Black Friday temptations. What has your attention?

[RABid]

I must have been in a different mood last year because I wanted everything. This year I considered the Korg package but decided that I didn't really need it. Two other things I really wanted never appeared in the Black Friday sales, at least not yet. Those were Keyscape and Superior Drummer. Now, only two things have my interest this year and one of those came out of nowhere.

 

GForce Virtual String Machine. $90 off makes this a really good deal. The $40 price tag puts it in the cheap thrills category.

 

The one I did not expect, until I saw the price, is the UA Ultimate 12. It has 118 plugins. Not sure how many I already owned, but I didn't own any of the instruments or the Leslie and that alone was worth the $250 that I spent on the upgrade. Guess I will not be using those "Any plugin on the list for $29" coupons from Plugin Alliance.

 

Edit: Oh, I did get a Boss DS-1W Waza Craft Distortion Pedal. I've been wanting a Waza and Sweetwater has this one on sale for $50 off so that is the one I grabbed, using money from my sales on GearExchange.

 

[Phil Aiken]

I am doing one of 3 things:

1. Upgrading my version of NI Komplete

2. Upgrading my Spitfire BBC Orchestra from Core to Professional

3. Purchasing Cinesamples Musio 1

 

Still weighing the pros and cons.

[surfergirl]

1 hour ago, RABid said:

Edit: Oh, I did get a Boss DS-1W Waza Craft Distortion Pedal. I've been wanting a Waza and Sweetwater has this one on sale for $50 off so that is the one I grabbed, using money from my sales on GearExchange.

 

I got one also. 

[Docbop]

A small bass cabinet.   For grins last week I took a bass lesson and it felt good to get back into some bass.  I still have my old bass amp head I just need a small cabinet for practice like a 1x10" or 2x10".   

[David R]

Just upgraded to Kontakt 7, and bought Boz Digital Labs’ new New York L pianos.

 

I might get either the Korg Collection or the Cherry Audio synth stack but those are less imperative.

[mcgoo]

4 hours ago, Phil Aiken said:

I am doing one of 3 things:

1. Upgrading my version of NI Komplete

2. Upgrading my Spitfire BBC Orchestra from Core to Professional

3. Purchasing Cinesamples Musio 1

 

Still weighing the pros and cons.

 

I'm leaning pretty heavily towards doing 1 and 3.

[LarsHarner2]

True Keys 3 pianos for $227, the obligatory Steinway, but a Bechstein and a Fazoli that I don't have ( well, have one on my Korg Nautilus)

 

Does anyone have these pianos? I am tempted for my normal Ivory - and their Fazloi- as Ivory works for me as well.

 

[mcgoo]

16 minutes ago, LarsHarner2 said:

True Keys 3 pianos for $227, the obligatory Steinway, but a Bechstein and a Fazoli that I don't have ( well, have one on my Korg Nautilus)

 

Does anyone have these pianos? I am tempted for my normal Ivory - and their Fazloi- as Ivory works for me as well.

 

 

I have all 3. I really like the Steinway and Bechstein. I've never bonded with the Fazioli. Too bright for my tastes and I tend to like bright pianos. I will say though, that I've rarely used the other 2 since I got Pianoteq. 

[felis]

Nothing.

 

There are currently two things I'd like to get, but one isn't out yet, and the other isn't on sale anywhere.

 

I'm OK with letting my wallet cool down for a while though.

[Sundown]

I’ve already fallen prey to the UAD sales (picking up two amp sims and the Studer tape simulation), but for Christmas, I’ve really got my eye on the Korg sales. I haven’t been a Korg fan for a while in terms of hardware (Kronos, Nautilus, etc.), but I’ve loved their virtual recreations of classic instruments. I already own the M1 and Wavestation plugins (and I own an original WS), but II really like the Triton, PolySix, and Prophecy in that order of priority. Given that, the entire-bundle price makes the most sense despite owning M1 and WS already.

