KVR Audio

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:44 am

I have GPO, and I like it... but lately I've had sample lust for an additional/different library. IK's Miroslav has been on my radar - in fact, if not for the dongle I'd have bought it already.

Is there anyone that's compared Kirk Hunter Sapphire with Miroslav? Emerald is a bit much for my needs, even at that price (although I admit it is tempting and I have the disk space)...

I'd have to wait till Kontakt format comes out, and I'll have to get Kontakt2 ... Kontakt2 academic ($290) or Kompakt upgrade ($339) appears to cost about as much as the Miroslav crossgrade from ST2XL ($319). I don't know that I need the Kontakt content, but it's not a bad thing to have, either.

Comments?

Doug

Yossarian · Post by **Yossarian** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 12:27 pm

They seem to be a bit different sonically. Kirk has said that he went for the big Hollywood soundtrack sound when he created these libraries while Miroslav has more of a lyrical tone. Subtle differences though, I'm sure both can be used in a lot of different settings. Miroslav has a few things Sapphire doesn't like a choir and an organ. The percussion in Sapphire (and I believe Emerald) is not as comprehensive as the other instrument groups. Miroslav also has the ST engine with Stretch and a cut-down version of the CSR-1 reverb.

For people that already own GigaStudio or Kontakt the Kirk Hunter libraries look very attractive, especially Emerald (a 25 GB library for $249 is pretty amazing). If you have to add the cost of a softsampler the choice gets a bit more difficult.

/Yoss

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 12:35 pm

Yossarian wrote:They seem to be a bit different sonically. Kirk has said that he went for hte big Hollywood soundtrack sound when he created these libraries while Miroslav has more of a lyrical tone[...]
If you have to add the cost of a softsampler the choice gets a bit more difficult.

Thanks for the feedback. It is a tough choice.

I'm also looking at it from the idea that if I get Kontakt2 now, then at least I'm splitting the purchase over two or so months, rather than all-at-once. In addition, sooner or later there will be something I want that's in Kontakt2 format that Kompakt won't grok.

I have enough choirs at the moment, and am going to order the PMI baroque organ in the group buy. I haven't tried the organ that's part of GPO yet, but I hear it's good.

Doug

Caleb · Post by **Caleb** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 12:51 pm

I was kinda interested in a comparison of these products too. I already have Philharmonik and was wondering how complimentary Kirk's library would be.

I'm not in any rush to get a big orchestral library at the moment as I will be exploring Miro for quite some time yet, but I appreciate the concept of having libraries that are better at different things and am wondering what the best companion for Miro would be.

Caleb

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:37 pm

Yossarian wrote:They seem to be a bit different sonically. Kirk has said that he went for the big Hollywood soundtrack sound when he created these libraries while Miroslav has more of a lyrical tone.

Here's another question ... how would you compare GPO with these two as far as "character"? My impression is it's pretty neutral - not "bland" ... but it's neither "lyrical" nor "Hollywood".

I love my GPO ... just looking for add-ons/alternatives.

Doug

Yossarian · Post by **Yossarian** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 4:01 am

dougsyo wrote:Here's another question ... how would you compare GPO with these two as far as "character"? My impression is it's pretty neutral - not "bland" ... but it's neither "lyrical" nor "Hollywood".

I seem to be one of the few who doesn't own GPO so I can't really compare. Listening to GPO demos I would agree that it has a "neutral" sound.

/Yoss

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 3:03 pm

I wrote: I'm also looking at it from the idea that if I get Kontakt2 now, then at least I'm splitting the purchase over two or so months...

Kontakt2 ordered (Academic price was $269 - yay).

Doug

ozinexile · Post by **ozinexile** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 9:18 am

Well it looks like you've made the decision but I wouldn't rule out the Emerald version, especially at the current price, why? Simply because of the number of articulations (plus more velocity layers), especially for the string sections.

I've had EWQLSO Gold for almost a year now and while I'm quite happy with the way the brass and woodwinds turn out, I'm still learning to get the most realistic performance from the strings. As I learn how a particular recorded orchestral passage was played, I'm glad my samples allow me to produce a similar result, I don't feal restricted. Well actually I have found a few holes which I am looking to fill (at some stage with either emerald, Gold Pro XP or perhaps VSL horizon series) but overall I'm glad of the choice.

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:17 am

ozinexile wrote:Well it looks like you've made the decision but I wouldn't rule out the Emerald version, especially at the current price, why? Simply because of the number of articulations (plus more velocity layers), especially for the string sections.

I decided on the basis of needing a "workhorse sampler" anyway. Kompakt has its limitations, particularly with K2-based content. I have ST2XL, but third-party content in that format is limited, as is also true about Eve, Wusik and Dimension/sfz formats. Kontakt seems to be a more popular format than Halion, and Halion has the same problem I have with Miroslav - the dongle.

Besides the K2 content, I'll be ready for when Emerald or Sapphire come out in Kontakt format, maybe as a Christmas present for myself.

Doug

Sascha Franck · Post by **Sascha Franck** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:29 pm

Btw, a bit OT for sure, but I can only recommend trying to get Kontakt 1 used and then update to K2. K1 IMO still has its benefits and I'm using it at least as much as K2.

Kirk Hunter Sapphire vs Miroslav?