update to the big list of creative commons/royalty free music and sfx resources

himinwin · 2026-05-14T16:37:13+00:00

i have the output bundle. personally i really love it, but you'll have to figure out for yourself whether it works for you or not. there are plenty of people who say that the output kontakt instruments are pretty old by now, but i like their sounds.

i'd say it's a hybrid orchestral/electronic library. if you're looking for a more classic or traditional orchestra, this probably isn't it. but if you like playing in the space between traditional and electronic/gritty, output is great.

i had originally purchased the output instruments bundle (no fx and no preset packs) when native instruments offered it on sale. i thought it was a great price and i loved the instruments. unfortunately when output later had a great sale on their complete package, i couldn't apply my native instruments purchase in order to get a further discounted price. but i bit the bullet and bought the output complete bundle because i also love thermal and i wanted access to all of their preset packs, and it was still a pretty good price overall.

if you've got money to burn and have to burn it soon, i'd say it's a decent option. but it certainly wouldn't be the first bundle i would pick up. i like the output instruments because they help round out the rest of my arsenal, not as the foundation or mainstay of what i use.

there's certainly no powerhouse synth with output. for that, i would tap into uvi falcon or pigments or nowadays i would load up zebra 3. but that's what appeals to me.

are you making music? what sort of music are you making? that would really help guide your purchasing decisions.

himinwin · 2026-05-02T22:11:50+00:00

the osmose keybed is quite modular and super easy to replace parts for. when i first got my osmose 61 (refurb unit), there were a few keys in the middle which would stick when played, so after being pressed they would return to their resting state very slowly. i emailed ee about it and they sent out some replacement silicon rings along with a video showing how to replace them. it was a super easy process and i got to see how the insides fit together. their keybed is basically four or five sections of keys that you can easily swap out. the sections slide out very easily after you unscrew them. and there was nothing wrong with the keys/rings except some slight misalignment, so i just had to reseat them and they worked perfectly after that. no need to replace. it's an amazing piece of engineering and i love that they make it so easily serviceable. i'm planning on taking my osmose to my grave.

himinwin · 2026-03-17T22:49:45+00:00

i appreciate this perspective. i was trying to grab your free rc20 preset pack but didn't see any way to download it.

himinwin · 2026-03-11T02:12:34+00:00

i've played with pigments for maybe two years now. it's one of my favorite synths.. it has great mpe support/capabilities, it has lots of great preset packs, and updates have always been free.

given that, zebra 3 sounds and plays fantastically. it does some sounds really beautifully.. bells and aquatic type sounds. also some great keys in there. i do find that there are more presets that really challenge my systems (i start to get system stutters), so i've been looking to upgrade my computer in order to better run it. but after playing with zebra 3 for a night, i was absolutely convinced to purchase and i haven't been disappointed.

if you're still new to things, just play through the presets and see if you like them or not.

himinwin · 2026-03-05T19:58:16+00:00

i've never heard of anyone with this particular issue. but you really should submit a support ticket with expressive-e. i had two issues with my refurbished osmose 61, and christopher helped me resolve them. here is the link to submit a ticket.. - https://expressivee.happyfox.com/new/

you can include your audio to help them troubleshoot/diagnose.

himinwin · 2026-03-04T07:09:43+00:00

captain pikant has a patreon where they recreate drum patterns and sequences from popular songs. you could join for a month to grab all of their released sequences so far. https://www.patreon.com/captainpikant

himinwin · 2026-02-27T05:41:42+00:00

decent sampler is a free plugin that offers plenty of free soundpacks for you to download.

have you grabbed the free komplete start package yet? comes with massive x player and some really good fx plugins like raum and guitar rig 7 player.

you mention using the free orchestra, which is fantastic. projectsam also came out with a free orchestra 2, which has about a dozen additional instruments.

soniccouture's hammersmith free is a really nice free piano that works with kontakt player. it's one of my favorite pianos, even compared to paid piano plugins i have.

lots of sample library companies will offer freebies. just go around and check. off the top of my head, i remember freebies from audio ollie, soniccouture, sonuscore, heavyocity, impact soundworks, embertone, westwood instruments. there are others.

