# Nordic Viking Samples by Danheim - anyone have this?



## RonOrchComp (Jun 26, 2020)

Anyone have this lib? Thoughts on it?






Asgard Sampler Vst/Win (Nordic Viking Samples by Danheim) – Danheim | Official Page







danheimmusic.com


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## DSmolken (Jun 26, 2020)

Don't have it, but have thoughts. Someone who makes Vikingy music sent me a link to that asking whether I think she should buy it. Interesting percussion, but other than that it seems like a smaller, less deep Dark Era.


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## RonOrchComp (Jun 26, 2020)

Thanks

I have ERA, and it's great, but I need more. Any other libs to fit the bill?

And what is this at 4:28



It's the strumming thing, that sounds almost like a guitar, but not quite.


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## DSmolken (Jun 26, 2020)

The new OT Arbos percussion is also along similar lines. Very Heilung. Beyond that, you're looking at piecing things together from I guess VSL Historic Winds, and borrowing instruments from other ethnic libraries... I mean, you can convince yourself that it's OK because there's a didgeridoo in Dark Era and that works, and the Vikings conquered Singapore.

And that sound is some kind of folk zither or lute? If I needed to get that sound today, I'd try to borrow a mandolin and tune it down a lot.


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## ProfoundSilence (Jun 27, 2020)

oddly I wanted to get dark era eventually to try my hand at some danhiem-esque stuff. 

im a huge warduna fan, to the point that ive often considered making/purchasing a talharpa


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## Henu (Jun 27, 2020)

Heilung is just a blatant Wardruna-ripoff anyway.


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## DSmolken (Jun 27, 2020)

Heilung is more like Oligarkh for Luddites.


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## rmoat (Sep 17, 2020)

RonOrchComp said:


> Anyone have this lib? Thoughts on it?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I know this is a few months late, but I do own this. I plan to make a Nordic album in the future, and in combination with Dark ERA there is a lot of content.
However, on the Danheim website it is states that: "You also get all future updates for *free* – which includes new presets and sounds, improvements and bug fixes."

I don't know how you get the free updates. I'm still at version 1.0, and the sampler is at 1.2, so the content and/or player may be improved from what I have. I've tried using the contact form from the website over this past year to find out how to get the updates, but I never get a reply back.

However, I'll attach a screenshot of the content list from v1.0.

What I do like about the Asgard Sampler are the Textures + Nature FX and especially the Bullroarers & Ravens, and a few other instruments that aren't in other libraries. Dark ERA has bullroarers, but I haven't found anything that has the sounds of ravens until I got this sampler. Unlike Dark ERA, there are no loops or rhythmic pads, or keyswitches that play a drum pattern, etc.

But I definitely think each of these instruments have the possibility to add to the authenticity of composing various Old Norse/Viking/Scandinavian songs when used with Dark ERA.
I wish I had the 1.2 update to know whether new content has been added (I'm sure there is), and if the player functionality has improved.


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## Robo Rivard (Sep 19, 2020)

RonOrchComp said:


> Anyone have this lib? Thoughts on it?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


To be honest, I wouldn't pay more than 20$ for that library. Tuning samples down and up two or three octaves is not a selling argument. Vikings deserve better.


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## rmoat (Sep 20, 2020)

Robo Rivard said:


> To be honest, I wouldn't pay more than 20$ for that library. Tuning samples down and up two or three octaves is not a selling argument. Vikings deserve better.



From what I recently read last night, Danheim is working on updates and more sample content this coming year. I definitely hope that it's going to improve. Here is the way I see it in my own opinion/usage at this current time... it's a small supplement library.
After listening to demos, reviews, and walkthroughs on YouTube (potential buyers should do this for any instruments they're interested in, especially for new virtual instruments that you can't demo), if someone decides they want it, I'd say to make sure to also have bigger libraries (i.e. Dark Era, etc.) that it can compliment. It's limited.


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## Jackdaw (Sep 24, 2020)

Anyone know is there Tagelharpa/Jouhikko dedicated library somewhere (or library that has good tagelharpa)? I tried to google but cannot find any. I DO have Dark Era which has two tagelharpas, but they don't go as low as I would wish (and how low real tagelharpa actually goes). 
Asgard sampler sounds like it could have one, but it is not mentioned in instrument list. When looking at YT video it sounds like it has one/some, but as they are listed under drones I have some doubts if they can be played as instruments, not just as drones.


