Orange Tree Samples Summer group buy - 60% off!

[Yan Filiatrault]

Our Summer group buy sale starts today!

During the sale's signup period, the more people that join, the greater the discount becomes: up to 60% OFF at the highest tier!

All you need to do to join the sale is add a library to your group buy order.

Once the signup ends on July 12th (or sooner if we reach the highest discount tier before then) you'll have until the end of July to complete your order at the discount tier we reach.

If you aren't sure which libraries you want yet, just make sure to add something to your group buy order before the signup period ends to reserve your spot in the sale. You can change your group buy order at any point, even after the signup period has ended.

https://www.orangetreesamples.com/group-buy

Edited July 4 by Yan Filiatrault

[Fleer]

It’s live!

Best group buy in da biz. 

[PavlovsCat]

I use Orange Tree Samples libraries in nearly every project I do. I've given advice to a few dozen sample developers and I've had several of them tell me that they look at Orange Tree Samples guitar libraries as being on a different level than other guitar sample libraries, including their own guitar libraries. Literally,  developers who make guitar libraries of their own have said that plainly to me. I've given OTS advice and I'm friends with Greg,so feel free to write off my opinion if you're so inclined, but our relationship was a result of my being completely blown away by OTS libraries.  

My tendinitis makes the playing guitar painful. But Orange Tree Samples libraries enable me to play things I could never play on the guitar even before tendinitis. I've been trying to persuade Greg (the founder of OTS) to get permission to share some of his well known client list, because it includes some of the biggest name composers in the film, TV and games, and rock, jazz, R&B, pop, and hip hop musicians. When Greg first released Famous E, I was on the phone with him and I told him that playing the instrument brought back memories of certain songs and artists and started naming a few of them. Greg shared that a bunch of the musicians I named bought the library and he was on the phone with one of them that morning, helping walk him through the installation of the library. 

Edited June 20 by PavlovsCat

[Soundwise]

I'd like me a piece of advice! If I were to purchase just one guitar library, which one to pick? I'm not looking for anything genre-specific, but usual logic common for normal instruments does not really apply here. Normally, a Strat would be a do-it-all for me, but virtual instruments are not limited with body shapes, tuning stability, noise interference, fretwork, feel, you name it.

One lib to rule them all. Which one is it?

[Yan Filiatrault]

1 minute ago, Soundwise said:

I'd like me a piece of advice! If I were to purchase just one guitar library, which one to pick? I'm not looking for anything genre-specific, but usual logic common for normal instruments does not really apply here. Normally, a Strat would be a do-it-all for me, but virtual instruments are not limited with body shapes, tuning stability, noise interference, fretwork, feel, you name it.

One lib to rule them all. Which one is it?

Evolution Complete bundle. The one to rule them all.

[Vernon Barnes]

Flute Flight is the only one I don't have. I think I will wait a bit before I decide if I want it or not.

[Fleer]

5 minutes ago, Soundwise said:

I'd like me a piece of advice! If I were to purchase just one guitar library, which one to pick? I'm not looking for anything genre-specific, but usual logic common for normal instruments does not really apply here. Normally, a Strat would be a do-it-all for me, but virtual instruments are not limited with body shapes, tuning stability, noise interference, fretwork, feel, you name it.

One lib to rule them all. Which one is it?

Depends on which sonic signature you prefer. Are you a Texas Twang guy? Indie? 
Maybe start with Strawberry, or Stratosphere. But they’re all so good. 

[jeffdrawscomics]

Yay! I’ve been waiting for this. I love OTS guitars and use one on almost every project. 

[PavlovsCat]

2 hours ago, Soundwise said:

I'd like me a piece of advice! If I were to purchase just one guitar library, which one to pick? I'm not looking for anything genre-specific, but usual logic common for normal instruments does not really apply here. Normally, a Strat would be a do-it-all for me, but virtual instruments are not limited with body shapes, tuning stability, noise interference, fretwork, feel, you name it.

One lib to rule them all. Which one is it?

I agree with what Fleer wrote. Spend time listening to the demos. Each guitar has something unique about it, For me, having every OTS instrument, I find myself using different guitars depending on the nature of the song. Indie is one of the recent Evolution libraries, and it's quickly become a favorite of mine. But if I'm looking for a classic rock electric guitar, the Rock Standard, which is a Gibson Les Paul, is often my choice, and/or Evoliution Stratosphere, a Fender Strat. Indie is a Fender Jaguar and I love the tone and vibe of that guitar too. I think the name for Texas Twang can create the wrong impression that it's limited to that style. The guitar is great for rock. 

