Those of you who've been following me since this website was first published to the internet know that I used to have a section of my website dedicated to vintage synthesizers and sample libraries that I own. I since took it down because it appeared my website was getting more attention for that than for my music.
Now, however, I'm having second thoughts. For one, let's face it: even SynthMania does not have a complete representation of the history of synthesizers. While I am by no means saying that I hope to have a complete archive, which may be close to impossible due to how many synthesizers and samples were made in the '80s and '90s, I do wish to help other budding retro musicians not only make the right choice as to what sounds they want, but also inform them of what sounds they came from in the first place. My emphasis will almost definitely be on digital synthesizers, especially the samplers and sample CD's.
Part of why I bring this up: I will confess I had downloaded the three-volume Zero-G Datafile libraries, but solely for evaluation purposes. That being said, I bought listings of the CD versions off eBay earlier today, two of which, judging from the pictures in the listing, are the legitimate CD's and not backups, something that is especially rare for early '90s material in this day and age.
One gripe I have with sample libraries in general, however, which is one major difference from the usual music and game CD's: I may be getting legitimate CD's of two of the volumes, but I still am in no better legal ground if I choose to use them commercially simply because sample library EULA's, generally speaking, strictly forbid resale of their content, even if it's a legitimate CD you no longer plan to use, and since I am not the original purchaser of these CD's (Zero-G discontinued them, so I had no choice if I wanted them), I do not have the license to use it for commercial music. How screwed up is that? Not to mention that said section of sample CD EULA's likely were an inspiration for almost all our non-game computer software because they say the same thing, which is likely the result of lawyers being too lazy to take Best Service's (another sample library developer) more forigiving route and allow resale provided all evidence of the software is removed from your systems.
Legal rants aside, I will include a review of the Datafile CD's within a few days after I get them, which will hopefully be by next week, in which I'll include another reason why I'm not legally allowed to use these particular sounds.
Now, however, I'm having second thoughts. For one, let's face it: even SynthMania does not have a complete representation of the history of synthesizers. While I am by no means saying that I hope to have a complete archive, which may be close to impossible due to how many synthesizers and samples were made in the '80s and '90s, I do wish to help other budding retro musicians not only make the right choice as to what sounds they want, but also inform them of what sounds they came from in the first place. My emphasis will almost definitely be on digital synthesizers, especially the samplers and sample CD's.
Part of why I bring this up: I will confess I had downloaded the three-volume Zero-G Datafile libraries, but solely for evaluation purposes. That being said, I bought listings of the CD versions off eBay earlier today, two of which, judging from the pictures in the listing, are the legitimate CD's and not backups, something that is especially rare for early '90s material in this day and age.
One gripe I have with sample libraries in general, however, which is one major difference from the usual music and game CD's: I may be getting legitimate CD's of two of the volumes, but I still am in no better legal ground if I choose to use them commercially simply because sample library EULA's, generally speaking, strictly forbid resale of their content, even if it's a legitimate CD you no longer plan to use, and since I am not the original purchaser of these CD's (Zero-G discontinued them, so I had no choice if I wanted them), I do not have the license to use it for commercial music. How screwed up is that? Not to mention that said section of sample CD EULA's likely were an inspiration for almost all our non-game computer software because they say the same thing, which is likely the result of lawyers being too lazy to take Best Service's (another sample library developer) more forigiving route and allow resale provided all evidence of the software is removed from your systems.
Legal rants aside, I will include a review of the Datafile CD's within a few days after I get them, which will hopefully be by next week, in which I'll include another reason why I'm not legally allowed to use these particular sounds.