Garritan Personal Orchestra feedback

[G&L_player]

Anybody using GPO? If so, what kinds of arrangement(s) and music are you applying it for? The demos sound beautiful, but that's a generalism in the software industry (LoL).

I just got a chopped down copy of GPO with Finale 2006, which I'll be using at school. In addition, there's an offer (for registered Finale users) to pick up a full copy of GPO for $189. This appears to be quite a good deal. I had been looking at the MPO VSTi, but heard there were some problems with dongles, etc... I can grab MPO for $319 (discounted crossgrade), as a SampleTank 2.x user, which is also a good deal. Personally, I prefer the actual samples (versus the VSTi/dongle), as I can throw them into Kontakt with the rest of my library.

If you have an experience with GPO, I'd love to hear from you, as I am making a consideration to acquire this package. In addition, if you have any feedback on the MPO recently released by IK, I'd love to hear about it. Although I don't write/perform classical music, I'm sure I can find some great applications for strings and things.

Thanks.

[msorrels]

GPO doesn't work so well with Kontakt (Kontakt 2 not at all really) and in 1.5 it does load but using the player is required to get some things. I'm not much of a composer but I gave up trying to use the GPO library in either Kontakt version. It really only works in the player. And the player is tied to a machine like all the NI stuff. I don't really think a dongle is all that bad actually. I picked up GPO with this summer's group buy, so it was fairly cheap. But in hindsight I'd wished I'd skipped it and did the MPO for $319. The mod wheel for velocity is very annoying. The sounds are good though, it's more everything but the sounds that I hate. But I'm not using Finale either, I think it supports/uses GPO better than Sonar.

[Left Headphone]

If I had it to do all over again, I would have bought EW Gold instead of GPO. I think some places are selling gold for $385.

[G&L_player]

GPO doesn't work so well with Kontakt (Kontakt 2 not at all really) and in 1.5 it does load but using the player is required to get some things. I'm not much of a composer but I gave up trying to use the GPO library in either Kontakt version. It really only works in the player. And the player is tied to a machine like all the NI stuff.

Hmmmnnn...this is a major concern, as I use Kontakt 2. Thanks.

I don't really think a dongle is all that bad actually.

It's not a show stopper in my case, however, I remember reading about one user on the forum who was encountering conflicts with another dongle that he had on his system. Once I got to the part about..."create new file system," I was a bit appalled. FYI: I have a Cubase dongle that might copy the same issue. I'll try to dig into this issue a bit...

I picked up GPO with this summer's group buy, so it was fairly cheap. But in hindsight I'd wished I'd skipped it and did the MPO for $319. The mod wheel for velocity is very annoying. The sounds are good though, it's more everything but the sounds that I hate. But I'm not using Finale either, I think it supports/uses GPO better than Sonar.

Finale comes with some GPO stuff that enables basic arrangements, etc... Personally, I love IK stuff and have been treated very well by the company (i.e. policies, etc...). I guess what I am comparing is a set of samples (that have problems in my sampler; Kontakt2) to a VSTi. Samples are more usable overall, but the bottom line is the usefullness of the samples.

Thanks, for your reply. I found it very useful and appreciate your input.

[G&L_player]

If I had it to do all over again, I would have bought EW Gold instead of GPO. I think some places are selling gold for $385.

I hadn't made any other considerations, however, I'll certainly check out the gold before I make a commitment. Thanks, for your input.

[sammy24]

whoa, somebody here's gotta stick up for gpo- ok first of all it should integrate amazingly with finale, second of all you're talking about one of the best companies around, customer support is second to none-- just go to the garritan website and listen to demos, there is a reason why it is the probably the most popular virtual instrument anywhere( they sold around 1200 copies when they did a group buy, which was the highest total ever for a group buy), and they have an amazing online forum community where u can get detailed informative info on anything u want to know-- it is extremely intuitive and easy to learn to play, it sounds amazing, and u know you're dealing with a company that is constantly making new strides, check out the info on the upcoming gpo advanced library (which will really have nothing else like it) as well as the stradivari library (!) and jazz and big band libraries-- but even if all you're interested in is gpo, i don't really understand how u could pass up the opportunity to get it for 189, it's really a steal --u cannot go wrong with GPO

[Markleford]

Hmmmnnn...this is a major concern, as I use Kontakt 2.

But it comes with the dedicated GPO player, so does it matter? I suppose if you're desperate to use KSP or built-in convolution on it...

I honestly haven't tried loading it into 1.5.x or K2 because I didn't see the point after DFD was provided in an update of the dedicated player.

I've never tried Gold, as it was far more expensive at the time, and didn't consider Silver either because I wanted dry samples and the ability to build my own ensembles rather than having all section samples: I tend to do smaller ensemble work. But if you're after "the Hollywood sound", it's worth a listen.

On the other hand, the GPO integration with Finale is pretty slick: anyone know if you can drop in Gold and have it work as well with the Human Playback features?

- m

[G&L_player]

whoa, somebody here's gotta stick up for gpo- ok first of all it should integrate amazingly with finale, second of all you're talking about one of the best companies around, customer support is second to none-- just go to the garritan website and listen to demos, there is a reason why it is the probably the most popular virtual instrument anywhere( they sold around 1200 copies when they did a group buy, which was the highest total ever for a group buy), and they have an amazing online forum community where u can get detailed informative info on anything u want to know-- it is extremely intuitive and easy to learn to play, it sounds amazing, and u know you're dealing with a company that is constantly making new strides, check out the info on the upcoming gpo advanced library (which will really have nothing else like it) as well as the stradivari library (!) and jazz and big band libraries-- but even if all you're interested in is gpo, i don't really understand how u could pass up the opportunity to get it for 189, it's really a steal --u cannot go wrong with GPO

Their website and demos are impressive. More specifically, they present themselves as a company that is successful because of their products and customer service. So, I'm definitely impressed.

