# Best Harp Library?



## DHousden (Jul 23, 2015)

Hey all, just wondered if folk have a go to harp VI they like to use above all others? I need something which can slot nicely into Disney-esque, Danny Elfman, fantasy type compositions. Until now I've made do with the one included in EWSO, but could really use something a bit more detailed. More glissandi, arpeggio and effects options would be a definite plus.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Cheers


----------



## maxime77 (Jul 23, 2015)

Hi,

I'd personally go for the http://www.spitfireaudio.com/skaila-kanga-spitfire-harp (Spitfire Harp), try to watch the walkthrough videos and see if that's what you need.

Best,
Maxime.


----------



## scarred bunny (Jul 23, 2015)

I really like the harp in Orchestral Tools' Symphonic Sphere. Guess that's my go-to. A bit pricey though if you buy it just for the harp, but if you're doing fantasy fairytale stuff you might find the rest of the collection useful as well. Anyway, here's a link to the harp walkthrough: 



Angelic Harp from Orange Tree is pretty good too. And cheap.


----------



## Aakaash Rao (Jul 23, 2015)

I have the Spitfire Harp and have found it useful in a lot of different contexts. It's also a joy to play live.


----------



## ryanstrong (Jul 23, 2015)

+1 on the Spitfire Harp


----------



## DHousden (Jul 23, 2015)

Thanks all for the input! Does anyone have any experience with the Project Sam concert harp? I've been offered it second hand for £50. Don't mind paying the extra for Spitfire if it's _significantly _better, but if there's not much beyond personal taste to cut and choose between them, the £80 saving will most likely prove to be the decider!


----------



## ryanstrong (Jul 23, 2015)

DHousden said:


> Thanks all for the input! Does anyone have any experience with the Project Sam concert harp? I've been offered it second hand for £50. Don't mind paying the extra for Spitfire if it's _significantly _better, but if there's not much beyond personal taste to cut and choose between them, the £80 saving will most likely prove to be the decider!


No experience with the ProjectSam Harp. But with regard to the Spitfire Harp for me it's not really a personal taste moreover the dynamic range. I really like the subtle lower dynamics of the Spitfire Harp. Most harps I feel are too brittle and crunchy, Spitfire's can do subtle and when needed be loud.


----------



## gregjazz (Jul 23, 2015)

Be sure to check out our Angelic Harp sample library for Kontakt. It's a full concert harp with a really warm, detailed tone. There are a ton of features as well, such as a harmonics articulation, automatic glissandi system, separate close and room mic signals, and much more.

Here's a video showing the included preset tones:



You can check out all the other tutorial videos here, or go to the Angelic Harp product page here to read more details and listen to audio demos.


----------



## maxime77 (Jul 23, 2015)

I have both ProjectSam & Spitfire Harp, I'll try to make a quick audio to compare the 2 libraries.


----------



## playz123 (Jul 23, 2015)

Guess I'm a bit of a harp junkie (or maybe just a music library junkie),  but I have Spitfire, OT and Angelic Harps, and also one I didn't see mentioned...Cineharp.

https://cinesamples.com/product/cineharp

They ALL serve a purpose and serve it well, and I can only add what I've said before...the one I use depends on the context, the other instruments and the genre of music. Guess I use Spitfire most, but I also find the features of Cineharp so useful for scales/runs. Greg's Harp is excellent and is slowly working its way into more pieces.
The OT harp has also been used extensively, and for me, its main competitor is the Spitfire one. I tend to bounce between the two when writing more traditional or orchestral music. Greg's harp has many interesting ways of altering its sound, so do check it out, if you are looking for versatility as well as a great sounding harp.


----------



## reddognoyz (Jul 23, 2015)

I have Spitefire, Symphonic Sphere, Project Sam and Cineharp. I still use the Garratan Giga harp sometimes : ) Really it depends on the setting and part as to which I like use, but I do tend to use a lot of harp.