 

Arturia’s upgrade caught my eye, but as much as I like playing their instruments, they never wind up in compositions. And I’m after tools that make my compositions and output better.

 

I’m a Waves junkie too, and their FM synth (Flow Motion) and a few others have caught my eye.

 

I haven’t seen anything in hardware worth watching. I love what Yamaha is doing with the latest Montage, but I’m not dropping $3K anytime soon (and if I did, it wouldn’t be on a synth but instead an updated DAW computer or monitor speakers).

 

Todd

 

 

 

 

[zephonic]

I bought the Triton $99.

[Jose EB5AGV]

I have got the Korg Collection 4 also. Last year I was tempted at $299. This year at $199 was just too tempting to resist 😉

[stoken6]

14 hours ago, Docbop said:

A small bass cabinet.   For grins last week I took a bass lesson and it felt good to get back into some bass.  I still have my old bass amp head I just need a small cabinet for practice like a 1x10" or 2x10".   

The modern 2x10s you can gig with as well. I see loads of Markbass around.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Stokely]

I was tempted by quite a bit.  I've mostly showed restraint.  When it comes to orchestral stuff, it's the realization that I have a ton of it in Komplete Ultimate now, and even if it isn't top of the line stuff, it's there and I really should use it first before getting googly eyes over something else.    Musio 1 was the thing I I'd probably get, but the fact is it should be there and probably on sale again when/if I need it.

Was considering getting Melodyne Assistant, but frankly I don't do that much recording and it's all hobby work anyway, and what pitch correction I do has been ok with Logic's Flex Pitch.

I did pick up Sun Drums on a crossgrade ($50!) and Cinematic Rooms from Liquidsonics.  I may also pick up the Tai Chi upgrade from Lite using my (now) two loyalty coupons from Liquidsonics.   I wanted "Love" from Dawesome which is/was a freebie at Plugin Boutique so I ended up getting some half-off presets for Repro just to get the freebie!   I considered getting something from u-he on the sale instead but I DO NOT need more synths or effects.

Probably the last possible thing I could get would be Slate VSX if it goes on sale (their Black Friday sale starts in just over an hour from right now).   I'm pretty dubious of any of these magic headphone mix solutions, but the fact is that 1) I do a lot of stuff wearing headphones and 2) people seem quite happy with it.  My main concern is how comfy the phones are.  Way back when I mail-ordered (yep) a pair of nice Sonys based on good reviews and they pinched the hell out of my ears.

 

[Reezekeys]

I got Digital Performer for $200, couldn't pass up that price. And while not exactly music-related, a Crucial 2TB SSD for $85, I need a new Time Machine disk for my new MacBook Air. I had an accident where I lost a few days of work that having a TM backup would have remedied.

 

Sounds and plugins I don't need - I have way more than I know what to do with, probably for the last 15 years!

[Tusker]

I added a 4TB Samsung SSD.  

 

I think I'll pick up just Filterscape from U-He (50% off) and that would complement tools I already have. Like many of us, I already possess a range of sound sources and it's difficult to justify more of the same. Hopefully Filterscape would help merge orchestral, synth and percussive elements by sitting in-between an instrument and an effect. The soundtrack to The Martian is similar to the style I am going for. It blends acoustic/orchestral timbres with synthetic timbres to make a hybrid sound. Filterscape should help make the blend.

 

 

[CyberGene]

Got the GForce OB-bundle and the Korg Collection 4. I considered upgrading Arturia V Collection from 8 to 9 but for now I’m skipping. 

[UnderGroundGr]

Bias FX2 pro.

Groove monkeys' Hi Octane midi pack.

[Delaware Dave]

someone selling a used Forte 7 at a great price, that's my temptation.

[ABECK]

I just picked up GSI D6.  I don't really need another clav, but the iPad app will come in handy for rehearsals where I'm just bringing the iPad and a controller.  So far, it is very good - sounds just like my Gemini (which I love for clav).

GSI also has several other apps on discount.  I may also pick-up the Drum-80 as well.

