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One Orchestral Library recommendation

ed buller said:
along with pretty much every library on the planet

best

ed
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Well, to a lesser extent in some other libraries, though. You're a percussion guy, right? The timing of the shorts in BBCSO is far more inconsistent than in Nucleus. Audio Imperia is making products for trailer composers as well, and their audience demands precise timing.

~~~

To the point of comparing the sound...

Here is a thread comparing / contrasting a number of libraries, including Amadeus, The Orchestra and many, many others!

5 Starter Libraries Compared

(Updated) I recently decided to put my starter libraries (and myself) to the test, by remaking the same short piece using all five of them. This was mostly done for myself, to get to know their respective sounds, workflows, and overall pros and cons better, but I thought I might share the five...
vi-control.net vi-control.net
 
Soundbed said:
Well, to a lesser extent in some other libraries, though. You're a percussion guy, right? The timing of the shorts in BBCSO is far more inconsistent than in Nucleus. Audio Imperia is making products for trailer composers as well, and their audience demands precise timing.

~~~

To the point of comparing the sound...

Here is a thread comparing / contrasting a number of libraries, including Amadeus, The Orchestra and many, many others!

5 Starter Libraries Compared

(Updated) I recently decided to put my starter libraries (and myself) to the test, by remaking the same short piece using all five of them. This was mostly done for myself, to get to know their respective sounds, workflows, and overall pros and cons better, but I thought I might share the five...
vi-control.net vi-control.net
Click to expand...
sure...Spitfire and OT have always had an Achilles heel with some of their timings but EVERY library I own has inconsistences on shorts. I still maintain for the money BBC is a no brainer.

best

ed
 
ed buller said:
This is a FAIR criticism . The brass ( practically the horns) Don't have that snarl and splat in Hollywood but everything else is fine for scoring

best

ed
Click to expand...

ed buller said:
sure...Spitfire and OT have always had an Achilles heel with some of their timings but EVERY library I own has inconsistences on shorts. I still maintain for the money BBC is a no brainer.

best

ed
Click to expand...
Indeed, and frustrating as hell which is why I double up with a percussive instrument (piano) if I want precise timing when playing in.
 
VSL Synchron Prime is my idea. i tested spitfire bbc free stuff i really hated general timbre and how wet is and their middle bbc version is same level wet way too wet my taste.
 
jbuhler said:
For those of you recommending HOOPUS, does it still have the high learning curve and high system requirements that once upon a time made it less than optimal as an introductory library? It’s clearly an excellent value but I’ve long wondered if the Opus version solved many of the other issues with the original version that made it more difficult than it needed to be for those learning how to use a virtual orchestra.
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As a relative newbie and slow learner I find OPUS very approachable and easy to use.
 
rAC said:
As a relative newbie and slow learner I find OPUS very approachable and easy to use.
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I quite like the interface. The basic knobs and buttons are on the main page and pretty intuitive and easy to spot.
Screenshot 2023-12-28 185028.png
If you ever want advanced controls, OPUS definitely has them as well. There's even a 200+ page manual for HOOPUS @ https://www.soundsonline.com/support/manuals

That being said, The mod-wheel and CC11 behaviors are different for different instruments. There's a tooltip for each patch that tells you what each thing controls, so it's just something that you have to get used to.
Screenshot 2023-12-28 190335.png
Also, EastWest support is pretty fast if you ever have an issue.
 
Nobody has mentioned it yet but when it goes on sale for 400 Euros, I recommend Iconica Sections and Players.

Tone quality is pretty great. Orchestral Tools worked on this so the sound is wonderful tho it is not recorded in Teldex. You have a lot of articulations and is more than your standard starter library. You also get basic mic positions instead of being stuck to one mix like most starter libraries.

www.steinberg.net

Iconica: VST Orchestra Library

Iconica was recorded in legendary Funkhaus Berlin and brings exceptional modern orchestral expression to professional composers.
www.steinberg.net www.steinberg.net

Before you pull the trigger, here are tips you'd want to know.

1) For your first library, prioritize the sound first and foremost. A library could have the articulations and specs you want but if you don't really like the sound, you're soon gonna find yourself looking for a new library.

2) After getting your first library, make a lot of music with it to get a good grip of the strengths and weaknesses. Even doing mock-ups of existing music (see my signature) is a great exercise because you're working with existing music and you can focus on calibrating and tailor fitting the library to an existing piece.

