# **OFFICIAL THREAD: The Foundry** - Christmas Sale - 25% Off



## Sonicsmiths (Jun 19, 2015)

Greetings VI'ers!

Sonicsmiths is proud to officially announce their new musical sound design tool called The Foundry.

TEASER: (Audio 100% created by the Foundry)


WALKTHROUGH: General Walkthrough Video


*ADDED DEMOS:

*


INFO:
The Foundry is a new sound design tool based in NI's Kontakt Player. As music makers, we're often in a time crunch or need some instant inspiration for a new original sound. Foundry's new "Adjective Assignable Randomizing Engine" (AARE) employs a brand new technique to automatically generate unique patches. By using keywords you are able to tell The Foundry what kind of sound you want to make like Cold Mysterious Beds, Metallic Horrific Textures, Warm Dark Pads, Distorted Hits, Bright Organic Rhythmics, or any other combination of adjectives. Then using the "Template" mode you can take any patch you created to make Drops, Rises, Pulses, Long Washes, Clipped leads, etc. quickly without getting your hands dirty. You no longer have to hunt for presets - The Foundry will assemble the patch for you, applying FX, LFOs, Envelopes, etc... - creating a unique patch, allowing you to break free from the preset.

The Foundry is 4-voice X-Y morphable engine with around 19gb (uncompressed) with over 1200 voices, 18k+ samples all sourced from both acoustic and synthetic sources. Through the use of Body Designers, Grainers, Modulators, Step Sequencers, etc - The Foundry can create over 3 quintillion combinations of sounds, but that really doesn't matter when you need just one sound, the right sound - YOUR sound.

Sonicsmiths are Michael Hobe and Sam Estes, who have been working as musical sound designers and samplists in LA for the past 8 years, collaborating with some of the biggest names in the industry. Their credits include: Inception, Dark Knight, Sherlock Holmes, Modern Warfare 2, Crysis 2, and most recently Mad Max: Fury Road, and Inside Out.

The Foundry is being released and distributed through Big Fish Audio for $299. On sale through Dec 27th - 25% off!

For more information
http://www.bigfishaudio.com/The-Foundry

Check out our demos and user quotes here:
http://sonicsmiths.com/instruments/foundry/


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## Mystic (Jun 19, 2015)

Sounds very interesting. Will keep my eyes on this one.


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## Guy Rowland (Jun 20, 2015)

Yes, very interesting indeed. It's the first synth I can think of in a very long time that genuinely has something different at the heart of it. Its such an appealing idea to be able to start from a position of these meaningful terms - like a tag browser, but rather than leading to the same set of patches you may either have already exhausted or then need to further refine, it (in theory) should lead you to something original every single time.

Can't wait to see / hear this in practice, hope it lives up to its clever idea.


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## TheUnfinished (Jun 20, 2015)

That does look and sound rather interesting. Very celever idea if it's implemented well (I've no reason to doubt it would be with your track record guys!).

Can you release anything else after this though?! 

EDIT: *whispers* You might have wanted to spend a little bit more time researching competitor products though, as there's already something out there similar called The Forge, and there's bound to be some people getting confused at some point.


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## Robym (Jun 20, 2015)

...a quintillion of sonic combinations?!?!?!?

this must be really THE WORLDESTS MOSTEST POWERFULEST CINEMATIC-EST VIRTUALEST INSTRUMENTEST. 

but it does indeed sound interesting...

Daniel James, another 3 hour video awaits...


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## The Darris (Jun 20, 2015)

I can say that this is a great tool. I got a chance to test out their demo of it at NAMM back in January. And since then, they have added a lot of content plus functionality. I've been holding off any sound design library purchase since I saw this 6 months ago. I can't wait to see more on this. July can't come fast enough.


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## Richard Wilkinson (Jun 20, 2015)

Does this do tempo-synced stuff? Assuming there's scope for whooshes and risers, can one design these to be a certain musical length, like cinestrings runs or Gravity? Sounds good!