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## thesteelydane (Sep 24, 2020)

LoKi96 said:


> Also searching this library,dont have a money,but very need this,will be nice if some good man upload this one somewhere


Did you just ask someone to pirate this???


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## Jdiggity1 (Sep 24, 2020)

thesteelydane said:


> Did you just ask someone to pirate this???


Don't worry. That user has well and truly been 'yeeted' out of the forum.


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## thesteelydane (Sep 24, 2020)

Jdiggity1 said:


> Don't worry. That user has well and truly been 'yeeted' out of the forum.


Excellent work @Jdiggity1!


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## Jkist (Sep 24, 2020)

LoKi96 said:


> Also searching this library,dont have a money,but very need this,will be nice if some good man upload this one somewhere



Poor people? In MY FORUM? Ya YEET!

Jk, in all seriousness, this library looks like it could be promising with some tweaks. Seems like Era is the better choice though, for now...


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## rmoat (Sep 24, 2020)

Jackdaw said:


> Anyone know is there Tagelharpa/Jouhikko dedicated library somewhere (or library that has good tagelharpa)? I tried to google but cannot find any. I DO have Dark Era which has two tagelharpas, but they don't go as low as I would wish (and how low real tagelharpa actually goes).
> Asgard sampler sounds like it could have one, but it is not mentioned in instrument list. When looking at YT video it sounds like it has one/some, but as they are listed under drones I have some doubts if they can be played as instruments, not just as drones.



I checked each drone, and Hognir in the Asgard Sampler seems the closest to the sound of the Dark Era tagelharpa. It goes from D1 to B4 on my 88-Key Midi Controller. It has a much wider range, without messing with pitch. I checked a couple other of the drones, and some seem they are a string instrument, deeper sounding... so it's possible the YT video uses a combination of those samples.

For Hognir:
D1 through B2 are the drones. And C3 through B4 are the playable (legato?) instruments. I've noticed that with several of the instruments in this sampler, such as the deer flute. The bottom half is the lower flute, and the top half is a different higher/brighter sound. Similar to split sounds.


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## Vince Millett (Sep 30, 2020)

I have Dark Era and I have been very tempted by Asgard but a full walk through on YouTube made me really rethink. It's definitely interesting but it's not amazing for the money. 
The Tagelharpas in Dark Era are great but the Hognir in Asgard, although the nearest in sound, isn't quite as "realistic" as the Dark Era sound. I guess it's down to how real do people need the sounds to be. No so-called "Viking" music in the modern day bears any genuine resemblance to real Viking era music anyway because we know very little about music of that era. We're all working with inspiration and atmosphere more than historical reconstruction. The man from Wardruna has talked about this in interviews a few times.


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## rmoat (Sep 30, 2020)

Vince Millett said:


> I have Dark Era and I have been very tempted by Asgard but a full walk through on YouTube made me really rethink. It's definitely interesting but it's not amazing for the money.
> The Tagelharpas in Dark Era are great but the Hognir in Asgard, although the nearest in sound, isn't quite as "realistic" as the Dark Era sound. I guess it's down to how real do people need the sounds to be. No so-called "Viking" music in the modern day bears any genuine resemblance to real Viking era music anyway because we know very little about music of that era. We're all working with inspiration and atmosphere more than historical reconstruction. The man from Wardruna has talked about this in interviews a few times.



I couldn't agree more! And especially when you listen to Wardruna, or any of Einar Selvik's collaborations (Assassin's Creed: Valhalla), and using real historical instruments (deer-hide frame drums, Kraviklyra, tagelharpe, mouth harp, goat horn, lur, etc.), you realize how much current samples really do fall short.


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## Vince Millett (Sep 30, 2020)

rmoat said:


> I couldn't agree more! And especially when you listen to Wardruna, or any of Einar Selvik's collaborations (Assassin's Creed: Valhalla), and using real historical instruments (deer-hide frame drums, Kraviklyra, tagelharpe, mouth harp, goat horn, lur, etc.), you realize how much current samples really do fall short.



Definitely. But on the other hand, it doesn't ultimately matter because if the music sounds good and captures the feel the musician is after, and people like it, then job done!