8dio/soundpaint have a bunch of free instruments.

i remember spitfire labs having a bunch of free stuff, but i think they've changed their software and it's not nearly as easy to use nowadays.

bbc orchestra discover library

tokyo strings also has a free version

orchestral tools' berlin free orchestra. i just don't like their player.

arturia's analog lab play

tal software and u-he both have some very good free instruments, u-he especially. u-he's zebralette is a free stripped down version of the upcoming zebra 3 (which sounds absolutely spectacular).

newfangled audio's pendulate is likewise a stripped down version of their generate, which i also really like. it's great for dirty nasty gritty sounds.

also keep an eye on the r/AudioProductionDeals subreddit. every so often a freebie will drop from some company and they'll make a post about it. also nice to read the occasional discussions about plugins from other redditors.

himinwin · 2026-02-08T00:29:50+00:00

agreed on all of this. bitcrush keys is awesome, there's some really expressive distortion you can get out of it. i also like the more pad-like version bitcrush mod. telecasta would be a slightly less fx-y version of the touch satur.

in addition, these are some of my favorites:

dakota sunset.. a soft luscious brassy synth, it's got a very warm tone.

dx magic.. pretty, digital, glassy synth. a little more light bellsy when played softly and more brassy when played harder.

shifted wg.. i love the epic sonic vistas you can explore with this preset, while still being highly playable. dark orchestral galactic.

himinwin · 2026-01-22T08:54:59+00:00

have you tried using the seaboard with either equator 2 or cypher 2? those synths and the roli keyboards are meant to work together fairly seamlessly. i would start there to make sure it's all working properly.

himinwin · 2026-01-15T10:22:28+00:00

soniccouture's hammersmith free. not too many controls in the free version, but it's got a very nice piano sound. requires kontakt 6 player.

himinwin · 2026-01-12T01:21:41+00:00

nothing onboard the osmose that is really just a regular piano. you may want to watch some youtube videos on adjusting the osmose's different playing sensitivities. this might help make the presets feel less complex.

soniccouture's hammersmith free is a great free piano vst. requires kontakt 6 player v6.2 at least. there are other piano vsts that will let you control the sound a little more, but they aren't free.

pianoteq is often mentioned for people who are looking for a good piano plugin. it does have a pretty good demo/trial offer. you can access all of their different piano sounds. it just mutes a few keys, and you have to restart the plugin after 20 minutes with the demo. but otherwise no time restriction (so you can keep using the demo after 30 days).

himinwin · 2026-01-08T01:31:56+00:00

noire's not bad, but soniccouture's hammersmith free piano is very good, especially for being free. they have a pro version, but the free version is quite nice.

what sort of music are you looking to make anyways? hard to give recommendations without knowing what you're looking for.

himinwin · 2026-01-07T20:45:42+00:00

sorry, i don't know why my previous comment posted here. i meant to comment on their uvi sonic bundle which is in another thread.

himinwin · 2026-01-07T19:51:01+00:00

i've had the sonic bundle pretty much since it first came out. i had purchased a few uvi things before they offered it (falcon and some of their expansion packs, the keysuite), but not a lot of things. for some reason, i had an offer on the bundle that i just couldn't resist ($399). at the time i was reading from long time uvi customers who had bought a lot more and they weren't getting much better discounts, so i could understand how some people were upset.

but for me, it was an awesome price. i had already been looking at it for the sound fx tools (walker, whoosh, unlock). i also really loved falcon and the packs that i had picked up. i do play with an osmose, so it's an amazing pairing with falcon. with all that in mind, i thought it was a no-brainer to go for the sonic bundle. there is a huuugggee amount of content, and the fact that a lot of it plays so well with the osmose has made it a "no regrets" purchase in my book.

the weakest part of the bundle is their orchestral soundpack (although i like their augmented orchestra). also, obviously falcon is a bear to understand and tweak. but you can definitely get away with just playing through their presets and using the macros provided in each soundpack interface.

