Ujam Virtual Guitarist Carbon

[tonedef71]

Focusrite's free VG Iron promotion has been extended: "Access the offer by registering your hardware and setting up a Focusrite account before 14h November". Also includes 30% off the guitar bundle. (Owning VG Iron reduces Carbon's price to $100, and owning the bundle reduces it to $50.)

Is this the link? https://focusrite.com/plugin-collective

[Ou_Tis]

Focusrite's free VG Iron promotion has been extended: "Access the offer by registering your hardware and setting up a Focusrite account before 14h November". Also includes 30% off the guitar bundle. (Owning VG Iron reduces Carbon's price to $100, and owning the bundle reduces it to $50.)

Is this the link? https://focusrite.com/plugin-collective

I think so, it's been a while since I registered. It will show up in your Focusrite user account under "My software" as the Plugin Collective offer.

[tonedef71]

Focusrite's free VG Iron promotion has been extended: "Access the offer by registering your hardware and setting up a Focusrite account before 14h November". Also includes 30% off the guitar bundle. (Owning VG Iron reduces Carbon's price to $100, and owning the bundle reduces it to $50.)

Is this the link? https://focusrite.com/plugin-collective

I think so, it's been a while since I registered. It will show up in your Focusrite user account under "My software" as the Plugin Collective offer.

If only I owned a Focusrite product.

[tonedef71]

Well, last week I finally purchased UJAM Carbon for $92 at BestService.com. The bad news (for me) is that I could have gotten it today through PreSonus for just $64.50.

[AdvancedFollower]

That was early for a sale. Even though I haven't bought Carbon (might pick it up in the future), that feels a bit unfair to early adopters.
Of course I've bought all my UJAM plugins at 50% off during sales (except Phat and Sparkle, which I got for free thanks to PreSonus), so I'm kind of used to always wait for a sale with them. The initial prices are a trap...

[tonedef71]

That was early for a sale. Even though I haven't bought Carbon (might pick it up in the future), that feels a bit unfair to early adopters.

Indeed. Carbon was released on October 31st with an introductory price that was under-cut less than one month later.

The initial prices are a trap...

This is actually not the first time I have fallen into that trap. I have been a victim to such disloyalty to initial adopters before:

I bought this Waves plugin at the end of January for the limited time introductory price of $49. Less than than four months later, Waves is offering it for the lowest price ever of $29. Is it really worth being an early adopter with Waves? I would have gladly waited just a few months if I knew they would be offering it at their rock-bottom $29 plugin price.

Looking back, that other time was not nearly as egregious. I purchased the Waves plug-in just after it was first released on January 24th, 2018 for the introductory price of $49, and then it dropped to $29 on May 14th, 2018. I am not sure what the etiquette is for the amount of time to wait before a vendor undercuts the introductory price it used to lure initial adopters, but I think at least a year used to be the common practice -- who knows what it is now.

There is nothing I can do now except vent about it -- and help others get it for a better price than I did. Of course my doing so just directs more sales to the vendor which has the effect of encouraging them to repeat such disloyalty again.

[BONES]

I assume that price is only for Studio One customers, not the general public? So it's hardly unfair to early adopters, is it? I mean, maybe my Eris 3.5s would allow me in on the price but it's still only a few bucks less than I paid anyway so I'm not too fussed.

[Russell Grand]

Does it have a strumming function and if so, how realistic is it? I find virtual guitar strumming to be dreadful and I have quite a few of them. They just can't get that realistic guitar feel when strumming. It always sounds like a keyboard playing.

No but overall VG-Carbon and other Ujam VG products sound pretty good to my ears - especially in a mix. YMMV.

[Russell Grand]

Last night I got out VG-Iron, too, and started using them together. They complement each other quite well. I had three different guitars going in one song but it was a little too much so I pulled one of them out. I think this is the dawn of a whole new era for NOVAkILL.

I agree, Bones. I really love VG-Iron.

[tonedef71]

I assume that price is only for Studio One customers, not the general public?

