Not sure about that, Email me the issue with your iLok name and account info.

Looks like Eastwest had promised to give a Harp library to owners of any Hollywood Library. Now they say one must own all of the Hollywood library's. Can this company even be trusted?

I think Doug gave a very reasonable answer to the situation on the SOL forum:

"First, the quote was one of a number of items being discussed last year as regards future development, and was subsequently amended. It was reposted the 'same day' on another forum and has been repeated ever since, and we've corrected it ever since.

Simply, others involved in the production thought the original offer was too generous, and didn't want to give away an instrument that cost a lot of time and money to produce if the recipient wasn't even willing to purchase the full orchestra, so it was revised, and before anyone could possibly have purchased anything relying on the original post.

So, now that the instruments are nearing release, we have made another offer to get the full orchestra for 80% off, which is very generous even if you have one or more sections. It includes a hard drive and qualifies the purchaser for the free Harp as well ... a great deal, right?

Plus, it can be obtained as part of Composer Cloud, including the upcoming Solo Cello and Solo Violin, which collectively cost a lot to produce and took almost a year of recording and post production; so that's another option; all 3 Hollywood Solo Instruments plus the 2 new ProDrummer products already added after the Composer Cloud launch, 5 new products in total, over $1200 worth of products plus the 9000+ instruments already included for $29.99/mo!

So, the company is giving a free instrument that has substantial value to tens of thousands of users that qualify ... for absolutely nothing!"

"before anyone could possibly have purchased anything relying on the original post."

If it was in fact changed a long time ago why was it not posted as such in a dedicated post by Roger's prior to this point but rather left to fester for all this time?
Or was it in fact more recently changed?

Regardless, it would appear that a CEO's word has been broken, and thus a stain upon the company's reputation.

I haven't heard back on this question, and so will assume that once I stop renewing, I lose rights to the sounds. Of course with audio you can alter with bounced versions, as mentioned, but I'd prefer something in the license agreement that explicitly nails this tenet down.

Without it I see no reason to not continue with EXS24 and Kontakt sound libraries I outright have rights to, rather than paying for a subscription service that is open ended --or silent-- on the long term content rights. I can't imagine how this could be the case, but who knows.

Point being I never would plan to go to bed with a SAS/Cloud type solution from a vendor with ongoing commitment, particularly with IP issues up in the air, when I can outright own the library on my hard drive, or at least be extended the typical sound library explicit license.

Yes.

On the Composer Cloud FAQ it says this:

"What happens to my compositions if I cancel my membership?

Nothing will happen to your compositions if you cancel. Anything composed during your membership will be yours to use as you choose forever. You simply won’t be able to access the instruments as before to create new compositions. We suggest you render (bounce) the instruments in your compositions to your digital audio workstation before any cancellation."

Right. You need to bounce to audio before you cancel because afterwards you won't be able to use the instruments although you will still be entitled to commercially release compositions made with them.

So don't interpret "Nothing will happen to your compositions if you cancel" to mean "the libraries will continue to work in existing compositions but you will not be able to add software instrument tracks to them or create new ones."

Yeah, losing the ability to use the instruments was understood. MusiKLover's post was about the legal rights after cancelling CC though.

It is rather strange to me, where all this cloud business seems to be going. We are taking virtual reality to the extreme: Virtual instruments are stored in some virtual "cloud", ownership of bits of sound become the subject of EULAs... Virtual mix racks... Now there's a service that offers automated mastering of your music, no human interaction required whatsoever.

Why don't we get out of the way completely and let the machines compose music for each other.

That's what I thought, just wanted to make sure that everyone understood. Any audio files you created by bouncing EW instruments while subscribed is all yours to use as you like, even when the subscription ends.

I've tried the free 1 month subscription and the download speed was good, so I don't see a problem also for other libraries.
If I read this correctly the first idea was stopped to provide only a 1 year subscription model (with monthly/yearly payments). So Composer Cloud can be used now monthly (or yearly) and subscription can be stopped/renewed every time for the next month.

