# LASS Lite and LASS First Chair Editons -- Announcement/Update



## Thonex (Dec 11, 2009)

Hi Everyone,

I've been getting a lot of inquiries about what's going on with *LA Scoring Strings (LASS)* libraries so I want to fill you in on the 2 upcoming libraries. Also, it's been a wonderfully wild few months since LASS's release and I just want to thank all of you for your support.

By popular request and interest, audiobro will be releasing 2 libraries derived from the complete LASS package. *These will have upgrade paths and will most likely be downloadable.*

*The new releases are:*
*
LA Scoring Strings LITE* – all the “Full Mix” patches from the original LASS library.
*LA Scoring Strings First Chair edition* – all the “First Chair” patches from the original LASS Library.

For a better idea of what these libraries will offer, download the *LASS User Guide* and refer to *page 11*. For the Lite version, all the “full mix section” patches will be included in addition to Ensemble patches (all sections playing together) of Staccatos, Spiccatos, Pizzicatos, Sustains, Tremolos, Harmonics, Sordinos. For the First Chair edition, all the “first chair” patches will be included.

*These will be priced as follows:*

*LA Scoring Strings LITE*: $499 with an introductory download price when released. 
*LA Scoring Strings First Chair edition*: $399 with an introductory download price when released. 


Both new libraries will be in Kontakt 4 format and will feature the new script updates and programming that the LASS complete version 1.1 will have (due out very soon). They will also be playable via Kontakt 4 Player (a free download version of Kontakt from Native Instruments). 

*Release Date:*

The official release date will be announced soon (the official release is within weeks... not months). *Demos will be available upon release.*


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## Justus (Dec 11, 2009)

Thanks, Andrew! That's the announcement of the week :D !


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## cc64 (Dec 11, 2009)

Great news Andrew!

Sorry for the Kontakt newbie question. If i understand correctly, the Lite libs will be Kontakt 4 only. Just checked the K4 player and it says Intel macs only. I'm still on a G5 PPC. Wich would be a show stopper for me at the moment. Hopefully i'm wrong ; )

Best,

Claude


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## choc0thrax (Dec 11, 2009)

Good to see you possibly going the download route, I hope more and more libraries are sold this way in the future.


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## SvK (Dec 11, 2009)

nice!


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## ddas (Dec 11, 2009)

cc64: You're right; if it's Kontakt 4 then PPC users won't be able to use it. No workarounds available...

Andrew: Great stuff! The obvious first question: will you allow a reasonably priced upgrade path from either of these two new products to the full LASS for users who want to start cheap and then upgrade later? (Update: oops, just saw you mentioned that yes, there will be upgrade paths. Never mind! That's good news.)


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## Thonex (Dec 11, 2009)

cc64 @ Fri Dec 11 said:


> Great news Andrew!
> 
> Sorry for the Kontakt newbie question. If i understand correctly, the Lite libs will be Kontakt 4 only. Just checked the K4 player and it says Intel macs only. I'm still on a G5 PPC. Wich would be a show stopper for me at the moment. Hopefully i'm wrong ; )
> 
> ...



Hi Claude,

There are a couple of solutions to that. I'll give you more info around the time of release.

Cheers,

Andrew K

P.S. Don't hate me because the LA Kings are doing well for once :lol:


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## germancomponist (Dec 11, 2009)

A very good idea, Andrew! 

For those who want to thicken their sound, the "Lite" version is for sure very useful, and for those who want to add a clearly touch to their pieces, the "First Chair edition" is great for this.

Very cool!


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## theheresy (Dec 11, 2009)

Holy crap, I'm so happy about this... only 500 plus a lower introductory offer? Well guess what Andrew, I was waiting for HS to make my decision about LASS or HS but you just got yourself a customer 100%...I will definitely be buying LASS Lite now as soon as it comes as long as you make the upgrade path fair!!! Because people like me want to buy Lite just to try it at first to see if it's for us and then if it's good I would plan to buy the full version so as long as I'm able to do that without having to pay more $$$ than it would have cost to buy the full version initially then you got yourself a loyal customer in me!!!


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## cc64 (Dec 11, 2009)

Thonex @ Fri Dec 11 said:


> Hi Claude,
> 
> There are a couple of solutions to that. I'll give you more info around the time of release.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the offer Andrew,

as for the Kings well yeah they're playing well. The Canadians, well we still call them "Les Glorieux" (The Glorious) it's becoming quite an archaism and pretty fast ; )

Best,

CC


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## Daniel James (Dec 11, 2009)

I am not a big fan of the fact when a new library comes out it seems you have to pay for another upgrade to Kontakt.

Ah well, I shall be watching eagerly from the sidelines.

Dan


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## Thonex (Dec 11, 2009)

Daniel James @ Fri Dec 11 said:


> I am not a big fan of the fact when a new library comes out it seems you have to pay for another upgrade to Kontakt.
> 
> Ah well, I shall be watching eagerly from the sidelines.
> 
> Dan



Hi Daniel,

Kontakt 4 Player is free... and all of LASS's scrips will be accessible from the front gui.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## hbuus (Dec 11, 2009)

Daniel James @ Fri Dec 11 said:


> Ah well, I shall be watching eagerly from the sidelines.
> 
> Dan



I shall be watching from the First Chair position!  

Henrik


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## fido94 (Dec 11, 2009)

Andrew, there are many people out here to support you. Your library is absolutely top notch so congratulations on this release. Can you reveal anything relating to LASS 2?


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## synthetic (Dec 11, 2009)

Looks like I should get on that upgrade to Kontakt 4.


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## noiseboyuk (Dec 11, 2009)

When I tried to download Kontakt Player a month ago or so, it said I already had the full Kontakt so didn't need it - and in fact couldn't have it. I'm on 3.5...

Libs look great, Andrew!


