Does anybody recall that SONAR has a MIDI pattern paintbrush?...
 
...or am I just dreaming that?
 

Dern. They always have reasonable prices. I'm sunk. I'm in.

Anybody use Torch? 

bitflipper
Torch is pretty decent. It's not OTS EEG, but then it's also a quarter of OTS' price. That's the case with all of the Indiginus product line: not every bell 'n whistle is represented, but they're cheap, sound good and are easy to master. Fun to play live, too. They're also unlocked, so you can tweak the sample mapping if you're into that sort of thing.
 
While you're over there checking out guitar samples, be sure to have a listen to the Delta Blues Slide guitar. It's an acoustic resonator-type guitar, but more versatile than you might think. Add the amp sim and you've got a nice-sounding semi-dirty lead voice with good sustain. I especially like it with vibrato on.

Thanks for that!  You are awesome, as usual!

Don't think of this as specifically "Latin" percussion. It's percussion, period. Suitable for all genres. I mean, it's got THREE cowbells! Who can't use more cowbells?
 
I'm downloading it now.

First look: had a go with the ensemble instrument first, which is all one-shots. It's logically laid out with pictures to show which instruments are being activated and color-coded keys, one key for each instrument and articulation. If this is how you normally use percussion libraries (like I do) you'll be up and running in 30 seconds. Djembe, bongos, congas and timbales are tunable.
 
Next I pulled up the sequencer. The array of blue lights that dominate the display might seem daunting at first glance, but then you'll realize it's just a step sequencer. If you've used any step sequencer, including SONAR's, you'll have no problem. Click a blue light to turn an instrument on, click it again to turn it off. Like SONAR's step sequencer you can program in real time or step-record, can choose sequence lengths of between 1 and 32 steps, and specify swing. The sliders along the bottom are volume controls.
 
You also get a proper mixer view, where you can pan each instrument, select the microphone, and apply delay and/or reverb to each instrument independently. There is also a compressor, but it doesn't appear to have any controls and applies to the full mix. The green lights at top are microphone enable buttons.
 
There are 24 sequences already programmed in, so you can have some fun with it straight out of the box. There's a well-written user guide, but you won't need it right away. Although I did learn from reading what "FL" stands for (flam). Probably would have figured that one out eventually.
 
Strange thing...in two of the low conga samples you can hear a voice. Because of the round-robins you'll need to hit F3 more than once to hear it. No one would ever notice it in a mix, though. One says "slower". The other I can't make out. It might be "these are not the droids you're looking for".
 
 
 

"I'm just like you guys...I put my pant on one leg at time...only 
 difference is...after I put my pants on I make Gold Records!"

Bruce Dickenson.

Jeff M.

bitflipper
Who can't use more cowbells?

Hey Bit - Didn't you get SR Peart Kit with the 5 cowbells a while back?

 
I thought about it, but didn't. I can't even afford a real cowbell.

Can you drag patterns into a midi track? I would be surprised if you could but it would be a nice feature.

That would be nice, but not possible from within Kontakt. 
 
You can, however, adapt your existing MIDI tracks to the Ensemble instrument if you don't want to use the sequencer.
 
My only (minor) complaint so far is that every preset sounds like Santana rolling around in a cement mixer. I know, that frenzied cacophony is part of what makes it "Latin". But unless I'm specifically going for a carnival atmosphere, it's unlikely I'll ever find a use for the presets.
 
It would be cool if there were some more general-purpose, simpler presets like generic shaker, conga and tambourine patterns.
 
Because you can load and save your own patterns (they're small text files - .nka - stored in the Data folder where Brio is installed), it should be easy to establish an online repository to share with others. 

Dan, a seller at KVR has it going for $59 (you can bargain for less) if you decide to get Cuba. I was thinking about getting it myself, but ended up getting Brio.
 
Here's the link: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=420144&p=5876762&hilit=cuba#p5876762

dcumpian

Mesh
Dan, a seller at KVR has it going for $59 (you can bargain for less) if you decide to get Cuba. I was thinking about getting it myself, but ended up getting Brio.
 
Here's the link: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=420144&p=5876762&hilit=cuba#p5876762

Yeah, but KVR mods recommend not using Paypal's "gift option" for purchases as it is not safe for the buyer. I'm already leery, and this one stopped me, lol.
 
Regards,
Dan
 

Very true that you must be always careful buying from fellow forum members as you never know.....
 
I can of course only speak from my past experience over there.......I've only used Paypal in the last 4-5 years buying/selling etc...) and all of them have been good experiences. There's a Feedback Thread that shows past sales experiences of sellers and you can easily find out if someone is "questionable" or not.
All I know is the particular guy selling Cuba is a long time/regular forum member, but I have no clue about his character.

yorolpal
Cuba is great...for a fairly limited cubano sound. All the instruments with the exception of some percussion would be hard pressed to find a home in non latin mixes. Not that you can't do it...because I have...but they were recorded and processed to sound like authentic Cuban ensembles. And they do.

If you're looking for all round useful percussion...Brio is a much better (and cheaper) choice.

Thanks!