EEG Strawberry Update in the Works (RELEASED!)

[mgpqa1]

Very nice indeed! I've been on the fence since I already have AAS Strum Electric, but the new rhythm engine pretty much tips me over to buying. A quick question though: are you left-handed? From the video, it seems like strumming keys are to the left of the chord/fret keys? It's the reverse in Strum Electric (you finger chords with the left hand, and strum the keys with your right hand). Unless the second red zone at the end of the keyboard to the right is also a strumming zone?

[Exhile]

Looks good. Il be honest though i would prefer to see the strumming keys in the right hand. À combo patch would also be nice if not almost essential. Something like Chris Hein Guitars.

[Gregjazz]

Yeah, I am indeed left-handed.

I'll move the strum keys to the other side of the mapping, though--thanks for pointing that out.

[mgpqa1]

Nice.

One more question. I've never purchased a Kontakt library outside of NI's online shop. Are updates for third-party libraries such as EEG handled via Service Center? I want to purchase now before the introductory discount expires, but not necessarily install yet since I'd rather start "clean" with the updated version when it comes out.

[Gregjazz]

Good questions to bring up! When purchasing 3rd party Kontakt libraries, the first thing to find out is whether or not the libraries are powered by the Kontakt Player. If they are not, you need the full retail version of Kontakt in order to play the libraries beyond the 15 minute per session trial that the free Kontakt Player gives you. Many 3rd party sample libraries do not license the Kontakt Player, so whether or not you own the full version of Kontakt is an important factor.

All Orange Tree Samples libraries require the full version of either Kontakt 2, 3, or 4.

When purchasing a non-Player library, the Service Center is not part of the installation or usage process. Generally installing these libraries simply involves extracting a ZIP or RAR file(s) which contain all the necessary files. Then all you have to do is load the instrument in Kontakt and play--there is no registration or authorization process.

If you only have the Kontakt Player, not the full retail version of Kontakt 2/3/4, there are a few options to affordably upgrade to the full version of Kontakt:

First, if you obtained your copy of the Kontakt Player through purchasing a Kontakt Player library (as opposed to simply downloading the free player at the Native Instruments website), you already qualify for a discount to upgrade to the full version through the Native Instruments website.

Another strategy is to purchase an older edition of Kontakt, such as Kontakt 2 or 3. You can generally find these on sale in the Marketplace subforum of KVRAudio or on eBay. Sometimes you can even get them in unopened boxes, but you can always get great deals on these used/new copies. If you want to upgrade to Kontakt 4 later, Native Instruments always offers an inexpensive upgrade path.

You might also look at the prices for educational copies of Kontakt. If you are a student or the parent of a student, you can generally purchase software such as Kontakt at these discounted educational prices.

[mgpqa1]

Thanks for the explanation, Greg. I have the full version of Kontakt and placed my order earlier. Can't wait to try the update!

[gbevin]

Any revised eta for the eagerly anticipated EEG update?

Well, there's really only one thing that needs to be done at this point, besides updating the manual with the additions/revisions, is to change the way chords are detected so that they will instantly fret. That way there is no need to anticipate the chords in order for them to be properly fretted in time.

Really looking forward to your update to finish the Eigenharp centric review of EEG.

[Godseyse]

Awesome stuff!!! This is going to totally kick butt!

Next up... Evolution Acoustic Guitar Preview Video!
^-^

[Gregjazz]

About Evolution Acoustic Guitar--I had an idea that I wanted to bounce of you guys (you've always been really helpful in this regard).

Rather than separating each articulation per velocity in the layer-based system, what if each articulation has the velocity layers already ingrained? So if your layer specifies a "Sustain" articulation, that articulation alone will include the different velocities of sustains, rather than having separate articulations for "Soft Sustain", "Loud Sustain", etc.

I think this would really simplify the mapping setup without taking away too much flexibility, especially in the case of the acoustic guitar, where I want to include picked and fingered versions of the articulations, etc.

[Exhile]

About Evolution Acoustic Guitar--I had an idea that I wanted to bounce of you guys (you've always been really helpful in this regard).

Rather than separating each articulation per velocity in the layer-based system, what if each articulation has the velocity layers already ingrained? So if your layer specifies a "Sustain" articulation, that articulation alone will include the different velocities of sustains, rather than having separate articulations for "Soft Sustain", "Loud Sustain", etc.

I think this would really simplify the mapping setup without taking away too much flexibility, especially in the case of the acoustic guitar, where I want to include picked and fingered versions of the articulations, etc.

That sounds great to me. I was actually thinking why not do this for EEG. I pretty much set it up in that way anyway.

Didnt know you were working on a picked and fingered version. Sounds sweet. Is there a a Nylon or a more Jazz type electric guitar on the horizon too?

[Milt]

About Evolution Acoustic Guitar--I had an idea that I wanted to bounce of you guys (you've always been really helpful in this regard).

Rather than separating each articulation per velocity in the layer-based system, what if each articulation has the velocity layers already ingrained? So if your layer specifies a "Sustain" articulation, that articulation alone will include the different velocities of sustains, rather than having separate articulations for "Soft Sustain", "Loud Sustain", etc.

I think this would really simplify the mapping setup without taking away too much flexibility, especially in the case of the acoustic guitar, where I want to include picked and fingered versions of the articulations, etc.

Sounds like a good idea to me. Would one be able to edit or amend the default velocities?

[Gregjazz]

Didnt know you were working on a picked and fingered version. Sounds sweet. Is there a a Nylon or a more Jazz type electric guitar on the horizon too?

I have a really gorgeous-sounding nylon guitar waiting to be sampled, so I imagine it will be the second library in the Evolution Acoustic Guitar series.

About the jazz guitar--would you prefer a hollowbody jazz guitar, or more of a modern solidbody one?

[Gregjazz]

Sounds like a good idea to me. Would one be able to edit or amend the default velocities?

In this case, the velocities wouldn't be editable. However, I could make them generally adjustable using the "Velocity Curve" knob per layer in the "Articulation" page.

[Aloysius]

I have a really gorgeous pair of nylons

[Gregjazz]

I have a really gorgeous pair of nylons

This can be our little secret...

But seriously, living in the San Francisco area--you never know what to expect.