I often find myself using the Hollowbody 

My Favorite Electric Guitar Sample Libraries for Rock
Evolution Indie (Fender Jaguar) - A recently released OTS library, it's quickly become a favorite of mine for all kinds of rock music. 
Evolution  Rock Standard (Les Paul) - The Les Paul is an iconic rock electric guitar. I use this A LOT.  
Evolution Stratosphere (Stratocaster) - The Strat. Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, David Gilmour... Need I say more? 
Evolution Texas Twang (Fender Mustang, I think) - Kurt Cobain. It's great for raw and indie rock. 
Evolution Strawberry (I forget! It starts with an S -- but it sounds awesome.) - When you want to sound like you can really play guitar leads, this is magic. 
Evolution Infinity (can't recall)  -I think this is positioned for metal, which caused me to ignore it until one day, and since I tried it, I love it and use it all the time in energetic rock songs. 
Evolution Rick 12 String (Rickenbacker) - Pure Beatle-esque goodness
Slide Lap Steel - Sweet. 

My Favorite Electric Guitar Sample Libraries for Folk or More Mellow Rock
Evolution Hollowbody Jazz Electric -  I really love playing this. It sounds great on slower rock songs, like my ELO cover below. 

My Favorite Bass Guitar Sample Libraries for Rock 
Evolution Vintage Violin (a Hofner like McCartney plays -- I may or may not have lobbied for OTS to make this for 10 years!!!! Okay, I did.)
Evolution Roundwound Bass (Fender Precision Bass)
Evolution Flatwound Bass (Fender Jazz Bass)

Acoustic Guitar Favorites
Evolution Songwriter 
Evolution Steel String -- sounds great and cuts through a rock mix. 
Evolution Dry Relic
Evolution Flatpick 6 -- It sounds fantastic for doing single note runs and leads. Somehow, it even makes me sound like a player.  
Evolution Modern Nylon
Evolution Slide Acoustic 
(I haven't downloaded Evolution Boutique Acoustic yet, but I plan to soon.)

Various Acoustic Stringed Instrument Favorites
Evolution Mandolin -- we had a mandolin when I was a kid and I absolutely love them and love this library
Evolution Bluegrass Banjo -- I love using this on acoustic, folk rock-ish songs

The recordings I make (some below) are all me playing Evolution libraries live (in real-time) and 90% of the time, using one of the presets (I sometimes create my own presets and sometimes use external guitar and bass amp sims).  I have pretty bad tendinitis that stopped me from playing professionally or even as a hobbyist,  until  a few years ago. I had given up on playing at all, as when I play, in as little as 30 seconds of playing the drums or an arpeggio on the keyboards, I have pain. As I was once a perfectionist as a musician and it can be frustrating that I can no longer play what I want or even at any kind of decent level. Consequently, I wouldn't consider myself a musician anymore, even though I might write that in this forum  to keep things simple. I've been recording very simple covers of songs that I love, and the simplest songs that I wrote decades ago.  So basically, each of these songs represents me playing live -- jam style -- for better or worse. Subsequently, I think they provide a good representation of what can easily be played with these libraries -- no tricks, programming or serious MIDI editing (at most, I will go into MIDI notes and take out a sloppily bumped into note). 

SONGS I RECORDED EXTENSIVELY USING ORANGE TREE SAMPLES KONTAKT SAMPLE LIBRARIES

This is my attempt to play a song I wrote in my youth decades ago. I did it from memory and couldn't remember all of the lyrics or the bridge, but I thought it was a pretty cool tune. It features Evolution Rock Standard, and a couple of other Evolution electric guitars, Evolution Slide Guitar for the main riff. The bass is either Evolution Roundwoud or Flatround. All guitars and the bass use the factory presets.

My cover of ELO's "Can't Get it Out of My Head" features a few Evolution guitars, but the leads I do throughout the verses were improvised first takes (partially because I can only play a short while before I have pain, I tend to play a song once or twice, maybe retry some sections, but I generally use the first time I've played a song as I'm more inspired).  Features Evolution Jazz Hollowbody (most of the leads during the verses), Evolution Rock Standard (rhythm guitar parts),  Slide Lap Steel  (some of the leads during the verses) and Evolution Vintage Violin Bass. 

My cover of I am the Walrus, the first song I recorded after a decade since I gave up on using a DAW and 20+ years after tendinitis stopped me from playing music, features a few Evolution electric guitars and Evolution Vintage Violin Bass (I originally used IK's MODO, Hofner emulation because OTS had not yet released  their Hofner bass library at the time). All guitars and the bass use the factory presets.

My cover of John Lennon's Cold Turkey featuring Evolution electric guitars and bass. The main chorus riff is played with Evolution Strawberry and the rhythm parts are Evolution Rock Standard. The bass is Evolution Vintage VIolin Bass.  All guitars and the bass use the factory presets.

