Good deal?

Posted on

Member Since: Sep 30, 2009

Here's a link:
www.guitarcenter.com/East...375-i1424631.gc

While doing some usual "i wish i had that" searching on music, i came across this rebate. Its buy one get one free on most of East West's virtual instruments. i heard a few samples of this thing on youtube. here's the last one i watched:





Just thought i'd alert you guys in case anyone's looking for a midi orchestra (or if you guys have used this and for whatever reason hate it). I plan on doing some more research to make sure this isn't a "scam" (like, the day after this rebate is threw the price will drop significantly) but it looks like a steal! Granted, a $450 steal :\ but ah well. I just got $200 out of a return and i'm putting a guitar on ebay for 200-250 so it'll be like i never lost a dime :]

Btw, rebate says til december 31st to buy, jan 15th to get that rebate form it. So i've got a month to sleep on it :]

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Byte-Mixer
Member
Since: Dec 04, 2007


Nov 25, 2009 09:27 pm

Well, EWQLSO Gold is certainly a solid Orchestral package, but some people love it and others don't really care for it, preferring to go with Miroslav, or VSL. Plenty of professionals use that or the Platinum edition. The 2 for 1 looks like a good deal though.

I haven't used it myself, and I don't remember if it has dry samples of all the instruments or not (I would assume it does, but you never know) I think some people have mentioned having to tweak the settings quite a bit to get some of those richer sounds. Sometimes, they also layer them with other libraries like GPO, VSL or miroslav and such to get some of those full sounds.

Anyway, the EastWest stuff is usually pretty solid all around. The silver edition is also a good all around orchestral library, and a bit cheaper than the gold.

http://www.reverbnation.com/2ndg
Member
Since: Nov 27, 2007


Nov 25, 2009 09:49 pm

dude, ive seen this sort of thing before, Awesome!

not sure if its the same one or not, but yeah, i definatley wanna get something like that for my metal stuff.

just means more cash.
whats the damage on this one?

http://www.reverbnation.com/2ndg
Member
Since: Nov 27, 2007


Nov 25, 2009 10:21 pm

oh yeah 450, thats US though right?

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 25, 2009 10:39 pm

Ya, East West has some of the most kick butt samples around these days. I've used them in the past and still do on occasion. Kind of a good relationship with them in the past. And I see there loading the samples into Rapture as well. Dimension works also if you have that.

But indeed it is good quality for sure. You can put some decent classical stuff together out of the other kits though as well.

Member
Since: Sep 30, 2009


Nov 26, 2009 07:23 am

Yupp. $450 US. The rebate did say however they'd ship internationally. 30 bucks s&h. This is making it a little tough to decide :\ i DO need a new computer. And if they weren't offering 2 for 1 there's no way i'd even think about dropping 450 on this thing. But it's such a deal! And i've been wanting decent quality orchestra sounds for some time now (strings sound oddly good with high gain guitars xD). Plus it sounds very geared towards hobby movie score music. Which i can never get enough theatrical music! its so emotional.

Thanks for the advice :] it does seem like a pretty solid library! The silver certainly is cheaper though, hmm. under half the price. I'll have to do some more digging and promise myself not to decide until mid to late december.

Member
Since: Sep 30, 2009


Nov 26, 2009 07:56 am

Oh yeah. One more cool thing i found while browsing youtube last night. The choirs can have quite a nice "evil" sound to them, lots of articulations! You're even able to change what they say to a certain extent (think microsoft sam). And for the strings, they have features that sample the strings very realistically. Like, they don't bow twice when you're switching notes in a legato style, and they change bow directions (i don't play the violin or anything, so i'm explaining this poorly haha)

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 26, 2009 10:36 pm

I k now what you mean Fragile. I have a ton of different string selection's and for me its between the East West and the strings I use in Kontakt or Dimension.