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## theheresy (Dec 11, 2009)

noiseboyuk @ Fri Dec 11 said:


> When I tried to download Kontakt Player a month ago or so, it said I already had the full Kontakt so didn't need it - and in fact couldn't have it. I'm on 3.5...
> 
> Libs look great, Andrew!



This is probably because Kontakt 4 just came out a month or so ago, so at the time you attempted to download the newest one, 3.5 probably was the latest one then 4 came out right after that.


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## Pedro Camacho (Dec 11, 2009)

fido94 @ Fri Dec 11 said:


> LASS 2?




I am very interested in LASS 2, whatever it is, I will buy it for sure.


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## fido94 (Dec 11, 2009)

Pedro Camacho @ Fri Dec 11 said:


> I will buy it for sure.



Exactly my point! :D I've been saving for LASS.


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## Thonex (Dec 11, 2009)

fido94 @ Fri Dec 11 said:


> Andrew, there are many people out here to support you. Your library is absolutely top notch so congratulations on this release. Can you reveal anything relating to LASS 2?



Thanks for the kin words Fido. 

LASS 2 is not one of the more immediate libraries. First will be the LASS lite and Fc and then in the early spring the LASS Sordino Legato divisi library. Following that later in 2010 will be LASS 2... which will be covering cool and useful scoring things that LASS 1 did not. 

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## Daniel James (Dec 11, 2009)

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## JKOL (Dec 12, 2009)

Looks like this will be a nice Christmas present for many! :D

I'll be buying LASS Lite if I can (never had too much luck with PayPal).

Good luck with your new libraries.

Cheers!


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## Polarity (Dec 12, 2009)

Thonex @ Sat 12 Dec said:


> Following that later in 2010 will be LASS 2... which will be covering cool and useful scoring things that LASS 1 did not.



if it covers also special effects like in Symphobia would be great :wink: 

About Kontakt 4 player: I just checked NI site and it's available also for Win XP/Vista and 7... very good, so I don't have to upgrade to Komplete 6 for now.  
I'm downloading the player... 538 Mb of compressed file ... so big?!?


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## Thonex (Dec 12, 2009)

Polarity @ Sat Dec 12 said:


> Thonex @ Sat 12 Dec said:
> 
> 
> > Following that later in 2010 will be LASS 2... which will be covering cool and useful scoring things that LASS 1 did not.
> ...



Because you're getting sample content from their library... for free :wink: 

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## Polarity (Dec 12, 2009)

yes, but I saw also a separate link to download just the free library.
So it's a bit a nonsense to me to double the thing.


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## Thonex (Dec 12, 2009)

Polarity @ Sat Dec 12 said:


> yes, but I saw also a separate link to download just the free library.
> So it's a bit a nonsense to me to double the thing.



Good point... I just saw that too. I'll email NI... maybe they forgot a "K4 Player only" link.

Cheers,

Andrew L


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## Ed (Dec 12, 2009)

Andrew, this means you're gonna need more demos.


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## Thonex (Dec 12, 2009)

Ed @ Sat Dec 12 said:


> Andrew, this means you're gonna need more demos.



Hi Ed,

We'll be posting more examples around the time of the First Chair and Lite releases. In the meantime for first chair, to give you an idea, you can go to the LASS demo page ( http://audiobro.com/html/demos.html ) and listen to these demos:

*Violas Improvised* ( you'll hear the first chair viola)

*Spiccato Cellos and the A.R.T script explained* (after the initial music and speaking,then you hear an example of first chair cello).

*LASS's Layered Real Legato exposed* (you'll hear the first chair violin)


I hope this helps in the meantime.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## choc0thrax (Dec 12, 2009)

Thonex @ Sat Dec 12 said:


> Ed @ Sat Dec 12 said:
> 
> 
> > Andrew, this means you're gonna need more demos.
> ...



He was probably trying to ask you if he could do demos. o/~


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## Ed (Dec 12, 2009)

choc0thrax @ Sat Dec 12 said:


> He was probably trying to ask you if he could do demos. o/~



Actually i wasnt but if Andrew wants to send me a copy I wont hold it against him 8)


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## choc0thrax (Dec 12, 2009)

Ed @ Sat Dec 12 said:


> choc0thrax @ Sat Dec 12 said:
> 
> 
> > He was probably trying to ask you if he could do demos. o/~
> ...



Ah, fooled by that winking smiley. o/~ o-[][]-o =o (o)


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## DynamicK (Dec 13, 2009)

Andrew, 

Awesome offer...... Paypal account loaded and ready :mrgreen:


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## hbuus (Dec 13, 2009)

I'd like to hear some completely dry demos.

Henrik


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## hbuus (Dec 13, 2009)

Thonex @ Sat Dec 12 said:


> *LASS's Layered Real Legato exposed* (you'll hear the first chair violin)



You will also hear the first chair cello.
It comes after the violins-example, approx. 1/2 through the audio file.

Henrik


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## krid (Dec 15, 2009)

Great news.

I am also on a PPC, I hope we will be able to run Lass Lite on kontakt 3.5.


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## Peter Emanuel Roos (Dec 27, 2009)

Sold! 

already in trouble with my plans to finally go to L.A. in 2010


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## artsoundz (Dec 27, 2009)

God, those strings sound so beautiful.


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## Peter Emanuel Roos (Dec 27, 2009)

With the current exchange rate this is a great buy! Some 370 euro I guess!
Anyone interested in Appassionata? I never got them running, each version of the player crashes on a clean XP machine... :-(
(just kidding about selling of course, not allowed)


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## theheresy (Dec 28, 2009)

So when the heck is Lass Lite coming? Why all the delays on everything...still no demos from Hollywood Strings and what's with Lass Lite????? I need a new string lib!


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## theheresy (Dec 28, 2009)

midphase @ Mon Dec 28 said:


> Well...with NAMM right around the corner in just over 2 weeks I think it's in Andrew's best interest to save some announcements for then.
> 
> Many developers like to coincide any new product releases and/or special announcements with NAMM .



