# Peter Siedlaczek Complete Orchestral Collection



## JE Martinsen (Jul 2, 2013)

Best Service released this yesterday, and after listening to all the demos I have to say I really like the sound of those strings. To my ears they sound very lush and warm. A quick search for Peter Siedlaczek on the forum came up with some nice comments about String Essentials 2. I also found some positive reviews through Google.

On Best Service's web page for COC they write that "Complete Orchestral Collection is a brand new compilation of all Peter Siedlaczek libraries ever released by Best Service. This new product combines Peter Siedlaczek´s String Essentials 2nd Edition as well as the well known Complete Classical Collection 2nd Edition in one Kontakt Player 5 instrument with over 25 GB of uncompressed sample content."

http://www.bestservice.de/detail1.asp/b ... lection/en

Apparently it's also recorded relatively dry, and mixes quite well with other string libraries. That sounds good to me, because I'm getting VSL SE Vol 1 this summer.

Now, if the price of this collection was around 300 Euros or more I wouldn't think so much about this. Perhaps because the library apparently is getting a bit long in the tooth (although it can still sound amazing of course). But when it's half that price (150 Euros) this looks like an incredibly tempting deal. I have already decided on the VSL library, but if COC is as good as my initial impression of it is, it would possibly be very well suited to mix and match with VSL SE. Also, the VSL brass has been mentioned as the one section from that company a little bit lacking compared to the other sections. Maybe the brass in COC is OK? What do you think? Any opinions and experiences with Peter Siedlaczek's libraries? I would love to hear them!


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## shakuman (Jul 2, 2013)

I am a little confuse! I own both Peter Siedlaczek Complete Clasical Collection 2nd edition and Strings Essentials 2nd edition, My question is, do I need to upgrade for 109$? also if the content (Samples) are same, why BS don't offer a free upgrade to whom own the both library! :!: need some answers.


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## JE Martinsen (Jul 2, 2013)

There seems to be some new sample content (String Tools), but I haven't read the manual yet so I don't know if it's that much of a bonus. Perhaps they've done a lot of programming work on this new version, I don't know. I'll download the manual later today and see what's cookin'.

I've been listening to these demos for an hour or two now, and I'm really warming to the sound of this library. Not sure if I'm digging the brass fully, but those strings.. Are you happy with it, shakuman? Strengths and weaknesses?


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## Wes Antczak (Jul 2, 2013)

I was looking at this as well, and some of the new demos do sound pretty good.

That was my impression too... that apparently they've done a lot of programming under the hood to take advantage of some of the new features that Kontakt 5 has to offer. (I believe that when the last versions came out we were still at Kontakt 2.)


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## kitekrazy (Jul 2, 2013)

This looks like a great library for people new to orchestra libraries. This one doesn't have sticker shock or require the use of dongles.


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## JE Martinsen (Jul 2, 2013)

Exactly! Only minor downside for me is the pre-recorded stuff might be taking a big chunk of the 25 gigs, and I'm not really that interested in that stuff. But the size of what's left for the playable instruments is indeed not a trustworthy indicator of quality. And I think this library sound absolutely great to my ears, no doubt!

EDIT : Pre-recorded.. Of course I mean the many trills and runs etc. That sort of thing.

I'm that close to pulling the card trick now.. :lol: 

But I'd be very interested to hear from people here who might have some valuable experiences to share..


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## shakuman (Jul 3, 2013)

JE Martinsen @ Wed Jul 03 said:


> There seems to be some new sample content (String Tools), but I haven't read the manual yet so I don't know if it's that much of a bonus. Perhaps they've done a lot of programming work on this new version, I don't know. I'll download the manual later today and see what's cookin'.
> 
> I've been listening to these demos for an hour or two now, and I'm really warming to the sound of this library. Not sure if I'm digging the brass fully, but those strings.. Are you happy with it, shakuman? Strengths and weaknesses?



Hello JE.
I used both long time a go, and both library are beautiful and useful especially the strings ensemble and the woodwinds..I will email BS support for more clarification.

Shakuman.


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## JPQ (Jul 3, 2013)

I thinked this to add my vsl special edition based stuff becouse wider colour palette is wider. and even now some sounds really useful. aven now i mean these are old samples. one thing is actually strings even these runs and trills etc becouse using cheapper one libraries there is not much round robin...


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## Sasje (Jul 4, 2013)

Is this the old VST version converted to Kontakt? or a whole new library? I remember this one from years back.


