Looking for complete orchestral and pop libraries

[Giò]

Hi there, I'm new here. My name is Giorgio and I'm an Italian sound designer and composer. It's time to improve my sound library.Up to now I've worked with the Logic library and a handful of other VSTs. But now I'm looking for one or a pair of complete and hight-quality bundles.

I mostly need the full orchestra instruments (sounding natural and having all the most common articulations) and the classic pop and rock instruments, but it'd be good having some ethnic and synth stuff. I've a quite good budget but I won't spend 5.000$ for the complete Vienna library.
Looking around and listening, it seems NI Komplete 10 is the most large and and better quality bundle for pop, rock, electronic and ethnic music. But it doesn't have the full orchestra instruments.
On the other side, East West Symphonic Orchestra seems to be the best full orchestra library after Vienna.
Buying the top versions of both I'll completely use up my budget, but I won't reject to save some money.

Please tell me your opinions, your experiences, suggest me other bundles. And -most important- if I wrote lots of bullshit, please inform me.
Thank you.

[wagtunes]

Unfortunately, IMO, there is no one stop shop for what you need.

Komplete has the pop and rock stuff covered nicely. Excellent quality. But the orchestral sounds are severely lacking. In comparison to Vienna and EWQL, they are terrible.

On the other hand EWQL between Hollywood Strings, Brass and Woodwinds, has it mostly covered. I don't know if Hollywood Percussion is out yet. The Symphonic Orchestra for percussion is good, but the other sounds are very dated.

As for the rock and pop end of it, EWQL is just not really meant for that though their ethnic banks are excellent. And the Symphonic Choirs are also excellent.

I have both Komplete and almost the entire EWQL collection. Personally, I have found that I needed them both in order to cover all the ground that you're looking to cover.

I do not see any way around this as the developers who focus on orchestral focus on that almost exclusively and don't even touch the pop/rock area. And if they do, the results are not the best.

IMO, that is the cold hard reality of what you're left to deal with.

[audientronic]

If you have that kind of budget I would look at spitfireaudio.com and orchestraltools.com and cinesamples and lass. At least to begin your research.

[dsan@mail.com]

I will second audientronic's suggestions and will add Sonokinetic, Kirk Hunter and Cinematic Strings* (*strings only) to the list for orchestral. Kirk Hunter has (had??) a Pop/Rock collection.

I shyed away from EW because I have read their libraries are drenched in reverbs (which may or may not be selectable) but mainly because I have read too many horror stories regarding customer service issues. I do take these with a grain of salt since I don't always agree the customer is right but still too many issues for me to ignore completely. YMMV of course!

Good luck with your search

Cheers!
dsan

[wagtunes]

I will second audientronic's suggestions and will add Sonokinetic, Kirk Hunter and Cinematic Strings* (*strings only) to the list for orchestral. Kirk Hunter has (had??) a Pop/Rock collection.

I shyed away from EW because I have read their libraries are drenched in reverbs (which may or may not be selectable) but mainly because I have read too many horror stories regarding customer service issues. I do take these with a grain of salt since I don't always agree the customer is right but still too many issues for me to ignore completely. YMMV of course!

Good luck with your search

Cheers!
dsan

As an EWQL user, the reverb is added on post processing. Meaning it is user controlled.

The problem with EWQL libraries are that the gold ones only have 2 mic positions and no close up mic which is what gives the libraries that far away sound. In order to get the extra articulation and the close up mic, you need to get the diamond libraries which are considerably more expensive.

As for customer service horror stories, My only problem was on initial installation because I was unfamiliar with the iLok installation process, which can be confusing to a first time buyer.

The quality of the strings and brass is general is not the best but then again, it's not priced like the best. It's kind of like an affordable middle ground between Vienna and Komplete, which is totally inadequate for symphonic orchestral sounds.

Bottom line: If you really need to simulate a true symphony orchestra, either get EWQL diamond libraries or go for something more expensive. The gold libraries might leave you a little wanting and disappointed depending on your expectations.

