2021 Desktop Plugins/Samples Sales List

Lil_Stu07

@jonmoore said:
Ref Pigments vs Falcon I love them both. In a world of VA's aping classic hardware, they both take inspiration from the past in bold new directions.

I definitely agree that Pigments has the easier UX to learn but Falcon is only difficult whilst one comes to terms with the vast range of possibilities it makes available to the artist. In many ways, Falcon is closer to the raw under the hood capabilities of Kontakt (the stuff that's only available to developers via scripting).

In terms of how it sounds, the quality of the patch programming is equal to that in Omnisphere, but it offers far greater synthesis capabilities than Omnisphere.

It's important to understand Falcon's history to understand its capabilities. Falcon began life as MOTU's premium sampler in Digital Performer 'MachFive' (which was engineered by UVI). By the time MachFive reached v3 it was generally regarded as the best in DAW sampler and was made available to non-Digital Performer customers as a plugin (macOS only). For one reason or another, the IP was taken over by UVI and Falcon was born as a 'hybrid synthesiser' that marries multiple synthesis capabilities in a single instrument.

The thing that makes Falcon special is the manner in which it integrates its sample engine (featuring timestretch, pitch shift, slicing and granular engines powered by IRCAM designs) with its smorgasbord of pure synthesis capabilities (virtual analogue subtractive, FM, PM, wavetable, additive and physical modelling synthesis methods), into a semi-modular environment with what it calls Events, 'Event processors can do anything from arpeggiating incoming notes or strumming them like a guitar to applying micro tunings, playing back MIDI files or creating generative sequences'.

I'll link to the Events section of the Falcon website as this is the best place to understand the power of this aspect of Falcon: https://www.uvi.net/falcon.html#events

For me Omnisphere, Kontakt, Pigments and Falcon all have different strengths. But only Falcon could act as a facsimile of the other three. I wouldn't be without Omnisphere, Kontakt, or Pigments, but in a synthesis version of 'Desert Island Discs' if I were forced to choose one it would be Falcon.

Intriguing. I never actually looked at falcon until just now. Thank you! Looks like a gem I've missed out on. Not something I hear many people talk about. Most people usually talk about Omnisphere, Serum and Kontakt. This is now on my to get list.

jonmoore

@Lil_Stu07 said:

Intriguing. I never actually looked at falcon until just now. Thank you! Looks like a gem I've missed out on. Not something I hear many people talk about. Most people usually talk about Omnisphere, Serum and Kontakt. This is now on my to get list.

I think one of the reasons it's not talked about as much as the others, is that it's never been pirated. Sounds crazy but pirated audio software on the desktop is so prevalent that it's often hard to be heard above the noise.

UVI is mainly known for their sound libraries (all of which can be played and expanded on in Falcon) so that's probably another reason for Falcon's lesser fame. Plus MachFive originating as a Digital Performer plugin means it also had a relatively small audience. So Falcon being born out of MachFive had less word of mouth impact in audio social circles.

This initial lack of social media reach has had a positive side effect. The word of mouth regarding Falcon has gradually grown organically and that's worth far more than the loud fanfare and fast dissipation of modern audio software PR activity.

Probably the most important reason for its lesser fame is cost. There are very few software instruments that can command a retail price in excess of €300 so it's probably on many artists 'nice to have' shopping lists not there 'must have' ones.

With cost in mind, the current 30% off is as high a discount as Falcon gets, the two free Falcon expansions definitely sweeten that deal too. And you also still get a €100 voucher, which can be used to purchase other UVI libraries. That's as good a deal as I've seen on Falcon since its launch.

klownshed

Just when you think you've collected them all, IK release the TASCAM tape collection

I'm waiting for people to get annoyed that they can't get it free as part of the group buy...

jonmoore

@klownshed said:

I'm waiting for people to get annoyed that they can't get it free as part of the group buy...

Such is life!

ahallam

@jonmoore said:

@Lil_Stu07 said:

Intriguing. I never actually looked at falcon until just now. Thank you! Looks like a gem I've missed out on. Not something I hear many people talk about. Most people usually talk about Omnisphere, Serum and Kontakt. This is now on my to get list.

