# Best Libraries for covering Orchestral ground for Sketching for Video games / Media



## Paul Jelfs (Jul 8, 2021)

Hey, 

Really new to the Staffpad / apple pencil way of doing things , and while I have done a LOT of reading and searching on here , it is quite hard to keep track of what is the best libraries , for the best situations etc 

From what I can gather, most agree that the best Orchestral ones as the Berlin series - Possibly with Cine Perc Percussion, and one of the Pianos. 

Does it still stand that Berlin are the best Orchestral Libraries with Staff Pad ? Its a tough pill to swallow, when you have already purchased a lot of them for Kontakt / Sine, to have to buy them again, especially at BRITISH prices ! 

How do the SF / CINE Brass Woodwind and Strings compare to the Berlin ? Are we talking that the Berlin libraries are SUBJECTIVELY better, or is it just more of a preference choice. 

Want to try and get this right first time, can't afford to collect libraries in staff pad too ! 

Finally, do the sales go through Staff Pad or the companies themselves ?


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## Paul Jelfs (Jul 9, 2021)

Following on from this , the demos seem wonnderful, especially considering their size (1-2GB).

I can only really afford one expansion a month, at the most, so what library should I go with first - Strings , Woodwinds or Brass ! Which one makes the biggest leap in sound quality from the in built sounds.

Cheers


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## MadLad (Jul 9, 2021)

Berlin Strings definitely. They make the biggest difference. After that I'd get the Berlin Brass and then with the woodwinds you can't go wrong with either Berlin Winds or CineWinds.


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## brandowalk (Jul 10, 2021)

Cine is the only company that has had sales that I know of. 

Suggest writing with the stock sounds to start. They are decent. The shorts in the stock string samples will start to show their weakness. You will likely want to upgrade strings first.

Many swear by Berlin Strings. I have been quite happy using Spitfire Chamber (more detailed) and Symphonic (more lush) Strings. My suggestion is to listen to demos and choose what “room” and sound appeals to you the most. Really, you can make any of the libraries to work for you.

I also like Spitfire WW, Brass, and Percussion. CineBrass has some bolder sounds. I.e. love the horn a12 patch! Berlin brass is another usefull flavour. Cine percussion offers a greater selection of sounds.

Berlin harp, CinePiano are also great.

Happy composing!


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## Paul Jelfs (Jul 11, 2021)

Thanks for all the input. 

It seems both Berlin and Spitfire Strings have a lot of fans. In terms of articulations , which libraries offer the most choices for strings ? 

I see their are Berlin walkthroughs but not for any other library on the store that I can see. 

Finally, it is such a shame that the prices in the UK are the SAME as in the US - £99 is obviously a lot more expensive than $99 dollars. It is a shame they do not price them as they do their sample libraries , as for UK customers it can get expensive very quickly. 

Really appreciate the input though. Just getting used to the app and its way of working, but once I have heard some of the full demos of the extra libraries, it is really tough to go back to the stock sounds. 

As I say it is just a shame it is so (relatively) expensive being based in the UK.


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## Martin S (Jul 11, 2021)

Yes, indeed. The pricing for UK & EU customers makes each library quite a bit more expensive. I paid 899 Danish Kroner for Berlin Strings (same pricing as the other ‘big’ ones aka Spitfire/Cinesamples). That’s 143 US Dollars  (103 GBP).
And that difference can’t all be VAT, as I live in the country with the highest VAT in EU: 25%…

All that said, I don’t really mind because the quality and sheer joy of these libraries far outweigh any pricing concerns


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## wcreed51 (Jul 14, 2021)

Well, there you go; all of them are on sale!


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## Martin S (Jul 14, 2021)

Yup, got Berlin WW, Brass and First Chair on sale and I really, really like it


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