[Apostate]

EWQL Hollywood Strings, Brass and Woodwinds is second to none, imo. It can take a learned hand to get exactly the sounds you want, but that bundle is absolutely incomparable, and at times impossible to tell from the real thing. I realize there are plenty who will argue that, but I've fooled plenty of lifelong musicians and even an actual conductor with EWQL. Just get that, don't be afraid of saving up just for that. Your orchestral needs will be covered.

As far as Vienna, I'll get some hate here but I actually thought the "classical" patches in Nexus sounded easily as authentic as Vienna. Dead serious.

[dsan@mail.com]

As an EWQL user, the reverb is added on post processing. Meaning it is user controlled.

The problem with EWQL libraries are that the gold ones only have 2 mic positions and no close up mic which is what gives the libraries that far away sound. In order to get the extra articulation and the close up mic, you need to get the diamond libraries which are considerably more expensive.

As for customer service horror stories, My only problem was on initial installation because I was unfamiliar with the iLok installation process, which can be confusing to a first time buyer.

The quality of the strings and brass is general is not the best but then again, it's not priced like the best. It's kind of like an affordable middle ground between Vienna and Komplete, which is totally inadequate for symphonic orchestral sounds.

Bottom line: If you really need to simulate a true symphony orchestra, either get EWQL diamond libraries or go for something more expensive. The gold libraries might leave you a little wanting and disappointed depending on your expectations.

Thanks for tha update wagtunes. Now, you have me looking back into EW, once again, thank you very much

The iLok thing is just one of the issues I have read about and is separate from the customer service issues I read of. The main customer service problem is how the things I read have suggest customers don't seem to be important to EW with the way they [state] they are treated.

Again, I take these things with a grain of salt since many people tend to exagerate their claims or feel entitlement, but I am a customer that gets concerned hearing about these sort of problems to begin with. I think customer service issues can be handled in ways so that everyone wins.

I'm also a customer service rep with more than 20 years dealing with customers. I treat them fairly, with respect, listen to their issues and find a solution that works for both the customer and the company. Everybody walks away happy and their are no horror stories then

Back on topic, I think any and every library has a purpose and adds its own little something. I do not believe one library can or will do it all. That's why I own so many - actually just about all of them, including Viena Instruments. Well, not Project Sam - YET or EW (thank you very much wagtunes )

Each have their own subleties and nuances that add to a composition. Some, more expensive than another, sure, but worth it in the long run - to me

Cheers!
dsan

[Mystic]

Been an EW user for a long time. Their string libraries are some of the best because they are very versatile. Libraries like ProjectSAM sound great, but they are limited to what you can do because they have a great of out of the box sound but this means you can only really use them for a couple styles of music where as EWQL stuff is very difficult to learn at first but it's because it works with pretty much every kind of sound because you have control over the end result.

[Armadillo]

How about something like East west complete composers collection?
http://www.soundsonline.com/CCC3-GOLD

Swap a couple of instruments and you could get:
Hollywood Strings Gold $148.30
Hollywood Brass Gold $148.30
Hollywood Orch. Woodwinds Gold $148.30
Ministry of Rock 2 $118.50
Hollywood Orch. Percussion Gold $324.35
Solo Violin $29.70
Silk $118.50

For $1035.

That will cover everything you need in terms of Orchestral, Rock and Ethnic.
Then add Omnisphere 2 for Electronic - $500.
And you got everything covered for $1500.

This will pretty much get you the best sounds on the market in terms of orchestral, ethnic and electronic.
Rock is perhaps the one lacking here.

NI Komplete 10 for example will give you a variety of stuff, but it won't be very good in terms of orchestral and ethnic.
But you could add EW Silk and EWQL Gold.

[Apostate]

I've gotten phenomenal results with the Quantum Leap Solo Violin. It's amazing to me how cheap it is, the only downside to it is the effects, you have to both use outboard (and high quality) reverb, and you have to fiddle with it to get the sound you're looking for. I don't regret a second of the time I put in on that plugin, it is very realistic and expressive if you put the effort on. At least, for me it was.

