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Most Disappointing Library Purchase?

Uh...you sure about that? Pretty sure a lot of BBCSO fans were quite upset with bfreepro's review...

Well yes, this is what I'm arguing.

I'm aware of that thread, and I'm certainly not defending everything everything that happened on it. Just that I think there are perhaps more helpful ways to understand the dynamics of that particular dumpster fire.
 
Going to be honest, I got Realivox Ladies on a sale but I have never yet fit them into a project. Very disappointing. Are you still offering the money-back even if it's like 3 years later?
Well the minute I find something disappointing about Sunset Strings, I'll be sure to express my disappointment here also.

Actually, that's maybe a high bar. How about: the minute I find something less than sublimely beautiful about Sunset Strings I'll be sure to enthuse about it slightly less effusively that usual all over this thread.

Honestly I've had such a truly fantastic run of libraries in the last few years (ie. Stratus, EWC, Sunset Strings, Tallin ...) I'd really have to go back a ways to find something even mildly disappointing.

And to be fair, it's partly because I pay attention to all the (sufficiently critical) moaning on on vi-c.

(And maybe also that I've learned how to interpret and filter and parse both all the insufficiently critical moaning and all the insufficiently critical enthusing.)
 
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Also, Sonokinetic's phrase-based libraries are such an incredible mixed bag, huge highs and huge lows.

I bought Largo and Indie in the same purchase. Indie is incredible, super inspiring, great pulses and underscore material, some really unique stuff, have found some really cool uses for it over time.
I bought Indie last year and was so keen to get stuck in as the demos are great. I've got it...and haven't used it once! The phrases are absolutely beautiful and have a great Jon Brion esque sound but for the life of me I can't get them to sit properly in a mix. The timing and tuning always seem just a little off.
 
I bought Indie last year and was so keen to get stuck in as the demos are great. I've got it...and haven't used it once! The phrases are absolutely beautiful and have a great Jon Brion esque sound but for the life of me I can't get them to sit properly in a mix. The timing and tuning always seem just a little off.
Did you check the tuning on the librsry? Many of the Sinokinetic libraries are recorded and released at 442, I think and so you need to adjust down. There should be a setting in the library to choose the tuning.
 
Did you check the tuning on the librsry? Many of the Sinokinetic libraries are recorded and released at 442, I think and so you need to adjust down. There should be a setting in the library to choose the tuning.
I haven't checked that but thanks for the tip
 
I bought Indie last year and was so keen to get stuck in as the demos are great. I've got it...and haven't used it once! The phrases are absolutely beautiful and have a great Jon Brion esque sound but for the life of me I can't get them to sit properly in a mix. The timing and tuning always seem just a little off.
Not sure if it would help with getting them sitting in the mix or not, but Sonokinetic have created IRs (based on the mic positions) of the Zlin Concert Hall where the phrase libraries are recorded.

 
Ah all the interesting stuff deleted again.
I always seem to miss the drama... Story of my life.... Reminds me of school whenever someone would ask me "Hey, have you heard, X and Y broke up?" and I usually was like "Wait! They were together?".... Just ONCE, just ONCE I want to experience the drama and MAYBE be a part of it..... So frustrating..... .

Also, the correct answer to the topic is: Everything I'll buy in the future. I don't need more sample libraries... . Just no.... . (and I have actually no idea why I own AI Jaeger. I basically bought it for Merethe which then was released a few months later as a standalone....Never use the rest of the package (especially not the brass. I tried using it, but I always seem to replace it). In hindisight that was a great waste of money...)
 
I always seem to miss the drama... Story of my life.... Reminds me of school whenever someone would ask me "Hey, have you heard, X and Y broke up?" and I usually was like "Wait! They were together?".... Just ONCE, just ONCE I want to experience the drama and MAYBE be a part of it..... So frustrating..... .

Also, the correct answer to the topic is: Everything I'll buy in the future. I don't need more sample libraries... . Just no.... . (and I have actually no idea why I own AI Jaeger. I basically bought it for Merethe which then was released a few months later as a standalone....Never use the rest of the package (especially not the brass. I tried using it, but I always seem to replace it). In hindisight that was a great waste of money...)
The drama wasn't really too bad this time. No real name calling or anything..... :)

Edit: Just one question - how do you know it is everything you buy from now on that you are disappointed in and not everything you own now? Because, of course, everything in the future will be better. It always is. Right?!?!?!?
 
back to topic tbh:

8DIO Majestica - and tons of Synth stuff (like Hexeract, stuff from Rigid Audio etc - not really library related but mentioned for the sake of completeness).
 
I was thinking about this ... from my own experience ...

I would say nearly 99.9% of the time, my biggest disappointments are plugins NOT samples. The latest compressor ... or channel strip ... or reverb ...

And to be honest, I hardly ever hear the difference it makes. Especially all the compression, channel strip, saturation, etc. People swear they hear the difference that putting a SSL or Neve channel strip makes, and to be honest ... I struggle hearing it.

