9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

David Polich · Post by **David Polich** » Fri Dec 16, 2016 10:47 pm

Plugin Boutique is offering the 9 GB Sonivox Orchestral
Companion strings library for $1 until Dec. 31.

That's correct ... $1. The library normally sells
for $105. It requires Kontakt to run it.

More info here:

www.pluginboutique.com

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 12:00 am

Dave,

Actually, I think that's the newer version on sale -- they recently ported from Kontakt to probably Aria Engine or whatever it's called. So I don't think you need a Kontakt license to run this one.

http://www.pluginboutique.com/product/1 ... on-Strings

I was at the original release party for the first version (Gigastudio) as Jennifer Hruska is a former housemate of one of my best friends and former co-workers from when I lived in Boston. I got to meet all of the people involved, including the engineer John Bono.

Although other stuff has come along since then, that has more articulations and clever switching, there is a special ambience and timbre to SONiVOX that remains unique, and many people like to layer it with more modern libraries.

Also, I think, but do not know for sure, that these newer versions have more programming and flexibility than previous sampler host versions did (Gigastudio, Kontakt), so I'm tempted to go for it myself at $1 even though I own the Kontakt version of everything but Harp (it got taken off the market before I had a chance).

Fun fact: Jennifer is a trained mallet percussionist, and after she stepped back a bit from the business side of things, she went back for a PhD in Music Composition. She's a very talented person with a keen vision, and every library that came after owes a lot to the concepts she came up with for how to properly record orchestral instruments and sections.

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 12:03 am

Also, in case you missed it, there's a $69 upgrade offer for SONiVOX Premier Collection:

http://www.pluginboutique.com/product/1 ... on-Upgrade

This includes everything still in their catalogue, from what I can tell.

And that includes TimewARP 2600, which came under their umbrella a number of years ago. Worth the price of admission alone, for anyone who doesn't already own it.

So for a total of $70, you get it all -- though I need to read the fine print to make sure the upgrade doesn't require specific and/or multiple existing products to be eligible.

UPDATE: You only need to own one SONiVOX product to qualify for the Premier Collection Upgrade.

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 12:09 am

The only product I see missing from the suite is the new Vocalizer Pro vocoder and vocal effect/harmonizer product, which makes sense to exclude from the offer.

There is a separate $169 upgrade offer for AIR customers, but as one can qualify for the $69 upgrade by buying the Strings for $1, that would be silly.

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 12:11 am

I won't likely be taking part in this offer myself, just because I have more than blown my budget for the season, and already own half the products anyway (in one form or another).

This is a great deal for almost anyone. And even the EDM stuff is useful at times; I bought Wobble recently for maybe $10, and it found a place adding some important texture on a song that is in that genre but which avoids letting any loop-based sound dominate or be too exposed. Just my own preference though; many people are happy to write material solely based on stuff like Wobble.

billf · Post by **billf** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 12:17 am

If you happen to have other products from PlugInBoutique, be sure to check your virtual cash bonus points to see if you have a balance. I had some, so I was able to grab this for some bonus points.

Martini Hill · Post by **Martini Hill** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 5:58 am

Ok, so the "Orchestral Companion-Strings" plugin is def not for Kontakt and has its own engine? I can't seem to find any more info on it as the page pretty much just describes the "Premier" collection.

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Martini Hill · Post by **Martini Hill** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 6:05 am

Ok. Nevermind. I see that the Orchestra Comp Strings description follows the Premier upgrade offer.

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mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 11:02 am

For some reason, most SONiVOX products no longer mention engine requirements.

Given that there also seems to be some sort of partnership with AIR, anything is possible.

At one time, they were using the ARIA engine that Garritan had taken on. But as those products don't run on 64-bit Macs (at least, mine don't), I wonder if they moved on to yet another engine?

I bought Wobble a month or so ago but couldn't tell what it was running on. maybe each one is its own thing.

Martini Hill · Post by **Martini Hill** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 11:21 am

Interesting. Well I bit for a buck. We'll see how it goes. Thanx M!

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mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 1:43 pm

I went ahead and did the $69 upgrade, minus a dollar or so for existing account credits. There are some rare instruments in there that are a bit coarse (older libraries) but may come in handy.

It’s not clear on who starts the handshake and when/how, for the upgrade license to authorize and present my account with a proper serial number for registering with iLok so that I get an installer link for the suite.

The account info says all licenses have been exhausted and to wait a day, but I suspect that's a red herring and that we have to take the initiative to let "someone" (Plugin Boutique? SONiVOX?) know that we qualify (and for me, I qualify several times over) for the upgrade path.

Anyway, I thought it safer to respond to the purchase confirmation email to provide my iLok account info and my Wobble license number, to hopefully diminish the number of back-and-forths.

For those just buying the $1 symphony strings collection, I doubt there will be any confusion or complicating factors.

Martini Hill · Post by **Martini Hill** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 2:13 pm

Good to know. Hey, OT, you're a very knowledgeable VI guy. I have a very limited Piano lib. Actually, besides the Bosendorfer that came with mach5, a piano with Albion and all of my hardware synths, nothing much to get excited about. I'd like a somewhat of a multipurpose piano. Something between an Orchestral sound and a Pop sound. I know.....A wide gap between. So, I was looking at the Ivory American Concert D. Do you have and like it? Jeff

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mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 2:24 pm

I only have Italian II and hate it. I've written elsewhere in this forum that I spent dozens of hours -- and though I'm not at Dave Polich's level, I'm no slouch when it comes to synth programming and tweaks -- and couldn't get anything organic out of it, phrasing-wise.

But then, even the best audio demos of Ivory's products sound inorganic to me as well, and those presumably had a lot of time put into them. But we all listen for different things, you see. For me, the way that notes connect matters more than ANYTHING and is a deal-killer if they don't. Timbre is not enough on its own to "fool" me into thinking something is "real".

Having said that, the American Steinway Model D from Ivory is supposed to be by far their best and most advanced product. So it may have more expressivity and control, just as Galaxy's Vintage D goes a bit beyond their trilogy of piano libraries (which are also pretty good).

But getting back on-topic, the SONiVOX collection includes a Steinway Grand. Yet if you click on the Sound-on-Sound review, it's pretty critical. Even so, it may be good value; especially as part of a $69 suite. Unfortunately I can't find audio demos for it yet.

Martini Hill · Post by **Martini Hill** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 3:37 pm

Very cool! Great input and advice! For me, I really look for feel and response to my particular style of play... Warts and all. Ok, I will check out the Sonivox lib as well. Thanx again Michael! Cheers~Jeff

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cuttime · Post by **cuttime** » Sat Dec 17, 2016 7:38 pm

Thanks for the tip, David. This is worth far more than the price of the bandwidth. I wish there was a way to install it on a drive other than the system, nevertheless, I gave a few patches the Khachaturian "Gayane's Adagio" stress test (which I have come to use as the definitive string patch test), and it passed with flying colors. I'm looking forward to giving the rest a workout over the next couple of days.

Yes, it has it's own proprietary player, and as far as I can tell, one can attach a controller to all the knobs. There is the documentation in the library folder.

The library would not authorize on the first go round, but after a reboot all was well.

EDIT: I see there is an option to move the library to another location using the "gear" icon on the interface, but this option was not available in the installer.

MOTUnation.com

9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1

Re: 9 GB Sonivox orchestral library for $1