3) After a few projects with your first library, make sure to note what were its weaknesses, pitfalls, things you found hard to work with, etc. Shorts are bad? You want more dynamic layers? You want this instrument? Use this to decide what further libraries to get. You can minimize GAS and redundant purchases if you have a better idea of what weaknesses you need covered.
 
Hi,

So, is the current "Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Edition" for $299 + (Spaces II worth $299 free) deal worth it for a beginner?

Thanks & cheers,
Dhiraj
 
Dhiraj said:
Hi,

So, is the current "Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Edition" for $299 + (Spaces II worth $299 free) deal worth it for a beginner?

Thanks & cheers,
Dhiraj
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Whatever you do, preferably buy it at Best Service with the extra $40 off voucher they’re offering! ;) (no idea if they also have the Spaces II deal though)
 
Dhiraj said:
Hi,

So, is the current "Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Edition" for $299 + (Spaces II worth $299 free) deal worth it for a beginner?

Thanks & cheers,
Dhiraj
Click to expand...
In terms of sheer stuff you get, ~260$ on JRR with FORUM is hard to beat. But to echo what previous members have said, make sure you like the sound of any library you want to get, as well as knowing its limitations/weaknesses.

I think there is at least one video on YouTube comparing the sounds of various complete orchestral libraries.

Here's one:

 
VannKraken said:
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I like how he graded on a “curve”!

Even if I don’t agree on every word, I don’t disagree on many of the main points! And we agree on Nucleus as a top tier for this audience. (And for which applications BBCSO is more appropriate. Namely, when you want to feel like you’re in the room for a concert, “versus” writing a score. But of course, if you’re writing a score where sounding like you’re in a concert hall is what helps the story, then, great.)
 
EW Hollywood OPUS sale price is hard to beat especially with Space 2 bundle. If you don't want to spend more money down the road, you'll probably be happy with it.

I don't have Nucleus, but I listened to the demos and it doesn't sound very good to me. I prefer the EW Hollywood OPUS sound for this price range.

VSL Prime is OK. It has the basics covered. Limited in mic positions and no solo string, etc. The real value is the upgrade to their main libraries in the future if you like VSL sound. Be prepared to spend thousands down that road to get all the sections.

Another option is Berlin Orchestra from Orchestral Tools. With EDU discount, it's about $500. It's arguably more flexible than VSL Prime because of the included solo instruments.
It also has the benefit of discount for upgrading to other Berlin Series.
 
Soundbed said:
I like how he graded on a “curve”!

Even if I don’t agree on every word, I don’t disagree on many of the main points! And we agree on Nucleus as a top tier for this audience. (And for which applications BBCSO is more appropriate. Namely, when you want to feel like you’re in the room for a concert, “versus” writing a score. But of course, if you’re writing a score where sounding like you’re in a concert hall is what helps the story, then, great.)
Click to expand...

No tier list is going to be perfect for everyone, but I think @zedmaster covers the main players here for starter libraries and explains why he rates them the way that he does.

This type of video gives folks a good starting point to delve into their own deeper research, which is how I viewed it.
 
VSTHero said:
What kind of system/specs do you have - that might really help. There’s no perfect library, just a question of what trade offs you prefer. :)
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I run Logic Pro X on the Mac mini M2 pro with 16GB of RAM. I may need to work also on my MacBook M2 with 8GB of RAM when I am abroad.
 
Voider said:
Nucleus by Audio Imperia! The full version is $449 (RRP).

I composed this whole piece almost entirely with Nucleus Lite ($99 and you can crossgrade later to the full version):



Only the percussion I supplemented a bit with Strezov Sampling's Tupans X3M and Heavyocity's Ensemble Drums, and the synth you hear is my custom synth. Apart from that, everything is Nucleus Lite :)
Click to expand...


Voider said:
Nucleus by Audio Imperia! The full version is $449 (RRP).

I composed this whole piece almost entirely with Nucleus Lite ($99 and you can crossgrade later to the full version):



Only the percussion I supplemented a bit with Strezov Sampling's Tupans X3M and Heavyocity's Ensemble Drums, and the synth you hear is my custom synth. Apart from that, everything is Nucleus Lite :)
Click to expand...

Beautiful soundtrack! Thanks for sharing!
 
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