Deals On Gear and Software

Ask questions and get answers about how to make music in any particular way. Hardware or songwriting or whatever.
User avatar
grumpymike
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 418
Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2016 3:12 pm
Instruments: Rage and curmudgeonry
Recording Method: Zero-turn lawnmower
Submitting as: Grumpy Mike

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by grumpymike »

I’m very tempted to get some of their other voice packages. I got Voices if Soul and love it. It’s basically the only thing out there for that kind of singing. Anyone used their phrase building in the chorus packages?
User avatar
jast
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1325
Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:03 pm
Instruments: Vocals, guitar
Recording Method: Cubase, Steinberg UR44
Submitting as: Jan Krueger
Pronouns: .
Location: near Aachen, Germany
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by jast »

I think the audio demos are enough to judge how well the phrasing works - if not how complicated it is to build phrases with their software. :)

- Hollywood Choirs sound decent enough to get some basic choir-type sound in the background, but they sound kind of boring and too "uniform" if that makes any sense. The phrase transitions don't work for me at all, and if you put the choir in the foreground I think it's way too obvious.
- Symphonic Choirs has a better choir sound to my ears but the phrasing still sounds rather synthetic.
- The packages oriented more towards solo singing work better for me in terms of how the phrases sound.
User avatar
jast
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1325
Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:03 pm
Instruments: Vocals, guitar
Recording Method: Cubase, Steinberg UR44
Submitting as: Jan Krueger
Pronouns: .
Location: near Aachen, Germany
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by jast »

Black friday deals at iZotope: Elements bundle $49 (Ozone, Neutron, Nectar, RX and others, 93% off!), Music Production Suite 3 $499 (~50% off) and others (but these are the most aggressively priced ones). Sale probably going until 6 Dec.

PS. Celemony is running a sale on Melodyne: "essential" 50% off, most upgrades 50% off (upgrade essential -> assistant 66% off). Valid until 3 Dec ("essential") / 31 Dec (upgrades).
owl
Panama
Posts: 974
Joined: Mon May 15, 2017 1:29 pm
Instruments: vox keys uke guitar
Recording Method: REAPER
Submitting as: Vowl Sounds, miscellaneous owl
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Madison, WI
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by owl »

Crazy good deal on music-related books: "Making Music by Wiley" Humble Bundle--for $15, you get 21 e-books, mostly the "___ for Dummies" series, including books about guitar (multiple), piano/keyboard (multiple), drums, home recording, bass, banjo, songwriting, mandolin, singing, fiddle, guitar amps and effects, DJing, Pro Tools, Logic, ukulele, and harmonica...

I like physical books for stuff like this, but I also don't have room for all of these as physical copies, so it's just as well they're e-books, I guess!

I think I bought the Ukulele for Dummies book at some point before (written by the guy who does ukehunt.com) and have checked out the guitar one from the library and they were both quite good. Lots of basic info and fundamentals, which is what I'd definitely want for some of these I don't know anything about, like drums or mandolin, and they come with CDs (or in this case, downloadable audio files).

Plus you can designate a portion of the proceeds to go to charity (Musicians On Call).
User avatar
crumpart
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1123
Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2019 8:04 am
Instruments: Fuzz
Submitting as: Hot Pink Halo
Pronouns: She/her
Location: Laois, Ireland
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by crumpart »

owl wrote:
Tue Nov 26, 2019 12:14 pm
Crazy good deal on music-related books: "Making Music by Wiley" Humble Bundle--for $15, you get 21 e-books, mostly the "___ for Dummies" series, including books about guitar (multiple), piano/keyboard (multiple), drums, home recording, bass, banjo, songwriting, mandolin, singing, fiddle, guitar amps and effects, DJing, Pro Tools, Logic, ukulele, and harmonica...

I like physical books for stuff like this, but I also don't have room for all of these as physical copies, so it's just as well they're e-books, I guess!

I think I bought the Ukulele for Dummies book at some point before (written by the guy who does ukehunt.com) and have checked out the guitar one from the library and they were both quite good. Lots of basic info and fundamentals, which is what I'd definitely want for some of these I don't know anything about, like drums or mandolin, and they come with CDs (or in this case, downloadable audio files).

