Holiday Deals for the Musician in Your Life

It's that time of year again, and with the economy being what it is, we could all probably stand to save a few bucks on our Christmas shopping (even if it's for gifts for ourselves... don't worry, I won't judge you). So here's a small roundup of some of the deals that can be had out there on the big bad interwebs.


Ableton Live - Because of its unique workflow and impressive 'elastic audio' capabilites, Ableton Live has quickly become one of the hottest new DAW programs out there. Until December 31st, Ableton is offering discounts of up to 25% on the various incarnations of Live. They are also offering a free soundpack to registered users as a holiday gift.


Eastwest Soundsonline - The sample library retailer is offering a 40% discount on all products from EastWest, Best Service, and Zero-G. Just enter the coupon code CELEBRATION when you check out.


Fabfilter - The software company probably best known for their mighty Volcano 2 filter plug-in is offering discounts up to 25% through December 31st on all bundles.


Ilio - The sample retailers best known for their critically acclaimed orchestral sample libraries are offering several deals through January 15th:
• 20% off all Vienna Instruments DVD Collections.
• Existing and future Vienna Special Edition and Special Edition Plus customers are eligible to download a free fanfare trumpets soundset (a $149 value).
• 15% off all Special Edition Extended Libraries
• 43% off the Keyboards package


Linplug - The softsynth mavens probably best known for their Albino 3 softsynth is offering the following deals through the end of the year:
• Buy Albino 3 and get Rob Papen's Blue for free!
• Buy 2 different instruments (excluding Albino 3) and get 1 additional instrument license for free!
• Buy 3 different instruments (excluding Albino 3) and get 2 additional instrument licenses for free!
(It should also be noted that Linplug has dropped the requirement for dongles on their softsynths which is something to be commended! I wish more softsynth manufacturers would follow suit!)


Native Instruments - The German softsynth behemoths are running 3 deals through December 31st.
• Buy Audio Control 1 and get a free NI synthesizer worth € 199/ $ 229!
• Save big on Guitar Rig Kontrol Edition (reduced by € 100 / $ 110), and also get a free "Production Pack" software bundle included.
• They are also offering discounts of up to 50% on the latest updates for any NI synths you may already have.


Virsyn - The German creators of critically-acclaimed soft synths and effects plug-ins have two special offers through December 31st:
• Buy their TakeFive bundle and get the product of your choice for free!
• Buy any one product and get 50% off the price of a second product!


Zoom H2 Portable Digital Recorder - Stereo digital recorder that records with built in mic array on standard SD cards and allows you to transfer your recordings to your computer via USB. These were already the most affordable of the portable recorders flooding the market now, but now Zzounds has lowered the price to $179.

UPDATE:

Blog reader Dave shared these deals...

RNDigital - The makers of high end mastering plug-ins is slashing 20% off everything.

ReFX - Creators of the wildly popular Vanguard and Nexus softsynths are offering 25% off Vanguard, Nexus, and expansions, and up to 35% off bundles.

McDSP - The acclaimed plug-in creators are offering 10% off their Emerald Pack, and reduced prices on the Classic Pack, and Plug-in Bundle.

WAVES - Makers of some very highly regarded plug-ins are offering the following deals:

• 25% off all TDM upgrades or purchases

• 20% off the Studio Classics Collection Native

• 20% off Mercury Native

And here's one I found on the Analog Industries blog:

Sonic Couture - Creators of some of the most unusual sample libraries around are offering a buy 1 get 1 free deal through December 23rd on all of their libraries.

ANOTHER UPDATE:

Synapse Audio - The creators of the Orion music production studio software have announced that until the end of December, you can get Orion for $99 instead of the normal $149 price.

Rekkerd.org also reports the following:

Imageline - The company best known for FruityLoops is offering the following deals until the end of the year:

• Every order of $99 and more comes with a free copy of Gross Beat (value $99).
• Maximus is available for $99 instead of $189 (AND includes a free copy of Gross Beat).
• Morphine is available for $99 instead of $159 (AND includes a free copy of Gross Beat).
  

New customers also qualify for an additional 10% off their order of $90 or more by following this link.

So what deals did I miss? Don't be a jerk and keep them to yourself or the fat man might leave you a stocking full of reindeer poop.