[Mystic]

I've gotten phenomenal results with the Quantum Leap Solo Violin. It's amazing to me how cheap it is, the only downside to it is the effects, you have to both use outboard (and high quality) reverb, and you have to fiddle with it to get the sound you're looking for. I don't regret a second of the time I put in on that plugin, it is very realistic and expressive if you put the effort on. At least, for me it was.

You're the first person I've ever heard say they like EW Solo Violin. Even the owner of EW hates that instrument. So much so that they are redoing it completely from scratch. I'm hoping those of us that actually bought the first one at least get a discount on the new one. It's really one of the only things from EW I completely regret buying.

For solo strings, the best I've heard is Embertones Friedlander Violin. Dynamics and control with that library are through the roof.

[arkmabat]

Miroslav

[Apostate]

I've gotten phenomenal results with the Quantum Leap Solo Violin. It's amazing to me how cheap it is, the only downside to it is the effects, you have to both use outboard (and high quality) reverb, and you have to fiddle with it to get the sound you're looking for. I don't regret a second of the time I put in on that plugin, it is very realistic and expressive if you put the effort on. At least, for me it was.

You're the first person I've ever heard say they like EW Solo Violin. Even the owner of EW hates that instrument. So much so that they are redoing it completely from scratch. I'm hoping those of us that actually bought the first one at least get a discount on the new one. It's really one of the only things from EW I completely regret buying.

For solo strings, the best I've heard is Embertones Friedlander Violin. Dynamics and control with that library are through the roof.

Or maybe I've had the solo violin so long I found, through experimentations with effects and the envelopes, a way to make it sound virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. It takes ingenuity and a whole lot of patience. But then, that goes for quite a lot of things, doesn't it.

It goes without saying that the creators of things sometimes aren't the best judges of that thing's worth. You probably already knew that.

Just curious, may I have the name and link to the quote regarding the "owner" of Solo Violin whom you state doesn't like it? What you wrote sounds made up. No offense.

[Giò]

Really thanks for your many and precious replies. I read them carefully, listened and checked your suggestions out.

Almost everyone thinks I have to buy two different bundles for orchestral and pop. Alright, I think the same.
Concerning the pop/rock one Komplete seems to be the best choice. Very good.
Instead, on the orchestral side, I have to admit I thought "Symphonic Orchestra Virtual Instrument" was the bundle containing the Hollywood instruments series. So, I thought to menage it with 550€. Alright, I accepted the ugly truth. I think I have these EW options:

- Symphonic Orchestra Virtual Instrument Platinum Edition - 550€

- Personal Hollywood Diamond bundle (Woodwinds+Brass+Strings+Percussion) - 1.310€

- Personal Hollywood Gold bundle (Woodwinds+Brass+Strings+Percussion) - 872€

Am I saying right? My first idea was spending less then 600€ for a whole orchestral library and 500/700€ for Komplete. Maybe I should wait, put aside some more money and buy the Diamond bundle, or looking for a decent, not expensive orchestral library which helps me in my present works and buying the Diamond one in one or a pair of years. An inexpensive one which impressed me is the Miroslav. What do you think?

[Armadillo]

You can currently get EWQL Platinum for €399.
http://www.soundsonline-europe.com/Symphonic-Orchestra

Symphonic orchestra is last gen though, so if it was me I'd rather spend a bit more and get composers collection and be covered in terms of Rock and Ethnic as well.

You can currently get Komplete 10 crossgrade for like €200 but only if you have Reaktor, Kontakt or Guitar rig.

Are you an orchestral composer? If not, have you considered something like Orchestral essentials - €299 or Albion €499?
They cover the whole orchestra but in sections, so no solo instruments.

https://www.projectsam.com/Products/Ess ... eries/1406
https://www.spitfireaudio.com/albion