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## benmrx (Jun 20, 2015)

I'm really liking the sound and approach with this library. I must say though that I'm a little turned off by the 'Bigfish' release/distribution. I've always stayed away from them because of their EULA's. Will we need to write Bigfish and ask permission to use 'The Foundry' in any commercial releases or cues for adverts or libraries? If so, do we need to ask for every cue, or only once? 

I.E., if I buy 'The Foundry' and use it in a cue for an advert do I have to first write BigFish and ask permission..., then a month later I want to use the library in a short film...., do I have to ask again?


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## Guy Rowland (Jun 20, 2015)

benmrx @ Sat Jun 20 said:


> I'm really liking the sound and approach with this library. I must say though that I'm a little turned off by the 'Bigfish' release/distribution. I've always stayed away from them because of their EULA's. Will we need to write Bigfish and ask permission to use 'The Foundry' in any commercial releases or cues for adverts or libraries? If so, do we need to ask for every cue, or only once?
> 
> I.E., if I buy 'The Foundry' and use it in a cue for an advert do I have to first write BigFish and ask permission..., then a month later I want to use the library in a short film...., do I have to ask again?



I'm 99% sure that those restrictions only apply to certain Big Fish branded products, not to general other stuff that they happen to sell. This being branded Sonicsmiths presumably means it wouldn't apply - hopefully Sam E can confirm.


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## catsass (Jun 20, 2015)

Robym @ Sat Jun 20 said:


> ...a quintillion of sonic combinations?!?!?!?
> this must be really THE WORLDESTS MOSTEST POWERFULEST CINEMATIC-EST VIRTUALEST INSTRUMENTEST.
> but it does indeed sound interesting...
> Daniel James, another 3 hour video awaits...



3 Hours? Daniel James will probably be tied up for at least another several months on the 2,400 trillion sonic combinations in CG Infinity.


On another note, will there be periodic updates to the Foundry Adjective Assignable Randomizing Engine database? Or possibly Adjective Expansion Packs?


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## benmrx (Jun 20, 2015)

Guy Rowland @ Sat Jun 20 said:


> benmrx @ Sat Jun 20 said:
> 
> 
> > I'm really liking the sound and approach with this library. I must say though that I'm a little turned off by the 'Bigfish' release/distribution. I've always stayed away from them because of their EULA's. Will we need to write Bigfish and ask permission to use 'The Foundry' in any commercial releases or cues for adverts or libraries? If so, do we need to ask for every cue, or only once?
> ...



Thanks Guy, hope you're right!!


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## Sonicsmiths (Jun 20, 2015)

@benmrx - we have our own EULA we will be using, Big Fish is our distributor, not the content creator. I will double check with our lawyers but I doubt there will be that type of restriction on Films and TV shows like that, should follow any standardized EULA you have with any other sound design tools out there. 

@wilx - all delays, LFOs and Step Modulators are tempo sync-able, Envelops are done via ms/seconds. 

@TheUnfinished - we have been in development for almost a year now, and were quite aware of when the Forge came out, our sound design tool is quite different, so we felt there would not be too much confusion. There's also the software Sonic Foundry, which became Sound Forge...

@Catsass - We have some pretty big plans for this tool, we need to get it launched first then we will start to reveal more information.

Thanks all for the comments! We'll be adding more info shortly.

-Sam


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## benmrx (Jun 20, 2015)

Sonicsmiths @ Sat Jun 20 said:


> @benmrx - we have our own EULA we will be using, Big Fish is our distributor, not the content creator. I will double check with our lawyers but I doubt there will be that type of restriction on Films and TV shows like that, should follow any standardized EULA you have with any other sound design tools out there.
> 
> @wilx - all delays, LFOs and Step Modulators are tempo sync-able, Envelops are done via ms/seconds.
> 
> ...



Great! Thanks for the info. Really looking forward to more details!! Oh.., and by the way there's also a company called 'The Foundry' that makes plugins for After Effects.


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## feck (Jun 20, 2015)

Looks really cool guys!


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## blougui (Jun 21, 2015)

looks and sounds great !