I am not sure, but I think the offer is for anyone with a My.PreSonus account; you do not need to be an owner of a PreSonus product to sign up for a My.Presonus account.

Some offers are region-specific; I am not sure if the UJAM Carbon offer is one of them.

... but it's still only a few bucks less than I paid anyway so I'm not too fussed.

$99 - 64.50 = $34.50. That is another ~$35 to spend on Black Friday deals. Who would not want to have that money back?

[Russell Grand]

Does it have a strumming function and if so, how realistic is it? I find virtual guitar strumming to be dreadful and I have quite a few of them. They just can't get that realistic guitar feel when strumming. It always sounds like a keyboard playing.

The other VG products are better for strumming, as mentioned. You're actually playing back pre-set "phrases", which can either be strums or rhythmic parts etc. They aren't sample loops, but not quite MIDI either. That might seem a bit limiting, however there are so many different phrases, and you can change phrases using the lower notes on the keyboard to effectively create even more variations by stringing them together in different ways.

A real guitarist would also have a specific, personal repertoire of licks, phrases and styles, so it really is a bit like getting a session player in a plug-in.

My problem, and this keeps getting constantly hammered at me by guitarists, is that these VSTs don't sound like real guitars especially when strumming. It sounds like a keyboard playing. It's frustrating when your music gets torn apart because you don't have a real guitar.

No offense intended, but if your music gets torn apart because it doesn't feature real guitar, I'm not so sure the problem is the lack of guitar. Even though current virtual guitarist VSTis like VG-Carbon and VG-Iron aren't perfect right out of the box, with a little effort (automation, etc.), they can definitely fool even the most nitpicky listener.

uJam's VGs don't sound like a keyboard playing. I mean, if it's the sole focus in a track, it can be noticeable because it's not 100% realistic obviously, but it's more than passable. In a mix with drums, synths, vocals, etc.? I bet 90+% of listeners would have no idea that you used a VSTi.

Have you tried it out yourself? If not, give it a good workout and see what fun you can have with it!

[BONES]

I'm pretty sure this is not the style of guitar that Wagtunes would be interested in. He'd more likely to go for VG-Sparkel, or Maybe VG-Amber.

$99 - 64.50 = $34.50. That is another ~$35 to spend on Black Friday deals. Who would not want to have that money back?

Having already finished two songs using it, I think I have more than got my $35 worth, thanks. Who knows if the same inspiration would strike next week? You have to seize every moment. I also think it was worth every penny of the $99 I paid for it, so it really doesn't bother me at all.

That's the good thing about having a job, they put money in your bank account every week. I've got about $400 put aside for Black Friday sales but, so far, I've only identified one purchase (Reaktor 6). There are a couple of other things I am keeping an eye on but I'll be surprised if I spend even half what I've put aside.

[AdvancedFollower]

Having already finished two songs using it, I think I have more than got my $35 worth, thanks. Who knows if the same inspiration would strike next week? You have to seize every moment. I also think it was worth every penny of the $99 I paid for it, so it really doesn't bother me at all.

Exactly, in the end plugins are meant to help you make music, not save money on sales The real return on your investment is if the plugin inspired you to make a track. A $100 plugin that helped you finish a track was a better deal than a $60 plugin you bought only because it was on sale and never use.

That said, of course it can be frustrating to find something you recently paid full price for on sale. The thing with plugin sales is that sometimes you get a really good deal (or even free stuff), and sometimes you get the short end of the stick. If you keep monitoring forums etc. and only buy when there's a sale, you'll hopefully save money on average compared to buying without doing any research at all, even if you fall into a trap and pay more for something every once in a while.

[BONES]

I paid $99 for Vacuum Pro a week before it went back down to $15. Didn't bother me at all, I was sick of waiting.

[tonedef71]

Here is UJAM Virtual Guitarist Carbon "performing" a rendition of the first part of Whitesnake's "Still Of The Night":

https://hearthis.at/tonedef/still-of-the-night-excerpt/

For reference and comparison, here is the original artist recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUVU6XzxV0I