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## jtenney (Jul 4, 2013)

This interests me a lot! I own the old Complete Classical Collection and String Essentials, and they have not had much use while time has rolled on to more "up-to-date" libraries (which I own a couple of, but not many). But going back to the demos, and playing some fairly random instruments, I am once again impressed. So, is it peoples' belief that this upgrade uses mostly the old samples (with the addition of the String Tools) and mostly does new instruments compatible with K5? And would the upgrade provide a completely-usable and unified package, since the original product is spread over two large libraries (plus now the String Tools)? It seems like this could be a "missing link" between the long-in-the-tooth EW libraries and the Albion/LASS/etc. side of things. I am not proud of having neglected the Siedlaczek possibilities, but better late than never. And for just over $100, do folks think it's worth the investment? Thanks in advance to all!

later,
John


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## JE Martinsen (Jul 4, 2013)

Having read quickly through the manuals for String Essentials and COC I have the impression they're the original older ones..(?) A burning question for me is how much of the material is phrases and special FX stuff. Especially the phrases is nothing I'm very interested in. Maybe those who have the libraries can give a hint as to how that balance is, between phrases and actually playable instruments.

Total Piano is not a big draw for me, not the Smart Violins and not Orchestral Colours.

But still, there's Complete Classical Collection 2nd Edition and String Essentials 2nd Edition - plus the Classical Choir (but I have Olympus Elements which is amazing).

It's the sound of those strings, woodwinds and perhaps also brasses that really got my attention. The overall sound (to my ears) is kind of dated but in a good way. Like a good red wine that gets better with age. I love the demos, and the first track "The Emperor" sounds like the intro to a 70's/80s BBC news programme.. which is a plus in my strange little universe :lol:

Then there's the "Adventure Mystique"/"A day in a Philharmonic Hall" .. the warmth of those strings.. I also like the sound of the brass on that one.

I would hope that they've done some thorough work under the hood, since it's repackaged with Kontakt Player 5, and that they've taken advantage of the new features and improvements in Kontakt since.., yeah it's a really "old" library.

Does it sound that dated compared to the newer league of orchestral libraries? Or does this library still hold it's ground well despite it's age?


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## jleckie (Jul 4, 2013)

I would be very interested to hear if anyone gets this. I have most of the PS stuff but I would be curious as to what the 'new stuff' , the mood stuff is.


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## germancomponist (Jul 4, 2013)

I have the older libs and must say that they are very very good. So far as I remember, Peter told me, some weeks ago, that there is new audio in this new library. And I have to say that Stephan Römer did some fine new demos.


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## EastWest Lurker (Jul 4, 2013)

IMHO, there is no such thing as a "dated sounding" library. There can be features, like legato intervals, and programming in newer libraries that are absent in older ones, but well recorded sound is good sound is good sound is good sound.


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## Nuno (Jul 4, 2013)

Damn...those demos sound so good! 

I wish i was starting today building my template...this could save me thousands of euros for a starting template! 

Nevertheless, I'm still looking for a brass library and wouldn't mind for having a choir set, and of course some additional colors to my palette would be a plus too. 

So, if someone has bought this library please share his/her opinion on the brass and choirs, please!


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## JE Martinsen (Jul 4, 2013)

I'm totally with you on that, Jay  But for lack of a better word.. Different - compared to the newer libraries out there. Or it may just be that the library has it's own unique sound, one that I like very much. And "dated" or old is not a bad word for me in this respect, by no means!

One thing I was wondering about though is this : "New great sounding samples in 5 different lengths, 3 or 4 dynamic levels, runs and natural release samples have been carefully recorded using 3 microphone placements: close (dry), normal and ambient."

This is from the info about String Essentials. It may be a silly question, but "five different lengths", does that mean the individual notes aren't looped? Or is that the phrases?

Gunther, do you still use the PS library in your work? Does it mix well with other libraries? If there's any strengths and weaknesses with this library and it's individual sections that you'd like to mention, I'd be grateful!


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## germancomponist (Jul 4, 2013)

EastWest Lurker @ Thu Jul 04 said:


> IMHO, there is no such thing as a "dated sounding" library. There can be features, like legato intervals, and programming in newer libraries that are absent in older ones, but well recorded sound is good sound is good sound is good sound.



+ 10 000 o/~ o-[][]-o


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## germancomponist (Jul 4, 2013)

JE Martinsen @ Thu Jul 04 said:


> Gunther, do you still use the PS library in your work? Does it mix well with other libraries? If there's any strengths and weaknesses with this library and it's individual sections that you'd like to mention, I'd be grateful!



I use it all the time, no joking! My favourite is the SE library. No solo instruments, but very good ensembles. It blends very well with all other libs I have in use, absolutely no problems.

And, that choir library and special piano lib is very goooood too!


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## JE Martinsen (Jul 4, 2013)

Great! :D 

I think I'll grab this one. For what you get that price is very reasonable to say the least. I think it'll be a good partner to VSL SE Vol 1 as well.

Thanks for the info, Gunther!


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## jtenney (Jul 4, 2013)

Good points, everyone! "Good sound is good sound is..." Ummm, yeah, how easily we sometimes forget...


