01-13-2019, 05:18 PM
Welcome!
I second Bigcats' suggestion to avoid iLok. I think it's lurking on my computer somewhere from when I tried the demo of one of those Sonivox Orchestral Companion libraries, but I've always avoided it as best I can. I consider iLok an invasive species.
NI's system, on the other hand, is relatively painless and my experience with customer service has always been good. I think they might have some sort of offline activation where you just use a device that is online to punch in various serial numbers. I did that once, but it was back in 2008, so something might have changed since then. Definitely try installing and activating the free Kontakt Player per Sam's suggestion.
As for which library to buy, I think you may consider VSCO2 as your best option given that you like to do jazz and other styles. Over time you can always grab up third party Kontakt Player libraries at a discount (especially around the holidays) if you need or want something else. Chances are one library won't suit all of your needs anyway. But VSCO 2 is pretty impressive and while Sam says attempts to get a big epic sound out of it will meet with mixed results, I still think you could get away with plenty, given what I've heard in examples.
I second Bigcats' suggestion to avoid iLok. I think it's lurking on my computer somewhere from when I tried the demo of one of those Sonivox Orchestral Companion libraries, but I've always avoided it as best I can. I consider iLok an invasive species.
NI's system, on the other hand, is relatively painless and my experience with customer service has always been good. I think they might have some sort of offline activation where you just use a device that is online to punch in various serial numbers. I did that once, but it was back in 2008, so something might have changed since then. Definitely try installing and activating the free Kontakt Player per Sam's suggestion.
As for which library to buy, I think you may consider VSCO2 as your best option given that you like to do jazz and other styles. Over time you can always grab up third party Kontakt Player libraries at a discount (especially around the holidays) if you need or want something else. Chances are one library won't suit all of your needs anyway. But VSCO 2 is pretty impressive and while Sam says attempts to get a big epic sound out of it will meet with mixed results, I still think you could get away with plenty, given what I've heard in examples.