PavlovsCat

I love New Zealand. It's my favorite place anywhere in the world. Years ago, I stayed with one friend in KeriKeri and another in Christchurch. Most beautiful places I've ever been.

Well, the purpose of the joint is to sell that stuff. It's why we kept the BPM of songs fast -- people drank more than with slow songs. But the formula doesn't work if folks bring their own booze.

I want to hear that story! I was never rowdy enough to get kicked out of a bar, but I once came early to a club my band was playing at without my license and the bartender refused to serve me even though there were posters up with my picture in them right behind where I was sitting. The bartender argued that the guy in the poster had facial hair and I didn't (I pointed out that it is possible for people to shave, but he was not persuaded). Fortunately, someone at the bar knew the band and confirmed I was the guy in the poster and disaster was averted (I got my drink!).

I admit, whenever I post something critical of a sample library, I do hesitate a bit because sample library developers, like anyone, have egos and can get upset when their work is criticized, especially when it's publicly criticized. But that is what you sign up for when you sell your products -- even your music -- commercially. I've given more than a couple of dozen of them advice, including Troels (many years ago) and there have been some that have gotten upset with me for sharing my candid critiques of their sample libraries in forums. FTR, with a handful of exceptions, I've mostly done favors giving advice to sample developers and with certain exceptions, like Stephen Slate, SonicCouture and Tronsonic, I've turned down even NFR for a couple of hours of consulting advice. Why? I've mostly asked them to give NFRs to low income musicians I've identified instead of me. But I've also turned down NFRs because I don't want them to feel I'm obligated to not give my honest opinions about their libraries the way they operate with influencers. And I've had two developers over the years get upset over my even writing that I preferred another sample library over theirs (none of the ones I mentioned earlier; all three of them are very professional and super nice). Recently, when I shared my incredibly bad experiences with one developer's (I've never consulted to) non-existent customer support and hostile behavior, he took to the forums to make defamatory attacks on me -- yes, just for sharing the facts of my experience. Some small developers don't take criticism well or abide by the rules of professional behavior. Again, keep all of this in mind the next time you watch an influencer give a "review" -- that is, the impact of sharing negative opinions about a product on your relationship with the developer that made that product.

I wonder, can anyone contrast Izotope's masking tool with Trackspacer? I own Izotope stuff.

I agree with your observations. I've posted similar observations in the past. So far, SoundPaint libraries aren't in the same league as my best KONTAKT libraries. But SoundPaint libraries are inexpensive. Consequently, for me, I'll pick up another SoundPaint library if I like the character enough or if I think I can program something cool with it, but don't see them as at the same level as better KONTAKT libraries I own. What I like about SoundPaint is that it's fun and easy to create programs/patches. I would spend $20 USD for a SoundPaint library, like a piano, if I feel the tone is desirable and can imagine programming possibilities with it. I don't think I'd spend $50 on one of their libraries. When it comes to realism, I find SoundPaint doesn't make the cut and 90% of the time Im looking for realistic sounding sample libraries of acoustic and electric instruments like pianos, guitars, strings, percussion, etc. I bought their Soul electric guitar and it's the first sample library I've ever returned. I didn't expect it would be in the same league as an Orange Tree Samples library, but I expected it to be a lot better than it was. The samples lacked the ultra realism that I have from OTS libraries and their soul library was so far off the mark, I immediately knew I'd never use it. It was like an old sample patch without sophisticated scripting. There's no question, IMO, that the libraries are grossly overhyped. To date, THERE'S only one SoundPaint library out maybe a dozen I've bought that I love, Bazantar. The Wurli library is one dimensional (they've since pulled it for some unknown reason). It lacks the great dynamics that a real Wurli has. Skybox Audio and e-instruments Wurlies blow it away. I have, I think, three of the pianos and I think they're okay, but nowhere close to the quality of a Galaxy Instruments KONTAKT piano library like Noire, or piano libraries from Production Voices or Embertone to my ears. I don't think I've used any of SoundPaint's piano libraries in a production. They're like SampleTank piano libraries, IMO. They sound okay, but I find they fall far short of my KONTAKT piano libraries in terms of dynamics (and the quality of the tone) and ironically, dynamics are the area Troels boasts that SoundPaint libraries are superior.