Plus you can designate a portion of the proceeds to go to charity (Musicians On Call).
And purchased. Thank you!
Devil’s got me Lindt! Devil’s got me Lindt!
User avatar
grumpymike
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 418
Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2016 3:12 pm
Instruments: Rage and curmudgeonry
Recording Method: Zero-turn lawnmower
Submitting as: Grumpy Mike

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by grumpymike »

FXPansion has 40% off
BFD3 is $209

IMO it’s the most realistic and best sounding drum VSTi
User avatar
ujnhunter
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1804
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:09 pm
Instruments: Bass, Keyboards, Crummy Guitar & Animal Noises (especially Donkeys)
Recording Method: Reaper 5.9x, Tascam FireOne/Behringer UMC202HD/Avid Eleven Rack/Line 6 UX2, Win 7 PC / Win 10 Laptop
Submitting as: Cock, Chth*.*, D.A.H. (Der Alter Hahn)
Pronouns: His Infernal Majesty
Location: CT, USA
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by ujnhunter »

Nembrini Audio has all their plugins at 70% off. Neural DSP has all of their Guitar/Bass Amp software at 30-50% off depending on how much you buy... i.e. buy more save more. Toontrack has some Black Week sales as well...
-Ujn Hunter
Photovoltaik - Free 6 Track EP - Song Fight! Liner Notes
Billy's Little Trip wrote:I must have this....in my mouth.....now.
User avatar
jast
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1325
Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:03 pm
Instruments: Vocals, guitar
Recording Method: Cubase, Steinberg UR44
Submitting as: Jan Krueger
Pronouns: .
Location: near Aachen, Germany
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by jast »

VST Buzz is doing a Black Friday sale (going for another 12 days as of now) on 26 plugins and bundles.
Particularly interesting IMO: Orchestral Bundle by Aria Sounds. For €67/£58.25/$75.99 excl. VAT (90% off)

This requires a full version of NI Kontakt 4 (5 for the harp)!
You get the following sampled instruments, ordered by interestingness according to me:
- solo strings bundle
- pipe organ with 5 pedal stops and 17 swell stops
- Hybrichord, an experimental piano where you can go to town altering the sound (including extreme changes)
- Celtic harp (3 dynamics levels sampled at 9 variations each)
- Bansuri and Xiao flute
- A bunch of percussion libraries
- Fazioli concert grand

EDIT: despite what it says on the page, I also got some of the other instruments from Aria Sounds as part of this bundle:
- Solo French horn
- Classical guitarist
- The pan pipes from the ethnic winds bundle

So I guess this bundle contains everything from Aria Sounds except the choir.

@grumpymike: thanks for letting me know about the BFD sale, I've been waiting for one...
User avatar
thirdcatmusic
Somebody Get Me A Doctor
Posts: 214
Joined: Sun May 06, 2018 8:52 am
Submitting as: Third Cat
Pronouns: they/them
Location: US
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by thirdcatmusic »

Jim of Seattle has me wanting to try the EastWest Composer Cloud which is on sale ($199/year) http://www.soundsonline.com/composercloud . I've never done the subscription model thing and I kind of hate the idea of not really owning whatever I buy but it's also a ridiculous amount of stuff to try out so it seems like a good deal. BUT I also already have like a million things (mostly Native Instruments). I'm mostly trying to convince myself not to buy it. Or maybe it's the other way around.
owl
Panama
Posts: 974
Joined: Mon May 15, 2017 1:29 pm
Instruments: vox keys uke guitar
Recording Method: REAPER
Submitting as: Vowl Sounds, miscellaneous owl
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Madison, WI
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by owl »

If you've ever wanted the sound of radioactive pianos sampled directly from instruments found at Pripyat decades after Chernobyl, or the sound of pianos being burned and shot with crossbows, or the sound of a flute made from a human thighbone, you're in luck--all those VSTs are on sale till Jan 6.
User avatar
fluffy
Eruption
Posts: 11029
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 10:56 am
Instruments: sometimes
Recording Method: Logic Pro X
Submitting as: Sockpuppet
Pronouns: she/they
Location: Seattle-ish
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by fluffy »

holy shit

I had no idea I did and now I absolutely do
User avatar
grumpymike
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 418
Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2016 3:12 pm
Instruments: Rage and curmudgeonry
Recording Method: Zero-turn lawnmower
Submitting as: Grumpy Mike

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by grumpymike »

FXpansion now has all the BFD3 expansions on sale for 50% off. Might be poor timing if you are being hit economically - might be great timing if you have a bunch of time at home.
https://www.fxpansion.com/products/bfdx/bfdexpansions/

I have Horsepower, Jazz&funk, Marching Drums, Sleishman, and Modern Retro. I know I will be getting 8Bit and some others once I have time to listen to samples.

