New Sample Player (FFOSSO) with Free Instruments- Sister to Orchestral Tools

[Patrick Derbidge]

Usually I'm the last one to hear about new stuff, but I haven't seen this posted yet. Another sample player (similar to Sine Player and Labs) from FFOSSO except you can tweak the instruments on the back end. According to the Youtuber they are a sister company to OT.

 

Download link  https://www.ffosso.com/

Edited Tuesday at 05:06 AM by Patrick Derbidge

[MusicMan]

12 minutes ago, Patrick Derbidge said:

Usually I'm the last one to hear about new stuff, but I haven't seen this posted yet. Another sample player (similar to Sine Player and Labs) from FFOSSO. According to the Youtuber they are a sister company to OT.

 

Download link  https://www.ffosso.com/

These guys make some really nice quality stuff, so I'd been meaning to check this one out and will give the video a watch now too 🙂

[BTP]

I uninstalled it immediately because I didn't want the service that was installed on my PC.

[MusicMan]

33 minutes ago, BTP said:

I uninstalled it immediately because I didn't want the service that was installed on my PC.

That's definitely a shame.. do you have any existing OT software on there? I'm wondering if it's the same as any OT or whether it only applies to this free offering.

[BTP]

7 minutes ago, MusicMan said:

That's definitely a shame.. do you have any existing OT software on there? I'm wondering if it's the same as any OT or whether it only applies to this free offering.

I have SINE and I don't think it has any services installed.

[Patrick Derbidge]

11 minutes ago, BTP said:

I have SINE and I don't think it has any services installed.

What services are you referring to? I can't imagine that this is any more invasive than Sine, Labs/Splice or even IK's Custom Shop.

[BTP]

4 minutes ago, Patrick Derbidge said:

What services are you referring to? I can't imagine that this is any more invasive than Sine, Labs/Splice or even IK's Custom Shop.

On Windows there are services that are always loaded and running. For example iLok, Corel and Antares install services.

I don't think SINE and IKM do. I don't know about Splice.

For example Waves installs a couple of programs that run when you start your PC, but they're not services and I have disabled those.

[Patrick Derbidge]

5 hours ago, BTP said:

On Windows there are services that are always loaded and running. For example iLok, Corel and Antares install services.

I don't think SINE and IKM do. I don't know about Splice.

For example Waves installs a couple of programs that run when you start your PC, but they're not services and I have disabled those.

Correct, and so does Native Instruments with Native Access. My point is, a lot of companies have services that run in the background and you can always disable them when they are not running. While Sine doesn't have a background service when it's not running, it does when it is running so this is no different for FFOSSO. At least their service is called FFOSSO Service so it doesn't seem they are hiding anything.  I wouldn't nesseceraly single them out. It's ok not to want to install it if you don't want.

[Starship Krupa]

11 hours ago, BTP said:

Waves installs a couple of programs that run when you start your PC, but they're not services

They at least used to install something called Waves Local Server, upon which their preset browser kludge was dependent. Since it was still possible to browse presets using the old UI method, Waves Local Server could be disabled with no ill side effects.

Antares, Antelope, Crow Hill, Native Instruments, Softube, UAD, and UJAM all install "installation helper" services that are set to start automatically. So far, I've been able to run their plug-ins just fine with the services turned off. If/when the time comes that some company starts shipping plug-ins that must have a service constantly running in order to function, that will be the time that I will start to refrain from using their products.

This "installer helper" thing is a peeve of mine because

That some plug-in companies permanently install an always-on services that are (supposedly) only used during plug-in install is ludicrous. There are any number of services on my systems that are set to Manual start and which are used by certain programs only when they are needed. The programs start them when they use them then turn them off when they're done.

As much as I hate to don the foil hat, I suspect that these services also send usage (and other) data back to the home office. It's easy enough to see what programs are connecting to the network using Resource Monitor, a tool that comes with Windows, but I haven't checked any of these. I just turn them off. I don't know if it's significant that ALL of these companies offer free plug-ins.

If you bother to do this, watch out, because most of the time, the next time you run the company's installer, it will helpfully set the service back to Automatic start. After all, if their stupid service somehow happens to get set to Manual or Disabled, it must have been unintentional, right? The fact that their installer programs are able to start the services AND set them back to running automatically tells me that they could just as easily start and stop them on an as-needed basis, which angers me further.

I'd like to have a program or script where I could enter the name of a service or services and have it turn off the service and set it to Manual start without my having to open Services to do it.

[Patrick Derbidge]

2 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

They at least used to install something called Waves Local Server, upon which their preset browser kludge was dependent. Since it was still possible to browse presets using the old UI method, Waves Local Server could be disabled with no ill side effects.

