A Beatles Virtual Instrument

zed · Post by **zed** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 10:52 pm

Frodo wrote:The upgrade to BFD2 is also $199.99, so for the same $400 for BFD2 the extra kits sound attractive.

I wonder what kits have been left out of the new BFD2? I can't imagine that anything significant is missing... but I am too lazy to do a piece by piece comparison.

Eleventh Hour Sound · Mon Jan 07, 2008 10:58 pm

Good point, Has someone checked out what the differences are? Besides the kits, there's also the different acoustic spaces, mics, preamps etc...

BFD2 may cover most or all of the BFD 1.5 stuff, not sure since I had 1.5...

zed wrote:
Frodo wrote:The upgrade to BFD2 is also $199.99, so for the same $400 for BFD2 the extra kits sound attractive.
I wonder what kits have been left out of the new BFD2? I can't imagine that anything significant is missing... but I am too lazy to do a piece by piece comparison.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:41 pm

Here's a BFD2 kit piece browser..
http://www.fxpansion.com/index.php?page=53&tab=150

Best i could find so far was that BDF1.5 has 7 kits (not sure of the kit piece number) and BFD2 has 10 kits (90 pieces).

Where BFD2 has more kits, it's not clear which ones included with 1.5 were omitted from v2.

Finding stats and specs on BFD 1.5 is trickier since it's, for all intents and purposes, discontinued.

RA-- maybe you can post some of your kit names for 1.5? I'll keep snooping around for kit names for v2- Like a lot of VIs, brand names tend to be avoided for legal reasons... hmm.

zed · Post by **zed** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:12 am

Frodo wrote:RA-- maybe you can post some of your kit names for 1.5? I'll keep snooping around for kit names for v2- Like a lot of VIs, brand names tend to be avoided for legal reasons... hmm.

Alright, alright... To make you all happy I decided to look at my 1.5 kit pieces and draw up a report...

The results will definitely encourage you to purchase v1.5 and then get the upgrade... There are zero BFD1 kit pieces in BFD2. There is no overlap at all... so the only way for you to get the palette of drums that came with BFD1 would be to buy it and then upgrade. After doing a whole bunch of comparisons on my system, I found confirmation of this fact on the FXpansion website in the FAQ section.

FXpansion wrote:Does BFD2 come with BFD1 audio data?

No, only a brand new set of recordings that is exclusive to the BFD2 package. You will need BFD1's data installed and authorized in BFD2's License Manager to use the BFD1 sounds in BFD2.

So if you want more bang for your buck, you should definitely try to grab a copy of 1.5 and get the upgrade. Personally, I think there are a bunch of much better and more useable sounds in the BFD2 collection, BUT there are definitely some good ones in BFD1, as well.

For more FAQs, visit: http://www.fxpansion.com/index.php?page=53&tab=151

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 12:47 pm

No overlap? Wow-- and to think that 1.5 and 2 can be had for the price of 2 alone right now.

Maybe taking the plunge sooner than later is indeed the way to go.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:34 pm

PLAY UPDATE: 1.0.043 BETA is coming later today (08 Jan 08).

1.0.041 and 1.0.042 have been removed.

zed · Post by **zed** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:29 pm

A few loose ends...

monkey man wrote:I didn't know you were under the weather Zed.
Seems we both had a tricky Christmas.

Mr Monkey Man, I am sorry to hear that you also had a rough Christmas where health is concerned.

I have noticed that you haven't seemed to be frolicing among us for a while now... I hope you are starting to feel a bit better, and able to keep working on your music.

Frodo wrote:I'm still only getting started with all of this, but I'm going to have some questions about your REX collection. That quickie mp3 you sent a couple of weeks ago was quite fascinating-- the guitar was the focal point, but I'm still impressed with the kick drum sound you got.

I'm glad you were impressed with the drums... but I really didn't do anything special to make them sound that way. Those were just a couple of loops from the Sonic Reality Nashville Pop REX pak. As many of the loops are recorded with the same drummer/same kit, that kick drum sound appears in many loops in that pak. But interestingly, I selected the loop more for the sound of the snare than for the kick, which I didn't really give much thought to.

zed · Post by **zed** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 2:30 am

Okay.

