Brian Walton

Personally speaking I thought the upgrade price was also crazy. I think the asking price for an upgrade was more than double what I'd paid for SD 2 just a few months before release. And them they also had a very short period. I don't think I've even used SD 2 on a project and just abandoned it as there is no upgrade path.

Good, didn't need the temptation of a $50 purchase when I already have all the PA alternatives.

Toontrack isn't exactly the pinnacle of best customer practices either

Word on the street is Current serial numbers for expansions won't work for yet to be released sound expansions. If Bapu has all the current sounds of EZK1, those extra serials don't provide value to him personally as there is nothing left to expand.

That is lame. too bad they are not full product keys, those should sell like hotcakes at a discount due to the upgrade offer. You really have all the sound expansions for EZKeys? That is quite a chunk of change.

Everyone is different in the approach, but honestly don't care about the built in sounds (none of them are world class) but simply use the brain to drive other VSTs. The approach I'd tend to suggest taking is if you plan to use this to build out ideas, what instruments/sounds would you want to preview things with? Then once you have ideas together you drag to other instrument tracks or route the midi output. Thus something like a classic electric or grand piano can be a good "preview" instrument, where a mellotron is a really specific sound (and more of an expansion choice, IMO). At ~$80 for one instrument expansion - they certainly are not a "go to" for me to expand the sounds of the product. The value for me personally is in the engine. It almost sounds like they are going to make the MIDI package broader in 2 which is a free upgrade. The Add On Mini Packs I think are where to be more strategic about it. These are what can help fuel the creativity and ideas.

Ok, OK, I'm in

I had the same, but you can order through plugin boutuque to get a serial number that becomes redundant thanks to the generious authorization system. At least it will give you the 5 seconds of euphoria of getting something for free.

If you use it on non-vocal instances, you may find ClarityVx isn't the right tool for the job.

Also be careful/aware that the Acon doesn't come with the dialog extract or derustle dialog plugins in this package. For what it does come with DeNoise 2, you really need a section of consistant noise to grab for it to work fairly well. While I don't like WAVES, ClarityVX is the only thing I care about from them, and I already own Acon DeNoise 2. (And RX Elements). The use of each depends on the source. I think it is absolutly worth the $15, but it won't have the magic of ClarityVX on some sources.

Nice free one. ADSR had this with free with purchase a couple years back. Love the fact you don't need to grab an extra seat for other machines because they use the Melda licensing system where it is good for as many computers as you personally own as long as you are the only user and free updates for life - with no WUP.

Yeah, I got the pedal in a large part so that I could track without running one comptuer into another computer. You need to have the pedal plugged in for the Librarian tab (which I'm betting you can't even see). I haven't tried running the program while open and selecting through things on the same computer I'm running an audio interface so not sure how well they play together on the same machine yet. I am using the pedal into a Radial JDI direct box into a different interface, but if I'm running the Librarian tab, technically I'm also conncting it to a different laptop instead of through the same computer I'm running the DAW on - but what you are asking might also be possible - just haven't tried.

They gave the eventide away for free a while back too, so someone might have it and not even realize it. If they allow transfers via ilok that also might open the door for someone willing to part with it for a nice discount below retail.

Yeah they should let you load 20, so you gotta be careful there. They recently ran the unlimited version for $50 (less with jam points) so it might be a little while before they drop it that low again. Don't remember what limitations were on the IRs, I caved in close to release as I what I heard was pretty good and I knew I'd want to capture stuff eventually. Regretfully they dropped the entry tier quickly and then also released the pedal I had to get. So it was a double purchase of sorts and can't transfer as each had a NFR due to combo with hardware.

$34 per plugin is more than retail and this assumes each and every plugin added is one you would have bought. I personally just don't see it as a value proposition.

Click the presets tab in ToneX Then right click and "import preset" Note you can select a bunch at one time on import.

Can't believe I forgot the link! Thanks! He has done a ton of Kemper packs and you can check out his YouTube channel to get a feel for how many amps he owns (he has also borrowed and had some temporarily to capture). I like packs like this because you get a good range of what the amp does and can setup presets to switch between gain levels fairly easily for pedal use. I think IKM didn't do as much of this approach as one might expect even in MaX, with the exception of a few pieces of gear such as a Klon where they ran quite a few different settings.

Ok, that is the spoiler for his April Fools "pay double" sale Legitimate discounts if you use the code though. I had the Trainwreck, but stocked up on the Purple Plexi, Gibson Skylark, and Ampeg 58 Rocket due to the discount. (I'm sure it also applies to his Kemper and Helix packs...but my only interest is ToneX)

This is always the case with loyalty vouchers.

The last paragraph was epic. Made my day already.

Liverpool 3 is outstanding, but all of those Liverpool ones are excellent (and IMO, better than anything I heard IKM release - and I have MAX). https://www.tone.net/tonex/users/holy_grail ToneJunkie has a Express 60 paid pack I recommend on his website, but he also gave away some samples - note this is a Master Volume Trainwreck which is under the Trainwreck official name/release but it wasn't one of the 3 models Kenny made himself for public sale. https://www.tone.net/tonex/tonemodels/19394 https://www.tone.net/tonex/tonemodels/20155 https://www.tone.net/tonex/tonemodels/20154 (paid version below) https://tonejunkiestore.com/tonexcap/twreck-express-60-tonex-capture-pack (also suggest signing up for his mailing list as he gives away free captures there that he doens't upload to tone net - this includes a full capture of a vintage AC30 from 1966, and I think a 65 Twin Reverb, also a couple profiles of a Purple Plexi and most likley a Express 60 or two) The others are ok, but they are basically Kemper profiles - so you are getting that degridation in there and not the full capability of what ToneX can do with a direct capture: https://www.tone.net/tonex/tonemodels/16116 https://www.tone.net/tonex/tonemodels/11073 https://www.tone.net/tonex/tonemodels/16115 And if you want the Train II sound (but in ToneX pedal form) https://www.tone.net/tonex/tonemodels/19588 Also in the Wreck vein: These of a Dr. Z Wreck Jr. are pretty awesome: https://www.tone.net/tonex/tonemodels/19335 https://www.tone.net/tonex/tonemodels/20768

Have you tried any of the Bass amp captures in ToneX? The PA B-15 can be ok with a good external IR and I always think of these things in terms of the "mic'd" sound instead of the full range of an amp which is a very different thing. I get some use out of the PA V4B , but again external IRs can be helpful in addition to post processing. I like the Train II and was one of the only in the box sims that started to win me over, that said - some actual Wreck captures with ToneX are on a different level.

I'd just use ToneX. There are quite a few excellent AC30 profiles (of different eras). And there are many variations of what an AC30 is. A pre-top boost AC30 isnt' anything like a modern AC30, etc.

I would agree related to types of tone, but frankly in this case - the Bassdude sim just doesn't stack up well as an amp sim. If you can make it sound good, you could certainly make an alternative sound a lot better including one made by the same developer. A Fenderbassman isn't my first amp choice for tone, but I know enough about them to know if it is a good or bad sim. It was a good sim 10 years ago, today it doesn't hold up all that well.