# What should I buy?



## Colin66

Hello ladies & gents,

I'm 6 weeks or so away from making my purchases to set up my home studio and start my new hobby of making/recording/mixing music. I've made some initial decisions - all of which are open to change - but wondered what others think, based upon their experiences.

I've decided to use Reaper as my DAW and I've settled on the MOTU M2 audio interface (I'm aware that a small number of people have experienced issues but don't think this is a major issue, or a reason not to buy it. It came out well in independent tests)

I've made the initial decision to go with an S88 MK2/Kontakt 6/Komplete 13 bundle. I like the integration of the products and I'm thinking that this should be pretty much all I'll need for a while.

This is very much going to be a hobby - I'm in my 50's so not looking to forge a new long career. I'm intending to start off composing pieces in the Jazz/Rock/Blues/Soul/Pop/ area. In the past I've done a bit of writing song lyrics that are sat on my hard drive so it would be nice to write some music to go with those. I have an ambition of making a Jazz album, once my skills are up to it! I've been teaching myself piano for the past 18 months as well as music theory. 

Eventually I'd like to start writing pieces for short movies. I don't know if this is realistic, but students who go to Film School (As I understand it) create short movies as projects and I'd like to write music for their projects and perhaps progress on to short independent movies etc. I'm not looking to go into the Hans Zimmer-style huge Hollywood productions. I wouldn't want the stress, even if I had the talent! I like the idea of collaborating with people from another discipline and creating music for their movies.

I'm interested to hear what people think. I know there are tons of VI's and plugins I could buy but I want to make those purchases from an informed position with some experience behind me. Going out and spending £1200 on the best Spitfire Audio orchestral software would be a waste at the moment, but equally if there are some plugins that would make a difference that I'll definitely use, then I'm happy to make those purchases with my initial buy.
I'm also intending to take some courses in composition etc eventually. I took a short course with Guy Michelmore's ThinkSpace website which I enjoyed so I'll definitely look into what's available online.

So, let me know what you think, either with recommendations or just thoughts based upon your experiences 
I'm really excited to be starting this new hobby and having lurked on this forum for a few weeks, I'm sure I'm in the right place to learn!

Col.


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## Colin66

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> From what I’ve seen on the forum in other threads like this, people often recommend Spitfire’s BBC Symphonic Orchestra Core as a good all-round orchestral library.


Thanks Henrik, I'll add that to the 'potential buy' list and check it out!


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## easyrider

Don’t buy anything unless it’s either 30% 40% or 50% off in a sale.

Spitfire BBC core at 40% is good value for an all in one solution.


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## Colin66

easyrider said:


> Don’t buy anything unless it’s either 30% 40% or 50% off in a sale.
> 
> Spitfire BBC core at 40% is good value for an all in one solution.


Thanks! Must admit, I'm looking at the IK MegaSale and wondering if I should buy one product that I'll use, such as Modo Bass, and get a load of freebies!


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## Markrs

As @easyrider says don’t buy anything full price! Do a search on previous sales on ask on a thread about previous sale prices on anything it want to buy.

If it is a big purchase from someone that rarely does sale like Orchestral Tools, then there is the option of getting a student discount by registering on a online course (recently a course that got you all the student discounts was only $7) like either cinematic composing or MITA and then getting 40% off.


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## Markrs

Colin66 said:


> Thanks! Must admit, I'm looking at the IK MegaSale and wondering if I should buy one product that I'll use, such as Modo Bass, and get a load of freebies!


MODO Bass and Drum are both amazing and either would be excellent purchase on the current IK Multimedia Group Buy and get lots extra free as well


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## CatComposer

Colin66 said:


> Hello ladies & gents,
> 
> I'm 6 weeks or so away from making my purchases to set up my home studio and start my new hobby of making/recording/mixing music. I've made some initial decisions - all of which are open to change - but wondered what others think, based upon their experiences.
> 
> I've decided to use Reaper as my DAW and I've settled on the MOTU M2 audio interface (I'm aware that a small number of people have experienced issues but don't think this is a major issue, or a reason not to buy it. It came out well in independent tests)
> 
> I've made the initial decision to go with an S88 MK2/Kontakt 6/Komplete 13 bundle. I like the integration of the products and I'm thinking that this should be pretty much all I'll need for a while.
> 
> This is very much going to be a hobby - I'm in my 50's so not looking to forge a new long career. I'm intending to start off composing pieces in the Jazz/Rock/Blues/Soul/Pop/ area. In the past I've done a bit of writing song lyrics that are sat on my hard drive so it would be nice to write some music to go with those. I have an ambition of making a Jazz album, once my skills are up to it! I've been teaching myself piano for the past 18 months as well as music theory.
> 
> Eventually I'd like to start writing pieces for short movies. I don't know if this is realistic, but students who go to Film School (As I understand it) create short movies as projects and I'd like to write music for their projects and perhaps progress on to short independent movies etc. I'm not looking to go into the Hans Zimmer-style huge Hollywood productions. I wouldn't want the stress, even if I had the talent! I like the idea of collaborating with people from another discipline and creating music for their movies.
> 
> I'm interested to hear what people think. I know there are tons of VI's and plugins I could buy but I want to make those purchases from an informed position with some experience behind me. Going out and spending £1200 on the best Spitfire Audio orchestral software would be a waste at the moment, but equally if there are some plugins that would make a difference that I'll definitely use, then I'm happy to make those purchases with my initial buy.
> I'm also intending to take some courses in composition etc eventually. I took a short course with Guy Michelmore's ThinkSpace website which I enjoyed so I'll definitely look into what's available online.
> 
> So, let me know what you think, either with recommendations or just thoughts based upon your experiences
> I'm really excited to be starting this new hobby and having lurked on this forum for a few weeks, I'm sure I'm in the right place to learn!
> 
> Col.


If you have Komplete 13, you have a ton of instruments already, including Sessions Strings.
I would recommend spending the next 3 months exploring your own libraries, reading threads here, watching demos and reviews on youtube.
Figure out what type of music you want to make, then narrow down the instruments you need, then look at what's available currently.
When Black Friday comes around in November, you'll have a much better idea what to buy.
I wouldn't buy anything before then because the discounts are so great.
Remember that demos nearly always sound better than you'll be able to make them sound.


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## Colin66

Markrs said:


> As @easyrider says don’t buy anything full price! Do a search on previous sales on ask on a thread about previous sale prices on anything it want to buy.
> 
> If it is a big purchase from someone that rarely does sale like Orchestral Tools, then there is the option of getting a student discount by registering on a online course (recently a course that got you all the student discounts was only $7) like either cinematic composing or MITA and then getting 40% off.


Now that is a top tip! Thanks Mark


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## Markrs

Do the research now with the idea of getting stuff during Black Friday, though the IKM Group Buy is probably the best deal they offer


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## Colin66

Sseltenrych said:


> If you have Komplete 13, you have a ton of instruments already, including Sessions Strings.
> I would recommend spending the next 3 months exploring your own libraries, reading threads here, watching demos and reviews on youtube.
> Figure out what type of music you want to make, then narrow down the instruments you need, then look at what's available currently.
> When Black Friday comes around in November, you'll have a much better idea what to buy.
> I wouldn't buy anything before then because the discounts are so great.
> Remember that demos nearly always sound better than you'll be able to make them sound.


Yeah, waiting for Black Friday seems like a smart move.


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## storyteller

For drums, you may want to look at Addictive Drums - especially with the Jazz brush and sticks pack. You will get a lot of mileage with Addictive Drums and it is on sale at the moment. If you play guitar, then get AmpliTube 5 in the IK group buy sale… either as a freebie or buying it.

Just some first thoughts that came to mind reading your post…


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## Colin66

storyteller said:


> For drums, you may want to look at Addictive Drums - especially with the Jazz brush and sticks pack. You will get a lot of mileage with Addictive Drums and it is on sale at the moment. If you play guitar, then get AmpliTube 5 in the IK group buy sale… either as a freebie or buying it.
> 
> Just some first thoughts that came to mind reading your post…


Thanks for the suggestions!


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## Colin66

Markrs said:


> Do the research now with the idea of getting stuff during Black Friday, though the IKM Group Buy is probably the best deal they offer


Yes, that IKM deal just keeps looking better! Might have to jump in on that before it ends!


