PavlovsCat

I'm not saying I disagree with your nomination. I just prefer being on good terms with my wife!

"Yum," "crispy," "sizzling," "creamy soft and crunchy," "yummy" and "cook up your sounds." I've never seen any plugin developer with that many food metaphors in their copy. I'm thinking he should just eat something before he starts writing copy. Because he writes like he's super hungry. Edit: I clicked on the link to find their whole site is based on food metaphors. Weird. But are their plugins good?

Thanks, @scook. I think it's been a couple of years since I had a nightmare experience with an InMusic owned AIR plugin that makes me a bit hesitant to buy another plugin from an InMusic owned brand. I think the plugin was Xpand!2, Vacuum or Hybrid and after installing it Windows wouldn't start again and I had to do a rollback. When i later found out that InMusic knew about and acknowledged the problem in a thread on KVR several months earlier but still hadn't fixed it, it was the end of me buying more plugins owned by InMusic. But they eventually did fix the problems with those plugins, and now they work fine on my machine. However, that experience makes me very cautious about buying another plugin from an InMusic owned software brand (I did buy a MIDI controller from them for my son, which is fine, but that's hardware), so before I give them another chance, I wanted to make sure that current users can confirm the many technical problems people have reported on BFD have been resolved.

I ended up watching this video and I think the guy is being fairly honest -- but there's also a bit of self deception involved, which, if I'm going to be completely candid, that is the norm with influencers. And I realize someone is going to take this the wrong way, but my writing on marketing, largely on digital marketing has been recommended by every ivy league university but Brown (I went to a small humble private university and would never have dreamed of applying to places like Harvard, Princeton, Wharton, Yale, Northwestern, etc.), so I come at this not as an outsider, not as an anti-marketing person, but as a marketing pro with expertise in digital marketing. Influencer marketing is a fundamental part of promotion for any brand that sells to consumers today. Years ago, I wrote some articles on marketing ethics that I expected would get a lot of hate -- because, believe it or not, I'm a marketing pro (although today, the CEO of a small dot com) who is very ethics driven. And any job in the business world is a challenge when you're ethics driven, especially marketing, finance, HR, sales or executive management, because compromise and less than ethical decision making is, in truth, the norm. But what this influencer says about disclosures, is pure BS. FTC regulations are never over the line. They're always very watered down. I made the case long ago that ethical marketers shouldn't merely abide by FTC regulations, they should hold themselves to a much higher bar, and I made the case that the reason is the long-term reputation of the brand should be the focus. That if your brand engages in say, less than honorable marketing practices -- in this case, if you're paying off influencers to shill your products and they're hiding the shortcomings, as they do (regardless of their self-serving claims in videos like this), it will come to haunt your brand. Why? You don't have to be a marketing or branding expert to understand this. It's because pre-purchase communications from the brand or its agents (which is really what most of these influencers are) set expectations. If they set those expectations higher than the product can deliver, you're going to have customers who didn't have a great experience. And they're experience not meeting expectations may result in their having less than great feelings about the brand and their sharing their experiences with others in social media and real life. So, why do influencers almost always violate FTC regulations (this just applies to the American ones, as other countries have their own regulations -- often much more stringent than FTC regulations)? Because influencers are about building trust with consumers, so they never want to appear to be shills to their fans. Why? An influencer's value is selling their credibility to brands, that is how they make most of their money (beyond YouTube ad revenue). Consider what I do in social media with developers I've consulted to -- it would be a really stupid thing to do if I were attempting to be an influencer. I generally do not discuss any of the two dozen plus sample and plugin developers I've given marketing and branding advice to over two decades. Why? Because I realize that when I do an honest disclosure, that my opinion will come across as lacking credibility and may even do damage to the developers. However, there is a developer whose sample libraries I use in nearly every project, Orange Tree Samples. And I've consulted to the owner of the company since he released his first couple of sample libraries. And he is the one developer I will give a testimonial for. But when I do, I mention that I've consulted to OTS and I consider the developer a personal friend so I completely understand if people don't see my opinions as unbiased. I doubt I would if I saw someone else doing that. So, yeah, once I do that disclosure, it reveals so much bias that you would -- understandably, say to yourself, "Maybe PavolvsCat is giving a legit opinion, but he has so much bias for that developer -- he shared that he's personal friends with him -- that it could easily significantly bias his views." It's the same if an influencer told you, "Disclosure: I've received this product for free and the developer paid me X amount of money to do this review and I make a sales commission if you buy this product..." Other times, influencers with smaller followings may be trying to get the developer to pay them money for reviews in the future. One thing is certain, if they do a very harsh review, they're not going to get more money or free products, so you can expect that bias against doing a very negative review is extremely common. So, as a consultant, I have worked with influencers, they are an important part of promotional planning these days. And working with them, there's no question that they're looking for free stuff and for money. But again, if that was transparent to their audiences, they would harm the credibility that they're selling to brands of the products they review. There's an old saying in digital marketing, if you're not paying for the product, you are the product. The bottom line is that you -- the audience for the influencer -- is the product that influencers are selling to brands, to developers in this case. Consequently, a developer doesn't want to fully disclose their bias to you and follow FTC regulations because the influencer realizes that it would cause you to see him for what he is -- and that would damage your trust in his credibility that he's selling to brands. I mentioned earlier that there is one influencer I seriously respect and is the closest to the real deal -- and to what is called de-influencers (people who don't shill and give negative reviews) -- that I know of in this space, Cory Pellezari. I became a fan of Cory when he did the below review for a drum library and called out problems with a drum sample library. Go to 2:35 and you'll see Cory pointing out problems with the reviewed sample library -- and it's the most useful influencer review I've ever witnessed. This is the greatest example of an influencer with integrity that I've ever seen. And if you look, Cory updated the problems he found with this comment: "UPDATE - Joey Sturgis Drums simply does not care about their product or its customer base. Despite customer feedback, they've maintained silence and refuse to optimise the patches, so it looks like my custom patches are the closest you'll get to a smooth working experience with Miles McPherson Drums. sigh Developers really need to keep their egos in check." Of course, you can bet that Cory wasn't compensated for this video and didn't receive any more products or further correspondence with Joey Sturgis after doing this library. Cory chose to do the right thing and give an honest review, putting his audience first, not his own self interests and desire for freebies and money, I don't know of any other influencer in this space with Cory's integrity. But, though it looks like it, my post isn't simply intended to praise Cory Pelazzari, it's about the truth of the motivations, integrity, disclosures and FTC compliance of influencers. I do watch influencer videos to learn about products, but I see it like I do a car salesperson telling me about how great a new car is -- I take their words with a grain of salt, maybe a few tons of salt.

