Carl Ewing

NVM - checked with support.

You aren't running NASA. Professional composer for 26 years. Built my own systems most of that time. It isn't difficult. Knowing how to build and maintain my own systems, knowing each part that is in the machines I use, means I have zero downtime and require zero technical support. Ever. It saves me time and money over and over again. Meanwhile, colleagues that pay "premium" (and I said premium as a joke, I clearly meant "ripped off") to have systems built for them are CONSTANTLY calling me for technical help, because they can't be bothered to learn their own systems. Always wondering if there system is running correctly / efficiently. Never sure if a problem is software or hardware. When a problem occurs in the middle of the night, they have no idea how to diagnose and fix the problem. Because they don't understand what's in their machines. Don't understand the operating system, or how peripherals are interacting with the OS. And rely on other people to maintain critically important parts of their business, and hope those people are available when a problem occurs. You basically just advocated for a composer to outsource their technical expertise to someone that is NOT in the studio. If you have an in-house technician, then sure, outsource away. But outsourcing that expertise to someone 1000s of miles away is going to cost you A LOT money and time in the long run. Composing / producing music is a technical and creative job. You can't ignore the technical part and expect to be efficient.

I could really care less. Someone's waaaay overcharging for parts then I'll call them on it. But comments like these - which seem to come every time I point out something is overpriced here - is probably why every musician I know is broke. These aren't your friends. They run a business. They want your money. The more the better. And ya - it's 2022. Maybe in 2005 you needed someone to help you build a system, because so many parts had compatibility issues. Literal children can build high end systems today. Shit, pcpartpicker will hold your hand and tell you exactly what you need and automatically flag problems in your build. Building a DAW system today is child's play. The only thing that might be a challenge for some is delidding or pasting the CPU. But you don't need to pay a $2000 premium on a $3000 machine for the service. People charging those premiums are just straight up assholes - I don't care how much charm and salesmanship they use to get people to overpay. That applies to Apple or small businesses.

I'm surprised Klang isn't more popular. I don't hear about it much, but there are some very unique / cool instruments in that collection.

Spitfire's app is notorious for breaking installations, even when the content isn't moved. Literally 100s of posts about this on their forum. Shit, I just opened the app and it says half of my Labs aren't installed, but they all are, and they all work fine. The App is trash.

Finally might grab Hammers. Excellent sale.

And there it is. All month's sale items back to sale price for 2 days. Lol.

They almost always put everything that was on sale over the last month back on sale for a day or two for a final (till next week) hurrah. I always get that "if case you missed it, this is your last chance!! omg, never again!" email every bi-annual sale.

Why would I be mad at cheap plugins? Lol. You can always go buy way more expensive plugins (that do the same thing) from other companies. Shit, if you're really mad, you can buy many PA plugins at the UAD store for 10x the price any time you want.

Ya - going to use my $200 sub voucher on this I think. Can pick up 11 of the 15 that I want to own including 5 amp sims. Crazy.

Waiting for a sale on Hammers. Hopefully Christmas lol. Also - any difference between the 'Labs' Frozen Strings and the 'Originals' Cinematic Frozen Strings? Same with the Labs / Originals Soft Piano?

But I can buy what I need on sale with the $200 voucher I get with the Mix & Master subscription. I'm on my 3rd annual subscription ($600 in vouchers on $450 in subscription fees), and now own all the plugins I actually need while having access to their entire Mix & Master catalog of like 100 plugins + anything new they release in that year. And I know what plugins I actually NEED, because I've been using them for a whole year. On the flip side, I could endlessly waste time scouring sales to buy plugins I've likely never used, or never used for any length of time, likely spending more than $150 a year on crap that'll sit in a plugin folder for eternity, while still not having access to like 100 plugins that cover almost every single thing I could possibly ever need. The PA subscriptions are a no brainer. Anyone not using them, while still spending $150 a year on plugins that are covered under that subscription is wasting their time and money. They are giving you $200 in product for $150, and a demo of 100 plugins... for a year... to decide what you want to own. It's, without a doubt, the best deal on the market. My annual budget for mix & mastering related plugins is $150 a year. I don't need anything else (in that category) with that subscription. That is insane. There are people who still spend $1000s a year on UAD plugins that have equivalents covered under that subscription. It boggles my mind.