----------



## synthpunk (Jul 23, 2015)

I have the Spitfire *SKAILA KANGA Harp.* It is on the intimate side, but very playable. If I need to beef it up slightly for a track I will add a synth harp or pluck to it.


----------



## maxime77 (Jul 23, 2015)

Here is a little comparison out of the box, I just played random stuff out of tempo, didn't edit it or added any effects. CineSamples / ProjectSam / OrchestralTools / Spitfire Audio



My poor piano skills may make these libraries sound less good than they actually do, so if you want to hear how it sounds with your music just send me a midi file.


----------



## DHousden (Jul 23, 2015)

Wow, mega food for thought there. Thanks for the detailed responses from everyone and particular thanks to Maxime for that comparison. Hugely helpful! As I feared, they all seem to have their own inherent strengths and weaknesses. I quite like the tone of the EWSO harp to be honest, I was just looking for something a little more feature heavy really. Not enough hours in the day to programme my own runs in when deadlines are looming. 

Lots to consider..


----------



## dannymc (Jul 23, 2015)

love the harp, fav instrument after piano. that spitfire harp is stunning think i'll be taking the plunge on that little beauty in the not too distant future


----------



## mbagalacomposer (Jul 23, 2015)

Not you're typical disney harp but I keep reaching for the spitfire labs harp. Its got a nice raw character to it that you don't really get in a lot of libraries that I quite enjoy....plus its a 2 pound donation to Unicef so you really have nothing to loose in checking it out.


----------



## SpeakPianissimoAndCarry.. (Jul 23, 2015)

I have Cineharp, OT Symphonic Sphere and Vienna Symphonic Libraries harps. They are all great and I use them all, which one depends on the music since they all have unique sounds and features. If I could only have one, I would begrudgingly pick VSL.


----------



## dannymc (Jul 23, 2015)

> Not you're typical disney harp but I keep reaching for the spitfire labs harp. Its got a nice raw character to it that you don't really get in a lot of libraries that I quite enjoy....plus its a 2 pound donation to Unicef so you really have nothing to loose in checking it out.




wow thanks mate, i'll check that one out first might save me a few bucks if it does the trick.


----------



## maclaine (Jul 23, 2015)

These have both been mentioned, but I'll throw in my support for both the Spitfire and the Orange Tree harps. The Spitfire is great for big orchestra stuff. My full template is predominantly Spitfire, so of course it sits perfectly with everything. It's very wet, however, like all Spitfire orchestral libraries. For close and detailed, the Orange Tree harp is fantastic. It really sits well in a chamber type situation with a few soloists and a small string section.


----------



## tmm (Jul 23, 2015)

I have a few harp libraries, but IMO none compare to the harp(s) from 8Dio AGE Vol 2. Plus you get a lot more than just _a_ harp with that lib.


----------



## Stephen Baysted (Jul 24, 2015)

Spitfire.


----------



## Killiard (Jul 24, 2015)

Spitfire harp. The "slid" patch is quite, quite lovely.


----------



## Jake Johnson (Jul 25, 2015)

No one has mentioned the new Pianoteq harp, which was released last week, so I'll mention it. Impressions? I don't know the harp libraries, or play harp, so I'll let others do the evaluation.


----------



## kurtvanzo (Jul 26, 2015)

At $200 (£129) I think it comes down to how much you need "slide" articulations and whether you like the large room ambiance of Spitfire. If your collection is full of spitfire then it may work great, but personally I like more flexibility out of my samples and would find the baked in ambience a negative.

OrangeTree's Angelic harp is an option that sounds nice and for me is more flexible (also cheaper at $89) or better yet CineHarp from Cinesamples at $79- sounds great and works wonderfully in a mix- even great glissando patches. Especially that it's on sale now at $59- it's a great deal at almost a quarter of the price of Spitfire...

https://cinesamples.com/product/cineharp

I think I picked up Angelic harp on sale ($49?) but even at $89 it's decent and cuts through a mix well.

http://www.orangetreesamples.com/angelic-harp


----------



## EastWest Lurker (Jul 26, 2015)

For Hollywood Orchestra users, Hollywood Harp is coming and I believe Doug said it will be free for owners of the Hollywood Orchestra.