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## tritonely

Only 'full price' plugin I would recommend that you start with from the beginning is a ValhallaDSP plugin like Valhalla Room or Valhalla VintageVerb ($50 each). Such a low price for a highly praised reverb on a professional level. You can buy it straight away as they never do discounts (even edu discounts) which is understable at that price. From the start you could think (as I did a year ago) why would I spend money on a reverb and not instruments, but a good reverb can make a mediocre (virtual) instrument a good instrument and will be essential to glue all the instruments together. With a reverb like Valhalla you won't need to invest in other reverbs when you advance in studio work.


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## Colin66

tritonely said:


> Only 'full price' plugin I would recommend that you start with from the beginning is a ValhallaDSP plugin like Valhalla Room or Valhalla VintageVerb ($50 each). Such a low price for a highly praised reverb on a professional level. You can buy it straight away as they never do discounts (even edu discounts) which is understable at that price. From the start you could think (as I did a year ago) why would I spend money on a reverb and not instruments, but a good reverb can make a mediocre (virtual) instrument a much better and will be essential to glue all the instruments together.


Thanks for that! I've seen Valhalla discussed a few times on this forum and others. It's on the list.


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## Markrs

Colin66 said:


> Now that is a top tip! Thanks Mark


I found the course that you can get for $7 at Cinematic Composing and the discount that you can get with it, though like all these types of offers it is not guaranteed, though it has worked for others 

https://imacomposer.com/efc-course-92398429 (Essential Composing Foundation)


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## Colin66

Markrs said:


> I found the course that you can get for $7 at Cinematic Composing and the discount that you can get with it, though like all these types of offers it is not guaranteed, though it has worked for others
> 
> https://imacomposer.com/efc-course-92398429 (Essential Composing Foundation)


Thanks for that, Mark! If nothing else, I can take the course for $7, which is awesome. If I don't get the discount it only cost me $7 so it's no big deal. Can't really go wrong on a course of that level for $7!


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## Markrs

Colin66 said:


> Thanks for that, Mark! If nothing else, I can take the course for $7, which is awesome. If I don't get the discount it only cost me $7 so it's no big deal. Can't really go wrong on a course of that level for $7!


Even better is it get access the previous live streams that Marc (who runs Cinematic Composing) does where he goes through lots of ways to work with sample libraries. You can’t go wrong for $7!


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## bill5

One word: freebies. There are a lot and I do mean a lot of really good quality freebies plugins out there. Instruments, effects, it's an embarrassment of riches. Don't spend money, never mind a lot of money, because you assume "you get what you pay for." There are so many exceptions to that it's really a meaningless phrase.

Since you said you aren't doing any cinematic or orchestral music initially, I wouldn't buy any orchestral library, especially since you'll have Komplete which comes with a ton of stuff already. And again try the freebies, like Project SAM or BBCSO's Discover.

There are also some really good instruments (VIs) and effects for free. I'd suggest simply doing an internet search on "best free virtual instruments" and "best free effects plugins" start there. Of course everyone has their favs and varying opinions all over the map, so I'd take what anyone says (on the net, here, wherever) about any specific one with a grain of salt; see for yourself. That said, a few I'd recommend checking out:

Guitars: Ample Sound's Bass Lite and Guitar Lite
Drums: MT Power Drum Kit, Steven Slate's SS5
Violin: SampleScience's French Violin
Sax: DVS Sax
Synths: this is such a crowded field it merits a thread all its own  But for starters I'd check Vital and Surge.

For effects:
Voxengo's OldSkool Verb
TDR Nova (EQ)
Valhalla Supermassive (delay/reverb)
izotope's vocal doubler
Melda: they have an entire bundle of effects for free

And that's just off the top of my head. Really I would spend time initially filling the gaps in your knowledge about how the diff type of plugins work, download some free ones, and get familiar with the process. Your skill will be infinitely more important than which plugins you're using.


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## Colin66

Markrs said:


> Even better is it get access the previous live streams that Marc (who runs Cinematic Composing) does where he goes through lots of ways to work with sample libraries. You can’t go wrong for $7!


No point procrastinating, I just bought the $7 course


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## Colin66

bill5 said:


> One word: freebies. There are a lot and I do mean a lot of really good quality freebies plugins out there. Instruments, effects, it's an embarrassment of riches. Don't spend money, never mind a lot of money, because you assume "you get what you pay for." There are so many exceptions to that it's really a meaningless phrase.
> 
> Since you said you aren't doing any cinematic or orchestral music initially, I wouldn't buy any orchestral library, especially since you'll have Komplete which comes with a ton of stuff already. And again try the freebies, like Project SAM or BBCSO's Discover.
> 
> There are also some really good instruments (VIs) and effects for free. I'd suggest simply doing an internet search on "best free virtual instruments" and "best free effects plugins" start there. Of course everyone has their favs and varying opinions all over the map, so I'd take what anyone says (on the net, here, wherever) about any specific one with a grain of salt; see for yourself. That said, a few I'd recommend checking out:
> 
> Guitars: Ample Sound's Bass Lite and Guitar Lite
> Drums: MT Power Drum Kit, Steven Slate's SS5
> Violin: SampleScience's French Violin
> Sax: DVS Sax
> Synths: this is such a crowded field it merits a thread all its own  But for starters I'd check Vital and Surge.
> 
> For effects:
> Voxengo's OldSkool Verb
> TDR Nova (EQ)
> Valhalla Supermassive (delay/reverb)
> izotope's vocal doubler
> Melda: they have an entire bundle of effects for free
> 
> And that's just off the top of my head. Really I would spend time initially filling the gaps in your knowledge about how the diff type of plugins work, download some free ones, and get familiar with the process. Your skill will be infinitely more important than which plugins you're using.


Awesome! Thanks Bill. Some of those names are familiar to me as I've done a bit of searching and found a few freebies. It's nice to know that in many cases those freebies are good and worth using!


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## dunamisstudio

Colin66 said:


> Reaper





Colin66 said:


> MOTU M2 audio interface





Colin66 said:


> S88 MK2/Kontakt 6/Komplete 13 bundle.


You have enough to get started. Do your research here and wait for Black Friday. Find the libraries that has the sound your looking for.


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## Jeremy Spencer

Another factor is what your actual computer system can handle. What are your specs?


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## Colin66

Jeremy Spencer said:


> Another factor is what your actual computer system can handle. What are your specs?


I've got a reasonably good laptop: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2640M CPU @ 2.80GHz with 16Gb RAM. I think it's good enough to get me started?


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## bill5

Hell yes. you're fine there.


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## Jeremy Spencer

Colin66 said:


> I've got a reasonably good laptop: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2640M CPU @ 2.80GHz with 16Gb RAM. I think it's good enough to get me started?


You'll be fine with external SSD's for your sample libraries. The bottleneck will potentially be Ram depending on your project sizes. I'd stay away from resource hungry libraries, such as EastWest Opus Diamond.


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## Markrs

The new purge feature with preload turned off in EastWest Opus is excellent if you have your Samples on a quick SSD or even better a NVMe, can really help when you have limited RAM


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## José Herring

Colin66 said:


> Hello ladies & gents,
> 
> I'm 6 weeks or so away from making my purchases to set up my home studio and start my new hobby of making/recording/mixing music. I've made some initial decisions - all of which are open to change - but wondered what others think, based upon their experiences.
> 
> I've decided to use Reaper as my DAW and I've settled on the MOTU M2 audio interface (I'm aware that a small number of people have experienced issues but don't think this is a major issue, or a reason not to buy it. It came out well in independent tests)
> 
> I've made the initial decision to go with an S88 MK2/Kontakt 6/Komplete 13 bundle. I like the integration of the products and I'm thinking that this should be pretty much all I'll need for a while.
> 
> This is very much going to be a hobby - I'm in my 50's so not looking to forge a new long career. I'm intending to start off composing pieces in the Jazz/Rock/Blues/Soul/Pop/ area. In the past I've done a bit of writing song lyrics that are sat on my hard drive so it would be nice to write some music to go with those. I have an ambition of making a Jazz album, once my skills are up to it! I've been teaching myself piano for the past 18 months as well as music theory.
> 
> Eventually I'd like to start writing pieces for short movies. I don't know if this is realistic, but students who go to Film School (As I understand it) create short movies as projects and I'd like to write music for their projects and perhaps progress on to short independent movies etc. I'm not looking to go into the Hans Zimmer-style huge Hollywood productions. I wouldn't want the stress, even if I had the talent! I like the idea of collaborating with people from another discipline and creating music for their movies.
> 
> I'm interested to hear what people think. I know there are tons of VI's and plugins I could buy but I want to make those purchases from an informed position with some experience behind me. Going out and spending £1200 on the best Spitfire Audio orchestral software would be a waste at the moment, but equally if there are some plugins that would make a difference that I'll definitely use, then I'm happy to make those purchases with my initial buy.
> I'm also intending to take some courses in composition etc eventually. I took a short course with Guy Michelmore's ThinkSpace website which I enjoyed so I'll definitely look into what's available online.
> 
> So, let me know what you think, either with recommendations or just thoughts based upon your experiences
> I'm really excited to be starting this new hobby and having lurked on this forum for a few weeks, I'm sure I'm in the right place to learn!
> 
> Col.


