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8dio Century ensemble and solo brass

I was really hoping and anticipating for a Century Strings 2.0 sale. Just out of curiosity, how does it stack up to other major string libraries and is it versatile at all? How does it compare to Anthology Strings? I mean I have a load of string libraries, but from what I have heard and listened to in demos, Century Strings just pulls on your heart strings for its elegance and sheer emotiveness! Thank you all...❤️
These questions are hardly answerable haha, as so much of what goes into a person’s answer is down to taste, and other subjective things such as “post acquisition rationalization psychology” and what-have-you...

That being said, Century Strings is my most beloved larger string ensemble / orchestral strings package. There’s something about the sound. I don’t suspect this is a generally shared opinion though, but there are some people whose opinions I’d rate much higher than mine, who seem to agree with me at least.

Best thing to do is search for the recent Century Strings 2.0 thread and read up on what people had to say there. I also highly recommend watching Nico Schuele’s videos. They’re fun (Bob!) and informative. Nico (@Akarin) is on record liking Century Strings too by the way.



 
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I am a big fan of century strings, but for aggressive action stuff they are not a something I turn to. But they are very expressive, have a great tone, and have a crazy amount of articulations, especially if you count all the sordino strings as well.

A very good library, I think the ostinatos I are a fantastic addition, though ostinato II doesn't really have anything I'm looking for.
 
I want to like Century Strings, but the lack of a fingered legato makes it feel inarticulate when I try composing melodies with it. There are bowed legato transitions and then there's a portamento slide, but nothing "in between" for more quick/subtle transitions. Something akin to the slur legato in Agitato Grandiose would be such a nice addition.
 
Crazy stuff. The bundle for $88? Never seen it that low. I want it :)
I've already mentioned this before but I'm curious.... have you all missed the Black Friday sale a few months ago? Not only it was cheaper with the 65% off coupon, they also gave a bunch of free instruments including Shepard Tones, Insolidus, Ostinato Strings depending on how much you spent.

You could literally get AGE Bundle for $86 + Shepard tone for free. Anthology was also going for $86 and you would have been given Shepard tone with it too. The same applies to pretty much any of the current offers - the Brass Bundle was actually close to $100 cheaper then that this supposed "deal of the century".
 
I've already mentioned this before but I'm curious.... have you all missed the Black Friday sale a few months ago? Not only it was cheaper with the 65% off coupon, they also gave a bunch of free instruments including Shepard Tones, Insolidus, Ostinato Strings depending on how much you spent.

You could literally get AGE Bundle for $86 + Shepard tone for free. Anthology was also going for $86 and you would have been given Shepard tone with it too. The same applies to pretty much any of the current offers - the Brass Bundle was actually close to $100 cheaper then that this supposed "deal of the century".
Just a guess, but I would suspect Black Friday sales are not an automatic buy for everyone since there are so many vendors offering sales. Then there is Christmas, etc. There is only so much money to go around at that time for most people. I personally find that even in my best financial years, during November and December, I want to shower my family and others with extravagant gifts. I rarely spend anything on me.... and when I do, it is selective. So Black Friday sales don’t fit into my plans as much as the financial sale price might dictate it should. Plus, it is 9 months away from today... so timing is another factor. Also, you are talking about a coupon that you are not *supposed* to be talking about...

And while you are right if you received that exclusive coupon for the bf sale that individual products might have been a few dollars lower, if Age was in your basket with say $400 worth of products, you would get it for $62 in this sale... much lower! I bought Age a year or two ago, but it is an amazing library and people should jump on that.

As for my purchase, my total bundle price was definitely less than what the Bf sale would have been for those same products... even counting the giveaways...
 
Crazy stuff. The bundle for $88? Never seen it that low. I want it :)
It's fun. I paid a dollar less with Symphonic Shadows included as a freebie in November.
At that price I'm not going to complain if it gets any lower. :)
I did pay way too much for Bazantar though. :(
 
AGE is definitely worth it - that price is a steal. I paid over $200 in 2018 for the bundle and I'd still say that was a good deal. All the patches sound good, but the Piano & Glocks from Vol 1 and the Harps from Vol 2 alone make the bundle worth it.
 
So Black Friday sales don’t fit into my plans as much as the financial sale price might dictate it should. Plus, it is 9 months away from today... so timing is another factor.
Timing is definitely a factor and I agree that Black Friday sales might not be suited for everyone. My more general point however is that 8DIO's prices do fluctuate endlessly and will get very low on a regular basis.

