Old 08-13-2018, 10:45 AM   #1
DrGed
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Default Too Good To Be True?

I am returning to recording music after a break of almost ten years. I downloaded Reaper a fortnight ago and it's a case of "so far, so good". I am also looking for VSTi instruments and, almost certainly as a result of this, Facebook put an advert on my Newsfeed this afternoon. It was from a company called Air Music Tech. It was for a VSTi synth called Hybrid 3 and they were offering it at 99% discount, i.e. for just one Euro!

The internet being what it is, I am suspicious. Has anyone got any information/experience/whatever that may confirm, or otherwise, my fear?

I can't help thinking of the old saying "If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is".
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Old 08-13-2018, 10:53 AM   #2
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It's not the first time AIR does a 1<insert currency here> sale of their plugins with various resellers. I bought Xpand!2 during such a sale last year.
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Old 08-13-2018, 10:54 AM   #3
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Hybrid 3 is a quite capable synth. AIR synths are often on sales... I guess it shows that they're not that profitable for their mother company I suppose, since they shamelessly devalue them so often.

Grab it. It has lots of pretty good patches - although browsing through the patches is absolutely horrible since it's just a dropdown menu with subfolders, there's no tag-based search whatsoever.
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Old 08-13-2018, 11:05 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DrGed View Post
I am returning to recording music after a break of almost ten years. I downloaded Reaper a fortnight ago and it's a case of "so far, so good". I am also looking for VSTi instruments and, almost certainly as a result of this, Facebook put an advert on my Newsfeed this afternoon. It was from a company called Air Music Tech. It was for a VSTi synth called Hybrid 3 and they were offering it at 99% discount, i.e. for just one Euro!

The internet being what it is, I am suspicious. Has anyone got any information/experience/whatever that may confirm, or otherwise, my fear?

I can't help thinking of the old saying "If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is".
Yes Hybrid 3 is basically given, there is no catch. Never been a fan of Air Music in general, but Hybrid 3 is a nice synth and for 1 buck, you can't pass the offer.

For superbe softwares by great companies and yet super affordable, you can also look at Tokyo Dawn Labs, ToneBoosters, Klanghelm, Valhalla DSP. Oh, and now Waves also has very low prices on their plugins.
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Old 08-13-2018, 11:43 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by DrGed View Post
I am returning to recording music after a break of almost ten years. I downloaded Reaper a fortnight ago and it's a case of "so far, so good". I am also looking for VSTi instruments and, almost certainly as a result of this, Facebook put an advert on my Newsfeed this afternoon. It was from a company called Air Music Tech. It was for a VSTi synth called Hybrid 3 and they were offering it at 99% discount, i.e. for just one Euro!

The internet being what it is, I am suspicious. Has anyone got any information/experience/whatever that may confirm, or otherwise, my fear?

I can't help thinking of the old saying "If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is".
It's legit. They've been selling it for $1 off and on at least since last Black Friday (when I bought it). It's good. Definitely good enough for $1.
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Old 08-13-2018, 12:38 PM   #6
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The main reason why these are being offered like this is, they are loss leader products (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader). There's nothing wrong with their quality, in essence, and they are there to introduce new customers to a particular product ecosystem -- and also to make people set up an iLok account and install the license manager for products that use iLok DRM.

Someone who might otherwise be inclined to skip buying into such a system could be persuaded to jump in when offered a deal like this, and it's a lot easier to sell them something else using that same DRM after that .

Disclaimer, at least this was the case some time ago, I don't know if iLok has been removed from those $1 offerings these days? I mean, the product page of Xpand 2 says "iLok is not required for use" and it doesn't even mention needing an iLok account. Then again, their knowledge base only mentions using iLok when activating a product, so... I don't know.

Personally, I've skipped all those $1 offerings back when they were first made available, solely for avoiding Pace/iLok, and haven't given them much thought afterwards.
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Old 08-13-2018, 12:57 PM   #7
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After you buy the €1 synth you will receive an offer to upgrade to an Air collection at a crossgrade price...I think it was €59 or something.
I guess quite a few people also take this up and so it keeps some income coming in on an older collection of instruments that not many people would still be buying otherwise.
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Old 08-13-2018, 01:14 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Lunar Ladder View Post
The main reason why these are being offered like this is, they are loss leader products (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader). There's nothing wrong with their quality, in essence, and they are there to introduce new customers to a particular product ecosystem -- and also to make people set up an iLok account and install the license manager for products that use iLok DRM.

Someone who might otherwise be inclined to skip buying into such a system could be persuaded to jump in when offered a deal like this, and it's a lot easier to sell them something else using that same DRM after that .

Disclaimer, at least this was the case some time ago, I don't know if iLok has been removed from those $1 offerings these days? I mean, the product page of Xpand 2 says "iLok is not required for use" and it doesn't even mention needing an iLok account. Then again, their knowledge base only mentions using iLok when activating a product, so... I don't know.

Personally, I've skipped all those $1 offerings back when they were first made available, solely for avoiding Pace/iLok, and haven't given them much thought afterwards.
You do not need a physical ilok.

However, some form of ilok is required. I used ilok software activation and it worked fine.
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Old 08-13-2018, 02:01 PM   #9
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You do not need a physical ilok.

