What's the Best FIRST Orchestral Library?
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
- What library should be buy when starting out? Let's discuss!
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0:00 Overview and free guide!
2:03 Why do samples matter?
4:19 What should we consider?
6:27 EW Composer Cloud
8:53 Audio Imperia Nucleus
10:27 Berlin Orchestra Inspire 1
11:54 Sonuscore TOC 2
13:31 Spitfire BBCSO Core
15:29 What do you use?
16:05 Grab the free buyer's guide!
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Great suggestions and descriptions of the libraries. (Among others, I have The Orchestra 2 and Nucleus Lite Edition and you described each accurately, in my opinion). For me, having a great ensemble patch for sketching is most important. I haven't found exactly the ensemble "sketch" library I'm looking for yet, but you have given me a couple more ideas that I had not considered before. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing Thomas!
A couple of years ago I requested and downloaded the free BBCSO Discover edition. At that time I previously had a license for East/West Symphony Orchestra Gold. Spitfire is so smart marketing their products. I really liked the sound of the instruments in Discover which led me to purchase the Core version not too much later, followed by the Pro version last spring--all of them when they were on sale, of course. The crazy thing is that I don't know whether I would make the same choice if I had to do it again with the knowledge I've gained since. This is not to say that BBCSO isn't good. It's very good in many ways. And Spitfire is clever enough to offer significant additions with each version. For example, the upgrade to Core is a no-brainer from Discover. Discover is simply a flavor taste for what is available in Core. But Core doesn't include some rather core instruments, like soloists (more like section leaders than soloists), yes, but English Horn, Contra Bassoon, Bass Clarinet and a couple others.
I wish Orchestral Tools was as good at marketing their products as Spitfire is. As I've touched my toe in the Orchestral Tools waters by purchasing a couple of solo instruments, I think I would prefer them over BBCSO. Again, not that BBCSO is bad. It's excellent in its own way. But after purchasing a couple of woodwinds in the Solo Series and recently picking up the piccolo that was offered 50% off from the Berlin Series, I think I really like the playability and what I would call a realistic sound (it's subjective) of the instruments I have. I wish OT would sell a basic orchestra that allows for discounted upgrades to the full versions of their Berlin Series. I think they would sell a lot more copies of their products with better marketing strategies. In my opinion, Spitfire does a better job of pulling customers in and getting them hooked for more products. Seriously. Spitfire has sales so frequently and I often find myself wanting things that I have no business spending money on. So far I've resisted most of those offers, but on more than a couple of occasions I have had Spitfire products "in the cart" before better financial judgment rescued me from giving them all (and more than I have to spend) my cash.
Then there is Vienna Symphonic Library. A few months ago I downloaded a demo version of their Synchron Prime Edition, which I absolutely loved. Almost none who buy any of these orchestras as first buyers aren't using them professionally, so saying VSL has a more symphonic stage sound than a movie score sound (e.g. Spitfire) is kind of pointless. I didn't end up buying the VSL Synchron Prime Edition because I couldn't justify purchasing another orchestra when there were so many other libraries (choirs, big band, etc.) that required my attention. However, if I were starting over again I just might start with the VSL offering as easily as OT or Spitfire. I loved how easy these instruments were to play without tweaks and how easy it was to create tweaks. Their Synchron Player software is VERY easy to manipulate.
It's crazy. Any of these choices would have been excellent as a first orchestral library.
And I know this doesn't quite fit the model of these other choices, but Cinematic Studio Series might be the best choice of all. Granted, it's not a full orchestra you're getting for $400 or $500. You would have to piece the orchestra together by buying sections (no percussion yet) separately; the strings, woodwinds and brass. However, you would be getting a top notch library for less than full libraries from the above companies and the flexibility in those libraries is above what these all-in-one choices allow.
