EastWest Composer Cloud a good deal?

[Stirner]

They say "Number 1 subscription service for music creators".

I'm making instrumental music, almost entirely ITB (only rarely I record something on my classical guitar). I still haven't found what genre I should settle in. I think my goal is to create pleasant instrumental background music, not orchestral cinematic stuff and no EDM.

So EastWest sounds like the right choice for me and I'm really interested in this product. I don't have any EastWest libraries and don't have many VSTis in general (Garritan CFX piano, Pianoteq, Diva and Synthmaster and some other synths), no Kontakt libraries - nothing like the EastWest Instruments, like their orchestral/rock/vocal/drum stuff.

240$ in a year for this package sounds like a good Price. Is the quality of EastWest is good comparing it to other products in 2019? The orchestral stuff is not as important for me as other instruments and I definitely don't need the platinum versions of their orchestral libraries with all the articulations and mics. Strings and winds are nice to have but I'm most interested in other libraries like Ghostwriter, Goliath, Fab Four, Ministry of Rock, Gypsy and Silk and so on, where so many guitars, drums, keys, vocals and ethnic instruments are included. Are they still good in year 2019? Is for example ProDrummer comparable to Superior Drummer or Slate Drums or AddictiveDrums?

I don't think there are comparable subscriptions on the market. Slate and PA subscriptions contain much too many processing tools and not enough instruments for me. Am I wrong? Are there other subscriptions available with many Instrument libraries?

I think there are two alternatives - NI Komplete and buying single libraries. Both is more expensive. But if you say "Forget EastWest, too old and not good enough", than I'll have to buy Komplete or at least Kontakt and than purchase single instruments (and discuss the prices with my wife ). But there is no way I can get much for 240$ in a year.

[Elektronisch]

Forget EastWest, too old and not good enough

You said you are making music but not sure which direction to go. So as i understand you arent making music just thinking of doing so?

If so just start making a track and during progress you will feel what you need and if you dont have then think if you can get by or not. Usualt DAWs has some real instruments sampled already, try to get by with those firsr

[mgw38]

The EastWest subscription is a good value imho. Of course, it depends a bit if you are open to subscription models in general. Some people absolutely hate them. But if you don't mind a subscription, EastWest is about as good as it gets.

EastWest regularly adds new libraries to their collection. About 1-2 per year. So I am not completely sure why somebody would consider it "too old". And in terms of "not good enough", the symphonic libraries, for example, are considered some of the best on the market.

It is true that most DAWs include all the necessary stuff to get you started. But a EastWest subscription is not necessarily a bad idea as something that gives you immediate access to all types of instruments at a professional quality level without breaking the bank.

[Stirner]

I played classical guitar for many years and learned jazz piano. Since a year or so I play less and compose more. I'm still not sure what direction is the best for me, so I try different genres - rock, cinematic, easy-listening and right now electronic : viewtopic.php?f=14&t=530986

I decided not to spend more than 100 € per month on this hobby. A subscription would be a perfect solution for that. Better than to stay disciplined for a year and save for Komplete Ultimate.

Yes, most of the EastWest libraries are old. Most of the Komplete stuff is old too. I don't know. It's not easy to demo it for one month. You have to pay an activation fee and than download 2TB of data. And than I still don't know how it compares to newer libraries.

[Scotty]

It is worth it to subscribe in my view. I own Komplete Ultimate Collectors Edition and I maintain a subscription to East West although I do cancel it if I am not working on orchestral related material for longer intervals. It is currently inactive as I have found Komplete Ultimate to be satisfactory for most things.

[Stefken]

I would never go in business with Eastwest. Dishonest company.

[Bombadil]

I tried it out for a couple of months, then canceled. I am not that prolific at this point in my life, so it wasn't worth it to continue. The main thing that I didn't like was the long download times. Our ISP is not the fastest, but downloading gigas of stuff took days @1mb/sec. I found the symphony instruments quite decent, especially the brass.
The other thing to consider is, if you stop your sub, make sure you've rendered the midi tracks to audio, otherwise, obviously, revisiting/remixing tracks will be impossible.

[Elektronisch]

what DAW are you using? maybe try to use what your daw includes. Also there are nice instruments in Spitfire Labs.

[Benedict]

Or compose with what you have and partner with a sound designer (synth sound pamker) to help you realize the final form of the piece once you have the notes and arrangement. This is work I don.