I should note: I was excited for and tried IK ModoDRUM. Not very impressed by the sounds it makes. BFD is still the best.
User avatar
vowlvom
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1091
Joined: Wed May 17, 2017 3:29 am
Instruments: guitar, keys, "other"
Recording Method: PC, reaper, ableton
Submitting as: Vowl Sounds, Vom Vorton
Pronouns: he/him
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by vowlvom »

Cherry Audio have made their VST modular synth free:

https://cherryaudio.com/free

Just having a play with it now, some nice sounds and there looks to be enough there to get fully lost in!
User avatar
ken
Hot for Teacher
Posts: 3869
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 6:10 pm
Instruments: Guitar, bass, drums, keys
Recording Method: MOTU 828x, Cubase 10
Submitting as: Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff
Pronouns: he/him
Location: oakland, ca
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by ken »

B&H has Alesis Elevate 3 Mk2 3" monitors on sale for $50 for the pair. If you just need something for hearing what you are working on, these are probably fine. I've been using something similar from Mackie that cost me a little more than that and have been satisfied so far in terms of using them for writing and casual listening. I've been finishing my mixes in very nice headphones. These are likely better than nothing for $50.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... _mkii.html
Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff - Berkeley Social Scene - Tiny Robots - Seamus Collective - Semolina Pilchards - Cutie Pies - Explino! - Bravo Bros. - 2 from 14 - and more!

i would just like to remind everyone that Ken eats kittens - blue lang
User avatar
sleepysilverdoor
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1087
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2010 11:02 pm
Instruments: Drums, Guitars, Keys
Recording Method: Focusrite + FL Studio
Submitting as: Phl*b*
Pronouns: bruh
Location: Not super far from Atlanta but definitely not Atlanta
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by sleepysilverdoor »

I'm just going to point out that Pulsar Smasher kicks ass. I've been using it a TON since downloading it. Best free compressor I've downloaded.
"There's a lot to be said about a full-on frontal assault on the ear drums" - Pigfarmer Jr.
User avatar
jast
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1325
Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:03 pm
Instruments: Vocals, guitar
Recording Method: Cubase, Steinberg UR44
Submitting as: Jan Krueger
Pronouns: .
Location: near Aachen, Germany
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by jast »

iZotope are currently selling an extremely discounted bundle of:
  • Ozone Elements (mastering, basic features like maximizer/limiter, imager, EQ)
  • RX Elements (audio editing/recovery, basic features like de-click, de-clip, de-hum, voice de-noise)
  • Neutron Elements (channel strip type plugin with stuff like track assistance and transient shaping, but Elements is missing the "multiple instances of Neutron communicate with each other" magic)
  • Nectar Elements (vocal polisher, with assist tool and basic things like EQ, basic automated pitch correction, compressor, reverb, de-esser)
  • Iris (wavetable synthesizer with a bunch of effects, e.g. distortion, and factory library of ~10 GB)
  • Trash (distorter)
  • Stutter Edit (rhythmic slicing effect)
  • BreakTweaker (drum synth with a ton of options)
... for $49 (the regular price is supposedly $895, but they run sales on part of their portfolio pretty much all the time). Part of the proceeds goes to some music-related charity.
I can't find any info on how long this deal will last, all they say is that it's limited, and it's been going on for a week or two already I think.
https://www.izotope.com/en/shop/deals.html
User avatar
sleepysilverdoor
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1087
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2010 11:02 pm
Instruments: Drums, Guitars, Keys
Recording Method: Focusrite + FL Studio
Submitting as: Phl*b*
Pronouns: bruh
Location: Not super far from Atlanta but definitely not Atlanta
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by sleepysilverdoor »

