale and didn't realize it. 

On 2/17/2021 at 4:36 PM, InstrEd said:

I agree with you and I found I got almost all my IK stuff on a sale.   I just wait it out and I'm usually rewarded. It is IK's model of operation and as a hobbyist mainly I can wait.    For me I like their products but scratch my head on their pricing. 

That's how it works for everything, if you have the time, you can save money, but some brands in this industry do such deep discounting it devalues their products at regular prices. As a marketing pro, I would never advise discounting a currently active product line as deeply (at 75% or more) like IK, Waves and Izotope often do. It can greatly alienate loyal customers who paid full price and it trains the market to wait for deep discounts. I mean, most of us hobbyists and semiprofessional musicians aren't going to pay full price for Waves plugins anymore. They've trained us not to. 

@bluzdog My son's PC is a Lenovo Legion 5. I got a black friday deal. I checked Lenovo and they currently didn't have any gaming tower PCs under $1,000 but I found Best Buy had a Legion for $999 that looked good to me. Here's the link (and no, it's not an affiliate link, just me trying to be helpful).  

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-legion-tower-5-amd-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-7-3700x-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-super-256gb-ssd-1tb-hdd-phantom-black/6424472.p?skuId=6424472&ref=212&loc=1&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1264993&ds_rl=1264987&gclid=CjwKCAiAjp6BBhAIEiwAkO9WuvtY_efqWiS--I_YA6ovnFfZJeD7p2gYef4tp0q9OOqwapwArRXXDxoCnuEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I just bought my son a Lenovo Legion Windows 10 gaming PC for under $1k USD and it's exceeded expectations. I can wholeheartedly recommend the line. 

8 minutes ago, bdickens said:

I prefer to do my own arrangements and put my own sonic stamp on things.

Same here, but for this cover, I'm looking to have some of the same core elements to capture part of the vibe of the original. So, the two elements I want to get close are the sound of the lead vocal and electric piano.

My arrangement of the guitar parts are especially going to be a departure of the original. However, I want to capture some very critical sounds that are so iconic, and frankly, I adore those sounds. Of course, no one can replace Lennon's voice. 

I am soon going to be recording a cover version of I Am the Walrus. I'm not looking to get the exact sound of the original, but I'm looking to get close. I'm going to be using sample libraries and have a Hohner Pianet and a Wurlitzer for the electric piano (there is debate over which was used on the original recording) that I plan on putting through a Leslie speaker. I know Harrison used a Strat with a Vox amp...but what I could really use advice on is effects to use. I don't have strong skills with sound engineering to say the least.

On the electric piano, I know to use a Leslie -- but should I also put some distortion on it? I have read that Lennon used a cheap mic used to communicate with the sound room and they may have used a Leslie on his vocal. I've read some posts where people recommended saturator.  I am going to test out some cheap mics I own that I'd never normally consider for vocals. 

I would really appreciate the advice of those knowledgeable on mixing and effects. 

The only video games I really play are the Star Wars games on my son's Xbox, but when I see these threads, I tell my teenage son, who also has a gaming PC, so he appreciates it! Thanks, @cclarry. 

I've bought just about everything Izotope but am waiting for Vocal Synth 2. @cclarry, you're the master. What's the best price you can recall seeing for Vocal Synth 2? It doesn't seem to get discounted as deeply as other Izotope effects. 

Thanks @abacab@InstrEd,  @Grem

Although I own 4 LE. Does anyone who have SampleTank 4 want to share their thoughts? Are you happy with it? What does it do best? 

3 hours ago, paulo said:

Seeing as we're being picky, should it not be Pavlov's Cat? ?

Yeah, but at least everyone can pronounce Pavlov, my last name, not so much! 

Cool. I get a kick out of watching Simeon really getting into a sample library. And no offense whatsoever, but if this forum is still posting my last name -- an Italian name most people mispronounce and misspell -- I say this out of brotherhood with anyone with a name people misspell and mispronounce, Larry, could you please fix t he spelling at Simeon's first name? It's listed as Simon.

I own several Waverunner libraries that I think are really nice and exceptional values. I actually don't usually love the sound of hammer dulcimers, which this sounds a lot like a blend of, layered with a piano and harpsichord, but I really like the sound of this library. Thanks Simeon and thanks for sharing the video, Larry. 

Aha, Reid, that is completely in line with what I expected (that you're a writer). But you're also excellent on camera. I look forward to your future videos! 

Sincerely Reid, I watched a couple of your videos after that and I was very impressed by your communications and analytical skills. I've done a good deal of public speaking, including keynotes, but I'm not a natural like you  are. I believe you once shared that you formerly were CEO of a business, but watching one of your other videos (a serious one), I honestly would have thought you had a background in broadcast journalism. I think some Tiger the Frog videos on areas of interest, reviews or tutorials would be very welcomed. 

Thanks @Pollux. Being a rock musician, I would naturally gravitate towards anything branded Abbey Road. I realize this thread is focused on the Ocean Way NashvilNashville, but I take it that everyone is pretty happy with the Abbey Road plugin -- as if I start by buying one, that would be the one I'd be inclined to get first. 

