Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

CSS vs BBCSO Core

During Spitfire's 40% off sales (the next one is in May), you can get BBCSO Core for $220, since you get a credit for owning BBCSO Discover. Even if you decide to go the CSS route, you can probably squeeze that in. It's a ridiculous value.

There are also usually special bundles during Spitfire's spring sale. I bought my first libraries during the 2020 spring sale, where the special offer was the Symphonic bundle (Symphonic Strings, Symphonic Brass, Symphonic Woodwinds, and Masse) plus their Harp library, for $898. After getting that, I immediately purchased Chamber Strings via completing the SSO Chamber Edition bundle, and their Percussion library through the Symphony Complete bundle (completing a bundle during a sale gives an extra discount). All that came out to $1485.

So I would definitely wait until the sale, to see what they are offering, before making your final decision.

NI also usually runs a sale over the summer, where Komplete upgrades are 50% off. I signed up for their newsletter, got an offer to get Komplete 12 Select for ~$100, and then was able to upgrade to Komplete 12 'standard' for $210. So just over $300 total.

There's also the Metropolis Ark 1 + 2 bundle from Orchestral Tools to consider.
 
Weyenberg Creative said:
This is my dilemma. I hope someone can help. That $2400 is a hard wall
Click to expand...
Wow what a rough life you have. ;)

My first thought is whatever you do don't waste all that money on Komplete. Get Kontakt and even that mostly just for the player.

As for synths, I wouldn't spend money on ANY of them initially. There are some EXCELLENT inexpensive and free synths out there which may do everything you need and more. u-he has some great freebies, there's also Vital and Surge, which are new on the block but really good. Do yourself a favor and check them out (and other freebies) first. If you think "but you get what you pay for"....nope. Free doesn't mean weak or limited or inferior any more to say the least.
 
Last edited:
there are so many option out there..
i think it is important to know what kind of music you really want to make.
Some libraries are more suited for a style than others. Also workflow is an important factor.
e.g. some libraries sound out of this world beautiful, but have a workflow that might not suit your way of working/thinking. It will become a burden to use, because of that.
Same can be true the other direction. Watch walkthroughs and mockup tutorials using the libs by users. That way you get an impression how the workflow of the lib is and often you can (bonus) spot problem areas in sound. (each lib has some patches or scripting issues sonically)

if you can wait that long, wait for sales. Most companies have regular sales (twice or more a year) on (all) products.

one developer route

Some good options (again depending on sales and how big of a discount, since it can vary per sale):

Cinematic studio series (at current: woods, brass, ensemble strings, solo strings and piano).

Spitfire audio SSO (or the chamber version) with or without pro

Spitfire audio BBC SO PRO (i would immediately go pro, because of the extra instruments and mics)

Orchestral tools Berlin series (last year they had a 50% disount on their main packages: brass, winds, perc and strings). In my currency it came to 1600 bucks excl tax. I didn't had the money back then, otherwise i would have bought it. They are very good, but far from cheap.

Vienna Symphonic Library has many good libraries and bundles.

mix and match approach...

bits and pieces from different developers.
Pick a string library you really like the workflow and sound of. (or two)
pick a woods lib, you really like. (might be a different developer)
pick a brass lib, you really like

cherrypicking the best you find.. per instrument group.

e.g. BBC SO pro + sample modelling Brass or cinematic studio brass to give a better or at the least more brass options in your compositions. You can also add e.g. cinematic studio woodwinds or Orchestal tools soloists, for more indepth woodwind options (to expand on BBC SO)

Seriously there are a gazillion of options to choose... depending on your type of music and workflow
 
