SPITFIRE - Symphonic Expansion Pack Firesale This Week Only!

[sostenuto]

Really stumped right now. $297. (vs $1,347.) for all (3), but no 'main' libs yet.
Heading there by BlkFri, __ and some solid SFA content now (3) Albions, Swarm, EDNA01, Glass and Steel, BDT, most Labs.
Is this an obvious 'buy' …… even in absence of Symphonic Strings, Brass, Woodwinds for few months ??

 

[kimarnesen]

Really stumped right now. $297. (vs $1,347.) for all (3), but no 'main' libs yet.
Heading there by BlkFri, __ and some solid SFA content now (3) Albions, Swarm, EDNA01, Glass and Steel, BDT, most Labs.
Is this an obvious 'buy' …… even in absence of Symphonic Strings, Brass, Woodwinds for few months ??

Not so good news: You do need the main libs first.

 

[markleake]

@sostenuto

These are a fantastic buy. I bought all 3 just yesterday, but will have to hold off downloading them while I rearrange everything for the space they require. I probably need bigger SSDs now.

But if you aren't yet sure about buying the main libraries, and you haven't used the libraries yet, I'd suggest you wait for the Pro versions. They may come out a bit more expensive (based on what SF say), but you're not investing in something you can't yet use. And it may not be much more $$$ to buy the Pro versions anyway, given what we saw with the SCS Pro release. That's just a guess though.

If you really are absolutely deadset on the main libs, and know you will use them a lot, AND the extra mics, then maybe go for it. But there's a lot of "ifs" there.

The brass extra mics are probably the first to consider before the rest.

 

[sostenuto]

@sostenuto

These are a fantastic buy. I bought all 3 just yesterday, but will have to hold off downloading them while I rearrange everything for the space they require. I probably need bigger SSDs now.

But if you aren't yet sure about buying the main libraries, and you haven't used the libraries yet, I'd suggest you wait for the Pro versions. They may come out a bit more expensive (based on what SF say), but you're not investing in something you can't yet use. And it may not be much more $$$ to buy the Pro versions anyway, given what we saw with the SCS Pro release. That's just a guess though.

If you really are absolutely deadset on the main libs, and know you will use them a lot, AND the extra mics, then maybe go for it. But there's a lot of "ifs" there.

The brass extra mics are probably the first to consider before the rest.

Thank-you so much @ markleake !
I remain quite focused on your advice, some time ago, and personal struggle has revolved around LASS vs SF_ SSS.

At my lower level of capability, staying with SFA simplifies much for me. No issues sorting various Brass, WW libs.
This SFA offer kindled the fire again, and related commitment to SFA.
Your thoughtful post reduces the self-imposed pressure, as I had no real sense for the Pro versions.

Much better now, as it appears this current offer is strong, but not obligatory going forward.

Great help !

 

[WindcryMusic]

Well, I might be a mile off here, but whats the chances that it might be the both libraries combined in the Spitfire player so all the mic's and mixes are available in the one preset.

A bit like the way the mic's are handled in Hans Zimmer Strings.

Wow, I never even thought of that. Not of the concept of being able to mix all of the mics (which would be nice, yes) … rather, of the concept that the eventual Professional release might not be a Kontakt instrument. Since I’m not yet a fan of Spitfire’s engine, that makes me even more glad that I decided to jump on this right now (and ordered another SSD to accommodate it all, by the way).

Of course maybe Spitfire’s engine will gain new features and win me over by then. But for the moment at least, I still want my symphony running in Kontakt.

 

[prodigalson]

Bought... will download later or....wait till we get clarifications on possible GUI changes...

Based on what Spitfire did to HZ Percussion, I hope and expect an updated integrated GUI will bring all of these mics, mixes and potential combinations into a new, unified system... the new GUI for Hans's drums is spectacular and way more efficient and effective than the original was and I imagine it took a lot of work to create... Thus, the "later this year" or whatever the words were... assume lots off coffee and libations are being consumed in this endevour! (I can dream, can't I?)

