Zolton

Yeah, it appears that Excite is going highly modular as a strategy overall with this round of releases. I only have Expanse Lite and installing the free Space module gave me a single new plugin (Space), but also updated the "mothership" Expanse plugin. (At least, according to file update times on the computer; the Lite plugin doesn't show the version number in the GUI, so it actually looks exactly the same, so far as I can tell.) I happen to have the full Lifeline Console, though, and noticed an update at PB to v1.3. On installing that, I have an updated "mothership" as well as new individual Lifeline Comp, EQ, Mod, Pre and Wear VST3s. It seems likely that an Expanse 1.3 update will be available soon in the users area -- and I wonder if they're planning to "cross the streams" at some point -- i.e., provide a wrapper that lets you mix and match any of the individual modules. (Which you could do manually now, since they're all provided separately. But the "container" apps are pretty handy for reordering, multiple tweaking, etc.)

Yeah, Uncle E/JRR said elsewhere -- on KVR, I think -- that it was an exclusive deal for the two shops that have it, but didn't elaborate. Between the second bundle that's popped up and learning the goods are delivered with a single serial -- so no chance of even asking if something can be done with an "extra" license -- I've decided personally to let this one pass by. The multiple (new?) bundles are encouraging that EW may one day expand the lineup, though, and be a bit more flexible. I'd almost certainly bite on a Ra/Silk combo for $99, or a couple bucks less with a coupon. But somehow, an extraneous redundant Gypsy license for another ~$35-40 moves it from "highly desirable" to "hard pass" for me.

The deal's not entirely exclusive to AD (though you wouldn't get the coupon/freebie) -- but if you happen to have a bunch of BestCoins lying around: https://www.bestservice.com/en/gypsy_ra_silk_bundle.html I'm tempted, as I used Ra/Silk a fair bit when I subscribed to CC a while back. I'd be more tempted if I could pass along the extra Gypsy license, since I already bought that in the interim. But EW usually frowns on that sort of thing.

For those (like me, until moments ago) who don't have Synth V yet and we're maybe waiting for something like the 2023 NAMM 30% discount territory: The Synth V Pro plus one voice bank adds the usual small discount to the 20%, so, e.g., Synth V + Solaria is less than $120. (In USD, pre-tax; the final blow to your wallet may vary.)

Larry keeps a personal sale thread over at KVR: https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=589412 And if you're logged in, you can always PM him directly: https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=287583 If that's where you choose to try to contact him, you'll probably have better luck with one of those methods, as opposed to the main sales thread. (The "no chat" edict tends to be enforced rather strenuously, so those posts are likely to disappear from the thread at some point.)

The coupon code shaves 20% off, or around $10 off of ~$50, for those interested.

Don't forget to check the personalized deals in your account area, if you've shopped with ISW before. Those stack on top of sales, it seems.

Ireland and Scotland should, according to the Musio roadmap, still be part of Musio 1 -- according to the "What's included" page here: https://musio.com/whats-included/ I think you're right -- anything after that, like requests from the survey, are probably Musio 2 fodder.

Brother, I don't know what to tell you. If the documentation from that page on their site isn't convincing, maybe this one does it, from https://www.lootaudio.com/support/article/how-do-i-get-credits: Emphasis mine again. You can also simply view your cart -- there are currently freebies with purchase pre-loaded, so you don't have to add any items -- and the "Redeem your Credits" line and "Credits Used" lines should show up in the Checkout section. If that's not convincing, I guess you can... just not use Loot credits. That's totally a choice.

From Loot's "What are credits?" page: Emphases mine.

Might be a bit less in USD at Loot Audio -- no code required, sale's on for another three weeks: https://www.lootaudio.com/category/kontakt-instruments/rast-sound/world-vocals-collection Possibly cheaper there if you have Loot credits. I think there was a "secret" deal at Rast where this was down to 49 Euro, but otherwise the collection doesn't often go lower, as far as I know.

The Boom, she returns. The Boom Library Lucky Wheel is back up and prepared to spin. Log in and check your user area menu to find the link. (Or prepare to take the many spins you accumulated if you kept the inactive page in a tab for weeks and checked every day to see if it was working. OCD is a bitch, yo.)

Man, not only that -- it looks like the mad rush for the freebie knocked a whole day out of whack. According to the advent calendar right now, December 6th doesn't even exist. That's some serious mojo.

A few of these are really handy/interesting, and the KVR page is definitely helpful, as are the archived release announcements on Rekkerd in some cases: https://rekkerd.org/tag/wok/ At any rate, I think it's unlikely the site will be reorganized now. This thread's a nice reminder, but the plugins were set free seven and a half years ago: https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2016/06/29/wokwave-vst/

Yeah, I can vouch (as a one-time winner and a part-time math nerd) for the tombola drawing. Not only were your odds quite reasonable with that one -- around 1.5% of winning something, if you'd scored one of each color ticket -- they were also calculable. (Or estimable, in the sense of "able to be estimated", as the pool of tickets was 6000 total for ~30 giveaway prizes and holding one or more tickets makes you eligible for all.) If the spinnywheel rules are the same as last time, it's much more of a crapshoot. If I understand correctly: Every two hours, there's a "magic time"; whoever spins closest (and presumably prior to, unless Spitfire has an accurate-to-the-millisecond time machine handy) the magic time wins that time slot. But you can only spin once a day (i.e., every 12 "contests"), you don't know how many (thousands of?) people are participating each round (without access to the server logs) and you can't know whether the magic time for your current spin already happened half an hour ago, and you're well and truly oozing out your lifeforce watching the pixels go 'round. Which is perhaps less estimable, in the sense of "worthy of great respect". On the other hand, it is probably more "democratic", in the sense that a greater pool of people has some (small) chance to win, rather than just obsessive clickhounds setting alarms for half-four in the gloaming to Pokemon up their precious e-tix for a chance at some free bitcrushed bow scrapes recorded in a coffin in the back of a lorry speeding down the M1. As such a clickhound myself, I miss the tombola. Also, I resent the characterization. Also also, the bow scrapes are divine.

