# So, what’s the best big choir library now?



## kimarnesen (Dec 6, 2017)

Now as we know a little bit about the Hollywood choir, what choir would you use for strong, rhythmic music and/or big legato melodic lines with an orchestra?

I’ve been considering Lacrimosa, so any experience with that one would be interesting. I haven’t found many reviews of it.


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## Jaap (Dec 6, 2017)

Requiem Light still finds it way here into my productions and the 3.0 update was great. Also the choir in Metropolis Ark is great and if would hunt for any choir on the market I would definately check out the Strezov Choirs Wotan, Frya and the childrens one which I cant remember the name from.
Hollywood Choir is more a classical/film choir, but with the right skills and programming it can be used also in the more "epic" settings


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## Shad0wLandsUK (Dec 6, 2017)

Jaap said:


> childrens one which I cant remember the name from.



That would be Arva  

Those choirs are awesome and I really planned on getting them too
Wotan has some serious weight to the Low end, which is something I find lacks in some sampled choirs
As someone who is a fan 'weighty vocals' as it were 

And the life and atmosphere in Arva is something to be desired also I think


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## George Bellas (Dec 6, 2017)

Arva, Freyja, and Wotan are all stunning libraries; for me they are nothing short of awe-inspiring and spine-shivering. All three libraries are absolutely superb in many respects.


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## George Bellas (Dec 6, 2017)

8DIO's Lacrimosa is beyond epic. If you want a large sounding choir library, Lacrimosa is it. Hands down.


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## tim727 (Dec 6, 2017)

Wotan and (especially) Freyja are nice, but something that isn't talked about at all on here is that Wotan has a few messed up samples in the lower dynamics for the men that have significant background noise making them, in my opinion unusable. It sounds like someone flipping papers or something like that ... and it occurs on multiple samples. Just something to keep in mind. I haven't reached out to Strezov support yet because I haven't really had the time to thoroughly go through it all and catalog every problematic sample.

Edit: As a side note I think that the playability of both libraries is fantastic. I love what Strezov has done with the Syllabuilder. Those the kind of forward thinking features I look for in a library. If it weren't for the sample issues I mentioned I would not hesitate at all to recommend Wotan ... and as for Freyja it has no problems that I can find so I can wholeheartedly recommend that one already


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## synthpunk (Dec 6, 2017)

I would probably wait a couple of months, just sayin'


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## kimarnesen (Dec 6, 2017)

synthpunk said:


> I would probably wait a couple of months, just sayin'


 OK?


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## Hat_Tricky (Dec 6, 2017)

8dio's Lacrimosa is HUGE sounding. Great for epic tracks, trailers, etc.


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## J-M (Dec 6, 2017)

kimarnesen said:


> OK?



Storm Choir III is coming and maybe one from Spitfire too (don't quote me on that), so unless you're in a terrible hurry...wait a bit.


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## kimarnesen (Dec 6, 2017)

I havent


MrLinssi said:


> Storm Choir III is coming and maybe one from Spitfire too (don't quote me on that), so unless you're in a terrible hurry...wait a bit.



I haven’t tried Storm Choir myself and I’ve been a bit skeptical because on their demos the choir is so hidden behind the orchestra that I have worried they are trying to hide how it really sounds...?

And Spitfire with Whitacre, will probably similar to Insolidus (which I have) with a chamber choir.


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## SoundChris (Dec 6, 2017)

*Well i think it depends on what you want to achieve with the choir:*​
*Best Choir for sacred / ecclesiastic / realistic / medieval choir performances*
- Fluffy Audio Dominus (SATB sacred sound)
- Eduardo Tarilonte Mystica (Female Choir. Besides the sound and scripting the specialty here lies in the archaic sound: no vibrato, but you can insert artificiant vib)
- Eduardo Tarilonte Cantus (Male Choir. While it isnt that smooth like mystica the sound is great especially for gregorian choir. But like i said: it stil has issues)

*Best Child Choir:* Strezov Sampling Arva (Horner-Style Demo by Oschmann and Elfman-Style Demo by Raynaud)

*Best Choir for Lyrical, Fantasy Stuff:*
- Strezov Sampling Freyja, Wotan, Arva (demos above) and Storm Choir 2
- 8Dio Requiem Pro (Demo 1, 2, 3)
- 8Dio Insolidus

*Best Choir for Faster / Action Epic Stuff:*
- Performance Samples Oceania
- Strezov Samples Storm Choir I and II
- 8Dio Emperium (maybe the most epic demo i have ever heared. Even I dont use Emperium that often: "holy shit - what a demo.")