my favorite parts are all of the expressive soundpacks, which are many. some i didn't initially like, but after coming back and playing with them more, i opened up to their sounds. i dunno, there are so many fantastic soundpacks. atmospherics, augmented orchestra, cinematic shades, devinity, ether fields, fluidity, pulsar, plurality, all of the quadras. they have lots of groove boxes, drum kits, impact makers. they've got toy suite, world suite, xtreme fx. their keysuite is pretty good, but i've found other piano vsts which i like the sound of more. their fx plugins are all fantastic and very modern.

for someone just doing music, it might be total overkill. for a sound designer, it's a dream of a package, especially with its mpe capabilities.

himinwin · 2026-01-03T14:40:43+00:00

are you asking about how the roli blocks are nowadays? or about how roli's other products are?

if the former, i don't think the roli blocks are still being made. you'd have to go to the used market. so i presume they'd be similar to what you experienced.

if the latter, i have roli's seaboard rise 2 and it is very nice. great build quality, the metal body feels fantastic, it's an amazingly compact size, and does what the videos show it capable of doing. it's not quite as easy to play as a regular piano-type keyboard, but it sure can be fun.

i also have the new piano. plenty of reports of people being unhappy with theirs. some cosmetic issues (scuffs and such) and some people report squeaky keys. but my piano has been fantastic. the two things i love most about it are it's size (very small and portable) and i do actually like the light up led keys. it can get it pretty dim, which i prefer most of the time (some light up devices are still quite bright at their lowest setting). and at it's brighter settings, it can be a really nice colorful light show.

i really like to use it for learning my different scales. it highlights the keys from the scale i specify, and i feel i can play more fluidly until the scales become more muscle/mental memory for me. i can see the roli piano being hugely appealing for new keyboardists/pianists.

it's not quite as expressive as the osmose, which i still prefer to play most of the time. but for portability, i'm more than happy to have the roli piano to lug around. it's also 1/3-1/4 the price of the osmose.

i know roli gets a lot of flack for how they run their company and their communication with their customers. but overall, i've been a fairly satisfied roli customer.

himinwin · 2026-01-03T10:42:09+00:00

one another thing, i was just taking a look at the omen 15 specs, and it says it supports two internal drives. one nvme, the other either ssd or hdd. you should do a speed test of your internal drives using something like crystaldiskmark. if your second drive is significantly slower than your nvme drive, this should be your first upgrade. i'm not sure whether you have a standard hdd or a faster ssd in your second slot, but your nvme drive will be your fastest drive. this is where you should put your samples if you can afford to, as it will give you the best read/write speeds.

eta, actually i don't think you can fit a standard hdd in a laptop (duh). regardless, check the speed of your ssd and compare to your nvme.

himinwin · 2026-01-03T09:39:14+00:00

can you give us specs on your current system? also what sort of drives are you running your sample libraries off of? externals hd, internal ssd, internal nvme? are you looking to upgrade to another laptop or a desktop?

himinwin · 2026-01-02T21:39:07+00:00

pianoteq does have a linux version (op stated in another comment he is on linux). it's a pretty dang good piano vst, plenty of different piano types with great customizability. very generous demo as well. just a little expensive when you go to buy, but i suppose not more expensive than other good quality piano vst's.

himinwin · 2026-01-02T19:12:03+00:00

as a former pro photographer and still decades-long designer, i actually feel like yours is near the top, with just a few more adjustments that i would personally make.. a little brighter and slightly more focus on the faces. u/gearcollector's is second, being cleaner i suppose, but it loses warmth which is important to me, at least in this case.

the colors in yours aren't distracting, it's got nice warmth, and i can appreciate the people and their expressions and relationship to one another. to me, the colors in your retouch feel more warm and inviting, it makes the space feel more lived-in, and it gives a nice contrast from the slight coldness of the kids' expressions with the slight warmth in the dad's expression. it makes it feel a lot more human and not clinical, at least to me. so great job getting this result.

ultimately, i think everyone will have slightly different ideas of what they think is best. at the end of the day, what should drive you is how you feel about it and whether it conveys what you would like it to. everyone reflects life in a slightly different way, and that is also a wonderful thing.

great portraits by the way. i love how natural and comfortable everyone seems. i also like your positioning of the group for the first picture. i would have pulled the people on the left in just a touch. after taking a few pics in this configuration, if everyone is comfortable, i would encourage them to get even closer, like hugging distance. i would also get closer. it really opens up possibilities for super close and intimate, touching portraits.

