The Sound Board

Guy sure seems sure of himself about the guitar thingie. Hmm.

Word on the street is Eric said no to guitar on Facebook. Wrong again! Mike... Gulp...

Looking through the twitter feed, Eric gave a hard no to Stylus RMX 2.0. I guess we already knew that, but I was still hopeful.

We'll know in a few hours.

I wouldn't be surprised if it is some sort of an Advanced Modular Synthesis System. With lots Synthesis Options, Lots of Flexibility, with an integrated advanced Modular Effects System.

Well it looks like I was bang on wrong so what do I know, but if be staggered if it were another synth of any kind - just doesn't fit into the "4th instrument" thing (apart from anything else). I'm currently really hoping it's not voices, which feels like the only logical remaining option. Partly cos it doesn't interest me, partly cos of MIKE! I'm worried about MIKE!

Revolutionary new DAW application.

Not in Malibu either, but AM by the pool with a slow net connection. Taken to looking at Eric's FB feed - he has firmly discounted brass, guitar, DAW, anything to do with rhythm or sampling or any kind of sequel. I've seen others say he's discounted hardware and orchestral, but can't see those. I'm getting so nervous for Mike, can't bear the tension....

You can't bear the tension???

The optimist in me says that even if it's vocals, "vocals" can be a lot of different things. Maybe it's a phrase library, for instance. (Although I can't see how that would take ten years.)

I also remember Al Joelson of Sonivox telling me that whenever some other company released a strings library, they saw a spike in sales of Sonic Implants Strings. Maybe I'll see the same.

Also, Omnisphere, which is a great synth, doesn't seem to have killed sales of other software synths.

And if this is indeed a vocal thing, and if they price it like their other stuff, it might be too pricey for a lot of people.

Lets see, what else can I tell myself . . .

What ever it is, will it match all the hype and eagerness that's developed? Seems like they are building it up so much that it's bound to not live up to expectations?

Hopefully I'm wrong. But that's a huge bucket of extremely high expectations.

Anything less than the holy grail will always raise disappointment

I'm struggling to believe it will match expectations, I must confess. There's a real limit to what sampled voices can do IMO, more than any other instrument. Even though I play guitar, the idea of a guitar product was so much more appealing because of the fun you could have with it. Rhythm would be the big excitement, and that's not happening. I mean, maybe it's some kinda Dieggo Stocco break all the rules thing - that would be fun. But if it's vox or solo strings or something... Hmmm...

Maybe it's a new MacPro.

Those guys are sure taking their time today.

I'm with Guy on this, hoping it's not a vocal something-or-other. I would've been totally pleased if it was guitar oriented. Their current guitar offering is very unimpressive. Skippy's new Omni guitar presets are nice but limited.

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I doubt that it is a vocal library. I am not sure what they could achieve more than what is already out there. I think its probably nice to have a vocal library to put down something during song writing or for other parts but no real-world use yet (in my mind).

I could be wrong but I think there is no real need for a sample library of vocals (unless it is phrase based).

Tanuj Tiku wrote:I could be wrong but I think there is no real need for a sample library of vocals (unless it is phrase based).

...or if Mike Greene does it, you mean. (good of you to stay up, Tanuj - what's time before you finally give up and wait till tomorrow?)

I could well imagine Trillian but with guitars, down to the last detail. Vocals - there's a big blank in front of me.

Guy Rowland wrote:

Tanuj Tiku wrote:I could be wrong but I think there is no real need for a sample library of vocals (unless it is phrase based).

...or if Mike Greene does it, you mean. (good of you to stay up, Tanuj - what's time before you finally give up and wait till tomorrow?)

I could well imagine Trillian but with guitars, down to the last detail. Vocals - there's a big blank in front of me.

Yes, what Mike has done is really great. I have not bought his library because I do not work so much with vocals unless I am producing a song and the vocals are one of the first things that is nailed then. As a music producer, I always get the scratch vocals and the bare composition.

I also do feel that vocals are something I would always just get someone to do or ask my assistant to sing if its a male part. If it is a female part, singers are just a phone call away. I feel the same with solo strings. I hate programming that. It never sounds great to me. There is something about solo instruments that just does not work for me. None of the libraries really work. But, we have to make do on rare occasions. I have been pushing heavily to work with real musicians in solo work as much as possible.

