@rtucker55 I'm not certain we're still at 181. I put an email into Kirk to have him double check. That count is handled manually and candidly, it's not getting updated (unfortunately, I'm not able to update it or even check it, otherwise, I'd be checking it at least a few times each day). Regarding the discounting on the Group Buy, there are so many discounts going on, it's become confusing. We're now looking at the following discounts GB discount (currently 30%)  + dramatically lowered list prices during the GB + 5% off for past customers.
 
If you look at the library prices from the beginning of the Group Buy until now, some libraries are actually now at a more than 60% discount level from where they were at the start of the Group Buy. It's just not expressed as that discount level because during the Group Buy, all Kirk Hunter Studios libraries list prices were dramatically reduced. For example, Concert Strings II had a list price of $799 USD when the Group Buy began and was at $679.15 USD with a 15% off discount level right before the list price was dropped to $399 USD, 50% off its previous list price, and the new discounted GB price became $339.15 USD. So staying with Concert Strings II, they're now at $279.30 USD and past KHS customers get another 5% off of that.

To someone else's point regarding demos, I can post some MP3s from the last Customer Demo Contest (there's currently a Kirk Hunter Studios Customer Demo Contest going on now with the chance to win up to $500 USD in store credit), but I don't think any audio demo is as valuable as downloading actual library demos. So here are the links to those:

Kirk Hunter Studios Spotlight Strings Free Library Demo
http://www.kirkhunterstudios.com/signup_sss_free_trial.php

Kirk Hunter Studios Concert Brass II Free Library Demo
http://www.kirkhunterstudios.com/signup_free_cb2_demo.php
 
Kirk Hunter Studios Concert Strings II Free Library Demo
(note: this would also be valuable for those interested in Pop/Rock Strings, as that library is based on a subset of the samples in Concert Strings II):
http://www.kirkhunterstudios.com/signup_free_cs2_demo2.php

Update. I just heard from Kirk. The Group Buy is now officially at 194 participants, 6 people away from the next discount level of 35% off.

http://www.kirkhunterstud...potlight_group_buy.php

I'm hoping it hits 50%. If it does, I may go in for Diamond as well. I'd like to have the woodwinds, but there's only so much I can spend.

Thanks for the update edrummist! Really hoping it hits the 50% mark.

....but are the sounds any good? What say you Baps?

What I've heard of Spotlight Strings sounds very nice. I plan to use them as a complement to EWQLSO. I also have Garritan IO, which, quite frankly, wasn't what I expected. I've hardly used it and likely won't much in the future. I like mixing instruments from different packages as it gives a fuller sound overall.
 
Regards,
Dan
 

daryl1968
....but are the sounds any good? What say you Baps?

Hiya Big D!!
I can't speak for Bapsi, but I was certainly impressed with the Diamond collection I got on the last GB. Straight out of the box (well......actually DL), my first impression was WOW!! No tweaking, fine tuning, adding fx etc......just an excellent library.....straight up. It definitely was a pleasure to play the keys........(and I can barely crawl on the keyboard). I also have Miroslav and Garritan P.O........both were not even close to the quality of KHS.
 
So, the answer is YES!! The sounds ARE good.    
 
Is there a listing of libraries that only require Kontakt 4?
 
If this GB would quickly get to the 50% mark, I might be able to grab another library.  

daryl1968
....but are the sounds any good? What say you Baps?

I think asking trusted friends who own a library is a wise course of action when researching a sample library. In this case, I'd also strongly recommend you download the free demo/trial versions of any libraries you're interested in (they exist for CS2 -- which can also be used to assess Pop/Rock Strings, CB2 and Spotlight Strings; unfortunately, there's not one for Diamond) for you to test out on your own computer to see if you like the raw samples, scripting, GUI and workflow.
 
I don't think there's anything more valuable than trying out a library demo and I've been trying to persuade every dev I know to follow KHS' example and offer library demos for their libraries. Audio demos can be fun to listen to, but they often reflect what an expert can do and very often reflect a skilled professional user who knows how to show the strengths of a library and hide the weaknesses of a library (while KHS audio demos are not guilty of this, imo, A LOT of devs demos are guilty of this and my experience tells me to remain pragmatic, if not cynical, about audio demos). Getting a library demo on your machine enables you to determine a library's strengths and weaknesses for yourself.

[EDIT: Fixed a typo.]

MeshIs there a listing of libraries that only require Kontakt 4?

All Kirk Hunter Studios libraries EXCEPT Spotlight Strings are compatible with KONTAKT 4. Spotlight Strings requires KONTAKT 5.3 or greater.
 

edrummist

MeshIs there a listing of libraries that only require Kontakt 4?

All Kirk Hunter Studios libraries EXCEPT Spotlight Strings are compatible with KONTAKT 4. Spotlight Strings requires KONTAKT 5.3 or greater.
 

Thanks Edrum.