Antares, Antelope, Crow Hill, Native Instruments, Softube, UAD, and UJAM all install "installation helper" services that are set to start automatically. So far, I've been able to run their plug-ins just fine with the services turned off. If/when the time comes that some company starts shipping plug-ins that must have a service constantly running in order to function, that will be the time that I will start to refrain from using their products.

This "installer helper" thing is a peeve of mine because

That some plug-in companies permanently install an always-on services that are (supposedly) only used during plug-in install is ludicrous. There are any number of services on my systems that are set to Manual start and which are used by certain programs only when they are needed. The programs start them when they use them then turn them off when they're done.

As much as I hate to don the foil hat, I suspect that these services also send usage (and other) data back to the home office. It's easy enough to see what programs are connecting to the network using Resource Monitor, a tool that comes with Windows, but I haven't checked any of these. I just turn them off. I don't know if it's significant that ALL of these companies offer free plug-ins.

If you bother to do this, watch out, because most of the time, the next time you run the company's installer, it will helpfully set the service back to Automatic start. After all, if their stupid service somehow happens to get set to Manual or Disabled, it must have been unintentional, right? The fact that their installer programs are able to start the services AND set them back to running automatically tells me that they could just as easily start and stop them on an as-needed basis, which angers me further.

I'd like to have a program or script where I could enter the name of a service or services and have it turn off the service and set it to Manual start without my having to open Services to do it.

I just assume that they're all collecting our data. Whether they keep it private or not it is even another issue. I have put up with having a smart phone so I don't know who I'm fooling if I get too bent out of shape when plugin developers do the same thing on my PC. If I had my way, there would be no need to touch the Internet just to run or install a plugin or program. In fact I would argue til I'm blue in the face that all this copy protection crap does nothing but inconvenience the honest paying customer, but it won't change anyone's mind, believe me, I've tried.  Anyways, I don't begrudge anyone for not wanting unessecary services installed on their PC. But if you use a smart phone or any of the plugin communities competition, don't be so naive to think there isn't some type of service tracking you, whether it's their own, or exploiting some Microsoft feature to do it for them. Most of its just for marketing data and improvements but I don't like it and yet I also put up with it in this day and age. How dumb am I?

Edited Tuesday at 09:58 PM by Patrick Derbidge

[Starship Krupa]

17 hours ago, Patrick Derbidge said:

if you use a smart phone or any of the plugin communities competition, don't be so naive to think there isn't some type of service tracking you, whether it's their own, or exploiting some Microsoft feature to do it for them

Oh that battle is long since lost. About the time it started to be SOP to have your personal computer connected to a central network. I just don't want these things using resources and potentially causing problems. As a former pro software quality engineer I know that all software has bugs. Any program or even process running on a system has the potential to have trouble with some other program or process, so I want as few running as possible.

[Patrick Derbidge]

8 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

Oh that battle is long since lost. About the time it started to be SOP to have your personal computer connected to a central network. I just don't want these things using resources and potentially causing problems. As a former pro software quality engineer I know that all software has bugs. Any program or even process running on a system has the potential to have trouble with some other program or process, so I want as few running as possible.

Can't argue with that. 

I will say, however, that more recently, I have had less plugin conflicts than I used to, and that's actually with more plugins.  As a Reaper user, I think that's owed to some massive coding improvements in Reapers latest updates. I'm assuming that is the case since I am no software engineer.

[Starship Krupa]

1 hour ago, Patrick Derbidge said:

recently, I have had less plugin conflicts than I used to, and that's actually with more plugins.  As a Reaper user, I think that's owed to some massive coding improvements in Reapers latest updates

The plug-in compatibility issue is always evolving and usually improving with the hosts and the plug-ins. When I check the release notes for updates on plug-ins I own, 9 times out of 10 there's something about fixing an issue with either one host or "some" hosts. In many cases, the fix for one host will also fix it in other hosts they weren't specifically targeting.

Plug-in compatibility is an endless game of Whack-A-Mole for host developers. I'm sure they would say it's the worst thing to work on, because it involves code that they have no control over. If it's a more prominent plug-in developer, they're usually more likely to be willing and able to cooperate with the host devs on working out a solution. This is one of the reasons that it's good when your DAW is on the plug-in developer's compatibility list. If they advertise compatibility, they will likely work to ensure that their stuff is actually compatible.

Fixes happen when users report to the DAW and plug-in developers that there's a problem, so it's good for everyone when someone reports an issue.

Cockos are also known for their responsiveness to user issues, so yeah, you're likely correct. They may have figured out a way to retool their plug-in hosting.

[kitekrazy]

Do I need another rompler?"  Next is to figure out which drive to store the data.  Do I give up SSD space or run it off a HDD?