So it's crazy to have so many GREAT choices. A couple shared in this video I have no experience with at all, so I can't speak to them. But with so many great choices it's hard to go wrong. I think maybe the biggest challenge for somebody after deciding on which library to choose first is learning how to use the library effectively to attain desired results. Each library handles expression, articulations and other technical features differently. The best thing for a beginning virtual composer to do is to spend some acutely focused time learning to make a melodic line sound "real" by combining expression, articulations and whatever else the library offers. Learn to use what you buy before getting enticed to buy any other libraries. When it comes right down to it, much can be done, albeit in different ways with so many orchestral libraries.
What you buy will almost certainly provide hours and hours (and hours and hours) of enjoyment learning to compose in the virtual realm.
Wise words. Thanks for sharing!
I can relate to that about Spitfire sales! I got Discover, even though it was inadequate for what I wanted to do, but hey, it was free. What I really wanted was Core or Professional, (preferably Core, as it was less than half the cost of Pro), and Discover was more or less practice for when I got Core. However, even Core was a pretty daunting chunk of change: by the time you include currency conversion, I was looking at well over NZ$700 for Core. Ouch! Nonetheless I had started saving. The turning point came last August when they had a Winter Sale (they called it a Summer Sale, but I find it hard to call it a Summer Sale when it's the middle of Winter!) At US$265, that translated to a far more reasonable $420. So I got it right then and there. Even though it does lack certain instruments, (which I will eventually get from other sources) it's given me a really good orchestra. Twenty years ago, if someone said that one day I would own my own private orchestra, I would have thought they were dreaming. But that's what I have with Core. Whether I ever upgrade to Pro will depend on the dollars and cents (or lack thereof).
I agree with you that Discover is really an advertisement for Core and Pro. But it's a really GOOD advertisement, one that is actually USEFUL to musicians, and to music in general. And in my case it certainly worked!
Two more things I would consider when buying a library, especially when being a beginner composer or if you just started out making orchestral music, are 1) EDU pricing if you are still eligible as a student and of course 2) does it work on your system. For example, the VSL Synchron Prime library which features all the basic articulations is made for weak and mobile systems which dont provide that much RAM or CPU power. In contrast, EW Opus seems to be realy heavy on both CPU and RAM (at least on my PC).
For sure!
I chose Audio Imperia Nucleus because it sounded great and was in my budget. I looked for something to start with that had the majority of instruments I need to learn orchestration. When I reach the next major level on my goals list I will probably start looking for a more in-depth section like Berlin Strings or Heavyocity's Damage.
If I had to start all over, I would go for Nucleus as well. I have my wife using it as she begins her musical journey.
Personally, ( after trying out vsts like BBCSO Discover), I went with Amadeus Symphonic Orchestra. It may not be of the same quality as some cited in this video, but the price is ridiculous for everything it offers and you can still make it sound decent enough.
For an in-depth walkthrough of it I’d have to reccommend Cory Pelizzari’s video on it
Great! I would warmly recommend Versilian Studios Chamber Orchestra. Limited legato there, but a great sound for a great price!
Great suggestion!