I think one of the reasons it's not talked about as much as the others, is that it's never been pirated. Sounds crazy but pirated audio software on the desktop is so prevalent that it's often hard to be heard above the noise.

UVI is mainly known for their sound libraries (all of which can be played and expanded on in Falcon) so that's probably another reason for Falcon's lesser fame. Plus MachFive originating as a Digital Performer plugin means it also had a relatively small audience. So Falcon being born out of MachFive had less word of mouth impact in audio social circles.

This initial lack of social media reach has had a positive side effect. The word of mouth regarding Falcon has gradually grown organically and that's worth far more than the loud fanfare and fast dissipation of modern audio software PR activity.

Probably the most important reason for its lesser fame is cost. There are very few software instruments that can command a retail price in excess of €300 so it's probably on many artists 'nice to have' shopping lists not there 'must have' ones.

With cost in mind, the current 30% off is as high a discount as Falcon gets, the two free Falcon expansions definitely sweeten that deal too. And you also still get a €100 voucher, which can be used to purchase other UVI libraries. That's as good a deal as I've seen on Falcon since its launch.

That IS a pretty crazy good deal.

FloRi89

@klownshed said:
Just when you think you've collected them all, IK release the TASCAM tape collection

I'm waiting for people to get annoyed that they can't get it free as part of the group buy...

They actually added the X-Gear stuff that wasn't part of the original deal. So maybe they'll add that one two, though I can safely say that four tape machines are more then enough. I really don't need another four.

Satie

@jonmoore said:

@Lil_Stu07 said:

Intriguing. I never actually looked at falcon until just now. Thank you! Looks like a gem I've missed out on. Not something I hear many people talk about. Most people usually talk about Omnisphere, Serum and Kontakt. This is now on my to get list.

I think one of the reasons it's not talked about as much as the others, is that it's never been pirated. Sounds crazy but pirated audio software on the desktop is so prevalent that it's often hard to be heard above the noise.

UVI is mainly known for their sound libraries (all of which can be played and expanded on in Falcon) so that's probably another reason for Falcon's lesser fame. Plus MachFive originating as a Digital Performer plugin means it also had a relatively small audience. So Falcon being born out of MachFive had less word of mouth impact in audio social circles.

This initial lack of social media reach has had a positive side effect. The word of mouth regarding Falcon has gradually grown organically and that's worth far more than the loud fanfare and fast dissipation of modern audio software PR activity.

Probably the most important reason for its lesser fame is cost. There are very few software instruments that can command a retail price in excess of €300 so it's probably on many artists 'nice to have' shopping lists not there 'must have' ones.

With cost in mind, the current 30% off is as high a discount as Falcon gets, the two free Falcon expansions definitely sweeten that deal too. And you also still get a €100 voucher, which can be used to purchase other UVI libraries. That's as good a deal as I've seen on Falcon since its launch.

Is that an automism with that voucher? Can‘t find anything written about it.

Lil_Stu07

@Satie said:

@jonmoore said:

@Lil_Stu07 said:

Intriguing. I never actually looked at falcon until just now. Thank you! Looks like a gem I've missed out on. Not something I hear many people talk about. Most people usually talk about Omnisphere, Serum and Kontakt. This is now on my to get list.

I think one of the reasons it's not talked about as much as the others, is that it's never been pirated. Sounds crazy but pirated audio software on the desktop is so prevalent that it's often hard to be heard above the noise.

UVI is mainly known for their sound libraries (all of which can be played and expanded on in Falcon) so that's probably another reason for Falcon's lesser fame. Plus MachFive originating as a Digital Performer plugin means it also had a relatively small audience. So Falcon being born out of MachFive had less word of mouth impact in audio social circles.

This initial lack of social media reach has had a positive side effect. The word of mouth regarding Falcon has gradually grown organically and that's worth far more than the loud fanfare and fast dissipation of modern audio software PR activity.