To answer both of you guys up top: I could have sworn Andrew specifically said that Lite would be within a few "weeks" and he said this weeks ago. 

As for HS, holidays is no excuse, the demos were due out December 10th that's 3 weeks ago. There was no holiday for the past 3 weeks. If things are delayed at least say so but I hate waiting with zero knowledge or updates. Personally I like Andrew better than the arrogant seeming EWQL guys, Andrew's more personable and mindful of the needs of his customers, so I might just splash down on Lass and HS will be losing a customer for being so disrespectfully silent and unpunctual!


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## dcoscina (Dec 28, 2009)

Andrew is a swell guy and his library is continually used in my setup. I'm sure he's away from home or perhaps on a crazy film score deadline. 

Still not sure about the consistent animosity towards EW but whatever. Remember that Miroslav String Ensembles were promised and Best Service yanked the demos and I still don't think it's available for purchase yet. 

Dave


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## midphase (Dec 28, 2009)

First of all, if you're deciding not to purchase a product that you need based on demos being late...it seems to me like it's a bigger loss for you than for Andrew.

Secondly, many of the existing demos on Audiobro's web site already showcase what you can expect from LASS Lite (as Andrew explained a while ago).

Thirdly, I'm sure there's a good reason for the delay, I can tell you that from my perspective, December is a tough month for many composers. Not only producers decide to set project deadlines for early January (how convenient, they get to go on vacation while the post team slugs it through the holidays), but families demand more attention than normal (you try to explain a kid that he can't go see Santa at the mall because you need to finish a LASS Lite demo). 

Personally, I think LASS Lite is a no brainer for anyone needing a "next gen" string library at a bargain price...demos or no demos. Plus, the fair upgrade path makes it easy bump up to the full version if, after getting LASS Lite, you determine that you'd prefer to have the full blown version. If your entire purchasing decision is based only on the demos, I think you're missing out. *


* Please note that under normal circumstances, demos are very critical before making a purchasing decision, but in this particular case, there are plenty of demos available for the full LASS and plenty of 1st hand testimonials which IMHO make demos for LASS Lite less necessary.


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## Brobdingnagian (Dec 28, 2009)

midphase @ Mon Dec 28 said:


> December is a tough month for many composers. Not only producers decide to set project deadlines for early January (how convenient, they get to go on vacation while the post team slugs it through the holidays).


 :roll: :evil: :shock:  :!: 

So true.......


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## choc0thrax (Dec 28, 2009)

No ones too busy to take 3 minutes of their time to give a short update on how things are coming along.


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## Udo (Dec 28, 2009)

The release date is dependant on NI. They have to do the encoding.


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## theheresy (Dec 29, 2009)

I'm not talking about demos of lass lite, I couldn't care less about them. I'm talking about actually releasing lass lite for purchase.


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## theheresy (Dec 29, 2009)

choc0thrax @ Mon Dec 28 said:


> No ones too busy to take 3 minutes of their time to give a short update on how things are coming along.



BOOM. You just hit it on the head. o-[][]-o o-[][]-o


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## synthetic (Dec 29, 2009)

choc0thrax @ Mon Dec 28 said:


> No ones too busy to take 3 minutes of their time to give a short update on how things are coming along.



Oh please. Maybe the status is "working on it, hope to have it done soon." Would that help you? If you're that impatient, the full version is available now.  You won't regret it, I haven't touched another string library since I got it.


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## zvenx (Dec 30, 2009)

Udo @ Mon Dec 28 said:


> The release date is dependant on NI. They have to do the encoding.


+1
rsp


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## dcoscina (Dec 30, 2009)

synthetic @ Tue Dec 29 said:


> choc0thrax @ Mon Dec 28 said:
> 
> 
> > No ones too busy to take 3 minutes of their time to give a short update on how things are coming along.
> ...



+1

Andrew is not a big company like EW. He's one guy so give him some slack. Or buy the big library. Like synthetic says, you won't regret it.


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## Peter Emanuel Roos (Dec 30, 2009)

I think it is amazing what Andrew pulled off! Let's not push this great guy in these days!


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## zvenx (Dec 30, 2009)

or maybe he is actually spending time with his family after probably working his ass off the whole year.....just a thought.
rsp


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## JKOL (Dec 30, 2009)

Emanuel @ Wed Dec 30 said:


> I think it is amazing what Andrew pulled off! Let's not push this great guy in these days!



I agree.

We should also be grateful that Andrew listened to the community and made a lite version. o-[][]-o 

What do you all plan to get? First chairs/Lite/both?

Cheers


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## zvenx (Dec 30, 2009)

For me lite, and eventually move up to the full verison... I am not sure if financially it makes sense to get both. since the full may just be $100-$200 more.
rsp


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## uselessmind (Jan 2, 2010)

Thonex @ Wed Dec 30 said:


> These libraries have to be encoded



Do they?
Too bad.
I just recently read the manual and was dissapointed that there was no real access to the samples itself.
Does this really help your income? 
I know it always makes me look even more for alternatives.
Now in the case of LASS there might be none atm but still, i am very reluctant to shell out a lot of money (and for me it is a lot) for something that has these restricitions that come with encoded libs.

Anyway i hope this will bring even more happy customers for you because the samples, scripts etc seems to be awesome.


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## zvenx (Jan 2, 2010)

it is the piracy protection.
rsp


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## midphase (Jan 2, 2010)

"I just recently read the manual and was dissapointed that there was no real access to the samples itself. Does this really help your income? 
I know it always makes me look even more for alternatives."

I think K4 encoded libraries still give the end user quite a bit of tweakability, way more than other proprietary products. Most of the top libraries are in this format, and to not make a purchase because you have no direct access to the samples seems like a narrow way of looking at it. I think the library is really well programmed, and the update will improve on that even more so in this particular case, I don't think that the inability to access the raw samples is a negative.