A small pie will soon be eaten
Member
Since: Aug 26, 2004


Nov 27, 2009 09:09 am

And here I am using Edirol 'orchestral' like a mug. :)


Member
Since: Sep 30, 2009


Nov 28, 2009 12:12 am

Ah really noize? so would you happen to have east west gold orchestra then? I think i'm going to go for it :] i need to decide which packs to get. actually. what the heck. i'll just tell you guys:

I want 3 main things, strings. voices. and piano. For strings its either gold or silver from east west. Voices its either "Voices of passion" or "Symphonic choirs." and piano i'm thinking either pianos by east west or the grand by steinburg.

I haven't decided which "voices" package i'd like better. But the voices of passion is 350, symphonic is 450. the grand is 350ish, pianos is 450.

For the pianos, i'm not looking for a huge variety of tone. I'm not big into piano solo music, at least not enough to compose. Just a sort of melody or chordal instrument. I like dark-tones :]

I still really need to do some research. but based on this preliminary stuff, what are your thoughts to anyone with experience in these products or similar ones?

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 28, 2009 01:23 am

Strings the gold is well worth it indeed. And my collection is a custom set up and isn't available in a standard bundle like that.

For the voices, I do suggest listening to all the samples of both. It is really a matter of what your final outcome is to be on which pack to select there. Personal choice here is Voices of Passion.

On the piano, go have a look here first at Akoustik Piano from Native Instruments. www.native-instruments.co...koustik%20Piano

Which actually they have replaced with several piano versions now. And as well you might want to take a look at all the synth sampler instruments before you run off and buy up the gold bundle or what not. They might have just what you need without opting for the huge East West gold bundle.

And just a word of info. The player that come with the East West stuff is a Native Instruments player.

Member
Since: Sep 30, 2009


Nov 28, 2009 04:37 pm

Good advise Noize! Alright. Let me revise my needs here then.

Budget:$400-$700

Instruments:
- Realistic, "dark" piano. Don't need a huge variety of tone however.
- "Theatrical" strings. Stuff to add to pop, hard rock, and i'd love to do some "movie score" music as a fun little project.
- Choir. Lots of variety here. Different articulations, "ous" and "ahs" But also a few random phrases in different languages (or ability to make them say whatever you want). Think gothic music here, like some evanescence if you're familiar with her work. Though i wouldn't stick her in as just gothic music, there are certainly some elements there (sidenote, anyone here into gothic music? any recommendations? i'm always looking to expand my listening horizons :] ok back on track)
- Electronic drum sounds. more on that soon.
- Good ole' crazy synth sounds. I'm a big NIN fan btw. Though more modern pop synth tones intrigue me as well.
- Small selection of random ethnic percussion. Mostly for the "theatrical" stuff like the death march above. But also some Indian percussion i've heard in plenty of tools drumming really interest me. But this is more for effect, and at the moment i'm not willing to pay more to get good ethnic percussion.

Alright, fairly long list. I've dug deeper into eastwest and i am still quite intrigued by them. Did some looking into native as well, i like i see. Still need to look into Miroslav. I noticed eastwest "goliath" is sort of a jack of all trades, its got a few pianos, i think gold even has one piano. I'm just looking for realism, pianos not a huge huge deal with me.

For synths, i have no idea what to get into or if i'd be able to fit them into this budget.

Electronic drum sounds, i've been looking at toontracks new Electronic EZX. It seems to be a sampler of hundreds of electronic drum machines and such. Haven't found too much on how it actually sounds, its quite new (and only $90), but the samples toontrack has with it in the song do sound quite nice to me.

Duke of Stewed Prunes
Member
Since: Jun 01, 2007


Nov 28, 2009 06:54 pm

I was browsing the thread and saw the request for recommendations of "gothic" music.

Rather than hijack the thread and have bags of animal dirt thrown at me (please, plastic, not paper), if you want to drop me an e-mail with what you're listening to, I might be able to recommend a thing or two.

As for the sample libraries... Phew. Too rich for my blood.

