# What orchestral percussion library would you recommend ?



## ManicMiner (Nov 23, 2018)

Looking for library recommendations which feature good orchestral percussion. Kind of epic in a John Williams way, but not epic in a Heavocity Damage way !

I looked at Damage and thats a bit too extreme for me, and lacks things like Timpani rolls.


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## Kurosawa (Nov 23, 2018)

I heard a lot of good things about Spitfire Percussion and Berlin Percussion.


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## Mason (Nov 23, 2018)

If you have a combination of Spitfire Percussion and Hanz Zimmer Percussion you are good to go.


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## dhlkid (Nov 23, 2018)

True Strike


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## Cartoon (Nov 23, 2018)

Synchron Percussion is also a good choice!


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## dariusofwest (Nov 23, 2018)

Hmm, I tend to mix and match most of the time, but if I had to pick one- it'd probably be Hollywood Percussion (Diamond version)- would recommend mixing in some close mics if you do use it though.


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## jamwerks (Nov 23, 2018)

I have TrueStrike, CinePerc, SF Perc, & Synchron Perc, and Synchron is by far the best!


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## ScoreFace (Nov 23, 2018)

NI Symphony Series Perc is my fav - great for orchestral music, great rolls and incredibly realistic sounding!

True Strike is very good as well, I still use this, too, for a few sounds


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## ManicMiner (Nov 23, 2018)

Thanks all.... what about EW Hollywood Percussion Gold ? Thats at JRR for $90 currently....


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## bryla (Nov 23, 2018)

https://impactsoundworks.com/product/rhapsody-orchestral-percussion/ 
I bought it this summer during a huge sale and I feel like I cheated by having it so cheap. At listing price it is still very much worth it since it has replaced everything else on the instruments it contain.


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## jneebz (Nov 23, 2018)

ManicMiner said:


> Thanks all.... what about EW Hollywood Percussion Gold ? Thats at JRR for $90 currently....


Great library, but you won't get the close mics, so you'll lose a little bit of flexibility.


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## MartinH. (Nov 23, 2018)

bryla said:


> https://impactsoundworks.com/product/rhapsody-orchestral-percussion/
> I bought it this summer during a huge sale and I feel like I cheated by having it so cheap. At listing price it is still very much worth it since it has replaced everything else on the instruments it contain.



The one in this 99$ bundle? 
https://audioplugin.deals/impact-soundworks-orchestral-bundle-2/


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## Ashermusic (Nov 23, 2018)

I love the Hollywood Orchestral Percussion and True Strike, the former drier and latter wetter.


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## Mike Fox (Nov 23, 2018)

True Strike, for sure, If you're on a budget. The timpani is among the best of them! This is coming from someone who has HZ, Joby Burgess, HOP and Cineperc.


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## Ashermusic (Nov 23, 2018)

Mike Fox said:


> True Strike, for sure, If you're on a budget. The timpani is among the best of them! This is coming from someone who has both HZ, Joby Burgess, HOP and Cineperc.



Yes, that is a great timpani.


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## ManicMiner (Nov 23, 2018)

Mike Fox said:


> True Strike, for sure, If you're on a budget. The timpani is among the best of them! This is coming from someone who has HZ, Joby Burgess, HOP and Cineperc.


Is this True Strike 1 or 2 ?
I looked at ProjectSam website who sell True Strike and there doesn't appear to be a Black Friday Sale (?)
Actually Timpani [roll] is one of the main things I am looking for.


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## Land of Missing Parts (Nov 23, 2018)

ManicMiner said:


> Is this True Strike 1 or 2 ?
> I looked at ProjectSam website who sell True Strike and there doesn't appear to be a Black Friday Sale (?)


In the past, I believe they've done 25% off some time in December.


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## Mike Fox (Nov 23, 2018)

ManicMiner said:


> Is this True Strike 1 or 2 ?
> I looked at ProjectSam website who sell True Strike and there doesn't appear to be a Black Friday Sale (?)
> Actually Timpani [roll] is one of the main things I am looking for.


TS1, which is their orchestral percussion library. They usually have a Christmas sale, but the library is already priced fairly cheap.