Probably the most important reason for its lesser fame is cost. There are very few software instruments that can command a retail price in excess of €300 so it's probably on many artists 'nice to have' shopping lists not there 'must have' ones.

With cost in mind, the current 30% off is as high a discount as Falcon gets, the two free Falcon expansions definitely sweeten that deal too. And you also still get a €100 voucher, which can be used to purchase other UVI libraries. That's as good a deal as I've seen on Falcon since its launch.

Is that an automism with that voucher? Can‘t find anything written about it.

https://www.uvi.net/falcon

klownshed

@FloRi89 said:

@klownshed said:
Just when you think you've collected them all, IK release the TASCAM tape collection

I'm waiting for people to get annoyed that they can't get it free as part of the group buy...

They actually added the X-Gear stuff that wasn't part of the original deal. So maybe they'll add that one two, though I can safely say that four tape machines are more then enough. I really don't need another four.

Likewise. I'm not sure what the point of the porta-studio emulation is. If they'd allowed it to be more of a creative effect (BOC/Alessandro Cortini 4-track type stuff) It;d make more sense.

I couldn't wait to ditch cassettes back in the day. Seems crazy that they're sought after again... ebay prices for four tracks are on the rise too...

I've claimed the four tape modules too. Not sure why. I guess I won't know which if any I will ever use unless I try them all. :-)

Perhaps any additional IK discussions should go to a new thread -- this one has been probably been derailed enough by the group buy talk??

jonmoore

@Lil_Stu07 said:

@Satie said:

@jonmoore said:

@Lil_Stu07 said:

Intriguing. I never actually looked at falcon until just now. Thank you! Looks like a gem I've missed out on. Not something I hear many people talk about. Most people usually talk about Omnisphere, Serum and Kontakt. This is now on my to get list.

I think one of the reasons it's not talked about as much as the others, is that it's never been pirated. Sounds crazy but pirated audio software on the desktop is so prevalent that it's often hard to be heard above the noise.

UVI is mainly known for their sound libraries (all of which can be played and expanded on in Falcon) so that's probably another reason for Falcon's lesser fame. Plus MachFive originating as a Digital Performer plugin means it also had a relatively small audience. So Falcon being born out of MachFive had less word of mouth impact in audio social circles.

This initial lack of social media reach has had a positive side effect. The word of mouth regarding Falcon has gradually grown organically and that's worth far more than the loud fanfare and fast dissipation of modern audio software PR activity.

Probably the most important reason for its lesser fame is cost. There are very few software instruments that can command a retail price in excess of €300 so it's probably on many artists 'nice to have' shopping lists not there 'must have' ones.

With cost in mind, the current 30% off is as high a discount as Falcon gets, the two free Falcon expansions definitely sweeten that deal too. And you also still get a €100 voucher, which can be used to purchase other UVI libraries. That's as good a deal as I've seen on Falcon since its launch.

Is that an automism with that voucher? Can‘t find anything written about it.

https://www.uvi.net/falcon

It's right at the bottom of the page listed above. It states:

As an added bonus, each Falcon license includes a $100 / 100€ voucher good towards the purchase of any soundbank or Falcon Expansion on uvi.net. Enhance your Falcon experience immediately with one of our premium instruments like CS-M, or grab Mayhem of Loops for a massive fuel injection to your new sampling workstation. With over 50 libraries available ranging from pristine acoustic instruments to rare vintage synths you’ll be sure to find a sonic ally that compliments your needs. (Voucher code delivered by email after registering Falcon)

jonmoore

It's also worth adding that much as UVI don't often discount Falcon, they constantly discount UVI libraries which can be played back via the free UVI player or via Falcon, where the source samples are game for further synthesis with all that Falcon has to offer.

SkillipEvolver

Hey all, thought I'd drop in quick but just a quick q here..

What's the consensus regards hunting through samples/hinting through, to find the right one you want?

