Amicus717

The String Ostinatos Chapter II library has some nice bits in it, including the "measured" articulation -- which sounds kind of like a measured tremolo, to my ears. That's useful, for $25

Thanks, Jim. Appreciate it a lot. I don't run my audio latency quite that low, but I use all VST libraries (and a lot of them at once) so that last thing I need is my graphics card getting in the way.

Thanks for the info, folks. Appreciated.

Thanks! By any chance, would you happen to know the model or GPU version? I have been looking at models like the Radeon RX 550, etc. But it's hard to get any kind of performance reviews that include productivity / non-3D application use. Everything is gaming benchmarks and little else, these days. Or so it seems, anyway...

Hi everyone, I'm curious what graphics card folks are using with 4K displays and Cakewalk. I've got a 4K Samsung TV and two 1440p monitors flanking it, and while it all looks great, I've noticed recently that my graphics card is beginning to chug, especially when I have multiple Kontakt 7 instances open. I've got a GeForce GT 710 with multiple HDMI outputs, and it's performed just fine for about a year (full-screen 4K video was choppy, but other than that I had no problems running Cakewalk and Cubase in 4K and using multiple monitors). I guess new software and various updates have made the 710 no longer up to the task, so I was thinking of upgrading. Some card/GPU suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Rob

Yeah, did that already. I was just surprised at how little it would cost to add some of the pieces I'd like. Seemed to good to be true, and I tend to think that means I'm missing some qualifying detail somewhere.

Yeah, I took a look at the current deals, and it seems I can get Total Studio Max 3.5 for $99. Add in my JamPoints and it's $69! I already have MOST of what IK has to offer, but I'm missing a few select pieces I'd like -- the Tascam Tape Collection, and a couple of the newer reverbs. Seems like I can get them all for less than the individual sale price for one of them...am I reading that correctly?

Yeah, my wife has worked as a pro -- singer and theatre work -- and she's very good (although I may have a bias). She's also smoking hot. And that's not bias -- everyone else thinks so too, and when they look at her and then me, they go: "dude...seriously, how...?" At which point she says: "we worked together for years as musicians, and he's awesome to play with." And then folks nod slowly: "ah...ok"

I rarely get involved in threads like that one, mainly because it's a waste of energy. What actually happened is a total unknown -- I don't know any of the people directly involved, and neither does 99.999% of the commentators -- and so drawing conclusions is pointless. And honestly, maybe I'm just getting old and tired, but the drama of it just wears me out. It kind of dovetails with my own mild distaste for VI Control, generally. I have never enjoyed it much, and rarely go there unless on a search for specific info that is hard to find elsewhere. I personally have not had a bad experience on the forum, but it's always had a chaotic schoolyard vibe that I found a bit off-putting. That's just my own sense of things, and I can understand others finding it a very useful community to participate in. I'm perfectly content with the Cakewalk forum. This is a good group.

This sounds like a nice little library, and right in my wheel-house...

This is a great value (I think they ran the same deal a few months ago?) Of all the 8Dio libraries I own, this one gets the most use by far. It's not perfect, but I think you can do a lot with it, and for $50 its a great way for folks to venture into orchestral stuff without breaking the bank. I use the Legatos (mainly Legato I), as those patches are super-schmaltzy and in your face. The legato transitions are big and bold, and just outrageous to my ears. When I need an over-the-top string line they are my goto, and so they remain in my template even though I have a ton of other string libraries. I've never had any problems blending them with my other libraries, although it can take some eq work and careful mic adjustment. I don't like the shorts, as they just don't sound natural to my ears. The trems and pizz are useable, although I have better options that I'd turn to first before I fired up the Anthology versions. The chamber patches have never really interested me, and the solo string patches are way less playable than my other solo string libs, so I never use them. But if all you had is Anthology, all of the above could be made to work pretty well. It's a lot of library for $50, regardless of its rough areas and age spots. Just my two cents. As always, workflow and library preferences are pretty personal thing and so YMMV. Rob

I find with 8Dio, it's all-or-nothing. I have some 8Dio libraries that have some great components, and I use them regularly; and I have too many that disappointed me greatly and have never been put into a project. There's nothing in between. And for the libraries that work, even they are hit-and-miss when considered on a patch by patch basis. The Century Brass and Anthology Strings are the ones I use most often, but only specific patches, and only for specific purposes. The above-linked Majestica does not interest me in the slightest. I have not heard a lot of good things about it...

I use a Samsung 43" 4K television, and it's great - tons of monitor space, you can pack a lot of tracks onto the screen. There was a time when you had to be careful which model TV you bought if you wanted to use it as a computer monitor: you needed one with 4:4:4 chroma subsampling in order to prevent text blurriness, and had a game input setting to reduce mouse lag, etc, but I think pretty much all 4K tv's cover those bases, these days. The RTings site linked above by fitzroy is a great resource, and I used them when I bought my TV. I've had mine for a year, and for me it's mostly pros rather than cons: love the image quality and the screen-space, and it all works just great. The only downside is more related to my video card: I have a low-end Asus graphics card with no fan and four HDMI outputs, which works great for everything except video in 4K. If I try to watch a YouTube video in fullscreen on the 4K monitor, it chugs like crazy. My smaller side monitors work fine, in that regard, so if I'm watching something on YouTube, I leave it there. Rob

Expires Jan 5th...

