Which one would you choose - Garritan Instant Orchestra or Sonokinetic Vivace

[FrankT]

See here for instrument patches:



Here is an SOS review http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may12/a ... hestra.htm

GIO is a 1,87GB library. Vivace 16bit is approx 9 GB.

What is it you want to achieve/produce ?

I fixed FrankT's "blank" post above.

Hey, thanks for fixing!

Back on topic: GPO is not GIO. But as has been pointed out, GIO is very different from Vivace, so comparing these two libraries is, well, difficult.

Vivace = tempo-synced loops / phrases

GIO = orchestral instrument patches, ready-to-use combis of instruments, orchestral sections, special effects etc. Sort of a low-cost Symphobia and qualitywise certainly in a different league than Symphobia!

[synaesthesia]

The person who mentioned Project SAM's Orchestral Essentials has it.

I have Vivace and it's for flavours, embellishments, underscoring pieces where the orchestra is nothe main feature (if you're trying not to be a lazy bastard anyway!).

I don't have GIO, but wasn't impressed by the sound - as I rarely am by Garritan stuff.

[Karmacomposer]

See here for instrument patches:



Here is an SOS review http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may12/a ... hestra.htm

GIO is a 1,87GB library. Vivace 16bit is approx 9 GB.

What is it you want to achieve/produce ?

I fixed FrankT's "blank" post above.

That is without a doubt impressive. I barely heard bad quality save for a few high notes with woodwinds and strings, but overall, it's EXACTLY what I am looking for.

I will look at Symphobia and Essentials, but I am not sure if the price will justify it for me.

I already own EWQL Orchestra Gold XP, EWQL Symphonic Choirs, Miroslav Philharmonik and Kirk Hunter Emerald Orchestra. What else do I really need?

Mike

[Karmacomposer]

I took a look, listen and read to Symphobia 1 and 2 and Orchestral Essentials. I know Project Sam is top quality, but I just could not listen to the music demos. No matter how low I made the volume on my laptop and headphones (3 different pairs - all studio grade headphones), they distorted something fierce.

I'll try on my other computer that is attached to one hell of a sound system.

Obviously, they are amazing, but at $1,000 for Symphobia and $450 for Orchestral Essentials, they are out of my league for now.

Plus I have all the stuff mentioned in the last post. I am looking more for a combi preset system - so my mind is officially made up. Although Garritan's quality IS NOT AS good as Project Sam's, it will fit the bill.

I just need this for small scores for music production where I can do a bit more orchestral stuff quickly. Harp glisses, string runs and what not are time consuming and hard to do. This will make things like that much easier.

When combined with EWQL Orchestral Gold XP, the sound quality will be quite acceptable.

Mike

[P.T.]

Karmacompo...

I see that you have Miroslav.

Are you aware that it includes section combinations?

There is a folder named Elements.
In there, there are Dynamic Performance Elements.

There is also an Orchestral Sections folder.
In there are 3 sub folders with section combinations.

Then, there are what IK calls Combis that you load using the area in the top center of the interface. At least it is the top center in Sampletank which is what I use to play Miroslav.
I forget if the original Miroslav interface has it in the same place.

Some of them are dynamic and respond to velocity changes.

Of course, you can make all sorts of stacks yourself.
Just load up instruments in the various slots and set them all to the same midi channel on the left side.
If you vary the attack times on some of the instruments they will swell in later.
It's easy to build things in Sampletank.

Another somewhat hidden feature;
If you play at very low velocity and click on the Macro button for the instrument and turn the VSTRT knob up the attack will get quicker.
This works to varying degrees with different instruments, but it overcomes Miroslav's tendency towards slower attacks.

You can also add staccato patches and blend them in to get staccatos with sustain.

[Chad@PA]

Back on topic: GPO is not GIO. But as has been pointed out, GIO is very different from Vivace, so comparing these two libraries is, well, difficult.

Vivace = tempo-synced loops / phrases

GIO = orchestral instrument patches, ready-to-use combis of instruments, orchestral sections, special effects etc. Sort of a low-cost Symphobia and qualitywise certainly in a different league than Symphobia!

That is a somewhat more accurate summary of at least the differences. Although I'll disagree with the qualitywise statement. I also don't really get the noise comments you guys are hearing in the demos... Youtube and MP3 compression... hmmm... Maybe you can enlighten me on the noise you are hearing?

For the OP. Also check out these reviews:

Computer Music
http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/comp ... 041/review

Pros
Makes tackling an orchestra much easier; fun and useful mood-based patches; great value for money.

Cons
Very little.

Verdict
A must for orchestral ignoramuses everywhere.

EM
http://www.emusician.com/eq-mag/0765/ga ... tra/148575

STRENGTHS:
Great core sounds, useful orchestral combinations, striking effects; integrates well with ARIA Player, making good use of the EQ, ADSR, and filter controls.

LIMITATIONS:
None, especially considering the price.

Let me know if you have any other questions on GIO.

- Chad

[Sequent]

Get IO but before you do revisit Miroslav if you already have it. Maybe you're looking for something that you already have.

Since you said you don't like Kontakt that really narrows your options. But... Vivace is Kontakt based anyway. So maybe as I said get IO.

If you don't have the budget now but can be patient and save up for it then I would also suggest checking out Albion from Spitfire audio. As far as these kinds of ensemble based libraries go one could arguably say that at the moment Albion tops them all... certainly in terms of sound quality and sheer beauty of the samples and space that they were recorded in... and most certainly in terms of quality of customer service. (I'm also mentioning Albion since it's roughly about half the price of Symphobia.)

All of that said... I like GIO and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I think it's a good choice.

[FrankT]

All reviews of GIO indeed are very positive!
I might be biased regarding Symphobia as I just shelled out the money for it...
I am very happy with it, though!

Back on topic: GPO is not GIO. But as has been pointed out, GIO is very different from Vivace, so comparing these two libraries is, well, difficult.

Vivace = tempo-synced loops / phrases

GIO = orchestral instrument patches, ready-to-use combis of instruments, orchestral sections, special effects etc. Sort of a low-cost Symphobia and qualitywise certainly in a different league than Symphobia!

That is a somewhat more accurate summary of at least the differences. Although I'll disagree with the qualitywise statement. I also don't really get the noise comments you guys are hearing in the demos... Youtube and MP3 compression... hmmm... Maybe you can enlighten me on the noise you are hearing?

For the OP. Also check out these reviews:

Computer Music
http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/comp ... 041/review

Pros
Makes tackling an orchestra much easier; fun and useful mood-based patches; great value for money.

Cons
Very little.

Verdict
A must for orchestral ignoramuses everywhere.

EM
http://www.emusician.com/eq-mag/0765/ga ... tra/148575

STRENGTHS:
Great core sounds, useful orchestral combinations, striking effects; integrates well with ARIA Player, making good use of the EQ, ADSR, and filter controls.

LIMITATIONS:
None, especially considering the price.

Let me know if you have any other questions on GIO.

- Chad