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Yet another choir thread... EW Symphonic vs Olympus vs Storm Choir 2 Core?

musicalweather

musicalweather

Senior Member
Hi everyone,

I know you're up to your ears in choir threads, but I'm still going to ask. I'm in need of a choir for epic / hybrid compositions. Need to get something soon, and as my budget is fairly tight, both EW Symphonic Choirs ($99 for me to upgrade) and Olympus (on sale for $329) are possibilities.

Here is my situation:

I have the Kontakt version of EW Symphonic choir with Word Builder. Obviously purchased that quite a long time ago, and recently tried to fire it up again. I can play the .nki files - which reside on a PC with Windows 7 Pro - just fine, using Vienna Ensemble Pro. But I cannot get Word Builder (on my mac OS 10.7.5 machine) to work properly with VE Pro (version 5.4).

One reason I never used EWSC that much is because it seems such a pain to use Word Builder to create phrases -- so much tweaking required! So I'm thinking now might be a good time to move to something new.

I know there are lots of offerings out there by 8dio, Strezov, and Cinesamples among others. Most of those are out of my budget range. I am looking at the Strezov Storm Choir 2. I know a lot of people on this board rave about it. I don't quite understand why you can get such a huge sound from a small number of people -- just 12. But it's about the same price as Olympus right now. What are your thoughts about how Storm Choir 2 Core and Olympus compare? It seems like one might be getting more with Olympus?


Thanks for any info.
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My choice is Olympus....Venus more often than not, followed by Lacrimosa from 8DIO and then Voices of Prague for more detailed stuff. Hardly ever use EW products anymore. Strezov has merit too. For single vocals, I suggest Vocalise 2, Ethera 2, VOR from Soundiron and Shevannai from ET. IMHO, there is no right, wrong or definitive answer to your question. You will just receive opinions, and a mention of many different libraries..
 
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I know little about Storm Choir 2. I have heard demos and they sound pretty good. I have Rhodope 2 and the engine on that is great. Easy to get a lot out of it quickly. Some extra tweaking and it works

For my most detailed stuff I use EWQL (on Play 5, Windows) because it is the most detailed. I have Venus and it is really good, but still requires some tweaking. I use it to thicken my sounds.

Of course EWQL Hollywood is just around the corner and promises to be the best ever. That remains to be seen.
 
playz123 said:
My choice is Olympus....Venus more often than not, followed by Lacrimosa from 8DIO and then Voices of Prague for more detailed stuff. Hardly ever use EW products anymore. Strezov has merit too. For single vocals, I suggest Vocalise 2, Ethera 2, VOP from Soundiron and Shevannai from ET. IMHO, there is no right, wrong or definitive answer to your question. You will just receive opinions, and a mention of many different libraries..
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Cool list !
VOR _ Soundiron ?? Not picky .. just to clarify.
 
JonSolo said:
I know little about Storm Choir 2. I have heard demos and they sound pretty good. I have Rhodope 2 and the engine on that is great. Easy to get a lot out of it quickly. Some extra tweaking and it works

For my most detailed stuff I use EWQL (on Play 5, Windows) because it is the most detailed. I have Venus and it is really good, but still requires some tweaking. I use it to thicken my sounds.

Of course EWQL Hollywood is just around the corner and promises to be the best ever. That remains to be seen.
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Empathize with OP ... given imminent need.
Really hard to move on top choices now with EWQL Hollywood near .. with all the hype ...o_O
 
Would recommend wait-and-see for sure, as both 8Dio and EastWest have upcoming products with next gen claims. However, while you wait, check out Oceania by Performance Samples. It may be too expensive for you, and word building is not really plausible, but it has immense musicality!
 
NoamL said:
Would recommend wait-and-see for sure, as both 8Dio and EastWest have upcoming products with next gen claims. However, while you wait, check out Oceania by Performance Samples. It may be too expensive for you, and word building is not really plausible, but it has immense musicality!
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Thank-you! Price seems quite fair. Likely would not appreciate or benefit for some time from capabilities in top Choir libraries. Oceania may be excellent way to start and learn.
Was also tempted by Vocalise2, and Shevannai ... yet Choir content in Sonuscore_The Orchestra provides some 'Elven' choir help. Still not aware of their content sources(s).

Appreciate this suggestion! :thumbsup:
 
Vocalise is loads of fun and, as with all things "Heavy", in a whole different world. It does NOT compete in any way with choir libraries... suprised you didn't grab it in the 1/2 off sale! You also missed a great deal on Venus awhile back...when it was bundled in a deal for I think it was 99 bucks, I jumped...as it is a gold standard and was unbelievably discounted and packed with other good libraries. Personally don't see a "lot to learn" that's transferable from library to library...