I have a link for $15 USD off for the Estonia Grand Piano for new customers (anyone can feel free to PM me for it), but I'm a current customer. @aidan o driscollDo you have a code that would work for the piano? I only have around three dozen pianos and need more!

I really like the idea of sharing what part of the world we're from. Happy holidays from Chicago, USA!

Happy holidays to all.

We've all been there, Frank! No worries!

I picked this plugin up last time there was a killer deal after a number of folks here recommended it and really like it.

A holiday thanks for everyone who makes this forum so friendly and valuable. I've been using online music-making forums since the early days of KVR and I find no other music-making forum as friendly, helpful and user-centric as this forum, and specifically, I'm thinking of the Deals subforum. Unsurprisingly, @cclarry is the first person who comes to mind when I think of this subforum. No one else has worked as hard at making this subforum so valuable and stocked with deals as cclarry. I've told him many times that he could stop posting deals and retire as an all-time Cakewalk Forum MVP and Hall of Famer -- the Michael Jordan of the forum. The other MVP and Hall of Famer is @Wookiee, the forum moderator. Like cclarry, Wookiee isn't paid to do what he does, but he does it better than most paid moderators, IMO. Woookie is a volunteer who helps this community out of the goodness of his heart. He keeps the forum on track, and in the rare moments when someone exhibits less than civil behavior or goes into undesirable territory, Wookiee is there to keep this community healthy and he's clearly doing a great job. If you've ever interacted with Wookiee, you know that he's very helpful, kind and considerate. I couldn't think of better qualities for a moderator, a community member -- or for a human being in general. Beyond our MVPs, we have a community -- it's not big, but it's big enough, IMO -- of really nice, helpful and encouraging people that make this forum great. Personally, there's been a good deal of people who've gone out of their way to provide helpful advice when I ask for advice on effects plugins, on sample libraries or post a song and solicit mixing advice. I want to give a big holiday thank you to all of you -- whether you've shared a deal, posted a funny remark or story, shared insights, gave a recommendation for or against a plugin or library, encouraged someone else or taken a thread in a new direction (sure, at some forums that call that "off-topic" or "derailing a thread," but here, it's an honored tradition; we'd say something, but anyone could expose the regulars here as hypocrites in a few clicks!). Whatever you celebrate, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc., I wish you and your family the happiest and healthiest of holidays and all the best in the year ahead.

Well, I'm retro myself! I can't help it. Thanks!

A little Christmas song I wrote and recorded last weekend. There's a bridge, but I chose to keep it short, as I thought it would be easier to get friends to listen! I can always share a longer version down the road.

Thanks! I didn't know there was a demo. I'll absolutely download it.

Pluginboutique.com has WavesFactory Tracks Trackspacer for only $29 USD. I can use advice from the experienced mixers here. I've seen a lot of people praise this plugin and wondering if I should pick it up. https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/3-Studio-Tools/71-Dynamic-Processor/3259-Trackspacer

My confirmation email was in my junk folder. Give a look there.

It did seem too good to be true. I own it, but at that price, I was tempted to buy it again! (The deal addiction is strong!)

