Sooo.... What did everyone get? (Not A Deal, Full Kontakt Not Required)

[ZincT]

I'm also spending less than usual, but still got my eye on a few more things.
So far I got...

• FabFilter Pro-Q 4 upgrade (to keep my Total Bundle up to date) 
• Unify 2 upgrade (thanks Skippy!)
• D16 Drumazon 2 upgrade
• GForce VSM IV upgrade
• GForce impOSCar3 upgrade
• Spacewalk 

 

[Carl Ewing]

Really minimal purchases this year, and I have quite a large budget. I think most stuff is absurdly overpriced, even on sale. 15-20 years ago I'd spend $300 on a plugin (UAD), or $1500 on an orchestral library (LASS, Symphobia, EWQL orchestra, etc.). There was minimal competition, and you had to pay a lot for the best.

Now I will hesitate on a plugin over $50, or a library over $250.

Some of the prices I saw this year are just comical considering the level of competition.  I get an email offering a Composer Cloud renewal for $100 - so the entire East West catalog for a year for $100, and Spitfire is still trying to charge $300-$500 for solitary (and old) libraries. So I can have 5 years of Composer Cloud for the cost of Albion ONE - which I own, but is hugely dated sounding now.

Oeksound is still trying to charge $200 for Soothe2. Kalifornia Dynamic charging $200 for Alkane. Fab Filter still trying to charge $170 for Pro-G gate. Tone Projects charging $250 for Michelangelo EQ. Like what? I'm grandfathered into the highest PA subscription for $150 a year, get 200 plugins to use, and get to pick 10 of them to own in that year. Many of which directly compete with these "premium" plugins. Who on earth would spend $200 on Soothe2 in 2025 considering the superior, and cheaper competition?  Who would spend $300 on Pro Q 4 / Pro C 2, when for less  you could get a PA subscription and get to 10 to own, like, Kirchhoff EQ & Cenozoix compressor, which are arguably superior to FF, and have another 200 plugins to demo for a year.

The only company I occasionally bite the bullet on is Orchestral Tools, because the quality is often unmatched. But this year, I just decided to not buy almost anything. Had about $4000 in products in my "want" list. Spent $500, mostly on updating a few things. I suspect 2026 is going to a bloodbath in this industry leading to some sales. Not that I want to benefit of other people misery!

Blah.

 

 

 

Edited 12 hours ago by Carl Ewing

[Moon OverSea]

UVI Sonic Bundle Upgrading

EW Hollywood Bundle

Sonarworks Soundid VoiceAi

W.A Products Ultimate MIDI Bundle 4+ Must Have Tools Bundle 3

UAD upgrade to Luna Pro+Signature Edition V3

Softube Harmonics Analog Saturation Processor

PA bx_refinement V3+ WUNDERLICH

Edited 11 hours ago by Moon OverSea

[Starship Krupa]

Those hussies at A|A|S tempted me with an offer to fill out my collection of their synths for $99. This got me Multiphonics CV-3, Lounge Lizard EP-5, String Studio VS-3, and Strum GS-2.

That was too much for me to resist. My favorite maker of soft synths and now I have everything they make save for a handful of soundpacks.

After messing with them for a week or so....I have mixed feelings. Especially about Multiphonics. I'm not much into the patch cord-y visual metaphor but I also can't really think of a better way to go about that sort of thing. The biggest complaint I have is that the default preset melts the CPU on any computer in my house. Oddly, most of the other presets play fine and nothing in any of the soundpacks does. Is it their way of filtering out buyers whose systems aren't up to running it?

In the past with hoggy A|A|S patches I could reduce the number of voices and they'd settle down. I haven't had that problem since I partsed up my most recent computer, with its 10 physical cores, etc. So far, no matter what I throw at this "outdated" system, it's handled it without breaking a sweat. My problem with Multiphonics is that there's no obvious way I can find to reduce the number of voices. There's also no way I could find to turn off reverb except for patching around it. None of the FX modules has a simple bypass button on it, in order to switch a module out I have to go through the hassle of re-routing cables. Yeah, verisimilitude, but how far do they need to go with that?

The unexpected delight with Multiphonics is the standalone FX plug-in. This lets you easily process other audio using a collection of Multiphonics' effects modules. They're patched together in the same fashion as the synth, with virtual patch cables. And just the stock patches sound GREAT.

I guess maybe the sound generation part of Multiphonics is too simple compared to the sonic delights of their other modeling synths. They're modeling deliberately limited analog hardware modules, so no surprise that I find that the sound isn't what I've come to expect from A|A|S.

