KVR Readers' Choice Awards 2021: Top 5 nominations for 'Favorite Sample Platform'

By KVR Audio on September 13th, 2021

The nominations for the 2021 KVR Readers' Choice Awards are in, as voted for by the KVR community. Voting is now open so make yourself heard here.

We present to you the top 5 nominations for 'Favorite Sample Platform'.

During this phase KVR members can choose their preference from the shortlist in each category (or stick with their previous selection, or choose another if they prefer, who are we to judge?) Spread the word, tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell your mum, #kvrrcas. All categories are optional. Please note that Freeware and Donationware products should not be voted for in any categories except Favorite Free Virtual Instrument and Favorite Free Virtual Effect Processor. Everyone can change their nominations / votes at any time until the voting closes.

NOTE: If the product you wish to vote for isn't in the KVR Product Database yet please contact the developer and ask them to add it.
Who won last time? Find out at kvraudio.com/2020-kvr-rca-winners

Kontakt is the definitive sampling platform:

Kontakt powers the largest selection of sampled instruments available.
Included factory library puts 55+ GB of detailed, creative, and expressive instruments at your fingertips.
Shape your sound with on-board tools including modulation, wavetables, envelopes, and effects.
Build your own instruments with powerful sample-editing and instrument-building options.

With Kontakt, you can sound like a snare drum, a symphony orchestra, or anything in between, from a universe of sampled instruments. It's a simple sampler when you want it to be, and a deep sonic scripting laboratory when you need something more. The next generation of the world's favorite sampling platform gives you new instruments and new features under the hood – so you can layer, link, stretch, and shape your sounds any way you can imagine.

YouTube.com/watch?v=eetUfc_7708

HALion can load almost every sound library available on the market and offers numerous tools to shape and even radically reinvent sounds.

Features:

State-of-the-art sound design environment developed according to the requirements of professional sound designers.
Award-winning 32-bit floating-point Steinberg audio engine with up to 192 kHz, 32 stereo outputs and 6-channel surround support.
Flexible user interface for customizing and saving windows and screen sets.
Multi-monitor support for perfect overview of large projects.
Virtual Analog Synthesis Engine offers multiple oscillator types, additional sub and noise oscillators and cross-modulation support.
VST 3.5 and VST Expression 2 support for unique instrument articulation management and expression control on single-note level.
Flexible signal routing with free assignable buses per layer, virtual audio mixing console with 8 inserts per channel and 4 Aux sends.
MegaTrig for easy programming of playing styles and articulations without page-filling scripting.
Drag and drop for quick and easy sample mapping.
Unlimited undo/redo plus Undo History for hassle-free sound experiments.
Automatic on-the-fly mapping during import.
Outstanding library with more than 1,600 instrument sounds created by top sound experts at Steinberg and Yamaha.
64-bit Disk-Streaming technology for high performance sample playback.
Integrated MediaBay sound management system for immediate access to the library.
Flexible Quick Controls per program and layer for instant access to sound and FX parameters and easy automation in the host.
Unique morphing filters seamlessly blend between up to four of the 24 filter types.
FlexPhraser module for dynamically driving beats and arpeggios, plus complex tonal phrases with automatic articulation switching.
Wide range of audio effects on board including REVerence convolution reverb to fuel each program and layer with up to 8 insert effects.
Advanced Cubase integration including seamless exchange of extended parameters like slice information and VST Expression Maps.
Comprehensive import compatibility of HALion 3 sounds (FXP, HSB) and common formats as Giga, EXS and Kontakt.
Professional standalone version included.

YouTube.com/watch?v=XEDN--0dCuk

Play. Produce. Progress.

Make your samples sound like you. Create your own basslines, percussive patterns and arpeggios with Loopcloud. Experiment with 8 tracks, effects, tuning and chopping, all whilst staying in time and key with your project. Made a killer loop? Drag a full audio mixdown or individual stems straight into your DAW.

Find the perfect sound, faster

Easily browse your own sounds and preview over 4 million Loopmasters samples from within a single application. Search by instrument, genre, label, key, BPM and more to find what you need. Loopcloud's AI search technology (courtesy of Jamahook) and intelligent tagging will instantly pinpoint the sounds you want. Get lost in the music, not the details.

Take your music anywhere

Store your complete sample collection in the cloud, saving valuable space on your hard drive. Whether you've been collecting for decades or just getting started, everything is tagged and organised automatically alongside your Loopmasters library. Access it all. Any time. Any place.