However, some form of ilok is required. I used ilok software activation and it worked fine.
Ah, ok. It's still as it was when I first saw it, then, i.e. it does require making an iLok account and installing the iLok license manager, yeah. So the "iLok is not required for use" only means that the physical iLok dongle isn't mandatory (slightly misleading, imo). Thanks.
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Old 08-13-2018, 02:23 PM   #10
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I think its only required to activate, then you don't need it to be online after that.
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Old 08-13-2018, 03:24 PM   #11
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If you're looking for good free stuff, then Spitfire audio have a good Labs range.
You do need Kontakt full version to play them tho.
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Old 08-13-2018, 03:33 PM   #12
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New Labs range doesn't need Kontakt, it uses their own sampler.
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Old 08-13-2018, 03:35 PM   #13
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If you're looking for good free stuff, then Spitfire audio have a good Labs range.
You do need Kontakt full version to play them tho.
They aren't available as Kontakt instruments at all anymore. Spitfire now offers them as their own dedicated plugins, installed through a license manager app (Spitfire's product manager client).

Edit: ninja'd by ED ... These were available as Kontakt instruments, yeah, and I'm super glad I got all of the Labs instruments also in Kontakt format up to this change, though.
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Old 08-13-2018, 03:45 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DrGed View Post
I am returning to recording music after a break of almost ten years. I downloaded Reaper a fortnight ago and it's a case of "so far, so good". I am also looking for VSTi instruments and, almost certainly as a result of this, Facebook put an advert on my Newsfeed this afternoon. It was from a company called Air Music Tech. It was for a VSTi synth called Hybrid 3 and they were offering it at 99% discount, i.e. for just one Euro!

The internet being what it is, I am suspicious. Has anyone got any information/experience/whatever that may confirm, or otherwise, my fear?

I can't help thinking of the old saying "If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is".
No, it's for real allright as others have stated.

I've purchased several AIR products for $1 or so, through websites like pluginboutique and VSTbuzz. They are genuine, they have their reasons for steep discount sales (getting you interested in their products etc.).
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Old 08-13-2018, 04:48 PM   #15
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... I'm super glad I got all of the Labs instruments also in Kontakt format up to this change, though.
Me too actually, I got a load of them when they were $5 each. They took them all offline and are launching new ones. Its good they don't need Kontakt. Some of the Labs are quirky but a lot are very useful.
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Old 08-13-2018, 05:28 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by Stella645 View Post
After you buy the €1 synth you will receive an offer to upgrade to an Air collection at a crossgrade price...I think it was €59 or something.
I guess quite a few people also take this up and so it keeps some income coming in on an older collection of instruments that not many people would still be buying otherwise.
Exactly what I did with no regrets. The whole collection is qood quality and covers a lot of ground for the 69 EUR I paid (B3, Electric Pianos, Mini Grand, Hybrid2, Xpand!2, Strike, Structure, Transfuser, VST-FX collection) and software iLok is much preferred here in contrast to the physical dongle! That would be a deal-breaker.

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Old 08-14-2018, 01:48 AM   #17
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If you can download demo than it should be legit. After all, software really isn't worth anything apart from the first original.
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Old 08-14-2018, 06:46 AM   #18
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New Labs range doesn't need Kontakt, it uses their own sampler.

their free LABS are pretty kewl... especially for free... hope they add to collection...

it is pretty limited ATM but even so a great starting point for some new users.
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Old 08-14-2018, 09:48 AM   #19
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Many thanks for all the replies! Most helpful.

I downloaded Hybrid 3 without any difficulty and it does seem pretty amazing to a relative newbie like me. A while ago I got HD Pro Tools First and that required an iLok license and so did Hybrid 3. I gave up on HD Pro Tools First but still had the iLok license manager installed so the download went smoothly.

As luck would have it, I happened upon a free version of Xpand!2 today and I've downloaded that as well. Again, it seems like a great piece of software but, as Evil Dragon pointed out, wading through all the presets is time consuming.

As far as I can see I am, for the time being at least, sorted as far as VSTi synths are concerned.

Thanks, again, everyone!
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Old 08-14-2018, 11:10 AM   #20
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Just a +1 to Spitfire Audio LABS! Strings and Piano - both useable, and up there with the best of the freebies.

Might be worth grabbing them now in case they end up not being free.

dB
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Old 08-14-2018, 02:27 PM   #21
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Just a +1 to Spitfire Audio LABS! Strings and Piano - both useable, and up there with the best of the freebies.

Might be worth grabbing them now in case they end up not being free.

dB
They've since added drums and most recently, some kind of distorted/amplified cellos. IIRC they said they're going to add stuff monthly, so presumably they're re-releasing their Kontakt stuff in their own format. Although I don't have any of the Kontakt stuff so I'm speculating.
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Old 08-14-2018, 04:20 PM   #22
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Many thanks for all the replies! Most helpful.

I downloaded Hybrid 3 without any difficulty and it does seem pretty amazing to a relative newbie like me. A while ago I got HD Pro Tools First and that required an iLok license and so did Hybrid 3. I gave up on HD Pro Tools First but still had the iLok license manager installed so the download went smoothly.

As luck would have it, I happened upon a free version of Xpand!2 today and I've downloaded that as well. Again, it seems like a great piece of software but, as Evil Dragon pointed out, wading through all the presets is time consuming.

As far as I can see I am, for the time being at least, sorted as far as VSTi synths are concerned.

Thanks, again, everyone!
If you are returning after 10 years, take a look at BedroomProducers’ blog.
KVRaudio has a list of pretty much all the vsts, but Bedroom Producer site has pretty good lists of his top pics per category of instrument and effect.

There is a wealth of high quality free stuff at this point. And a lot of mediocre free stuff. That’s why I say start at Bedroom Ps.

Definitely agree with loliloz list above, some of those are paid, some not.
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Old 08-16-2018, 07:33 AM   #23
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"Thanks!" to Sinner, Reason and DrBob for their recent replies.
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