I hate to say it because I hate subscriptions, but I have two: Plugin Alliance and EW Composer Cloud Plus (or what ever they call it). 

I would suggest getting those to start with. You'll be able to get a broad range of products then figure out what works for what you are trying to do. Then once you have that start purchasing the best of what you use. 

Fortunately or unfortunately today there are just a lot of products. Too many to even keep track of. Over the years I've purchased many and I'm really overwhelmed really. Too many that I just started pulling back a bit and looking at what I really like and even that is too many. 

So before you start going down that rabbit whole of spending way too much on stuff you'll never use. Go for the broad strokes. Komplete is a fine start as you've done. Composer Cloud is great with not too many crossover so you'll get both sides of a spectrum there. Then for mixing Reaper stock plugs are good and Plugin Alliance stuff is killer. PA is so good that it made me stop wanting to get UAD. 

You'll have all you need. 

If Reaper is too steep a learning curve, get Studio One 5 or Cubase.


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## Pier

I agree with @José Herring , don't commit to something like Komplete unless you're 100% sure you need/want everything in there (you probably don't). Try out a couple of subscriptions for a couple of months to get a better idea of what you'll be using.

For drums, I'd go with Addictive Drums. The quality is excellent and you have so much content and features you won't need anything else. They actually have a sale right now.

If you've never used a DAW before, Reaper is not the friendliest software to work with. It's really powerful though. On Windows, Studio One or maybe Cubase Artist would be a better first DAW. If you have a Mac, I'd go with Logic.


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## bill5

Pier said:


> If you've never used a DAW before, Reaper is not the friendliest software to work with.


No but it's close IMO. Certainly more so than Cubase. But again, one man's poison...I would get my hands on any demo I could of the various ones and try them out.

Also a general PS for the thread that he's not doing orchestral/cinematic stuff, at least not initially.


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## Markrs

Cakewalk DAW is a great free option on Windows and you can often get Studio One 5 Artist for cheap on the 2nd hand market as it comes free with Presonus Audio interfaces so the license is sold cheaply

I should add that SO5 Artist is pretty powerful and with the exception of articulation management and premium built in plug-ins it is pretty powerful


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## Markrs

José Herring said:


> Fortunately or unfortunately today there are just a lot of products. Too many to even keep track of. Over the years I've purchased many and I'm really overwhelmed really. Too many that I just started pulling back a bit and looking at what I really like and even that is too many.


In exactly the same position José, I am reducing what I get (though recently splurged in iPad based composition with Staffpad and the SWAM Instruments) as I am also overwhelmed. I am noW focused on learning and composition.


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## widescreen

If you come to the point that you need something from VSL, ask ThinkSpace to send you a confirmation letter for your course. I've done that and could register for the ongoing EDU sale. Then you get 40% until 1st Oct and not only 25% like on cinematiccomposing. Only after 1st Oct it goes down to 25% again.

Worked perfectly with a $20 sale course I bought last year.

But based on the statements above and your needs you probably won't look at VSL that much. But just in case.


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## Colin66

Markrs said:


> In exactly the same position José, I am reducing what I get (though recently splurged in iPad based composition with Staffpad and the SWAM Instruments) as I am also overwhelmed. I am noW focused on learning and composition.


https://namiaudio.com/en/17-libraries I just got Midnight Upright piano for free when I added it to my cart at Nami Audio. It was only £5.15 anyway in a sale and it sounds great. Was very happy to get it for free!  Thanks @Nami Audio !!


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## Nami Audio

Colin66 said:


> https://namiaudio.com/en/17-libraries I just got Midnight Upright piano for free when I added it to my cart at Nami Audio. It was only £5.15 anyway in a sale and it sounds great. Was very happy to get it for free!  Thanks @Nami Audio !!


Hey Colin!
Thanks for downloading Midnight Upright. I'm glad you like it 😉


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## bill5

Oddly it is listed under Free products but cost is £6. ?


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## Colin66

bill5 said:


> Oddly it is listed under Free products but cost is £6. ?


Weird! Maybe @Nami Audio can shed some light on this?


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## Nami Audio

Colin66 said:


> Weird! Maybe @Nami Audio can shed some light on this?


Hey everyone!
The product is listed in the Free libraries because you CAN get it for free. You can also donate anything from 1 to 20€ when ordering it. It is set by default to 6€ because this is its estimated value but feel free to choose any other amount or select FREE if you want 😉
The donation is here to support my work and helps me develop the upcoming libraries.

Hope this helped.
Feel free to ask any other questions if you need some more clarifications ☺️

Alex from Nami Audio


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## Colin66

Nami Audio said:


> Hey everyone!
> The product is listed in the Free libraries because you CAN get it for free. You can also donate anything from 1 to 20€ when ordering it. It is set by default to 6€ because this is its estimated value but feel free to choose any other amount or select FREE if you want 😉
> The donation is here to support my work and helps me develop the upcoming libraries.
> 
> Hope this helped.
> Feel free to ask any other questions if you need some more clarifications ☺️
> 
> Alex from Nami Audio


Didn't realise that you have to select free as an option. I thought the website had automatically changed to "Free"! The website was a little bug-y when I used it which caused a bit of confusion. Anyway, the piano sounds great!


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## Nami Audio

Colin66 said:


> Didn't realise that you have to select free as an option. I thought the website had automatically changed to "Free"! The website was a little bug-y when I used it which caused a bit of confusion. Anyway, the piano sounds great!


Hey again!
Sorry for the little bugs. I'm doing everything by myself and let's say I'm better at creating sounds than developing websites 😅 
Anyway, thanks for the support. Really appreciate it 🙏


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## Colin66

Nami Audio said:


> Hey again!
> Sorry for the little bugs. I'm doing everything by myself and let's say I'm better at creating sounds than developing websites 😅
> Anyway, thanks for the support. Really appreciate it 🙏


No worries, glad to support the smaller guys who make good libraries!


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## bill5

Nami Audio said:


> Hey everyone!
> The product is listed in the Free libraries because you CAN get it for free. You can also donate anything from 1 to 20€ when ordering it. It is set by default to 6€ because this is its estimated value but feel free to choose any other amount or select FREE if you want 😉
> The donation is here to support my work and helps me develop the upcoming libraries.
> 
> Hope this helped.
> Feel free to ask any other questions if you need some more clarifications ☺️
> 
> Alex from Nami Audio


Thanks Alex, but while there is the text "choose your price" in the cart, there's no link to change anything. Maybe a promo code is needed?

Also if I may suggest, a demo and/or walkthrough of your products would be most helpful


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## Nami Audio

bill5 said:


> Thanks Alex, but while there is the text "choose your price" in the cart, there's no link to change anything. Maybe a promo code is needed?
> 
> Also if I may suggest, a demo and/or walkthrough of your products would be most helpful


Hey Bill,
The price can not be changed in the cart but that a great idea. I'll try implement this as soon as possible 😉
As for now, in order to get it for free you need to go on the product page itself. Here's the link : https://namiaudio.com/en/piano-keys/31-25-midnight-upright.html#/1-price-free

There's a YouTube channel where you can find walkthroughs/demos of all my libraries. There are also on each product page on the website 😉

Here's the one for Midnight Upright :




And here are the other libraries' walkthroughs currently on sale :


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## bill5

Got it thx! Just FYI if you go here: https://namiaudio.com/en/24-free no options are available. 