----------



## tomaslobosk (Jul 26, 2015)

EastWest Lurker said:


> For Hollywood Orchestra users, Hollywood Harp is coming and I believe Doug said it will be free for owners of the Hollywood Orchestra.



That's sad!, I thought it was going to be free for any "Hollywood" series library. :(
BTW: IMHO Spitfire's Harp is the best.


----------



## EastWest Lurker (Jul 26, 2015)

TomiLobosK said:


> That's sad!, I thought it was going to be free for any "Hollywood" series library. :(



That may in fact be the case, I am not sure so I will ask.


----------



## tomaslobosk (Jul 26, 2015)

EastWest Lurker said:


> That may in fact be the case, I am not sure so I will ask.


Amazing!


----------



## EastWest Lurker (Jul 27, 2015)

TomiLobosK said:


> Amazing!



My memory was correct, Hollywood Harp will be free to users who own the entire Hollywood Orchestra.


----------



## tomaslobosk (Jul 27, 2015)

EastWest Lurker said:


> My memory was correct, Hollywood Harp will be free to users who own the entire Hollywood Orchestra.


This is sad :(, there will be at least some kind of discount to the rest of Hollywood users?


----------



## EastWest Lurker (Jul 27, 2015)

TomiLobosK said:


> This is sad :(, there will be at least some kind of discount to the rest of Hollywood users?



Hollywood Strings users will be given a 50% discount, as harp is sometimes considered part of an orchestral string section.


----------



## Mystic (Jul 27, 2015)

EastWest Lurker said:


> For Hollywood Orchestra users, Hollywood Harp is coming and I believe Doug said it will be free for owners of the Hollywood Orchestra.


Any general idea when we can expect it? I can't remember when exactly they announced it but I believe it was last year after HOP came out or early this year.


----------



## EastWest Lurker (Jul 27, 2015)

No date certain but they are in the editing phase.


----------



## reddognoyz (Jul 27, 2015)

I purchased the Orange Tree Angelic Harp over the weekend. Very nice!, it has a different vibe than the Spitefire, Sam, or CineHarp, (which are excellent as well). It has a very consistent response and a great, delicate, close mic'ed sound, as well as a room mics. The dynamic controls are excellent and the gliss settings(not prerecords) are extremely flexible. Highly worth a looksee.


----------



## dtcomposer (Jul 27, 2015)

EastWest Lurker said:


> My memory was correct, Hollywood Harp will be free to users who own the entire Hollywood Orchestra.



Do you know if this deal going to apply to complete sets in the same series (e.g. Diamond, Gold) or can those with mismatched sets (Strings and Percussion Diamond, Winds and Brass Gold in my case) still receive the Harp?


----------



## EastWest Lurker (Jul 27, 2015)

I don't think that Doug has thought it through that far but common sense would say to me that with mixed versions of the whole orchestra "free" gets you the lesser. But that will no doubt get all sorted out when the Harp is actually ready for release.


----------



## Mystic (Jul 27, 2015)

reddognoyz said:


> I purchased the Orange Tree Angelic Harp over the weekend. Very nice!, it has a different vibe than the Spitefire, Sam, or CineHarp, (which are excellent as well). It has a very consistent response and a great, delicate, close mic'ed sound, as well as a room mics. The dynamic controls are excellent and the gliss settings(not prerecords) are extremely flexible. Highly worth a looksee.


I love Angelic Harp. It's got such a beautiful and emotive sound to it which also mixes so well because of how close it was recorded.


----------



## AR (Jul 28, 2015)

The Lumina harp is pretty good, too.


----------



## Rodney Money (Jul 28, 2015)

maxime77 said:


> Here is a little comparison out of the box, I just played random stuff out of tempo, didn't edit it or added any effects. CineSamples / ProjectSam / OrchestralTools / Spitfire Audio
> 
> 
> 
> My poor piano skills may make these libraries sound less good than they actually do, so if you want to hear how it sounds with your music just send me a midi file.



To my personal ears, CineSamples sounds clear as a bell, ProjectSam sounds warmer and muffled, with OrchestralTools all I hear is the noise of the room, and with Spitfire I just hear the echo chamber of Air. I love demos like this. You can really tell the difference of the samples.


----------



## vicontrolu (Jul 28, 2015)

Yeah a bit of reverb/space matching would make it easier to evaluate


----------



## donbodin (Jul 28, 2015)

Maclaine, thanks for mentioning the Orange Tree harp, I will ave to check that one out.

I just bought the Sonokinetik harp last week and it did wonders for the score I was working on.


----------



## kurtvanzo (Aug 21, 2015)

EastWest Lurker said:


> For Hollywood Orchestra users, Hollywood Harp is coming and I believe Doug said it will be free for owners of the Hollywood Orchestra.



Any idea when this might be coming out?

Another harp not mentioned here is Soundiron's Highland harps, at $49 it's a pretty good deal 

http://impactsoundworks.com/products/world/plectra-series-2-highland-harps/


----------



## fgimian (Aug 8, 2016)

kurtvanzo said:


> At $200 (£129) I think it comes down to how much you need "slide" articulations and whether you like the large room ambiance of Spitfire. If your collection is full of spitfire then it may work great, but personally I like more flexibility out of my samples and would find the baked in ambience a negative.
> 
> OrangeTree's Angelic harp is an option that sounds nice and for me is more flexible (also cheaper at $89) or better yet CineHarp from Cinesamples at $79- sounds great and works wonderfully in a mix- even great glissando patches. Especially that it's on sale now at $59- it's a great deal at almost a quarter of the price of Spitfire...
> 
> ...



Sorry to revive this thread but just bought the Spitfire Harp and I think it sounds really lovely, but the baked in reverb is something to watch out for. Even with just the close mics, it is very wet.

If you want a more flexible and intimate sound, I think that Angelic Harp would be a much better buy.

Just something to help others out in case they are deciding


----------



## Mike Fox (Aug 8, 2016)

Thanks for the input! I've been harp window shopping for quite sometime now, but can't decide!


----------



## fgimian (Aug 8, 2016)

mikefox789 said:


> Thanks for the input! I've been harp window shopping for quite sometime now, but can't decide!



Cool mate, good luck with your decision. Happy to provide a sample of the Spitfire Harp with just tclose mics on so you can see if the reverb would bother you. I don't own Angelic Harp myself but based on the demos, it is much dryer than Spitfire's Harp.


----------



## fgimian (Aug 9, 2016)

So just a few more notes on the Spitfire Harp.

The tone and playability are really lovely. I think it would really work well in an orchestral mix assuming you like the sound of the in-built reverb (which is imho a little polarising).

However, one more criticism is the lower register. Bass notes really really late bite and warmth. When comparing the harp to that included in Kontakt's factory library, it is extremely clear that Spitfire's Harp is lacking something.

I'm considering picking up Angelic Harp along with it to be honest. Of course, Spitfire's policy is also against all forms of refund (which is pretty normal with sample library manufacturers I guess).

Overall, for the price point, I would personally not recommend Spitfire's Harp. If it had completely dry micing and a strong bass register, I would say that it would be absolutely amazing.


----------



## rocking.xmas.man (Aug 9, 2016)

has anyone experiences with spitfire's chrysalis library? it is a harp and recorded in a quite 'dry' room...


----------



## Casiquire (Sep 17, 2016)

I'm jumping back in for thoughts on Pianoteq's harp as well! It sounds fine but it's hard to get a feel for how playable it is with the note dropouts in the demo version.


----------



## synthpunk (Sep 17, 2016)

The VSL Harp in the Kontakt Factory Library is not that bad and is dry. I added a fake RR script to make it a bit more realistic. I layer it with Spitfire Kanga Harp for more body. Spitfire Labs also has a basic dry harp for $3 donationware that layers well with Kanga.


