Please Advise: Symphobia 1&2 vs Spitfire Audio Albion Series vs LA Scoring Strings bundle ?

[fozzil]

Hello All,

I would appreciate any advice from people who have been using any combination or all of the above sample libraries to help me out in picking a good library to buy.

For clarity, I am neither a professional nor too experienced in the field of midi music composition/recreation; more of a keen enthusiast with a bit of know-how. I have Cubase, Kontakt and a handful of sound libraries( StormDrum 2 & Pro, VSL Epic Horns, Damage, Evolve Mutations & Alicias Keys ) at present; have some time at hand so I was in need of one or two good string libraries so that I can try my hand at the likes of LOTR, Batman and King Arthur kind of music which I enjoy.

They are all priced between 1000 - 2000 USD, of course with some considerable difference in prices. I have seen that these three are used widely amongst those who do this professionally and saw a lot of videos, read a lot about each of them. Thought I will request for opinions here from people who might have actually had a chance to compare and can help me with my decision.

Thank you.

[Jellycrackers]

Hello All,

I would appreciate any advice from people who have been using any combination or all of the above sample libraries to help me out in picking a good library to buy.

For clarity, I am neither a professional nor too experienced in the field of midi music composition/recreation; more of a keen enthusiast with a bit of know-how. I have Cubase, Kontakt and a handful of sound libraries( StormDrum 2 & Pro, VSL Epic Horns, Damage, Evolve Mutations & Alicias Keys ) at present; have some time at hand so I was in need of one or two good string libraries so that I can try my hand at the likes of LOTR, Batman and King Arthur kind of music which I enjoy.

They are all priced between 1000 - 2000 USD, of course with some considerable difference in prices. I have seen that these three are used widely amongst those who do this professionally and saw a lot of videos, read a lot about each of them. Thought I will request for opinions here from people who might have actually had a chance to compare and can help me with my decision.

Thank you.

Hi! I don't have experience with the other two libraries you mentioned, but I did recently buy LASS 2 Lite, and I absolutely love it. It's substantially lighter on the RAM than the EastWest products I use, and I love the natural, raw sound of the library.

It sounds like you're looking for just strings. If that's the case, LASS makes perfect sense. But it sounds like you don't have a lot of good Brass or woodwind sounds either.

[fozzil]

Hi! I don't have experience with the other two libraries you mentioned, but I did recently buy LASS 2 Lite, and I absolutely love it. It's substantially lighter on the RAM than the EastWest products I use, and I love the natural, raw sound of the library.

It sounds like you're looking for just strings. If that's the case, LASS makes perfect sense. But it sounds like you don't have a lot of good Brass or woodwind sounds either.

Thanks for the suggestion man. I definitely have a long way to go in trying to cover the range of instruments that are needed; just thought I will start off with a good strings library

For brass and woodwinds, I think Albion series and Symphobia series has a bit of horns and woodwinds as well. VSL is great too but I just have this feeling that I won't be able to utilize the potential of a full blown VSL library with my limited knowledge. Chris Heins and CineSamples has decent brass sections too but again I am all over the place here. I am not sure if it is appropriate to start talking abt woodwinds and brass in this thread but again any off-the-top-of-the-head suggestions would be more than welcome

[Echoes in the Attic]

Hi! I don't have experience with the other two libraries you mentioned, but I did recently buy LASS 2 Lite, and I absolutely love it. It's substantially lighter on the RAM than the EastWest products I use, and I love the natural, raw sound of the library.

It sounds like you're looking for just strings. If that's the case, LASS makes perfect sense. But it sounds like you don't have a lot of good Brass or woodwind sounds either.

Thanks for the suggestion man. I definitely have a long way to go in trying to cover the range of instruments that are needed; just thought I will start off with a good strings library

For brass and woodwinds, I think Albion series and Symphobia series has a bit of horns and woodwinds as well. VSL is great too but I just have this feeling that I won't be able to utilize the potential of a full blown VSL library with my limited knowledge. Chris Heins and CineSamples has decent brass sections too but again I am all over the place here. I am not sure if it is appropriate to start talking abt woodwinds and brass in this thread but again any off-the-top-of-the-head suggestions would be more than welcome

In my opinion you can't go wrong with Albion I. It's an excellent starting point because it covers everything a little, even the legatos. However it is ensembles not individual instruments. Once you've got your head around that, then decide which section you wish you had more articulations or better control. Then get into the likes of LASS and other things. FOr what it's worth I started with Albion I then got LASS and some Cinesamples stuff. I think it's all great. The only thing I kind of regret is Albion III. Just nothing I really need. Albion II is cool though as well.