And thanks for the YT links! Look forward to checking out.


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## Tim_Wells

Please don't go crazy buying stuff. You'll end up wasting a lot of money. All the hype on the forums will get you thinking you need all this stuff. You don't! Do a lot of research. VI-Control is a great place for that. Get a few good quality things and learn to use them.

In time you'll learn what you do and do not need.


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## Colin66

bill5 said:


> Got it thx! Just FYI if you go here: https://namiaudio.com/en/24-free no options are available.
> 
> And thanks for the YT links! Look forward to checking out.


I actually thought the website had randomly selected me to have the library for free, that's why I was celebrating, not because I just decided to take it without paying anything! Maybe a glitch or 2 needs ironing out. When I buy my studio gear in a couple of weeks I'll buy another library 
I do like the sound of this piano though, I prefer these libraries to the crisp perfect grand pianos which often all sound very similar!


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## PedroPH

The way to get Kontakt is the one explained here:





__





The best way to get Kontakt?


I’m trying to figure out what is the best way to get Kontakt. From I could find out online, it seems NI doesn’t offer sales on Kontakt itself except for up or crossgrades. If this is really the case, are there paths that offer a better way to get it than simply paying for the thing itself? I...




vi-control.net


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## musicalweather

+1 for what Tim Wells said. Buying (and thinking about and planning for) sample libraries / plugins can end up _replacing_ your hobby of making music. I've fallen into that situation myself. You have Komplete -- you probably won't need anything for quite a while, cuz it's really... complete! Put your current libraries through their paces and find out what they do and do not provide for you. That way you can approach any new libraries with a critical eye. And yes, wait for sales, but don't let sales dictate what you buy. Have fun!


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## bill5

It doesn't sound like he's bought Komplete yet, and frankly I wouldn't advise it. Not because of how good it is or isn't...I think the products it includes vary...but because it's a LOT of money to put out initially and for what it costs, one could buy individual instruments or libraries for comparable money and get better products, vs just taking whatever NI gives you.


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## mopsiflopsi

StaffPad + ScoreClub probably all you need at this stage. I’m saying this as someone who started about a year ago and spent a good chunk of money on various libraries. If I could go back in time I’d take my own suggestion and save a lot of time and money.


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## Colin66

bill5 said:


> It doesn't sound like he's bought Komplete yet, and frankly I wouldn't advise it. Not because of how good it is or isn't...I think the products it includes vary...but because it's a LOT of money to put out initially and for what it costs, one could buy individual instruments or libraries for comparable money and get better products, vs just taking whatever NI gives you.


No I haven't bought anything yet, won't have the funds for another month or so. Using that time to learn as much as I can. Komplete just seemed such a good deal because it has so much in it, and so much I'd use for the kind of music I want to make. And it integrates with the NI S88 MK2 keyboard I've initially decided on. Partly also it's a convenience thing, it takes away a lot of thinking about this violin, that trumpet, the other guitar. There are so many choices I almost feel that Komplete is worth it just for the time I'd save thinking about all the alternatives!


----------



## Colin66

mopsiflopsi said:


> StaffPad + ScoreClub probably all you need at this stage. I’m saying this as someone who started about a year ago and spent a good chunk of money on various libraries. If I could go back in time I’d take my own suggestion and save a lot of time and money.


I'll definitely check those out, thanks!


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## musicalweather

bill5 said:


> It doesn't sound like he's bought Komplete yet


Ah, I didn't read his post carefully enough. I agree with your cautions, Bill5 -- it _is_ a lot of money spent on products of varying qualities, and I find Komplete gives me a whole lot of stuff I'll never use. On the other hand, maybe Komplete is a good way to get off and running -- as Colin says, worth it just for the time he'd save thinking about all the alternatives. Alas, with all the choices out there, it's almost impossible to avoid spending time thinking about them!


----------



## bill5

Colin66 said:


> No I haven't bought anything yet, won't have the funds for another month or so. Using that time to learn as much as I can. Komplete just seemed such a good deal because it has so much in it, and so much I'd use for the kind of music I want to make. And it integrates with the NI S88 MK2 keyboard I've initially decided on. Partly also it's a convenience thing, it takes away a lot of thinking about this violin, that trumpet, the other guitar. There are so many choices I almost feel that Komplete is worth it just for the time I'd save thinking about all the alternatives!


If you're definitely getting the NI keyboard, that is a good reason to get NI software, as I hear it doesn't always play well with others  You might consider getting Kontakt instead though; in fact, you can get it on sale now for about $125, quite a big savings from Komplete, and Kontakt has a ton of stuff as well. Just something to think about!


----------



## bill5

musicalweather said:


> Ah, I didn't read his post carefully enough. I agree with your cautions, Bill5 -- it _is_ a lot of money spent on products of varying qualities, and I find Komplete gives me a whole lot of stuff I'll never use.


I've heard that more than once from people who've bought Komplete, which is why I suggest caution about such an expensive purchase. 



> On the other hand, maybe Komplete is a good way to get off and running -- as Colin says, worth it just for the time he'd save thinking about all the alternatives.


If it's worth it to him, I get that logic and if he doesn't want to window shop and take his chances with Komplete, certainly there's good stuff in there, I guess it's about what matters more, and that varies with everyone. The time/hassle/stress saved of shopping around for each thing vs doing that to try and get the best of each thing, money saved in the long run (or not) etc.


----------



## Colin66

bill5 said:


> I've heard that more than once from people who've bought Komplete, which is why I suggest caution about such an expensive purchase.
> 
> 
> If it's worth it to him, I get that logic and if he doesn't want to window shop and take his chances with Komplete, certainly there's good stuff in there, I guess it's about what matters more, and that varies with everyone. The time/hassle/stress saved of shopping around for each thing vs doing that to try and get the best of each thing, money saved in the long run (or not) etc.


Thanks to everyone who is contributing to this discussion. It's really helpful for me, and hopefully in the future for other people new to this predicament as well!
What I am thinking about is the IKM GB deal. If I buy Modo Bass for €299 - which everyone says is great, and I definitely will use - and on top of that I get to choose 10, 15, 20 or 25 products for the same price, for free, then I'm better off doing that. I could then buy any libraries I still need, as solo instruments, and save a ton of money, rather than buy Komplete 13 UCE for €1200. Definitely got my brain cells working now!
(I can then wait for Black Friday if I discover I need any libraries still)


----------



## Colin66

mopsiflopsi said:


> StaffPad + ScoreClub probably all you need at this stage. I’m saying this as someone who started about a year ago and spent a good chunk of money on various libraries. If I could go back in time I’d take my own suggestion and save a lot of time and money.


I just looked at Scoreclub and realised it's a site I previously bookmarked. The courses look excellent and I like the monthly payment, rather than a huge one-off upfront payment. Pretty sure I'll start there when I get to that stage!


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## Markrs

Colin66 said:


> Thanks to everyone who is contributing to this discussion. It's really helpful for me, and hopefully in the future for other people new to this predicament as well!
> What I am thinking about is the IKM GB deal. If I buy Modo Bass for €299 - which everyone says is great, and I definitely will use - and on top of that I get to choose 10, 15, 20 or 25 products for the same price, for free, then I'm better off doing that. I could then buy any libraries I still need, as solo instruments, and save a ton of money, rather than buy Komplete 13 UCE for €1200. Definitely got my brain cells working now!
> (I can then wait for Black Friday if I discover I need any libraries still)


Hi Collin, below is a post by someone of KVR and on their Facebook group, it is really useful if you plan to take part in the IKM GB:

— Part 1 -

Since I've been researching around a lot, time for another huge post! This one is entitled: "How to Maximize the Value of the IK Multimedia Group Buy".

I'm starting with a few assumptions:


The Group Buy will get up to at least, say, 10 freebies. It's up to 3 and will probably hit 4 tomorrow, and seems to be accelerating slightly, so that seem safe. All past IK Group Buys have been extended and ended up hitting their max levels, although they've never been anywhere close to 24 freebies, so it's hard to guess how good it might get; but 10 seems like a safe bet.
You would like to get the highest overall dollar value for the lowest overall dollar investment.