*Ethnic Choir: *
- Strezov Samples Rhodope II
- Eduardo Tarilonte Kwaya

I did not take in consideration: Cinesamples Voxos 2 (dont have it and also dont know much about it), the EWQL Symphonic Choirs (not state of the art anymore IMO) and Hollywood Choirs (sorry but that one disappointed me too much ...). Of course thats my very personal preference. But I do believe that these are the strongest. Lets see what Spitfire brings and also Strezov with their upcoming Storm Choir III!


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## Lotias (Dec 6, 2017)

What I want to know is - where on Earth are the small choirs?


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## MatFluor (Dec 6, 2017)

What about Soundirons Mars and Venus? Or Oceania? Ok, Oceania is a one trick pony, but the playability is just awesome


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## tim727 (Dec 6, 2017)

Does anyone know when Storm Choir III is supposed to come out?


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## Ashermusic (Dec 7, 2017)

The only problem for me with Wotan is that they scoop into every mote, unlike Freya and Arva. They are very good libraries though.


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## Guffy (Dec 7, 2017)

OT M.Ark 1 and 2 choirs are just yummy.


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## axb312 (Dec 7, 2017)

Any recommendations for a good versatile choir lib? Considering Soundiron Olympus or Fluffy Audio dominus at the moment.


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## tim727 (Dec 7, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> The only problem for me with Wotan is that they scoop into every mote, unlike Freya and Arva. They are very good libraries though.



I've actually found the Wotan sample issue I was referring to in one of the official demos. Go to about 1:32/1:33 ... you can hear a very clear background noise which was unfortunately picked up in one of the low dynamic samples. It's actually quite loud. (That is not the only sample that has such a noise. There are at least two or three in the lib. Perhaps more ... I haven't done a truly thorough play-through yet.)


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## axb312 (Jan 1, 2018)

Any recommendations for a good versatile choir lib? Considering Soundiron Olympus or Fluffy Audio dominus at the moment.


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## HiEnergy (Jan 1, 2018)

IIRC Soundiron Mars is currently on sale for below 100 USD/EUR


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## Ashermusic (Jan 1, 2018)

I am going to say Hollywood Choirs, although the Olympus and Strezov choirs are also very good. Dominus is a one trick pony, but it does that trick exceedingly well.


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## markleake (Jan 1, 2018)

Ashermusic said:


> I am going to say Hollywood Choirs, although the Olympus and Strezov choirs are also very good. Dominus is a one trick pony, but it does that trick exceedingly well.


How do you think Hollywood Choirs outperforms the Soundiron and Strezov material? I'm looking at the Mars $99 deal and trying to work out what I would get in Hollywood that stands out as being better. (I already have Venus).


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## Ashermusic (Jan 1, 2018)

I wouldn't say it outperforms them necessarily , but I think it is a prettier sound for what I generally compose.


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## markleake (Jan 1, 2018)

OK, fair enough. Thanks.


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## quantum7 (Jan 1, 2018)

My favs right now are Insolidus, Dominus, and Lacrimosa, Mars, and Venus. I tried the new EW Hollywood choirs recently and wasn't too impressed. They are improved over the older EW choirs, which I happily used many moons ago, but to *me* the word builder is a useless gimmick, and they still don't sound quite as nice as the competition...to my ears anyway. We all have our own opinions though, so you'll have to just listen to as many demos as you can and decide for yourself based upon your needs and budget. Personally though, you should get several libraries, as every library, no matter how good, will always have some shortcomings.


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## Casiquire (Jan 1, 2018)

I posted a detailed review of Hollywood Choirs over in the Hollywood Choirs thread, but long story short, I'm still looking for alternatives to EastWest libraries that include a full word builder.

Dominus sounds amazing, for anybody not interested in word building!


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