Have you considered soundfonts though? Likewise, I know the newest version of FL studio has some pretty wicked updates to its sampler that I've only just begun to tinker with and you can import your own sounds...

Just a thought.

Member
Since: Sep 30, 2009


Nov 28, 2009 11:25 pm

Just sent you an email :] and soundfonts, never heard of it i'll be sure to check it out though. I'm open to all options and i've got about a month to decide.

Duke of Stewed Prunes
Member
Since: Jun 01, 2007


Nov 28, 2009 11:56 pm

Sent a (long-winded) reply.

Here's the wiki article on Soundfonts and what they're about. It'll probably offer a better explanation than I could.

In short, they operate like better sounding variants on general midi instrument patches, but if you're talking about wanting to do scoring and the like as a side hobby, it may be a more inexpensive way to test the waters (much as we all love to sound like we have a full ensemble in the bathroom closet).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundFont

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 29, 2009 12:05 am

@ Runicen.

Feel free to hi-jack a thread anytime. They usually always go back on track. And if they don't then the main conversation was probly stagnant by then.

@ Fragile. I'll be back with some advice on the Native stuff tomorrow as well.

Member
Since: Sep 30, 2009


Nov 29, 2009 04:06 pm

Thanks :] i'm actually looking into the programs more today. Its tough to make a decision! Goliath does seem quite impressive however. But i'm also looking into the IK Multimedia total workstations. They both sound equally impressive :\ but IK seems to be more about third party programs making their sounds, whereas goliath may be slightly more convenient to work with. Can't decide though :\ Still gotta look at natives sample sounds. Same with sound fonts.

Edit: Update. Eh, the synths in IK sorta suck :\ they'd be great for some classic video games, and oh how those sounds do take me back hehe. But yeah, nevermind. This package is not for me. The Miroslav orchestra bundled in with it did sound quite nice though, but still. Between the two i'm much more impressed by eastwest. Onto native!

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 29, 2009 10:21 pm

Ya, you will notice that nearly all the East West stuff is ported for Kontakt or Kompakt format's which is Native Instruments players. I use Kontakt 3 as well as Absynth, FM 8 and several other synths from them.

But ya, if you have the cash to shoot out for Goliath that is a pretty big heap of sound.

Member
Since: Sep 30, 2009


Nov 29, 2009 10:58 pm

Wow really? thats interesting. hmm. So far my digging is definitely leaning towards goliath, though i am quite biased simply because i looked into eastwest before native or anything else. Hmm plus there's the whole get an extra pack free with it.

And as far as cash, ehhh i really need to get lucky and sell some stuff soon, or press the several people that still owe me some cash. Seasonal work is about done for the year, and i've decided next year starts that whole "responsibility" bull crap. Don't they know us men will always be children at heart ;]

But i think its worth it. Theatrical music is something thats always truly spoke to me like none other. As it should, the music has the sole purpose of building suspense, showing elation, or jerking those tears in a film. But when i listen to just about anything theatrical, such as even the demo's i listened to today of some of the orchestral VSTi's in action, they just really spoke to me. Breathing shallow, jaw slightly open, heart beating rapidly. That type of music tickles my emotions so effortlessly. I'd love to be able to compose something like that. Not to mention add elements of it into some hard rock!

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 30, 2009 10:35 pm

Oh ya, like I said. Goliath is a killer pak indeed. And at the price its at now buying it direct plus getting a freebie makes it a killer deal indeed. And it is a very stable playback engine as well so you can't beat that either.

Member
Since: Sep 30, 2009


Dec 01, 2009 12:19 pm

Ha! Kick freaking @ss!

www.soundsonline.com/home.php

east west is really showin the love. Goliath is HALF OFF and buy one get one free. thats so intense. Oh man, i'm loving this up.

Lol sorry, i'm quite excited at the moment.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Dec 01, 2009 07:33 pm

Dude, you can't beat that deal at all. If I still needed any instruments I'd be all over that. I should buy it just because of the price.

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