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## Vince Millett (Nov 6, 2020)

I capitulated and bought it. I can't really describe why but it works amazingly well for creating atmosphere. Individual samples don't sound particularly inspiring but somehow, in context, it creates worlds. Its drones and bowed sounds are amazing for that. I tend to layer all my medieval and Viking drums with middle eastern ones from Ancient ERA Persia anyway which gives a little definition to what are good but bass-heavy sounds. I'm using Asgard in conjunction with Ancient ERA Persia, Dark ERA and Medieval ERA and the combination is killer.


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## Jackdaw (Nov 6, 2020)

Actually I bought this just couple of days ago, but decided to try it a bit more before commenting.
Generally I like for the same reasons as @Vince Millett said. It is good for additional stuff for your vikingish track. But I cannot imagine making a song just only with it. It is a good companion to Dark Era (and Maleventum which I also bought) but as a standalone it is lacking especially in the "melodic side". Meaning that many instruments are just like one shot samples and creating melodic lines with them reminds me from my Amiga 500 tracker -era.

I was looking for tagelharpa and Asgard Sampler has it, but it is very unplayable in my opinion, it just doesn't sound real when you play more than one note in a row. Dark ERA has two tagelharpas which are okay, but not the best (well they may be the best because there are no other libraries with tagelharpa afaik). I remember reading from VI-Control that someone was working on Jouhikko library (finnish version of tagelharpa) and it should be released at some point. And I will be buying it probably.

There is some kind of legato but I don't know what it is, it isn't real legato. Also I haven't found any ways to automate anything and this is a big thing, because there is no modulation, expression, not even automatable volume control which would help a lot when trying to make realistic sounding things.
_If someone knows how to do any of these, please tell me because I feel that this is the biggest thing affecting the playability of the Asgard Sampler._ It is also strange that there was not any kind of manual with it.

All in all there is much usable stuff, especially in percussion side, some drones (good but not that plenty) and I really like to support Danheim. I'm just not sure that it is worth $149 as it is now.


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## dijon (Jan 15, 2021)

I just got this and..it's very odd. Like, odd broken. I've got version 2.1 and I'm on Windows 10 64bit in Reaper. 

So many little things: There's no keyboard highlighting to let you know where the sample ranges are - you have to find it - and it seems very inconsistent between patches. The ADSR controls don't seem to do anything? The pitch bend knob isn't a pitchbend at all, it's just pitch - and there's no center detente. Playing a C on Tagelharpa String registers as a B. Playing the same C on the next preset, Freyas Strings registers as a C. And the pitchbend knob is not patch specific, so if you tune to a pitch, the next patch you load up will be off by that amount. 

For many of the percussion samples, you're never sure if you're getting the original sample or the pitched version. Many keys seem to play the same sample and just pitch it. 

I have no idea what the different trigger types (stack, round robin, random etc) do - Same with overlapping and voice mode controls. These appear to maybe be patch specific? but they are always there and I haven't found a patch where they do anything yet. Sometimes patches don't unload between presets so you're playing a drone patch but there's remnants of previous patches - why are there bone percussion hits in my drone patch?

If you play with the different lfo destinations eg pan - you will set the pan postion while messing with it. when you select another destination, the pan remains at this position. This is not fixable by using the pan knob. This remains between presets and you need to load the instance again.

There are many, many more issues, and this is after an hour or so. I like the samples but this software hasn't been quality tested at all. I bought this because I hoped it would give me some decent samples as a starting point for music of this type. I hope they fix it. It's hard to believe this is a version 2.


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## DSmolken (Jan 15, 2021)

Too bad, but it kinda confirms what most of us probably suspected - that Danheim has a good handle on this style, but his strength isn't being a developer.


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## devonmyles (Jan 15, 2021)

DSmolken said:


> Don't have it, but have thoughts. Someone who makes *Vikingy music* sent me a link to that asking whether I think she should buy it. Interesting percussion, but other than that it seems like a smaller, less deep Dark Era.


 Sorry, for some reason this made me laugh...


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## RonOrchComp (Jan 18, 2021)

dijon said:


> I just got this and..it's very odd. Like, odd broken. I've got version 2.1 and I'm on Windows 10 64bit in Reaper.
> 
> So many little things: There's no keyboard highlighting to let you know where the sample ranges are - you have to find it - and it seems very inconsistent between patches. The ADSR controls don't seem to do anything? The pitch bend knob isn't a pitchbend at all, it's just pitch - and there's no center detente. Playing a C on Tagelharpa String registers as a B. Playing the same C on the next preset, Freyas Strings registers as a C. And the pitchbend knob is not patch specific, so if you tune to a pitch, the next patch you load up will be off by that amount.
> 
> ...


