PavlovsCat

This thread is a good example of how folks discussing how they use plugins can be really useful to others. If this post was only about a sale, I would have likely just passed it up. But when folks started discussing how they liked this plugin, I checked it out and found the demo examples (dry and wet) sounded good to my ears and now I'm going to download and check out the free version. Thanks, my fellow enablers!

Before anyone gets too disappointed -- can anyone who has this give their opinion if it's any good? I don't really know NoiseAsh beyond that they had a freebie electric piano that they gave away last year that I downloaded, installed and quickly deleted (it wasn't very good).

Okay, I'm on my computer now and can provide a deeper list of developers I'd recommend. SonicCouture. All top notch. but pricey. I only buy when there's a sale. I have maybe a dozen of their libraries and all of them are excellent. Pick up all of their freebies. Embertone. Their 1955 Steinway D Lite goes on sale for cheap. I think as cheap as $5 or $10 USD. I love the lite version and never upgraded because I'm super happy with the lite library. Cinematique Instruments. This dev is excellent at sound design libraries. Pick up their many freebies, including their Klang line freebies, to get a taste of what they do. I'll include a link to the correct section because their Klang site is a usability nightmare, but their libraries are not. https://klang.cologne/klangX_shop.php Production Voices. I own several of this dev's piano libraries and I really like them a lot. I'd recommend downloading the FREE Death Piano for KONTAKT to get started. It is full of reverses and odd treatments of a grand piano and I love it. https://www.productionvoices.com/death-piano-le/ Xperimeta Project. Everything I have from this developer is superb. I think the first library I picked up from them was a vibraphone library and I use it a lot. Download their FREE Preparato Piano, it's a prepared piano that is incredibly good and has a bunch of really good patches to the point it's surprising that they give this away free. https://www.xperimentaproject.com/preparato-piano-free/ Waverunner. This developer has some very different libraries. I own their cello, viola and a few others. None of them are my go to libraries for their categories, but they're different and I find some inspiring. Heavyocity. If you haven't already picked up their FREE Foundations series, I'd strongly recommend doing so. A top notch developer. Orange Tree Samples. As I mentioned in my previous post, I've worked with them and I'm friends with the developer, so you can write me off as biased. I worked on brainstorming sessions for the Evolution line, so it basically is my ultimate guitar and bass libraries. But I'm far too hypercritical of sample libraries and brutally honest that I would let my personal relationship bias me. I've advised more than two dozen sample library and plugin developers and mostly avoid mentioning any of them because I realize that once I state my relationship, most people will discount my opinions. So, upfront, I totally understand anyone writing my opinion off, I'm not offended. But I'm hypercritical and even made agreements with devs that I would be able to retain my right to share critical personal opinions about their products when working with them; I don't shill for anyone. Mostly, I avoid sharing opinions on developers I've worked with, but OTS is on another level. I was a fan before I worked with them. I know a bunch of their competitor developers personally and the consensus is that OTS -- the founder, Greg Schlaepfer really -- is innovative, brilliant and has long led the way in the guitar and bass sample library space. Their guitar and bass libraries offer a level of realism/detail and controllability that is unparalleled (I'd say the closest second is a developer out of China that makes their own plugins, Ample Sounds). You can start using them without a learning curve for playing in real-time, but once you spend some time getting to learn how to get different articulations out of it and once you learn the strumming engine, it's amazing, it will blow your mind. There's still nothing like it. I have a long background of working with CTOs, engineers and scientists in the tech, analysis and chemical industries, and the innovation of the Evolution series of guitars is truly extraordinary and reminds me of some of the really innovative technologies I've witnessed. But here's the thing, like stuff like mobile phones -- and industry I used to be in -- where research found that more than 90% of users of these products don't even scratch the surface and only understand around 5% of a phone's functionality. You can start playing the libraries without any knowledge, but if you spend time learning the Evolution libraries, it's amazing what you can acheive on a MIDI keyboard and everything you learn in one Evolution guitar library can be used in the other libraries. It's when you dive in, spend some time and start using it, you see why this library gets used in final productions on pop hits, movies, TV and trailers. I've talked to many other devs who make guitar libraries, and a number of them have acknowledged that they have attempted to reverse engineer OTS' Evolution (Andrew Aversa at Impact Soundworks once told me -- I have it in written correspondence, so I'm not concerned about stating that publicly -- that Evolution was the inspiration for his own Shreddage line, but his line is much more limited). Sound on Sound called the OTS' E -- the most coveted and iconic Rhodes electric piano in history used in a bunch of iconic recordings -- the ultimate Rhodes sample library (or something like that, I'm paraphrasing from memory) and I would agree. But it's not cheap. Their piano is very good. But their guitars and basses are the best there are, IMO. Westwood -- Pick up their FREE felt piano. It's very nice. ON MY WATCH LIST: Sonixenima - This dev has two cello libraries that sound fantastic to my ears (they're both on the dry side). But they have a bunch of freebies that are really small, so they're not very usable, but they do give you a good idea of what the dev is all about. One developer I would strongly advise AGAINST using is Fluffy Audio. I've been using sample libraries since the 90s -- actually 80s if you count hardware sample based synths -- and own several Fluffy Audio libraries. While the developer makes decent libraries, there's nothing that other competitors don't do as well or better. But where Fluffy Audio was an absolute shocking an unprofessional nightmare unlike anything I've experienced with another developer was when I spent nearly one year making the same customer support request without a response. I took to Facebook to write a polite but stern message saying I liked their libraries but their support is non-existent and the developer immediately deleted my post and blocked me. I made a thread at this forum and VI Control sharing my experience and the dev made a series of personal attacks calling me a liar, asserting that I'm insane -- stuff I never dreamed of (what business person does that to their customers?), I don't know the guy beyond buying his libraries. But after the incident, a contractor who has worked with him told me that the dev's behavior with me was not a surprise to him, that he has "issues" the contractor was aware of. Whatever, the case, I would strongly recommend avoiding them at all costs. In addition, the developer claimed publicly that he was going to be making an update to his library I owned regarding the support requests I made (that his string libraries would be able to play polyphonically, without legato) -- he never did.