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## gjelul (Jun 24, 2015)

Any idea when it will be released for real?

Probably have missed it, but what is the sound source? Synth patches? 

Looks very interesting.


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## Sonicsmiths (Aug 12, 2015)

We have a release date!! August 21st.

We are in our final testing stages now. 

Check out our new general walkthrough video here:


Demos coming soon!

Pre-order and intro pricing is at $249USD ($299 regular)


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## Sonicsmiths (Aug 19, 2015)

Demos are now posted on our website along with more info!

http://sonicsmiths.com/instruments/foundry/


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## feck (Aug 20, 2015)

Bought - really looking forward to this. What a cool concept.


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## SomeGuy (Aug 21, 2015)

Watching the videos now and I'm impressed!

In your video you mentioned the template menu with a specific example of making a bed pulse. Is it possible to apply this quickly to only specific parts of the patch, or is it a global setting? Hopefully there is options to do both, as I could see myself wanting an entire bed to pulse or maybe just specific parts of the sound to pulse. Also does this pulsing (assuming its the step sequencer) have a mix knob so you can automate when it pulses and when its back to being a straight pad? (as you can tell I'm getting creatively inspired already, haha!)

With all the randomization you can do, do you also have "undo/redo" control? I can easily see myself trying the randomization, only to not be happy with the result and wish I could go back to the previous patch, effect settings, etc. Even just loading one of those "template menus" I may wish to go back to the previous patch before apply the template menu, etc. I know for me sound design is a lot of trial and error, and having undo/redo functionality would make this less frustrating.


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## Sonicsmiths (Aug 21, 2015)

@SomeGuy 

Great questions, a lot of them are answered in our video guides, we put in chapters so you can jump to those areas (such as undo/redo randomization) - make sure you are watching on a youtube approved device (such as youtube via desktop).

As for the Pulsing... The 12 template modes applies a type/speed of pulse to all four voices, and locks the pulsing to those 4 voices, so what ever you randomize will still pulse in that template. You can turn off any of the pulses on any of the voices by doing one of two things:
1) Voice tab:FILTER - If the pulse is LPF or HPF based, then just turn off the filter here or directly on the Performance Page.
2) Settings Page:MODULATOR (LFO or Step) - there is a 4x4 grid for assignment to each voice, you can quickly turn off the modulator (volume/filter, etc) directly from that page.

In the AARE there is a pulsing adjective that will apply a pulse to voice tabs, could only be 1 voice or all 4 or any combination in between.

Also - Keep in mind both Step Modulator and Step Sequencer are two different things, one modulates the sound via a +/- value (Settings Page:Step1-3) one triggers back new midi notes via a step sequencer (Voice Tab:Seq).

-Sam


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## feck (Aug 21, 2015)

Man those Big Fish servers are dog slow - been downloading for 4 hours.


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## catsass (Aug 21, 2015)

feck said:


> Man those Big Fish servers are dog slow - been downloading for 4 hours.


Keep us posted. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on the purchase.


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## feck (Aug 23, 2015)

I've spent a few hours with it and really like what it is capable of. I was able to very quickly get a bunch of sounds that are useful and vibey. Definitely a fun way to create sounds.


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## catsass (Aug 24, 2015)

feck said:


> I've spent a few hours with it and really like what it is capable of. I was able to very quickly get a bunch of sounds that are useful and vibey. Definitely a fun way to create sounds.


Sounds good! Do you feel that it brought something new to the table for you?


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## feck (Aug 24, 2015)

catsass said:


> Sounds good! Do you feel that it brought something new to the table for you?


That's hard to say - I own a LOT of synths and sample sets. I can say that this was getting me some inspiring results very quickly.


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## catsass (Aug 26, 2015)

Has anyone else taken the plunge and would care to share their unbridled enthusiasm, sullen indifference, or utter disdain?


