Dear Anyone.
For years now (cue sad violin music!) I've been looking for pad/backing sounds like these...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaRrq7cYu84
or... (and, even!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbJXxuoJXUM
or....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRm66DB1bKQ
BUT - 32-bit stylee because I've got an older DAW that suits my disabilities - these composers were around in those days so the sounds must've been too, I've just never been to ld where to get them from. I've got Kontakt 3.0, Sampletank 2.0, UVI Workstation, Independence 2 (I know you can get software that converts other plugins' preset into Independence 2 format but haven't bought it yet cos don't know where to get the presets!) Samplelord (like Sampletank but does soundfonts too) and others - that list's all my multitimbral ones, prefer multitimbrality! You can mix sounds IN the VST with multitimbrality and output the result to a single stave. Bliss!
Sorry about the 32-bit biz - all these 64-bit things are either INCREDIBLY too complicated for me or are designed for drag'n'drop loops only and I like writing my own stuff with notation!
I'm talking JUST the backings here, I've got all the lead instruments - where would you get a nice, 32-bit library of those kind of sounds (if it's not for any of the VSTs I listed above, tell me which 32-bit VST I need to buy - HOPEFULLY - but I suppose not totally necessarily - multitimbral) I'll happily buy nice, fat multiple libraries for 2 or more of the VSTs I listed (or the ones you suggest) but I'm not after alien space sounds or screaming trance leads or anything like that, just the kinda sounds in the examples (or sounds I can put together INTO those kinda backings, you know!)
Just noticed I can put stuff up for critique here - I'm always up for having my efforts shredded, the idea being when people can't vent any more spleen onto them, I might actually be getting somewheres! I'm a New Agey composer, btw, or want to be, as the type of sounds above will prob. tell you. Just want to get away from Korg M1 all the time cos I can't find anything else!
Yours hopefully
Chris.
Replies
Thought I'd better add a disclaimer - all the VSTs I've got are legal and paid for - I know Kontakt comes with pads, they were lovely but they died with an external hard disc a couple of years or more back. Never been able to find a copy of the factory library or any other nice pads/building blocks for nice pad sounds for it since. I'm sorry I'm not more techie into creating sounds from scratch but it's a bit like an artist having to create their own colours by grinding up pigments - nobody minds if they go into a shop and buy a tube of paint or 2 and mix the colours! Guess I'm after doing the same kind of thing.
Hi Chris, welcome to CF. I'm going to suggest "Band-in-a-Box" which is a product I've had for a number of years. I can't whole heartedly recommend it because it is kind of tricky to get good results with it, but it will create pads etc. The current version costs $129 USD.
https://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.packages.htm
BIAB generates royalty free tracks in a variety of styles using chord progressions that you input. I used it to make tracks to practice jazz guitar to because other jazz players I knew used it for that but it does many other styles as well. It creates both audio and midi tracks and easily exports both.
You should probably call their help line and see if it will work for you, I don't know about the 32 bit thing but they used to have legacy versions available, you'll have to ask them about that. They don't have a free demo but they do guarantee the product FWIW.
You asked about matching Garritan sounds on another thread. My suggestion is to try creating a track of your own that is close to one of the demo tracks in both instrumentation and style and then compare the two and experiment with ways to match the demo sounds. After getting as close as you can post both tracks here and let us make some suggestions if we can.
Dear Ingo.
The Garritan idea's really clever - should've thought of it ages back. I'll do that.
BIAB's a kinda DAW, really, isn't it? I'm looking for more of a library of sounds for something/a VST that comes with nice New Agey paddy backing sounds (32-bit!) that I can use in the DAW I already have. It's been irritating me for years, this, because I KNOW these other composers aren't all assiduously creating their own sounds from scratch, I keep hearing the same sounds in different pieces treated in different ways, like you'd hear a sample in a track and go 'Oh yea, someone else's bought Fred's Sample Package and shoved different effects on Sample X from it - I used that sample myself in my last track!' sorta thing.
So I know there's libraries of those kinda sounds out there - just dunno where and on what they're used! I DID have a good collection in the factory collection I got with my Kontakt (3.0) but, like I said, I had an external hard drive crash on me and that was the end of the factory collection (sob!) Few years back, that was, been hunting for nice pad sounds ever since.
I know there's Serum but Serum's got no WARMTH to it. It's like listening to Seven of Nine singing to Data playing guitar - perfectly dead accurate but clockwork, if you get me. The Korg M1's BETTER but you can TELL it's the M1, bless it. You using BIAB tells me you've PROBABLY got a MAC, am I right - I know BIAB's primarily Mac. You know all those lovely Worship Pads Mainstage uses (assuming I've guessed right and you're using a MAC)? THOSE kinda things. I mean if you know anyone who understands sampling - or if you do and don't mind helping an idiot newbie - I've downloaded a set of GREAT Worship Pads - but each one's a massive long drone on a different notee. It does all the notes chromatically but you just get one 8 minute-ish drone on each note, you can't use them as presets really. And if you chop a bit off using Audacity and play it up and down the keyboard in octabes - so you're not playing it on the 'wrong note', if you get me, just octaves higher or lower - it don't sound right. I know it wouldn't sound right if you played it on different notes, that's why I did octaaves, but it still don't sound right, somehow. There's gotta be a way to 'retune' the sample so it does sound right - each semitone of the downloaded bunch is a different lovely pad sound. I'd love to be able to tune each one in so I could play it AS a preset on something, dunno how to do that.
So that aside, there's gotta be a bunch of presets on SOMETHING that's lovely pad sounds.... If you hear of anything, or know anyone I could ask, or pay to help me, I'd love to know.
Yours hopefully
Chris.
Here's a track from Band in A Box, chosen from many others. But since you already know all about it this probably won't work for you.
Pad demo.mp3
Here's Spitfires freebie collection, but maybe you already know about them too?
https://labs.spitfireaudio.com/?types=strings&sortBy=prod_produ...
Chris I think you should contact the support line for Native Instruments and explain that you paid for Kontact and your hard drive failed and could they please help you out? I've had good luck with this situation in the past with other companies although I haven't had that problem with NI.
Failing that other libraries that are recommended by others are: Arctic Strings, Light and Sound Chamber Strings, 8dio Strings, Trailer Strings, Indiginus Solid State Strings, Hideaway Studio Strings, Sound Aesthic Sampling. These are reasonably priced, there are plenty of others that get expensive.