I have the original version of SampleTron, but never updated to SampleTron 2 after picking up M-Tron Pro -- plus I have tons of Tron sample libraries for KONTAKT and UVI's Mello. Does anyone here who has SampleTron 2 and M-Tron Pro think it's worth picking up SampleTron 2? Otherwise, the Hammond B-3X has always interested me. I really don't have a great B-3 and that one seems really nice. Anyone who has it want to share their thoughts?

You're the second person I know who's recommended DrumGizmo, the other is a really talented sample developer whose name escapes me at the moment. But considering his recommendation and that I've seen enough of your posts that I realize you really know plugins and sample libraries at a deep level, I'm certain that's a really worthwhile plugin that people should strongly consider. I'll check it out myself when I get a chance. But thanks for adding it to the thread, I think it seems like a very worthy addition.

To the BFD3 users: is the plugin working well? I have BFD Eco and have watched the various forums over the years and avoided buying the upgrade to BFD3 (it's only $49 USD) due to so many reported issues, but figured when I see people consistently reporting that it's working I will probably pick it up. The last thread I saw here, some users reported that it works fine while others still had problems.

Thank you for letting me know you appreciate the thread. As long as I know that people find it useful, I'll keep updating it.

I just came across a free synthwave/retrowave sample library for Decent Sampler with 15 presets that I absolutely love and can recommend to anyone looking for these kinds of sounds. I added it to the original post. It's called Asimov and can be found on Pianobook using this link: https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/asimov/

Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences -- including the non-positive stuff. It sounds like this dev may have had some less than optimal practices but has made things right when contacted. Still, what some have reported give me pause and I'm going to pass on this one. There's too many issues people have reported.

Edit, I meant Bazantar is my favorite SoundPaint library, not Basstard, as I previously wrote. This may not mean anything, but SoundPaint has removed the phrase "never on sale" form its ticker on its home page. They still have the copy "Soundpaint is never on sale" on another page, but the removal of this copy from their ticker does make me wonder if they're rethinking their policy of not having sales promotions (although they do have 10 or 15% offers for new customers and a $15 USD discount for new customers referred by existing customers).

That deserves extra special recognition in the Hall of Shame. Truly terrible. If there's a Hell, I'm pretty sure this is playing there.

I saw Guffria when they opened for Rainbow back in the late 80s or early 90s. You might have a better handle when. I didn't have rock star aspirations, but I did dream of playing music for a living. When I had my big opportunity when the co leader of a major band called me and tried to persuade me to meet with her just signed band for a major national tour, I was deep into my faith and turned it down for that reason. I was a very idealistic man in my earlier years. But a few years later I had my injury that stopped me from playing again and about 20 years later, I decided to attempt to try recording some of the old songs I wrote as well as some covers that are fairly easy to play. I keep thinking, I hope no one adds any of my covers to my Cover Song Hall of Shame thread! Therfore I propose a rule for our Cover Song Hall of Shame thread: cover songs performed by Cakewalk forum members are excluded from eligibility. Can we agree to that one guys?

Here's a coincidence. My most popular band (we were out of Chicago) had a gig where we opened for Blue Oyster Cult (early 90s) that was canceled a few weeks before the show because the venue was temporarily closed down for serving under age kids. We had a great agent who booked major national acts who could have gotten us to be the opening act for much more popular groups than BOC, but the lead singer would turn it down because they wouldn't pay anything and we'd play colleges and mid size venues and make a few thousand bucks, but it kept the band from making it from a regional act to a national one. I still think about how I could have played cowbell with BOC if the show wasn't canceled.