The sweet spot here seems to be a $200 MSRP item, because once you own one item worth at least $99, you're eligible for Crossgrade pricing on many others, and a whole bunch of them have a $200 Crossgrade price: AmpliTube 5, SampleTank 4, MixBox, MODO Drum, MODO Bass, Syntronik, SampleTron 2, and Hammond B-3X. There's only a few things in the Group Buy higher than $200, and they're IMHO not particularly interesting except for T-Racks 5 (Miroslav Philharmonik Crossgrade is $299, but it's really not very good; and Syntronik Deluxe is $269, which only gets you 5 additional synths over the base Syntronik, and if you really need to you can get those 5 as freebies).

T-RackS 5 messes this up a little bit, as it doesn't have a Crossgrade price. Your options are T-RackS 5 ($149), which comes with 9 modules; T-RackS SE (also $149), which comes with 10 modules including 4 that are the same as T-RackS 5; or T-RackS 5 Deluxe ($299), which comes with 22 modules. There are also another couple dozen modules available for individual purchase, mostly around $99 apiece. So the options below will vary a little bit depending on whether T-RackS 5 is more important to you. IMHO, T-RackS and many of the available modules are amongst the best stuff IK has to offer, so it's worth considering. If you don't end up getting Deluxe through one of the deals below, I'd recommend getting T-RackS 5 SE as one of your freebies, and probably picking up some of the individual modules as well.

I made a spreadsheet to help keep track of everything, including which products are contained in which other products (including Total Studio 2 MAX, Total Studio 3 SE, and Total Studio 3 MAX in case you own those). Enjoy, and leave comments if you see something that's wrong or missing! https://docs.google.com/.../1uuVda21gIuoTWHwLCjZg.../edit...

So for the Group Buy, you get freebies that have an equal or less MSRP than your initial qualifying purchase. It doesn't matter how much you actually _spend_, only what the MSRP of the item is. So the game is afoot: Find the highest-MSRP product for the lowest price! Pretty much nothing IK makes is currently on sale, of course, but they do have their Custom Shop Gear Credits. A number of Group Buy qualifying items can be bought with Gear Credits (and don't worry - if you buy them that way, you'll still be able to pick any freebies in the Group Buy, even ones that aren't available with Gear Credits). And Gear Credits are cheaper the more you buy, which is the best way to save money for your qualifying purchases right now.

So, here's what I think you should do. Option 1 is for new customers, while Option 2 is for existing IK customers. Options 3 and 4 are bigger and better possibilities for either existing or new customers.

_1. You currently own no IK products with an MSRP over $99._​
Cheapest option: buy "ARC System 3 - Software only", which is the only item in the sale with a NON-Crossgrade price of $200. Use the coupon code "GROOVE3IKM" to bring it down to $170. ARC itself won't be immediately useful to you without a measurement microphone, but you can buy that later; this is just to unlock the best value options in the Group Buy. Unfortunately ARC isn't available with Gear Credits, so you just have to buy it outright the old-fashioned way.

Better option: for only $21 more, head to https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/index.php... and buy a "Custom Shop 300 Gear Credits" pack for $225. Use the coupon code "GROOVE3IKM" to bring it down to $191. Then install Custom Shop on your computer, and use those 300 Gear Credits to buy T-RackS 5 Deluxe. That not only gets you about half of the T-RackS modules right away, but since you bought a $300 MSRP item, you'll be eligible for the few freebies with an MSRP higher than $199, namely Syntronik Deluxe and Miroslav Philharmonik 2.

_2. You already own at least one IK product with an MSRP over $99._​
Cheapest option: head over to https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/index.php... and buy a "Custom Shop 200 Gear Credits" pack for $160. If you have any Jampoints, use them too, which can bring it down as low as $112; or use the coupon "GROOVE3IKM" to get it for $136. Then, open up Custom Shop on your computer and use those Gear Credits to buy AmpliTube 5, SampleTank 4, Syntronik, or SampleTron 2 - any of them you don't already own will do the job. Now you can get all the other $200 items for free.

Better option: if you don't own T-RackS 5 Deluxe yet, the "Better option" above (buying 300 Gear Credits and using them to buy T-RackS 5 Deluxe) is still a great deal. If you have Jampoints, you could get the 300 Gear Credit pack for as little as $158, which is totally worth it for the additional T-RackS modules you'll get this way.
​


----------



## Markrs

- Part 2 -

_3. The super-secret best option if it works out for you!_​
There is another offer going on right now - if you buy the bundle of ARC System 3 with the measurement microphone ($249, or $149 Crossgrade) and register it by the end of August, you'll get T-RackS 5 Deluxe for free. That's in addition to the ARC purchase unlocking up to 24 more freebies in the Group Buy. The trick here is, it's a hardware purchase, which means shipping, and you must have the product in hand and registered with IK by August 31 to get all the fantastical goodies. You want to get the full version, even if you would be eligible for the crossgrade - as mentioned above, most of really interesting freebies are $200, so if you bought the $149 ARC Crossgrade you wouldn't be able to get those.

ARC + Microphone is unfortunately currently out of stock at many online stores. You CAN order it (with free shipping in the US and EU) direct from IK, and "GROOVE3IKM" works too, bringing it down to $212 / $126. In my experience, that gives you a little bit of slack - if it happens to arrive after the 31st, you can probably work with IK's Support to get all the good stuff. I've asked IK for confirmation about that. Otherwise, shop around - I see a few available from resellers on reverb.com for as little as $199 for the full version, which would be an even better deal - you might want to pay for the expedited shipping. Or if bhphotovideo.com gets it back in stock, they were previously selling it for $183 with free two-day shipping, which would be an amazing deal.

_4. The "I Want It All" option!_​
If you were planning to do any of the Gear Credit options above, consider buying 100-200 more Gear Credits than you need, because it gets cheaper per credit if you buy more at once. Then, after your initial buy-in, buy almost any 100 Gear Credit items in the Custom Shop - a T-RackS module, or an Amplitube collection, anything that's in the Group Buy. That will give you a whole new set of up to 24 freebies of $100 or less. That would be enough to fill out almost all the available T-RackS modules and almost all of the Amplitube Collections. Just be sure not to use your first $200-$300 qualifying purchase on any $100 items - get all the more valuable freebies first.

Whether you're a new IK customer or not, you could get a 500 Gear Credit pack for under $300 with "GROOVE3IKM" (even less if you have a lot of Jampoints!) and end up with basically everything IK makes, assuming the Group Buy gets up anywhere near 24 freebies. Use 300 credits to get T-RackS 5 Deluxe and all the freebies up to $300; use another 100 credits as mentioned above and get all the $100 freebies; use another 50 credits to get, say, one of the T-RackS CSR modules and get a bunch of $39-$49 SampleTank sets and cheap T-RackS modules, and you'll still have 50 Gear Credits left over. I haven't yet made an exhaustive inventory of every item in the Group Buy with their prices to know whether you could literally catch 'em all, but it would for sure be more stuff than you could ever possibly need.

Enjoy, and happy hunting!
https://www.ikmultimedia.com/25gb/


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## bill5

omfg and I thought the 8Dio sales were a cluster lol


----------



## dunamisstudio

widescreen said:


> If you come to the point that you need something from VSL, ask ThinkSpace to send you a confirmation letter for your course. I've done that and could register for the ongoing EDU sale. Then you get 40% until 1st Oct and not only 25% like on cinematiccomposing. Only after 1st Oct it goes down to 25% again.
> 
> Worked perfectly with a $20 sale course I bought last year.


They'll give edu status for that?

I could of saved a lot if I knew that. bought several courses from Thinkspace and bunch of stuff from VSL. thankfully I got it during sales.


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## bill5

Colin66 said:


> Thanks to everyone who is contributing to this discussion. It's really helpful for me, and hopefully in the future for other people new to this predicament as well!
> What I am thinking about is the IKM GB deal. If I buy Modo Bass for €299 - which everyone says is great, and I definitely will use - and on top of that I get to choose 10, 15, 20 or 25 products for the same price, for free, then I'm better off doing that. I could then buy any libraries I still need, as solo instruments, and save a ton of money, rather than buy Komplete 13 UCE for €1200. Definitely got my brain cells working now!
> (I can then wait for Black Friday if I discover I need any libraries still)


I think, and as you're starting to realize, it pays to shop around. IMO you should keep shopping around, and browse some of the threads here on various instruments, libraries, etc. Not because you'll get a universal "buy this" answer, but you'll get a lot of info, even though some of it is subjective...and in my experience, while not definitive, the more agreement you see on a product or even aspects about a product, the more likely it is to be valid.


----------



## Colin66

Markrs said:


> - Part 2 -
> 
> _3. The super-secret best option if it works out for you!_​
> There is another offer going on right now - if you buy the bundle of ARC System 3 with the measurement microphone ($249, or $149 Crossgrade) and register it by the end of August, you'll get T-RackS 5 Deluxe for free. That's in addition to the ARC purchase unlocking up to 24 more freebies in the Group Buy. The trick here is, it's a hardware purchase, which means shipping, and you must have the product in hand and registered with IK by August 31 to get all the fantastical goodies. You want to get the full version, even if you would be eligible for the crossgrade - as mentioned above, most of really interesting freebies are $200, so if you bought the $149 ARC Crossgrade you wouldn't be able to get those.
> 
> ARC + Microphone is unfortunately currently out of stock at many online stores. You CAN order it (with free shipping in the US and EU) direct from IK, and "GROOVE3IKM" works too, bringing it down to $212 / $126. In my experience, that gives you a little bit of slack - if it happens to arrive after the 31st, you can probably work with IK's Support to get all the good stuff. I've asked IK for confirmation about that. Otherwise, shop around - I see a few available from resellers on reverb.com for as little as $199 for the full version, which would be an even better deal - you might want to pay for the expedited shipping. Or if bhphotovideo.com gets it back in stock, they were previously selling it for $183 with free two-day shipping, which would be an amazing deal.
> 
> _4. The "I Want It All" option!_​
> If you were planning to do any of the Gear Credit options above, consider buying 100-200 more Gear Credits than you need, because it gets cheaper per credit if you buy more at once. Then, after your initial buy-in, buy almost any 100 Gear Credit items in the Custom Shop - a T-RackS module, or an Amplitube collection, anything that's in the Group Buy. That will give you a whole new set of up to 24 freebies of $100 or less. That would be enough to fill out almost all the available T-RackS modules and almost all of the Amplitube Collections. Just be sure not to use your first $200-$300 qualifying purchase on any $100 items - get all the more valuable freebies first.
> 
> Whether you're a new IK customer or not, you could get a 500 Gear Credit pack for under $300 with "GROOVE3IKM" (even less if you have a lot of Jampoints!) and end up with basically everything IK makes, assuming the Group Buy gets up anywhere near 24 freebies. Use 300 credits to get T-RackS 5 Deluxe and all the freebies up to $300; use another 100 credits as mentioned above and get all the $100 freebies; use another 50 credits to get, say, one of the T-RackS CSR modules and get a bunch of $39-$49 SampleTank sets and cheap T-RackS modules, and you'll still have 50 Gear Credits left over. I haven't yet made an exhaustive inventory of every item in the Group Buy with their prices to know whether you could literally catch 'em all, but it would for sure be more stuff than you could ever possibly need.
> 
> Enjoy, and happy hunting!
> https://www.ikmultimedia.com/25gb/


There are some very smart people at NASA who've been dragged away from multi-billion dollar projects to work all of that out


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## Markrs

Colin66 said:


> There are some very smart people at NASA who've been dragged away from multi-billion dollar projects to work all of that out


Indeed, maximising Plugin sales can sometimes be a complicated business. On the plus side following one of the options could save you some money.


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## Colin66

Markrs said:


> Indeed, maximising Plugin sales can sometimes be a complicated business. On the plus side following one of the options could save you some money.


Hell yeah, I'm grateful for the post.....and the genius who worked it all out!


----------



## RSK

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> From what I’ve seen on the forum in other threads like this, people often recommend Spitfire’s BBC Symphonic Orchestra Core as a good all-round orchestral library.


This is an excellent suggestion because not only do you get a good all-in-one orchestral library, but they have templates for the major DAWs and a playback template for Dorico, should you decide to use that for notation.


----------



## Colin66

RSK said:


> This is an excellent suggestion because not only do you get a good all-in-one orchestral library, but they have templates for the major DAWs and a playback template for Dorico, should you decide to use that for notation.


@Markrs gave me a heads-up on a way to get a 40% discount - taking a course for $7 - which gets me this library for a max of £240 instead of £400 - that makes it an even better bargain. Thanks for the advice!


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## Markrs

Colin66 said:


> @Markrs gave me a heads-up on a way to get a 40% discount - taking a course for $7 - which gets me this library for a max of £240 instead of £400 - that makes it an even better bargain. Thanks for the advice!


I think Spitfire Audio is currently 30% discount but they do a 40% edu discount one a year. Spitfire also do about 3 40% discounts for everyone during the year. The next sale will be 30% with a freebie if you spend over a certain amount. Plus they will do “The Ton“ where you get bundle of libraries for £100 which is normally around 80% off retail price! The also do collections which are often around 60% off

So in the case of Spitfire you are better off waiting for Black Friday. The next 40% Spitfire sale will most likely be at the end of the year.


----------



## Colin66

Markrs said:


> I think Spitfire Audio is currently 30% discount but they do a 40% edu discount one a year. Spitfire also do about 3 40% discounts for everyone during the year. The next sale will be 30% with a freebie if you spend over a certain amount. Plus they will do “The Ton“ where you get bundle of libraries for £100 which is normally around 80% off retail price! The also do collections which are often around 60% off
> 
> So in the case of Spitfire you are better off waiting for Black Friday. The next 40% Spitfire sale will most likely be at the end of the year.


Yeah you're right, it is 30%. Still, it's great to know that these discounts are/will be around!


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## bill5

Plus by that time you may realize you don't want/need it.


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## Colin66

bill5 said:


> Plus by that time you may realize you don't want/need it.


Ha, yeah true!


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## dunamisstudio

Markrs said:


> _4. The "I Want It All" option!_​


I did that option last year and crossgraded to Total Studio 3 Max.


----------



## DoubleTap

Hi Colin. If I could start over, I would have saved myself a lot of money (but maybe spending money has been some of the fun).

My view is that a total beginner should stick to the free DAWs and free effects, but a committed beginner is generally going to be better off with either Logic or Ableton Live because those have the biggest ecosystems of tutorials and so on. It's better to be using the same basic kit as the people you're learning from, or the people you're working with. But Reaper might tick those boxes for your genres - it seems to be a perfectly decent DAW.

I wish I had bought an S-series NI keyboard with Komplete Select, and then upgraded to Ultimate in June, rather than the MPK Mini and a separate version of Komplete Select and the upgrade. I might be wrong about the keyboard. But Kontakt is essential.

Your attitude that it's worth spending money on big ticket stuff now is something I'm totally on board with, if you've got the money and are sure you're going to keep going. It's mostly about learning how things work and a plugin is a time investment whether or not you pay for it. I'd pick out Vital and Valhalla Supermassive as essential freebies - there are other good things too, but many free or 90% discount plugs just replicate something you can already do in your DAW that may not be obvious. That's why having an ecosystem to tap into is so important.

The things that would be top of my list would be Fabfilter and U-he. You don't necessarily need them, but they are top quality and they take time to learn. U-he sales are rare and unpredictable; Fabfilter do 25% off at various points in the year. Depending on what you want to do, you may also like Melodyne - not just for vocals but for fixing or rearranging other instruments and it's very powerful as a sound design tool as well. It's one of the few things you can't do in most DAWs.

I don't regret buying anything by Valhalla, Soundtoys or Arturia, and I get great use out of Omnisphere and Chromaphone, but they are ultimately luxury items for me. You might find Scaler 2 useful as well as a compositional tool, depending on how well your piano is going.


----------



## Colin66

DoubleTap said:


> Hi Colin. If I could start over, I would have saved myself a lot of money (but maybe spending money has been some of the fun).
> 
> My view is that a total beginner should stick to the free DAWs and free effects, but a committed beginner is generally going to be better off with either Logic or Ableton Live because those have the biggest ecosystems of tutorials and so on. It's better to be using the same basic kit as the people you're learning from, or the people you're working with. But Reaper might tick those boxes for your genres - it seems to be a perfectly decent DAW.
> 
> I wish I had bought an S-series NI keyboard with Komplete Select, and then upgraded to Ultimate in June, rather than the MPK Mini and a separate version of Komplete Select and the upgrade. I might be wrong about the keyboard. But Kontakt is essential.
> 
> Your attitude that it's worth spending money on big ticket stuff now is something I'm totally on board with, if you've got the money and are sure you're going to keep going. It's mostly about learning how things work and a plugin is a time investment whether or not you pay for it. I'd pick out Vital and Valhalla Supermassive as essential freebies - there are other good things too, but many free or 90% discount plugs just replicate something you can already do in your DAW that may not be obvious. That's why having an ecosystem to tap into is so important.
> 
> The things that would be top of my list would be Fabfilter and U-he. You don't necessarily need them, but they are top quality and they take time to learn. U-he sales are rare and unpredictable; Fabfilter do 25% off at various points in the year. Depending on what you want to do, you may also like Melodyne - not just for vocals but for fixing or rearranging other instruments and it's very powerful as a sound design tool as well. It's one of the few things you can't do in most DAWs.
> 
> I don't regret buying anything by Valhalla, Soundtoys or Arturia, and I get great use out of Omnisphere and Chromaphone, but they are ultimately luxury items for me. You might find Scaler 2 useful as well as a compositional tool, depending on how well your piano is going.


Hi DT,

Thanks for the insight and advice. My initial idea was to get Komplete 13 Ultimate Collectors Edition and have done with it, but I'm moving away from that idea. Pretty sure I'll get the NI S88 MK2 and either Komplete 13 or Komplete 13 Select.
I'm looking at the IKM GB deal and thinking of the Modo Bass plus a ton of freebies. Also there are a couple of plugins that everyone says are great, such as Valhalla, so I'll probably get those and one or two others I want, such as an Electric Piano and guitar. I'll also check out the ones you mention, such as U-He. All that lot will cost me less than the Komplete 13 UCE! I'll then spend a month or so evaluating what I have, what I still want and get those in the Black Friday sales. Stuff like Omnisphere I'll get when on sale, I've heard a lot of good things about it!

Slowly my plan is coming together!

Cheers,
Col.


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## Markrs

Colin66 said:


> Omnisphere I'll get when on sale


Omnisphere never officially goes on sale. You can at times get out for 20% off in the UK via eBay when they do a 20% off code for selected sellers. One of those sellers is Music Matter ( they are a genuine retail business, I also got my Omnisphere via them) and they sell boxed version of Omnisphere and allow you to use the discount code.

They often run out of stock and I notice at the moment they are only selling Spectrasonics Stylus, so hard to know when they will have Omnisphere in stock again









Music Matter | eBay Stores


Music Technology specialising in professional recording and studio equipment including Audio Interfaces, Midi Keyboards & Controllers, Music Software, Microphones, Headphones, Studio Monitors & Acoustic Treatment. Call 0330 380 1135 for advice & support.



www.ebay.co.uk


----------



## Colin66

Markrs said:


> Omnisphere never officially goes on sale. You can at times get out for 20% off in the UK via eBay when they do a 20% off code for selected sellers. One of those sellers is Music Matter ( they are a genuine retail business, I also got my Omnisphere via them) and they sell boxed version of Omnisphere and allow you to use the discount code.
> 
> They often run out of stock and I notice at the moment they are only selling Spectrasonics Stylus, so hard to know when they will have Omnisphere in stock again
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Music Matter | eBay Stores
> 
> 
> Music Technology specialising in professional recording and studio equipment including Audio Interfaces, Midi Keyboards & Controllers, Music Software, Microphones, Headphones, Studio Monitors & Acoustic Treatment. Call 0330 380 1135 for advice & support.
> 
> 
> 
> www.ebay.co.uk


Thanks for that, I'll just play it by ear I guess.


----------



## DoubleTap

Colin66 said:


> Hi DT,
> 
> Thanks for the insight and advice. My initial idea was to get Komplete 13 Ultimate Collectors Edition and have done with it, but I'm moving away from that idea. Pretty sure I'll get the NI S88 MK2 and either Komplete 13 or Komplete 13 Select.
> I'm looking at the IKM GB deal and thinking of the Modo Bass plus a ton of freebies. Also there are a couple of plugins that everyone says are great, such as Valhalla, so I'll probably get those and one or two others I want, such as an Electric Piano and guitar. I'll also check out the ones you mention, such as U-He. All that lot will cost me less than the Komplete 13 UCE! I'll then spend a month or so evaluating what I have, what I still want and get those in the Black Friday sales. Stuff like Omnisphere I'll get when on sale, I've heard a lot of good things about it!
> 
> Slowly my plan is coming together!
> 
> Cheers,
> Col.



Definitely get Komplete 13 and look at the guitars and pianos in that - there are loads. I don't have any IKM stuff and my gear list says I probably don't need any of it, but this group buy probably would be great for someone starting out. Download the free stuff first and take a look at it though - I found it a bit unintuitive but I was still in total newbie mode when I first looked at IKM. Lots of people go on about the Modo Bass - I'm sure it's great but I have had some good results for non-dance stuff from Komplete's Scarbee basses.

And make a spreadsheet of your gear and what it does, so that you don't forget what you've got - it's easy to overlook some of the Kontakt instruments in particular, since they don't show up in your DAW's plugin list.


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## Markrs

DoubleTap said:


> Komplete's Scarbee basses


The Scarebee basses might be a bit old these days but they still sound great and you can get most techniques from it that you would need


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## bill5

DoubleTap said:


> many free or 90% discount plugs just replicate something you can already do in your DAW that may not be obvious.


The same can be said of more expensive plugins, but I agree that the plugins that come with a DAW are often overlooked and underrated. 

I would not get Komplete; you can get Kontakt for only $125 now, if you're determined to get into the NI world, which itself is hardly necessary, but does open up a lot of other stuff. But hey it's your money.


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## DoubleTap

bill5 said:


> The same can be said of more expensive plugins, but I agree that the plugins that come with a DAW are often overlooked and underrated.
> 
> I would not get Komplete; you can get Kontakt for only $125 now, if you're determined to get into the NI world, which itself is hardly necessary, but does open up a lot of other stuff. But hey it's your money.


Yes absolutely agree about the expensive plugins point. 

I'm still a bit torn about Komplete. I don't use the effects, the synths, Reaktor, Guitar Rig or the loops very often, if at all. It's pretty much just Kontakt. But at the same time, it feels like there are a load of good NI Kontakt instruments in K13 that I do use and would cost more than getting separately, and I also feel that eventually I'll get around to learning some of the FX and synths and that other people do use them - I feel like I overlook them the same way it's easy to overlook DAW plugins. I might use K13 more if I was still using a DAW without a suite of built-in plugs. But your argument not to bother is strong.


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## el-bo

Honestly, i wouldn't buy anything apart form the DAW. Not because freebies are just as good (although in many cases they are), but because you'll avoid many missteps.

Grab:

Spitfire 'Discover' (Free if you can wait 14-days)
Spitfire 'Labs'
Sign up for Orchestral Tools' subscription freebies.
Grab NI's free Komplete 'Start'
Download David Hilowitz' free 'Decent sampler' and head to Pianobook, to grab the DS freebies
Grab any or all of these - 'Vital', Surge', 'Podolski', 'Triple-Cheese', 'Zebralette' and 'Tyrell N6'
Grab all the free TDR and Klanghelm fx, the Valhalla freebies, Tal verbs & delays etc.

And between now and Black Friday/Xmas, use these plugins to help learn your DAW, while you research and read through the VI-C archives. BBCSO is great value at sales/edu prices, but if it ultimately isn't the sound you're after (and 'Core' isn't very flexible in sound) then that's money down-the-drain i.e not very good value, at all. BBCSO will come around again, real soon...and if you have 'Discover', the upgrade will be as low, when on sale.

If I'd recommend one thing to purchase, it'd be Kontakt, as mentioned above...in the current deal. Not only will you have some idea of what you're doing ahead of buying libraries, but you also get the included library and access to many, many more freebies.