I wasn't really a fan of the sample library, but I just became a fan of yours, @Reid Rosefelt. This is your first video I've watched and I found you entertaining and also a very well spoken person. Keep up the good work! 

I can use some advice from those of you who really understand mixing. I haven't had a DAW for several years, but I never really learned anything about mixing or mastering and want to start getting knowledgeable about it, but I have limited time to do so, so consequently, I bought Izotope's full array of their mixing and mastering plugins --  largely purchased Izotope because their tools use AI and look really friendly for those not knowledgeable on mixing or mastering, like me. But I'm temporary not going to have access to using my speaker monitors and will need to do some mixing on headphones for some tracks I would like to share. In that instance, would this Ocean Way plugin likely be valuable for me or does Izotope's tool -- which I have yet to install or use (I'm getting a new PC for my DAW next week) -- handle mixing with headphones well? 

1 hour ago, Promidi said:

Are the AIR and SONiVOX issues with Windows 10 only with the installers themselves or the fact that the plugins are on your Windows 10 system?

They are known problems with the installer that a company support rep has acknowledged as a known problem they plan on addressing stated in July 2020 -- but never have done so. It is a problem with Pace drivers in the installer and the current installer version of XPand!2 doesn't permit the user to opt out of installing PACE and the result many users have reported and AIR acknowledges, is that it will completely shut down your Windows 10 installation and require the user to rollback Windows. You'd think AIR would have at least updated the installer in 6 plus months. Anyhow, after responding to several people, I'll make this my last post in this thread. 

Oops. Now that you mentioned it, the plugin that actually caused all the issues on my son's Windows 10 PC was actually XPand!2 not Hybrid 3. I own a bunch of their plugins that I picked up over the years but never installed any of them until last month. I was pretty interested in installing Loom 2, which I also own, but the nightmare I dealt with trying to install XPand!2 was a pretty big deal. I will not bother with any of the AIR plugins I own until they fix their installers and I can see people posting that they work on Windows 10. If that ever happens. 

To Maestro's point, yes, like Sonivox (owned by the same company), AIR plugins are really old and haven't been properly maintained by their current owner who clearly buys declining plugin and sample brands just to use their products as cash cows  That is, the get as much money as they can for the products -- which isn't much for these old VSTs and Sonivox sample libraries made in the 90s with VST wrappers from the 00s -- but don't invest anything in new products, in maintaining existing products or in providing even minimal level of customer support. 

1 hour ago, Promidi said:

And then there is this from Plugin Boutique tech support after requesting the installers...

"Due to a severe technical issue with the Windows versions of various AIR Music Technology & SONiVOX software, we have made the decision to remove the affected products from the Plugin Boutique site whilst we wait for the updated installers which will fix this problem. As a result of this, we recommend that Windows 10 users DO NOT download or install any AIR Music Technology/SONiVOX software. "

Yep. It's been acknowledged by the developer and there are lots of people on KVR and other forums who've reported the same issues. To those posting that they're fine, I would suggest that you may be doing fine, but after future OS updates you may not be fine. AIR is selling abandonware and I appreciate Plugin Boutique for having the integrity to pull AIR products and make a clear public statement. 

On 1/29/2021 at 9:41 AM, John Vere said:

Air products are always on sale. I have everything as a result. Most are top notch VST’s and certainly worth it.  
But they really need to do something about the installers. I just re did 2 computers and Air was the only product that sucks up way to much of your time.  
First the iLok. Then they never seem to find their libraries. Do not even attempt to relocate them or you’ll have a nightmare on your hands   I leave them at the default and they still are lost. 

I own several AIR VSTs that I bought cheap but never installed any of them until the other week when I tried to install one of my two licenses of Hybrid3 on my son's Windows 10 PC. It absolutely stopped the PC from working. It took me a half hour to deal with getting the PC working again and I had to roll Windows back. When I went to AIR's forum on KVR, I found a AIR support employee stated in July 2020 that it's a known problem, not to install PACE with the installers and instead do it later and that AIR was working on a fix. Except there is no option to NOT install PACE with the Hybrid3 installers and the tech support guy disappeared and never posted again after July. 

I cannot strongly enough recommend that people run from any AIR VSTs. The developer has no interest in supporting their products. Even for free, their VSTs aren't worth the trouble they cause and the KVR thread and threads at other forums make clear that my experience is common.  I would only try installing any of their VSTs again after they made updates and other users reported no problems. 

2 hours ago, artturner said:

Picked up the CB-1's. Used the code "FRANKP10" for an additional $10 off.

Hey, thanks @artturner, you just saved me ten bucks! 

I'd love to get insights on these and other affordable monitor headphones. My old AKG pair broke and I need something new and am on a tight budget. I'd love to see people who know this area well weigh in on monitoring headphones under $100 USD. 

2 hours ago, Shane_B. said:

I wonder if this would work with upgrading Guitar Rig? I'm on V4, I see it's at 6 now but they want $99 to upgrade.

Edit: Nope. It doesn't work.

Unfortunately, as the copy on any pages and emails where NI distributes the voucher codes states, they don't work on upgrades or along with other promotions.