This has nothing to do with the Beatles.
Nothing to do with VIs or DP.
Nothing even to do with music.

But I suppose it relates to this thread in the context of cool stuff from the past, and our desire to recreate those things... or maybe even acquire those things.

I have always wanted to find a groovy antique television. I have certainly never come across a cool one in any thrift shop. But man, there were a lot of REALLY NIFTY televisions made back in the 1950s... and lots of cool ones from the '30s and '40s as well (albeit a lot smaller).

But check out this dream television from 1956:
http://www.tvhistory.tv/1956-Zenith-X2257RU.JPG

Is there anyone of you who would not proudly display this piece of art in your living room, if you could?

If I had to chose between this and a Rickenbacker 360-12, I'd be really hard pressed to decide.

monkey man · Post by **monkey man** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:06 am

zed wrote:A few loose ends...

Impressive.

zed wrote:
monkey man wrote:I didn't know you were under the weather Zed.
Seems we both had a tricky Christmas.
Mr Monkey Man, I am sorry to hear that you also had a rough Christmas where health is concerned. I have noticed that you haven't seemed to be frolicing among us for a while now... I hope you are starting to feel a bit better, and able to keep working on your music.

Thank you ever so much, Zed; that's really thoughtful of you.
You seem to have perceived that energy's at a premium, and you're correct.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 2:16 pm

zed wrote:Okay.

This has nothing to do with the Beatles.
Nothing to do with VIs or DP.
Nothing even to do with music.

But I suppose it relates to this thread in the context of cool stuff from the past, and our desire to recreate those things... or maybe even acquire those things.

I have always wanted to find a groovy antique television. I have certainly never come across a cool one in any thrift shop. But man, there were a lot of REALLY NIFTY televisions made back in the 1950s... and lots of cool ones from the '30s and '40s as well (albeit a lot smaller).

But check out this dream television from 1956:
http://www.tvhistory.tv/1956-Zenith-X2257RU.JPG

Is there anyone of you who would not proudly display this piece of art in your living room, if you could?

If I had to chose between this and a Rickenbacker 360-12, I'd be really hard pressed to decide.

Mister Zed, now I understand-- you're an old soul in a young body born a generation or two too late!!

I can't imagine that an older set like that would be very expensive, so if you're in the market for a 360-12 you could use some clever bartering to make a good deal and use the difference of, say, $50-75, to buy the set as well!

Spikey Horse · Post by **Spikey Horse** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:17 pm

I'm a this Beatles VI thread virgin but had a peek when I saw it had hit 80 pages

.... of course the real reason ( I now realize) is I could smell a BFD discussion in progress ... LOL!

Frodo and anyone else - my 2 cents FWIW - Skip BFD 1 (if you're only getting it for the content) and XFL ..... and get the other packs first (plus BFD2's content) then if you must, get them but remember this:

BFD1 content and XFL are the first two packs released and they have less velocity layers and are generally less 'slick' or 'pro' sounding ... kind of (relative to the newer ones) 'rough round the edges' .... and slightly less expression ... (eg I think none of the hihats in BFD 1 have 1/4 and 3/4 hihat positions) ... less ride bells /edges - that sort of thing....

Anyway I don't want to run them down - it's only that things have got more 'embiggened' and 'embettered' ..... plus it's all about taste after all and whatever suits a particular project and so, as with all samples, 'the more the merrier' definitely!

But I would say BFD 2 has a similar 'vibe' (nice and live sounding - lots of character in the ambient mics) to BFD 1 except it sounds so much better ... I mean totally different beast altogether... as with any new art (and it must be an art to some degree!) recording samples for BFD has evolved and improved over time.... which is why I suggest getting the newer packs and working backwards - if you see what I mean!

Also I didn't (scan reading) see anyone mention Platinum samples ... I have Andy Johns pack and it rocks! I mean the man recorded john bonham's drums FFS!

Anyway I've just noticed the last of my VSL SE Strings + files has downloaded so I must disappear into VI-land for a few hours ...

Forgive the noob-intrusion on this sacred thread!

BTW I put some of the vocals from those Beatles 4 -track downloads on an old instrumental song - sounds great and so, so very wrong at the same time!

toodles....