As a layering tool in mock-ups, it is an entirely different story however.

Well, its past midnight here and I still have to finish a scratch of a song. So, I am going to be up for some time! I guess, I might see something before I sleep if those damn Spectrasonics guys finally get to work

Immediately, after writing that post, I have just gone back after a long time to Mike's website.

Much respect Mike! Your libraries do sound really nice and perhaps, I shall pick them up sometime soon if I need to do more vocal work.

And you have very nice, fun walk through videos!

Our very own woodsdennis - he who started this thread - has just posted this on KVR:

OK launch update, Skippy just messaged from a plane heading to LA for the launch an hour ago. So I assume a couple of hours yet.

Meanwhile, back at the bar...

I find vocals far worse than other solo instruments for VIs, I have to say Tanuj. But there is a caveat - the latest Vocaloids may sound like unconvincing robots, but so do heavily auto-tuned boy bands. So hooky repetitive EDM type vox - maybe.

Other than that, Mike's focus on the generic be-bop-ooo stuff (and more besides) is a good shout, and there's always room for massed latin chants or legato oohs and ahhhs of various kinds. But actual lyrics, sung solo... we really do need some humanity left in music, right? I sorta don't even want them to go down that road, it's too awful to contemplate.

Guy Rowland wrote:Our very own woodsdennis - he who started this thread - has just posted this on KVR:

OK launch update, Skippy just messaged from a plane heading to LA for the launch an hour ago. So I assume a couple of hours yet.

Meanwhile, back at the bar...

I find vocals far worse than other solo instruments for VIs, I have to say Tanuj. But there is a caveat - the latest Vocaloids may sound like unconvincing robots, but so do heavily auto-tuned boy bands. So hooky repetitive EDM type vox - maybe.

Other than that, Mike's focus on the generic be-bop-ooo stuff (and more besides) is a good shout, and there's always room for massed latin chants or legato oohs and ahhhs of various kinds. But actual lyrics, sung solo... we really do need some humanity left in music, right? I sorta don't even want them to go down that road, it's too awful to contemplate.

Agree with everything there, Guy! The typical EDM style is so boring and repetitive. It sounds really bad to me. But, there are some good things I hear sometimes if I come across it.

And yes, we definitely need more musicians! It sounds better, more personal and it is faster!

I am working on something which will be recorded by a live orchestra and I can tell you that it is really refreshing to work this way. It is the first time, I know in advance that we will be working with a real orchestra and I am already working faster through programming and just trying to write something that would sound best musically and things that libraries do not do well.

I simply do not have to worry to make it sound great and switching 100's of articulations.

Guy Rowland wrote:

Tanuj Tiku wrote:I could be wrong but I think there is no real need for a sample library of vocals (unless it is phrase based).

...or if Mike Greene does it, you mean.

Don't worry, I don't take any offense when people aren't interested in vocal libraries. It's a reality of the business, and I learned a long time ago that vocals are a tough sell. In fact, it's interesting how people on forums and FB are naming all sorts of things they hope this new instrument is, but no one is hoping it's a vocal instrument. If this thing does turn out to be vocals, Eric might be in for a disappointing reaction.

I've seen some enthusiasm for vox, mostly along the lines of "I can't sing, so if this can make me sing then I'll be stoked". This feels rather like saying "I can't get a girlfriend, but if Apple can make me one with the iPhone 7, I'll be stoked".

But overall - yes I think it will be a muted reaction if it's vox. And Eric is such a canny operator, that seems sorta wrong, doesn't it? Did we all miss something? The kazoo / cowbell jokes have been well and truly flogged... What else could it be? Maybe he's cheating with the "nope" answers, and it really is something as broad as strings, which would encompass guitar. That doesn't seem convincing either though, does it?

Have Spectrasonics over-hyped anything?

All I've seen them do is start a countdown and mention it's taken them 10 years to develop whatever it is.

The hype is entirely in people's own imaginations because they can't wait a week without whipping themselves into a frenzy.

I'm quite happily going to bed in a bit. I'll enjoy the info and fallout in the morning. Bon chance!

You're absolutely correct, Matt. But they sure must be enjoying the attention.

I'm sure they are gathering together there for a party to celebrate this achievement and announce it to the world... just as everyone goes to bed.

I see too much comments from Eric joking about "It's not what you're expecting. :-) :",

Maybe is what people are expecting