FYI: I basically put up this thread to try to catch any of the peculiarities, etc... that are sometimes found when one is going through the installation process and ultimately the recording process.

Thanks, for your feedback. You're definitely reinforcing what I supected. My concern, at this junction, is compatibility with Kontakt 2 and the usefullness of the samples. I certainly wouldn't guess that GPO would have any issues whatsoever with Kontakt (any version).

Have you been able to find many different uses/music for the samples provided in GPO?

[dougsyo]

I have GPO, and like it. The samples are dry, unlike EWQLSO or Miroslav. I use the dedicated Kontakt player for it, although I also have Kompakt. You have to authorize the GPO player anyway to unlock the sounds, whether you import them into another sampler (if that's possible) or not.

The dongle is the only thing that's put me off Miroslav. It's the same brand (Synchrosoft) as Cubase uses. I dislike dongles, although Synchrosoft is less troublesome on the whole than Pace ILOK dongles are (none of my hosts - Sonar, P5V2, FLS, and EXT - use dongles).

BE VERY CAREFUL installing Miroslav if you have the Cubase dongle in at the same time. I've heard of the license manager blowing up authorizations in sporadic cases. You might want to download a trial version of another host (EXT for example) for the authorization process, leave your Cubase dongle unplugged, and get Miroslav regged OK. Once that's done, the Synchrosoft license manager can combine the licenses onto one dongle if you wish.

Doug

[G&L_player]

Hmmmnnn...this is a major concern, as I use Kontakt 2.

But it comes with the dedicated GPO player, so does it matter? I suppose if you're desperate to use KSP or built-in convolution on it...

Understood. Ergo, if I am working with Finale, I'm all set. However, I would also like to have some great string samples (i.e. GPO) loaded into my sampler, as well, so I can use them for a Cubase session, etc...

[
I honestly haven't tried loading it into 1.5.x or K2 because I didn't see the point after DFD was provided in an update of the dedicated player.

I've never tried Gold, as it was far more expensive at the time, and didn't consider Silver either because I wanted dry samples and the ability to build my own ensembles rather than having all section samples: I tend to do smaller ensemble work. But if you're after "the Hollywood sound", it's worth a listen.

On the other hand, the GPO integration with Finale is pretty slick: anyone know if you can drop in Gold and have it work as well with the Human Playback features?

- m

Good questions! I'm just as curious to gather more info on these topics. Thanks.

[G&L_player]

I have GPO, and like it. The samples are dry, unlike EWQLSO or Miroslav. I use the dedicated Kontakt player for it, although I also have Kompakt. You have to authorize the GPO player anyway to unlock the sounds, whether you import them into another sampler (if that's possible) or not.

Interesting...thanks, for the info!

The dongle is the only thing that's put me off Miroslav. It's the same brand (Synchrosoft) as Cubase uses. I dislike dongles, although Synchrosoft is less troublesome on the whole than Pace ILOK dongles are (none of my hosts - Sonar, P5V2, FLS, and EXT - use dongles).

BE VERY CAREFUL installing Miroslav if you have the Cubase dongle in at the same time. I've heard of the license manager blowing up authorizations in sporadic cases. You might want to download a trial version of another host (EXT for example) for the authorization process, leave your Cubase dongle unplugged, and get Miroslav regged OK. Once that's done, the Synchrosoft license manager can combine the licenses onto one dongle if you wish.

Doug

Doug,

This is exactly what I hinted at earlier. Thanks, for the details!! It sounds like there are quite a few procedures to go through, in order to have MPO play nicely with Cubase- not impossible, but procedural.

[Barnadine]

Hmmmnnn...this is a major concern, as I use Kontakt 2.

But it comes with the dedicated GPO player, so does it matter? I suppose if you're desperate to use KSP or built-in convolution on it...

Understood. Ergo, if I am working with Finale, I'm all set. However, I would also like to have some great string samples (i.e. GPO) loaded into my sampler, as well, so I can use them for a Cubase session, etc...

I'm probably misreading you, but I just thought I'd clear up that the dedicated GPO player is simply a scaled-down version of Kontakt, that can be loaded into Cubase (and other hosts) like any VSTi.

Another positive vote for GPO here. Since my keyboard has no mod wheel, I do find the volume implementation a little tiresome, but it has some excellent sounds.

[G&L_player]

I'm probably misreading you, but I just thought I'd clear up that the dedicated GPO player is simply a scaled-down version of Kontakt, that can be loaded into Cubase (and other hosts) like any VSTi.

Another positive vote for GPO here. Since my keyboard has no mod wheel, I do find the volume implementation a little tiresome, but it has some excellent sounds.

Got it. It seems that everyone is using the player that comes with GPO. I am thinking "use the Kontakt 2 player that I bought," not a scaled-down model. However, I'm starting to believe that using the GPO player is, perhaps, the only way to go pertaining to the samples. I guess this is the copy protection, so to speak.

[Yossarian]

You might want to check out the new orchestral libraries from www.kirkhunterstudios.com , Emerald and Sapphire. Emerald is a 25 GB library that Kirk is offering for about the same price as GPO. It’s in Giga format but a Kontakt 2 version is due in a couple of weeks. There are a few mp3 demos at the website.

/Yoss

[Lunatique]

I second Kirk Hunter's Emerald. It has now replaced GPO as the most incredible buy for the quality content. There's absolutely no reason to buy GPO now that Emerald is out, as it sounds MUCH better in just about every way, and has far more content.