Ben Osterhouuse's Sospiro Strings and Cello Textures are great and incredible bargains when on sale. I've worked with Orange Tree Samples and am friends with the developer, but absolutely best in class guitar and bass libraries (I was a huge fan before working with the developer) . I only own one Wurli library from Skybox Audio, but it's excellent. Sound Dust makes quirky, odd libraries that are absolutely perfect, IMO. NI's Noire Piano is my all time favorite. E-instruments upright piano is one I regularly use and their W Wurli is very good. SoundIron has a bunch of really nice libraries and even their cheap ones are decent; a really reliably high quality KONTAKT developer. Everything I've bought from Xperimenta Project is excellent. I'm on my phone now, going from memory, I'll probably add more later, when I'm in front of my computer. I'm a huge user of KONTAKT sample libraries.

@TheSteven My favorites are (all prices are in USD): GRAND PIANO: White Grand MK II($9.90), Black Grand MK II( the full version, with all mics, is $19.90), Small Studio Grand ($7.90) UPRIGHT PIANO: Rain Piano MK II ($7.90) If I had an absolute budget of $25USD, I would likely go with White Grand MKII ($9.90), Black Grand Close ($4.90) and Rain Piano MK II ($7.90). There's no way you couldn't be happy with picking all of that up for such a low price. I own Black Grand Close MKII and have yet to get the other mics, but am contemplating it during the current sale.

The only ones I don't own are some of the different mics for Black Grand (I only have the close mic version) and the Player version of Black Grand, which Per told me I shouldn't bother getting after owning the full retail version. I was hoping he'd put his new piano for HALion in his shop. Even though I prefer KONTAKT, for how cheap everything is at 90% off, I'd happily pick it up.

