FYI: GPO Group Buy

[Garritan]

Fellow Unicornation members,

There is a group buy for Garritan Personal Orchestra.

If a sufficient number of musicians purchase GPO the price will be about half off - or $139.

There are already 151 buyers entered for the first week and a current price of $149. The more people enroll in the group buy the lower the price. Once we reach 200 buyers the price is $139. There's three weeks to go and we're almost there already.

As most of you know, GPO is a complete orchestral sample collection that works as an audio units instrument from within Digital Performer and other sequencers. It also works with notation programs such as Finale , Sibelius and Overture. We maintain a GPO Digital Performer page - http://www.garritan.com/GPO-DigitalPerformerPage.html

This library has some of the highest quality instruments of any collection and has won more awards than any other orchestral library. There is more information, including hundreds of user demos on the GPO site: http://www.garritan.com

The URL for the GPO Group Buy is https://www.amerifare.com/harps/GPO-GroupBuyForm.htm

If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them.

Gary Garritan
www.garritan.com

<small>[ May 18, 2005, 08:07 PM: Message edited by: Garritan ]</small>

[Mwailey]

I don't think GPO is worth $130 unless you plan on using it in Finale. The quality, especially the strings, are simply not up to par with EWQLSO Silver, and especially, Gold. Gold is only $500 and it sounds infinitely better than GPO. I would save your money if you're contemplating buying this. Even at $130 it just isn't worth it. Buy a nice piano instead if you have $100 to spend.

Again, I recommend saving your money for Gold or Silver (preferably Gold).

<small>[ May 17, 2005, 07:53 PM: Message edited by: MwaileyBear ]</small>

[Morpheo]

$500 ?.... Gold is $995. Of course it probably sounds better than GPO, that's what I would expect if I had to pay 5x more !

GPO is a great library for the price, as is EWQLSO Silver. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Compromises are necessary for a $200+/- package.

[FM]

i own GPO.
i like it for what it is, i do think it is worth $130, the samples are good, not great just good, but if used in the right context they get the job done.
i definetly would not compare it to higher priced libraries but for less than $150... well... you know what they say about getting what you pay for.
that said, i definetly do not regret the purchase.

FM

FM is the end all be all of all end alls be alls.

[Mwailey]

Gold is now $500 not $995 - check soundsonline.com That is only $370 more than GPO and you get 16GB of sound as opposed to 2 and it sounds infinitely better.

Oh! And read the fine print of the group buy, I heard it doesn't come with everything the traditional GPO package comes with.

<small>[ May 18, 2005, 11:25 AM: Message edited by: MwaileyBear ]</small>

[chrispick]

Originally posted by MwaileyBear:
Gold is now $500 not $995 - check soundsonline.com That is only $370 more than GPO and you get 16GB of sound as opposed to 2 and it sounds infinitely better.

Oh! And read the fine print of the group buy, I heard it doesn't come with everything the traditional GPO package comes with.

$500 is the crossgrade price for Gold. To buy it straight out, it's still $995.

[Mwailey]

You don't have to show any proof for the crossgrade. Believe me. It is only $500. Go to soundsonline-forums.com and ask Doug or Nick - they don't require proof.

<small>[ May 18, 2005, 12:10 PM: Message edited by: MwaileyBear ]</small>

[glmusic]

It's the same deal at AudioMidi.com, 500.00 with no proof of competing product required.

[Garritan]

How GPO sounds compared to other libraries is a matter of taste. Many who own other libraries prefer GPO. But use your own ears and judge for yourself.

At the GPO site and forum, there are hundreds of USER demos. They were not professionally produced in order to make a more favorable impression (such examples would be misleading). Instead, we thought it would be honest to show the Garritan Orchestral Libraries in real world use by users. Please listen and judge for yourself. http://www.garritan.com/mp3.html

GPO is at a great price and for $139 you can add to your palette of sounds.

Libraries provide colors and tools for the pallete. GPO has additional orchestral instruments that are unique. I believe that the more colors and tools you have, the better sonic landscapes the artist can create.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Gary Garritan

<small>[ May 20, 2005, 08:14 PM: Message edited by: Garritan ]</small>

[motuguy]

Do the AU/VST plug-ins play nice with TIGER?

[Mwailey]

You're a nice guy, Garritan, and I think your new violin sounds wonderful, but GPO just doesn't stand its ground against anything but Silver. Once you get into Gold, Opus 1, Sonic Implants, etc. there is no comparison. GPO could be a nice place to start, especially if you use Finale (they use Finale at my school and I will be required to buy GPO eventually).

What I don't get about GPO, though, is why that's all there is from Garritan (except for the strings). EWQL have Silver, and from there you can go to Gold. Where will people go from GPO? Opus 1 seems like quite a large step in difficulty.

How "advanced" will GPO advanced be? Will GPO to GPO Advanced be what Silver is to Gold?

<small>[ May 18, 2005, 08:38 PM: Message edited by: MwaileyBear ]</small>

[Garritan]

MwaileyBear...Nice guy? I wish my wife felt the same way

How a library sounds is often a matter of taste and the application for which it is being used. Let's let people decide for themselves. This issue has been addressed in many independent reviews which have commented how great GPO sounds (even in a shootout/comparison with the libraries you mention). http://www.garritan.com/reviews.html There are sufficient demos, testimonies, awards and professional uses on the http://www.garritan.com website and people can decide if they want to spend $139 for more orchestral colors for their palette.