Lastly, besides the obvious copy protection benefits, I think that sample producers have the right to protect their methods and tricks by keeping veiled some aspects of the library (most notably sample usage and scripting code). 

I hope that you won't let the lack of sample access prevent you from purchasing this amazing product (plus, I don't think Hollywood Strings will give you the type of access you want either).


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## dannthr (Jan 3, 2010)

Oh WHAT? Encoded? What, I was totally planning on STEALING this library and reselling it in RUSSIA!


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## zvenx (Jan 3, 2010)

they are part of the big package.
which I think is made up of first chairs, full mixes (which is lite) and the divisi parts.
rsp


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## Peter Emanuel Roos (Jan 3, 2010)

I'd rather have the divisi as LASS Lite 

@Andrew: why not also sell the divisi as a separate product?

Just make the total price of First Chairs, Full and Divisi something like 130% of the LASS 1 product - I would love to start out with getting a Divisi product to expand my current strings!


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## Peter Emanuel Roos (Jan 3, 2010)

This calls for a black list of countries.
China: a big no no... they will abuse the microtuning too much


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## Thonex (Jan 3, 2010)

dexterflex @ Sun Jan 03 said:


> How are the IR's included in LASS? And are those better than Altiverb?



The IRs are were created exclusively for LASS. They sound very good and very useful for setting the strings further back on the stage.

Are they better than Altiverb? I think Altiverb is most commonly referred to as an IR engine... it is only as good as it's IRs. That being said, Altiverb has some terrific IRs.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## Thonex (Jan 3, 2010)

dexterflex @ Sun Jan 03 said:


> Thanks Andrew,
> 
> I can't wait for LASS Lite. It's better for my budget at this time. Just wondering if you read The Composers Approach book? I would like to set up 3 reverbs ( FRONT, MID & REAR ) + 1 main tail reverb. Will the IR's included in LASS Lite allow us to use the same reverb but with depths suited for other sections like woodwinds & Brass? Or are they more suited for your library only?



They were more suited for LASS... but I haven't tried them on other material. Maybe they'd work well on other classes of instruments.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## stevenson-again (Jan 4, 2010)

The LASS IRs are extremely good - very very good indeed. i have used them on other material to good effect.


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## Polarity (Feb 13, 2010)

Any news about the release of LASS Lite?

It's some time I don't find an update or people asking for it:
did I miss somewhere the delayed date of release announcement? :roll: 

Thanks in advance.


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## dannthr (Feb 13, 2010)

Oh man, I got all excited when I saw this topic revived... :(


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## Thonex (Feb 13, 2010)

Polarity @ Sat Feb 13 said:


> Any news about the release of LASS Lite?
> 
> It's some time I don't find an update or people asking for it:
> did I miss somewhere the delayed date of release announcement? :roll:
> ...



Yes... LASS Lite and FC are in going to be released with Kontakt 4's new player (newer, better optimized engine) and it should be out very soon. like a couple weeks max (hopefully).

Thanks for all of your patience.

All the best,

Andrew K


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## lux (Feb 13, 2010)

Andrew, being stuck to Kontakt 3.5, will i be able to download both the lib and a player for it without upgrading to k4?

Thanks


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## Thonex (Feb 13, 2010)

lux @ Sat Feb 13 said:


> Andrew, being stuck to Kontakt 3.5, will i be able to download both the lib and a player for it without upgrading to k4?
> 
> Thanks


The new K4 Player will come with LASS for free. :D 

No paid upgrade needed.

Or do you mean that you specifically want to stay at K3.5 because you're running an old Mac Motarola chip computer? In that case, you wouldn't be able to use LASS Lite. As much as I would like to keep legacy formats supported, I have to use the Player NI will support down the road.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## RiffWraith (Feb 13, 2010)

Thonex @ Sat Feb 13 said:


> The new K4 Player will come with LASS for free. :D



Cool - looks like I'll be buying the new K4 player, so I can get LASS for free! :D


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## dannthr (Feb 13, 2010)

Hahahah, awesome!

Free LASS on the house! The NI Hizzouse.


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## lux (Feb 13, 2010)

Thonex @ Sat Feb 13 said:


> lux @ Sat Feb 13 said:
> 
> 
> > Andrew, being stuck to Kontakt 3.5, will i be able to download both the lib and a player for it without upgrading to k4?
> ...



Mac..Mac...i'm trying to remember what that Mac word means...Mac...Mac...

definitely the first reply was satisfatory, thanks Andrew 

Luca


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## Thonex (Feb 13, 2010)

RiffWraith @ Sat Feb 13 said:


> Thonex @ Sat Feb 13 said:
> 
> 
> > The new K4 Player will come with LASS for free. :D
> ...



:lol: :lol: :lol: 

Ok... let me rephrase that.... (o) 

The new K4 Player will be included for free when you purchase LASS. o Come to think of it, I think NI's new policy is to have their Players as Free downloads anyways... Either way... K4 will be for free :D


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## Polarity (Feb 14, 2010)

the new K4 player is downloadable for free from NI site since a couple of months...
Infact I have it already, since the official announcement of LASS lite...,
what it was? beginning of december?

Also previous Kontakt Player were free to download (as is Kore player too)
So I think, noone has to worry about HOW to use the new LASS versions 
if owning only Kontakt 3.5 (on Win and on Mac).

Of course if you feel absolutely the need to modify patches it could be another matter :wink:


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## damstraversaz (Mar 23, 2010)

Hi
any news on the release date ?

all the best
damien


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## Nick Harvey (Mar 23, 2010)

Andrew, congratulations on your phenomenal review in this month's Sound on Sound. Much deserved.


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## Thonex (Mar 23, 2010)

Nick Harvey @ Tue Mar 23 said:


> Andrew, congratulations on your phenomenal review in this month's Sound on Sound. Much deserved.



