Deep-sampled high-quality VST instruments from 8Dio

[Master Mi]

These VST instruments might be some of the most extensively sampled instruments I've ever experienced:
https://8dio.com/

8Dio - with its free instrument technology called "Soundpaint" - also provides some completely free VSTis as full version, such as a 1928 Vintage Grand Steinway (around 8 GB and over 4800 samples) or an old music box (nearly 2 GB and over 260 samples):
https://soundpaint.com/collections/free-instruments

I would describe the the VSTis from 8Dio with the following words:
- extremely high sample quality (also many GB of content with lots of articulations and samples per instrument)
- some highly affordable VSTis (check out the 2 VSTis below)
- lots of VSTis that still work with earlier Kontakt versions (like Kontakt 5) supported by Windows 7
(damn, I just saw that it seems to support only the full version of Kontakt - guess that was the reason why I didn't go for it earlier)

...

I recently came across 8Dio again because I've been really keen on a steel drum VSTi for quite some time now, and I'd like to briefly introduce it here along with another VSTi.


1) 8Dio - Studio Steel Drums
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These are really high-quality sounding steel drums (probably the most elaborately sampled ones I've ever found in VSTis) for more exotic music:
https://8dio.com/products/steel-drum-for-kontakt-vst-au-aax-samples?variant=41309986717896

It's a whopping 12 GB of content, but it's extremely high-quality with over 55,000 samples (lots of different velocities and playing techniques possible) for particularly realistic playing.
The VSTi sounds something like this:
 

 

Really might sound, huh?
And all that for just $17, which would be extremely cheap even without the price reduction from $28.

It's perfect for exotic Caribbean sounds, which would not only be great for future Star Tropics remixes, but which I had always wanted to use for my own composition “Paradise,” which I had already started working on.
As a reminder, this is what the first short version of the composition sounded like a good seven years ago:
 

And I really wanted to turn it into a truly dreamlike, feel-good holiday and relaxation composition, not only to make a name for myself as a remixer, but also as a composer in my own right in the near future, and to be able to present at least one major composition of my own.


2) 8Dio - Misfits Harmonica
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This is a similarly high-quality sampled harmonica, a VST instrument that I don't yet have in my VSTi collection and which apparently enables all conceivable playing techniques of a real harmonica:
https://8dio.com/products/misfit-harmonica-vst-au-aax?variant=41309893918920

The VSTi has just under 2 GB, over 8000 samples with all possible playing techniques and a pretty convincing, realistic sound:
 

When it comes to music genres, a harmonica may be somewhat limited (it's usually only suitable for certain soundtracks, such as Western music or perhaps ambient music), but for a reduced price of $11 (originally $18), you really can't go wrong.

Unfortunately, it's a shame that the VSTis are apparently only fully compatible with the full version of Kontakt, and you can't buy Kontakt 5 anymore to use it with Windows 7.
I guess I'll have to get a new operating system in the future (and with it, new computer hardware for Windows 11 and the like), which really annoys me and, especially with Windows, is always a bit of a journey into the unknown.
Or I could just use the VSTis in demo mode with a time limit of 15 minutes (Is that the maximum project length for any number of music projects, or will the VSTi stop producing sound in new music projects once the 15 minutes of total usage time have elapsed - and can the VSTi be used to its full extent in Kontakt Player?).

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What do you think of 8Dio's VSTis?

And what is your experience with VSTis that only run in demo mode in the free Kontakt Player?
Is it worth it if you want to compose properly?

Edited 2 hours ago by Master Mi