----------



## re-peat (Sep 17, 2016)

Casiquire said:


> I'm jumping back in for thoughts on Pianoteq's harp (...)



Like all Pianoteq's libraries, it's extremely playable. But ... you have to accept a whiff of artificiality in its timbre. Not an instrument I'd bring center stage to perform a lengthy solo in the spotlights with, but perfectly usable for most of a harp's supportive duties.

Most of the commercially available virtual harps, incl. Pianoteq's, are demoed *here*, with rather long audio examples for all of them.

_


----------



## Mike Fox (Sep 17, 2016)

Am I crazy to think that the Kontakt Factory library harp sounds really good, especially with a good Spaces verb added to it?


----------



## Mike Fox (Sep 17, 2016)

synthpunk said:


> The VSL Harp in the Kontakt Factory Library is not that bad and is dry. I added a fake RR script to make it a bit more realistic. I layer it with Spitfire Kanga Harp for more body. Spitfire Labs also has a basic dry harp for $3 donationware that layers well with Kanga.



How well does the labs harp layer with the kontakt harp?


----------



## synthpunk (Sep 17, 2016)

And add this fake RR script to it as well.
http://nilsliberg.se/ksp/scripts/utkt/utkt.htm



mikefox789 said:


> Am I crazy to think that the Kontakt Factory library harp sounds really good, especially with a good Spaces verb added to it?




It's a mini harp, for $3 donationware give it a try. You can hear it here. I would say it's closer to the VSL Factory one.





mikefox789 said:


> How well does the labs harp layer with the kontakt harp?


----------



## Maximvs (Sep 17, 2016)

VSL Harps for me are the best I tried...


----------



## Neifion (Sep 17, 2016)

For me: Spitfire Skaila Kanga for orchestral context. Spitfire Labs Mini Harp for quirky. Orange Tree Samples Angelic Harp for solo context.


----------



## Aakaash Rao (Sep 17, 2016)

I like the Spitfire Harp for use in an orchestral context, but I find that for some reason it is not particularly "playable". With some libraries, all you have to do is bang around on the keyboard a bit and you find instant inspiration. Spitfire was a disappointment in this regard.


----------



## Casiquire (Sep 22, 2016)

re-peat said:


> Like all Pianoteq's libraries, it's extremely playable. But ... you have to accept a whiff of artificiality in its timbre. Not an instrument I'd bring center stage to perform a lengthy solo in the spotlights with, but perfectly usable for most of a harp's supportive duties.
> 
> Most of the commercially available virtual harps, incl. Pianoteq's, are demoed *here*, with rather long audio examples for all of them.
> 
> _



Thanks for the reply, my experience with their Bluthner piano is that with a "Condition" setting at about 75% new, that artificial tone virtually disappears, and with a bit of reverb and EQ their piano has turned into one of the most realistic piano libraries I've used.


----------



## Mike Fox (Sep 22, 2016)

How does ProjectSAM's harp hold up these days? There arent many demos for it, so it's hard to make a good judgement.


----------



## Ashermusic (Sep 22, 2016)

Hollywood Harp is quite lovely.


----------



## re-peat (Sep 22, 2016)

mikefox789 said:


> How does ProjectSAM's harp hold up these days? There arent many demos for it (...)


*http://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Examples/Harps/SB_Harps_ProjectSAM.mp3 (Here)*'s one.
(Still one of the better sampled harps, I find. Top three, for me personally.)

_


----------



## SoNowWhat? (Sep 23, 2016)

re-peat said:


> *http://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Examples/Harps/SB_Harps_ProjectSAM.mp3 (Here)*'s one.
> (Still one of the better sampled harps, I find. Top three, for me personally.)
> 
> _


What are your other two?
I had Kanga down on my "to get" list but, seems there's some that think it's not so great.

I'm just listening to some of the Orange Tree Angelic Harp demos. Sounds very decent. And very reasonably priced. Now to the videos.