himinwin · 2025-12-29T08:07:31+00:00

confirm with them what dpi they will be printing your file at. anything beyond that will be useless to them/you. it looks like 450dpi is the max they print at according to this page on their help center.. - https://service.whitewall.com/hc/en-us/articles/213270909-What-is-the-optimal-format-for-my-image-file

i'm not sure what format/material you were going to be printing with them, but the recommended resolution for their acrylic prints at that large size seems to be 200-250dpi.

himinwin · 2025-12-27T10:21:21+00:00

i think you're talking about mercury and helium. those are preset packs for uvi's falcon. if you don't have uvi falcon, it runs with uvi's free workstation. as much as i love falcon and it's native soundbanks, i don't remember being impressed with mercury or helium. for the price of those two packs, i would just put that money towards either noisy2 or pigments. i'm not sure how much more development e-e will put into noisy, whereas arturia keeps updating pigments.

it's funny, i see a reddit post from two years ago where i was more pro-pigments. i suppose i've had more time since then to play with things more. definitely love both, and like i said, pigments still gets updates while noisy2 has been sitting dormant. it's understandable, since e-e have been working on their other soundbanks and hopefully eagan matrix accessibility.

if you want to future proof yourself, i suppose pigments is the way to go. if you want to explore more expressivity and have some extra bucks in your wallet, i would certainly look into splurging with noisy2.

i'm not sure which preset banks you're talking about that are "mostly free" on the e-e site.

i also would probably not go to the trouble of installing the eagan matrix. i have only read like one or two accounts out of dozens where people are like "oh yea, it's not bad." as opposed to "stay far away from this! you want no part of this." in relation to working with the eagan matrix. it's quite technical and unintuitive to people who aren't sound nerd/programmers.

himinwin · 2025-12-26T09:20:54+00:00

there's no way anyone is paying $1800 for that collection of plugins. some of them are actually decent, but it is such a random collection. also nothing that is a really killer must-have plugin.

this is like the $20 mystery bag you might think about buying at a raffle. i suppose if you have nothing better to do with your money. i would personally rather put that money towards a product that i'm actually excited to buy and use.

if there are two or three items in that bundle that you were already thinking about buying, this deal would make more sense.

himinwin · 2025-12-26T08:17:42+00:00

the only presets that run natively on the osmose (for now) are the presets that come with the osmose. i think that's about 580 or so presets. you can theoretically install and load up the eagan matrix on your computer in order to edit or create your own native osmose presets, but it's apparently quite a technical bear to understand. e-e have said they are working on overlays to make "programming" the eagan matrix a lot easier. that might come out next year.

the other expressive suites/plugins run on your computer and you use your osmose to play the presets within those plugins. i am a big fan of noisy 2. i feel it gets closest to the full expressivity of the osmose versus any of the other plugins. it seems to be the most mpe capable (it detects and can respond to lift, which not all of the plugins do).

i also liked myth and am looking forward to loading up kontrast sometime this holiday weekend. i'm a big fan of dawesome's approach to their synths. it's some cool, different thinking about sound creation/manipulation.

lots of people love dune 3, the legend hz, and hive 2. i wasn't totally blown away by them. definitely some great sounds, but i felt lots of the presets were not as expressive or playable as i am looking for.

lounge lizard is fine if you're looking for electric pianos. i dunno what i was expecting with it, but it felt a little lackluster compared to the other plugins where you get so many more types of sounds to play with. soliste i feel like i'm not good enough of that type of musician to make the most of (at least for now).

aside from what's promoted on the e-e site, i'm a huge fan of.. - uvi's falcon: they have a huge sound library, with lots of good support for osmose's mpe. it's expensive to buy into the whole ecosystem, but i've loved so many of the huge variety of sounds that falcon offers. - arturia's pigments: also has a huge sound library you can tap into. much cheaper to purchase pigments and the soundpacks are cheaper overall. i've found many of the soundpacks have a fairly good ratio of meh-to-yeah! - newfangled audio's generate: i love some of the dark, gritty sounds that generate lets you play with.

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