My understanding is that there's now a single edition of Hollywood Orchestra on sale. There used to be "Gold" and "Diamond" (and perhaps other) versions, and I think since Diamond was the highest tier -- and the content that's carried forward to the "Opus Edition" (I think) -- the "Diamond" label is still used sometimes. But basically, if you're buying new (and EW doesn't allow second-hand sales, so new is usually the only option), it's the Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition, or HOOPUS. The "Diamond" bit is sometimes tacked on -- the KVR product page calls it "Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition Diamond" repeatedly -- but there's just the one version, unless you happen to have a perpetual license already for one of the legacy versions. EastWest themselves don't seem to use the "Diamond" designation anywhere and don't explain the history anywhere, as far as I can tell. But the above fits what I've seen at various stores and forum discussions.

Sadly, I've heard that ZeroG closed the loophole on the "penny upgrade" deal. Still, if their sale is still on, the upgrade may be lower than usual. The tabs (which don't look particularly like tabs, true) are on this page, just under the "Click here to find out what our customers think of Ethera Gold 2.5" text: https://zero-g.co.uk/collections/ethera/products/ethera-gold-2-5 In the "Versions" text, under the Vocal Edition, you should see this text (or just copy the code from here; it's generic and public):

If it helps -- or hurts, depending how painful the stretching is -- Skaka's $25 at Plugin Boutique, same as via Klevgrand (plus a freebie with purchase, plus loyalty points earned): https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/1-Instruments/7-Drum-Machine/8721-Skaka I'm mulling over Tomofon, which is also the same price both places -- but it's not at all clear that you'd get the two free expansion packs if you buy it at PB. I don't think Skaka has that situation, though.

I sprang (sprung? springeded?) for HOOPUS at JRR, and Forbidden Planet showed up in the EW Installation Manager with the orchestral bits, once I'd registered on the East West site.

I know I'm biased because EW named their browser after my avatar, but these are Uncle E's words (From JRRShop, via KVR), not mine: Also available directly from the Opus' mouth, if you prefer (and likely anywhere else HW Orchestra bits are sold): https://www.soundsonline.com/orchestral/hollywood-orchestra-opus-edition Edited to add: As one might expect, though, coupon FORUM at JRR whacks another $30+ off. (No love with coupon GROUP, but still, wow.)

The (relative) bad for me this BF: I paid $25 for Dawesome Love on November 1st. Honestly, I've used it a couple of times since then, and it's pretty great. I don't feel bad at all for the price, even if it's FWAP at PB now. On the good side, going back a month into the "preseason" sales, and with several bits of good luck/timing/circumstance, an additional $250 has turned into: NativeInstruments Razor ImpactSW Javanese Gamelan and 5 Ventus Winds Arturia DIST Coldfire and EFX Fragments HY Slicer 2 Toybox Audio Nano Pack 3 Sonuscore Origins 1-5 Plugin Boutique Scaler EQ Sound Dust Dust Engine #2 Strix Pripyat Pianos 4 RigidAudio Kontakt doodads Puremagnetik Stages MinimalAudio Impulse sample pack 2 Punkademic Jason Allen online classes HoRNet Harmonics Pro PulseSetter Epic Babies Updates: Glitchmachines Cataract 1->2, AAS VS-1 -> VS-3, Soundiron Iron Pack 10 update Freebies including: Immense Audio Legendary, Toybox Tangle Pack Lite, TDR Prism, Inear Bref, Aberrant Lofi Oddity, BPB Dirty VHS, UJAM Mellow 2, Excite Vision 4X Lite, Slate Heatwave, a new Unify lib, 3 HoRNet plugins, 2 Thenatan plugs, VST3 updates to free Valhalla plugs (had forgotten to update these earlier) and assorted other Pianobook/Reaktor User Lib/vendor goodies. I had a few more pennies saved up for the season, but dammit, I'm tired. And I've got a lot of new stuff to learn. Maybe I'll buy the dog some squeaky toys and call it a year.

Possibly! Though I was very happy to get a String Studio VS-1 to VS-3 upgrade for $35, if that's anywhere close. If you wind up biting (I'm thinking the same, but with Riffer), my understanding is that (a) JRRShop has the best price ($27 in the "Blowout" section) and (2) though it's not mentioned there, Uncle E suggests licenses bought there are also eligible for the Freezr freebie when registered on Audiomodern's site. (If there's any worry about getting Freezr that way, Loot Audio is also sub-$30 for ChordJam, explicitly offers the freebie and offers up to five freebies with purchase [though you'd have to pad the basket a bit to get the last two, which kick in around ~$32 and ~$44 in the cart].)

Just in case anyone else is in the same boat I was (or perhaps similar boats also floated substantially): I had bought the Ethera Gold Vocal version a while back, with the option (via a code provided on the Ethera Gold "Versions" tab on the product page) to upgrade to the full version for $26 at any time. With the initial Ethera discounts a few days ago, that was reduced to $21. With the "boosted" discounts: $0.01. Worth a check if you're eligible for any Ethera loyalty or upgrade disounts at Zero G.

For me, the counter (with the label "Time Left Until The November Deal Ends") looks like it started counting down from 5 days around the time Larry posted. Hard to say whether this is the only November discount, but it may be, just as a taster for future goodies.

Nah, Larry's just keeping all the deal dishes fresh. That first thread went stale pretty quickly.