Where melodies and beats begin

Introducing two cloud‑connected plugins that turn samples into playable instruments: Loopcloud DRUM and Loopcloud PLAY. Featuring sounds, kits and collections from world‑renowned artists, producers and labels. Made for both seasoned musicians and aspiring artists.

Loopcloud subscription plan

With each Loopcloud subscription plan, you get access to daily free sounds from Loopcloud's selection of over 17,000, which is added to weekly. Simply find a pack that you like and click the "free" tag in the product header to see the free sounds for that pack, or type "Free" in the search box to get a more extensive list.

Loopcloud is for Mac and PC.

The software works in standalone mode or via the Loopcloud VST, AU or AAX plugin. This directly connects to any music software with plugin support: Ableton Live, Logic, Cubase, Reason, FL Studio, and any other music software that supports third-party plugins.

YouTube.com/watch?v=6xjp9s2wc8U

Creative Hybrid Instrument - Explore the intersection of sampling and synthesis with 16 oscillators, 90+ effects, modulation generators, scriptable event processors and more. Falcon provides a sophisticated set of tools for near infinite sound and instrument design potential.

At-a-glance:

» Most complete hybrid instrument available
Mix and modulate samples, synthesis modules, fx and more in today's most extensive and streamlined hybrid instrument.

» Incredible sound quality
16 state-of-the-art oscillators, including stunning granular and time-stretching engines by IRCAM and fully-featured Wavetable, FM, Drum and Pluck modules.

» Ergonomic and adaptable user interface
Take control over MIDI processing, synthesis, effects and modulation in a single window for an immediate and adaptive sound design workflow.

» Unique and powerful effects
Over 90 high-quality FX including algorithmic and convolution reverbs, delays, modeled filters, distortions, dynamics processors, analyzers, multi-fx and more.

» Infinite possibilities
Explore sound in exciting new ways using concepts you already know with no artificial restrictions to creativity, take it further and script custom event generators or even fully-scripted instruments with custom UI's.

Falcon is an advanced and truly unlimited hybrid instrument, bringing together an extensive collection of cutting-edge oscillators, effects, modulators and event processors and delivering them in a workflow-adaptive and highly-scriptable environment. Falcon allows you to create and manipulate sound with unparalleled precision and finesse, from basic sample slicing and synth design to extravagantly modulated multitimbral hybrids. Falcon runs stand-alone or in your DAW as a plugin, is natively surround capable up to 10.2 channels, can take just about any sound you can throw at it for fuel (and some pictures, too) and is fully compatible with all UVI Powered instruments.

Falcon comes with an incredible collection of factory presets created by some of the most respected sound designers in the world. Tap them for instant gratification or to inspire your own sound design. Component presets are available for everything from oscillators and effects to modulation sequencers, allowing you to quickly explore options and find one that works, fast. Create your own presets for nearly any module and build custom libraries so you can easily recall ideas for future use.

As an added bonus, each Falcon license includes a $100 / 100€ voucher good towards the purchase of any soundbank or Falcon Expansion at uvi.net. Enhance your Falcon experience immediately with one of our premium instruments like Key Suite Acoustic, or grab UVX670 for a massive fuel injection to your new sampling workstation.

Whether you're looking for a large package of new sounds and instruments to explore or a creative environment to realize efficient, reliable and sophisticated sound design with, Falcon is an innovative and powerful choice.

Falcon offers native 64-bit operation in stand-alone and plug-in formats, supports surround setups up to 10.2 channels, is compatible with all UVI powered soundbanks, and allows simultaneous authorization on up to 3 computers or iLok keys.

Learn more about Falcon

Watch the overview video on YouTube: YouTube/OHlQm7tFUPc

Listen to audio demos on SoundCloud: SoundCloud.com/uvi-official/sets/falcon-demo-songs

Live is fast, fluid and flexible software for music creation and performance. It comes with effects, instruments, sounds and all kinds of creative features—everything you need to make any kind of music.

Create in a traditional linear arrangement, or improvise without the constraints of a timeline in Live's Session View. Move freely between musical elements and play with ideas, without stopping the music and without breaking your flow.

Live 10 comes in three editions: Intro, Standard and Suite. They share common features, but Standard and Suite have additional features, instruments, effects, and Packs.

A detailed feature comparison is available here.

YouTube.com/watch?v=o-UWByeunSs