Only issue I hear with those strings is some obvious machine gun on the spiccato. Might be able to apply some filter modulation in dim pro to break that up a bit, either in the patch itself, or via track automation. Also, since the sample content is WAV files, anybody w/ kontakt, for example, could remap their own patches and layers, apply a machine gun script, etc. to get more life out of the samples. For a freebie it sounds pretty good to me...

@CCLarry... I think you may have followed my math (maybe not... I am confused by your edits). I am talking about the Suite, not just Producer. For the Suite I paid $500 in May. It went on special shortly after for $400. That's $100. My upgrade price is $100. That is $200. I am content with the upgrade price considering all the extra stuff that will be coming with X2. However basically I missed out on getting the X2 "Suite" for $400 by a couple of months. You can see how the free upgrade to X2 for the REALLY late adopters of X1 (which is how you should be looking at it) getting a better deal might be a bit of a sore point for someone like me. I'm trying to look at this as positively as I can in that they are giving me something worth $150 for paying the premium when I did. Personally I would have preferred an $80-100 credit on my Cake account to snag stuff I really need but I'll take what I can. Hopefully that makes sense.

@Keith... Just thought from the description I'd get a little more bow/body resonance. It's quite possible I will once I get to play with it. It really does sound to me like the demo might have been using the 5-10 string settings which would definitely give a more synthy sound due to the sheer accuracy of it. As I said I'd likely layer the single instrument versions and with the right performance/automation I may be able to get that chamber music type feel I want. I have a feeling the demo does not do the program justice at all. Does anyone actually have this program that can shed some light on the topic? Not that it really matters because I'm gonna have it soon anyway but I'm just curious. And really guys... I'm happy with this. All of it. I really am amped up to get at X2.

cclarry


Just to clarify...

My problem is NOT with the offer...it's great...

It's with the WORDING....

SPECIAL OFFER FOR EARLY ADOPTERS

WE, those of us who purchased the UPGRADE to get X2 are
the EARLY ADOPTERS...Not those who are buying it now...

It's corporate mumbo jumbo way of saying..THANKS FOR GIVING US THAT
EXTRA $100!!!

AND the SIMPLE thing to do would have been to say

BUY YOUR X2 UPGRADE BETWEEN X and Y AND GET Z
then all wording problems GO AWAY..THAT is good marketing!

Now if they were to say...those who upgraded FIRST 
(being those of us who bought upgrades to get X2) will get their
upgrades FIRST....THEN I wouldn't have said a word...

BUT I'm sure others would have...

Cheers!

Na, you're not an "Early Adopter" at all.
 
You waited until X1 was almost "End of Life", and then jumped on to get a free upgrade to X2.
 
That, my friend is "Last Minute Adoption".
 
Early adoption, means those who bought or upgraded "Early" ... not Late like you have.
 
An "Early Adopter", is someone who bought or upgraded to X1 when it was released, not when it was ending :-)
 
I don't understand how you can think of yourself as an early adopter when you've waited out a whole release cycle, and only bought the version that's ending NOW, to avoid paying a bigger upgrade (well ... any upgrade price) to the yet to be released X2.
 
Just doesn't make sense to me.
 
 
Cheers - Cliff

I am most definitely not going to be an early adopter for X2. This time around I'll wait for the patches and see where windows 8 goes. The thought of a new version and a new O/S at the same time makes me nervous.

No word yet on whether or not those of us who bought X1 Producer in full recently to get the free upgrade to X2 will be entitled to Symphonic Strings. Although from what I've read above, I'm guessing it's going to be a "no." 

To be honest though, I do feel like an early adopter. The only reason I bought X1 was because they said look, you buy X1 now and we'll upgrade you to X2 for free. If that offer didn't exist, I would have waited for X2 to come out and yes, bought it pre-sale. It's not like I was without a DAW, I would have been quite happy plodding along with Pro Tools until X2 came out. But they enticed me to buy X1 with that offer, so I thought why not, let's buy into Sonar now. I figure they made the X1 upgrade offer for the same reason why they do a pre-sale - to reap some of the X2 cash before it comes out. What I was buying, in essence, was X2. Everyone who bought X1 for the free upgrade was actually pre-buying X2. Therefore, I do feel like we should get the freebie. 

It's not as if I'm going to lose sleep over it...and it's certainly not a deal breaker. But you know what it feels like when a freebie slips through your fingers....

They are still going to bump you guys up to X2 for free- no need to fret :) They never said you were going to get some string pack for free before you decided to buy. What's the problem?

Think about it. The true X1 early adopters such as myself bought X1 at launch for a higher price and don't get X2 for free- we get it for $99. So the string pack is a cool little incentive for us true "Early Adopters". 

Beepster


@Lynn... Definitely happy about a nice bonus like that and even if it isn't exactly what I envisioned I will certainly make use of it. Just wasn't exactly what I thought it was which is more my ignorance on various soft syths than a statement on the software. As I said that is an extremely popular tone these days so it is by no means a bad tool. Not complaining ya'll... not complaining.

I'll take anything for free with the following disclaimer: 
 
~Digital Sound Factory Symphonic Strings is a collection of string ensembles recorded in the amazing Saint Thomas Cathedral at Bastyr University in Northern Washington State in the US. Four pairs of microphones, both on stage and in the hall, were used to capture various size sections that are recombined in Dimension. Each of the sections (Basses/Celli/Violas/Violins) is assigned to an element allowing full control of the mix. Included are Large Ensembles, Small Ensembles, Individual Sections, Cinematic, and Effects.

HI DEFINITION instrument samples recorded at 24-bit resolution, each pitch, and programmed for the ultimate clarity and realism~
 
I'm sure I can make them sound alot better than that demo. Hey Cakewalk, get a new highres demo!

Yeah... the description does not really match up with the demo. Meh. I'm sure it'll be awesome.

backwoods


They are still going to bump you guys up to X2 for free- no need to fret :) They never said you were going to get some string pack for free before you decided to buy. What's the problem?

Think about it. The true X1 early adopters such as myself bought X1 at launch for a higher price and don't get X2 for free- we get it for $99. So the string pack is a cool little incentive for us true "Early Adopters". 

Yes it does look like the answer will be no to my question, and I'm ok with that - it would be nice to hear it officially, as the wording of the advertising has a certainly been confusing ( such as why the offers run until the end of October etc. )


I should also point out that I bought X1 producer the moment it came out and only upgraded to production suite to get the X2 upgrade and hoped that I'd get some mileage out of the included extras. I've not lost out at all, really :)