Lounge Lizard is Lounge Lizard, now it has a "reed" mode, the better to model Wurlitzer type pianos with. I seem to prefer my EP's modeled rather than sampled, and Lounge Lizard is the best I've heard.

String Studio sounds great, but it still has the older look to the UI. I imagine that someday I will be paying for a version that looks like Chromaphone.

Strum GS-2 retains the older look. It's still my favorite fake guitar. I love all of those cool articulations like hammer ons and string scrapes and harmonics.

While I love love love the way that A|A|S' products sound, I have a BIG complaint, and it's about something that's especially a pain given how many of their products I have. Chromaphone is the only one that lets you mark a preset as "favorite." With 5 synths and 2 FX, the same sound engine in all of them (proven by how Player can run any patch from any product), this makes it needlessly difficult to recall what sounds I thought were niiiiiice when I was browsing through the thousands of them I have access to. They obviously know that people want the feature, they put it in Chromaphone. The second complaint is that the UI's on their synths are so dissimilar, and needlessly so. I'm not talking about the panels for designing sounds so much as I am the way that presets are browsed, settings discovered, and so forth. I don't think it's that I'm spoiled by MeldaProduction's one-UI-fits-all approach. Each synth UI looks like it could have been designed at a different company. I don't need the products to look as similar as MeldaProduction, but from a single manufacturer I would like them to at least be a little similar. But the preset browsers on each of them are different from each other. Settings are found in different places and look different once you figure out how to open them.

Still, I think the purchase was well worth it. I probably paid at least $75 each for Chromaphone and Ultra Analog, so a hundy to get the other 4 is great. Best sounding virtual instruments in the business, IMO.

[Bajan Blue]

Only two things for me

Upgrade to latest version of komplete (basically to upgrade my Kontakt ) and Slate Trigger 2

 

[bitflipper]

I bought a new TV. I didn't want to, Netflix made me.

I'd had a 10-year-old receiver in the bedroom, not a "smart" TV. I accessed the Netflix client through a DVD player. Then one day Netflix refused to load, telling me my device was too old. Even the big TV in the living room, which was a proper "smart" model, abruptly stopped working with Netflix. Unacceptable. I don't have cable, so Netflix is my sole video entertainment.

Fortunately, this frustration happened to coincide with Black Friday and I was able to score a replacement TV for only $129.  We'll see how long Netflix allows me to use it.

Oh, I considered some musical purchases as well, but Spectrasonics had already claimed my soft synth budget with Omnisphere 3.

[bluzdog]

The Wampler Intermediate Pedal Building course - $95

UAD Signature Edition V3 - $99

Mastering The Mix - Faster Master - $41.60

Mastering The Mix - Fuser - $37.05

Mastering The Mix - Reso - $39

 

[bluzdog]

1 hour ago, bitflipper said:

I bought a new TV. I didn't want to, Netflix made me.

I'd had a 10-year-old receiver in the bedroom, not a "smart" TV. I accessed the Netflix client through a DVD player. Then one day Netflix refused to load, telling me my device was too old. Even the big TV in the living room, which was a proper "smart" model, abruptly stopped working with Netflix. Unacceptable. I don't have cable, so Netflix is my sole video entertainment.

Fortunately, this frustration happened to coincide with Black Friday and I was able to score a replacement TV for only $129.  We'll see how long Netflix allows me to use it.

Oh, I considered some musical purchases as well, but Spectrasonics had already claimed my soft synth budget with Omnisphere 3.

I use Firesticks so my TVs are basically monitors

[kitekrazy]

 Interesting the stuff I buy is not about need but if I like the developer. It's not always about quality.

 

[Carl Ewing]

36 minutes ago, bluzdog said:

Mastering The Mix - Fuser - $37.05

Mastering The Mix - Reso - $39

 

Interesting - I strongly prefer SpecCraft to handle these tasks. Although Pro Q 4 can sometimes handle special cases too. Compared to Track Spacer or Fuser, SpecCraft has way more helpful feature set for these unmasking tasks - like mid/side, multi-band eq for the sidechain, stereo channel unlinking, etc. And it's a vastly superior resonance suppressor than Reso.  I'd put it way above even Soothe2. And it's on sale for $69 right now. That thing would replace a bunch of different plugins when it comes to any kind of masking, sidechaining, resonance suppression. In my opinion of course.

[billy c]

7 hours ago, Carl Ewing said:

Really minimal purchases this year, and I have quite a large budget. I think most stuff is absurdly overpriced, even on sale. 15-20 years ago I'd spend $300 on a plugin (UAD), or $1500 on an orchestral library (LASS, Symphobia, EWQL orchestra, etc.). There was minimal competition, and you had to pay a lot for the best.