I think a more accurate model would be what they did with SCS Professional... which was just a new way of bundling and paying for the base library and expansion, there was no change with the library structure or GUI.

 

[SolarCell]

Question @SpitfireSupport : can I buy these expansion packages now (just so I have them already) and buy, let say, the SSS in a month and then install both SSS and the expansion?

Hope that makes sense

 

[kimarnesen]

Question @SpitfireSupport : can I buy these expansion packages now (just so I have them already) and buy, let say, the SSS in a month and then install both SSS and the expansion?

Hope that makes sense

You can’t check out without the main library.

 

[SolarCell]

You can’t check out without the main library.

That's a pity and a missed chance. Because if I get to buy these expansions (without actually downloading them yet) before getting the main libraries, SF can be sure I'm buying all the mains in the nearby future...

 

[JohnG]

IMO, the Outrigger alone is worth $99 for each of these packs. It was the mic I missed the most when they removed it from the base libraries.

have to agree. Love having many mic positions.

... But I wonder if there have been tweaks to the samples.

A major improvement from BML to the "symphonic" series is the addition of Performance Legato patches. I don't even like legato that much in samples, but these are exceptionally musical and subtle. I'm particularly fond of the string patches.

 

[jbuhler]

have to agree. Love having many mic positions.


A major improvement from BML to the "symphonic" series is the addition of Performance Legato patches. I don't even like legato that much in samples, but these are exceptionally musical and subtle. I'm particularly fond of the string patches.

My question was the other way, about retaining the legacy BML patches for older projects. Do I need to retain the old samples or can I just point the old NKIs, etc., at the samples in the Symphonic versions of the libraries. These is really a question about freeing up space from the old libraries on my SSDs while retaining access to the older projects.

 

[JohnG]

My question was the other way, about retaining the legacy BML patches for older projects. Do I need to retain the old samples or can I just point the old NKIs, etc., at the samples in the Symphonic versions of the libraries. These is really a question about freeing up space from the old libraries on my SSDs while retaining access to the older projects.

I'm going to give you a double answer.

@charlieclouser has argued that you should never abandon a setup, so you can recall everything, more or less forever.

By contrast, I don't keep old setups very long at all. I rarely recall old projects and am willing to abandon stuff after a fairly short time. So, for a while I kept both BML and "symphonic" versions and then erased the BML versions. Definitely felt there were lots of improvements over time in tuning and playability and other "fixes" accumulating in the symphonic versions.

My "burn it" approach has certainly caused some regrets; there are some old pieces, very old in some cases, that I wish I could recall but can't. It also means that I have to keep adjusting my template, but that happens anyway as I add a new library or favour a different string / brass approach or something else happens.

So I'm sticking with "moving on."

Kind regards,

John

 

[Parsifal666]

I'm going to give you a double answer.

@charlieclouser has argued that you should never abandon a setup, so you can recall everything, more or less forever.

By contrast, I don't keep old setups very long at all. I rarely recall old projects and am willing to abandon stuff after a fairly short time. So, for a while I kept both BML and "symphonic" versions and then erased the BML versions. Definitely felt there were lots of improvements over time in tuning and playability and other "fixes" accumulating in the symphonic versions.

My "burn it" approach has certainly caused some regrets; there are some old pieces, very old in some cases, that I wish I could recall but can't. It also means that I have to keep adjusting my template, but that happens anyway as I add a new library or favour a different string / brass approach or something else happens.

So I'm sticking with "moving on."

Kind regards,

John

This really is a healthy approach imo.

 

[Geoff Grace]

I'm going to give you a double answer.

@charlieclouser has argued that you should never abandon a setup, so you can recall everything, more or less forever.

By contrast, I don't keep old setups very long at all. I rarely recall old projects and am willing to abandon stuff after a fairly short time. So, for a while I kept both BML and "symphonic" versions and then erased the BML versions. Definitely felt there were lots of improvements over time in tuning and playability and other "fixes" accumulating in the symphonic versions.