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## ChrisSiuMusic (Nov 23, 2018)

I made a post about this a while ago. My go-to's are CinePerc for that bombastic sound, Berlin Percussion for softer stuff, and Ark 3 for the over-the-top but still acoustic percussion. I go more in-depth here:


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## ManicMiner (Nov 27, 2018)

I have about $150. I'm divided between *NI* Symphony Percussion, *True Strike* and *Hollywood Perc Gold*. NI have some great demo videos.
One of the main things I am after is a realistic timpani roll / epic orchestral music perc. ProjectSam told me they have a sale soon... NI sale is still on now and thats available for $149.
NI does seem to have some nice roll articulations.

I want to make the right decision...


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## nas (Nov 27, 2018)

Another vote for Berlin Percussion... very comprehensive and sounds amazing.


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## Gerbil (Nov 27, 2018)

ManicMiner said:


> I have about $150. I'm divided between *NI* Symphony Percussion, *True Strike* and *Hollywood Perc Gold*. NI have some great demo videos.
> One of the main things I am after is a realistic timpani roll / epic orchestral music perc. ProjectSam told me they have a sale soon... NI sale is still on now and thats available for $149.
> NI does seem to have some nice roll articulations.
> 
> I want to make the right decision...



It's a real shame that Cinesamples don't offer the separate percussion packs like they use to. I bought the basic orchestral cineperc for barely any more than your budget and it's such a great sounding library. The price for the full library is very high if you don't need all the other stuff.

I do wonder why more companies don't split their libraries up more as I'm sure they'd bring in more money that way. But I'm no businessman....


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## ScoreFace (Nov 27, 2018)

I have both True Strike and NI Percussion and I like the Timpani rolls in both libs, they sound great and are very natural to play with the modwheel.

The good thing about NI Perc is that they have a kind of membrane resonance system which makes the timpani sound much more realistic if you play several notes on the same key: then the timpani reacts like you play on a real membrane. Don't ask me how this works exactly :D - but it sounds really cool!

For the rolls, I couldn't decide myself which one I prefer...


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## Ashermusic (Nov 27, 2018)

ManicMiner said:


> I have about $150. I'm divided between *NI* Symphony Percussion, *True Strike* and *Hollywood Perc Gold*. NI have some great demo videos.
> One of the main things I am after is a realistic timpani roll / epic orchestral music perc. ProjectSam told me they have a sale soon... NI sale is still on now and thats available for $149.
> NI does seem to have some nice roll articulations.
> 
> I want to make the right decision...



There is no “right decision”, just good choices that sound different.


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## ManicMiner (Nov 27, 2018)

I own the full version of Kontakt (5). Does this in theory quality me for the _Crossgrade price_ for NI Symphony Percussion ?

There is no indication in my account when I go to buy Symphony Percussion. I wonder if the BlackFriday sales is overriding that? I'll have to call them.


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## jimjazzuk (Nov 27, 2018)

Hey @ManicMiner , I'm in exactly the same position. The dated interface and having to use Play have put me off Hollywood perc Diamond (Gold has only one mic position - not so useful). NI SP seems to have some fans, but some of the library seems to be not so good - mainly tuned percussion. It doesn't seem universally loved! So I'm left with True Strike. Not a bad word has been said about it on these forums. It's a little old, but seems to hold its own against most of the more recent libraries.


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## InLight-Tone (Nov 27, 2018)

CinePerc is pretty epic for big cinematic stuff...


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 27, 2018)

Add Audiobro LADD to the discussion. It's a terrific library.

Also, there's some good stuff in Vir2 Elite Orchestral Percussion. Not all of it, but some is very good.



jimjazzuk said:


> The dated interface and having to use Play have put me off Hollywood perc Diamond (Gold has only one mic position - not so useful)



Opinions are just that, but it's important for ones other than mine not to be taken as articles of faith!

So let me ask: does anyone else still have a problem with Play after all this time? I've found it absolutely fine for years.

And as to interfaces, my dated one is the keyboard, KAT pads, or the Boppad I just ordered (and am really looking forward to). I just load percussion and play!


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## ManicMiner (Nov 27, 2018)

jimjazzuk said:


> Hey @ManicMiner some of the library seems to be not so good - mainly tuned percussion. It doesn't seem universally loved! So I'm left with True Strike. Not a bad word has been said about it on these forums. It's a little old, but seems to hold its own against most of the more recent libraries.