Recommended. I wish Per would release some new libraries. I already own almost all of their piano libraries.

I love the sound of a music box and it shows on my hard drive. I just counted and I have 27 different music box sample libraries for KONTAKT and I'm sure I have some in other formats. Yep, I don't just collect large amounts of Wurli, piano, drum and glockenspiel libraries! I love music boxes and metallophones in general. Last week, when a different music box sample library was posted here, someone sarcastically wrote how much the world needs another music box sample library. And for anyone who doesn't understand that remark, it seems that the majority of sample developers have a music box sample library. For anyone looking, Waves Factory, SonicCouture, Splash Sound and Echo Soundworks all have free music box sample libraries. I'm certainly not knocking this one. I own a few Frozen Plain sample libraries and they're good. But there is such a wealth of free music box sample libraries out there that are sampled with at least the same level of detail as this one -- and also include creative sound design -- that I would strongly recommend that anyone interested in a music box sample library first try out the free ones and see if one of those work for you. I'm sharing a link for SonicCouture's Music Boxes sample library, which works with the FREE KONTAKT Player, because anyone can use it, regardless if they own the full version of KONTAKT or not. https://www.soniccouture.com/en/products/p43-music-boxes/

Plugin Deals Reseller Price Check Search Engine I came across a search engine from a Facebook plugin and sample library deal group I'm in that I think has a pretty useful tool that lets you check prices on sample libraries and plugins sold by resellers like Plugin Boutique that enables for you to compare and find the best deal. Like the guy who posts for his similar deals website, which I and others have found to have some very outdated pricing and alerts that aren't working, these folks are mostly going to show you prices for stuff they make affiliate money from, but they can still be valuable tools, they just won't show you anything the website owner doesn’t get a cut from. https://plugindeals.net/plugin-reseller-price-check/

Wait, yesterday you posted a deal for a plugin called Coffee and today you're posting "Taco Tuesday." Clearly, these developers have unlocked the keys to what I like when it comes to food and beverages.

Take notice 8Dio, Ujam (they worked with Roland on the library) is coming for your spot as the reigning king of the largest sample library sizes.

That does sound really, really good to my ears. Of course, that's not a surprise coming from Roland themselves. Interestingly, the sale price is nearly identical (okay, $.95 more) to Orange Tree Samples' Famous E (a beloved Rhodes piano), which includes the free KONTAKT 7 Player. It would be pretty cool for someone to do a head to head comparison of the two libraries / plugins. If I had an infinite budget, I'd probably never stop buying electric pianos! I wish a top notch developer would sample the Valente next! It has qualities of my two favorite electric pianos, the Wurli and the Rhodes. https://orangetreesamples.com/products/the-famous-e-electric-piano Disclosure: I've consulted to Orange Tree Samples and many other sample and plugin developers but have never made agreements that involve or limit my personal posts in social media.

Darn. I thought you were posting a deal on coffee. It's going to take another cup for me get over my disappointment.

Same here. I would be interested in learning about your influences. I would have guessed Todd is one, of course, maybe even Zappa. Your song was really creative. It was definitely not a stock, paint by numbers kind of song. BTW, I went through some of your songs and found your cover of "I'll Be Around" was absolutely superb.

Wow, great job on the songwriting and performance. It's really creative and especially because of the harmonies it has a Utopia vibe - and I mean that in a very positive sense (I'm a big Todd Rundgren / Utopia fan). Kudos.

Sure, but like a lot of others here who own Waves plugins, getting a free duplicate of a Waves plugin is basically like paying the WUP fee without having to pay the WUP fee. Consequently, while I already own this plugin, the WUP had expired on it, so getting this for free is like getting the 1 year WUP free.

I've always enjoyed doing my own arrangements of covers and my entire family -- my wife and kids -- love this song, so I thought it's simple enough, I'd give it a go. As always, I invite constructive criticism.