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## jleckie (Jul 4, 2013)

JE Martinsen @ Thu Jul 04 said:


> Great! :D
> 
> I think I'll grab this one. For what you get that price is very reasonable to say the least. I think it'll be a good partner to VSL SE Vol 1 as well.
> 
> Thanks for the info, Gunther!



I have SE too. I don't think you will be dissatisfied. If you get it soon can you let me know what the "mood" phrases are about? I am thinking of upgrading.


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## re-peat (Jul 5, 2013)

StringEssentials is a good and useful library, sure, but I don’t think it belongs in the category “great libraries of timeless value” (the category where, for example, I feel the old Sonic Implants Strings belong). 
Up until a few years ago, I did use StringEssentials rather a lot (and the library is certainly capable of a lot), but it’s one of those libraries you only keep using until something better comes along, and in the case of StringEssentials, a lot has come along that is significantly better.
Today it sits somewhere on one my disconnected HD’s, among dozens of others libraries which I no longer use and probably won’t use ever again.

While it’s got a lot going for itself, StringEssentials does tend to sound a bit synthetic, pad-like and cloddy, to my ears. And it also has a bit of that all too familiar, processed, ‘we-are-samples’ character to it, which prevents any StringEssentials-based mockup from ever sounding truly convincing. (Although it is, in my opinion, much better in this regard than the Appassionatas.) 

Still, if one is looking for a charming, versatile, decent sounding starter set that won’t cause too much embarrassement if used properly, StringEssentials is definitely worth a look. I certainly never regretted the purchase and spent many a happy hour with it.

_


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## germancomponist (Jul 5, 2013)

re-peat @ Fri Jul 05 said:


> StringEssentials is a good and useful library, sure, but I don’t think it belongs in the category “great libraries of timeless value”
> 
> _


Sure, there are now many "better" libraries on the market, no question. But for only 150 you get a lot. 



> Still, if one is looking for a charming, versatile, decent sounding starter set that won’t cause too much embarrassement if used properly, StringEssentials is definitely worth a look. I certainly never regretted the purchase and spent many a happy hour with it.



+1


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## jtenney (Jul 5, 2013)

I wrote to Best Service support with the following:

"I bought Complete Classical Collection and String Essentials some years ago. Does this new upgrade bring everything together as one large library (including the new String Tools)? It would be useful for the material not to be divided into two or three parts. 

Also, has the old material been thoroughly upgraded to take advantage of all the Kontakt improvements made since K2 when it was originally released?"

I got the following response:

"Yes that´s right. All presets/patches are now in one large library. The old material has been rescripted and updated to K5.2 to take advantage of new features."

Soooo, that's some new info, including that it's a 5.2 library.

I think I'll be buying it...


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## Sasje (Jul 5, 2013)

Sounds good.  Relatively cheap too.


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## Sasje (Jul 5, 2013)

re-peat @ Fri Jul 05 said:


> StringEssentials is a good and useful library, sure, but I don’t think it belongs in the category “great libraries of timeless value”



I agree. No library is timeless imho. It's just after so many years using a library, I get used to the sound a library produces and get bored with it. I'm now at a point where I start to detect certain libraries when others have used it. :D timeless... 

Maybe that accounts for my insatiable hunger for new libraries, mixing and mashing them to avoid detection and boredom.


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## kitekrazy (Jul 5, 2013)

EastWest Lurker @ Thu Jul 04 said:


> *IMHO, there is no such thing as a "dated sounding" library.* There can be features, like legato intervals, and programming in newer libraries that are absent in older ones, but well recorded sound is good sound is good sound is good sound.



+1 It's different for those of use working with limited funds who don't need clients.


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## Kleven1111 (Jul 5, 2013)

Well, based on all this discussion, I bought it, but no link yet (8 hours later) from Best Service. Hmmmm.....


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## Carles (Jul 5, 2013)

No offence intended, but I just don't really understand certain behavior.

By one side, some developers release -single- instruments for more than 100 bucks and people says "'I'm sold" when announced, before any release and before any demos out there.
While in the other hand, there are releases of very complete collections with amazing demos and people is so hesitant to spend the same money than the above because they are "dated" (this collection, or EWQL SO, or Miroslav Philharmonik, etc.)

I think that even if one will find only a 5-10% of the patches of these "dated" collections useful, it already worth the money.

I find paying 100+ bucks on a single instrument a steal while one of these "old" collections truly a bargain, honestly.

I wish Sonivox will offer the Sonic Implants collection at a price that someone still would consider minimally reasonable. I'm pretty sure that lots of content is still more than usable.

As said, please no offence, just a personal thought.

Cheers,
Carles


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## re-peat (Jul 6, 2013)

Sasje @ Fri Jul 05 said:


> (...) No library is timeless imho. (...)