I picked this up as well. I gotta say - you hit the nail on the head. If I were to type a review, it would be worded _exactly_ like your post.

I found a use for some of the percussion, and made use out of a couple of pads, but this was obviously not done by someone who knows how to properly develop sample libraries. I respect the effort, but there are too many things that are just, well, amateurish.


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## dijon (Jan 18, 2021)

Just to follow up on my original post, I did email Mike, the developer, and told him I was disappointed. As I like to offer constructive criticism I wrote a bulleted list of the above items plus some others I had found. He responded a few hours later and was very nice about it. He thanked me for my input and said many of them were known items and that he was currently developing a new sampler engine as the current sampler engine he's using is , in his words, 'poorly supported'. He then offered me a refund (which I have received). 

To be honest, the whole interaction was lovely and he seemed very congenial and genuinely appreciative that I took the time. I will add that I am surprised that, as of today, it is still being offered for sale on the site.

I'm going to keep an eye on development because the samples on offer are really cool. I really don't know why a small dev wouldn't go the Kontakt full-version route but that's just me.


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## Kabraxis (Jan 19, 2021)

dijon said:


> Just to follow up on my original post, I did email Mike, the developer, and told him I was disappointed. As I like to offer constructive criticism I wrote a bulleted list of the above items plus some others I had found. He responded a few hours later and was very nice about it. He thanked me for my input and said many of them were known items and that he was currently developing a new sampler engine as the current sampler engine he's using is , in his words, 'poorly supported'. He then offered me a refund (which I have received).
> 
> To be honest, the whole interaction was lovely and he seemed very congenial and genuinely appreciative that I took the time. I will add that I am surprised that, as of today, it is still being offered for sale on the site.
> 
> I'm going to keep an eye on development because the samples on offer are really cool. I really don't know why a small dev wouldn't go the Kontakt full-version route but that's just me.


Cool move for him/her! Being an "indie" developer while focusing on fringe instruments should be very hard. Especially when you think how deep sampling and programming can go for acoustic instruments nowadays.

That screenshots looked like a HISE product to me, but there's no way to tell of course.


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## Dedobbeleer (Feb 11, 2021)

I got this sampler a while back and I too can completely confirm everything dijon said. I bought this sampler in the hopes of being able to create sounds similar to the Danheim project but there's just no way this would work in the state it's in right now. Some of the drones are nice, and the percussion up to a point but creating fluent melodies with it is downright impossible because of the playability or lack there off.


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## Danheim (Feb 12, 2021)

Hi Everyone, Mike Olsen (Danheim) here.
I stumbled upon this post today and felt that I would update you all on the state of the Asgard VST.
For the past few days, I have addressed some of the issues mentioned above, but have to admit that the engine we are using is both poorly supported and is quite limiting, unfortunately.  
- also in regards to getting it released on macOS.

So, what I have come up with instead is that I have hired a Kontakt instrument developer to port it over, with some extra features added and without the bugs mentioned above of course.

Everyone who has bought Asgard already will be able to log in and download it when it's been released. I expect it to be finished within a few months.

Thanks to everyone who has supported the plugin so far, I'm excited about releasing the new sampler in the near future.

Skål!


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## ProfoundSilence (Feb 12, 2021)

Danheim said:


> So, what I have come up with instead is that I have hired a Kontakt instrument developer to port it over, with some extra features added and without the bugs mentioned above of course.


will be interesting to see how it develops.


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## Danheim (Feb 12, 2021)

ProfoundSilence said:


> will be interesting to see how it develops.


Fingers crossed everything works out as expected!
- if not I have to dig deep for some extra hours of the day to find another solution.
But for now, I'm hopeful and it seems to be on track!


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## Danheim (Feb 28, 2021)

*Great new everyone!*

Asgard has been released as a kontakt instrument, which works for both macOS & Windows.
*Anyone who owns asgard can login now to download it for free:*
https://danheimmusic.com/download-area/


Asgard VST is now ready as a Kontakt instrument for Windows & MacOS, and will be released tomorrow. It includes some new features, and improvements over the old VST.
- 1.06GB: Compressed lossless .ncw audio files
- Full retail version of Kontakt 5.8.1 or later required
- Compatible with Windows & MacOS
- Overdrive (Saturation)
- Pitch -12 / +12
- Realtime value labels
- Reverb: A subtle real convolution room reverb
Every preset has been edited and set manually. Starting points were adjusted for the best result during the performance of the patches. Seamless loop points were set also manually. General fixes etc were done during the sample mapping process.

