Thundercat
Senior Member
Such great points you guys are making!!
One sort of obvious thing to point out - this entire forum is SAMPLE TALK! So of course we are going to be buzzing about all the latest/greatest libraries. Another forum might be more geared to just the creative aspects of actually making music. So we're a self-selected bunch of sample junkies, but that doesn't mean that's all we are!
But the flip side argument is important - actually using the tools instead of amassing them. String libraries do no good sitting on an SSD gathering digital dust.
I am new to the sample acquisition game. I bought Spitfire SSO last year during Black days at a killer deal, and this year have bought tons of Cinesample, Cinematic Studios, and will get some good percussion libraries too before year's end. I'm rather new to the party but for me Metropolis Ark 1 sounds like an utter revelation; I swoon at the power and excitement I hear from this library and will get it too before year's end. I met the OT guys at NAMM a couple years ago, and they were so cool.
Someone in an earlier post said it: as creatives we like to be inspired, and new sounds do that. And new articulations do that. There's a reason keyboard players have 12 keyboards. Well, I have 4, soon to be 5 lol.
There is also something to be said for mastering the tools at hand.
I remember years ago when I tried to orchestrate, the results sounded like carousel music. I had no clue how to orchestrate in an effective way. When I started really listening, using notation software, and insisting, things got better. NotePerformer was a revelation to me, and continues to be.
I have a friend who uses Sibelius to compose exclusively. I used to do that way, and I'm learning to use Logic for scores.
But my friend's scores always sounded mediocre IMHO. Mine sounded better to me. The difference was, I would take the time to go through each part, each line, add all articulations, set dynamics, etc. The result was orders of magnitude better.
Point being, I think we can wring a lot more out of our libraries too if we just get really good at them.
I think of each library or patch as its own instrument that I have to master. Nevermind I know how to use the CSS cello patch; this is the Bohemian Cello patch and I have to think of it not as "another cello I know how to use" but literally another entire instrument.
Anyway, thanks so much to you all for your terrific posts, ideas, tracks, and inspiration. It's wonderful to be a part of such a terrific community, even if only virtually.
Blessings,
Mike
One sort of obvious thing to point out - this entire forum is SAMPLE TALK! So of course we are going to be buzzing about all the latest/greatest libraries. Another forum might be more geared to just the creative aspects of actually making music. So we're a self-selected bunch of sample junkies, but that doesn't mean that's all we are!
But the flip side argument is important - actually using the tools instead of amassing them. String libraries do no good sitting on an SSD gathering digital dust.
I am new to the sample acquisition game. I bought Spitfire SSO last year during Black days at a killer deal, and this year have bought tons of Cinesample, Cinematic Studios, and will get some good percussion libraries too before year's end. I'm rather new to the party but for me Metropolis Ark 1 sounds like an utter revelation; I swoon at the power and excitement I hear from this library and will get it too before year's end. I met the OT guys at NAMM a couple years ago, and they were so cool.
Someone in an earlier post said it: as creatives we like to be inspired, and new sounds do that. And new articulations do that. There's a reason keyboard players have 12 keyboards. Well, I have 4, soon to be 5 lol.
There is also something to be said for mastering the tools at hand.
I remember years ago when I tried to orchestrate, the results sounded like carousel music. I had no clue how to orchestrate in an effective way. When I started really listening, using notation software, and insisting, things got better. NotePerformer was a revelation to me, and continues to be.
I have a friend who uses Sibelius to compose exclusively. I used to do that way, and I'm learning to use Logic for scores.
But my friend's scores always sounded mediocre IMHO. Mine sounded better to me. The difference was, I would take the time to go through each part, each line, add all articulations, set dynamics, etc. The result was orders of magnitude better.
Point being, I think we can wring a lot more out of our libraries too if we just get really good at them.
I think of each library or patch as its own instrument that I have to master. Nevermind I know how to use the CSS cello patch; this is the Bohemian Cello patch and I have to think of it not as "another cello I know how to use" but literally another entire instrument.
Anyway, thanks so much to you all for your terrific posts, ideas, tracks, and inspiration. It's wonderful to be a part of such a terrific community, even if only virtually.
Blessings,
Mike