I feel it's best not for me to vote on this one, as my wife likes 80s music, including Paul Young. So I'll defer to my fellow judges.

That is a good one, on multiple levels. A definite Hall of Shame first ballot winner.

There's a good case for both. But if there's special award for off-key singing, I think Limp Bizkit and Kanye will be finalists.

Another horrible cover version of a Who song, Hillary Duff destroying, "My Generation"

I'll take your "Behind Blue Eyes" cover submission and raise you one "Behind Blue Eyes" cover by Limp Bizkit:

That's definitely a worthy entry in the Hall of Shame. Truly awful.

Hey, that was his opinion. I think he's just jealous of my good looks. Okay, not really.

Okay, for my own take on why to keep making music. I played music publicly since age 4 with a family band and went on to play semi professionally for more than a decade with the most popular band I played in doing mid size concert venues (a couple thousand people), nicer night clubs and colleges and got some very positive critical reviews in the media. I loved playing with talented musicians and I loved playing for audiences that appreciated the music we were playing (and miss that experience). But a little over 20 years ago I had an injury causing lifelong tendinitis in both wrists that can make playing for even a minute painful; I can't even turn a screwdriver without some pain. It was through playing on my son's keyboard a couple of years ago that I realized I could play really simple rock songs all the way through without too much pain, but I can only play for a few minutes at a time. So, I can no longer play very well. I was never a good singer and I can't play live with other musicians. I was once a really good rock drummer and loved playing with other musicians, and it is depressing I don't play very well anymore and playing with other musicians will never be an option (although I have done one collaboration with a very talented friend, which was very exciting, but my performances are pretty bland at best). So what's the point of playing when I physically am not able to be a decent musician again, when my performances will never be at a level I'm proud of? The point is that artistic expression is important, not just for those with exceptional talent, but also for the everyman. I used to advise an organized for people with disabilities and ended up spending time at their forum and found a group of people, some with very severe disabilities, that loved to play music. They didn’t let their disabilities stop them and I thought my situation is not nearly as challenging and I would regularly encourage them in that forum, while at the same time I had given up on music in my own life. Over time, I realized I should try the advice and encouragement I was giving them for myself.

A friend of mine, the former editor of a popular marketing magazine, as well as the editor of couple of popular tech magazines before that, had suggested that we use sock puppets in videos because our appearances are not camera friendly enough. Ouch. So yeah, there's that.

I've contemplated doing a new publication to inform the general public on marketing practices that are less than what I'd consider ethical. Years ago I had a marketing publication that became pretty popular for marketing pros. It had accolades from acedmia and business thought leaders, got me a major book deal, media coverage, speaking opportunities, etc. But I eventually got burnt out and shut it down (although I built a related dot com out of it that remains profitable). But I've contemplated a consumer audience instead of marketing pros and teaching them things like how influencer marketing works, because the truth is, it is primarily shilling and I think most influencers don't shoot straight about this fact in order to appear more credible. Most people aren't aware that when a YouTuber develops a large following at that point they're commonly looking for money up front to do product reviews. And they're almost never straightforward honest about that relationship in their videos; they always claim to be unbiased. They always downplay the fact that they're often product pitch people, sales people, for the products that review, commonly paid a sales commission on the product being "reviewed" (AKA affiliate marketing) and/or upfront payment from the brand plus free product and income from YouTube and additional sponsors in some cases. Even the ones with small followings in this market commonly look to developers as a source of money -- and the ones with small followings are looking for free product and will still try to find ways to make money from the brands they promote. It's a long way from journalistic standards for reviews or Consumer Reports. I recently shared that there's one influencer in this space I really respect. Cory Pelazzari. Because this guy is the closest to the real deal that I've ever seen. And I know he's been pushed around by a number of developers for it. Developers don't want influencers who tell their viewers about major flaws, bugs and shortcomings and recommending against purchasing. But that is what Cory does. I actually tried to intervene when one developer didn't like Cory's criticisms of their libraries and started to talk about suing -- as per Cory and got to know and respect Cory from the experience. But even the influencers I watch, including Mike, are doing things that are about making more revenue instead of what's best for viewers (like making overly long videos to optimize revenue). In the end, they're in it to make money. But Cory is the one influencer in this space I know of who prioritizes being honest with his viewers over optimizing his income opportunities and I greatly respect that.

The reasons for buying an established older brand that has seen better days is that it already has awareness built up and getting that level of awareness for a new brand is very costly. However, awareness doesn't always equal viability. Many times companies will buy a faded brand past its prime as a bargain to be a cash cow. I used to consult to an automotive brand that purchased a bunch of old, past their prime, brands in an effort to use the products they already made (as a contract packager) and capitalize on the awareness of the brands they purchased; they could command a higher price putting these out with the old brands they bought than spending significantly more money trying to build a new brand which would be a lot riskier. Consider how InMusic did that with BFD, a once top notch drum plugin that was long past its prime. InMusic likely thought there was an opportunity to pump a small investment into the brand to receive a decent return on investment. Whereas building a new brand drum plugin from the ground up would cost a lot more for development and for building a brand and have a much higher degree of risk of failure.