First it is good to remind everyone that I get no software freebies: I have purchased the following two products I am about to praise. I got them during the Thanksgiving sales, when lots of stuff were available with considerable discount. I noticed that some companies like Big Fish Audio continue to have daily sales until Christmas. Also, 8DIO has its traditional Christmas countdown on, with discount sales expected.
As for my first Thanksgiving purchase, it was snatched from the Native Instruments 50 percent off-sale (which is actually still on). The instrument in question is the Rickenbacker Bass by Scarbee, consisting of some six gigabytes of samples included in an instrument with an impeccable sound and playability. With discount the price is about 50 euros, which from this library is a total bargain. For a detailed analysis on the Rick, please refer to this review by Sound on Sound.
My second purchase was 25 percent off. The Sonokinetic Minimal is an orchestral library, and if you have no prior knowledge on it, please check out the videos on the instrument site. They are very well laid out and give you all the necessary details about the instrument specs. There’s also an informative review about Minimal on Sound on Sound (only partially online).
What the videos cannot fully convey is how insanely good Minimal is. I had some issues with the download, and I still have not received a receipt from my purchase. Normally these sort of things are a big turnoff for me – this one is an exception.
As a matter of fact, my first experience after the installation was that there’s no audio whatsoever. I had to resort to support pages, and they did answer my problem, which was somewhat an embarrassing one. For anyone dealing with the same issue: try playing a chord instead of a single note.
After I got the hang of it, I have mainly been grinning like an idiot and trying different things out. As I said, do check out the videos on details, but I can tell you this: Minimal works great and sounds awesome. Do not be confused with the rather boring product demo compositions on Sonokinetic site, since they were probably made only with a partial Minimal release. The finished Minimal version has much more nuances than the midtempo The Dark Knight Rises mockups suggest. Then again this is a common feature with many superb sample libraries: they are for some reason showcased in a manner which in fact undermines the value of the release.
Finally the fact that I got Minimal 25 percent off was of course great, but I must emphasize that this library is definitely worth its retail price, if you are into orchestral work. I did notice that Project SAM – they have never been too shy with their price tags – is also releasing orchestration tools in the coming weeks. They will definitely have to shoot direct bullseye to top Minimal in more categories than the asking price.
Both the Rick and Minimal made me thankful for great sample library makers on Thanksgiving. Hopefully there’s more of the same already in the oven.
Missing Sample 