GPO has many extra instruments that other libraries do not. The libraries you mention do not have - like a solo viola,a solo bass, a celeste, stradivari violin, contrabass clarinet, contrabass tuba, oboe d'amoure, and quite a few others.

But rather than think comparison, I would prefer to focus on how GPO complements. GPO can add more orchestral instruments, colors and tools which can be of benefit to many artists.

What is unique about GPO is that it lets you build the orchestra the way you want from individual instruments. So you are not limited to only sections of fixed sizes. If you want and 8 piece horn section playing in unison, you can do it - or each horn can play separate parts or play divisi. No other library can do this. Here is some information and examples of ensemble building - http://www.garritan.com/GPO-ensemble.html

As far as upcoming libraries: The next library is the Jazz and Big Band collection due out soon. Then GPO Advanced, after that, that will have many more instruments and articulations. We are also working on a multi-poisition sample reverb library that will allow one to place instruments on any position on stage and choose between different mike places and different halls (including Benaroya Hall, Chan Center, Bastyr, Janazeck Hall and other great spaces.

motuguy...Native Instruments products have had some difficulty with Tiger and an update is expected from NI very soon which will make it play nice with TIGER. The update should be available for download buy the time the Group Buy ends.

Gary Garritan

<small>[ May 18, 2005, 10:03 PM: Message edited by: Garritan ]</small>

[Mwailey]

Well, you make some good points. I've read the people on VI Control making fun of you (sorry!) for comparing your library with the bigger libraries. I guess you really do! Some one told a story there about talking to you (at NAMM I think it was) where he told you that he thought your library was a nice sketchpad but that it didn't compare to the bigger libraries, and he said you just looked at him with a confused, blank look on your face as if you had no idea what he was talking about.

Anyways, your violin is on the top of my list, and to GPO's credit I've never heard of some one who's bought GPO and was dissapointed, only people (like me) who haven't used it but don't find the majority of the demos they've heard to be impressive. And I may eventually grow to love GPO because next year my school will require me to buy it. Maybe I should save that money in the long run and buy it now - I am interested to see how well it works in Finale with playback "optomized for GPO".

Oh, and as a user of EWQLSO, I look forward to your reverb library, since the Benaroya Hall is the one thats rumored to have been used for EWQLSO (I'm sure you knew that, though, of course! ) !

edit: I'm a liar! On a whim I just headed over to garritan.com and I listened to Knights and Magic and was very impressed. I hadn't listened to the demos in a while and was definitely very pleasantly surprised. GPO sounds nothing in that demo like what I remember it sounding like when it first came out. That is not only a fantastic demo but it is a wonderful composition too - very impressive indeed. I take back everything I said after hearing that demo.

<small>[ May 18, 2005, 11:54 PM: Message edited by: MwaileyBear ]</small>

[pinky]

Originally posted by Garritan:
...Nice guy? I wish my wife felt the same way

Gary,

I recently paid $200 for the GPO and do not regret it (even with your offer of $140 or less). I listened to Gold and a few other libraries and didn't really find any of them satisfying from this composer's standpoint. From a cost vs. value perspective, I found GPO a better choice for me. I could have easily afforded GOLD, but opted to use the extra $$$ I saved by adding it to the purchase of a new keyboard.

I've been lucky enough to hear my work played by a 70 piece orchestra in a large, prestigious hall, by a well known conductor. I've also had the same work released on a commercial DVD in a MIDI version. using instruments from 1989 and again in 1995 (Ensoniq Mirage [!], EPS, SQ-80, Proteus 2, Pro 1 piano, PC88 and WSAD). All thru a Boss mixer. Yeeeech!

Needless to say, even the best samples pale in comparison to a real orchestra, and, of course, that is not the issue here. What IS the issue, is "who's sample package sounds better" (which is ultimately a matter of taste) and which is a good value for the $$$.

Where I am going with this is here: 99.99% of my audience has ONLY heard the MIDI version. Some love it, others hate it with a passion. It has taken me a long time to realize this, but the fact (for me) is that if everyone loves what you do, there is a problem. Human taste is so varied that if you do not "adversely" affect the "taste" some people, then your product (music, samples, cup cakes) is probably mediocre.

Clearly, both my music and your library HAVE elicited both positive and negative comments. The same can be said about the work of many on this forum (it IS largely populated by professionals), as well as about Beethoven, Stravinsky, Bernstein, Williams (Vaughn and John), Monk, Sachmo, ad infinitum. BRAVO to us all! There are also a number of aspiring users here. They are most welcome, but their comments are sometimes more revealing of their current shortfalls than their true talent. And their questions can also be extremely illuminating for even the most seasoned user!

Without the negative, there can be no positive. So don't be disheartened by a few negative comments. Besides, most forums are not populated with positive comments, but are bit•h boards for those having problems. You know your sales figures. Let them speak to you. For every complaint, there may well be (and probably is) someone composing a sketch for an orchestral work using GPO (or maybe they're still using their Mirage?)

[SuperDave]

How viable would GPO be on a 1.5 Ghz PB in a live situation? I am most often asked to play string instruments at my church using an Alesis QS8.2, and I can't find a patch that I like. Could GPO be an option??