A quick mini-review. The Edu Prado Hurdy-Gurdy sounds VERY DIFFERENT than the free Sonokinetic Hurdy-Gurdy. Check out the above video to hear for yourself. Prado's hurdy-gurdy has a much more gentle sound, whereas the Sonokinetic is a lot more harsh and true to my expectations for the sound of a hurdy-gurdy. Now., I don't mean harsh in a negative way. It's a rough, harsh sound that I love. The Prado hurdy-gurdy also seems to have more reverb baked in. One of the things that surprised me about the Sonokinetic Hurdy-Gurdy is that it's only one octave. Prado's hurdy-gurdy is 5 octaves. Sonokinetic's Hurdy-Gurdy only has one patch, sustain with crank noises in the higher octave keys. Prado's instrument has 5 articulations: crank, pizzicato, hollow, grains, choir and SFX patches. The hollow patch sounds like a violin section from an orchestra -- it's delicate. Basically the Prado library gives you the straight sampled instrument plus some sound design patches that are very nice that I could easily imagine using in layering. In short, for less than $2.50USD, the Edu Prado library is a no-brainer deal if you like the sound of the hurdy-gurdy. and it sounds a lot different than Sonokinetic's Hurdy Gurdy and is 5 octaves instead of one octave. Here's the link for the free Sonokinetic Hurdy Gurdy (works in the FREE KONTAKT Player) in case anyone didn't catch the thread from last week: https://www.sonokinetic.net/products/classical/hurdygurdy/ .

Some alternatives for cellos that are in the same price range from developers with far better support in my experience: Sonixinema's Intimate Legato Cello £69.00 and get 20% OFF with the code SXNTA (storewide) https://sonixinema.com/collections/strings/products/intimate-legato-cello Tina Guo Cello (Legato) $89 USD on sale https://cinesamples.com/product/tina-guo-acoustic-cello-legato?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=performance max strings&utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=&keyword=&gclid=CjwKCAiAnZCdBhBmEiwA8nDQxVG4n7WCIX7LtOYbHthuKQ29Yu6e2BGKG8pCutPUKPjN6KOQoojFghoCnDQQAvD_BwE

Fluffy Audio ignored every support request I ever had going back nearly one year and then two requests made over around 2 months. The dev was very friendly on VI Control pre-sale and post sale when I had nice things to say. Then when I posted on Facebook that I liked their libraries but the support was non-existent and the developer turned hostile very quickly and had zero concern to do anything but get ugly with me and name call to the point of defamation / libel. Easily the worst experience I've ever had with any developer and the guy showed zero interest in working things out though he publicly claimed to be trying. He made an offer that he was going to make a patch for me (spoiler: he never did). All because I publicly shared what going on. In any event, I strongly advise against buying from them. There are plenty of other options for string libraries from developers that provide good support and treat customers with respect. On a related note, if a paying customer who shares a negative experience publicly about a developer results in that developer calling the customer mentally ill and a liar in order to discredit them, for sharing my experience you can imagine how difficult it is for an influencer to do an honest review of a library and expect to maintain a relationship with that kind of developer. That's the reality of influencer reviews. Even if they wanted to give reviews that are blunt, hey have to be careful not to tick off developers.

Okay, so a lot of us picked up Sonokinetic's freebie Hurdy Gurdy library and it's nice, but it's only a single patch (for those who haven't picked it up, go do that). I've been a fan of indie developers for a long time and used to give advice to small ones, a number of which went on to be quite successful (devs like Troels and Steven Slate). I still love indie developers and I think this developer, Edu Prado, is really talented and creative and you can pick up his hurdy gurdy for a steal right now. and it includes 5 patches including a pizzicato I really like. This requires FULL KONTAKT (not the Player). It's only $2.44 USD / €2,20 on sale. The sale ends on December 26th. From the developer "The Hurdy-Gurdy sample library offers multiple built-in effects to shape the sounds as you wish, and it comes with 6 unique NKIs: Organic Crank Pizzicato Hollow Grains Choir SFX The built-in effects include: Space – Convolution Reverb with 10 options of impulse-responses; Crank knob; Attack and Release controls; Smear diffusion effect; Drive effect; High-Pass and Low-Pass filters." https://sounds.eduprado.com/products/hurdy-gurdy?syclid=cei3o637k049952inkh0&utm_campaign=emailmarketing_142685962398&utm_medium=email&utm_source=shopify_email

Larry, like me, lives in the US Midwest. We would NEVER call anywhere in Nevada chilly!

That sucks about Facebook. But the part that matters most is that you had a great time. Thanks for sharing and I'm looking forward to hearing more (either here or in some PMs). I'm hoping you go on the other trips you're thinking about too!

Looks great, Larry!