KVR Audio

braj · Post by **braj** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:59 am

It's a matter of principle, I'm cheap

and keeping my wife happy that I am not racking up too many charges, she won't notice if it is under $100. And I pay off all balances each month so there is never anything left 'on the card.' I don't like owing anyone. I am looking at getting Sylenth at some point probably, but I'll try to get it on sale or used. But making this post mostly is just to find out what is out there in this range, what are the options, the economy gems.

liquidsound · Post by **liquidsound** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 3:08 am

You are no cheap, you're smart!

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 3:38 am

braj wrote:I am looking at getting Sylenth at some point probably, but I'll try to get it on sale or used.

Another option is to get the Viral Outbreak library for $59 and use it with the free Alchemy Player:

http://www.camelaudio.com/ViralOutbreak ... ibrary.php

FWIW, I have both Sylenth and the Viral Outbreak library, it works well to have them both.

VitaminD · Post by **VitaminD** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 3:53 am

braj wrote:It's a matter of principle, I'm cheap and keeping my wife happy that I am not racking up too many charges, she won't notice if it is under $100. And I pay off all balances each month so there is never anything left 'on the card.' I don't like owing anyone. I am looking at getting Sylenth at some point probably, but I'll try to get it on sale or used. But making this post mostly is just to find out what is out there in this range, what are the options, the economy gems.

Borrower is servant to the lender. I'm the same way with money.. minus having any wife effect.

I still say you should save and get something higher up.

Maybe have a 'piggy' bank and put 10 or 20 in it here and there.. Before you know it, you can deposit that back into your bank account and buy something super awesome. The wife won't know or care because there was no withdrawal from the account. 200 in and 200 out means it all evens out! As long as she knows you're putting 10 and 20 in there and this isn't behind her back.

Something like U-He Zebra, CamelAudio Alchemy, or Fxpansion DCAM: Synth Squad could last you for years and years.. and obsolete a lot of various synths.

But I guess this is down to personal thoughts..

If I had my druthers, I'd rather have a couple of Porsches than 5 Fords

(unless they were of the GT variety

)

braj · Post by **braj** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 4:13 am

VitaminD wrote:
braj wrote:It's a matter of principle, I'm cheap and keeping my wife happy that I am not racking up too many charges, she won't notice if it is under $100. And I pay off all balances each month so there is never anything left 'on the card.' I don't like owing anyone. I am looking at getting Sylenth at some point probably, but I'll try to get it on sale or used. But making this post mostly is just to find out what is out there in this range, what are the options, the economy gems.
Borrower is servant to the lender. I'm the same way with money.. minus having any wife effect. I still say you should save and get something higher up.

Maybe have a 'piggy' bank and put 10 or 20 in it here and there.. Before you know it, you can deposit that back into your bank account and buy something super awesome. The wife won't know or care because there was no withdrawal from the account. 200 in and 200 out means it all evens out! As long as she knows you're putting 10 and 20 in there and this isn't behind her back.

Something like U-He Zebra, CamelAudio Alchemy, or Fxpansion DCAM: Synth Squad could last you for years and years.. and obsolete a lot of various synths.

But I guess this is down to personal thoughts..

If I had my druthers, I'd rather have a couple of Porsches than 5 Fords (unless they were of the GT variety )

Well, I'm not looking to get a huge amount of synths, and '$100 a month' doesn't necessarily mean for months/years on end, maybe a few months and covering a variety of plugins, I just spent $125 on Sugar Byte Guitarist for instance, it is an interesting and unique plugin, and I may save up my money to get Trillian or something similar that has no real par at some point, but I still want to see my options on the cheap, what is out there. I recently spent $50 on a not so hot plugin and I want to avoid those sorts of mistakes, thus these queries to you pros. I'm certain I could have gotten something more satisfying for the same amount.

braj · Post by **braj** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 4:25 am

This is what is on the top of my shopping list:

A really good, musical Moog-like synth that is easy to program and doesn't kill the CPU. A comprehensive manual would be really good.

A good plug for vocal processing.

India sample library/loops/instruments. Something that can educate me how to go about putting these elements together semi-authentically would be great.