Is there a decent browser/preview app available?

jonmoore

@SkillipEvolver

The two major players on the desktop are Atlas 2 by Algonaut and XO by XLN Audio. Both are well respected and apparently Atlas 2 is coming to iOS.

jonmoore

It’s worth adding that both of the above specialise in drum samples. There have various attempts over the years to create global libraries that function similarly to the Native Instruments cross plugin browser technologies but they’ve all collapsed under the complexity of the task.

SkillipEvolver

Fair enough guys.
I'm just looking for something quick.

I don't need categorization, obviously organising by some categories in an app would be amazing but I'd be happy with just a quick file browser that that doesn't necessarily open an audio file in fullscreen aka clumsy. (Files app).

I found doing it through Files is a bit clunky really. It sometimes forgets where you were in the directory above as well so if you've got a lot of directories and further which one you are in, that can be a pain. It will just jump back to the top of the directory.

My memory is ok but when I've spent some moments considering whether the sound sample is one id like to use, I forget which folder/pack it came from.

jonmoore

@SkillipEvolver said:
Fair enough guys.
I'm just looking for something quick.

In that case, I highly recommend Auditor. This is not only a great editor, it has a file browser that will audition samples without having to load them. It works on connected HD's as well the iOS file system.

I'm writing this on a laptop so I can't provide a direct link but it's easy to find on the App Store.

shinyisshiny

so turns out i already owned Falcon because i bought protools earlier this year, buttttt its AAX only. At least gave me a chance to demo it, and helped me decide that i will be buying it during this sale. Insanely powerful synth.

shinyisshiny

ha! also turns out i already own some UVI soundpacks that i completely forgot about! Including their Darklight pack. stoked!

Lil_Stu07

@SkillipEvolver said:
Fair enough guys.
I'm just looking for something quick.

I don't need categorization, obviously organising by some categories in an app would be amazing but I'd be happy with just a quick file browser that that doesn't necessarily open an audio file in fullscreen aka clumsy. (Files app).

I found doing it through Files is a bit clunky really. It sometimes forgets where you were in the directory above as well so if you've got a lot of directories and further which one you are in, that can be a pain. It will just jump back to the top of the directory.

My memory is ok but when I've spent some moments considering whether the sound sample is one id like to use, I forget which folder/pack it came from.

If you're talking about something for desktop then ADSR Sample Manager is really good. It's free.

https://www.adsrsounds.com/product/software/adsr-sample-manager/

Here's a video talking about it.

jonmoore

@shinyisshiny said:
so turns out i already owned Falcon because i bought protools earlier this year, buttttt its AAX only. At least gave me a chance to demo it, and helped me decide that i will be buying it during this sale. Insanely powerful synth.

It really is a super-powered instrument. When you factor in the $100 coupon as well as the two free expansion packs, the current deal is hard to resist.

Cambler

Can any Falcon users comment on UVI update policy? I’m excited and keen after reading some commments here and watching some YouTube demos however it’s a fair chunk of change for me so not keen on having to pay another huge chunk for version upgrades.

jonmoore

@Cambler said:
Can any Falcon users comment on UVI update policy? I’m excited and keen after reading some commments here and watching some YouTube demos however it’s a fair chunk of change for me so not keen on having to pay another huge chunk for version upgrades.

The version 2 upgrade was free for Falcon 1 owners and I doubt that they'll charge an upgrade fee when the v3 release comes around. I can't say this is a UVI promise but the UVI business model of selling addon instrument libraries means they probably don't want to limit their potential audience by positioning an upgrade fee as a possible barrier.

Cambler

@jonmoore said:

@Cambler said:
Can any Falcon users comment on UVI update policy? I’m excited and keen after reading some commments here and watching some YouTube demos however it’s a fair chunk of change for me so not keen on having to pay another huge chunk for version upgrades.

The version 2 upgrade was free for Falcon 1 owners and I doubt that they'll charge an upgrade fee when the v3 release comes around. I can't say this is a UVI promise but the UVI business model of selling addon instrument libraries means they probably don't want to limit their potential audience by positioning an upgrade fee as a possible barrier.

Really appreciate that info Jon. I think I’m going in! Just need to work out which 2 sample packs to add.