The most popular rock band I played in did a cover of this song, and I attempted to duplicate my drumming from back then in this cover. I thought the rhythm guitar parts were pretty cool.  It features a whole lot of Evolution Indie with Evolution Infinity and Strawberry doing some minor parts. The bass is Evolution Roundwound Bass. 

 

Edited June 20 by PavlovsCat

[PhonoBrainer]

1 hour ago, Soundwise said:

 

One lib to rule them all. Which one is it?

Dayum this sale. Every year they get me. I have dozens.

For one library, you should avoid Strawberry (one of their earliest) and proceed directly to Indie (their latest).

My only complaint about OT is that my best efforts on their strumming engine always remain sounding a tad artificial unless they are buried deep in the mix.

[PavlovsCat]

On 6/20/2024 at 3:56 PM, PhonoBrainer said:

Dayum this sale. Every year they get me. I have dozens.

For one library, you should avoid Strawberry (one of their earliest) and proceed directly to Indie (their latest).

My only complaint about OT is that my best efforts on their strumming engine always remain sounding a tad artificial unless they are buried deep in the mix.

It's really hard to say one Evolution is my favorite,  but out of the gate, I felt like Indie could take that title. 

Evolution Guitar Library Tip #1
Here's a tip I'd like to pass on to those just starting with Evolution. I invite other Evolution library owners to share their tips -- I'm sure we could all learn something new from one another. 

Most of the time I use the Evolution factory presets. However, I own Guitar Rig, Amplitube,  Electrum, Bias FX, and a couple of other guitar amp sims and while I also play with the amps and effects in Evolution,  I don't really know what I'm doing.  I rarely feel confident building my own amp and effects from scratch. I mainly had training on piano, organ, and drums and only a handful of guitar lessons. So while I enjoy playing around with the included amps and effects, I end up either using the Evolution factory presets or using external amp sim presets and possibly tweaking those presets. 

Now here's the tip. The various presets in Evolution guitar libraries have different settings for scripts. In other words, each preset reacts to your playing differently.  Some are perfect when I'm doing high energy leads, some are perfect for mellower and melodic soulful leads,  others are best suited for rhythm guitar or chugs... I tend to find the presets that I find best fit the type of playing I do and rename them according to the type of playing its best suited for. I then turn off all of the effects and amp and go through presets in my amp sims. It's the closest I have felt to playing a real electric guitar and going into a guitar shop and trying out various amps and effects. Needless to say, it's pretty easy to have so much fun that time flies by. 

Edited June 21 by PavlovsCat

[Bapu]

Flute Flight and I'll then own the entire suite.

Edited June 24 by Bapu

[Soundwise]

Thanks for sharing your experience, folks! I've listened to all demos and was surprised how good does the Baritone sound! Vintage Gent is no slouch either.

[Fleer]

Both newest ones (Evolution Boutique Acoustic and Indie Rock) are pristine!

[PavlovsCat]

Evolution Guitar Tip #2
Here's another Evolution guitar instrument tip that's super simple, but I find really useful and I can't believe it took me years to think of this -- and  an unnecessary sample library purchase. I bought a guitar harmonics library from another developer and suddenly it occurred to me -- Evolution guitar libraries have harmonic notes meticulously sampled; why couldn't I just create a patch with only harmonic samples?

So I did exactly that. I went into one of my Evolution guitar libraries and let the initial patch load. I selected the drop down setting for harmonics to velocity and set it to  0 - 127 and named the  new patch  "Harmonics Only."  I tried different amp and effects combinations to save additional harmonics patches. I went and did the same for the other Evolution electric guitar and acoustic guitar libraries, and now I do the same thing with each new Evolution guitar library. 

Of course, you can do the same thing with any articulation that you only want to hear in a patch, but I really enjoy playing only the harmonic samples in certain songs and this lets me do that.  Evolution Indie has a pure harmonics patch (catamaran) with a lot of effects on it, but not all the of the libraries do and even then, for Indie, I still created a direct input (no effects) harmonics patch and then added my own amp and effects settings, although I love playing around with external reverbs, amps. and effects too. 

Edited June 22 by PavlovsCat

[TheSteven]

Love the OTS group buys.

[PavlovsCat]

5 minutes ago, TheSteven said:

Love the OTS group buys.

Have you noticed that Group Buy threads used to get a lot more people talking?  Now, that's going back a long way, but one of the masters of the Group Buy, my friend Dave Kerzner, used to do epic Group Buy threads over at KVR -- I'm going back as much as 20+ years. Those threads were a blast and a fountain of shared knowledge and information.  I always loved the knowledge being shared as much as the thrill of getting a great deal. 