As usual - another GREAT video and one that I wish I had a long time ago. Actually I began with Garritan Personal Orchestra a LONG time ago, barely the year after it was released....like 2004. It was a nightmare to set up partly because it was very convoluted AND I wasn't technically ept as I should have been. BUT it was a first and it did finally provide a lot of good use for a while THEN it was time to upgrade computers - which I did. THEN I never could get it operational again. So I actually still have the original CDs that it came on (yes they were CD's not DVD's I don't think). So I quit doing it for a long time. Then I found a new midi capabiilty in midi modules, amassed a bunch of those, big 16 channel mixer, another 24 channel audio mixer and a host of other analog equipment. NEVER got that completely set up. Bought a new synthesizer - which I still have - 76 key Alesis Quadrasynth - a total workhorse but I would need a degree from MIT to figure it all out. Sold almost all of that equipment off and decided it was time for a simple controller keyboard and a new computer - plus a lot of midi libraries free, some purchased, some giveaways by developers and so on. Reference the other post you did about having too many libraries of extraneous stuff. Now it's down to limiting myself and using and selecting ONLY what I NEED absolutely and not what I WANT just because as I said before, it's cool, or fun, or interesting. Sticking with the basics. DID rebuy new version of GARRITAN as the old version wouldn't work on new computer systems. I had GPO 1 and now it's 5. And it's more streamlined OR I learned a bit more about technology in the last 18 years - one or the other. And I did sub to Cinesamples MUSIO because I DO like the sounds and it's a nice way to have the whole gamut they offer (for the most part) and use that. Plus I DID get a lot of other good libraries in the last couple of years. There are others I still want and will consider over time, like Cinematic Studio, Some of the Berlin - though I DID get a GREAT price on a couple of theirs - like Miroire, Tallinn and that Berlin Orchestra Berklee version - and several others, but I don't have 20 years left so I better get to work. Anyway another great viewpoint of what to buy and how to limit yourself to what you can afford WHEN you CAN afford it and what's worth the investment for longevity. Brilliant as always.
Thanks Bill!
I still have the all the Garritan stuff, although it's been relegated to slower hard drives now. It's fun to load it up every once in a while, but boy does it show you just how far we've come with orchestral sampling in the past approx 20 years.
My first library was Garritan Personal Orchestra 5 as well. Quickly became aged and I replaced it. As soon as I heard EWSO, I was gone.
These days, I like Hollywood Opus, Nucleus, and Musio. They all sound excellent.
Great list. I think my first full on (non-free) orchestral library was Albion One thanks to some friends over at Spitfire Audio. :) I have a few others now. There are also great options for starting out (BBC SO, Pianobook, Project Sam, Originals Series, Sine Player, etc). It's a great time to make music!
Thanks for sharing!
@@ChristopherSiu Thank you too!
These libraries can be great for sketching, but when I am ready to flesh out the composition, cinematic studio series libraries (the dedicated brass, strings, solo strings and woodwinds) are my absolute favorite choice.
Good point!
I've spent thousands upon thousands on libraries over the last couple of years (some much to my regret) but I recently bought sonuscore the orchestra 2 complete and I can 100% say that it's the best all round library I've ever bought.
The multi and combination patches are absolutely brilliant time savers, the fact that it's all recorded in one mic position means every mix almost straight away sounds uniform and doesn't require much tweaking, it's my favourite library I've ever purchased I highly recommend it
Bonjour. Pouvez vous me montrer une video ou vous utilisez orchestra 2 . je pensais acheter Nucleus orchestra Core ou Berlin Orchestra Inspire 1, alors je voudrais vois si Sonuscore Orchestra 2 (ou 3) sonne aussi bien .
@@MrPhil480Salut. Tu as acheté quelque chose depuis? j'ai " The complete orchestra 3 "
@@gregorypara Non j'ai pas encore acheté . il faut dire que j'ai dû investir ailleurs lol.... C'est bien orchestra 3 ? Moi à la base je veux que ça sonne bien que ça soit réaliste . il y a beaucoup de combinaisons dans 'orchestra 3 déjà... n est ce pas ? As tu mis des vidéos en ligne avec orchestra 3 ? es tu content d orchestra 3 ?
@@MrPhil480 le mieux est qu'on en parle en PV sur Messenger. Y a beaucoup de choses à dire. Ça dépendra aussi du type de son que tu veux concevoir et de ton niveau etc...et je te dirais les forces et les faiblesses. Ce que j'aime et ce que j'aime pas etc...
I personally use EWCC+. One thing I would say about EWCC+, it contains 2 separate orchestral libraries, Symphonic Orchestra & Hollywood Orchestra. Hollywood Orchestra was originally released in separate sections, so the current OPUS version is really just an expanded bundle. You get the best of both worlds!
Good choice!