Thanks!!! I've received quite a few emails regarding that review... but I haven't been able to get a copy of SOS myself yet... so I haven't read it yet... and it's killing me :lol: :lol: . The U.K. edition and U.S. edition might be a little staggered the their release.

@ Damian,

We're in the final stages of the release process with LASS Lite and First Chair. These will be download-able and this will be a first for us... so we need to make sure it's working properly and all that fun stuff. Hopefully not too much longer.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.

All my best,

Andrew K


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## JohnG (Mar 23, 2010)

Hi Andrew,

LASS sounds absolutely fabulous. The 1.1 update improves the library in many areas, particularly tuning.

Congratulations and many thanks.


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## Nick Harvey (Mar 23, 2010)

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr10/a ... trings.htm


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## Nick Harvey (Mar 23, 2010)

Deleted


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## hbuus (Mar 23, 2010)

Thonex @ Tue Mar 23 said:


> Nick Harvey @ Tue Mar 23 said:
> 
> 
> > Andrew, congratulations on your phenomenal review in this month's Sound on Sound. Much deserved.
> ...



Andrew, I believe you can buy access online to each article in SOS. Then you can get to read it straight away.

Here's the link:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr10/a ... trings.htm

Best,
Henrik


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## hbuus (Mar 23, 2010)

Nick Harvey @ Tue Mar 23 said:


> http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr10/articles/lascoringstrings.htm
> 
> From the above review:
> (...)



Nick, no offense, but is it really okay to cut/paste an article from SOS and write it in here like that? It seems to me there would be a problem with copyright.

It would be rather ironic if we as musicians, some as sample developers, violate other parties copyright on written material.

Best,
Henrik


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## Nick Harvey (Mar 23, 2010)

Hi Henrik.

You're right.

Stupidly it didn't even cross my mind. Deleting posts now...


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## Thonex (Mar 23, 2010)

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## synthetic (Mar 27, 2010)

An excerpt from a review is considered fair use, so I'm quoting this line from the conclusion: 

"I'm not a gusher when it comes to sample libraries. [...] But I have to gush about LASS. It sounds fantastic, it's easy to use and best of all, it inspires me to compose."

Congratulations Andrew, well deserved!!


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## PasiP (Mar 28, 2010)

I'm definitely buying LASS Lite when it comes out.

So LASS Lite is easier on your computer's CPU and RAM and you can use it on one computer?


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## Thonex (Mar 28, 2010)

PasiP @ Sun Mar 28 said:


> I'm definitely buying LASS Lite when it comes out.
> 
> So LASS Lite is easier on your computer's CPU and RAM and you can use it on one computer?



Hi PasiP,

Yes.... and yes :D 

All my best,

Andrew K


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## PasiP (Mar 29, 2010)

Grrrreat. Now it's time to save up some cash..


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## PasiP (Mar 31, 2010)

Sorry for the double post but I have to ask this one thing:

Is the A.R.T script in LASS Lite able to help me do these kind of (ostinato?) strings easily:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYx4IKR1CXM


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## Thonex (Apr 1, 2010)

PasiP @ Wed Mar 31 said:


> Sorry for the double post but I have to ask this one thing:
> 
> Is the A.R.T script in LASS Lite able to help me do these kind of (ostinato?) strings easily:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYx4IKR1CXM



If you're talking about the opening (just so that we are clear)... yes. Those types of repeated rhythmic figures is definitely one of the things ART excels at.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## PasiP (Apr 1, 2010)

Great. Now I'm definitely getting this..hehe

8)


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## jlb (Apr 1, 2010)

Andrew, just wondering are we looking at days, weeks or months until LASS lite!? I am ready to spend some money!

Thanks

jlb


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## Thonex (Apr 1, 2010)

jlb @ Thu Apr 01 said:


> Andrew, just wondering are we looking at days, weeks or months until LASS lite!? I am ready to spend some money!
> 
> Thanks
> 
> jlb



Hi Jib,

The libraries are ready... they have been. What we are working on is the delivery system which will be a fully automated system integrated with a merchant service (credit card). So whether you're ordering at 2 a.m. our time or your time, you will get a link for download almost immediately. This is a new area for us and we need to make sure it's solid as this will be our infrastructure for the future.

Thanks for all of your patience and support.

Cheers, 

Andrew K

P.S. Oh yeah... I think we're talking a couple more weeks.


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## requiem_aeternam7 (Apr 1, 2010)

Thonex @ Thu Apr 01 said:


> jlb @ Thu Apr 01 said:
> 
> 
> > Andrew, just wondering are we looking at days, weeks or months until LASS lite!? I am ready to spend some money!
> ...



Andrew can you please update us on what else you've been working on. LASS II, any other libraries? If just LASS II can you please divulge any info, what will it be about, what will the upgrade cost for LASS 1 owners or will it be a complete new price for everyone etc etc?


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## yujade (Apr 22, 2010)

Andrew - a note of encouragement. Pulling for you to get your system working! If you happen to be having problems with your download system, keep on!


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## qwerty101 (May 7, 2010)

Andrew K, 

looking forward to the release of LASS lite, any updates, estimated release date or change of plans?


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## Mike Connelly (May 7, 2010)

Hope you guys can get this released soon.

And I'm dying to hear anything about what LASS2 will have. Will it be as big as the original, or just a smaller expansion pack?


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## Thonex (May 7, 2010)

qwerty101 @ Fri May 07 said:


> Andrew K,
> 
> looking forward to the release of LASS lite, any updates, estimated release date or change of plans?



Hi Guys,

Yes... the libraries are done.. what we are doing is implementing a new infrastructure for online delivery and online updates. The good news is once this is in place (I hope in the next couple weeks) all subsequent audiobro downloadable products will be available with no delays.. since the scalable infrastructure will be there.

We're in this for the long run, so we want to do this right from the get-go.

Thanks for your continued interest and support... just hang in there a little longer...