This is a very preliminary take, but after listening to a bunch of walk-thrus and reviews online, I opted for the High Strings Large, which includes playable runs, plus the chord patches and a bunch of other stuff which could be useful. Basically, 20 Euro for a pretty good grab-bag of interesting bits and pieces. I'm gonna mess around with the patches tonight. So far, I like them but the real test is fitting them into a project and seeing how they perform. FWIW, my thinking was that runs, fast movements and chord arpeggios tend to occur more often in the high strings than the low, and this particular set of patches had the most flexibility. Either way, for $28 Cdn, I'm not gonna complain There is bound to be something useful in here... Rob

I'm not a huge Sine fan, and I own the Kontakt version of the first two Arks, but these yearly little OT coupons are kind of useful. I don't need any huge additions to my overall library set (to put it mildly), but I do have some strategic requirements that I'd like to fill -- stuff like the moving chord articulations or playable runs from Ark 5, etc. These vouchers are a pretty good way to fill in those gaps in my template without spending too much.

The phrase-based libraries really do a nice job with agile string lines and stuff with movement or tonal elements that just don't come easy to traditional libs. I've started to really find ways to get Sonokinetic's stuff into my workflow, and often it involves using interesting phrases as texture elements alongside my other libraries like CineStrings and BBCSO. Usually, it's one specific phrase out of the chord that I'll use -- I mute two of the layers and use one of the layers to enhance an arrangement, give an interesting texture to it. It helps a lot that Sonokinetic's sound blends really easily with other libraries.

It's fun to use, and I actually find it most useful as an idea generator. Vivace's actual phrases don't often end up in any of my projects, but auditioning them usually provides food for thought and suggests arrangement ideas.

Vivace Legacy is an older library they don't actually even sell anymore. It's full orchestral phrases, textures and transitions, all very old-school soundtrack type stuff. It's pretty good, for what it is, but not hugely flexible in terms of its overall vibe and usefulness. Basically, if you're doing 70/80's full orchestral sci-fi scoring or something, then it's got a lot of useful bits and pieces. You can switch sections on and off, use different mic mixes, etc.

That's how you know the holidays are coming -- the annual Sonokinetic 504 gateway timeout.

Email I just got says Vivace Legacy is today's freebie. I have it -- it's a really specific phrase library, classic orchestral stuff, kind of limited in how much material is in it.

Took me a while, but I am beginning to find ways to integrate their stuff into my projects. It's almost always in full-on orchetral arrangements when I need instrument lines that are particularily nimble, or for passages that are fundamentally unsuited to being performed realistically by programmed multisamples. Sonokinetic's phrase libraries are really good at filling in those gaps, and I find them pretty easy to blend with other libraries. When they work, they really work, in that role. Worth having, at least for me. The deal today is for their Orchestral Strings multisample library, which I also have. It's pretty good, with lots of articulations and a nice sound, although I find that it's not really for quick or easy arrangements; in my view, it's a finishing library better suited for arrangements that are already worked out in a fair amount of detail. Also, I totally dislike their instrument interfaces, and the Orchestral Strings one is no different. Very stylish. But also annoying, and they require a bit more work to operate than I want to spend when I'm working on music. However, if you can deal with that then $99 is a really good deal for a full-featured and good-sounding set of orchestral strings.

Hi folks, the same interface upgrade that was applied to Symphobia 1 & 2 has now been applied to Symphobia 3 Lumina. Info here: https://projectsam.com/libraries/symphobia-3-lumina/ This is a nice update that is free for existing users. I really like what this interface style did for the first two Symphobias. From the Project SAM site: Completely new engine and spacious design All-in-One instrument browser Filter by genre, instrument category and articulation New Multis 10 slot mixer to arrange and design your own Multis New legato engine Adaptive Sync for crescendos and runs All-new envelopes, filters and modulators Mentioned on the homepage but not on the actual Lumina page is this added note: 30% off Celebration Sale, use coupon LUMINA2022 Rob

Voices of War - Men of the North for $79 is a really good deal, also. However, it should also be noted that it's the kind of library that you'll either use often or never.

Hi folks, I'm not sure who would be interested in this, but James Horner's full conductor's score for Willow is available as a digital download from Omni Music Publishing. See here: https://omnimusicpublishing.com/product/willow-score-only/ For soundtrack fans like me, this is something of a major surprise. Omni had previously released the full score in printed form, which sold out quickly. They then lost the rights to print any more copies, and so it looked liked the opportunity to acquire it was gone. I was not even aware the score was available until far too late, and so figured I'd never get a good look at it unless I lucked into a used copy on Ebay or something (and that never happened, despite a lot of searching over the last few years). I wandered by the Omni site yesterday to see what new scores they were queuing up and was shocked to see Willow available as a digital-only download via Sheet Music Plus -- which I bought immediately, of course. I'm pretty stoked. It's a good quality PDF, and seems to cover the score as broken out on Intrada's expanded 2 CD release. There are a few instances of score sections broken out by name in the sheet music that are combined as one track on the CD, but aside from that curating difference all the scoring music (minus the Willow's Theme concert arrangement) matches up to this recording: https://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.12619/.f I'm a total soundtrack geek, so this is a really nice surprise, and I figured there must be at least a couple of folks like me around here Rob