BTW, the thread on NI's Heavyocity sale, which has killer deals on volcalize, an awesome bundle, and other goodies is worth a view... https://www.native-instruments.com/en/specials/komplete/heavyocity-offer-2017/

With what looks like several next gen choirs on the horizon from top flight companies, who are known for generous intro discounts, unless you can get a killer deal on the oldies, seems a huge premature ejaculation risk :rofl:...

of course, that's easy for me to say with several libraries... but really, as you've found the usefulness of The Orchestra so wonderful (I agree!!!), I'm really hoping for such a choir. The choir deals as of late seem to be signaling something new on the horizon, according to my reading of the tea leaves!

Can u post a link to your music? Or just PM me, if you're shy! As a relatively new and prolific poster I would really like to get a sense of where your head is at... and I mean that in the sincerest "friend" fashion...
 
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I wouldnt bother with Olympus or EW Symphonic Choirs If epic is what you're after. Requiem Light is the best bang for your buck, and is instantly gratifying.
 
mikefox789 said:
I wouldnt bother with Olympus or EW Symphonic Choirs If epic is what you're after. Requiem Light is the best bang for your buck, and is instantly gratifying.
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Hmmmm nice promo now ... to sort with Oceania at ~~ 2x price.
Could do RL + Shevannia OR Vocalise2 for same $$ or less ....

just Today ... Zero-G Ethera2 promo @ $75. :whistling:
 
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mikefox789 said:
I wouldnt bother with Olympus or EW Symphonic Choirs If epic is what you're after. Requiem Light is the best bang for your buck, and is instantly gratifying.
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I'd looked a bit at Requiem Light because of the SoundIron sale, but I am not sure if it offers much that I don't already have with the choir in Metropolis Ark 1. Are there any thoughts on that from someone who has both?
 
I only have Venus and Storm Choir II Core out of those three but they both have different merits. I find that Venus is way more versatile, it does some wonderful soft dynamics, the phrase builder is pretty much the same as any phrase builder and they can really add lots on the higher dynamics too. I find that Venus is so much more detailed in number of articulations, range and the soloists included. There are more singers with Venus so it does get big quickly but can't get smaller.

Storm Choir II is a different beast entirely and the reason it is more versatile despite its lack or articulations is the small section size and the stack function. It does fff very well, it also does pp but not as well as Venus in my opinion. It depends on what you want, of course. I think the syllables of Storm Choir in its phrase builder are a bit more interesting rather than the generic "ra ta la mus" faux-Latin that Requiem Light has for example.
 
lucianogiacomozzi said:
I only have Venus and Storm Choir II Core but they both have different merits. I find that Venus is way more versatile, it does some wonderful soft dynamics, the phrase builder is pretty much the same as any phrase builder and they can really add lots on the higher dynamics too. I find that Venus is so much more detailed in number of articulations, range and the soloists included. There are more singers with Venus so it does get big quickly but can't get smaller.

Storm Choir II is a different beast entirely and the reason it is more versatile despite its lack or articulations is the small section size and the stack function. It does fff very well, it also does pp but not as well as Venus in my opinion. It depends on what you want, of course. I think the syllables of Storm Choir in its phrase builder are a bit more interesting rather than the generic "ra ta la mus" faux-Latin that Requiem Light has for example.
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Thank-you much ... as Strom Choir Bundle deal expired during final order process. Now back to Soundiron and their several offerings. :thumbsup:
 
WindcryMusic said:
I'd looked a bit at Requiem Light because of the SoundIron sale, but I am not sure if it offers much that I don't already have with the choir in Metropolis Ark 1. Are there any thoughts on that from someone who has both?
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Right to the heart of 'unstated' issues here! Having BO_Inspire, M Ark(s) are high on bucket list.
Strong Choir content (in both) is a definite restraint on adding other libraries .... unless they add salient content.
 
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mikefox789 said:
If you already have Ark 1, then I wouldn't bother with Requiem Light. That choir is the sh#$!
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Heh heh .... kinda what's makin me krazy. :shocked:

Keeping M Ark(s) high on bucket list, and maybe Vocalise2 and/or Ethera2 for short run needs.

THX!! :thumbsup:
 
Vocalise and Ethera do not need to be listed as choir libraries, simply because they are not. They mostly feature solo voices and articulations. They both can do pads, but still no where near a choir sound, and certainly MOST DEFINITELY not epic choir.
 
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