Soundwise

They probably are in the process of changing prices. A few minutes ago Shibalba was $10, now it's $5.

It's not bad bad, IMO. But if you compare size (disk space + memory footprint) vs instrument options and/or sound quality, you may start questioning the rationale behind acquiring this tank of samples. In that regard, ST3 was much better.

It's fairly easy to load it within a DAW. No programming skills required.

Came for a deal but found a new programming language.

Looks like Dirk Ulrich is back and determined to push his brain works up the hill.

I own licenses for Action Strikes and Action Strings 2. However, As per Marcellus, something is rotten in the state of Denmark (c) No wonder, Mr. Ulrich was upset with NI.

Looks like a small step in the right direction. I wonder if it is able to correctly detect the key for the "Flight of the Bumblebee" or "Prelude No. 1" (BWV 846).

Wait! Do you mean, that I also have to actually play the guitar?

ST AmpRoom presets sound great. However, when I run any of the included amps in isolation, it's a far cry from what a good amp sim should be like.

UPD. I think I know what you mean. This seems to plague AT5 when it's copied across multiple channels. When you add instances one by one - no path toggling is needed. That being said, it's worth noting, that up to five instances of AT5 take about 13% on my machine, each. However, with six or more, CPU usage rises significantly, going over 20% per instance on my machine.

1. Default AT5, no changes. CPU load 11-13% https://pasteboard.co/OhwIDvzQO07Z.png 2. Split path, CPU load 16-18% https://pasteboard.co/PUlH8DyPRymk.png 3. Back to the single path. CPU load 11-13% https://pasteboard.co/O2eqccEexiVa.png Am I doing something wrong?

I was also checking CPU usage in S1. What's the trick?

Looks like they have also improved performance a bit. It used to be worse than AT5 in terms of CPU power consumption, now it's noticeably better.

30 GB of hard disk space for each piano title. ? The entire ST3 is about 33GB in size. I wish IK would continue to develop MODO line with MODO Piano, MODO Guitar, MODO Brass, MODO Strings, MODO Vox, etc.

I've never been banned from KVR, however a couple of one famous company representatives tried to bully me. Couldn't care less for their amateurish attempts, mind you, it just goes to show how much more friendly and cozy this forum is.

I know, you were not kidding

I'd vouch for this moderator in a heartbeat!

For developers who offer dozens of products a utility, that can help users install, update, remove, demo products is a great solution. For third parties and vendors like KVR, PB and other mediators such "manager" is a way to gain more control over the software market. I fail to see how an "extra mouth to feed" could be beneficial to developers and their clients.

Nah, it's just another crappy software manager totally uncalled for. All my software is perfectly managed and doesn't require another manager to manage existing managers. Unless they are going to introduce bargain prices for industry standard software solutions on a rent-to-own basis, I don't see any reason to even look into it.

I got a mystery product, too. Quite an update!

Maybe instead of trying to persuade people that you are not a dealer you should already become one? Then you won't have to fight false allegations and can make a living from what you do out of good will intentions. I bet, most developers and manufacturers would be hard pressed to find a better dealer.

@PavlovsCat, I'm not sure about all possible connotations, but you'd feel the same way had I tried to introduce you to, say, Chopin or Debussy. Tim Henson and Polyphia have been around for more than a decade, and that's a lot. The entire Beatles' discography spans only 7 years, 7½ tops. Since music is just content, this is a perfect example of using modern tools combined with lots of talent and creativity:

I think, there is a difference between a statement and speculation. Besides that, I was talking about old-school approach to creating music being on decline. Anyway, thank you for providing your expertise in this area and sharing numbers. Beautiful points! I couldn't have put it better! That's not exactly what I meant, but I agree that generally there's always hope and space for growth. We don't need to persuade each other, that with abundance of great plugins the demand for hardware processors has significantly lessened throughout the last few decades. With virtual instruments that sound enormously good I hardly need drummers with their batteries of shells and cymbals, bassists, brass and woodwind players, guitarists, you name it. That's obvious. On the other hand, replacing human performance with machine generated usually makes music sound and feel like ... background noise. At least, that's the way I feel about it. I want pure human performance with all its natural imperfections, direct artist-audience interaction, but what I get is machine precision and casual videos shot in a living room by someone who isn't able to rock their cat or grandma with their perfection and knows nothing about handling the live audience. Yes, they still get their share of popularity, checks with satisfying numbers. People do make money on this. All I'm saying, that the new way of making music is different from what it used to be and those old ways with human element are on decline. I might be wrong, hence there was and is IMO statement in the end.

Thanks for trying to burst my bubble. Unfortunately, this article just confirms my observations. The industry has ceased to be talent/creativity centered and is focused on music as product, where you can: autotune poorly performed vocals; quantize out of time playing; replace amateurishly played hits/plucks with industry standard samples; use all sorts of generators and engines that trigger pieces of arrangement with a single key press. And then there are It doesn't indicate total shutdown of the industry, just the end of the era of music creation as we knew it.