BTW,
PLAY 4.3.0 is now available for download from here -

EastWest SUPPORT CENTER

What's fixed and added in PLAY Software Update v4.3.0?

• Improved save times
• Fixed a bug where projects containing both Play and Spaces would crash on load
• Improved time it takes to activate outputs in Cubase when using Vienna Ensemble Pro to host Play
• CC64 (Sustain pedal) now interpreted as ON for a value of 64 or above
• Fixed a bug where the full range of lid positions couldn’t be set in EW Pianos
• Fixed a crash on Mac when closing projects with Wordbuilder in them
• Fixed an issue that caused Play to load up empty when loading some projects
• Added support for Hollywood Harp
• Added support for Composer Cloud Plus

How long is the actual 50% price valid? Is this some early Black Friday offer?

I don't know, I am not part of the sales department and they don't share that info with me. Sometimes they extend it, sometimes they don't it seems.

:Tut: for Tui.

Hello, I am subscribed to the composer cloud service, and I thought I could share my thoughts on it for those interested in trying it. Actually, totally try it! If you don't like it, you lost about 30 dollars more or less. Not a big deal.

I think it is a good and fair price and you do get a lot. Some really good sounds. But there are some caveats.

It is NOT all instruments included. And this kind of advertising I find a little sneaky. I understand that "technically", it is "all instruments", but not the complete versions, nor all VSTs. All GOLD instruments are included. It is not very clear on the page what you get if you look on the list.
If you truly want ALL complete (diamond) instruments you have to pay a yearly fee, not a monthly fee. That can seem like a lot of money, compared to a smaller monthly fee, but it is also a pretty good deal. SO, again, ALL complete instruments is a yearly subscription, not a monthly.

I understand this "sneaky tactics" is a way to sell, and to get you interested. But this type of advertising just doesn't feel that great because pretty much everyone understands it is a monthly subscription. GOLD is, Diamond is not. And not all instruments are included in the monthly subscription.

Now, for me, the only instruments that are really worth it, are the orchestral Hollywood sounds and quantum leap pianos. (Not the "Symphonic Orchestra Complete")

These Hollywood instruments are outstanding sounds. One of the better on the market, if not the best. And the gold versions are very good. It all depends on what you need, but I think for most people this is totally ok. It sounds real and professional. It is in 16th bit though, which is a downer, but it still sounds good. You don't have mic position control, nor divisi control, but pretty much everything else.

But the rest of the sounds available in this subscription just don't really cut it with today's standards, comparing to other VSTs. Sure, you get a lot, but most of it sounds way too midi for my taste. For example, Goliath has tons of instruments, but I just don't find them useful at all, unless you want to sound like a midi machine, sorry. I don't use them. I find even cubase PRO's free included instruments better.
I honestly have not tried ALL instruments in this subscription, and all this is also a matter of taste and need obviously. But what I have tried so far, seems pretty much the same quality overall.

The various "25" packages are mostly useless. And those instruments are not good at all. Some fun loops, but where are you going to use them, really? Not professionally unless you really "hide them" well.

I do find Ministry of rock 2 and Fab four fairly descent actually. With some work you can definitely get a great rock sound that can fool people for the real thing. But I also found many samples here that were less useful and too stale.

I found the choirs pretty cool, but lacking in control. It is hard to do what really you want and it lacks good legato. Voices of passion same thing. It sounds too much like a sample. But descent quality otherwise.

As of yet, I have not tried the dark side. I have not tried any storm drums either, nor listened to demos.

Ra and Silk is not up to the standard today. That is, some sounds are great but very much lacks control, and very quickly sounds "midi" or like triggered samples, cutting the previous one off.

Listening to demos of the drum-kits, it sounds totally ok. I'm a little surprised why these libraries are soooo BIG. For example, Addictive drums by xln audio is not even close to this size, but still sounds very good. If you have no drum library, this library is of course totally ok. But I also find (listening to the demos) that is seems to fit mostly rock music, focusing on a BIG sound. Jazz not so good...