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## Guy Rowland (Aug 26, 2015)

I was a beta tester (full disclosure). It's a pretty remarkable tool, and I'm in love with the concept of using tags to actually program, as opposed to selecting patches. I found it worked brilliantly sometimes (especially pads), less so at other times. My feeling is that they've done some serious heavy lifting to get it to 1.0 and congratulations are due. And I'm even more excited about where it will go with upcoming revisions and refinement.

BTW, if you haven't already, definitely watch the official online videos. I got a ton out of them, helped me understand the thinking behind the synth, and how to approach it. I'll be spending more time with it learning its ways.


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## woodsdenis (Aug 26, 2015)

The issue I have with this is, as brilliant as the scripting is, you are still stuck with the limitations of the Kontakt engine. A lot of these type of libraries sound very similar due to this , same filter, effects, sequencer etc. There is no doubting the pedigree of the team and had this been 2 years ago I would have been much more excited. I am just covered for this type of thing.


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## The Darris (Aug 26, 2015)

woodsdenis said:


> The issue I have with this is, as brilliant as the scripting is, you are still stuck with the limitations of the Kontakt engine. A lot of these type of libraries sound very similar due to this , same filter, effects, sequencer etc. There is no doubting the pedigree of the team and had this been 2 years ago I would have been much more excited. I am just covered for this type of thing.


Sounds like you have an issue with Kontakt versus this software. 

I am reviewing this library and I will say in my early work with it, it is leagues above a lot of the sound design tools on the market, mainly for its use of AARE. I have a strong feeling that they will update this tool in the future with more content which will only add to the longevity of this tool. If you are the type of sound designer who likes to have 100% fully control over every aspect of sound, then you might not like this just because it uses Kontakt. However, for my recent work, I've need fast and quick sounds to accomplish what I need and I want them to sound original. That is what this tool does perfectly. I've found this tool kit to be the right mix of complexity for tailoring each sound as well as simple and inspiring to use. For the cost, it beats what is currently available, bold statement...I know, but that is my honest thoughts as I've spent quite a few hours this week playing around with everything it has to offer.


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## woodsdenis (Aug 27, 2015)

The Darris said:


> Sounds like you have an issue with Kontakt versus this software.
> 
> I am reviewing this library and I will say in my early work with it, it is leagues above a lot of the sound design tools on the market, mainly for its use of AARE. I have a strong feeling that they will update this tool in the future with more content which will only add to the longevity of this tool. If you are the type of sound designer who likes to have 100% fully control over every aspect of sound, then you might not like this just because it uses Kontakt. However, for my recent work, I've need fast and quick sounds to accomplish what I need and I want them to sound original. That is what this tool does perfectly. I've found this tool kit to be the right mix of complexity for tailoring each sound as well as simple and inspiring to use. For the cost, it beats what is currently available, bold statement...I know, but that is my honest thoughts as I've spent quite a few hours this week playing around with everything it has to offer.



As I said as clever and original as the software is is still uses Kontakt so the issue is unfortunately with the whole package, you can't escape that. The FX in this (distortion/rotor/delay etc) are exactly the same as in every other Kontakt library. When a library is dependent on those FX for sound design, as this one is, and others, they have a similar sonic characteristic. I am not going as far as saying they all sound the same but certainly I detect a similarity in libraries that are FX driven. YMMV

Doesn't mean it's bad, because obviously it isn't, its just has the same sonic footprint of many other similar type libraries. In saying that the idea behind is intriguing and the randomisation can really only be demonstrated if you actually have the library in front of you rather than listening to demos..


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## SpeakPianissimoAndCarry.. (Aug 27, 2015)

Now they need to tie it into Apple's Siri and Windows' Cortana so we can have a conversation with it and it makes us a sound.


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## chillbot (Aug 27, 2015)

My biggest complain so far is I can't look at it without thinking of the hunger games graphic. And it took forever to download. But I'm about to start working with it, will report back!


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## catsass (Aug 28, 2015)

I took the plunge and have no regrets. It immediately fueled a healthy dose of inspiration that I'm currently knee deep in. I do, however, need to step away from The Foundry and tend to The Laundry.


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## Big Fish Audio (Sep 4, 2015)

There's only a few days left to get the $50 off intro offer. It ends this Sunday!


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## apessino (Sep 7, 2015)

Hello!

Bought this a couple of days ago - loving the sounds and the ideas, I find it very inspiring and fun to use! 

Only I have a (big) problem. With an instance of The Foundry in my project ANY tempo change in Cubase will cause the track to grind to a halt - pops/crackles/frozen. Amazingly, The Foundry does not even have to be playing, or have a particular setting - even if the track is muted the problem persists. The only fix is to unload or delete the track.

I am aware of the problems that some Kontakt based instruments have with tempo changes in Cubase (increased CPU usage and all) but this is something else. You don't even need a ramp or some sort of smoothly changing tempo: just activate the tempo track, set the tempo at the beginning, put a change anywhere (just a jump to a different value) and the problem is there, without exception. As soon as the playback marker goes over the tempo change the track pops and freezes in place. For the record: I am using Cubase Pro 8.0.20 on Win7 Pro, all 64 bit, all latest, etc. Am I the only one with the issue?

I hope this can be fixed soon, because as it is the instrument is basically unusable to me since it is rare that my tracks have the same tempo for more than a few measures. 

Thanks in advance!


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## Guy Rowland (Sep 8, 2015)

Apessino - this is a well known Kontakt issue and affects quite a few libraries. Make sure you update to the latest version (5.5.1) where the problem is significantly reduced - there's still quite a CPU hit on tempo ramps for me on these libraries, but it's ceased to be debilitating. The other work around has been to draw small steps rather than a ramp - far from ideal, but does make a big difference.


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## apessino (Sep 8, 2015)

Guy Rowland said:


> Apessino - this is a well known Kontakt issue and affects quite a few libraries. Make sure you update to the latest version (5.5.1) where the problem is significantly reduced - there's still quite a CPU hit on tempo ramps for me on these libraries, but it's ceased to be debilitating. The other work around has been to draw small steps rather than a ramp - far from ideal, but does make a big difference.



Hey Guy! Yup, as I mentioned I am aware of the issue and I have seen it before - and I do have the latest version of Kontakt.

With the Foundry the problem is exponentially worse - there is no workaround at all. All it takes is a single tempo change, a single "jump."

I just made a little experiment: new, empty project, added one The Foundry as an instrument track, activated the tempo track, set tempo to 120 at measure 1, set tempo at 80 at measure 4 (set to "jump" mode, no ramp at all). Playback with just the click (no data at all in the project). As soon as the playback marker crosses the change from 120 to 80 the whole thing halts to a crawl - seems like it crashed (no sing of a spike on the performance meters either). I have to hold the space bar down until it registers and playback stops.

No other Kontakt instrument I have tried exhibits the problem anywhere near this extent - it is definitely something specific to The Foundry.

I would love to know if others are experiencing the same issue or otherwise... thanks!


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## Guy Rowland (Sep 8, 2015)

Ooh fair dos. I'll check in the next day or two.


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## Sonicsmiths (Sep 8, 2015)

Hi Apessino,

I'm going to PM you so we can troubleshoot this together. We did a lot of testing with the tempo change thing on a few DAWs and did see some spikes, but as Guy said, they were generally resolved through updating to Kontakt 5.5.1 - This still sounds like a Kontakt issue, not much we can do other than report to them and give them the findings, unfortunately, but something does not seem right here to me, you shouldn't have this much of a grind...

FYI - Generally all bug tracking and issues should be resolved through Big Fish Audio customer support, they get brought on in our bug tracking/squashings and updated for the next version of The Foundry.

Best,

Sam


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## apessino (Sep 8, 2015)

Sonicsmiths said:


> Hi Apessino,
> 
> I'm going to PM you so we can troubleshoot this together. We did a lot of testing with the tempo change thing on a few DAWs and did see some spikes, but as Guy said, they were generally resolved through updating to Kontakt 5.5.1 - This still sounds like a Kontakt issue, not much we can do other than report to them and give them the findings, unfortunately, but something does not seem right here to me, you shouldn't have this much of a grind...
> 
> ...



