That's a great discovery! Thank you!
One Orchestral Library recommendation
- Thread starter Joe K
- Start date
Very helpful comparison. I only hoped the piece was not that "military" so we can discern the quality of the long notes, legatos, vibrato etc... but very helpful insight. thanks!
VSTHero
Senior Member
RAM limitations should be key in your selection based on the 16gb and 8 gb capacities of your two systems, otherwise you won’t really be able to use the library effectively, although Mac’s swap memory can help. I originally was on an 8 gb Mac but had invested in the cinematic studio series, so I was a bit stuck except for using Noteperformer and Musesounds. I just upgraded to 32 gb M2 which opened up the CSS series for me. HOOPUS, BBCSO both would likely need too much RAM if you’re trying to use full orchestra. VSL Synchron Prime on the other hand would work well, including the Noteperformer engine for it. My guess is Amadeus, The Orchestra, and others also work with lower specs but make sure! Maybe BBC Core would still be okay at 16gb, I’m not sure, and if you were really selective with HOOPUS, could be possible to make it light weight?
Sean Linge
Member
I've used BBC Professional sufficiently with 16gb; I don't try to run any more than 2-3 mics at a time, but for Core's single mix it should definitely be enough.
I'm in a similar boat. I love the sound of ICONICA after playing with the stripped down Sketch version that came with the latest upgrade to Cubase. Otherwise I'm leaning more towards Musio/CineSamples, CSS (though that's just strings) and VSL Synchron. But alas, no money. Hahaha.
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Ashley Kampta
New Member
If you're working with 8 or 16GB of RAM in your systems, then I'd like to put in another vote for Nucleus. I'm using Nucleus myself on a M1 MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM and I'm able to run a full orchestral template with extras (synths, samplers, rhythm section) in REAPER and it doesn't take more than 40% CPU and 2.5GB of RAM while idle with everything loaded, online and ready to go.
I personally find Hollywood Orchestra to be a notorious RAM hog. The Violin 1 Legato patch takes up 700MB+ of RAM by itself, so it's unworkable on my laptop setup, which needs to have a full template and is intended to be self-contained to be workable while travelling.
My strings and percussion are Nucleus, and my brass and winds are Aaron Venture, but I'm sure that if you just use Nucleus for everything (especially since it has separate instrument sections rather than ensembles), you may get even more of a CPU and RAM saving. It's honestly the best bang for the buck in a full orchestral library that I've seen in a while.
I personally find Hollywood Orchestra to be a notorious RAM hog. The Violin 1 Legato patch takes up 700MB+ of RAM by itself, so it's unworkable on my laptop setup, which needs to have a full template and is intended to be self-contained to be workable while travelling.
My strings and percussion are Nucleus, and my brass and winds are Aaron Venture, but I'm sure that if you just use Nucleus for everything (especially since it has separate instrument sections rather than ensembles), you may get even more of a CPU and RAM saving. It's honestly the best bang for the buck in a full orchestral library that I've seen in a while.
I mostly use Nucleus for everything, and I can make lots of sounds I don't have by doing some heavy manipulating and performance patches and it really doesn't take that much work to do. The brass shorts are already really great for brass ostinato lines, the woodwinds are very nice and clear, and the strings are a great baseline--unless you're trying to do something really complicated with any of the sections but most of the time my orchestrations are pretty down-to-earth.
My vote is for Nucleus. It was my first big all-in-one orchestra purchase and I've since bought others, but I keep going back to Nucleus.
My vote is for Nucleus. It was my first big all-in-one orchestra purchase and I've since bought others, but I keep going back to Nucleus.
Marcus Millfield
Senior Member
Same goes for BBCSO Pro if you want to take advantage of the multiple mic signals. Most around here will probably use a mix of 2 or 3 mics. Those will add up quite quickly.
Nigel Andreola
Active Member
I used Berlin Strings, Berlin Woodwind, Aaron Venture Infinite Brass and BBCSO Core Percussion for my piece Merry Christmas Beethoven. It is a classical trumpet concerto style piece.
I've found that each library has its strengths. Some orchestral libraries are more ideal for certain kinds of music then others. For instance, Spitfire Symphony Orchestra is too big for a classical concerto style piece. If composing a heroic theme with BBCSO you may need louder brass than it offers. For this reason, it may be necessary to mix libraries for your scoring needs right from the start. If you try to stick with one premium package, it may frustrate you with its limitations when you are trying to achieve a certain sound and waste your time.
Tap here for places to listen to my piece Merry Christmas Beethoven:
artists.landr.com
My distributor hasn't put my piece up on YouTube music yet. I've written them about this. Hopefully they will get to it soon so people who don't have a streaming service sub can listen to it.
@Joe K
Of all the orchestra libraries you've looked at so far, which ones have demos that you like the best?
I've found that each library has its strengths. Some orchestral libraries are more ideal for certain kinds of music then others. For instance, Spitfire Symphony Orchestra is too big for a classical concerto style piece. If composing a heroic theme with BBCSO you may need louder brass than it offers. For this reason, it may be necessary to mix libraries for your scoring needs right from the start. If you try to stick with one premium package, it may frustrate you with its limitations when you are trying to achieve a certain sound and waste your time.
Tap here for places to listen to my piece Merry Christmas Beethoven:
Nigel Andreola - Merry Christmas Beethoven
Listen to Merry Christmas Beethoven by Nigel Andreola.
artists.landr.com
My distributor hasn't put my piece up on YouTube music yet. I've written them about this. Hopefully they will get to it soon so people who don't have a streaming service sub can listen to it.
@Joe K
Of all the orchestra libraries you've looked at so far, which ones have demos that you like the best?
nolotrippen
Senior Member
I got Amadeus Symphonic Orchestra for $99 and am very pleased. Sounds terrific. Sales ends today I think.
Really helpful insight! thanks Ashley
I tend for the more classical and British sound of the Spitfire BBCSO Core version. Lightweight on RAM and around 20GB of content with mostly everything I need. Combining it with Abbey Road ONE: Orchestral foundations would make a great combo. (For the more epic sound).
Nigel Andreola
Active Member
That is a good plan.