I would bet if someone mixed the same song on Logic or Pro Tools stock plugins ... versus the most expensive ones on the market ... I would bet 9/10 people would not be able to hear the difference.

Reverb or Delay? Maybe 7/10 people would never hear the difference.

Bad samples like orchestra? Maybe 3/10 would not hear it.

I just am almost always disappointed by any plugin.

Most samples I enjoy in some form. The Get Good Drums was my biggest disappointment of late, but I'm sure it is user error. Areia strings was disappointing too, but again it is probably me.

To me, I always end up back with Berlin Strings, and possibly Spitfire Chamber. I don't know why I insist on the "holy grail" where I buy every string package out there. I should learn from my plugin disappointment.

I think that is another reason I struggled with templates. The template felt like a temptation to just buy more stuff. But now, I'm thinking of building a template like I'm actually paying musicians. So, I can't have 50 different string libraries. I have ONE. And if there are others I have, then they have to prove they are better to replace them.

Use the same musicians (i.e. samples) until I find a better one to replace them with. But until then do NOT replace them. Instead use them ... and get music out.

There is something magical about putting limitations. So if I buy 100 compressors, then fine. But in an actual studio I'd probably only have access to 2-3 of them. Use my spare time to test out the other 98 (like my own personal Guitar Center), BUT ... it never touches the studio unless I commit to it. AND I replace.

So much of my time wasted. Kind of like how email at work can make you feel like you are "doing" work, but you really aren't.

Less is more ...
 
I was thinking about this ... from my own experience ...

I would say nearly 99.9% of the time, my biggest disappointments are plugins NOT samples. The latest compressor ... or channel strip ... or reverb ...

And to be honest, I hardly ever hear the difference it makes. Especially all the compression, channel strip, saturation, etc. People swear they hear the difference that putting a SSL or Neve channel strip makes, and to be honest ... I struggle hearing it.

I would bet if someone mixed the same song on Logic or Pro Tools stock plugins ... versus the most expensive ones on the market ... I would bet 9/10 people would not be able to hear the difference.


Less is more ...
I watched a Bobby Owsinski course recently and half the time he was just using stock Pro Tools plugins. The fancier plugins, he explained why he would use them for a specific situation, eg an 1176 for a fast attack or a specific tone. This use of stock plugins isn't unusual in my experience so far tbh.

Also the quality of plugins from DAWs these days is pretty amazing compared to the past.. ableton, Nuendo, they all come with great stuff

(On hearing the difference, I heard this joke a long time ago but it's true: there is not a single person who has done a lot of mixing who hasn't found themselves tweaking an EQ or something on a muted channel strip for 20 minutes, totally sure you could hear it. Ears are just too open to suggestion so when I'm buying plugins, I try to do blind ab comparison tests with other plugins)
 
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I was thinking about this ... from my own experience ...

I would say nearly 99.9% of the time, my biggest disappointments are plugins NOT samples. The latest compressor ... or channel strip ... or reverb ...

And to be honest, I hardly ever hear the difference it makes. Especially all the compression, channel strip, saturation, etc. People swear they hear the difference that putting a SSL or Neve channel strip makes, and to be honest ... I struggle hearing it.

I would bet if someone mixed the same song on Logic or Pro Tools stock plugins ... versus the most expensive ones on the market ... I would bet 9/10 people would not be able to hear the difference.

Reverb or Delay? Maybe 7/10 people would never hear the difference.

Bad samples like orchestra? Maybe 3/10 would not hear it.

I just am almost always disappointed by any plugin.

Most samples I enjoy in some form. The Get Good Drums was my biggest disappointment of late, but I'm sure it is user error. Areia strings was disappointing too, but again it is probably me.

To me, I always end up back with Berlin Strings, and possibly Spitfire Chamber. I don't know why I insist on the "holy grail" where I buy every string package out there. I should learn from my plugin disappointment.

I think that is another reason I struggled with templates. The template felt like a temptation to just buy more stuff. But now, I'm thinking of building a template like I'm actually paying musicians. So, I can't have 50 different string libraries. I have ONE. And if there are others I have, then they have to prove they are better to replace them.

Use the same musicians (i.e. samples) until I find a better one to replace them with. But until then do NOT replace them. Instead use them ... and get music out.

There is something magical about putting limitations. So if I buy 100 compressors, then fine. But in an actual studio I'd probably only have access to 2-3 of them. Use my spare time to test out the other 98 (like my own personal Guitar Center), BUT ... it never touches the studio unless I commit to it. AND I replace.

So much of my time wasted. Kind of like how email at work can make you feel like you are "doing" work, but you really aren't.

Less is more ...
I’ve found the most helpful focus on non-character plugins is if it makes it easier/faster to get to the desired end results.

With character plugins, I find it useful to run two sets of sends - one to a bus with the effect, another without the effect to a bus with inverted phase, and sum those two on a third bus to hear exactly what the plugin is doing. In some cases, the difference in signal is so quiet, you’d have a hard time picking it out by itself, but enough subtle changes can lead to a change that is subtle enough to “feel” but not enough to “hear.” Sometimes it’s just snake oil.
 
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