Hi all,
With this awesome group buy coming to a close I'm faced with the decision of which electric guitar library to go for (and I'm surely not the only one). I'm looking for something with the most versatility and the most 'future proof' - something suited to writing in the widest range of styles possible. As a fairly inexperienced guitarist I place a fair bit of stock in the effects and presets available for each library but I appreciate that the dry tone before any effects are used is important as well.
I've trawled every single site and forum I can find to look for the differences between the OTS Stratosphere, Strawberry and Dracus but have only been able to surmise the following so far:
Strawberry
- oldest one and thus has fewer samples for some articulations, although it's been brought up to use the same engine and interface of the other two
- more modern sound, suitable for modern rock/funk/jazz
Stratosphere
- newer and more deeply sampled
- best for retro rock/funk/jazz stuff
Dracus
- metal oriented but sounds like it has some good versatility.
- added benefit of the extended range, but I'm not sure if the effects and presets cover as much ground as the others
I'd love to hear a bit more from people that own one or more of these libraries to help those like me out in our decision. I know there may be no easy answer but it would be great to get some more info and perspectives to base the decision upon, for e.g. can Stratosphere do 'modern' sounds well? Can Strawberry do the classic vintage sound? Are any of them better than the others for strumming?
Thanks in advance!
Differences between Stratosphere, Strawberry and Dracus
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- "The" Jazz
- 4560 posts since 18 Aug, 2004 from California, United States
First of all, that's a really good summary of those three electric guitar libraries!
For example, Evolution Dracus does have a really nice clean sound as well. Most of the presets emphasize its metal capabilities, but it can definitely be used for other styles/genres. In terms of its tone, it's similar to Evolution Strawberry (which makes sense as they both use humbucker pickups). There's a little more aggressiveness in the mid range, and it has more articulations (more squeal options, more dynamics in the palm mutes), plus a wider pitch range with its 24 frets and two lower strings. Evolution Strawberry still holds its own--it has a really clean sound, the palm mutes seem a little more tonal to me than Evolution Dracus's, which are more percussive (makes sense, being geared for metal).
Evolution Stratosphere is the most different of the three. It has that characteristic hollowness in the mids, and perhaps a little less sustain. If you're looking for a good library for blues guitar, jangly rhythm guitar, or crunchy lead, Evolution Stratosphere's a great choice. That's not to say you can't get a good blues guitar tone, etc., out of Evolution Strawberry, but it just tends to sound more modern to my ears.
Yes, there's definitely some overlap.CJ_83 wrote:e.g. can Stratosphere do 'modern' sounds well? Can Strawberry do the classic vintage sound? Are any of them better than the others for strumming?
For example, Evolution Dracus does have a really nice clean sound as well. Most of the presets emphasize its metal capabilities, but it can definitely be used for other styles/genres. In terms of its tone, it's similar to Evolution Strawberry (which makes sense as they both use humbucker pickups). There's a little more aggressiveness in the mid range, and it has more articulations (more squeal options, more dynamics in the palm mutes), plus a wider pitch range with its 24 frets and two lower strings. Evolution Strawberry still holds its own--it has a really clean sound, the palm mutes seem a little more tonal to me than Evolution Dracus's, which are more percussive (makes sense, being geared for metal).
Evolution Stratosphere is the most different of the three. It has that characteristic hollowness in the mids, and perhaps a little less sustain. If you're looking for a good library for blues guitar, jangly rhythm guitar, or crunchy lead, Evolution Stratosphere's a great choice. That's not to say you can't get a good blues guitar tone, etc., out of Evolution Strawberry, but it just tends to sound more modern to my ears.
Greg Schlaepfer
Orange Tree Samples
Ultra-realistic sample libraries for Kontakt
Orange Tree Samples
Ultra-realistic sample libraries for Kontakt
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 21 posts since 8 Jul, 2016
Thanks very much for the reply Greg!
As it turns out, after watching every video and listening to every demo I can find (many, many times), I've pretty much convinced myself to get the full guitar bundle anyway! They all sound so good and I can't wait to start using them.
I hope the info you posted will still be useful for others that might ask the same question in the future.
As it turns out, after watching every video and listening to every demo I can find (many, many times), I've pretty much convinced myself to get the full guitar bundle anyway! They all sound so good and I can't wait to start using them.
I hope the info you posted will still be useful for others that might ask the same question in the future.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 21 posts since 8 Jul, 2016
Just updating this for the benefit of anybody searching. I ended up getting the full evolution guitar bundle and am very happy. Especially with the group buy discount it was an absolute steal.
As for the guitars, my favourite is probably the Dracus just because it seems the most flexible so far, however I haven't tried to use it for anything heavy yet. Stratosphere feels like it has more attitude than the others which would be great when that's what you want. I like Strawberry and keep reaching for it, but I suspect in many instances I could reach for Dracus instead and still get the sort of sound I'm after.
One thing that was a pleasant surprise is the strumming. I hadn't seen much in the way of demo videos for this and I wasn't sure how strong it would be. I've been able to make some great sounding (i.e. realistic) patterns. I love how you can switch through different presets while playing the same strum pattern, and get so many different varieties of sound. (Especially as the capo position moves around, which I suppose effectively gives you different inversions of the same chords.) This is really cool and I'm surprised it wasn't really advertised (at least not where I could see).
As for the guitars, my favourite is probably the Dracus just because it seems the most flexible so far, however I haven't tried to use it for anything heavy yet. Stratosphere feels like it has more attitude than the others which would be great when that's what you want. I like Strawberry and keep reaching for it, but I suspect in many instances I could reach for Dracus instead and still get the sort of sound I'm after.
One thing that was a pleasant surprise is the strumming. I hadn't seen much in the way of demo videos for this and I wasn't sure how strong it would be. I've been able to make some great sounding (i.e. realistic) patterns. I love how you can switch through different presets while playing the same strum pattern, and get so many different varieties of sound. (Especially as the capo position moves around, which I suppose effectively gives you different inversions of the same chords.) This is really cool and I'm surprised it wasn't really advertised (at least not where I could see).
