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Orange Tree Samples Summer group buy - up to 60% off!


Yan Filiatrault

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On 6/24/2024 at 7:16 PM, Greg said:

Any good tutorials for OTS?  I feel like I am missing out on a bit of functionality.

I've linked below to a YouTube playlist of Evolution video tutorials. 

I really can't emphasize enough how helpful these video tutorials are. I had input in the original Evolution libraries, but Greg's tutorials are where I learned just about everything I know. 

The beauty of it is that once you learn how the Evolution system works, that knowledge is applicable to the entire line of guitar (or bass) libraries. It's truly amazing what you can do with the guitar libraries.  Of course,  if you just want to use presets and play, you can do that,  but if you really want to make this instrument your own, there's so much you can do, I still find it mind blowing. My guess though is that most users have no idea of how much these instruments cam do. Once you understand it and start using the functionality, it really changes everything. That applies to setting up how you want Evolution to respond to your playing-- like putting pinch harmonics at a certain velocity range or maybe when you tap your sustain pedal or create your own strumming pattern with palm muted strums on a certain beat. It reminds me of when I led a band and we performed my original songs and I'd tell the guitarist how the rhythm parts should  be played and he'd play it. IMO, while it's more work than using loops,  it enables you to do nearly any idea you have for a rhythm guitar part. 

 

Edited by PavlovsCat
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13 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.

I listened to that on my cell phone yesterday -- a terrible way to check out audio, of course (plus, my family was watching a sports game at the time!). But this morning, I listened to it on my headphones and I absolutely love it. I own a bunch of felt piano libraries, but none of them sound like this, and I love the sound. Great job. I am really looking forward to this release. 

Edited by PavlovsCat
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As of today, there are only two weeks left to join the group buy sale!

We're getting closer and closer to the 1,000 participant tier, which will unlock a really cool free instrument we put together specifically for this sale. And then once we reach the highest discount tier at 1,250 people, you'll be able to check out early and get 60% OFF all our virtual instruments, which includes bundles and bundle upgrades.

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1 hour ago, mibby said:

@Greg Schlaepfer I may be in the minority here, but it would be nice to have a filter on the website so we could tell which packs work with the free Kontakt Player.  As it is, you have to go into each of the m to see.

It's quite the opposite for me, I prefer the ones that are NOT for Kontakt Player! They are easier to install, without NA!

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4 hours ago, CSistine said:

It's quite the opposite for me, I prefer the ones that are NOT for Kontakt Player! They are easier to install, without NA!

I used to share that perspective,  but after accumulating so many Kontakt Player libraries, I greatly prefer Player libraries. It's far easier to maintain a large collection of sample libraries with Native Access -- it's not even close in comparing it to managing a collection of 100+ libraries manually (I've been a Kontakt user since the early days). You'd need to watch emails for updates from all of those developers...it's simply incredibly inefficient, a complete mess and requires immensely more time and energy to manage. 

On a related note, the convenience of clicking on a banner as opposed to searching for a file seems inconsequential on paper, but I'm sure NI's user experience lead figured out it that most users will be more inclined to choose a Player library with a banner due to the difference. I actually wish that wasn't the case and that the user could choose to have their favorite libraries appear as a banner, but NI uses this as an incentive to drive developers to use their Player. 

Edited by PavlovsCat
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22 minutes ago, PavlovsCat said:

I used to share that perspective,  but after accumulating so many Kontakt Player libraries, I greatly prefer Player libraries. It's far easier to maintain a large collection of sample libraries with Native Access -- it's not even close in comparing it to managing a collection of 100+ libraries manually (I've been a Kontakt user since the early days). You'd need to watch emails for updates from all of those developers...it's simply incredibly inefficient, a complete mess and requires immensely more time and energy to manage. 

On a related note, the convenience of clicking on a banner as opposed to searching for a file seems inconsequential on paper, but I'm sure NI's user experience lead figured out it that most users will be more inclined to choose a Player library with a banner due to the difference. I actually wish that wasn't the case and that the user could choose to have their favorite libraries appear as a banner, but NI uses this as an incentive to drive developers to use their Player. 

I don't agree at all! This is only true if you install the libraries only on one pc! As soon as you want to install them on more than one system it takes much more effort to use Native Access! And don't forget that NA does not give you a chance to rollback! No backup!  Also your insinuation to updates is irritating, because we all know that libraries have rarely updates! Believe me, I have also hundreds of libraries, but I prefer to manage them myself, it's much more efficient! Just the time you lose to do updates on NA itself is wasted! But YMMV!

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  • Yan Filiatrault changed the title to Orange Tree Samples Summer group buy - up to 60% off!
2 hours ago, Taller Than Penguins said:

I don’t know if anyone reads this forum and doesn’t know the deal here but is it possible to rename this thread to “Orange Tree Samples Summer group buy - up to 60% off” to get some of those that might not look otherwise? 😁

I think @Fleer said it best: “Go go go!”

Done!

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18 minutes ago, CSistine said:

It's quite the opposite for me, I prefer the ones that are NOT for Kontakt Player! They are easier to install, without NA!

Interesting! I wouldn't have expected that, but the easier installation makes sense, since you can just drag the instrument into Kontakt without having to deal with activating and locating the library first.

One downside is that the library won't be listed with a graphic in the libraries tab. However, if you have Kontakt 7, you can add non-Player libraries to the browser now, too, which is a nice convenience. If the library uses Kontakt's snapshot system for presets, it also adds the step of having to copy the snapshot presets into your user snapshot preset folder.

In any case, I can see how being able to filter by only Player or non-Player would be helpful so that you don't have to check in the individual product pages.

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15 hours ago, CSistine said:

I don't agree at all! This is only true if you install the libraries only on one pc! As soon as you want to install them on more than one system it takes much more effort to use Native Access! And don't forget that NA does not give you a chance to rollback! No backup!  Also your insinuation to updates is irritating, because we all know that libraries have rarely updates! Believe me, I have also hundreds of libraries, but I prefer to manage them myself, it's much more efficient! Just the time you lose to do updates on NA itself is wasted! But YMMV!

[Empasis added]

Let's keep this civil.  When you post your opinion on the forum -- or in social media -- you're putting it out there for discussion and for others to comment. When you shared your dislike of Native Access, I thought I'd share the reasons I find it very useful. That's all. I only want to address something you wrote in response to my post, and then let's move on:

"...your insinuation to updates is irritating, because we all know that libraries rarely have updates!"

I didn't insinuate that sample libraries are frequently updated. Most sample libraries are NOT frequently updated. My point is simply that it's a hassle to keep track of updates from dozens of developers when you own a lot of Kontakt libraries, because when you have Kontakt libraries with sophisticated scripting, they sometimes have updates, especially following a Kontakt update. 

That means having to watch for emails with news of updates from dozens of developers and that, IMO, is too much work. I'd prefer the monitoring and installation of updates to be centralized,  even automated, instead of having to watch developer emails for one informing me of an update. I own far more than 200 Kontakt libraries -- and especially for libraries with sophisticated Kontakt scripts, there are updates from time to time for bug fixes, to better optimize for a new Kontakt release, and sometimes, an update that adds new functionality available in the latest Kontakt release (which is the case with OTS libraries). In the past 3 months, just through Native Access, there have easily been dozens of updates for the Kontakt Player sample libraries I own. 

If I wasn't using Native Accesss for those updates, my only option would have been monitoring developer emails or periodically checking the websites of every developer who makes a sample library I own, downloading and installing the updates -- and NA did a lot of those updates from its interface, saving me time. IMO, NA saved me from annoying tasks that suck up time that are comparatively a hassle and a poor use of my time. I'd greatly prefer having software that automates the monitoring of sample libraries and installation of updates and wish that was available for all of my libraries. Also, I too have Kontakt and Native Access installed on two machines. 

Again, this is just my perspective and opinion. You can completely disagree and that's perfectly fine. ✌️ 

Edited by PavlovsCat
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Getting back on track...

I just discovered our own @Simeon Amburgey recently did a video of Evolution Indie Guitar. I always get a kick out of Simeon's videos because he really expresses that childlike awe we have for music and he possesses the chops to convey it musically.  I also enjoy identifying the songs he plays and usually can name them all. 

I don't know about anyone else, but when an instrument or sample library moves me I get pulled in by it, and I see that same thing happens with Simeon and it makes his videos really enjoyable.  Anyhoo, Indie was one of those libraries that I immediately found really inspiring and couldn't easily pull myself away from. Whether you already have it or are considering it, you may also enjoy this video. I did. 

 

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I think @Simeon Amburgey has got a natural talent for demoing stuff. Not only his demos are engaging, but he understands what viewers would like to see next and breaks it down in his unique entertaining yet educational manner.

As for the library... It seems like for a keyboard player (who is also a guitar player) this definitely sounds like a guitar. For a guitar player, who is scarcely a keyboard player, it may sound like a ... synth. At least, that's how I perceive almost all official demos. I know that all samples are recorded with unique and rare instruments, state-of-the-art recording techniques, even by prominent players. My guess is that eventually samples are tamed and tailored to perfection and therefore lack (loose) that raw, genuine character we love in guitars. The only electric guitar library that sounds natural to me is Evolution Baritone Electric. Recent acoustic guitar libraries sound great, too.

Decisions, decisions...

FWIW, I like NI Session Guitarist libraries, but they also sound too perfect for my taste.

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