[RABid]

I forgot one, the U-He MFM2.5, ie. More Feedback Machine 2.5. I promised myself this if it went on sale during black Friday. I wanted it because it has a lot of cross modulating and reminds me of things you can do with a nice Eurorack delay.

[Tusker]

54 minutes ago, RABid said:

I forgot one, the U-He MFM2.5, ie. More Feedback Machine 2.5. I promised myself this if it went on sale during black Friday. I wanted it because it has a lot of cross modulating and reminds me of things you can do with a nice Eurorack delay.

 

It's a good un! Tempted by it, but the Logic delay designer is very capable (ancient interface notwithstanding). The U-He sounds really lush!

 

Also looking at the Bazille modular. Because you can never have too many synths.

[Radagast]

Hydrasynth Deluxe.

[David Barrickman]

Kawai ES920 GC, 20% off current MAP was hard for me to resist very recently…so I decided to go for it…my initial impressions playing it tonight on a solo restaurant gig are very positive!
 

This forum has been a huge help for researching and narrowing down options for a new slab 88-key for mostly gigging and practice…considered a Nord Stage 4 88 or a Yamaha Montage M8x against the (much less $ and weight) ES920 this past week, definitely all 3 had my attention! Looked at and read about quite a few other brands/models too!
 

Decided to try to spend less on the Kawai vs M8x/S4/etc. and work towards integrating an iPad into my rig. My previous gig setup was a Roland RD800 bottom tier Yamaha Montage 6 top tier…like many of ya’ll, I’m now trying to get my gigging rig down to just one keyboard! 😎

[Tusker]

13 hours ago, RABid said:

I forgot one, the U-He MFM2.5, ie. More Feedback Machine 2.5. I promised myself this if it went on sale during black Friday. I wanted it because it has a lot of cross modulating and reminds me of things you can do with a nice Eurorack delay.

 

Well, thanks to you Robert, I realized MFM is what I wanted also. It ended up being a very U-He thanksgiving: Diva finally, MFM and Filterscape.

 

Diva doesn't cover any new sonic territory by itself, but the sound design is so varied and instructive (Howard Scarr is outstanding), it's worth it for the presets alone. MFM and Filterscape have some rather brilliant HS patches also. Looking forward to diving in and learning how to torture delay lines creatively. 

[HammondDave]

Spent my entire xmas budget on a new 16” Macbook Pro M3. Awesome upgrade from my 13” intel Macbook Pro. 

[Jose EB5AGV]

26 minutes ago, Tusker said:

 

Well, thanks to you Robert, I realized MFM is what I wanted also. It ended up being a very U-He thanksgiving: Diva finally, MFM and Filterscape.

 

Diva doesn't cover any new sonic territory by itself, but the sound design is so varied and instructive (Howard Scarr is outstanding), it's worth it for the presets alone. MFM and Filterscape have some rather brilliant HS patches also. Looking forward to diving in and learning how to torture delay lines creatively. 

 

I have been thinking on buying Diva for years... Has it been refined over the years or is it a so brilliant design that didn't need any further development?

[CyberGene]

Diva is the best synth I own. As funny and absurd as it may sound, I try to use it less in order to not overuse it because it’s just so good I can’t get enough out of it 😀 If I have to keep only one plugin (of course next to my standard Logic library and Garritan CFX as piano) it would be Diva without even thinking twice. 

[Bobadohshe]

Might pick up a pair of those JBL EON one portable PA battery powered speakers. They are so light and might be a good move for all these cocktail hours and wedding ceremonies I have to play. My EVZLXs are great but they are bigger and they are also beat to crap. Could get a pair for $1K right now with Black Friday sales.

[ksoper]

A refrigerator. Mine is 24 years old and getting louder. Makes me nervous. I'd rather get a new one than get caught needing one. An LG 29 cu ft is on sale for $1500. Almost no frills. They appear to have worked out the legendary compressor issues and are at the top of everyone's list. 

 

Any LG fridge owners out there?