----------



## Zookes (Sep 23, 2016)

Must say Hollywood Harp is bad for me. Feels sticky to play like QLSO harp. Hard to explain. Has very good sound maybe as mixed using other Hollywood instruments, but not so fun to play or program for me.

Personal preference for the very very beautiful SAM Concert Harp playing simple parts and Garritan Harps writing very nice easy glissandi and many patches for sound tweaking.


----------



## reutunes (Sep 23, 2016)

DHousden said:


> Hey all, just wondered if folk have a go to harp VI they like to use above all others? I need something which can slot nicely into Disney-esque, Danny Elfman, fantasy type compositions. Until now I've made do with the one included in EWSO, but could really use something a bit more detailed. More glissandi, arpeggio and effects options would be a definite plus.
> 
> Any advice would be much appreciated!
> 
> Cheers



Hey there - I personally like Arpeggio from Sonokinetic but I also use the cheap and cheerful one from ProjectSAM (Orchestral essentials) quite a bit. I did a "sample shootout" of many different harps in The Samplecast podcast #16 - it's towards the end of the show.

http://thesamplecast.com/?p=470


----------



## stonzthro (Sep 23, 2016)

[QUOTE="Personal preference for the very very beautiful SAM Concert Harp playing simple parts[/QUOTE]

I like the sound of SAM's harp but it could really use an update - only being able to chose between a single mic position is a real disappointment!


----------



## Mike Fox (Sep 23, 2016)

Anyone try the harp in 8dio's Age?


----------



## constaneum (Sep 23, 2016)

stonzthro said:


> [QUOTE="Personal preference for the very very beautiful SAM Concert Harp playing simple parts



I like the sound of SAM's harp but it could really use an update - only being able to chose between a single mic position is a real disappointment![/QUOTE]

I believe they might eventually update and allows mixing between close and stage mic. I always stick with the close mic. Stage mic too muddy for my likings.


----------



## rottoy (Sep 23, 2016)

re-peat said:


> *http://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/SB_Examples/Harps/SB_Harps_ProjectSAM.mp3 (Here)*'s one.
> (Still one of the better sampled harps, I find. Top three, for me personally.)
> 
> _


Cheers for the example, re-peat! That does sound fantastic. I still use the VSL Harp that comes with the Factory library of Kontakt since I've disliked the timbre of most harps.


----------



## synthpunk (Sep 23, 2016)

Layering in a synthetic harp can add some body and movement to a sterile sampled one. I use a custom sample made from a Eventide H3500, FM8, or Massive usually.

Rottoy, adding this fake RR script to the Kontakt VSL Harp helps it out some.
http://nilsliberg.se/ksp/scripts/utkt/utkt.htm



rottoy said:


> Cheers for the example, re-peat! That does sound fantastic. I still use the VSL Harp that comes with the Factory library of Kontakt since I've disliked the timbre of most harps.


----------



## rottoy (Sep 23, 2016)

synthpunk said:


> Layering in a synthetic harp can add some body and movement to a sterile sampled one. I use a custom sample made from a Eventide H3500, FM8, or Massive usually.
> 
> Rottoy, adding this fake RR script to the Kontakt VSL Harp helps it out some.
> http://nilsliberg.se/ksp/scripts/utkt/utkt.htm


Way ahead of you, I always use that script.


----------



## synthpunk (Sep 23, 2016)

good for you dude


rottoy said:


> Way ahead of you, I always use that script.


----------



## Quasar (Nov 14, 2016)

Bumping this discussion because of the new kid on the block, Soundiron's Elysium Harp. Is this a so-called game changer, a step forward? I looked at Cineharp but was leaning toward OTS's Angelic when it was announced, and the Soundiron offering is extremely tempting both in terms of both sonic options and UI, in which the gliss and arp sequence functions appear to be extremely flexible & simple to execute. The FX bin is cool too, and though probably not a compelling factor either way, I do appreciate the way Soundiron always seems to throw in a bunch of "extra" stuff with their libraries. 

