I hope Greg's server is up to handling 250+ multi-gigabyte downloads all at once. The last time I participated in a group buy for a sample library it took me 11 hours to download it.

We're on the Amazon servers for the sample library downloads, so the actual download process should be smooth as long as they aren't having any unrelated regional issues at the time. I might need to stagger things when people go to complete their group buy orders, though. Even though that process shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes, having 250+ people trying it at once could be a challenge...

We're now at 205 people in the group buy, 45 people away from the 250 needed to attain the highest discount level of 50% off. 

Here's a demo of Evolution Electric Guitar - Strawberry, primarily performed in real-time, that is an excellent example of the realism of this library, which I find, surpasses that of any other electric guitar library or VST on the market. 

http://www.orangetreesamples.com/audio/ElusiveBlues.mp3

We're pleased to announce the great Orange Tree Samples Demo Contest of 2013! You have a week from today to send in your entry, and we have a bunch of exciting prizes for everyone involved!

PRIZES:

1st place: $100 gift certificate*, our upcoming library (value $80) for FREE, before its release.
2nd place: $60 gift certificate*, our upcoming library (value $80) for FREE, before its release.
3rd place: $40 gift certificate*, our upcoming library (value $80) for FREE, before its release.

ALL other contestants will receive a $10 gift certificate.

* Gift certificates not applicable to group buy purchase.

RULES:

- Must prominently feature at least one commercial (not one of our freebies) Orange Tree Samples sample library.
- Must be your own original work (no covers).

DEADLINE:

Entries must be emailed to admin@orangetreesamples.com by Tuesday October 1st, 11:59 PM PST. If you send your entry as an attachment, please use a compressed format, like MP3 or OGG.

Good luck, and have fun!

The demo contest has only been announced a few hours ago, and we already have two entries!

I can't wait to send the winners copies of our new library--I'm really proud of how it turned out. We've worked hard to keep it a secret, and it's quickly become one of my favorite acoustic sample libraries.

We Only Need 27 more to sign up to hit the 50% mark and then it's Goodie Time!!!

I'm always interested in learning more about others who share the same love of music making as me. For anyone who's game:

1. What is your main instrument?
2. Do you play multiple instruments and if so, which ones?
3. Share a little of your musical background. How long have you been playing? Self taught or formal training?
4. What styles of music do you write/perform?
5. Who are your greatest influences?
6. Do you play professionally, semi-professionally or just for fun? 
7. Do you have any goals for your music or yourself as a musician. 

For me, my mother was a professional musician and music teacher. My siblings and I all played an instrument. I started with piano lessons, then organ lessons, then drums lessons, but drums were the instrument I loved the most, so I stayed with them. I played drums in my family band as kid -- and would regularly perform at night clubs sitting in for adult drummers -- and played semi-professionally for around 12 yrs. I haven't played out in many years, so these days I play music purely out of love and even write and play songs for my kids entertainment. I've been writing music since I was 4, easily thousands of songs, and I just don't know how to stop! My influences are all over the map, from Stevie Wonder to Chopin to the Beatles to Radiohead to early Genesis to Nirvana to Yes to Billy Joel and a ton more. My goal is to record some of really good quality original songs with my kids playing and singing and have it be good enough where other people truly enjoy it. I also want to start entering song contests. 

edrummist

1. What is your main instrument?
2. Do you play multiple instruments and if so, which ones?
3. Share a little of your musical background. How long have you been playing? Self taught or formal training?
4. What styles of music do you write/perform?
5. Who are your greatest influences?
6. Do you play professionally, semi-professionally or just for fun? 
7. Do you have any goals for your music or yourself as a musician. 