Here is a pic of our LASS First Chair... he's feeling very lonely... he too is anxiously waiting for be released into your next project  







Cheers,

Andrew K


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## noiseboyuk (May 7, 2010)

All the best with it, Andrew!

One more request for any info on LASS 2 as well... now HS is sort of here, it would be good to know at least roughly what ground might be covered.


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## Mike Connelly (May 7, 2010)

A ballpark timeframe would be great as well, are we talking this year, or is this further down the road?


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## Ian Dorsch (May 7, 2010)

Yes, it would be nice to be able to budget for it.


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## PasiP (May 8, 2010)

Any chance of buying the library by using Google Checkout?


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## mixolydian (May 8, 2010)

Cool, some more weeks, time to save some more pennies/cents for it. =o


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## Thonex (May 9, 2010)

PasiP @ Sat May 08 said:


> Any chance of buying the library by using Google Checkout?



We currently use PayPal, but I'd love to hear what attracts you to Google Checkout over PayPal.... we're always interested in learning about different platforms.


The time frame for release is yesterday LOL... in all seriousness... it's very close... this online coding and integration is out of my hands but we're close. 10 days-ish.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## PasiP (May 9, 2010)

Thonex @ 9.5.2010 said:


> We currently use PayPal, but I'd love to hear what attracts you to Google Checkout over PayPal.... we're always interested in learning about different platforms.



A while back I tried to register myself a Paypal account but it failed for some reason.. Then I used my gmail-address to register myself a Google Checkout account and it worked. With Google Checkout I was able to buy couple of Tonehammer libraries.

If buying via Google Checkout isn't possible then I guess I have to try to make a Paypal account for this..hehe


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## Thonex (May 9, 2010)

PasiP @ Sun May 09 said:


> Thonex @ 9.5.2010 said:
> 
> 
> > We currently use PayPal, but I'd love to hear what attracts you to Google Checkout over PayPal.... we're always interested in learning about different platforms.
> ...



I see... yeah... I love Google too.

The good news is PayPal is just our merchant service provider... and you can use any major credit card (Mastercard, Visa, Amex)... you don't have to have a PayPal account... it's just "PayPal" that processes it.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## JKOL (May 11, 2010)

PasiP: you don't need a paypal account. I also failed to make a working paypal account, but I have purchased downloadable instruments over paypal with no problems.


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## PasiP (May 11, 2010)

Good to hear JKOL. There's no problem then. 8)


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## Polarity (May 11, 2010)

At last! Can't wait to buy it !! :D


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## R. Soul (May 11, 2010)

I guess I'll have to steal, beg and borrow to get LASS Lite but so be it. 

Can't wait for this.


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## PasiP (Jun 3, 2010)

Any progress? The money is burning in my pocket.. :lol:


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## R. Soul (Jun 3, 2010)

Yeah, I thought it was gonna be out 2 weeks ago :(


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## mixolydian (Jun 3, 2010)

dcoscina @ Thu Jun 03 said:


> R. Soul @ Tue May 11 said:
> 
> 
> > I guess I'll have to steal, beg and borrow to get LASS Lite but so be it.
> ...


Whenever this may be.


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## PasiP (Jun 3, 2010)

Harzmusic @ 3.6.2010 said:


> Oh I was so happy seeing this thread living up again... and now...



Sorry about that Harzmusic. Let's hope the libraries are soon out.


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## Animus (Jun 19, 2010)

LASS Lite out yet? 6 months ago is was supposed to be released "next weekish".


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## zvenx (Jun 19, 2010)

must be an LA thing . Isn't SNA in LA as well?
rsp


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## damstraversaz (Jun 19, 2010)

I must admit I feel the same


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## PasiP (Jun 19, 2010)

Must...have...my...preciousssssss.... :lol:


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## lux (Jun 19, 2010)

if samples need to be encrypted by Native Intruments i suspect it isnt predictable by the developer when it will happen.

I remember something like that happened with an update by Ewqlso which was delayed for ages while waiting NI to do their homework.


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## Thonex (Jun 19, 2010)

lux @ Sat Jun 19 said:


> if samples need to be encrypted by Native Intruments i suspect it isnt predictable by the developer when it will happen.
> 
> I remember something like that happened with an update by Ewqlso which was delayed for ages while waiting NI to do their homework.



Hi Lux,

Thanks for you support... but actually... we are the ones to blame for this delay. However, we really are very close to release... the library is done... ready to ship... but we've been spending all our time behind the scenes doing a whole download infrastructure that is very scalable and it also provides each user their own unique download section with access to all applicable updates and it's fast, secure, etc..etc. As we start rolling out our new libraries (and we have a few coming :wink: ) we need to be sure it's ultra reliable. It's a complex system but ultra easy for the end user. We just need to be certain it works as it should. 

I am told we should have it downloadable and integrated with our system and shopping merchant within the week. I think we should be able to deliver on this in that time-frame.

The good news is, we won't have to do this sort of infrastructure thing again... hopefully for a very long time.

Thanks to all of you for your continued patience.

Cheers,

Andrew K

[EDIT] In appreciation for those who have waited so long, we will be making available for a (limited time) a bundled price of LASS Lite and LASS FC that will be a SIGNIFICANT discount... AND... you still have a dollar-for-dollar upgrade patch if you want to get the full LASS later on.


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## damstraversaz (Jun 19, 2010)

Hi Andrew
that's good news !

Are you keeping the introduce price for Lass lite and Lass first chair ( you wrote this on another topic ,I believe something like 450 $ for lass lite and 400 for FC) or it will be just an introduce price for the bundle ? 

all the best

damien


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## Thonex (Jun 19, 2010)

damstraversaz @ Sat Jun 19 said:


> Hi Andrew
> that's good news !
> 
> Are you keeping the introduce price for Lass lite and Lass first chair ( you wrote this on another topic ,I believe something like 450 $ for lass lite and 400 for FC) or it will be just an introduce price for the bundle ?
> ...