Orange Tree Samples and Soundiron are two of my favorite developers. Angelic is less costly (even at Soundiron's intro price), but I get the sense that Elysium would be more intuitive to use and more robust. Not paying Spitefire or OT prices for a pedal harp...


----------



## Ashermusic (Nov 14, 2016)

Zookes said:


> Must say Hollywood Harp is bad for me. Feels sticky to play like QLSO harp. Hard to explain.



Really? I have no problem playing it at all.


----------



## LondonMike (Nov 14, 2016)

Tugboat said:


> Bumping this discussion because of the new kid on the block, Soundiron's Elysium Harp. Is this a so-called game changer, a step forward? I looked at Cineharp but was leaning toward OTS's Angelic when it was announced, and the Soundiron offering is extremely tempting both in terms of both sonic options and UI, in which the gliss and arp sequence functions appear to be extremely flexible & simple to execute. The FX bin is cool too, and though probably not a compelling factor either way, I do appreciate the way Soundiron always seems to throw in a bunch of "extra" stuff with their libraries.
> 
> Orange Tree Samples and Soundiron are two of my favorite developers. Angelic is less costly (even at Soundiron's intro price), but I get the sense that Elysium would be more intuitive to use and more robust. Not paying Spitefire or OT prices for a pedal harp...


I've just received the promo email from Soundiron and will check out the demos later.
I've been using Angelic Harp for a while but I find it a bit fiddly to use and can't always get what I need out of it. I've been thinking of getting another so I'm hoping this new one will have both the features and the sound I'm looking for.


----------



## reddognoyz (Nov 14, 2016)

I just downloaded the Elysium Harp from SOUNDIRON and I really like it. The sound is fantastic to my ears, but it is very malleable, with the presence and body and mic position controls. I've only just got it but it strikes me as being a VERY consistant sample set, which has dogged me with other harp libs I have. It also comes with a pedal setup which is really important to me. Two thumbs way up here!!


----------



## Quasar (Nov 14, 2016)

reddognoyz said:


> I just downloaded the Elysium Harp from *Spitfire* and I really like it. The sound is fantastic to my ears, but it is very malleable, with the presence and body and mic position controls. I've only just got it but it strikes me as being a VERY consistant sample set, which has dogged me with other harp libs I have. It also comes with a pedal setup which is really important to me. Two thumbs way up here!!



Do you mean Soundiron?


----------



## quantum7 (Nov 14, 2016)

I also just bough Elysium Harps from SOUNDIRON and am downloading it now. If it sounds like what I heard in the demos, I may just delete a majority of the 30 gigs of Harp libs that I already have on my SSD drives.


----------



## byzantium (Nov 14, 2016)

Tugboat said:


> Not paying Spitefire or OT prices for a pedal harp...



Just thought your spelling was funny there.


----------



## Daniel F. (Nov 14, 2016)

Ashermusic said:


> Really? I have no problem playing it at all.



Did they fix the noise build up problem with hollywood harp? I like the sound but I remember there was some discussion about the noise and in one of the user demos it was very loud.


----------



## byzantium (Nov 14, 2016)

New to harp playing here - what's important in a harp VST in terms of how to play / effect glisses? Is the best system - so that you have maximum control over speeds and directions and ranges and patterns (swirls etc) - to actually run your fingers up and down the white keys organ-style (like in the Elysium video) and be able to select the key and scale via keyswitches (so you can use the same patch / set up for any gliss) ? (Probably need control over attack and release and tone as well so that the gliss has the right level of muddiness / blurriness). 

I only have the Kontakt factory library harp which I think has a lovely sound but the glisses are hard to use / restrictive, so I end up trying to play them by hand in the speed and range that I want, and then edit each note to drag them into the best time and notes, which is time-consuming.


----------



## reddognoyz (Nov 14, 2016)

Tugboat said:


> Do you mean Soundiron?



Yes Soundiron. Apologies to all. I have both Spitfire and Soundiron BTW and they are both really really good.