I'm very disappointed in this release. The entire library sounds like it's compressed into a tin can. Virtually none of the sources have any body to them, meaning it takes A LOT of work to pull out some power that isn't just relying on the transient. I have to go through multiple transient shapers just to get a percussive envelope where anything but the attack is heard in the mix. First week I used it I was regularly mixing in other drum libraries (especially kick and toms) to actually give it the characteristics it's advertised as having. The kicks are especially horrible. This is the problem with some of these libraries - that tight tone (especially for metal or hybrid) should be achieved through the various tools available in the plugin, not the starting point of the source material. Keepforest seems to be one of the few companies who understand how to produce power that has both strong transients and decay / body - especially in a modern context. Where the source material is so strong you have infinite options to take the sounds wherever you need it to go. Anyway - I'm sure some people love it. But it was a complete waste of money for me.

That is absolutely absurd. Did they even try using the "sophisticated sound engine that took 8 years to develop"? Have they tried programming? Lol. Most of the sounds in that demo could be made in any softsynth without using samples. I.E. How the actual Dune score was made.

For $50 you can get the SoundWide bundle which includes iZotope's Nectar / Ozone / RX / Neutron Elements, Trash 2, VocalSynth 2, Nimbus, R4, NI Massive, NI Guitar Rig 6 LE, and Plugins Alliance's bx_console N, bx_delay 2500, bx_digital V3, bx_stereomaker and bx_subsynth. https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/soundwide-intro-bundle.html ^^ That is a far better deal I think for $30 more.

I don't see "deep discounts" or "no brainers" as valuable, because it's promoting impulse buying. I don't care if a plugin is $4.99. If I have never used it, or only spent a few hours with it on demo then why would I buy it? It's like the current sale. The Soma, LISA and Amek 200 are on sale for $30. I have used all 3 EQs with the subscription - most recently the LISA. Already know I don't need any of them. I'm guessing 99% of people buying one of these this week doesn't have enough experience with them to make the purchase - even if it was $1.99. The subscription is like a 12 month trial of 100 plugins with a $200 voucher at the end to grab exactly what you use. This is a no brainer to me. I've almost entirely stopped buying ANY plugins for 2 years from any company, because this subscription covers almost everything I need - in terms of mixing and mastering. It's saved me $1000s on useless purchases.

Or just pay $150 for a yearly Mix & Master subscription, use 80+ plugins for year, get $200 in vouchers to buy whatever you want on Mega Sale in December, and ignore any and all PA posts till next summer 'cause you already have everything. No brainer to me.

Once the zombie apocalypse is over scientists will discover this is what caused it. We need to put an end this. Immediately.

It sketches me out that so many of these studios look like dust-free museums. It's like the entire spiritual foundation of music has been eradicated, and music is now created by super dull middle class types trying to recreate the ideas of the past...surrounded by dollar store fake plants and machine polished decorations. It's the like End Times are near.

Love the sound of this plugin. I flip back and forth between this and WaveFactory Cassette depending on the material. I think Cassette has more realistic artifacts / stability features though - customized from back panel... ...but I find SketchCassette better for lofi-ing stuff in a way that's more artificial, but still modern / cool sounding. So SketchCassette better for sound design, Cassette better for realistic tape degradation. In my opinion anyway. There's also Audiothing's 'Reels', which has it's own advantages. Why not own them all lol.

I've paid for WUP like one time in 6 years. What am I doing wrong??

He responded fast to a support question I had in December. Responded within an hour.

It's weird they do this a few days after their anniversary sale lol.

Ya - I think a lot of people just want to buy shit impulsively, and these companies are likely making a killing off people thinking they're getting stuff cheap - but likely buying stuff they don't need, buying things often, and spending way more than they need to in the long run. Somehow a once a year purchase, and having all your bases covered, is less preferable than obsessing over vouchers and sales every week trying to nickle and dime a company that knows exactly what's it doing to get your money.

The point of the subscription is that I get to use a massive part of their catalog for a year + get $200 to buy whatever I want during a mega sale. Why would I be buying $15 plugins - that I've likely never used much other than a demo - when I already have everything to try out for 12 months? And then buy specifically what I want / use in December sales season. I don't understand why anyone debates this deal. It's insane. For $150 my entire mixing and mastering needs are covered for a year - by extremely high quality plugins - and the cost of the sub still goes to permanent buys on heavily discounted super sales. This is the best deal in the industry as far as I'm concerned. Not only that, but 2 years of this subscription has saved me tons of money not having to buy shit I don't need from other companies. I haven't bought a UAD plugin, or a single emulation or mix / mastering related plugin from any other company since I started this subscription - and I used to spend $100 / EACH on those UAD plugins. My studio's plugin expenses went WAY down these last 2 years.