looking around at orchestral instruments and want opinions

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Hi all,
First I guess I'll introduce myself.
My name's Michael, and I am currently a student at Louisiana State University. I'm kind of a hobbiest musician, and use sonar 8.5 (yes, I know, old, but I'll explain in a minute) along with mainly dimension, rapture, and a couple others. I plan to buy complete 9 (probably ultimate, as it's on sale right now and I just can't pass it up), so I'll also have kontakt as a sampler too.
The reason I use sonar 8.5 is because I am blind, and use a program called jaws for windows, which reads the screen out loud. The latest version that is accessible to this program of sonar is 8.5 at the moment.

What I want opinions on:

I am considering getting some high quality orchestral libraries (I have miroslaav philharmonic, but I think I could get better sound with a pricier library--plus I'm kind of a plugin/sample nut). The two I'm mainly considering are:
1. East West (because they have a bundle -- the complete composers collection 2 pro, which would allow me to get like 15 of their products for like 2000 bucks).
2. Spitfire audio (because the demos I hear sound good, and my friend gave me a glowing recommendation, and he's rather picky when it comes to instruments).

My questions:

Any opinions on these? Any others in the price range -- 2000 to 6000 or so dollars (the spitfire comes out to about 6500 with the student discount for what I want)?
Your thoughts are most welcome.
Thanks,
-Michael.

P.S. The spitfire is the one I'm most leaning towards at the moment because the play vst is inaccessible to jaws -- kontakt is too, but some people have made some scripts for jaws to make it more accessible whereas they haven't for play.

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Spitfire audio make very well reputed products.

Also, products by ProjectSAM, 8dio and Embertone are worth considering.

https://www.projectsam.com/Home


http://8dio.com/instrument-category/woodwinds/

http://8dio.com/instrument-category/strings/


http://embertone.com/instruments/friedlanderviolin.php


I appreciate that you want to get the best orchestral sounds around, but equally it's quite an outlay of cash for a hobbyist musician.
For example, you might be able to cut some costs by getting the individual instruments that you REALLY want to use, as opposed to an overall orchestral package. And then you could put that money saved towards some non-orchestral sounds you like in the future.

So I'd advise waiting for at least a few more days (and gain some more answers here and maybe at Gearslutz forum too) before spending such a large amount of money.
Though ultimately it's your money and choice, and not mine, so feel free to ignore my cautionary advise!


Cheers.

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Hi,
Thanks for the links. I will look at them. And the main thing that pushes me toward spitfire--not east west--is the more accessibility (even if it is with scripts) of kontakt versus play.
I'm sure I could make play work for me -- in fact there are some people who are blind who use it successfully, but it would definitely require some sighted help and quite a bit of time.
-Michael.

Edit: I also hope to do some composition work in the future, if not as a full time job, at least as on the side. In fact if I can, I plan to use my own compositions in an upcoming game I'm writing (I'm also a programmer).

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Hello lilmike,
First, a hearty welcome to the forum! :tu:

How wonderful you have found a way to turn a negative in your life into a fabulous positive! Thank you for that information of a program that assists those with sight impairment.

Now, OT, I own Spitfire's Albion One and find the sound to be great. I am confident you will like Albion.

Be aware though that Albion is an ensemble instrument. You will not find individual instruments in that library.

Sable, on the other hand, also by Spitfire, does provide individual instruments so it is possible you will find something of interest in those libraries.

Personally I have stayed away from the East West libraries for a number of reasons. From reviews by owners I find it is a very wet sound. Many like them but I prefer to add my own reverbs to my work.

I also had a bad experience with their license protection system in the past and no longer wish to use libraries protected by Pace. They use the iLok.

I don't intend to start one of those wars about iLok; however, I caution one to investigate fully the pluses and minus of using an iLok protection system to be sure one is completely satisfied before investing.

Here a are couple of other options you may find intriguing. I do not own these but they look promising:
http://www.vsl.co.at/en/211/1343/1344/950.vsl

Again, caution to understand they use eLicenser (similar to iLok); This library allows just one license, so be wary to protect your investment. Even though, the eLicenser system will allow you to use the library on any machine where the sounds are installed and you can insert the dongle. It requires a USB port in case you are unfamiliar.

and, http://www.orchestraltools.com/

The Orchestral Tools libraries are Kontakt instruments.

