Hello everyone .

When I created electronic music only I have used 100% legal software because I just didn't have the need for expensive stuff ( for me it was all about synthesis and sound design )

Now I need some orchestral libraries but all the good stuff for kontakt is EXTREME expensive . Paying over 1000$ for only one section feels insane for me . Not to mention that I'm a beginner composer/producer and prefer to spend the money on hardware studio equipment ( new PC , soundcard etc. ) .

Is there any solution for low budget starting composers like me , or for now the better option will be just to wait / use cracked stuff ?


Sorry if I posted it in the wrong section .

Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra is quite good - and free!

Look here:
http://sso.mattiaswestlund.net/

And there is a good inexpensive orchestral library for the EMU Proteus VX (which is free), for example this one:

http://www.digitalsoundfactory.com/products/e-mu-virtuoso

i wouldn't consider the virtuoso library that great, but ymmv.

depends on what you need.. you can get kirk hunter pop/rock strings for $125 right now. add a copy of wivi band (brass/woods) and w-timpani (a little percussion) and you're not doing too bad, for 250 or so (us, at least; maybe less in europe). those will all be fairly good for what they are.

i'd be willing to donate my copy of miroslav CE to someone as well, if it helps them avoid cracked software. it sounds decent, but you'll have to work a little harder. same is true for the garritan pocket orchestra in dimension LE (which i got for $5 once). the full garritan is not bad either, for 150 or so.

You can check out the new Total Workstation Bundle 3 and if that's still out of your budget we still have AmpliTube 3 FREE and SampleTank FREE.

Seriously. Sonatina is amazing. You're not going to get Hollywood-quality stuff out of it, obviously, but it can sound really really good. And it's free.

I also quite like Garritan Personal Orchestra. It gets a lot of hate, but for $150, I think it's a REALLY great library, and they have awesome support if you ever need them.

Magix Independence in 3 versions (free, basic, pro) has good (orchestral among others ) sounds.

http://pro.magix.com/en/independence/independence-free.1013. html

For low budget, but good sound, use Garritan Personal Orchestra and Garritan Instant Orchestra. No need for Kontakt (comes with the excellent Aria Player).

Then, look at www.spitfireaudio.com for Albion 1 and/or 2. These have a BIG hollywood sound for not so much (but a bit pricey). They use Kontakt as their player.

Also, look at Vivace - another nice 'finishing' kontakt library. Use it to spice things up.

Kirk Hunter Emerald or Diamond is a good all-purpose library and is not as expensive as the really big boys. Lots to choose from and some of the best strings and brass in the industry.

EWQLSO is the de-facto standard and when they have their sales, which is quite often, pick up Gold XP and you are done.

Mike

GPO is a fairly good deal if you are on a budget. There is also a version of it that comes with Finale although I believe you are only licensed to use it with finale.

ObiK already mentioned IK Multimedia but I will specifically suggest Miroslav Philharmonik Classik Edition.

Cheers!

Good results with free soundfonts and low cost libraries like Garritan are a matter of care and patience (and overdubs).

A few hints:

If there is, say, a section of violins, do a few individual violin parts ALONG WITH an ensemble instead of just using the ensemble by itself. Ideally, you would do ten or more violin parts individually, but few have the patience, and it probably isn't really necessary.

Figure out the strengths and weaknesses of the various libraries. For instance, there are string ensembles in the Proteus VX preset bank that are almost useless on their own, but which are great additions to a mix of ensembles and solo parts. A mix of dry individual parts and heavily reverbed ensembles can create strikingly 'real' sounding passages. Layered reverb effects, where individual tracks are reverbed, gated, and mixed separately, can create very impressive results when used sparingly.

Try out any soundfonts you find in Crystal. Find an interesting preset and try substituting an orchestral soundfont on one of the voices; it can create a really big and believable ensemble sound in the right composition.

If you're still looking and want to focus on classical/orchestral music, check out Notion.

ObIK went overboard trying to upsell you to the full Total Workstation bundle, but the Miroslav PhilharmonIK package is really good. I'd wait for the next sale/special event deal and pick up the full package rather than the stripped down "classic" edition. Recent sales have had it available for under $50.

Also note that the Miroslav package works very well with Notion. You make changes to your score in Notion, and it automatically selects the appropriate articulations within Miroslav.

Sonatina is a very good free sound library.

I've also the Garritan PO, that was already mentioned, but I like Sonatina better.

Another cheap solution could be to buy some Sampletank orch. expansion, you get them for 10$ each at esoundz. Together with every expansion, you get Sampletank XT with many other sounds. The player is a little bit old but, IMHO, the quality is not bad, expecially for that price.

Garittan is difficult to beat for the money.
There are quite a lot of instruments in this collection.

They are also surprisingly expressive , something often overlooked it more expensive libraries.

You could always take a look at Indiginus' Solid State Symphony.

http://indiginus.com/solidstatehome.html

It's purely synthesis, rather samples, but does an effective and expressive job. Gives you a good stab at the classic Japanese game soundtrack sound.

You do need Kontakt though.