What I find particularly irritating is that every time there is a sale, 8DIO markets it in such a way to make people believe it's sort of a deal never seen before. By slashing the starting, super inflated prices by a few thousands dollars, they make it look like it is now or never, and trust me if you're new to this, you might think you'd get buyer's remorse if you don't buy. That's probably the best way to become a V8P member, fear or missing out.

Personally I think this is a dodgy marketing scheme, where it clearly shows the real value of the products is nowhere near the prices they are asking for. Just like buying Waves plugins full price makes no sense, and even when Waves has promos you wouldn't want to buy anything from them unless they offer free plugins on top of that.

This is made worse by them changing permanent MRSPs without much logic. A great way to make customers unhappy is when you had them buy something for sale at $98 instead of $248, thinking it was a great deal, then you decide to just sell it for $48 permanently afterwards. If that's the real value of the library, whoever paid $98 for it has basically paid twice what it's worth - not even gonna imagine what someone buying full price would feel like.
 
AGE is definitely worth it - that price is a steal. I paid over $200 in 2018 for the bundle and I'd still say that was a good deal. All the patches sound good, but the Piano & Glocks from Vol 1 and the Harps from Vol 2 alone make the bundle worth it.
I definitely agree with that!
 
What I find particularly irritating is that every time there is a sale, 8DIO markets it in such a way to make people believe it's sort of a deal never seen before. By slashing the starting, super inflated prices by a few thousands dollars, they make it look like it is now or never, and trust me if you're new to this, you might think you'd get buyer's remorse if you don't buy. That's probably the best way to become a V8P member, fear or missing out.

Personally I think this is a dodgy marketing scheme, where it clearly shows the real value of the products is nowhere near the prices they are asking for. Just like buying Waves plugins full price makes no sense, and even when Waves has promos you wouldn't want to buy anything from them unless they offer free plugins on top of that.

This is made worse by them changing permanent MRSPs without much logic. A great way to make customers unhappy is when you had them buy something for sale at $98 instead of $248, thinking it was a great deal, then you decide to just sell it for $48 permanently afterwards. If that's the real value of the library, whoever paid $98 for it has basically paid twice what it's worth - not even gonna imagine what someone buying full price would feel like.
I have been a frequent vicim of 8Dio's marketing schemes, and happily so. I don't know that I'd quite put them in the Waves category yet...lol, but their vast catalog does allow them to offer a variety of sales on different products consistently throughout the year.

They are quite aggressive with their promos, especially since the pandemic, so you always run the risk of consumer fatigue. But most people (like myself) only buy libraries on sale, so I don't know how a lot of these companies stay afloat during the rest of the year. I particularly enjoy their "bite size" approach with many of their libraries. Sometimes it's great to get a little inspiration from something new without committing a huge portion of your annual budget. I know 8Dio has their haters, but I actually value their creativity and prodigiousness.

I don't think lowering MSRP on older libraries is an unscrupulous practice, or that it devalues the product at all. Look at Audiobro. I bought LASS for $1100. The've been running a "sale" straight - for I don't know how many years - much more heavily discounted than when I originally purchased it. It still gets active use in my tracks and I'm not pissed that they lowered the price years later. It's just the nature of technology. If you are going to stay in business, it's all about getting new customers into the fold.
 
I appreciate all the comments and thinking in this thread, so if you will allow me to offer our point of view as developers. There is a couple of things going on, which affect our current pricing of instruments.

The most immediate one is COVID, which has caused a ripple effect through the entertainment business (ex. Many major shows and movie productions are on hold or being recorded slower, which means less opportunities for composers, which means harder to justify purchasing libraries).

The other reality is that prices have been aggressively coming down over the last couple of years. There are several companies responsible for this, including the largest entities in our industry.

The third reality is that libraries do age - and some better than others. I think it is fantastic that we are in a position where the growing "mainstream" can start to afford our libraries and in turn help us develop new technologies.

We are nearly 8 years into our upcoming Soundpaint technology and about $2.8M in development. This would not have been possible had we not conformed to the realities mentioned above.

Yet I also recognize the opposing arguments. It sucks to see prices drop on things over time and entertainment software (ex. video games, art software, music software etc) are notoriously known for this. The world of music software is no different - prices come down - because better products become available. Logic $999. Logic $499. Logic $199 and a far better product than its predecessors.