 
1. Bass
2. Bass (I have 5 uvum), ok a little guitar and very little keyboard (right handed triads and some licks)
3. Since I was 13 (I'm 60 so that's like 12 or more years). Self taught. Started on guitar and heard Eric Clapton and Jimi in 1968/69 and said "I gotta try something else".
4. As many as I can.
5. Jack Bruce, Jaco, Chris Squire & Stanley Clark. I'm not as good as any of them but I believe I incorporate some of their respective elements in my "style"
6. Just for fun. Only recording, no outside performances.
7. To be the best bass player in The CHB. I'm #2 or #3 right now (probably behind Dave, the drummer, who doesn't even play bass).

edrummist
I'm always interested in learning more about others who share the same love of music making as me. For anyone who's game:

 
What the heck, I'm procrastinating doing some work in the studio already<G>..

1. What is your main instrument? -Guitar, yup, definitely guitar... did I mention that guitar is my main, and favorite instrument? Although when I say guitar what I really mean is almost any stringed instrument, although violin/fiddle continues to elude me - heck, my dog runs away when he sees the violin case! Extending that thought, I also like guitar controlled synthesizers, and stomp boxes, and pedal steel - a former teacher used to refer to the pedal steel as the harmony synthesizer, and lap steel and resophonics and basses and mandolins of all sizes. So yeah, guitar!
2. Do you play multiple instruments and if so, which ones? - Like most music addicts it all started with piano lessons, and I continue to dabble with keyboards, but I lost the use of two fingers on my right hand when I was fifteen, and that discouraged me sufficiently that I never returned to serious study. I did study french horn for about 10 years, and if I had the cash I'd love to buy one and play it again, but I'd probably be pretty bad, it's been along time! I also studied upright bass for a short time, and played one in pit bands for a while. That's another "if I had the money I'd buy one" thing, except I might not embarrass myself. Do synthesizers count as instruments? I've never figured that one out, but I do have a couple old analog semi-modular synths that I use from time to time.
3. Share a little of your musical background. How long have you been playing? Self taught or formal training? - I've been playing some musical instrument or another for 48 years - geez that's a long time, you'd think I'd be better!! I have been fortunate to study with some really remarkable teachers, but I've also spent time teaching myself, and I find a mix of the two to work well for me. Not big on regrets, but I do wonder what in the heck I was thinking when I selected a college that didn't have a music department... on the other hand, a friend and I ended up writing all the marching band drills, so I guess it worked out ok.
4. What styles of music do you write/perform? - Hmmm... I'd have to say mine??? It's a hodge-podge of the pop and rock music that I grew up with, folk music from any era, blues, celtic, bluegrass, jazz of all types, and even some classical, although as much as I enjoy listening to classical stuff I have very few outlets to play it, and even fewer to write it.
5. Who are your greatest influences? - since we were just talking about classical, Barber (who grew up in my home town) and Copland are by far my biggest influences, followed by a bunch of 20th century composers, and of course the usual suspects. The rest are primarily pop and guitar oriented at that - CSN&Y, Allman Brothers, Croce, Fogelberg, the Who, Dire Straits, Chicago, BS&T, TOP, EW&F, all the 60s british folk guitarists (some amazing writing and playing there), Kottke, Fahey, Lang, Richard Thompson, Nanci Griffith (an amazing musicologist as well as a talented writer and performer), Emmy Lou Harris and all her great guitar players, Chip Davis (more an arranger than writer, but clever as heck), Peterson, Pass, Hines (love his left hand stuff) anyone named Bernstein, Morocone, Hermann, and a ton more I'm just not thinking of. This is one of the advantages of ADD I think!
6. Do you play professionally, semi-professionally or just for fun? Semi, and ALWAYS for fun. Someone once pointed out to me that I play and write because I have to. That might sound odd, but I think it is true. Good thing I enjoy it!!
7. Do you have any goals for your music or yourself as a musician. I'd love to get more work as a composer and/or arranger, and I really should play out more often as well. I'm also fascinated with the intersection of music and technology, so there's another avenue.

Just joined the Group Buy.  I am getting three libraries:  Strawberry, Acoustic Steel and Rickenbacker.  I already own the Lap Steel.  Have been hoping and longing for a great sale from OrangeTree one day; this Group Buy is so good that I could not pass it up.  225 particpants as of this post; only 25 more and 50% off.  Too good to pass up.  Thanks Greg!