I've looked at some videos on NI, a good one by Geoff Manchester and a 40m one by Composing Gloves. The bass drums and the Timpani seem to be excellent, and thats my main concern. Some of the others like the Celeste and chimes are not very good. But those are of little interest to me anyway. 
True Strike has got some good feedback, but there are very few videos on it, and the audio demos don't do much for me.


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## markleake (Nov 27, 2018)

ManicMiner said:


> I've looked at some videos on NI, a good one by Geoff Manchester and a 40m one by Composing Gloves. The bass drums and the Timpani seem to be excellent, and thats my main concern. Some of the others like the Celeste and chimes are not very good. But those are of little interest to me anyway.
> True Strike has got some good feedback, but there are very few videos on it, and the audio demos don't do much for me.


The timpani are good, yes, and I like them, but they sound a lot different to other timpani I have. They don't achieve the same brightness in tone at top dynamics. If you want timpani with plenty of presence, these aren't them.

Edit: I'm talking here about NI Percussion.


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## jimjazzuk (Nov 27, 2018)

I think essentially True Strike is like a tried and tested library that many people seem to go back to as a kind of 'old faithful'. I'm with you on the lack of videos/samples/demos, very frustrating. NI looks more flash and is much newer, but no one seems to be raving about it.


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## ManicMiner (Nov 27, 2018)

markleake said:


> The timpani are good, yes, and I like them, but they sound a lot different to other timpani I have. They don't achieve the same brightness in tone at top dynamics. If you want timpani with plenty of presence, these aren't them.
> Edit: I'm talking here about NI Percussion.


 In his video , Manchester compared the NI timpani rolls against OT and actually said OT was a bit brighter as you say, but he made a good case for NI being the way it was too, that when you go to a live performance, there is a drum resonance that more resembles NI. To my ears, I actually prefer the lack of intrusive higher freqs.


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## markleake (Nov 27, 2018)

ManicMiner said:


> In his video , Manchester compared the NI timpani rolls against OT and actually said OT was a bit brighter as you say, but he made a good case for NI being the way it was too, that when you go to a live performance, there is a drum resonance that more resembles NI. To my ears, I actually prefer the lack of intrusive higher freqs.


Yes, but in practice you need the brighter sound to be able to hear them in a heavy mix.

I'm not saying the NI timpani are bad, just that all these libraries you need to be aware of what scenarios they work better for and what their limitations are.


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## Wunderhorn (Nov 27, 2018)

Spitfire Orchestral Percussion has been working well for me as the basic go-to library.


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## ScoreFace (Nov 28, 2018)

markleake said:


> Yes, but in practice you need the brighter sound to be able to hear them in a heavy mix.
> 
> I'm not saying the NI timpani are bad, just that all these libraries you need to be aware of what scenarios they work better for and what their limitations are.



I know what you mean and I had to find "my" personal timpani mix there as well. I'm not a big fan of NIs stereo default mix, instead I normally chose close+spot+a bit of far mic position. This is sounding great to me then. I've made the same experience with the tonal percussion: the stereo mix didn't sound really convincing, but the mix with close, spot and far did the job.


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## Bansaw (Nov 29, 2018)

I am possibly thinking of putting a post in Classifieds soon asking if anyone wants to sell their NI Symphony Percussion. Maybe someone wants to replenish their funds after their BF spend. 
Someone over at KVR was selling it last week, but it was a Crossgrade license.


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## SimonCharlesHanna (Nov 29, 2018)

Wunderhorn said:


> Spitfire Orchestral Percussion has been working well for me as the basic go-to library.


The Celeste and Glock are superior compared to Berlin IMO too!


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## ManchesterMusic (Dec 18, 2018)

SimonCharlesHanna said:


> The Celeste and Glock are superior compared to Berlin IMO too!


Now I’m curious...


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## SimonCharlesHanna (Dec 19, 2018)

ManchesterMusic said:


> Now I’m curious...


both are more magic and less noisy/harsh


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## jonesdip (Dec 19, 2018)

jimjazzuk said:


> I think essentially True Strike is like a tried and tested library that many people seem to go back to as a kind of 'old faithful'. I'm with you on the lack of videos/samples/demos, very frustrating. NI looks more flash and is much newer, but no one seems to be raving about it.


Cory Pelizzari posted a great demo of True Strike here


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## bryla (Dec 19, 2018)

Rhapsody discount: https://impactsoundworks.com/product/rhapsody-orchestral-percussion/ 
$79!!