However, we want to change all of this - cause there is merit to the criticism too. We hope to present you guys with a completely new model that negates most of this ... later this year. If anyone ever feels they purchased something and saw the price drop within 30 days. Just ping us at [email protected] and we will compensate accordingly. This has always been our practice and we are flexible beyond that.

I also really encourage anyone to take a look at our current offerings. I think Anthology, AGE and Bazantar are all timeless libraries and will live for many decades in my template - because they all hold a valuable amount of that rare sample gold.

But most importantly - and especially to the people that feel we are aggressive price-wise - thank you for supporting us - even if we are not in full agreement.

It humbles me every day and has allowed 8Dio to fulfill our wildest dreams and visions - and the fact it helped dozens of our employees and their families to get through this last difficult year.

It has also given us the ability to help and sponsor some of our favorite emerging talents and performing artists too - who sadly can't be on the road.

With love and appreciation, Troels
 
I appreciate all the comments and thinking in this thread, so if you will allow me to offer our point of view as developers. There is a couple of things going on, which affect our current pricing of instruments.

The most immediate one is COVID, which has caused a ripple effect through the entertainment business (ex. Many major shows and movie productions are on hold or being recorded slower, which means less opportunities for composers, which means harder to justify purchasing libraries).

The other reality is that prices have been aggressively coming down over the last couple of years. There are several companies responsible for this, including the largest entities in our industry.

The third reality is that libraries do age - and some better than others. I think it is fantastic that we are in a position where the growing "mainstream" can start to afford our libraries and in turn help us develop new technologies.

We are nearly 8 years into our upcoming Soundpaint technology and about $2.8M in development. This would not have been possible had we not conformed to the realities mentioned above.

Yet I also recognize the opposing arguments. It sucks to see prices drop on things over time and entertainment software (ex. video games, art software, music software etc) are notoriously known for this. The world of music software is no different - prices come down - because better products become available. Logic $999. Logic $499. Logic $199 and a far better product than its predecessors.

However, we want to change all of this - cause there is merit to the criticism too. We hope to present you guys with a completely new model that negates most of this ... later this year. If anyone ever feels they purchased something and saw the price drop within 30 days. Just ping us at [email protected] and we will compensate accordingly. This has always been our practice and we are flexible beyond that.

I also really encourage anyone to take a look at our current offerings. I think Anthology, AGE and Bazantar are all timeless libraries and will live for many decades in my template - because they all hold a valuable amount of that rare sample gold.

But most importantly - and especially to the people that feel we are aggressive price-wise - thank you for supporting us - even if we are not in full agreement.

It humbles me every day and has allowed 8Dio to fulfill our wildest dreams and visions - and the fact it helped dozens of our employees and their families to get through this last difficult year.

It has also given us the ability to help and sponsor some of our favorite emerging talents and performing artists too - who sadly can't be on the road.

With love and appreciation, Troels
The transparency is very much appreciated, Troels :) Thanks!
 
Yet I also recognize the opposing arguments. It sucks to see prices drop on things over time and entertainment software (ex. video games, art software, music software etc) are notoriously known for this. The world of music software is no different - prices come down - because better products become available. Logic $999. Logic $499. Logic $199 and a far better product than its predecessors.

However, we want to change all of this - cause there is merit to the criticism too. We hope to present you guys with a completely new model that negates most of this ... later this year. If anyone ever feels they purchased something and saw the price drop within 30 days. Just ping us at [email protected] and we will compensate accordingly. This has always been our practice and we are flexible beyond that.

With love and appreciation, Troels
I also understand the criticism of heavy price dumping. It sends a signal that sound libraries are routinely overprized and only worth a fraction of their regular prices when the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

But as annoying as these price fluctuations are, they do make it possible for a large crowd of hobbyists to get their hands on quality samplings. Just a few years ago, it was a private party. Now everyone's invited.

And it does make sense from a commercial point of view too. Spitfire gave me BBCSO Discover. A week after I upgraded to BBCSO Core, and now I'm wholeheartedly enjoying BBCSO Professional. The Pro edition wasn't even at my radar at it's original price.

At my current level, I really cannot afford to splash out 825 dollars for Junkie XL Brass (which has never been discounted). I make music to enrich my life, not my wallet. And suddenly 8dio's sale comes along, throwing the Century Brass bundle at me for just under 200 dollars. It feels like winning the lottery.

I'm curious to see what 8dio's new model entails. I'm not very fond of subscription models so I hope they have something else up their sleeves.

Hilsner fra Danmark
Peter
 
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