It all ends Wed. On sale for $65. Apparently their licensing contract with Abbey Road runs out Wed and sales have not been enough to renew. Too bad, some very good character uprights. Glad I wasn’t on vacation and picked it up before it disappears!
Offhand, I can’t think of anything to buy for the price that will be as much fun (hopefully.) Also, I don’t think I have another tack piano (not you, Jason.) I used to have something in Sampletank2, but it was barely ok and being 32 bIt I have waved goodbye to ST.
I suspect that Abbey Road Upright Pianos will be every bit as much fun as Piano in Blue. I too will probably waffle till the last minute and then buy it anyway<G>. So it goes.
my finger is itching to hit buy - love to hear your opinion as well Guy... I was also certain I had enough piano libraries, but they got my attention with the whole never to be sold again, quantities limited (ok, that part is a little odd, perhaps there is a fixed number of copies on the license with the studio?)
Ashermusic wrote: ↑Apr 22, 2020 10:26 am
I guess I am different because when I read "never to be sold again" I don't want to buy it.
If this were a "conventional" library I'd be right there with you ! Never to be sold again suggests (guarantees?) that bugs won't be fixed, new features won't be added, and for me those are serious considerations.
This is not, at least to me, a conventional library - it is a couple of iconic (how about well known, often recorded, something other than iconic) pianos that those of us of a certain vintage certainly heard on records. Which makes them interesting.
In much the same way that Piano In Blue is interesting.
I don't think Piano in Blue has ended up on the final version of any tracks I've done, but it has inspired ideas when I just sit there and noodle around on it. There is a personality there, even if it is not the "best" piano library I own. Which is an entirely different conversation anyway.
If the Abbey Road uprights provide some inspiration, or even just some fun, then I think they are worth their original price, and purchasing now, especially at a discount, is not a concern. As long as they work<G>.
None-the-less your point is a good one, and it is sticking in the back of my mind, since I'm trying to avoid purchases right now.
Okay, here's a VERY quick bash, don't judge me! No quantizing, reverb, mixing. just bashing.
1. You Never Give me your Money-Challen
2.Lady Madonna-Challen Tack (not much tack there, not sure if I'm doing something wrong, will revisit.)
3.Hey Jude- Mrs Mills
I like the Challen, Mrs. Mills less so, but all in all they're a bit clanky and vintage poppy sounding, so I'm happy and for the price, I will find uses for them.
I decided against it anyway, so not sad I was too late.. I have the Chocolate Audio Steinbach Upright that with the right settings comes as close as I anticipate ever needing to, and I I add a little bit of Fab Four Lady Madonna piano (way too thin on its own) even closer to the Chalian sound on Lady Madonna and I think the ArtVista Virtual Grand 2 could do the "Hey Jude" thing close enough.
Lawrence wrote: ↑Apr 22, 2020 2:10 pm
Okay, here's a VERY quick bash, don't judge me! No quantizing, reverb, mixing. just bashing.
1. You Never Give me your Money-Challen
2.Lady Madonna-Challen Tack (not much tack there, not sure if I'm doing something wrong, will revisit.)
3.Hey Jude- Mrs Mills
I like the Challen, Mrs. Mills less so, but all in all they're a bit clanky and vintage poppy sounding, so I'm happy and for the price, I will find uses for them.
I decided against it anyway, so not sad I was too late.. I have the Chocolate Audio Steinbach Upright that with the right settings comes as close as I anticipate ever needing to, and I I add a little bit of Fab Four Lady Madonna piano (way too thin on its own) even closer to the Chalian sound on Lady Madonna and I think the ArtVista Virtual Grand 2 could do the "Hey Jude" thing close enough.
All true, and I have Fab Four as well. No heartbreak for anyone missing it, but I’ll find a use case.
I decided against it too. I was tempted; but for me, it boiled down to whether I'd rather sound like The Beatles or like myself—a question I'm sure many a musician has faced over the years.
Lawrence wrote: ↑Apr 23, 2020 12:44 am
Oh , that’s an easy one for me. The Beatles!
Any marketing that implies that one can sound like someone else who is famous and successful is an instant turnoff for me. But the creation of Pavlovian associations obviously works, so I can see why they do it.
I don't think the marketing claims you will sound like the Beatles (although there are worse things), I view it as an opportunity to use samples from an instrument that has a place in history. At least that is the attraction to me with respect to libraries like The Abbey Road pianos and Piano in Blue. Come to think of it I am not trying to sound like JW, but I do love the sound of the scoring stage they used for their winds, brass, and strings.
For $69 to purchase a few old pianos I’ll be stealth marketed. I didn’t think they’d make me sound like the Beatles being that I’m only half a moron.
D’ya suppose that people who bought the Spitfire/Zimmer stuff bought it purely for the cachet? Or that the OT/junkie XL stuff made people believe they could then write like him? Maybe.
wst3 wrote: ↑Apr 23, 2020 2:32 pm
I don't think the marketing claims you will sound like the Beatles (although there are worse things), I view it as an opportunity to use samples from an instrument that has a place in history. At least that is the attraction to me with respect to libraries like The Abbey Road pianos and Piano in Blue. Come to think of it I am not trying to sound like JW, but I do love the sound of the scoring stage they used for their winds, brass, and strings.
Of course they don't claim that you will sound like the Beatles or whoever, not overtly, because the claim is too preposterous, even for the proverbial lowest common denominator. But it certainly evokes a semi-subliminal romantic association in which one "feels" a connection between a particular product and an artist or set of works which you admire and enjoy, making the product seem more attractive than it might otherwise be.
It's not a deal-breaker for me, but it does feel manipulative and exploitative, that's all.
You know, I am a huge Beatles fan, as well as some others, so you would think I would be the perfect target for these kind of things, but in the end, to me they are just freaking samples and if they get the job done with a little massaging, I don’t much care where they come from.
Ashermusic wrote: ↑Apr 23, 2020 4:28 pm
You know, I am a huge Beatles fan, as well as some others, so you would think I would be the perfect target for these kind of things, but in the end, to me they are just freaking samples and if they get the job done with a little massaging, I don’t much care where they come from.
That is EXactly what Mozart said! ... oh, wait... no... he cared about the music he was making.
Getting the job done is good for paint and nails, doing the wash, and getting your car fixed. Even there, some people would disagree (like architects, dry cleaners, and indy 500 mechanics).
But Kudos for making the most out of what you already have.
wst3 wrote: ↑Apr 23, 2020 2:32 pm
I don't think the marketing claims you will sound like the Beatles (although there are worse things), I view it as an opportunity to use samples from an instrument that has a place in history. At least that is the attraction to me with respect to libraries like The Abbey Road pianos and Piano in Blue. Come to think of it I am not trying to sound like JW, but I do love the sound of the scoring stage they used for their winds, brass, and strings.
Of course they don't claim that you will sound like the Beatles or whoever, not overtly, because the claim is too preposterous, even for the proverbial lowest common denominator. But it certainly evokes a semi-subliminal romantic association in which one "feels" a connection between a particular product and an artist or set of works which you admire and enjoy, making the product seem more attractive than it might otherwise be.
It's not a deal-breaker for me, but it does feel manipulative and exploitative, that's all.
Just to qualify, Fab Four from EW is laser focused on that, and it's pretty successful.