Last edited:
RogiervG said:
there are so many option out there..
i think it is important to know what kind of music you really want to make.
Some libraries are more suited for a style than others. Also workflow is an important factor.
e.g. some libraries sound out of this world beautiful, but have a workflow that might not suit your way of working/thinking. It will become a burden to use, because of that.
Same can be true the other direction. Watch walkthroughs and mockup tutorials using the libs by users. That way you get an impression how the workflow of the lib is and often you can (bonus) spot problem areas in sound. (each lib has some patches or scripting issues sonically)
Click to expand...
I find workflow the hardest thing to evaluate from walkthroughs and mock-up tutorials. The differences in workflow are enough that I’m often surprised by how something fits or doesn’t work for me. Sound for me is still the most important thing, but I often find myself reaching for libraries I like the sound of less simply because I know they will be much easier to work with. Often the best guide here is a company’s other products, but even that is not definitive. Also if you don‘t yet have a lot of libraries, you can often adjust your workflow to accommodate new libraries in a way that becomes increasingly difficult the more libraries you have.
 
jbuhler said:
I find workflow the hardest thing to evaluate from walkthroughs and mock-up tutorials. The differences in workflow are enough that I’m often surprised by how something fits or doesn’t work for me. Sound for me is still the most important thing, but I often find myself reaching for libraries I like the sound of less simply because I know they will be much easier to work with. Often the best guide here is a company’s other products, but even that is not definitive. Also if you don‘t yet have a lot of libraries, you can often adjust your workflow to accommodate new libraries in a way that becomes increasingly difficult the more libraries you have.
Click to expand...
Yes it can be hard to figure the workflow in detail. I agree.. but it is far better than the marketed developers walkthrough videos. They only show you the upsides.. not the cons.
Real users, are more honest (well not everyone, but a good bunch are), you see them make mistakes or the library responding not as intended. And they have find a way around the issue live in front of the cam. (no cutting).
 
RogiervG said:
Yes it can be hard to figure the workflow in detail. I agree.. but it is far better than the marketed developers walkthrough videos. They only show you the upsides.. not the cons.
Real users, are more honest (well not everyone, but a good bunch are), you see them make mistakes or the library responding not as intended. And they have find a way around the issue live in front of the cam. (no cutting).
Click to expand...
Yes, I agree with this completely. Even so, it’s the one thing in buying new instruments that I’m still surprised by. I’m almost never surprised by the instrument’s sound and capabilities. I’ve learned how to discern that from walkthroughs, demos, reviews, playthroughs, etc. Mostly it’s just recognizing that you can’t assume the instrument can do anything that hasn’t been illustrated. But I find I’m still surprised by instruments that don’t fit with my workflow for whatever reason.
 
Welcome to an expensive career to get started in. I would go with EastWest’s cloud these days. It’s an affordable starting point with a great collection and everything you’ll need to write film music. Spitfire is coming out with a subscription model and NI just released one too. It’s a great time to dip your toes in the water. Eventually you’ll own nearly everything- unless you want to rent it all. We didn’t have that option when I got started so I own nearly everything just through trial and error. I’ve found all commercial products have their place. If I could do it again though - I’d use a service as a trial period to kick the tires on the products I want. Then I would buy it - owning is always cheaper in the end.
 
Weyenberg Creative said:
Here's the deal: my family has allotted me $2400 to do with what I want. I was thinking of sinking it all into libraries, but I need advice on how to spend that effectively. I've been scouring various forums for input.

After reviewing a bunch of stuff, my options look like the following:

Package 1
------------
BBCSO Core
Komplete 13 CE *upgrade from Komplete 12*
Damage 2
Albion I
Strezov Choir Essentials
Omnisphere

or

Package 2
-----------
CSS
CSS Solo Strings
CSB
CSWW
Damage 2
Strezov Choir Essentials
U-He Zebra2 *possibly Zebra Dark*

I already have Cubase Pro 11. My keyboard is a Yamaha Motif XF6, and I have a Maschine Mk3, so I'm good on hardware.

This is my dilemma. I hope someone can help. That $2400 is a hard wall, so I'd need to hope for a sale on some of the options.
Click to expand...
Dude that is a massive amount of money “allotted” for music gear. Most of us have to work hard for every single library is weeks off our lives .
So a) chill out you’re mega privileged and will always get what you want and b) it doesn’t even matter which what you buy or what gear you have.
Random question but um do you have any composition education or experience or just a rich kid who thinks it would be fun?
If B then spend the money on tuition because talent and free libraries gets you a million dollar deal, a million dollars of gear and no talent gets you debt and confusion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom