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06-22-2019, 06:07 AM
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#1
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 19
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Orchestral Library?
I'm getting ready to purchase an orchestral library. Right now I'm torn between East West Symphonic Gold and Spitfire Albion 1. What would be your recommendation? I write classical, musical genre and could move into soundtrack. My composition teacher uses East West, ProTools & Logic on a MAC. I'll be on Reaper and PC. I'll already have a bit of a learning curve with REAPER, would Spitfire add too much to that? I like the sound of Spitfire but have heard it can be a little difficult at times. Any advice for essential plugins in addition to the basic orchestral library?
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06-22-2019, 11:08 AM
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#2
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Location
Posts: 5,559
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Hi Lynard,
What should I say?
Since your postcount is just 5 as I'm writing this, I first want to say 'Hello' and welcome to the Reaper forums.
I, myself, can't say anything about Spitfire, but I'm quite happy with East West stuff. So, even if this might not be really helpful to you, I'm convinced there are many people who are (probably) able to give more advice.
-Data
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06-22-2019, 11:15 AM
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#3
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 10,478
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lynard
I'm getting ready to purchase an orchestral library. Right now I'm torn between East West Symphonic Gold and Spitfire Albion 1. What would be your recommendation? I write classical, musical genre and could move into soundtrack. My composition teacher uses East West, ProTools & Logic on a MAC. I'll be on Reaper and PC. I'll already have a bit of a learning curve with REAPER, would Spitfire add too much to that? I like the sound of Spitfire but have heard it can be a little difficult at times. Any advice for essential plugins in addition to the basic orchestral library?
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East West libraries are great ... Symphonic Orchestra is pretty old by now, but they still keep putting out bug fixes. If you have the budget you might want look at their Hollywood Series, Hollywood Strings especially are exceptional, as is Hollywood Brass. They are also more expensive, but remember that they have a cloud system where you pay a fixed fee per month (upwards of $20) which is much more palatable if you're still a student that forking over several hundred dollars for one library.
As to learning curve, well that comes with the territory ... mastering virtual instruments is going to take several years, similar to learning how to play a real instrument. Especially if you are a student that time invested will pay itself back.
Can't comment on Spitfire, but there are youtube videos with comparisons between all the different string libraries.
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06-23-2019, 01:10 PM
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#4
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 19
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Advice
Thanks all. I appreciate your taking time to share your perspectives.
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06-23-2019, 01:29 PM
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#5
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 653
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What's your budget, there's so much good stuff out there
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06-23-2019, 01:50 PM
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#6
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Norway
Posts: 982
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The best orchestral sample libraries that I've come across so far is the Orchestral Tools Berlin range.
They are quite pricey, but right now they are having a sale on the so-called expansion packs.
http://orchestraltools.com/
That said, Spitfires Albion One is a great starter collection. You get strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. In a while, you'll be looking for more granular control over each instrument.
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06-24-2019, 05:59 AM
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#7
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 19
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Orchestral Library
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Savage
What's your budget, there's so much good stuff out there
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For right now, somewhere around $400-$800. I can do more later, but just want to get a good start and be able to write without a lot of limitations with something that sounds realistic.
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06-24-2019, 06:18 AM
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#8
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Hackensack
Posts: 347
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I recommend Amadeus Symphonic Orchestra for $149. Yep, only $149 and it sounds terrific.
Check it out:
https://sonicscores.com/amadeus/
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06-24-2019, 09:17 PM
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#9
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael AD
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It really is quite impressive for the money...and it looks a lot more straightforward to learn too. Thanks for the recommendation.
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06-24-2019, 11:21 PM
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#10
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 653
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lynard
For right now, somewhere around $400-$800. I can do more later, but just want to get a good start and be able to write without a lot of limitations with something that sounds realistic.
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If you're looking to pitch while you learn or the goal is to make some money at this I would look into some high-end libraries.
For starters, I'd go with this https://sonuscore.com/shop/the-orchestra/
Not too pricey for an all in one and the sound is good. I've been using it lately for sports, dramedy and trailer cues.
Amadeus, don't get me wrong it's not bad $100 (student discount) to me the sounds are bleh but then again can't really beat the price
I'd also suggest checking the following
Native Instruments Komplete
Project Sam
8dio
There's a lot of third parties out there where you really piece things together (takes a little time) but these companies listed all have great sounds
Last edited by Greg Savage; 06-24-2019 at 11:30 PM.
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06-25-2019, 07:54 AM
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#11
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Turkey
Posts: 200
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I own both and some more, and using them all the time. Here's my two cents:
If you want to compose Classical music, you definitely should split your instruments in two categories: Ensemble and Solo. I'm sure you know what those two words mean.
For Ensembles, you have plethora of choices and most of them are mindblowing. As people before me mentioned Spitfire, East West, Orchestral Tools, 8Dio, Strezov, Project SAM, Komplete Symphony Collection and many other companies produced easy-to-use, divisi'ed ensemble libraries for Strings, Brass, Woodwinds and Choirs.
But for Solo instruments, story is very different. Many of the companies I've mentioned above *also* have separate Solo libraries - and most of them suck. They are either hard to use or sound unrealistic. And mostly not suitable for quickly drafting ideas.
For your question, you should be aware of neither Spitfire Albion nor EWSG *DON'T* have anything Solo included.
I always find Kontakt libraries easier to use (dependes on producer tho) than East West's PLAY interface. If I had one shot, I'd use it with a Kontakt library. East West's libraries have more variation, but also more complicated to use than they should be.
For Solo, you need to look very hard. There's only few good ones around, and they are usually expensive - to the point of hiring a real musician comes cheaper.
By said, I hope you meant "Classical" Classical music and not Cinematic Symphony music.
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06-25-2019, 05:50 PM
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#12
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 19
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Such great leads! Thanks everyone.
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06-25-2019, 06:03 PM
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#13
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tennessee, USA
Posts: 61
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kabraxis
For your question, you should be aware of neither Spitfire Albion nor EWSG *DON'T* have anything Solo included.
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Actually, EastWest's older Symphonic Orchestra library does include soloists for pretty much every section (strings, woodwinds, brass). But, it also lacks more recent sampling tech developments like true legato or more extensive round robin counts, so they're a bit tougher to pull off convincingly. IMO it's a great place to start if you'd like to write for a traditional orchestral layout with individual instruments, rather than the mixed ensembles a la Albion.
Best,
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