Both these companies are rather expensive but the demos sound fabulous.

If you do purchase Komplete, Kontakt will be included and will have an orchestra included. It is not bad to start out with and you may want to use it for a while before spending a lot of money. I like Doug1978's advice to you ;).

To add, I may say, take it slow. Rushing into to things often causes one to overlook something valuable in what one already has. ;)

HTH. Good luck! :tu:

Happy Musiking!
dsan
My DAW System:
W7, i5, x64, 8Gb Ram, Edirol FA-101

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Hi,
Thanks for the advice. I'm definitely not going to purchase the spitfire stuff (or even east west) very soon, I'm still evaluating my options, then I'm going to save up for whichever one I decide on getting.
It does seem that spitfire is great for the money, at least from the reviews and opinions I've found -- in fact, I can't really find any truly negative reviews.

As for east west being very wet -- I've read and heard that as well. With spitfire, from the videos I've seen, you can get a pretty dry sound, but also a rather wet sound from their tree or ambient mics.

I've heard good things about VSL, but their proprietary player would present the same challenge as the play instrument, meaning I would have to make scripts to make it work with my screen reader whereas kontakt has some already.

I will check out orchestral tools -- thanks!

-Michael.

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Sorry for not realizing that about the VSL player.

Some other good choices for Kontakt instruments may be:
http://www.cinematicstrings.com/

These I own and just love the sound.

http://audiobro.com/

Makers of LASS - a great library.

I own these too but have not had an opportunity much to work with them. They have a lovely sound IMO.

HTH

Happy Musiking!
dsan
My DAW System:
W7, i5, x64, 8Gb Ram, Edirol FA-101

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Thanks for all the suggestions -- I'll definitely check them out!
-Michael.

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If you have some (more) money, the Vienna Symphonic Library is quite good (but not cheap at all):

http://www.vsl.co.at/en/65/71/84/1349.vsl

That's a bit cheaper but you need KONTAKT:

http://www.praguesounds.com

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Hey Tricky - I hope you are well!

Do you own VSL?

Happy Musiking!
dsan
My DAW System:
W7, i5, x64, 8Gb Ram, Edirol FA-101

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dsan@mail.com wrote:Hey Tricky - I hope you are well!

Do you own VSL?

Happy Musiking!
dsan
If only I could - but their prices are making me dizzy just by looking at them... :P

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I know what you mean :hihi:

BTW - lilmike, embertone has a free library you can try to check them out.

I think Prague Sound does too.

Decent sounds from both for the price.

Happy Musiking!
dsan
My DAW System:
W7, i5, x64, 8Gb Ram, Edirol FA-101

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dsan@mail.com wrote:I know what you mean :hihi:

BTW - lilmike, embertone has a free library you can try to check them out.

I think Prague Sound does too.

Decent sounds from both for the price.

Happy Musiking!
dsan
But he wrote something about $2,000 to $6,000, so he could afford the VSL...

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Yes, it seems so; however, the VSL interface will be an issue for him since it does not offer a feature he needs to be able to work with it; "I've heard good things about VSL, but their proprietary player would present the same challenge as the play instrument, meaning I would have to make scripts to make it work with my screen reader whereas kontakt has some already."

Happy Musiking!
dsan
My DAW System:
W7, i5, x64, 8Gb Ram, Edirol FA-101

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dsan@mail.com wrote:Yes, it seems so; however, the VSL interface will be an issue for him since it does not offer a feature he needs to be able to work with it; "I've heard good things about VSL, but their proprietary player would present the same challenge as the play instrument, meaning I would have to make scripts to make it work with my screen reader whereas kontakt has some already."

Happy Musiking!
dsan
Oh, I must have overlooked this... I couldn't even imagine how to make music if I were blind...

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I have often pondered that scenario myself. As I grow older the sight is becoming more of an issue and is of concern to me.

I found lilmike's opening post quite informative regarding software giving the ability to hear the screen instead of reading it. Quite intriguing.

I will be devastated if I completely lose my sight; however, one has hope of opportunity with all the technology available today.

There have been several, very successful, musicians over the years with sight impairment.

I find Bach MOST interesting though. Amazing how someone who could not hear was able to make such sound!

Happy Musiking!
dsan
My DAW System:
W7, i5, x64, 8Gb Ram, Edirol FA-101

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