I am thinking about buying East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Gold. When I went to look for it this week, the first thing I noticed is that it is 50% off. Then I read several recent comments on Amazon that talked about installation issues with the software. Is there something going on with this software? Is it 'out of date', or maybe doesn't run on Windows 7 without updates? I think this piece of software sounds awesome, but the last thing I need is an installation problem. If this software isn't viable these days, is there another orchestra VST with similar quality that someone would recommend? I would like to spend no more than $500. Thanks for your help.

A lot of people love the sound on EWQLSO, but I don't think it's all that. Honestly, you can do a lot better for a lot less money. Symphobia, Garritan Personal Orchestra (and Instant Orchestra, they work together), Miroslav... and, don't forget, EWQLSO requires an iLok.

SO is Play software, and as such it's no different at all from their latest libraries like Hollywood Brass / Hollywood Strings, so no need to worry about it not working with current hosts / OSs. I find Play pretty reliable on the older libraries. I had a nightmare when moving from one machine to another, and Play in its earlier versions were very problematic. It's a really vanilla player, but it kinda does the job.

I totally disagree with filkerton. Symphobia is 6x the price of SO if the latter is in a sale, so no comparison there. GPO sounds awful compared to SO, so no comparison there either. If you're ok with an iLok it a solid buy - of course there are many newer libraries which sound better, but you won't beat it for value and basic quality.

Totally agree.

As for the sale, EW runs 50% off and 2-for-1 sales very regularly and have been doing so for years, so it's not a case of trying to move some obsolete product. I have a half dozen or so PLAY libraries and they all play well with W7 64-bit for me.

I also totally disagree with filkertom. At 50% off you can't do better than EWQLSO Gold for quality and value. Install the latest Play update (the engine that the library runs on) and you should be fine. Earlier Play versions did have issues but they've been progressively worked out. As for sound quality SO Gold is the best you're going to get at this price point and it's pretty damn good.

Thanks for your responses. I appreciate the help. It sounds like the software should be fine (and I'm glad about that). However, it looks like I just missed the half price sale. I wonder how often East West has one of those?

About every 18-20 minutes, I think...

Well ok, the sales vary - typically it's a 2 for 1 or some other bundle deal, so it might be a little while til the next straightforward single 50% off comes along. I'll lay money on an Easter promotion of some kind... just keep your eye open, and subscribe to the newsletter!

Before you buy into any of EW's libraries, make sure you've got as much RAM as possible and a damn good processor. From what I hear, the latest version of PLAY is stable. I have an older version that works fine but I wouldn't try to update to PLAY 3, since I've been burned before by their updates (and I don't like to waste my time).

Good luck.

Play works good for me, on Win7 x64.SO was recorded with ambience.
Comparable libraries: Vienna special addition, project sam, orchestral elements,
Spitfire albion.

Ha! I'll keep checking my watch.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

- Ken

Fine, you guys. That's your experience; mine's different.

So, Tom, why do you like Garritan and Miroslav over EWQLSO Gold? Do you think they sound better? I'm open to suggestions.

I agree...did find it weird to compare GPO to EWQL... Gpo is like a general midi library, seriously.

Miroslav uses the archaic sampletank engine and can't even do keyswitching.

I love east west stuff, and play works just fine now.

I say go for it.

Yes, there is. I purchased East West SO Gold in January and have had continuous problems with the PLAY software. I've spent months with support trying to describe and fix the issues, one of which renders the product unusable. I believe East West made a big mistake creating the PLAY software instead of sticking with the Kontakt player. They seem unable to employ adequate programming talent to make their product stable.

Now that I see the recent price reductions on East West SO Gold I'm beginning to wonder if they are going to fold or sell out to another vendor. It's really a shame because the samples are quite good.

I've used the PLAY demo and it sounds great, but it's crashed FL a couple of times (probably my fault)
It also takes up quite a bit of space on your hard drive.