I think my favs are Albion I, LASS and CineBrass.

[fozzil]

In my opinion you can't go wrong with Albion I. It's an excellent starting point because it covers everything a little, even the legatos. However it is ensembles not individual instruments. Once you've got your head around that, then decide which section you wish you had more articulations or better control. Then get into the likes of LASS and other things. For what it's worth I started with Albion I then got LASS and some Cinesamples stuff. I think it's all great. The only thing I kind of regret is Albion III. Just nothing I really need. Albion II is cool though as well.

I think my favs are Albion I, LASS and CineBrass.

Really appreciate that info..thanks. The path you suggested seems pretty decent.

[jtiis]

I too have Albion. I first bought 1 then 2 then the solo strings and am considering the BML Horns they just released yeserday. Love the sound. Can't speak for the others. As others have mentioned with Spitfire once bought they are forever yours (and yours alone) to keep. But, if the approach and sound fit your needs - I think they are fantastic.

Echos - you mention using Albion but then having and Cine too. I was thinking of getting Spitfire's Horns partly because they are recorded in the same way/location and that the "match" would be perfect (apporach also)... how do you find the horns in LASS or Cine to go with Albion... I'm mostly looking for some solo horns or horns to run a standout line here or there in pieces. Thanks... and... hope I didn't "hijack" the direction of the thread with my Q.

[Josquin_VI]

I too have Albion. (...) I was thinking of getting Spitfire's Horns partly because they are recorded in the same way/location and that the "match" would be perfect (apporach also)... how do you find the horns in LASS or Cine to go with Albion... I'm mostly looking for some solo horns or horns to run a standout line here or there in pieces. Thanks... and... hope I didn't "hijack" the direction of the thread with my Q.

Don't mean to knock the CineBrass products (because I own and love both) but Spitfire's BML Series Horns would be perfect for the reasons you already mentioned.

Note that LASS ("L.A. Scoring Strings") is a strings-only lib, has nothing to with horns...

[Josquin_VI]

@ fozzil:
You really can't go wrong with Albion I & II. Those Spitfire libraries sound simply incredible out of the box, yet are setup in a very straightforward way - e.g. dividing strings/winds just in 'high' and 'low' sections and just a few articulations. If you have limited MIDI skills / knowledge of orchestration, I honestly think getting something like LASS 2 Full is really not the best idea at this point.
For strings, another product you might want to have a look at is Cinematic Strings 2 which won't break the bank and sounds awesome out of the box as well. With that library, however, you'll need the skills to write for the separate violins 1/2, violas, celli and basses sections (although there's a full range "master" patch as well, which would be a good starting point).

[Echoes in the Attic]

I too have Albion. I first bought 1 then 2 then the solo strings and am considering the BML Horns they just released yeserday. Love the sound. Can't speak for the others. As others have mentioned with Spitfire once bought they are forever yours (and yours alone) to keep. But, if the approach and sound fit your needs - I think they are fantastic.

Echos - you mention using Albion but then having and Cine too. I was thinking of getting Spitfire's Horns partly because they are recorded in the same way/location and that the "match" would be perfect (apporach also)... how do you find the horns in LASS or Cine to go with Albion... I'm mostly looking for some solo horns or horns to run a standout line here or there in pieces. Thanks... and... hope I didn't "hijack" the direction of the thread with my Q.

I think they pretty good together even though they're different. Although I'm not super picky about getting everything in the perfect space together. Some orchestral mockup composers would be more so.

Cinebrass has a very up front, clear sound. The Sony stage is a great sounding room i think. I like it because it is different from the spitfire brass. I really like how they scripted it but also the legato's and tweakability of it. Cinesamples have real polyphonic legato which is just awesome.

But it depends what you're after. If having the instruments in the exact same space is important and all you need is a few extra horns, the the BML horns are probably the way to go. But it's not hard to make cinebrass and albion sound good together. Or LASS strings. for me, the Albion series are the ensemble patches. For quick simple playing. And the Cinesamples and LASS are the individual section instruments and I'm happy with that. I also like that the cinebrass have more dynamic range. Crescendos are much better on them. But I can't say how the bml horns are. Can't say I'm interesting in those what with having Cinebrass bundle and Sample Modeling brass.