Big shoutout to Theodore Chatzilamprou, for porting and optimizing the sampler!


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## Jackdaw (Feb 28, 2021)

@Danheim
There seems to be some problem with one instrument in Kontakt (at least in my machine with my settings): Kontakt tries to find JëttehÜr but at least in my folder those files show up as Je╠êttehU╠êr and kontakt doesnt recognize them. I'm not kontakt specialist so is there something to make Kontakt understand that those files are the ones it is trying to find?

Otherwise after couple of minutes trying this out I must say that Kontakt version is way more clear to use, thumbs up. Maybe it is time for another viking inspired album for me


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## Danheim (Feb 28, 2021)

I'll look into it, thanks Jackdaw!


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## ProfoundSilence (Feb 28, 2021)

Can't wait to see someone do a kontakt walkthrough


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## Danheim (Mar 1, 2021)

The issue was fixed, uploading the new version now!
Thanks for the tip! - it was an issue with special characters on some machines.


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## Dedobbeleer (Mar 5, 2021)

So if we don't own Kontakt, this new version is no use to us? And the original version will probably not be updated anymore if I understand correctly?


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## Danheim (Mar 5, 2021)

Both will continue to get updated!
The problem with creating kontakt instruments for the free version of kontakt, is that its pretty expensive for the licensing.

Perhaps in the future, I can have it licensed for the free player, but as of now I think this is the best option.

You need to full retail version of kontakt for this one, yes. Sometimes its on sale though. 

Skål!


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## ProfoundSilence (Mar 5, 2021)

Dedobbeleer said:


> So if we don't own Kontakt, this new version is no use to us? And the original version will probably not be updated anymore if I understand correctly?


If you don't have Kontakt you should buy it this summer instead of this if you have to

Even the free Kontakt instruments people make are worth the price of admission!


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## slider2015 (Apr 27, 2021)

So I just bought Asgard over the wekeend. 
I cant even get the zip to extract, I get a "corrupt file" error using winzip. Tried a couple of times of download and extract, and no luck. Sent a few contact me communications and nothing. Asking the back to dispute the charge now.


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## Kabraxis (Apr 27, 2021)

slider2015 said:


> So I just bought Asgard over the wekeend.
> I cant even get the zip to extract, I get a "corrupt file" error using winzip. Tried a couple of times of download and extract, and no luck. Sent a few contact me communications and nothing. Asking the back to dispute the charge now.


Not the developer here but, can you try to unzip it with latest version of 7zip?
There were some giant purchases I made from very known vendors that messed up when unzipping, which only to be solved after I update 7zip.



7-Zip


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## slider2015 (Apr 28, 2021)

Kabraxis said:


> Not the developer here but, can you try to unzip it with latest version of 7zip?
> There were some giant purchases I made from very known vendors that messed up when unzipping, which only to be solved after I update 7zip.
> 
> 
> ...


Ive tried all up-to-date winzip, winrar and 7zip. None worked. All gave me corrupt file.


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## JEPA (Apr 28, 2021)

slider2015 said:


> Ive tried all up-to-date winzip, winrar and 7zip. None worked. All gave me corrupt file.


I am also not the developer here, but could you redownload the file from your account and try to unzip it again? Maybe it would work with a fresh download?


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## theodorech (May 3, 2021)

slider2015 said:


> Ive tried all up-to-date winzip, winrar and 7zip. None worked. All gave me corrupt file.


Hey, I'm Theodore, the developer of ASGARD Kontakt version but there's not much I can do for that particular issue. I strongly recommend you to re-download the .zip file and try one more time. I just tried to unzip it using a few different systems here and I didn't get any error at all. 

I hope guys that you enjoy the new version of ASGARD


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## Danheim (Jun 23, 2021)

I believe the error in regards to unpacking the vst/instrument was due to server issues (download errors)
All the links have now been updated, so they should unpack fine again.


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## OERALINDA (Jul 4, 2021)

Does any of you know whether the Asgard Sampler license can be transferred? We have sent Danheim several inquiries about this but have not received any response. We would like to transfer our license if that is possible.

*EDIT:* The question has been resolved, we have just received a message. It is possible


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