AudioGus

@Lil_Stu07 said:

@SkillipEvolver said:
Fair enough guys.
I'm just looking for something quick.

I don't need categorization, obviously organising by some categories in an app would be amazing but I'd be happy with just a quick file browser that that doesn't necessarily open an audio file in fullscreen aka clumsy. (Files app).

I found doing it through Files is a bit clunky really. It sometimes forgets where you were in the directory above as well so if you've got a lot of directories and further which one you are in, that can be a pain. It will just jump back to the top of the directory.

My memory is ok but when I've spent some moments considering whether the sound sample is one id like to use, I forget which folder/pack it came from.

If you're talking about something for desktop then ADSR Sample Manager is really good. It's free.

https://www.adsrsounds.com/product/software/adsr-sample-manager/

Here's a video talking about it.

>

Does this let you drag and drop highlighted ranges from within a wav? I use Resonic for this but if ADSR can do that too it looks like it may be better overall.

Lil_Stu07

@AudioGus said:

@Lil_Stu07 said:

@SkillipEvolver said:
Fair enough guys.
I'm just looking for something quick.

I don't need categorization, obviously organising by some categories in an app would be amazing but I'd be happy with just a quick file browser that that doesn't necessarily open an audio file in fullscreen aka clumsy. (Files app).

I found doing it through Files is a bit clunky really. It sometimes forgets where you were in the directory above as well so if you've got a lot of directories and further which one you are in, that can be a pain. It will just jump back to the top of the directory.

My memory is ok but when I've spent some moments considering whether the sound sample is one id like to use, I forget which folder/pack it came from.

If you're talking about something for desktop then ADSR Sample Manager is really good. It's free.

https://www.adsrsounds.com/product/software/adsr-sample-manager/

Here's a video talking about it.

>

Does this let you drag and drop highlighted ranges from within a wav? I use Resonic for this but if ADSR can do that too it looks like it may be better overall.

Yes, you set a begin and end marker and then drag and drop the file into your DAW. Just tried it. Works great with Ableton.

AudioGus

@Lil_Stu07 said:

@AudioGus said:

@Lil_Stu07 said:

@SkillipEvolver said:
Fair enough guys.
I'm just looking for something quick.

I don't need categorization, obviously organising by some categories in an app would be amazing but I'd be happy with just a quick file browser that that doesn't necessarily open an audio file in fullscreen aka clumsy. (Files app).

I found doing it through Files is a bit clunky really. It sometimes forgets where you were in the directory above as well so if you've got a lot of directories and further which one you are in, that can be a pain. It will just jump back to the top of the directory.

My memory is ok but when I've spent some moments considering whether the sound sample is one id like to use, I forget which folder/pack it came from.

If you're talking about something for desktop then ADSR Sample Manager is really good. It's free.

https://www.adsrsounds.com/product/software/adsr-sample-manager/

Here's a video talking about it.

>

Does this let you drag and drop highlighted ranges from within a wav? I use Resonic for this but if ADSR can do that too it looks like it may be better overall.

Yes, you set a begin and end marker and then drag and drop the file into your DAW. Just tried it. Works great with Ableton.

Oh wow, awesome, thanks for the test!

Cambler

@jonmoore said:
It's also worth adding that much as UVI don't often discount Falcon, they constantly discount UVI libraries which can be played back via the free UVI player or via Falcon, where the source samples are game for further synthesis with all that Falcon has to offer.

Jon, I bit the bullet and am now the proud owner of Falcon 2.5. Super excited to play and get lost in this beast. One quick question if you don't mind - do UVI do sales on their soundware? I'm trying to work out if I should hold onto my $100 voucher and see if there's a sale before it expires. Not wanting to spend any more money so will have to buy within that $100 range. Thanks for your help and info on this stuff!

jonmoore

@Cambler said:

@jonmoore said:
It's also worth adding that much as UVI don't often discount Falcon, they constantly discount UVI libraries which can be played back via the free UVI player or via Falcon, where the source samples are game for further synthesis with all that Falcon has to offer.

