Dan Dean Solo String Advanced download ... 50 skins

It's a $200 product, Dan's site sells it direct for $100, and this site has it for $50 for the new few days: http://www.samplerzone.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=157
 
That site is a store front for the well-known Chickensystems, I believe.
 
DDSSA is a bit dated, but has always sounded great for what it is. The original solo strings were updated to run in K2 player (yay! no full kontakt required, all you Cretan holdouts!) and include some programming for divisi, etc. Worth a look... I figured it would be useful to me for some simpler layered strings, as well as combining w/ other string libraries that I own for a little flava... Just purchased, but I may not get the download links for a couple of days, given the holiday...
 
Some random guy's youtube creation using DDSSA... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXxK0ZjsxRg  ... Some demos on DD's site as well.
 
Not bad for $50!
EDIT: or, I should say, it should run in the very latest free kontakt player as well...

Yeah, I just picked up this London Solo Strings from BigFish Audio on sale. But, I'm wondering if layering is going to get me better strings, or just simply having to pony up and lay down a wad of cash for some big league brands. It might be a mistake to hope for too much improvement for my layering these minor-league samples.

Ordered! Solo strings like this can be great for rock/pop type stuff. I'll let you guys know how it works out when I get the download links (or in the mail, I'm not sure).

Just got the DL link direct from dandeanpro.com... downloading as one big (2.5GB) zipfile... should be done in 30 minutes, give or take a few Mbps... 8^P

That sux... was able to install and activate on this end. I think somebody may be in trouble, unless it's some sort of legit record keeping snafu. In any event... in search of being able to create my own NKIs in K4, so I'm off to install K3.5, K3, K2, etc. until I can... I hope the patches aren't 100% locked! In fact, I didn't even know you could 100% lock NKIs, as opposed to the nkx content files which are obviously locked...

keith


Kreative... you'd be suprised... even The Pros, using The Pro String Libraries often layer and substitute and swap for a variety of reasons. This library doesn't do well in the legato or slides dept., that library doesn't do well in the forte ****cato dept, etc. etc... So I would temper your enthusiasm when thinking "minor league" vs. "big league".... ;^) 

Yeah, you're one of many that swear by blending string libraries, and I do see your point on the strengths and weaknesses of these various samples. I'm kind of looking to do some pop/rock strings, too, and possibly some epic pieces as I build towards that possibility. I have been trying blending and will do whatever might be needed to achieve more realism and depth. Nevertheless, I must say that some libraries have an out of the box sound that stands out against the comparison of others.


Greg has an interesting article on his Orange Tree blog: http://www.orangetreesamples.com/blog/2011/02/the-uncanny-valley/#more-193 


"The general trend for contemporary sample libraries is to keep adding more velocity layers, more round-robin alternating samples, and more articulations accessible by keyswitches. While this formula for expansion results in larger, more extensive libraries, it is still an extension of traditional sampling, maintaining many of the same foundational limitations which prevent sample libraries from crossing the “uncanny valley”. Essentially, it’s what keeps the libraries from overcoming what defines whether something sounds real or sampled: context."

Well, Dan Dean just sent me a new serial key, so the library works fine now! I wasn't expecting a response so soon, considering it's a holiday weekend, so that was a nice surprised. As for the locked patches, unfortunately there's not much that can be done. Unlocking the patches would require Native Instruments to re-encode the library--they lock the patches by standard practice unless you explicitly ask them to keep them unlocked (but still encrypted of course). A bit of a pity, since the patches could be edited to include release samples (taken from the ends of the samples, which have natural release sounds), etc.

Yeah exactly--the NKI is encoded as well in order to work with the Kontakt Player, and to connect with the NKX.