Haha! That's the question I ask myself every single time I contemplate posting a deal here! I'll scan the first two pages and do a search and still wonder if Larry already posted it and I just didn't catch it! In fact, when I do post a deal and Larry likes it, it feels like some kind of award!

A bunch of dependable regulars very favorable opinions on Cube led to me picking this up for ten bucks a few months ago. I like it, but I didn't pull the trigger on their upgrade offer shortly after my purchase (maybe I will in the future). I was thinking of buying something in order to pick up the Rumble expansion pack. In case anyone wants to hear what the presets in the Rumble expansion sound like, here's a YouTube video going through them:

Ha! Like I really need another music box sample library. I own probably two dozen music box sample libraries for KONTAKT. @Fleer, so you own this and really like it? How deeply can you sample a music box library?! It's not like they're naturally velocity sensitive. Okay, listening to the demo. It sounds nice! EDIT: I just counted my KONTAKT music box sample libraries. Twenty-six. And I know I have at least a couple of them in other formats! I think I might need an intervention, but it's not like anyone here is going to be the one to help! I know this group. You guys are as bad as me.

Electrum Core by United Plugins (reg. $50) is free with any purchase at AudioDeluxe until March 31. https://www.audiodeluxe.com

I don't know if this mix is better for sure, but I think it is. I took off the Abbey Road ADT effect after it seemed the consensus was that it didn't work. I replaced it with a similar effect inside of Izotope Neutron. I also took a couple of different vocal parts that I thought were better than the ones I had previously used.

Thanks for the advice. I am aware of ducking, but I've never tried it. Your post inspired me to find some articles and videos on ducking. I'll experiment with it this week. So, Tom, you think it's just the piano that's the problem? There is a lot going on, including acoustic and electric guitars, a Wurly... Do you think I should put them all through (I think it's sidechaining a compressor) or only the piano? Beyond the fact that I don't technically have a clue with mixing, I have a significant hearing loss and don't hear the frequency ranges very well. I'm the worst pick for mixing or playing! I stopped playing music professionally or at all 22 years ago due to an injury resulting in lifelong tendinitis. I can only play an instrument for very short periods without pain. I've been trying to play again since last year, but can only play several minutes at a time. This song was a good fit because it's so easy to play and the tempo is slow. It's a real and unexpected pleasure that anyone enjoys anything I've recorded.

Although I started piano lessons at 3 and drums a short while later, and multitrack recording in my early teens, I'm still a novice when it comes to mixing and mastering and tend to rely on a bunch of incredibly more knowledgeable friends and folks in this forum (who, in my experience, have proven to offer very good advice). Consequently, my top favorite brands are developers that make plugins that sound good and are easy to use. My top favorite effects plugin developers are: Izotope Sonible (I use the plugins they make for Focusrite) Softube Native Instruments Arturia Developers that I'd give an honorable mention to (I own multiple plugins from these effects developers) include: Kilohearts XLN Audio Brainworx The brand my developer and skilled mixer friends -- some that don't even know one another -- keep strongly recommending is FabFilter. They're beyond my budget and I'm mostly set for mixing and mastering plugins with Izotope and Sonible.

WUP and Wave's less than straightforward manner of marketing was enough to get me to move on from them, but this serial number BS makes me even more unlikely to continue buying WAVES in the future. But the good news is that Waves greatly influenced plugin effects pricing in the marketplace. There are excellent alternatives like Plugin Alliance developers, Izotope, Softube and others that have similarly priced sales -- not as often as Waves always on sales (which technically violate the US' FTC regulations, but the market is relatively small enough that it is extremely unlikely to be noticed by the FTC). The only Waves plugins I'd pay WUP for IF they have a problem are my Abbey Road plugins. Other than that, when it comes to my purchasing, this is just another nail in the Waves' coffin (or is brick in the wall a better metaphor for an audio effects developer?). I'd urge anyone just starting out in the DAW world to look beyond Waves, or at least, do research before you buy a Waves plugin to understand what all this talk on WUP and serials is about.