BBCSO Pro. Have a lot of other libraries too, both all-in-ones and dedicated section libraries, but I always prefer the all-in-ones before frankensteining. :)
Thanks for sharing!
My advice for anybody who is just getting started is to first download BBCSO Discover. Its the free no-brainer entry point to be able to experiment and make sure this is something you enjoy while still sounding pretty good. You can probably get surprisingly far with that before outgrowing it, and only at that point would I recommend spending money on one of the libraries mentioned or another, my personal choice from these is Nucleus: great sound, includes some soloists/harp/choir and relatively resource efficient compared to the Spitfire stuff.
Great recommendation!
@@ChristopherSiu dans BBCSO Discover Ce n'est pas que les violons qui sont surtout bons ? déjà j'ai écouté les instruments à vent Ils semblent nul.
Another subscription that is fairly new is Musio from Cinesamples. It's fairly simple in its toys (no mic positions and such for example) but it gives you access to a good selection of Cinesamples libraries and even has a couple that are Musio only.
Yes!
It’s on sale right now… lifetime license for $500.
@@johnhill762 Yes and things like Mic positions and key switching are in development so soon it will be a real force to be reckoned with.
I'm currently in singer/songwriter mode, and the only orchestral library I have played with is Session Strings 2, which came with the Kontakt Komplete bundle I got with my Komplete Kontrol keyboard. (I didn't much like the library.) But one criterion I notice you didn't mention for choosing a library is: Is it inspiring? Unless you count content included in bundles (where I got the bundle for some other reason), I try to resist purchasing a sample library that doesn't inspire me. If I'm not hearing sounds that I can imagine myself using in my own music, then even if I like the sounds well enough, I figure the library is not for me.
Definitely!
Berlin Orchestra Berkeley is good for composition students. Same goes for BBCSO Core. Opus is great for film work. Any of those three are great places to start IMO.
Yes!
Palette series (sketchpad + melodics). I think it has a great amount of content compared to some other all in ones. But after using it for almost a year I found that for a beginner library it's a bit hard to work with, I always find myself adjusting mic positions, eqing something etc. It can sound amazing but the workflow is a bit tiring at times
Yes true!
Another library (that I don’t have but looks logical to include here) would be the VSL Prime Edition
This also depends on discounts, like on black friday, which changes everything up.
Yep!
Gotta agree that TOC2 is a great first choice.
Negatives first. No mic positions and not to great legato. No expression CC either. I mean come on. Why? Next update pls add sonuscore
Postives: Great sketching tool. Might arguably be the best for this purpose. Light on resources. Still sounds great.
Ensembles all available in easy to use interface in the engine.
The rhytms and animations are great for quickly throwing something in to make a melody etc, without spending lots of time on it and then losing your idea before you're done. Then you can always replace/edit it, unless it sounds how you want it already.
There's like 200-250 multi's.
Biggest reasons for being a great starter library.
With the midi export you will still have a great tool when you later on replace it with better sounding libraries and also have probably the best sketching tool at the same time (subjective ofc)
In other words. Your purchase won't collect dust when you upgrade from your first all in one to individual section libraries.
As long as the engine is something you want to use ofc.
East West also have a "the engine" btw. (developed by the same who did TOC) But it's a lot more demanding on your PC and the whole library is 1000 GB or something, but I believe you can download just the stuff you want to use.
I also think it's mostly action based while The Orchestra has also more soft stuff.
But if you have a great PC and lots of space, that's certainly also something to consider.
I don't believe I tried there engine when I did the trial, but in my opinion if you plan to use it as a tool TOC2 has the edge imo because of being light on resources. EAST WEST has better sound quality.
I would highly reccommend going with the full package though for midi export and the extra content
Great video Chris
Thanks for sharing!
Berlin actually costs over €500 I believe. Which is absoloutely insanity to me
For me : "The Orchestra" for the engine. "Spitfire" for the sound
Thanks for sharing!
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