My "burn it" approach has certainly caused some regrets; there are some old pieces, very old in some cases, that I wish I could recall but can't. It also means that I have to keep adjusting my template, but that happens anyway as I add a new library or favour a different string / brass approach or something else happens.

So I'm sticking with "moving on."

Kind regards,

John

The middle ground is to track everything as audio. That way, if you can't instantiate your old plugin, you can at least recall its track within the piece. More about that in Craig Anderton's Archiving Article in my sig.

Best,

Geoff

 

[JohnG]

Good advice. A lot of people have been doing that for years, myself included, @Geoff Grace . The trouble in the past has been disk space -- all those tracks take up a lot of room. To deal with that issue, I recently bought one of those DVD drives that allows you to archive older stuff to a DVD format that uses ceramic, instead of vegetable dye, to record the 1s and 0s. Allegedly it lasts indefinitely, unlike a traditional DVD.

To return to the question, depending on how many BML tracks @jbuhler has in a given piece, re-mapping to the new Symphonic version shouldn't be too onerous. It's certainly not a radically different sound.

 

[SpitfireSupport]

That's a pity and a missed chance. Because if I get to buy these expansions (without actually downloading them yet) before getting the main libraries, SF can be sure I'm buying all the mains in the nearby future...

Just to confirm - it isn’t possible to buy the expansion pack if you don’t already own the core library. Ben

 

[Vik]

In case any of you are wondering about going for this offer and already have updated from Mural to SSS: Since I once bought Mural1/2 which I've later updated to SSS, I just found that this expansion pack costs me €44.38 right now, not €99.

 

[OleJoergensen]

Can anyone help me by guiding me through the folder structur?
I downloaded SSS additional mic on an other computer, then copied the files to the SSS drive on my orchestra computer.
-The SSS additional mic Instruments, I put in the SSS Instrument folder
-The SSS additional Samples, I Put in the SSS sample folder but windows came with a warning that there were 2 identically files, I chose the newest one.
-The SSS additional mic Nicnt file, I put in the “main” folder, again a Windows warning, I chose the newest one.

But I most have done something wrong :-/...
When I load ex. 1. Violin alt mic, I can only see the “the top” of the contact window, there is no articulation, mics etc.

I do have a copy of both SSS and SSS additional mic, if I need to replace some files...

Ole

 

[sostenuto]

Just to confirm - it isn’t possible to buy the expansion pack if you don’t already own the core library. Ben

Interesting, and thanks for confirming.
Seemed a strong incentive to get these now, with addition of 'main ' Libs (String, Brass, WW) intended shortly.
Will now reset these plans and monitor options for few months, incl BlkFri.
Puzzled; but informed.

 

[charlieclouser]

@charlieclouser has argued that you should never abandon a setup, so you can recall everything, more or less forever.

Well, the only reason I keep old setups handy is because I never seem to work on stuff that can be moved on from. In the NIN camp I was the one who had to make sure we could pull up the samples from fifteen-year-old albums to use live, and we spent years making an album so we had half-finished sketches loitering on the drives for absolute ages. When I moved into film and tv I though things might change, but both the movie franchises and the tv series I worked on ran for years and I always had the need to pull up something from long ago, rework and repurpose it for this year's version. Just last year for the JIGSAW movie I had to pull up three cues from fifteen years earlier and get in between the MIDI notes to make a new version - and if it was just a stack of printed audio tracks I'd have been screwed and forced to rebuild the MIDI from memory. Being able to pull up a Logic song that used 90% EXS24 and have the whole thing just come back sounding exact is pretty amazing all these years later, and saved me so much time. It was a doddle to just patch up the template to accommodate my new, wider stem layout and then get to work.

I love the idea of tossing the past in the bin and moving on, but the kind of stuff I've worked on just didn't lend itself to that approach. So I've become the king of archiving I guess...