Oh, I could name a few, if you like. But perhaps this is not the time or the thread to do so.

_


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## Hanu_H (Jul 6, 2013)

Is there a scripted legato in the new version? If not, has anyone tried it out with one? That could make the library go even further...

-Hannes


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## germancomponist (Jul 6, 2013)

Carles @ Sat Jul 06 said:


> No offence intended, but I just don't really understand certain behavior.
> 
> By one side, some developers release -single- instruments for more than 100 bucks and people says "'I'm sold" when announced, before any release and before any demos out there.
> While in the other hand, there are releases of very complete collections with amazing demos and people is so hesitant to spend the same money than the above because they are "dated" (this collection, or EWQL SO, or Miroslav Philharmonik, etc.)
> ...



+1


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## germancomponist (Jul 6, 2013)

Hanu_H @ Sat Jul 06 said:


> Is there a scripted legato in the new version? If not, has anyone tried it out with one? That could make the library go even further...
> 
> -Hannes



There are scripted legatos in the K2 lib, so I think they will be there in the K5 version too.


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## JPQ (Jul 6, 2013)

Carles @ Sat 06 Jul said:


> I think that even if one will find only a 5-10% of the patches of these "dated" collections useful, it already worth the money.



i think sameway. and to me single instrument which pays more than 100e means to me if i buy it is stuff which have much details but mainly piano is only one which i currently can imagine pay more. even this i think 3 pianos with about 200-300euros is better. and what i older version tested with try-sound i found sounds what i can imagine use some special uses even some brass sounds. btw is basic orchestral stuff which comes this set wet what i understanded earlier if is bit more complex use with other sounds.


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## Wes Antczak (Jul 26, 2013)

So, has anyone gotten the updated version yet? 

For anyone who has either one of the older libraries, the upgrade is 99 Euro as has been previously stated. But apparently it's a lot less for anyone who has BOTH. 

Go to the Best Service site and do a search for "Complete Orchestral Collection Update". I think you'll find that the price is more than reasonable... a no brainer as they say. At least, imo, because I think these libraries still sound pretty good. Definitely good enough to still be useful. Well, I guess it depends on personal preferences and needs.

Anyway, here's the url...

http://www.bestservice.de/detail1.asp/best_service/complete_orchestral_collection_update/de


Again, this is for people who already have BOTH. I'd say I'm in. o-[][]-o


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## JPQ (Jul 29, 2013)

Is there woodwind sections ? if how big. i mean how many players.


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## lucianogiacomozzi (Jul 29, 2013)

Sounds like a superb deal, I've been looking into older libraries myself, like Kirk Hunter's collections and this. Considering Peter Siedlaczek's success with Giorgio Tommasini on SM's Brass, I think it foolish to disregard all of these old collections.


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## GrimeBrett (Aug 1, 2013)

Can anyone tell me if these patches use the mod-wheel to cross-fade through dynamic layers (similar to Albion or Symphobia)?


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## germancomponist (Aug 1, 2013)

GrimeBrett @ Thu Aug 01 said:


> Can anyone tell me if these patches use the mod-wheel to cross-fade through dynamic layers (similar to Albion or Symphobia)?



Yes!


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## GrimeBrett (Aug 1, 2013)

germancomponist @ Thu Aug 01 said:


> GrimeBrett @ Thu Aug 01 said:
> 
> 
> > Can anyone tell me if these patches use the mod-wheel to cross-fade through dynamic layers (similar to Albion or Symphobia)?
> ...



Thanks, Gunther! I was planning to save up for Albion I, but that could take a while and this would get me up and running much faster. Right now I'm limping along with just the Kontakt Factory Library, and I'm desperate to get my hands on some orchestral sounds that are more realistic and expressive. :D


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## Wes Antczak (Aug 1, 2013)

Got my new disks the other day. Hopefully I'll have a chance to install this weekend so maybe I'll post back here with my impressions regarding the new updates. Though I think these sounds still have a place in my music - otherwise I wouldn't have bothered keeping them on my drive!  

You know...

You can try the library for yourself, if you can deal with the bird sounds (protection) and online latency:

http://www.try-sound.com/detail.asp/complete_orchestral_collection/en


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## batonruse (Aug 2, 2013)

Can anyone who has recently purchased the Complete Orchestral Collection help with this question. The main reason I had for buying COC was that having tried String Essentials 2nd Edition out many times on Try-Sound I was hugely impressed with the Full Strings 1 patch. Very rich sounding and the closest I could find to that "Symphobia" sound at a reasonable price.
However, the patch now sounds quite different....not as rich as before but the main problem is that the bass notes are far too loud and with far too strong an attack. It is impossible to get an acceptable balance when playing live.
Has anyone else noticed this and is there a solution to what has become a big disappointment to me?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer advice and best wishes to all!


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