The market of sample libraries - what is most wanted?

[zircon]

I'm curious to know the answer to this one. The sample library and virtual instrument market always SEEMS like it is oversaturated, but people always need fresh sounds, and thanks to programs like GarageBand, more and more people have access to music creation software. However, I've always wondered what category of samples is MOST wanted or needed. I have my own preference, but I'd like to hear from a wide range of other people.

Also, if there's a category I'm missing, let me know and I'll add it.

[mckenic]

Hi Zircon!

I voted sound fx - theres loads of these too I know but I want bleeps and bloops, rain hitting off a tin can down an alley, wind through the trees etc. - there is too many aeroplane starting, door slam, telephone ringing disks already

Dave

[SampleScience]

I like multi-samples from various instruments (organs, guitar, synths, piano, etc...) in sf2 or .wav format.

[Voidoid Surrealist]

Samples of stuff that hasn't been sampled to death. Sure it's fun to hear the 10,000th new 808, but I'd rather hear something that's never (or has rarely) been sampled before. How many Ondes Martenot samples are there? What about a Geigenwerk? Hell, even a Kalamazoo K101 combo organ...

[Meffy]

I like so-called "ethnic" instruments. Western instruments are great, but there's a world of traditions to choose from.

Herman Witkam is doing fantastic work in this area, and I MUST get a good translator to do Giga -> SampleTank2 so I can use his samples!

[edit] For the Ondes, I prefer PM. Been working on that in Tassman on and off for a while, with mixed results.

Speaking of golden oldies, a soft Trautonium would be nice. :-} Mentioned a hardware one by Doepfer earlier today.

[Armadillo]

I like so-called "ethnic" instruments. Western instruments are great, but there's a world of traditions to choose from.

Herman Witkam is doing fantastic work in this area, and I MUST get a good translator to do Giga -> SampleTank2 so I can use his samples!

sounds like a good idea to me. Can you do it in SF2 or NN-XT format now that you're at it.

Would love ethnic instruments as well. I think I have enough VA synths to last me this decade and then some. Don't even get me started regarding drums.

[zircon]

I like so-called "ethnic" instruments. Western instruments are great, but there's a world of traditions to choose from.

Herman Witkam is doing fantastic work in this area, and I MUST get a good translator to do Giga -> SampleTank2 so I can use his samples!

[edit] For the Ondes, I prefer PM. Been working on that in Tassman on and off for a while, with mixed results.

Speaking of golden oldies, a soft Trautonium would be nice. :-} Mentioned a hardware one by Doepfer earlier today.

I'm curious why you say ethnic instruments - not that I disagree with you, but don't we have Ethno World I & II as well as QL RA? That's about 16gb of material right there covering a HUGE range of stuff. I belive Ilio has medieval instrument samples coming out too.

[Voidoid Surrealist]

[edit] For the Ondes, I prefer PM. Been working on that in Tassman on and off for a while, with mixed results.

Speaking of golden oldies, a soft Trautonium would be nice. :-} Mentioned a hardware one by Doepfer earlier today.

Is there any free PM synth that you would recommend for it, and what settings would you use? I can imagine that a good spring reverb IR would help, but I don't know offhand of any resonating strings or metal cone IRs that you could use...

I know there isn't a PM of it yet, but I figured that there might be something similar that could be tweaked...

[Meffy]

zircon: There are some good to great big libraries, but I can't afford big libs just now. In the individual-download department, I'm anticipating good things from Squids. :-)

[edit] Medieval, eh? Interesting, thanks for the heads up!

Voidoid: Tassman's all I know, really. Well, besides Csound. But I'm not nearly skilled enough to pull off an Ondes in Csound. (Bet someone's done it... I really ought to buy that big Csound library set. That's very cheap considering.)

[another edit] Of course -- for la Palme, PSP's free Pianoverb would be a natural.

[Herman Witkam]

I like so-called "ethnic" instruments. Western instruments are great, but there's a world of traditions to choose from.

Herman Witkam is doing fantastic work in this area,

Thanks Meffy
Adding ethnic instruments is a great way to add colors to those dull-sounding sections.

I'm curious why you say ethnic instruments - not that I disagree with you, but don't we have Ethno World I & II as well as QL RA? That's about 16gb of material right there covering a HUGE range of stuff. I belive Ilio has medieval instrument samples coming out too.

Ilio's library focusses more on the "ancient" side, so no Crumhorns, medieval Shawms and renaissance Lute. More like Greek Aulos, Roman war horns etc..
On the medieval side there's only Early Patches, which is great - but it's an AKAI library from a year or 5 ago.

[original flipper]

HI

I think the point has been missed - with DVD mass storage of over 4 gig's or what was previously 6-10 CD's the idea of 'specialist' libraries is or should be a thing of the past - I mean ALL those categories you mention could and should be covered in a single DVD (I hate the ridiculous size that sample libraries
are getting to, these days!).

Of course this would compromise the huge profits that the single sample CD generates so I don't suposse we will see to many MEGA DVD libraries coming from the likes of Time&Space or if we do they will want several hundered $/£.

Hands up to many of the software companies here that offer up a genuine value for money alternative and DO supply MASSIVE libraries with their products - Wusikstation/Manystation/Kontakt - look at what P5 is offering up as well.

Flipper.

[Meffy]

Ancient? Better yet. I've been looking for proper Roman trumpets for a little "Pines of Rome"-style processional. I'll look into it, see if it's in my price range (which is in the "pitiable" category :-D).

Thanks to both of ya!

[edit] Ilio's too rich for my blood, ah well. Looks very nice though.

[zircon]

HI

I think the point has been missed - with DVD mass storage of over 4 gig's or what was previously 6-10 CD's the idea of 'specialist' libraries is or should be a thing of the past - I mean ALL those categories you mention could and should be covered in a single DVD (I hate the ridiculous size that sample libraries
are getting to, these days!).

Of course this would compromise the huge profits that the single sample CD generates so I don't suposse we will see to many MEGA DVD libraries coming from the likes of Time&Space or if we do they will want several hundered $/£.

Hands up to many of the software companies here that offer up a genuine value for money alternative and DO supply MASSIVE libraries with their products - Wusikstation/Manystation/Kontakt - look at what P5 is offering up as well.

Flipper.

Not quite sure I understand you - if you sacrifice size, you lose quality, period, end of story (when it comes with sample libraries). If you have a single DVD library covering all that, you're not going to have as many instruments with as many articulations as RA, and certainly not as many as VSL Opus 1, or QLSO Gold. Including sounds in a GM-type set is fine, and Colossus is turning out to be pretty popular, but I will take a specialized library any day of the week than one that tries to do it all.

[Herman Witkam]

Not quite sure I understand you - if you sacrifice size, you lose quality, period, end of story (when it comes with sample libraries).

Not neccesarily. Some instruments depend more upon user expression than 15 different samples per note. Especially certain solo instruments sound better with the modular approach.

[zircon]

If we're talking about squeezing multiple specialized libraries such as SoV, VoTA, RI, SD, etc. into one DVD, you are compromising sound quality and that's really all there is to it.