As a user of sample libraries, beyond it being enjoyable to find a bunch of other users excited about the same sample libraries, was also a great opportunity to share and learn tips about the libraries. I think with Evolution libraries, there's so much depth to them that most users have barely scratched the surface. I was giving my input as a super user of guitar sample libraries and plugins when OTS / Greg was first developing the Evolution line and however long it's been -- certainly more than a decade -- I'm still finding out about additional things I can do with Evolution. The only sample library or plugin that I've used that has close to that level of depth is Superior Drummer, which allows a user to mix, add all sorts of effects and edits to the samples, laying of drums, customization and replacement of drums and cymbals, etc. Sure, you can simply just stick with presets and get amazing results, but if you go deeper with Evolution, you can set up patches so they respond to your playing style, trigger articulations to play however you like, customize strumming patterns, etc. It's not really just a sample library. It's a very deep virtual guitar instrument and it's still unparalleled if you look at all of the capabilities. 

[Greg Schlaepfer]

22 hours ago, PavlovsCat said:

Have you noticed that Group Buy threads used to get a lot more people talking?  Now, that's going back a long way, but one of the masters of the Group Buy, my friend Dave Kerzner, used to do epic Group Buy threads over at KVR -- I'm going back as much as 20+ years. Those threads were a blast and a fountain of shared knowledge and information.  I always loved the knowledge being shared as much as the thrill of getting a great deal.

Totally! Those would go for pages and pages. Actually, I was just thinking about how one of my favorite parts of these group buy sales is all the conversations that happen in the process. Not just questions and comparisons between different libraries, but ideas and plans for upcoming libraries, updates to existing libraries, etc.

In the spirit of that, I wanted to give you all a quick update on the big Rosewood Grand piano update we've been working on. The update is nearly complete, though we couldn't resist adding even more content to it, recording a felted version of the piano earlier this year for an additional option you can select.

Here's a test of the library that I shared on our Discord channel not long ago, featuring the new felted mode: www.orangetreesamples.com/audio/Rosewood_Felt_Piano_Test.mp3

I'm adjusting the blend between mic signals while playing, just in case you're wondering about the tone changing in places.

We also decided to include the original Rosewood Grand samples in the update. That way you can get the original sound of the library with the benefit of the new interface/scripting. Plus it has improvements to the damper resonance, and new duration-dependent release samples edited from the original recording sessions, since playing staccato has a different sound to the note releases compared to holding the note for a few seconds before lifting the key. While it doesn't have the additional room mic position like the new samples have (which have two modes: tuned and "bloom", which has ever-so-slightly detuned unisons), we felt that the original samples still have their own unique character, despite being recorded using the same exact piano.

Edited June 24 by Greg Schlaepfer

[Scott H]

I've been eagerly listening to the preset demos on the Orange Tree website. I already own the Evolution Rock Standard, but I've got my eye on the Vintage Gent, the Dry Relic, and possibly the Indie Rock.  Actually I'm torn between the Indie Rock and the Strat. Likewise I'm torn between the Dry Relic and the Songwriter. The Vintage Violin Bass sounds amazing too!

[Fleer]

2 hours ago, Greg Schlaepfer said:

Totally! Those would go for pages and pages. Actually, I was just thinking about how one of my favorite parts of these group buy sales is all the conversations that happen in the process. Not just questions and comparisons between different libraries, but ideas and plans for upcoming libraries, updates to existing libraries, etc.

In the spirit of that, I wanted to give you all a quick update on the big Rosewood Grand piano update we've been working on. The update is nearly complete, though we couldn't resist adding even more content to it, recording a felted version of the piano earlier this year for an additional option you can select.

Here's a test of the library that I shared on our Discord channel not long ago, featuring the new felted mode: www.orangetreesamples.com/audio/Rosewood_Felt_Piano_Test.mp3

I'm adjusting the blend between mic signals while playing, just in case you're wondering about the tone changing in places.

We also decided to include the original Rosewood Grand samples in the update. That way you can get the original sound of the library with the benefit of the new interface/scripting. Plus it has improvements to the damper resonance, and new duration-dependent release samples edited from the original recording sessions, since playing staccato has a different sound to the note releases compared to holding the note for a few seconds before lifting the key. While it doesn't have the additional room mic position like the new samples have (which have two modes: tuned and "bloom", which has ever-so-slightly detuned unisons), we felt that the original samples still have their own unique character, despite being recorded using the same exact piano.

Mmmmm,  sweet Rosewood Grand.
Been coveting that upgrade for so long!