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:48 pm

Hey Spikey--

With you there's no such thing as an intrusion!! You're always welcome and many thanks for the tips!

Yeah 80 pages. Funny, idnit?

zed · Post by **zed** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:31 pm

Spikey Horse wrote:...it's only that things have got more 'embiggened' and 'embettered' .....

Good choice of words!

Appreciate your pointers. I did not know the history of BFD1 and XFL where velocity layers are concerned. I got the impression that the BF2 sounds are better, just from listening to the demos of the kit pieces, which seem to reveal more drums that I would want to use than exist in the earlier collections. But to know that there are going to be more velocity layers and expressiveness only adds to my excitement.

My hope is that they've also improved the quality of the damping, so that I can turn any of those loose snares into a nice sounding tight reggae snare, when I need to.

I actually ordered my upgrade this morning. Hope to see it before month's end... which will give me time to figure out where I can put an extra 55 GB onto one of my internal drives.

Eleventh Hour Sound · Post by **Eleventh Hour Sound** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:50 pm

Yes, you correctly sniffed out BFD in this thread <grin> My thinking on doing BFD 1.5 first and then adding the 2.0 upgrade was just that for approximately the same prices as BFD2, you'd get the BFD 1.5 content and the BFD2 upgrade.

I tend to be a data pack rat and guilty of the "more is better" line of thinking so that's just me.

Spikey Horse wrote:I'm a this Beatles VI thread virgin but had a peek when I saw it had hit 80 pages

.... of course the real reason ( I now realize) is I could smell a BFD discussion in progress ... LOL!

Frodo and anyone else - my 2 cents FWIW - Skip BFD 1 (if you're only getting it for the content) and XFL ..... and get the other packs first (plus BFD2's content) then if you must, get them but remember this:

BFD1 content and XFL are the first two packs released and they have less velocity layers and are generally less 'slick' or 'pro' sounding ... kind of (relative to the newer ones) 'rough round the edges' .... and slightly less expression ... (eg I think none of the hihats in BFD 1 have 1/4 and 3/4 hihat positions) ... less ride bells /edges - that sort of thing....

Anyway I don't want to run them down - it's only that things have got more 'embiggened' and 'embettered' ..... plus it's all about taste after all and whatever suits a particular project and so, as with all samples, 'the more the merrier' definitely!

But I would say BFD 2 has a similar 'vibe' (nice and live sounding - lots of character in the ambient mics) to BFD 1 except it sounds so much better ... I mean totally different beast altogether... as with any new art (and it must be an art to some degree!) recording samples for BFD has evolved and improved over time.... which is why I suggest getting the newer packs and working backwards - if you see what I mean!

Also I didn't (scan reading) see anyone mention Platinum samples ... I have Andy Johns pack and it rocks! I mean the man recorded john bonham's drums FFS!

Anyway I've just noticed the last of my VSL SE Strings + files has downloaded so I must disappear into VI-land for a few hours ...

Forgive the noob-intrusion on this sacred thread!

BTW I put some of the vocals from those Beatles 4 -track downloads on an old instrumental song - sounds great and so, so very wrong at the same time!

toodles....

Spikey Horse · Post by **Spikey Horse** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 5:05 pm

BFD 1 = 9 GB library ..... up to 46 velocity layers (snares generally fall between about 25 - 46 for the main hit articulation)

XFL = 22 GB ... up to 93 velocity layers

Andy Johns (platinum samples) = 70 GB ... up to 250 velocity layers !!! No kidding!

BFD 2 = 55 GB ....... up to 96 velocity layers

So as you can see it varies a lot .... velocity layers / size of library is not the only factor by any means, but still, it is telling .... I mean you can hear it!

BFD original content is the only one that I would say really stands out as lacking to my ear, but I still remember still how great it sounde d back in the day, before the bar was raised

These things change so fast - and we get more finicky as they do !

EDITED TO ADD: RA, I just missed your post above this one.

RecordingArts wrote:Yes, you correctly sniffed out BFD in this thread <grin> My thinking on doing BFD 1.5 first and then adding the 2.0 upgrade was just that for approximately the same prices as BFD2, you'd get the BFD 1.5 content and the BFD2 upgrade.

That v1.5 >> v2 option sounds great - I didn't realize it worked out the same (similar) price .....