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Orchestral Tools Metropolis Ark 4 - Elite Orchestral Forces

BHCT was the first thing that popped into my mind when reading the articulation list. The library sounds great but I'm still not convinced by this combination patches approach. That's literally the only thing that stopped me from buying BHCT, since I love the sound of it.

The pros about combination patches is that, I'm not sure how to say this but,
the samples capture the instruments resonating/affecting each other.
Something you won't get just by layering samples and using a reverb to blend them.
(its something like layering solo 4 horn patches won't sound the same as a sampled horn ensemble.)
The cons is, you're limited to that instrumentation/orchestration.
 
It must be just me that thinks some of the samples in the teaser sound almost synthetic or over-compressed (edit: the brass sustains, mainly), and not at all like what I normally expect out of OT. To be frank, right now it feels to me like I'll most likely be getting off of the Metropolis train at stop #4 ... which might be for the best, since money is becoming an issue as well and even the intro price would be kind of painful.

In any event, I've still got Time Macro to spend my time exploring (a library which I absolutely love).
 
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If people are still unsure about the BHCT because of the combo-patches, I say go for it. It 'forces' you out of the box on certain things. And that is a good thing.

I loved those patches not just because they were like that, but because they helped me understand better the orchestrational habits of somebody considered by a good portion of people the Greatest Film Score Composer of All Time. I took what was there and made it my own (of course, I had hella fun pretending to be Bernard and making up Vertigo and Fahrenheit 451-worshipping pieces lol!).
 
At first sight Ark 4 looks like an easy pass to me, which comes as a (financial) relief, so I don't think I want to look too closely at it x]
 
I remember last year they offered an extra 50 off for existing metro owners which I cant see this time...I picked up all of them at the intro price thinking there would never be a better time..Looks like there is no need to buy straight away as can pick them up in the sales later.....As George Bush once said ...... fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again : )
 
I remember last year they offered an extra 50 off for existing metro owners which I cant see this time...I picked up all of them at the intro price thinking there would never be a better time..Looks like there is no need to buy straight away as can pick them up in the sales later.....As George Bush once said ...... fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again : )
Yeah, the recent sale makes it way easier to resist, doesn't it? :)
 
waiting for a walkthrough and song demos before I even think about it but initial thoughts:

* Seems to cover a lot of similar ground as Ark 2-3. If i got Ark 3 as well, I don't know how much I'd need this. Definitely sounds good though.
* If they did stack a Ark voucher with the preorder price that might make it very tempting
* I'd be curious to compare the choir patches between Ark 2, 4, and Time Macro
 
I also wonder, if you ordered Ark 1 & 2 on NI, like I did, if that would potentially not include the voucher that several have mentioned. Who knows.
 
With both BO_Inspires and TM, quite hesitant and couple weeks to monitor additional info here.
Somewhat like crummy NI policy with Vouchers, cannot use either BO_Inspire _100Euro_ Codes, even though potential purchases now can total almost $1,200.
I'm not pleased and this does impact short-term purchases, for sure ….
 
On the OT site I listened with electrostatic cans to all the demos of ark 1 2 and 4 and definitely Ark 4 sounds cleaner on the bottom end to my ears, more focused and detailed.I don't have any of these libraries so maybe is just the quality of the demo that is improved. What do you think?
 
I probably won't get this now, as I am a hobbyist. But then again, I do have some extra money this Christmas, so who knows.

For those who want it but are upset at the recent sales, the pre-price calculates out to a savings of just over 36%. Not quite the 40% of the BF deals, but almost there. I doubt they will have another sale as low as this NI sale, since this relates to the recent NKS sales. I'm guessing NI makes some sort of deal to get these prices. So maybe next BF they might have a sale at 40% on this? But you will pay 4% to have an extra year.

And? Who knows what the future holds...
 
On the OT site I listened with electrostatic cans to all the demos of ark 1 2 and 4 and definitely Ark 4 sounds cleaner on the bottom end to my ears, more focused and detailed.I don't have any of these libraries so maybe is just the quality of the demo that is improved. What do you think?

I think it's quite possible the source audio was compressed on their site (I have no idea) so I'm not sure how much of an indicator you can use that as, until you see walkthroughs to listen to sample noise. I don't know though.
 
Is there anyone at all with any money left......?

With both BO_Inspires and TM, quite hesitant and couple weeks to monitor additional info here.
Somewhat like crummy NI policy with Vouchers, cannot use either BO_Inspire _100Euro_ Codes, even though potential purchases now can total almost $1,200.
I'm not pleased and this does impact short-term purchases, for sure ….

I think you'll find that if you order direct from the OT website and put multiple items in the cart that total more than 600 euro, that you'll be able to use your 100 euro voucher.
 
I love #1, #2, #3 and TIME but with the recent OT sales, no loyalty discount (and a bit of a ‘meh’ feeling about the trailer if I’m honest) I’d have to see a pretty thorough walkthrough before even considering it I’m afraid.
 
Is there a way to find out if you have any OT vouchers aside from going through emails from them? There's no customer/account part of their website I don't think?
 
I’d have to see a pretty thorough walkthrough before even considering it I’m afraid.
To me that seems just sane. To preorder without such items, regardless of how much you trust/love the developer, seems foolhardy to me. I wish they would have these items out before the preorders started. Or the day of. We, as potential customers, would like to know what we're getting, and have some time to consider it. I'm sure these things will come though.
 
So still no Nosferatu library then
images
 
It looks like Capsule has been redesigned a bit from some of the GUI screenshots in the articulation list.
To me that seems just sane. To preorder without such items, regardless of how much you trust/love the developer, seems foolhardy to me. I wish they would have these items out before the preorders started. Or the day of. We, as potential customers, would like to know what we're getting, and have some time to consider it. I'm sure these things will come though.
All OT releases this fall have been handled this way, and the walkthroughs have come very close to the time that the pre-order expires. The materials right now consist only of the one demo posted on the website. Seems weird. If I didn't have the materials ready, I would have teased the thing for a couple of days so I could drop more stuff with the official announcement.
 
It looks like Capsule has been redesigned a bit from some of the GUI screenshots in the articulation list.

All OT releases this fall have been handled this way, and the walkthroughs have come very close to the time that the pre-order expires. The materials right now consist only of the one demo posted on the website. Seems weird. If I didn't have the materials ready, I would have teased the thing for a couple of days so I could drop more stuff with the official announcement.

Completely agree. Not having to be down-to-the-wire on the preorder price to make a decision would give customers a lot more peace of mind.
 
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