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## Billy Palmer (Dec 28, 2018)

I've narrowed my choices down to Spitfire Joby Burgess percussion (at wishlist price) and true strike 1 (with the lovely xmas discount).
The only other percussion I have is MA1.
The spitfire seems more versatile with stand out tuned percussion that could carry a piece solo.
True strike seems to be a more cinematic sound and is obviously half the price.

Thoughts and feelings please!

(Should add rhapsody's not quite the sound I'm after, and Berlin's overkill for my budget and disk space)


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## Bansaw (Dec 28, 2018)

William Palmer said:


> Thoughts and feelings please!
> 
> (Should add rhapsody's not quite the sound I'm after, and Berlin's overkill for my budget and disk space)


I got the NI Symphonic Perc on BF and I am very happy with the Timpani and other drums. The Celeste, Bells etc, is not as excellent. 
I think there is someone on this forum selling NI SP for about ~$120.


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## rottoy (Dec 28, 2018)

William Palmer said:


> I've narrowed my choices down to Spitfire Joby Burgess percussion (at wishlist price) and true strike 1 (with the lovely xmas discount).
> The only other percussion I have is MA1.
> The spitfire seems more versatile with stand out tuned percussion that could carry a piece solo.
> True strike seems to be a more cinematic sound and is obviously half the price.
> ...


Go for True Strike. You won't regret it.


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## Billy Palmer (Dec 28, 2018)

rottoy said:


> Go for True Strike. You won't regret it.



I'll think on it tonight but likely will do just that.



Bansaw said:


> I got the NI Symphonic Perc on BF and I am very happy with the Timpani and other drums. The Celeste, Bells etc, is not as excellent.
> I think there is someone on this forum selling NI SP for about ~$120.


As tr


Bansaw said:


> I got the NI Symphonic Perc on BF and I am very happy with the Timpani and other drums. The Celeste, Bells etc, is not as excellent.
> I think there is someone on this forum selling NI SP for about ~$120.



As true strike is slightly less I'd have to go with that over the NI


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## markleake (Dec 28, 2018)

@William Palmer

I have Spitfire, NI, and recently got Berlin percussion also.

I'd say Spitfire is the way to go for you, or True Strike if keeping costs down (will be better than NI), although I'm just going by reputation for True Strike, as I don't have it myself to compare.

Spitfire's percussion is simply wonderful sounding. I use it all the time. It's getting on a bit now in age, but that doesn't matter, it still sounds great for pretty much the _entire_ range of the instruments. There's more than enough variety in there, and ability to hold its own as solo, at least in an orchestral context.

Berlin is excellent, but you don't get the timpani with it, and it is higher in price even then. It is worth it if you need the greater variety it offers vs. Spitfire, and some instruments sound better than Spitfire (I'm looking at you bass drum), but then some of Spitfire's instruments I like better than Berlin's, like the Celeste. You'd only get this if you want to match to other OT products, or need the extra variety (which generally you don't).


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## Matt Riley (Dec 28, 2018)

I picked up EW HOP diamond last month and have been using it in projects. The two mark tree patches are really useful. The timpani is really nice and thoroughly sampled but I was disappointed with the sleigh bells, celesta and glock. They each seem to have only 3 sample layers per note which doesn’t seem like much of an upgrade over Symphonic Orchestra Percussion which they did 15 years ago. The dynamic levels are not smooth either. I guess you get what you pay for. If I had paid Spitfire prices I would be pretty unhappy.

Here’s a test I did with the glock. Notice the extreme change in the sound between velocity 60 and 61. The same thing happens at 120 and 121.


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## Billy Palmer (Dec 29, 2018)

markleake said:


> @William Palmer
> 
> I have Spitfire, NI, and recently got Berlin percussion also.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the advice everyone!
Sounds like I would have been pretty satisfied with either, however I went with Spitfire JB percussion in the end as it seemed a little more versatile with the outstanding tuned percussion + I have the more trailer-y stuff in MA1.


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## Geoff Grace (Feb 11, 2019)

Mason said:


> If you have a combination of Spitfire Percussion and Hanz Zimmer Percussion you are good to go.


Spitfire Percussion is currently 40% off until 23:59GMT 12th Februrary 2019.

Best,

Geoff


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