Got your message and replied.

I had looked on your site for a support section and didn't find it, so I searched on Big Fish and could not find anything specific to The Foundry, so I thought I would ask here first to see if anyone else is having the same problem or if it just something with my configuration.

Thanks again for your prompt reply!


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## chillbot (Sep 8, 2015)

apessino said:


> Only I have a (big) problem. With an instance of The Foundry in my project ANY tempo change in Cubase will cause the track to grind to a halt - pops/crackles/frozen. Amazingly, The Foundry does not even have to be playing, or have a particular setting - even if the track is muted the problem persists. The only fix is to unload or delete the track.



Yup. I have the same problem in Sonar X3e. I don't even have to be using The Foundry, it affects ALL AUDIO in the session. If The Foundry is loaded (Kontakt 5.5.0.409) and there is a tempo change in the project, all the audio crackles and huge pops near the tempo change. It can not be used in a track with a tempo change for me, otherwise it works fine.


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## chillbot (Sep 8, 2015)

Let me in on your PMs! BTW just noticed you mentioned Kontakt 5.5.1 above and I am 0.0.1 behind you.... will update Kontakt and report back. Might not have time right now I'm in the middle of a project....


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## chillbot (Sep 8, 2015)

Did update to 5.5.1.451.... didn't make a difference. Here's how it pretty much goes for me:

Open a brand new project with no tracks no plugins, insert Kontakt. Load The Foundry, and insert a tempo change somewhere in the track.

If I try to use The Foundry, there is a huge glitch going over the tempo change. That's ok, sort of... I mean it's not ideal but I could work around it by bouncing it as audio away from the tempo change. Except that I can't use audio...

Now I mute Kontakt, try to record some audio from another source... huge glitch every time going over the tempo change.

Now I unload The Foundry (keeping Kontakt loaded), immediately no more glitches.

It's not just in record (though it will certainly print the pops in the audio if I am recording). If I drag in audio from somewhere, nothing will play over the tempo change as long as The Foundry is loaded. Anyone else get this?


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## apessino (Sep 8, 2015)

Hey chillbot! Everything you describe was EXACTLY the same for me when I tried the same experiment last night - except I am using Cubase Pro 8 (8.0.20) of course.


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## Sonicsmiths (Sep 8, 2015)

apessino said:


> Got your message and replied.
> 
> I had looked on your site for a support section and didn't find it, so I searched on Big Fish and could not find anything specific to The Foundry, so I thought I would ask here first to see if anyone else is having the same problem or if it just something with my configuration.
> 
> Thanks again for your prompt reply!



Yeah, Big Fish handles all the Customer Support, since we are not a really a "Sample Library" company we are not set up to handle support issues on the level that BFA is. Our primary business is Custom Sound Design and Synth Programming for Composers/Producers. Not to say we won't help though! 

You just submit an email with BFA:

http://www.bigfishaudio.com/about.html

-Sam


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## apessino (Sep 8, 2015)

Sonicsmiths said:


> Yeah, Big Fish handles all the Customer Support, since we are not a really a "Sample Library" company we are not set up to handle support issues on the level that BFA is. Our primary business is Custom Sound Design and Synth Programming for Composers/Producers. Not to say we won't help though!
> 
> You just submit an email with BFA:
> 
> ...



Thanks Sam, will do!


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## Sonicsmiths (Dec 9, 2015)

As we look forward to 2016, wanted to let you all know we have new things brewing with the Foundry. 

1) It's on Sale at Big Fish Audio for 25% through Dec 27th!
2) We are working on a v1.1 update to address some minor bugs and enhancement tweaks for next Quarter.
3) We've added some new demos, including some from Joseph Trapanese, Sam Smythe and many other talented composers.



If you have not taken the plunge yet into freeing yourself from presets, now's the time to start creating! If you are so bold, feel free to post some of your patches here - we'd love to hear what you are all working on.

Happy Holidays VI'ers!


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