Miroslav versus Notion 3

[jemjammer]

What is the quality of miroslav philharmonic compared to the notion 3 sound files? Also can the templates for notion 3 be used with miroslav?

[Surfwhammy]

What is the quality of miroslav philharmonic compared to the notion 3 sound files? Also can the templates for notion 3 be used with miroslav?

Miroslav Philharmonik (IK Multimedia) is excellent, as are all the IK Multimedia VSTi virtual instruments and sampled sound libraries . . .

The NOTION 3 bundled instruments also are very nice, and I use some of them, in particular the NOTION 3 guitar, which is superb and has unique features with respect to working intimately with NOTION 3 guitar tabs and special guitar playing techniques, but most of the time I enhance the NOTION 3 guitar by running it through AmpliTube 3 (IK Multimedia) . . .

On the other side of the equation, when I need orchestral instruments I tend to use Miroslav Philharmonik, since there are more articulations and so forth with the Miroslav Philharmonik VSTi virtual instruments, as well as a standalone user interface based on IK Multimedia's SampleTank engine, so it really depends on the specific instrument and the desired sound . . .

Consider French Horns for a moment . . .

I like French Horns, and one day I had nothing to do, so I started counting all the various articulations, dynamics, and variations of specific French Horns (solo, ensemble, and so forth) available in Miroslav Philharmonik, but after an hour of counting presets and the running total being a bit over 150 with more to go, I decided that there were more French Horns in Miroslav Philharmonik that I ever would need . . .

However, I also like Latin percussion instruments, and NOTION 3 has a lot of Latin percussion instruments, so I tend to favor the Latin percussion instruments in NOTION 3, as well as the concert harps, but while NOTION 3 has handbells, they have a limited range, so for handbells I use the full-range handbell samples provided by Bolder Sounds for use with the Kontakt 5 VSTi virtual instrument, which works nicely with NOTION 3, as do the IK Multimedia VSTi virtual instruments . . .

STELLAR DISCOUNT OPPORTUNITY

One of the things I really like about IK Multimedia is that every so often they have a vast discount sale and a "Group Buy" extravaganza, where they discount particular products in the extreme and then add FREE bonus products based on the number of folks who participate in the discount sale, hence the "Group Buy" aspect . . .

At present, IK Multimedia has extended the Total Workstation 2 Instruments Bundle discount sale and "Group Buy" extravaganza until the end of May 2012, which makes this a stellar opportunity to get all the IK Multimedia VSTi virtual instruments and the corresponding sampled sound libraries, where the Total Workstation 2 Instruments Bundle consists of Miroslav Philharmonik, Sample Tank 2.5 XL, Sonik Synth 2, SampleMoog, and SampleTron, where the best strategy if you do not currently have any IK Multimedia products is to purchase the SampleTank for IPad app for $9.99 (US) at the iTunes Store and to register it, which then qualifies you for IK Multimedia's Crossgrade for All pricing, which for the Total Workstation 2 Instruments Bundle maps to $149.99 (US) as contrasted to the full discount price of $199.95 (US) . . .

[NOTE: You do not need to have an iPad to purchase iPad apps from the iTunes Store, and while it might appear to be stupid to purchase an app for an iPad when you do not have an iPad, it saves approximately $40 (US), since it qualifies you for Crossgrade for All pricing. There also is an iPhone/iPod touch app, but it costs more, and there are other ways to get a product that qualifies you for Crossgrade for All pricing, but the $9.99 (US) iPad app is the least expensive way to qualify if you do not already own a qualifying IK Multimedia product . . . ]

Total Workstation 2 Instruments Bundle (IK Multimedia) ~ Discount Promotion and Group Buy Extravaganza

[NOTE: Rather than list all the products which qualify for the Crossgrade for All policy, IK Multimedia lists the products which do not qualify, and they are the FREE products. I verified this with IK Mulitimedia in their FORUM, and it is fine with IK Multimedia, since the way it usually works is that once you get one IK Multimedia product, sooner or later you get all of their products, because they make good stuff . . . ]

Crossgrade for All Policy (IK Multimedia)

You need a high-speed web connection, since all the sound samples need to be downloaded, and there are a lot of them (28GB to be precise), but so what . . .

So what!

The full retail price for Miroslav Philharmonik is $229.99 (US), which makes getting all the IK Multimedia VSTi virtual instruments for $149.99 (US) and the SampleTank for iPad app for $9.99 (US) a stellar bargain, and it is quite likely that there will be two FREE bonus sampled sound library selections from Xpansion Tank 2, since there already are enough participants to qualify for one FREE bonus sampled sound library . . .

Regardless of the particular genres you prefer, there is merit to having a virtual festival of synthesizers and other stuff, and while you might not use a lot of it, it is nice to have when the need arises . . .

My general perspective is that the NOTION 3 bundled instruments are professionally recorded and digitized, where the orchestral instruments are played by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), which is great . . .

Great!

But there are other orchestras and players, and I like them, too, where the overall goal is to have a wide selection, since a particular instrument for a specific song might be best when it is one of the NOTION 3 bundled instruments, but for another song the best selection might be from one of the IK Multimedia VSTi virtual instruments, or it might be one of the Kontakt 5 (Native Instruments) VSTi virtual instruments, but it also could be one of the instruments from Bolder Sounds or MachFive 3 (MOTU) . . .

From this perspective, the key is to do a bit of smart shopping, so that you expand your collection of VSTi virtual instruments and sample sound libraries at discount prices rather than at full retail price . . .

The fact of the matter is that one can spend thousands of dollars, if not tens of thousands of dollars, on VSTi virtual instruments and sampled sound libraries, hence as noted the key is to spend your money wisely, which tends to map to making purchases when there are stellar discount promotions and special sales . . .

This is the strategy I use, and it works so long as one is patient and checks the various companies regularly . . .

As an example, last year Native Instruments had a 50 percent discount sale on Kontakt 5 over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which is when I got Kontakt 5 for half price, which for me is very important, because I have a limited budget, so while I want everything instantly, I exercise a bit of patience and self-control and wait until there is a superb discount sale, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous!