KVR Readers' Choice Awards 2021: Top 5 nominations for 'Favorite Orchestral Virtual Instrument'

By KVR Audio on September 13th, 2021

The nominations for the 2021 KVR Readers' Choice Awards are in, as voted for by the KVR community. Voting is now open so make yourself heard here.

We present to you the top 5 nominations for 'Favorite Orchestral Virtual Instrument'.

During this phase KVR members can choose their preference from the shortlist in each category (or stick with their previous selection, or choose another if they prefer, who are we to judge?) Spread the word, tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell your mum, #kvrrcas. All categories are optional. Please note that Freeware and Donationware products should not be voted for in any categories except Favorite Free Virtual Instrument and Favorite Free Virtual Effect Processor. Everyone can change their nominations / votes at any time until the voting closes.

NOTE: If the product you wish to vote for isn't in the KVR Product Database yet please contact the developer and ask them to add it.
Who won last time? Find out at kvraudio.com/2020-kvr-rca-winners

In partnership with BBC Studios and the world-famous BBC Symphony Orchestra, Spitfire Audio has finally been able to capture what no other sample library has before: the musical synergy of a family of astoundingly accomplished players with a 90-year heritage of performances and recordings, deep sampled at London's famous Maida Vale Studios — home of the BBCSO, and host to The Beatles, Hendrix and Bowie. This landmark library is the stuff of composing dreams: strings, brass, woodwind and percussion, all housed inside our award-winning plugin. Including three editions (Discover, Core and Professional) interchangeable through our groundbreaking mode-switching technology, BBCSO Professional is our definitive orchestral library.

Created as a universal starting point for composers and music creators of every level, BBC Symphony Orchestra now comes in three editions: Discover, Core and Professional. Professional is the definitive, comprehensive collection for writing professional, world-class orchestral music, featuring 67 different instrument presets recorded on world-class Millennia preamps, including groups and soloists, and 468 techniques, including 45 legatos, for each melodic instrument — as well as a staggering 20 signals.

In the latest update to BBC Symphony Orchestra Professional we have added an extra set of stunning performances from the brilliant brass section, as well as updating a selection of legatos with abilities including fast runs and shorts:

~36GB of new content.
New Muted Brass techniques.
New Cimbasso.
Extended Legato Update.
Various bug fixes.

https://youtu.be/hK2vK8nOvzk

Vienna Ensemble Pro has become the definitive cross-platform network solution in studios and production facilities around the world. This mixing and hosting application enables you to set up a multiple computer network with both Macs and PCs without the need for extra MIDI and audio interfaces – all you need is a simple Ethernet cable. Even when you're using only one computer, Vienna Ensemble Pro improves your work-flow dramatically, with unique functions such as "Preserve" that keeps all your plug-ins and samples loaded while switching from one project to another – a huge time saver.

Vienna Ensemble Pro supports Vienna's sample players as well as all of your third-party VST/AU instruments and effects plug-ins and mix them in stereo and surround (up to 7.1), with full parameter automation and optional one-click integration with Vienna MIR Pro. What's more, with the included Epic Orchestra 2.0 Sample Pack you get a powerful all-in-one production tool to get you started right away.

Single Licenses available
You can purchase as many single licenses of Vienna Ensemble Pro 7 as you need. Instead of buying a fixed bundle of three licenses, you can buy one, two, three or more licenses, depending on the number of computers you have on your network.* Upgrade prices from Vienna Ensemble Pro versions 4, 5 and 6 are available. They are displayed automatically when you're logged in.

Epic Orchestra 2.0
Vienna Ensemble Pro 7 now comes with a dramatically improved version of the original Epic Orchestra. At 73 GB, Epic Orchestra 2.0 is ten times the size of the original that was included with previous versions of Vienna Ensemble Pro! The new sample collection, powered by the Vienna Synchron Player, includes all the previous instruments and articulations, as well as stunning highlights from Vienna's latest library products.

Strings that soar, woodwinds that dance, brass that commands and a full symphony orchestra of sounds at your fingertips — all expertly performed with musical articulations for real music played by real musicians. From flowing legatos to animated pizzicatos, from aggressive spiccatos to elegant staccatos, from the most subtle pianissimo to the most triumphant fortissimo and more, Miroslav Philharmonik 2 is a sweeping vision from a master artist embodied in a new virtual instrument that brings the orchestra to life. It's not enough to just have good recordings of classical instruments. For a true symphonic experience, you need instruments performed by the absolute best musicians articulated in just the right way directed by a producer and conductor who knows the fine art of making living, breathing samples. Miroslav Vitous pioneered the concept of a complete symphonic sample library for real composers, and now he has taken it to the next level.

Features

Over 55GB of high-definition samples.
Includes the complete original Miroslav Philharmonik sound library optimized for more control with articulation switching and enhanced macros.
Recorded and produced by jazz legend Miroslav Vitous.
Over 2,700 stereo instruments that cover the complete orchestral spectrum and more.
Multiple articulations per instrument with articulation switching.
Comes with ConvoRoom convolution reverb with 3D GUI.
34 high-quality studio effects from SampleTank 3.
4 professional-grade mastering processors from T-RackS.
Multi-channel mixer-like Mix interface with 16 channels and 4 insert effects per channel, 4 stereo effect returns (with 5 insert effects each) and a master channel with 5 insert effects.
Access to the powerful instrument Edit page with 3 sample engines (including formant preserving pitch-shifting and time-stretching engines), 10 filter types and 8 macro controls per instrument for quick multi-parameter editing.
Based on SampleTank 3's powerful 64-bit engine.
Recorded at CNSO Studios in Prague.

Iconica Sections & Players brings exceptional modern orchestral expression to every composer.

Featuring over 150 GB of strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, and harp samples, with a huge variety of expressions and articulations, the advanced, user-friendly interface makes it very intuitive to use, speeding and inspiring new composition.

Iconica Sections & Players is the only orchestral library recorded entirely at the legendary Funkhaus Berlin, renowned for its recordings of movie soundtracks, TV series, and major classical works. Produced in collaboration with specialist company Orchestral Tools, the samples were recorded by 76 musicians — including 50 players just for the strings — in Studio 2, a 400m2 room with a 10,5m floor to ceiling height and a pleasing reverb time of around 1.5 seconds.

Summary:

Strings: 33 GB.
Woodwinds: 51 GB.
Brass: 41 GB.
Percussion and Harp: 28 GB.

YouTube/UALmq81SBow

The Orchestra Complete 2 - New Features - New Instruments - New Presets

"The Orchestra Complete 2" as the flagship of the "The Orchestra" product family combines the force of the original 80-piece orchestra with additional articulations and powerful features. It now includes not only "Strings Of Winter" but also "Horns Of Hell".

In this revolutionary all-in-one package the sound of a symphonic orchestra is at your fingertips. With the groundbreaking ensemble-engine we created a super easy way for you to convert your ideas into music.

Immediately playable. Completely customizable. Surprisingly simple.

The Orchestra Complete 2 extends the entry-level instrument "The Orchestra" with more instruments, more presets and extended powerful features. Now including:

Horns Of Hell - More than 65 expressive brass articulations and 120 incredible and powerful presets, including a full Organ library.
Strings Of Winter - 60 string articulations, two new ethnic string sections and all additional content from Strings Of Winter.
Additional Presets and Multi-Instruments - More than 150 additional presets invite you to explore these additional sounds in conjunction with the full range of instruments that only "The Orchestra Complete 2" offers, bringing the total up to more than 475 playable orchestrations and patterns.
Revised Preset Browser - One of the biggest new features in THE ORCHESTRA COMPLETE 2 is the brand new Preset Browser. Explore the massive selection of presets with intuitive filters and categories. Finding the right preset for your mood or preferred style has never been easier.
MIDI Export - The Orchestra Complete 2 comes with MIDI-Export. Patterns and arrangements generated by the engine can be exported onto separate MIDI Tracks, opening endless possibilities.
More Requested Features - We also revisited the original ensemble engine, implementing smaller but highly-requested features like a switchable GUI and more MIDI controller assignment options.

YouTube.com/watch?v=5sVA7ikZ71c&t=2s