Hi Damien,

Actually... the initial sale price it will be a little lower. Lite $449, FC $349.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## damstraversaz (Jun 19, 2010)

that's a very interesting price.
thanks a lot for the answer !

damien


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## lux (Jun 19, 2010)

Thonex @ Sat Jun 19 said:


> lux @ Sat Jun 19 said:
> 
> 
> > if samples need to be encrypted by Native Intruments i suspect it isnt predictable by the developer when it will happen.
> ...



i know most people will blame me for that but i have no idea what Lass FC is


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## damstraversaz (Jun 19, 2010)

that's Lass First Chair, just the solo instruments patchs from the Lass library.


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## lux (Jun 19, 2010)

Thanks


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## R. Soul (Jun 19, 2010)

A week sounds good, if that is really a week this time  

While I appreciate the combined significant discount it doesn't make any difference to me personally as I can't afford both. $449 is even more than I've ever spent on a virtual instrument (was kind of hoping for $400) and $700-800 is way out of the question. But I suppose it's good for people who wants both.
Good to hear there's progress though.


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## PasiP (Jun 19, 2010)

Yay.. One week to go.. 8)


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## Ryan Scully (Jun 19, 2010)

Great News.....I'm totally cashing in on the bundled intro price as soon as it's made available.


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## Animus (Jun 19, 2010)

R. Soul @ Sat Jun 19 said:


> To be honest, I'm quite disappointed about the "any day now" comments. I remember getting a "about 10 days now" around 40 days ago. :(



Must be. 

thanks Andrew. No problem. Just having a bit of fun.


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## Ryan Scully (Jun 27, 2010)

Hi Andrew,

I have a quick question regarding LASS Lite and First Chair - 
Will the full upgrade option to LASS be available via download for those of us that purchase both the Lite package and First Chair(vs. receiving the full DVD set)? Sorry if this may had been answered in some form earlier in these posts..



Cant wait for both new libraries! :D


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## Thonex (Jun 27, 2010)

prscully20 @ Sun Jun 27 said:


> Hi Andrew,
> 
> I have a quick question regarding LASS Lite and First Chair -
> Will the full upgrade option to LASS be available via download for those of us that purchase both the Lite package and First Chair(vs. receiving the full DVD set)? Sorry if this may had been answered in some form earlier in these posts..
> ...



Hi there,

Good question.

Well... LASS Lite and LASS FC will be the 16 bit libraries but if you upgrade to the Full version you'll get the 16 and 24 bit as well as all the divisis etc... which is about a 40 gig library. So, because of it's size, we would ship it to you.

However, you raise a good question. Maybe down the road we could have a 24 or 16 gig downloadable version (based on bit depth). But we believe 40 gigs is too much for a download.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## Ryan Scully (Jun 27, 2010)

Great Andrew thanks! 


Ryan


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## Polarity (Jun 27, 2010)

LASS Lite and FC are 16 bit only?

It's the first time I see it specified, never thought of it.


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## Thonex (Jun 27, 2010)

Polarity @ Sun Jun 27 said:


> LASS Lite and FC are 16 bit only?
> 
> It's the first time I see it specified, never thought of it.



Yeah... in order to make it a viable downloadable product. But to be honest, there is a debate on whether one can hear the difference between the 16 and 24 bit versions. 1/2 the people are using the 16 bit patches.

When I dithered down to 16 bit, I did so only at the VERY VERY end of the process.. after everything was normalized and programmed. So... those last 8 bits are beyond the dynamic range of a stringed instrument anyways. So don't even worry about the 16 bit thing.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## Polarity (Jun 28, 2010)

Yes, thanks.

I did read about that debate in past topics.

It's just that reading about LASS Lite being LASS Complete minus divisi and first chair,
I thought it would have had 16bit and 24 bit content as well.

Not much to worry about for me. 
With 90% of probalities I would have deleted the installed 24bit samples even on LASS Complete and used just the 16 bit me too. 
Well, it will be just less files to download and throw out the HD once installed 

Even if I record at 24bit/48 KHz, I still use a lot of 16bit libraries (QLSO for example) and not many I have are 24 bit.
So, again, not much to worry about for me.


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## noiseboyuk (Jun 28, 2010)

Thonex @ Sun Jun 27 said:


> Polarity @ Sun Jun 27 said:
> 
> 
> > LASS Lite and FC are 16 bit only?
> ...



What joyous pragmatism and common sense! Very good move imho, Andrew...

And I promise I won't ask a third time (promise promise) but can LASS work with the lossless compression of K4 - and if so what difference does it make to resource use?


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## Thonex (Jun 28, 2010)

noiseboyuk @ Mon Jun 28 said:


> What joyous pragmatism and common sense! Very good move imho, Andrew...
> 
> And I promise I won't ask a third time (promise promise) but can LASS work with the lossless compression of K4 - and if so what difference does it make to resource use?



Oh... Sorry Noiseboyuk... I don't know how I missed that. I thought I answered... but probably only in my head (which doesn't do much good to anyone LOL).

To answer your question, no..... LASS will not implement the loss-less compression. Especially LASS Lite... which is a compact and efficient library to begin with. And as Polarity mentioned, you cannot use the loss-less compression on nkx files that have not been "loss-less" encoded to begin with.... if even that.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## EwigWanderer (Jun 28, 2010)

Nothing huge to say at this point than

..Andrew!..you are the man!!=)

thanks for this fantastic library!!


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## noiseboyuk (Jun 28, 2010)

Thonex @ Mon Jun 28 said:


> Oh... Sorry Noiseboyuk... I don't know how I missed that. I thought I answered... but probably only in my head (which doesn't do much good to anyone LOL).
> 
> To answer your question, no..... LASS will not implement the loss-less compression. Especially LASS Lite... which is a compact and efficient library to begin with. And as Polarity mentioned, you cannot use the loss-less compression on nkx files that have not been "loss-less" encoded to begin with.... if even that.
> 
> ...