Jon, I bit the bullet and am now the proud owner of Falcon 2.5. Super excited to play and get lost in this beast. One quick question if you don't mind - do UVI do sales on their soundware? I'm trying to work out if I should hold onto my $100 voucher and see if there's a sale before it expires. Not wanting to spend any more money so will have to buy within that $100 range. Thanks for your help and info on this stuff!

They run sales on their Soundware throughout the year but I can't remember if the $100 voucher can be used against products that are already discounted. It's probably worth waiting for the Black Friday promotions to come around before spending the voucher just to be sure.

As you've probably found out by now, there's a difference between the Falcon Expansions and UVI Soundware. The Falcon Expansions are pretty essential, but much of that value is dependent on the flavour of the Expansion you choose (genre, sound design type etc, etc). These are hugely useful in helping you learn how to build patches of your own as they're bespoke to Falcon. And because they're generally not reliant on samples, they're the best way to learn the flexibility of Falcon's synthesis capabilities.

The Soundware are much the same as Kontakt libraries but the key benefit over Kontakt libraries is that you aren't stuck with the scripted interfaces, you can delve deep and tweak away to your heart's content. However, it's good to be familiar with how Falcon works before delving too deep.

The architecture of Falcon is very different to a typical synthesiser but once you become familiar with the Tree view and its nested Programs, Layers and Keygroups, each of which contains Effects, Modulators and Events, things begin to click. It's very much a modern sampler environment but one where the Keygroups are made up of multiple oscillator flavours as well as samples.

The best value Soundware is Synth Anthology 3 ($149). At the opposite end of the cost spectrum is Vintage Vault 3 ($599), which incorporates every synthesizer Soundware library UVI has released (30) so much as it's expensive it's very good value when judged against purchasing each of the Soundware libraries individually (many of which are $199). Synth Anthology 3 is comparable with IK's Syntronik in terms of quality and flexibility. Vintage Vault 3 provides a far deeper facsimile of the sampled instruments but it also takes up over 200Gb of drive space!

krassmann

@SkillipEvolver said:
Fair enough guys.
I'm just looking for something quick.

I don't need categorization, obviously organising by some categories in an app would be amazing but I'd be happy with just a quick file browser that that doesn't necessarily open an audio file in fullscreen aka clumsy. (Files app).

I found doing it through Files is a bit clunky really. It sometimes forgets where you were in the directory above as well so if you've got a lot of directories and further which one you are in, that can be a pain. It will just jump back to the top of the directory.

My memory is ok but when I've spent some moments considering whether the sound sample is one id like to use, I forget which folder/pack it came from.

Sample management on the iPad is really a pain.

• Auditor is a good proposal but is quite some money if you don’t need the audio editing and only want to browse and listen.
• A good free solution to browse and listen to the samples is OPlayer HD lite. You can add directories from everywhere on your iPad to the library and then you have a single entry point to browse all of your samples. The player plays all the files in a directory automatically and also has a skip button. Unfortunately it has got no share button, so you must remember the location of the file and then import it in the app of your choice.
• If you work with Cubasis 3 it’s a good idea to copy all your audio files into the Cubasis audio directory. Then you can browse and listen to the files in the Cubasis media bay. That’s probably the best option if you are working mainly with Cubasis.
• Last but not least there is AudioShare which is a good choice when using AUM but it can only see the samples in its own storage provider

enkaytee

@Cambler said:

@jonmoore said:
It's also worth adding that much as UVI don't often discount Falcon, they constantly discount UVI libraries which can be played back via the free UVI player or via Falcon, where the source samples are game for further synthesis with all that Falcon has to offer.

Jon, I bit the bullet and am now the proud owner of Falcon 2.5. Super excited to play and get lost in this beast. One quick question if you don't mind - do UVI do sales on their soundware? I'm trying to work out if I should hold onto my $100 voucher and see if there's a sale before it expires. Not wanting to spend any more money so will have to buy within that $100 range. Thanks for your help and info on this stuff!

I used my $100 voucher to get a few Falcon expansions when they were discounted so it does work...👍