I've got a ton of great paid software, but am currently working on three 100% freebie projects. I'd say it was for shits & giggles, or for the challenge, but nothing about the sounds I'm using scream "Free"


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## bill5

DoubleTap said:


> Yes absolutely agree about the expensive plugins point.
> 
> I'm still a bit torn about Komplete. I don't use the effects, the synths, Reaktor, Guitar Rig or the loops very often, if at all. It's pretty much just Kontakt. But at the same time, it feels like there are a load of good NI Kontakt instruments in K13 that I do use and would cost more than getting separately, and I also feel that eventually I'll get around to learning some of the FX and synths and that other people do use them - I feel like I overlook them the same way it's easy to overlook DAW plugins. I might use K13 more if I was still using a DAW without a suite of built-in plugs. But your argument not to bother is strong.


It is subjective for sure; I know Komplete has its fans/groupies  But it's one hell of a lot of money to take a chance on, esp if you're just starting out, not sure really what will or won't work for you etc. If you buy it and it turns out not to be worth it, you're S.O.L. But if you don't and later it becomes clearer/more likely it is worth it, it can still be bought.


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## PeterN

I would throw 1/3 of the budget on analog equipment, unless you got them already. Like....a mic, giutar, interface etc. Or something else. Whatever is your spec talent.

You need to blend in analog, otherwise it tastes like a canned soup, comp to as restaurant soup.


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## bill5

Certainly nothing wrong with that, but certainly not necessary.


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## el-bo

bill5 said:


> If you buy it and it turns out not to be worth it, you're S.O.L.


Pretty sure it can be sold, no?


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## bill5

Pretty sure yeah, good point, but however much less you sell it for you're still out of. Can't say what a second-hand Komplete goes for normally.


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## b_elliott

Markrs said:


> Hi Collin, below is a post by someone of KVR and on their Facebook group, it is really useful if you plan to take part in the IKM GB:
> 
> — Part 1 -
> 
> Since I've been researching around a lot, time for another huge post! This one is entitled: "How to Maximize the Value of the IK Multimedia Group Buy".
> 
> I'm starting with a few assumptions:
> 
> 
> The Group Buy will get up to at least, say, 10 freebies. It's up to 3 and will probably hit 4 tomorrow, and seems to be accelerating slightly, so that seem safe. All past IK Group Buys have been extended and ended up hitting their max levels, although they've never been anywhere close to 24 freebies, so it's hard to guess how good it might get; but 10 seems like a safe bet.
> You would like to get the highest overall dollar value for the lowest overall dollar investment.
> 
> The sweet spot here seems to be a $200 MSRP item, because once you own one item worth at least $99, you're eligible for Crossgrade pricing on many others, and a whole bunch of them have a $200 Crossgrade price: AmpliTube 5, SampleTank 4, MixBox, MODO Drum, MODO Bass, Syntronik, SampleTron 2, and Hammond B-3X. There's only a few things in the Group Buy higher than $200, and they're IMHO not particularly interesting except for T-Racks 5 (Miroslav Philharmonik Crossgrade is $299, but it's really not very good; and Syntronik Deluxe is $269, which only gets you 5 additional synths over the base Syntronik, and if you really need to you can get those 5 as freebies).
> 
> T-RackS 5 messes this up a little bit, as it doesn't have a Crossgrade price. Your options are T-RackS 5 ($149), which comes with 9 modules; T-RackS SE (also $149), which comes with 10 modules including 4 that are the same as T-RackS 5; or T-RackS 5 Deluxe ($299), which comes with 22 modules. There are also another couple dozen modules available for individual purchase, mostly around $99 apiece. So the options below will vary a little bit depending on whether T-RackS 5 is more important to you. IMHO, T-RackS and many of the available modules are amongst the best stuff IK has to offer, so it's worth considering. If you don't end up getting Deluxe through one of the deals below, I'd recommend getting T-RackS 5 SE as one of your freebies, and probably picking up some of the individual modules as well.
> 
> I made a spreadsheet to help keep track of everything, including which products are contained in which other products (including Total Studio 2 MAX, Total Studio 3 SE, and Total Studio 3 MAX in case you own those). Enjoy, and leave comments if you see something that's wrong or missing! https://docs.google.com/.../1uuVda21gIuoTWHwLCjZg.../edit...
> 
> So for the Group Buy, you get freebies that have an equal or less MSRP than your initial qualifying purchase. It doesn't matter how much you actually _spend_, only what the MSRP of the item is. So the game is afoot: Find the highest-MSRP product for the lowest price! Pretty much nothing IK makes is currently on sale, of course, but they do have their Custom Shop Gear Credits. A number of Group Buy qualifying items can be bought with Gear Credits (and don't worry - if you buy them that way, you'll still be able to pick any freebies in the Group Buy, even ones that aren't available with Gear Credits). And Gear Credits are cheaper the more you buy, which is the best way to save money for your qualifying purchases right now.
> 
> So, here's what I think you should do. Option 1 is for new customers, while Option 2 is for existing IK customers. Options 3 and 4 are bigger and better possibilities for either existing or new customers.
> 
> _1. You currently own no IK products with an MSRP over $99._​
> Cheapest option: buy "ARC System 3 - Software only", which is the only item in the sale with a NON-Crossgrade price of $200. Use the coupon code "GROOVE3IKM" to bring it down to $170. ARC itself won't be immediately useful to you without a measurement microphone, but you can buy that later; this is just to unlock the best value options in the Group Buy. Unfortunately ARC isn't available with Gear Credits, so you just have to buy it outright the old-fashioned way.
> 
> Better option: for only $21 more, head to https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/index.php... and buy a "Custom Shop 300 Gear Credits" pack for $225. Use the coupon code "GROOVE3IKM" to bring it down to $191. Then install Custom Shop on your computer, and use those 300 Gear Credits to buy T-RackS 5 Deluxe. That not only gets you about half of the T-RackS modules right away, but since you bought a $300 MSRP item, you'll be eligible for the few freebies with an MSRP higher than $199, namely Syntronik Deluxe and Miroslav Philharmonik 2.
> 
> _2. You already own at least one IK product with an MSRP over $99._​
> Cheapest option: head over to https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/index.php... and buy a "Custom Shop 200 Gear Credits" pack for $160. If you have any Jampoints, use them too, which can bring it down as low as $112; or use the coupon "GROOVE3IKM" to get it for $136. Then, open up Custom Shop on your computer and use those Gear Credits to buy AmpliTube 5, SampleTank 4, Syntronik, or SampleTron 2 - any of them you don't already own will do the job. Now you can get all the other $200 items for free
> ​


Excellent helpful thread. I decided to buy into the GB after testing out SampleTank4 demo. 

Today I went the route of buying 300 Gear Credits, purchased Amplitude 5 (now loaded and registered).

I entered the Group Buy and selected SampleTank4 as my first freebie. I got that approved and provided a serial number. Now however, IK Product Manager won't connect, so a temp no-go on downloading to see if that GB actually works.

So I'm curious if you (or another) knows if this glitch is simply a heavy traffic load on IK? 

Also since the GB is up to 9 (as of now) must I select these today, or can I make my choices later on after more perusal of my needs?

Wild times! Appreciate vi forum the most for times like this.


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## Colin66

b_elliott said:


> Also since the GB is up to 9 (as of now) must I select these today, or can I make my choices later on after more perusal of my needs?


Pretty sure you have 30 days from the date of your initial purchase.


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## cedricm

Colin66 said:


> @Markrs gave me a heads-up on a way to get a 40% discount - taking a course for $7 - which gets me this library for a max of £240 instead of £400 - that makes it an even better bargain. Thanks for the advice!


Which $7 course?


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## Markrs

cedricm said:


> Which $7 course?


It was the "Essential Composing Foundation" now called ""I'M A COMPOSER" 5-DAYS CHALLENGE"
which is now $97, as the $7 price was a very limited time deal. I'm not sure if it will be repeated or not as the deal coincided with the subscription release so it might have been to gain more members. However they often have high discounts on courses during Black Friday.

https://imacomposer.com/efc-course-92398429
Ignore the $497 as it was never that price, it was $7 then went up to $97


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