...dadgum that's a deal.
"There's a lot to be said about a full-on frontal assault on the ear drums" - Pigfarmer Jr.
User avatar
Lunkhead
You're No Good
Posts: 8106
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 12:14 pm
Instruments: many
Recording Method: cubase/mac/tascam4x4
Submitting as: Berkeley Social Scene, Merisan, Tiny Robots
Pronouns: he/him
Location: Berkeley, CA
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by Lunkhead »

There's a pretty rad deal on Sweetwater right now. You can get one of those Vox MV50 micro heads, the AC flavor, AND their 1x8" speaker cabinet bundled for only $150. Normally the head is $220 and the cab is $80, so this is a 50% discount over what you'd normally pay for the combo. I have the MV50 Rock and I've tried it using my Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue as a 1x12" cabinet and it sounds good, and if you factor in the cost/size/weight it sounds amazing. Of course with a 1x8" cabinet you won't get the same kind of sound but it'll probably be good enough for home practice and potentially home recording, at least for Song Fight. I was already thinking of getting the cabinet so I could record at home using an amp/cab/mic rather than recording direct. Now I may just get this bundle and get the other head too. A coworker says the AC flavor has a better clean tone than the Rock flavor, and while it doesn't get as overdriven as the Rock it still has a nice dirty sound and sounds like a Vox.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... ch-cabinet

This setup will probably sound better than a lot of other comparably priced/sized options plus you'll have a separate head with enough juice that you could use it with a bigger cabinet for things like practicing with a band or playing gigs.
User avatar
Pigfarmer Jr
Jump
Posts: 2293
Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2009 6:13 am
Instruments: Guitar
Recording Method: Br-900CD and Reaper to mix
Submitting as: Pigfarmer Jr, Evil Grin, Pork Producer, Gilmore Lynette Tootle, T.C. Elliott
Pronouns: he/him
Location: Columbia, Missouri
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by Pigfarmer Jr »

I have the MV50 Rock version and converted an old amp into a 2x12 cabinet and it sounds pretty damn good. The cab might actually be more than "good enough" for songfight as I've found smaller speakers actually sound better recorded at decent volume.

(I think I want to dig mine out and maybe even actually use it to record something. It's been too long.)
Evil Grin bandcamp - Evil Grin spotify
T.C. Elliott bandcamp - T.C. Elliott spotify

"PigFramer: Guy and guitar OF MY NIGHTMARES." - Blue Lang
User avatar
Lunkhead
You're No Good
Posts: 8106
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 12:14 pm
Instruments: many
Recording Method: cubase/mac/tascam4x4
Submitting as: Berkeley Social Scene, Merisan, Tiny Robots
Pronouns: he/him
Location: Berkeley, CA
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by Lunkhead »

I pulled the trigger on this deal ... and also on the upsell "only $10" Sweetwater t-shirt which I absolutely do NOT need haha.
User avatar
ujnhunter
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1804
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:09 pm
Instruments: Bass, Keyboards, Crummy Guitar & Animal Noises (especially Donkeys)
Recording Method: Reaper 5.9x, Tascam FireOne/Behringer UMC202HD/Avid Eleven Rack/Line 6 UX2, Win 7 PC / Win 10 Laptop
Submitting as: Cock, Chth*.*, D.A.H. (Der Alter Hahn)
Pronouns: His Infernal Majesty
Location: CT, USA
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by ujnhunter »

Because I needed another Amp/Cab like I needed another hole in my head... Thanks Lunkhead!

Actually I missed out on a deal like this for the same combo a few years (?) ago where Musician's Friend had it... but it may have been the Rock Amp instead of the AC Amp (which is the one I wanted anyway... so it all works out in the end...)
-Ujn Hunter
Photovoltaik - Free 6 Track EP - Song Fight! Liner Notes
Billy's Little Trip wrote:I must have this....in my mouth.....now.
User avatar
Lunkhead
You're No Good
Posts: 8106
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 12:14 pm
Instruments: many
Recording Method: cubase/mac/tascam4x4
Submitting as: Berkeley Social Scene, Merisan, Tiny Robots
Pronouns: he/him
Location: Berkeley, CA
Contact:

Re: Deals On Gear and Software

Post by Lunkhead »

Ha, yeah, I heard of this via a #guitar-nerds Slack channel at work, which is a very dangerous channel. Unexpected upside for me, Sweetwater decided to give me the shirt for free. Yeah! Haha.
Post Reply