Subject:Ilona Backround Vox Library

Posted by: brokenrecords

Date:8/27/2002 11:20:27 AM

Hi,
I made a big mistake.. I purchased the new Ilona Universal Backround Vocal library from SF the other day based on the marketing text they used to sell the product.
When I read "universal" I thought this would be a great way to get some oohs and ahhs.. WHat I heard was lousy.

ILONA! Universal Female Vocal Toolkit
ILONA! is a two-CD set of female vocal samples that enables you
to create perfectly-mixed vocal harmony layers. Varied production
techniques provide a library of endless possibilities. Have ILONA!
sing backup, or put her front-and-center in your next mix.
http://www.sonicfoundry.com/promo.asp?keycode=6965

If I was doing Arabic Production, sure, this would fit right in. The singer sounded like she was regurgitating a Llama on most of the samples. Many were not in tune, many were not recorded well, the samples were inconsistent accross the board.
Why would I need some girl laughing and making stupid comments in my productions? At least 50 megs were dedicated to useless drivel.
My comment:
UNUSABLE!
This library is totally useless to me.
Well, if anyone knows of a USABLE backround vocal library I can either loop, or play from GigaSampler, Id appreciate it.

And my recommendation.... Dont waste your time on this library. Im shocked SF would market this thing, doesnt anyone there listen to these samples???

Subject:RE: Ilona Backround Vox Library

Reply by: groovewerx

Date:8/27/2002 11:50:55 AM

Thats the main reason why I won't buy Sample CDs.

I prefer to use my gear and pay a singer $10-50 for up to 2 hours of doing their thing over several instrumentals or metronomes as I track them. This way I control the quality. Of course I may have to do alot of editing, but I'd have to do that with CDs as well.

If I were you I would try applying layers of vocoder and/or AutoTune. If that doesn't work, sell the disk to a pawn shop and hire a singer.

Subject:RE: Ilona Backround Vox Library

Reply by: Djipy

Date:8/27/2002 11:59:22 AM

I've been searching for females vocals for some months. I've some on free CD's with audio magazines and these sounds are not so bad (eJay, Magix, ...).
I've listened to the sound samples here but the quality is not what I'm expecting. The very first sample seems to be a synthetic sound !
Perhaps other sounds are good, but the few samples do not make me want to buy.

Subject:RE: Ilona Backround Vox Library

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:8/27/2002 11:59:22 AM

I dunno. I really liked what I heard. Samples I've tried off the loop library's page seem to be pretty much in harmony when you group them together. And I always like to mangle. :)

Frankly? I try not to use loops in their original form, choosing to do something creative to it instead (like add distortion).

Iacobus

Subject:RE: Ilona Backround Vox Library

Reply by: groovewerx

Date:8/27/2002 12:06:36 PM

You will find a $10-50 m/f singer at any karaoke bar or talent show. I know its often hard on the ears but thats how it works.

They are sure to be of the same if not better quality.

Subject:RE: Ilona Backround Vox Library

Reply by: Maruuk

Date:8/27/2002 2:44:58 PM

A composer I'm working with just got Vocal Planet from Illio--it's pretty impressive but very pricey. We needed a haunting Celtic female Enya-style approach, bingo, nailed it. You'd never know we didn't hire Eimear Quinn for the session.

But I have had major disappointments with other vocal loop discs--"Music from the Black Box" sux, "Lips" sux (as it were). But I don't think you could go wrong with "Vocal Planet"--they put a huge amount of time and money and creative care into this collection, it's really first-rate. And the key is--it's totally convincing.

Subject:RE: Ilona Backround Vox Library

Reply by: Jessariah

Date:8/27/2002 6:20:24 PM

My biggest problem is finding the basics out there. I don't know how many times I've wished I could throw steady guitar chord or simple "Ahh" into a mix.

When all is said and done, there seems to be plenty of ecclectic/electonica/techno, etc. out there -- but not a whole lot of the "bread & butter," which is why we're working on a vocal library, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, etc. -- all straight-forward chords/riffs/strums/lines -- so you can throw down some meat and potatoes in no time (if that's what you want).

Subject:RE: Ilona Backround Vox Library

Reply by: brokenrecords

Date:8/27/2002 6:40:22 PM

Hey, I hear you guys. I hire singers all the time for BGVS. I thought since they were marketing this for BGVS it would work great on some demos before I had to hire singers.
It aint worth it, my pet dog could bark better.

But, I have vocals for the next Arabic Dance CD, thats for sure.

Subject:RE: Ilona Backround Vox Library

Reply by: Spirit

Date:8/28/2002 3:20:41 AM

The industry standard appears to be Symphony of Voices for about US$550 or Voices of the Apocalypse (name?) for a bit less. I've been wanting them for some time, but it's a hell of a lot to spend on some samples . . .