[exs] The Akai .exs files are going up very soon.
2002-02-11 by Richmond, James (James) ** CTR **
Update: I have checked to see what I have been able to download. I have the following. Splendid Grand 50% (ie 1 of the 256mb pianos) Volume 1 complete Volume 3 50% Volume 4 complete Volume 6 complete There is no volume 2, from memory. Volume 5 I have some of and may have the rest by the time I come home in about 2 hours. I have converted everything above and it is around 20mb of .exs files. YES 20 mb. Dont even ask me about the giga files. sheeeeesh... :-) I'll be posting what I have tonight and the rest as I get 'em. Next day or so. They are going to be on my ftp, then I will move them to a website, and I am making them available to someone here who has a hotline server. Aside from that guys you are on your own... :-) If anyone wants to serve them, then cool, but aside from putting them on my ftp, website and uploading them to the hotline server I wont sending them to anyone else. I have had a bit of a play and some of the sounds are excellent. Highlights are the Splendid Grand, and Volume 1. Personally I'd give Volume 4 a miss all together. Lame loops, dead sounding kits. Just a personal opinion here. :-) It has taken a fair amount of work here to do this, but it was worth it for some of the sounds, quite a few actually. I hope you have fun with them. I'll be posting them sometime around 8pm GMT. Now...I've kept mostly out of the copright debate today for a few reasons a) i've been busy sorting and converting the files b) i wanted to see if anyone gave me an exact legal position and c) wanted to see if any of the warez kiddies were going to f*ck it for everyone. My take on it is this: * These sounds are available for free on a public access ftp server. Given enough patience anyone can download them * I am not giving you the wave files * I am not converting the raw audio data * I am making available to you a couple of thousand (yes- there are shitloads) .exs files that I created myself using publicly available sounds, using a piece of software that I am legally licensed to use. * If I thought we were doing something either illegal (or more importantly, if it violated my ethics) then I would stop it immediately. * I have no idea if the wavs are license free. What you use the wave files for is your own business. * As far as I am concerned, and until I am told differently, I own the copyright for the .exs files that I have created over the last few days. Akai own the waves, they made them available to anyone who has a web browser. They dont own my .exs files as they werent the one who sat up until the wee hours over the last few days converting them. I made 'em, they are *as mine* as the logic songs that I've spent the last few years making. In my opinion the .exs files have the same copyright status as my .lso files. I made them using a piece of software that I am licensed to use. * You can have my .exs files for free and do what the hell you want with them. Enjoy! * I release any copyright I have on the .exs files to the world... Yay for me. * My releasing copyright on the .exs files in no way gives you any rights over the wave files that were used as a reference for creating the .exs files. If you want to know for sure, ask Akai. As I said, this is just my opinion. The actual legal position may or may not be different. Anyone lurking out there who is a copyright lawyer... clarify this for us. If you make decisions based on anything I've said over the last few days, especially this email then it is your own decision. I wont be held responsible for anything you do. If you are really that scared then leave the files where they are. All this aside, I do not advocate piracy, or copyright infringement in any way, shape, form, colour, smell, fish, bicycle, washtub. In my time on the logic and exs lists I've occassionally been emailed directly by several people asking me for software, or in some cases emailing me cracks of vst plugins. Thanks guys but I dont want them. I wont report you to anyone though as I dont think it is my business. Lastly, I am not a fan of this sort of email. It makes me sound facetious and self important. I needed though to make my position clear as to how/why and under what conditions I am doing this. CD Xtract is a good application. Buy it, or chickensys translator (I bought cd xtract becasue it was somewhat cheaper and it did what I want). I would not do this for, for example, my copy of Pure Drums, or my Advanced Orchestra CDs. Or even my Roland library from years ago that I dont think you can buy anymore. This aside, good luck with the downloads. There are loads of exs files, and they are all zipped up ready to go. I am only making them available as .zips. Mac users can download and expand .zips no problems. PC users need a copy of stuffit to do that, and most people use winzip. Zip wins... sorry... Have fun, James