A good broad selection (GM compatible) library/module.

A satisfying bass guitar instrument.

Midi loop libraries covering 60's/70's reggae and rock bass guitar and drums, laid out in a logical way.

Spending more doesn't always mean getting more, and what works for me may not be the most expensive, top-tier instruments.

Xenobt · Post by **Xenobt** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 6:14 am

I'd recommend Sampletank Free from the IK Multimedia site and add Expansion libraries to taste from eSoundz.com. They're ten dollars cheaper each there than IK, and with their 20% off sale now, that gets them down to around $31 usd each. So you could pick up three to start with and get free epointz toward for next time.

Make sure to register (it's free!) on eSoundz.com before buying to get a better price. And the more you buy, the larger your user discount gets. Nice!

The Bass Collection 2 and OmniSynth would cover your bass and GM module needs nicely, and there's lot of audio/midi loop ReTank libraries in different genres to choose from too. There's also TONS of great drum kits, guitars, ethnic loop and instrument libraries and more vintage synths and keys than anyone EVER needs!

Check out some of the audio demos to get an idea of what it can do here:

http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=4783

And as was mentioned earlier, Group Buys from IK or eSoundz happen nearly every spring and summer, and you can add to your collection for a song once you have the Sampletank engine installed.

You can even run other IK VIs inside it like SampleMoog, Miroslav Philharmonik and Sonic Synth 2. Again, look out for group buys, no brainer deals and daily specials from eSoundz, IK, Audiomidi and Musician's friend.

I started with a $49 Xpansion Tank GB and I have 60 gb of IK/eSoundz stuff now!

If you choose to go that way, refer someone helpful at checkout,

Here's a list of KVR/eSoundz members as of last summer and a great overview of how epointz works by DarkStar:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=217796

I don't know about the one stop vocal solution, Nectar from iZotope looks cool, but some here have issues with its sound quality for high end stuff. Usually your DAW of choice will have all the tools you'd need (compressor/limiters, eq, reverb and delay) piecemeal for more control in ordering the effect chain and maximum tweakability.

KVR/eSoundz: Xenobt

kv331 · Post by **kv331** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 7:34 am

Examigan wrote:Synthmaster, has over 800 presets plus it has Rob Lee's soundsbank (100 presets) for $129 during February, (over $100,.but it includes the Rob Lee sound bank which is $25 by itself)

Well, for those who subscribe to the newsletter while downloading the demo, they'll get instant discount coupons in their inbox

So it is close to $100 with the discount

braj · Post by **braj** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am

Xenobt wrote:I'd recommend Sampletank Free from the IK Multimedia site and add Expansion libraries to taste from eSoundz.com.

Thanks, that sounds like good advice, I'll keep it in mind

FarleyCZ · Post by **FarleyCZ** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:37 am

Definitely grab kv33l's offer. Syntmaster is future man.

Also I recomend you check out market place here often. It's really great when you're on budget and need to compress your expands as low as possible.

artificial · Post by **artificial** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:12 am

V-Station (about 40€ i think)

penko · Post by **penko** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:34 am

Aspect and Circle.

breakmixer · Post by **breakmixer** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:45 am

Examigan wrote:
breakmixer wrote:ACE, Poise, Toxic Biohazard, OP-X Pro, M1

All new under $100

I sold my ACE though
OP-X Pro is not under $100

OP-X is though - he does have 3/4 versions so easy mistake...

Examigan · Post by **Examigan** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:37 pm

breakmixer wrote:
Examigan wrote:
breakmixer wrote:ACE, Poise, Toxic Biohazard, OP-X Pro, M1

All new under $100

I sold my ACE though
OP-X Pro is not under $100
OP-X is though - he does have 3/4 versions so easy mistake...

You're right

and anyway it does go on sale once in a while.

djmino02 · Post by **djmino02** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 5:42 pm

There's always Reason, which is a pretty decent all-in-one package. It's more that $100, but it comes with a lot.

Reason doesn't accept VST's though. You would have to Rewire it into another DAW.

There are a bunch of free refills available on their website too. I think there is a free Moog refill available for Thor.

Best VSTis for under $100?