SOS Gofriller Review

[dsampson55]

Just got back from browsing the magazine stand at Barnes & Noble (my local non-lending library).

Sound on Sound mag (www.soundonsound.com) has a very positive review of the Gofriller Cello. They also had a good review of the Concert & Marching Band.

If you're into recording, they also have a good article on different mics.

dave

[Leaf]

Thanks for the tip, Dave. Was that a Dec or Jan SOS?

David:hp:

[mcdoma2000]

I just found it - it's the December issue.

[Julie]

Thanks I'll have to check that out.

Julie

[raweber]

Here's a link:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec07/articles/sampleshop_1207.htm

BTW, Gary,

When is that Cello sawn in half keyswitch coming out?:wow:

[dsampson55]

I didn't really notice it at first but they have a "star" rating system. The Garritan products rate 5 stars (the max).

But we knew that already :)

dave

[BenNichols]

Interesting. I have to say im not a fan of that mans reviews. If you read the CoMB review above, he spends a fair amount of time slating it. and what does he want a celllo sawn in half samplelibrary for?!

[Pingu]

Interesting. I have to say im not a fan of that mans reviews. If you read the CoMB review above, he spends a fair amount of time slating it. and what does he want a celllo sawn in half samplelibrary for?!

Generally I'm not a fan of sample library reviews in magazines at all. Particularly Music Tech Magazine, but also SOS. They always spend 90% of the review talking about articulations, formats, installation, copy protection etc - all simple factual information which is freely available from the manufacturers' websites. If I'm interested in a library I will have found all that, as well as listening to the available demos. What I need is an opinion, from a user, on issues such as playability, sound quality, ease of making it sit in a mix, etc. Even the little bit of opinion you do get at the end of most reviews is often written by someone who believes that all DAW users are into the same particular brand of techno that he enjoys, and he will therefore waste the tiny proportion of the review that I'm waiting for on warning his fellow dance-heads that this library is a bit esoteric.

In the end, the best place to figure out whether a sample library will suit me is right here. But, of course, that means waiting until there are enough other users who have taken the risk.

Like the Gamelan library I saw yesterday -due 1st quarter of 2008. I've been waiting for a decent Balinese Gamelan (the sound of RA is great, but they haven't sampled many of the instruments, and not in nearly enough detail) for about 7 years, but when it finally arrives the price is just a bit too much to make it a no-brainer, so I'll have to wait for user-feedback, which means I won't be able to buy it until the other end of 2008.

[dsampson55]

Generally I'm not a fan of sample library reviews in magazines at all. Particularly Music Tech Magazine, but also SOS. They always spend 90% of the review talking about articulations, formats, installation, copy protection etc - all simple factual information which is freely available from the manufacturers' websites.

I think most magazine reviews do this. It is unusual to find one that isn't a reprint of the vendor's media kit.

Is there anything out there that provides the kind of reviews you are looking for? If so, I'd be interested in reading that periodical.

dave

[loydb]

Keyboard, IMO, does a decent job. And VI mag is outstanding.

loyd

[Houston Haynes]

It's surprising to me how the reviewer has some easy misses when putting in the negative "tag" comments at the end of each write-up. For one, the principal of the Garritan ensemble libraries is to use the mod wheel and other controls to affect timbre - so the comment about "one dynamic level" lacks context (or is just plainly wrong). Secondly, the reviewer mentioned that the Gofriller had several impulses to choose from - but failed to recognize that these are body impulses - not room impulses, so the comment about the richness of the instrument is wrong-headed. It's really frustrating to read that kind of misinformation, since it can cast an inaccurate light on the products.