There are many VSTs elsewhere that outperforms most of these sounds. You have to remember that many of these VSTs are pretty old actually, and a lot has happened the last few years. I think it is lacking control in general, especially "in between the notes". I mean, the samples sound ok themselves, but when you combine a note with other notes/melodies it quickly becomes obvious it is a sample. Todays's VSTs, are hybrids of samples and synhths, making the instruments sounds more real and alive. Many of these libraries are old and do not have that hybrid tech (except hollywood)
Look at Spitfire and Cinesamples for example. Look at Musiclab and Evolution Strawberry for guitars. Ample guitars are also much better. There are no Horns (except for orchestral) in this package that you really could use. Chris Heins and even Native Instruments greatly outperforms anything here. Just go and listen to demos on these instruments. Basically,

East and West is THE vst for orchestral stuff, not really anything else. Again, I am blown away by their orchestral stuff. I love them! And ok, the rock stuff is good too. I do think the subscription is worth this though.

Now, when I write this, there is a fantastic offer (if you have the money) for all diamond Hollywood sounds (brass, strings, winds, percussion) for LESS than a yearly complete subscription, plus a harddrive. If you have the cash, buy this instead of the yearly subscription. Because they are, again, the only good instruments here. Because If you want that kind of quality, I doubt you find the other instruments worth your time. The pianos are not included here of course, but the instruments are yours for ever, and you get a harddrive. And that is worth considering, because these libraries are HUGE and downloading all this take a while.

Personally, I am using the subscription for now, and I am very happy with it. As soon as I can, I will get the diamond Hollywood orchestra instead. And the pianos, because that Bosendorfer.... Mmmmmmmm...

Cheers!

You are certainly entitled to your subjective opinions about the libraries vs others but there are a couple of statements that azre simply factually inaccurate that I must address.

1. I think you are confused about what a VST, as opposed to V.I. (virtual instrument) is. VST is a plug-in format, like AU, AAX, etc. So the only "VST" that EW uses, if you need VST as your plugin format, is Play itself. ALL EW libraries use the Play engine. Most of the competitors libraries you named use the Kontakt engine which is also available in multiple plugin formats.

2. If you look at this page it states very clearly that the Composer Cloud includes the Gold versions, nothing "sneaky" about it at all. 9000+ Instruments for $29.99/month

3. There is a more expensive yearly option called the Composer Cloud Plus that includes the Diamond/Platinum versions. Check out the FAQs on that page.

4. ALL the EW libraries, Gold when libraries have different versions, are indeed included in Composer Cloud and new ones will be available to subscribers before they are available for sale to the general public.

Of course I am having my opinion, that goes without saying.

But you work for East West, and I will take that into a special consideration when listening to your opinions though.
I find you are cherry-picking on my opinions with details that does not actually change much from my critique of this plugin. You clearly did not read my post since you are trying to correct me on facts I already stated.

Here are my answers to what you say:

Sure, not VSTs. A slight overlook on my part since I use VSTs on my platform. No biggy. I obviously meant virtual instruments. I am well aware of how the plugin works using "play". I'm not confused. I'm not talking about formats, but about the quality of the libraries. That is pretty clear.

Yes, kontakt is a player, but there are still several different producers that are not affiliated with the kontakt-player other than the fact they use it. Just saying kontakt would not be accurate in terms of library quality since the quality on the instruments found on that player vary quite a lot. Hence I mention the brand names and not the player. Actually, that goes for the "play" also, as mentioned earlier. For example I find Hollywood sounds superior. But in this case, EastWest produce all the sounds on play.

And, "all" means all. "All of them". I know now it is a specific version of them, which is not "all". And I understand "all" in this case is quite a grey zone nicely used.
You don't see how that could be misinterpreted differently at "all"? I guess you wouldn't since you are not a customer.

And the fact is that if you look at this thread it seems quite a few people are, or have been confused about this fact about the subscription and what is included. It was for me too. But hey, I'm just confused of course... Silly me.

I still like the product. I am trying to help people with their decision about this because I found it to be confusing. It goes without saying that everyone has different needs and opinions. It sounds to me you are worried I don't love the product as much as you do.
Perhaps not too bad that consumers have opinions about this product, and not just people who work for the company, don't you think?

Cheers!

Samuel, no offense intended, but I don't see how anybody looks at the page I linked and with even a cursory reading comes away confused as to what is included.

And yes, the details are what I addressed because they are empirical. I did not challenge your product evaluations you will notice, because they are subjective. You are entitled to like what you like and not like what you do not. I have zero problem with it.

Hello.

I do think I overreacted slightly on the defensive side towards east west lurker. That was not necessary.
Apologies.

Anyway,
Having used the instruments for a while, I have to say that the 16 bit limitation on Hollywood (and maybe the pianos as well) is really starting to bug me. I have not read that the pianos are only in 16 bit, but they feel like it. And I find they lack a little control in tone-building and are too heavy in the lower mid range, especially on lower dynamics.
And, at the same time you have a lot of great patches in the hollywood libraries that are very useful if you really want to have that real orchestra sound and control. Just too bad they are not in 24 bit. This kind of makes this subscription not too worth it for me. Because even though I like the possibilities the orchestra sounds offer (more than most competitors), I find I don't use it, because they quality of the sound stands out too much to the rest of what I do.

I'm not saying it is bad, necessarily. But for what I do, 16 bit is not enough, and I can unfortunately tell too well the instruments are not in 16 bit. SO, that is what diamond is for, fair and square.

It might be totally fine for you. But I'm thinking more and more that this subscription is not for me. I need the diamond stuff and I will save up to instead, and I don't really need the other instruments.

So, your needs are different than mine of course. But you if you want real sounding orchestral sound.... Well, test it out a month and see. For me, it is not enough.

As people know, I never argue with subjective opinions. but I suspect that what you like and don't like with the 16 bit versions you would also with the 24 bit versions. I don't believe anybody could consistently identify which piece was made with each if you bounced the exact same piece swapping one out for the other.in a blind test.

And one thing that is not opinion but is empirically true I believe.There have been lots of demos by now hat prove that when used well the Hollywood Orchestra certainly can sound as real as any other samples.

But once again, everybody is free to like what they like and not like what they do not and I have zero problem with that.

Hey Lurker, could You clarify couple things for me. If I get the monthly plan that costs 26.99€+TAX, can I

1. Cancel the subscription any month, meaning that if I cancel it in June, You won't charge me in July and after it. Or is the minimum subscription time one year.

2. Can I download all the instruments at the same time, and use all of them.

3. Are there ANY other cost than the monthly 26.99€+TAX?

4. On how many computers can I use the instruments, I have a desktop and a laptop, and I would like to use the sounds in both machines. Also if I reinstall my computer, can I still use them.

There is no more "EastWest Lurker." Ironically, the Composer Cloud is so successful that they decided that my position is no longer necessary. :(

1. Yes.

2. Not sure about the currency, but with the $29.99 U.S. plan, yes.

3. Not as far as I know but I know nothing about the European contracts.

4. I computer per subscription.

What if I reinstall my computer, can I still use the same subscription? Is it one computer at a time? So I can deactivate before the reinstall, and then activate again.

I think so, but if it goes wrong, don't quote me

One more question I subscribed to it and downloaded the EW Electronica, it was just some useless drum loops that I don't need, how can i uninstall it? I removed all of the files manually, and now the installation center is saying "missing sample data EW Electronica", how I can get it back to the download section?

Sorry, not sure, and as I say, I no longer work for EW. Maybe ask on the Soundsonline forum?

i purchased the composer cloud for presonus studio one it plays fine but when i export to mixdown it cuts out the itruments any idea this is driving me mad ichanged buffer size 32 bit to 64 on the mac, this has never happened on any toher plugin please help