Now I will hesitate on a plugin over $50, or a library over $250.

Some of the prices I saw this year are just comical considering the level of competition.  I get an email offering a Composer Cloud renewal for $100 - so the entire East West catalog for a year for $100, and Spitfire is still trying to charge $300-$500 for solitary (and old) libraries. So I can have 5 years of Composer Cloud for the cost of Albion ONE - which I own, but is hugely dated sounding now.

Oeksound is still trying to charge $200 for Soothe2. Kalifornia Dynamic charging $200 for Alkane. Fab Filter still trying to charge $170 for Pro-G gate. Tone Projects charging $250 for Michelangelo EQ. Like what? I'm grandfathered into the highest PA subscription for $150 a year, get 200 plugins to use, and get to pick 10 of them to own in that year. Many of which directly compete with these "premium" plugins. Who on earth would spend $200 on Soothe2 in 2025 considering the superior, and cheaper competition?  Who would spend $300 on Pro Q 4 / Pro C 2, when for less  you could get a PA subscription and get to 10 to own, like, Kirchhoff EQ & Cenozoix compressor, which are arguably superior to FF, and have another 200 plugins to demo for a year.

The only company I occasionally bite the bullet on is Orchestral Tools, because the quality is often unmatched. But this year, I just decided to not buy almost anything. Had about $4000 in products in my "want" list. Spent $500, mostly on updating a few things. I suspect 2026 is going to a bloodbath in this industry leading to some sales. Not that I want to benefit of other people misery!

Blah.

 

 

 

im going to get you a virtual beer. Well said, I feel like with so much competition it's only going to be good for customers. Companies like UAD and a few other really don't care about existing customers and going out chasing new ppl. Community is what good business thrive on. I was going to pick up a bundle from UAD but I passed, I did however spend $250 on the Bernard Herrmann library ( I had a gift card). So jokes on me.

[Starship Krupa]

3 hours ago, bitflipper said:

Netflix refused to load, telling me my device was too old. Even the big TV in the living room, which was a proper "smart" model, abruptly stopped working with Netflix. Unacceptable. I don't have cable, so Netflix is my sole video entertainment.

Netflix must have a deal with Roku to change their player app requirements often enough to sell new Roku boxes. The Apple business model. Last I checked, those were still around $30 and let you set up a great deal more apps/channels besides Netflix. Woulda been $100 less than replacing your TV. I have experience with this because I never buy TV's (not new ones anyway). I get them on Freecycle or Craig's List, and in the last 10 years or so, used TV's all seem to come with Obsolete Streaming Apps. This is a drag for people who bought streaming TV's because they save on not needing a streaming device, but is a boon for people who get their streaming elsewhere.

Apps eventually do become unable to run on older Roku models, but they seem to be better at updating the OS than TV manufacturers, so the $30 Roku can be expected to last 10 years before it starts throwing messages saying that this or that app is no longer compatible.

And if your sole video entertainment is Netflix and you have a device that can run their apps, you would do well to check out Kanopy and Hoopla. They're streaming services that you can access with a library card. Kanopy in particular has some great stuff on it, including various selections from the Criterion Collection. Lots of foreign cinema (Kurosawa, Bergman, French New Wave) , and documentaries about music and other cultural topics. Hoopla has (among many other things) a selection of British TV shows if you (like me) like those. Hoopla also has digital media other than video, such as a DEEP collection of music albums and electronic publications, readable and listenable via smartphone and tablet.

There are also LOTS of free streaming services like PlutoTV and The Roku Channel. An old favorite of mine from when I got my first Roku box is Pub D Hub, which streams a century of public domain movies, TV, and vintage advertisements. Also educational films.

[Starship Krupa]

1 hour ago, kitekrazy said:

 Interesting the stuff I buy is not about need but if I like the developer. It's not always about quality.

You must have a lot of HorNet plug-ins.😁

Easily the developer from whom I have the most plug-ins I never use, but I keep buying them because they're inexpensive and Saverio is such a likeable guy. No ding on the quality of his merchandise, either, the issue is usually that I have those needs covered elsewhere. They're like the $5 CD I buy off the garage band at the local nightclub.

[rsinger]

I bought a couple things that weren't black Friday deals but happen to be in season - 

Omnisphere 3 upgrade,

Behringer B-Tron III pedal (HW), it's been back ordered for a long time, I was finally able to snag one.

Black Friday deals - 

Upgrade from Live 11 to Live 12,

A couple AD2 adpacks.