Thanks Andrew!


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## midphase (Jun 28, 2010)

I do hope at some point more and more developers start to embrace the new Kontakt Lossless compression. I understand that at this point, many are still using older versions of Kontakt, but hopefully that number is getting smaller and smaller by the day, and I can't think of any downside to the new lossless compression.


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## Mike Connelly (Jun 28, 2010)

For any library where the wavs aren't open for editing, I'd definitely like to see the compressed format for future versions. Even for smaller libraries, it's more efficient in a number of ways. Less hard drive space is a major factor for moving libraries to SSD, where space is still very expensive.


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## Thonex (Jun 28, 2010)

Mike Connelly @ Mon Jun 28 said:


> For any library where the wavs aren't open for editing, I'd definitely like to see the compressed format for future versions. Even for smaller libraries, it's more efficient in a number of ways. Less hard drive space is a major factor for moving libraries to SSD, where space is still very expensive.



Kays and Mike,

Are we sure that there is no CPU hit on the loss-less compression? I'm a big believer in "there ain't no free lunch" principal. But...I've been wrong before.... in fact all the time according to my wife 

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## midphase (Jun 28, 2010)

Well, I can only go by what NI tells me, and they say the CPU hit is so minimal that it's simply not an issue.

End users' tests seem to mirror the same conclusions.

My biggest issue with it is that the format is proprietary so the audio files can't be easily moved from one sample player to the other (I have a few libraries which I mirrored in both Kontakt and EXS24 for reasons which are now not entirely clear to me).


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## Mike Connelly (Jun 29, 2010)

Seems like comparisons of CPU/memory/etc should be easily benchmarkable, just find a big library that can be converted and run a CPU heavy session with both versions. I can probably do a quick test when I get home if someone hasn't done the comparison already.



midphase @ Mon Jun 28 said:


> My biggest issue with it is that the format is proprietary so the audio files can't be easily moved from one sample player to the other (I have a few libraries which I mirrored in both Kontakt and EXS24 for reasons which are now not entirely clear to me).



True. In the case of libraries with unlocked wavs, I'd rather get wavs and resave it myself. In the case of libraries with locked samples, they are proprietary anyway so I'd just as soon have a format that is more efficient.


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## Sean Beeson (Jun 29, 2010)

Demos or it didn't happen...  I am VERY interested in this and can't wait to hear what the demos sound like. I am in DIRE need of a string library at the moment!


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## JKOL (Jul 3, 2010)

Not sure if this is the best place to ask, but how well does LASS/LASS lite handle fast string runs? I.e 16th notes. 

Thank you.


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## Hicks (Jul 16, 2010)

Hi,

So what about LASS Lite, is it an urban legend?


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## R. Soul (Jul 16, 2010)

It does seem a bit so, doesn't it.

I much prefer an exact release date even if it's far into the future, as opposed to "any day now" that turns into several months.
:?


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## EthanStoller (Jul 22, 2010)

Am I the only one checking VI Control every 20 minutes checking up on the status of LASS Lite? I can't be! Audiobro, I'm eager to send you my $$$--let's do this!

To all the my fellow LASS Lite-rs in waiting, sorry for bumping this thread and getting your hopes up, however momentarily.


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## chimuelo (Jul 22, 2010)

Skoo Brotha' Man.
Save me the trouble...
I can wait for as long as NCW files take.
I don't want all of these Chiggabyte sized apps, just the meat & Potatoes are fine by me..


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## Thonex (Jul 22, 2010)

EthanStoller @ Thu Jul 22 said:


> Am I the only one checking VI Control every 20 minutes checking up on the status of LASS Lite? I can't be! Audiobro, I'm eager to send you my $$$--let's do this!
> 
> To all the my fellow LASS Lite-rs in waiting, sorry for bumping this thread and getting your hopes up, however momentarily.



LASS Lite and LASS FC will go on sale this evening (probably around 8 pm Pacific Time).

Thanks for your patience.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## midphase (Jul 22, 2010)

Congrats! I hope it does well for you!


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## EthanStoller (Jul 22, 2010)

Ha! Love it! A watched pot boils after all! Congrats!


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## careyford (Jul 22, 2010)

Congratulations!!


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## R. Soul (Jul 22, 2010)

*Hits F5 in a continually manic motion*

:D


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## bsound76 (Jul 22, 2010)

A quick question for Andrew regarding upgrading to the full version from Lite:

When you refer to "dollar-for-dollar" upgrading, what price of the full version are you referring to- the MSRP, the price you have now on the website, or some other price (say you have a sale or something)?


thanks, glad lite is about to be unleashed


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## Thonex (Jul 22, 2010)

bsound76 @ Thu Jul 22 said:


> A quick question for Andrew regarding upgrading to the full version from Lite:
> 
> When you refer to "dollar-for-dollar" upgrading, what price of the full version are you referring to- the MSRP, the price you have now on the website, or some other price (say you have a sale or something)?
> 
> ...



Great question!!!

We are not into taking advantage of people... so... you get a dollar-for-dollar upgrade path based on the sale price of LASS... not the MSRP. So... if we were to have a sale this fall for less than it is now... you would enjoy the same savings.

We sort of would like people to see this as a great way to "buy into" LASS... not get penalized for it.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## bsound76 (Jul 22, 2010)

Sounds great, and very fair, thanks Andrew.

I'll be pulling the trigger on Lite as soon as it is available. I'm pumped.


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## chimuelo (Jul 22, 2010)

Now that you're releasing Lite and NCW I am interested in a public stock option.
I know a good bet when I see one.
I suggest the Nikkei because the Japs go crazy on anything carrying the Lite suffix.
Just check out the American Beer stocks over there, and still Sapporo offers nothing...

BTW Congrats, us lite guys will end up being full blown LASS guys eventually anyways.


----------