----------



## kurtvanzo (Nov 14, 2016)

Tugboat said:


> Bumping this discussion because of the new kid on the block, Soundiron's Elysium Harp. Is this a so-called game changer, a step forward? I looked at Cineharp but was leaning toward OTS's Angelic when it was announced, and the Soundiron offering is extremely tempting both in terms of both sonic options and UI, in which the gliss and arp sequence functions appear to be extremely flexible & simple to execute. The FX bin is cool too, and though probably not a compelling factor either way, I do appreciate the way Soundiron always seems to throw in a bunch of "extra" stuff with their libraries.
> 
> Orange Tree Samples and Soundiron are two of my favorite developers. Angelic is less costly (even at Soundiron's intro price), but I get the sense that Elysium would be more intuitive to use and more robust. Not paying Spitefire or OT prices for a pedal harp...



Apologies I don't have the Elysium or Project Sam's, but I thought I would do a quick live demo of the harps I do have and post them for you. Which one works better depends on whether you want to play single notes, glisses, or chords. Some of them sound nice and warm as single notes, but then get lost in chords or in a mix. Others sound more brittle as single notes, but actually stick out better in a chord or mix. I like Cinesamples, OT, and the Kontakt Factory Library... who knew? 











https://soundcloud.com/kurt-vanzo/boulder-sounds-celtic-harp/

https://soundcloud.com/kurt-vanzo/spitfire-audio-miniharp/

Here's a playlist for those who hate clicking...
https://soundcloud.com/kurt-vanzo/sets/harps-demo-playlist

Cheers.


----------



## Mike Fox (Nov 14, 2016)

I think the Cinesamples was actually my favorite. I've been interested in ProjectSAM's harp for years, but can't seem to find any solid demos.


----------



## calebfaith (Nov 14, 2016)

I wouldn't recommend Hollywood harp because of the noise and the actual tone. If you want more info I recently did a review/walkthrough here:


----------



## Quasar (Nov 14, 2016)

byzantium said:


> Just thought your spelling was funny there.



ACH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not Freudian, I swear! I adore the Albions. I really do. So no rage - suppressed or otherwise - in this unfortunate but innocent typo.


----------



## Quasar (Nov 14, 2016)

kurtvanzo said:


> Apologies I don't have the Elysium or Project Sam's, but I thought I would do a quick live demo of the harps I do have and post them for you. Which one works better depends on whether you want to play single notes, glisses, or chords. Some of them sound nice and warm as single notes, but then get lost in chords or in a mix. Others sound more brittle as single notes, but actually stick out better in a chord or mix. I like Cinesamples, OT, and the Kontakt Factory Library... who knew?



Thanks, lovely. I think Cineharp stands out as an all-arounder, and that Angelic has some really nice harmonic aftertones that give it a lush elven/fairy tale vibe. I have the Kontakt Factory one, and have been looking to upgrade because while it's not terrible, it sounds relatively flat and non-dynamical. Also, if you play fast, some of the higher notes clang in a weird way sometimes. I want those 7 or 8 RRs!


----------



## SoNowWhat? (Nov 14, 2016)

Tugboat said:


> Thanks, lovely. I think Cineharp stands out as an all-arounder, and that Angelic has some really nice harmonic aftertones that give it a lush elven/fairy tale vibe. I have the Kontakt Factory one, and have been looking to upgrade because while it's not terrible, it sounds relatively flat and non-dynamical. Also, if you play fast, some of the higher notes clang in a weird way sometimes. I want those 7 or 8 RRs!


I agree that the Kontakt factory one is not rubbish. Not amazing either but can do basics. However, I am very much leaning towards the new Soundiron offering and expect I will pick it up soon. There's just too much good stuff on offer right now.


----------



## elpedro (Nov 15, 2016)

I'm loving the elysium more every time I play with it, it's a steal at the intro price.


----------



## Consona (Nov 15, 2016)

mikefox789 said:


> I think the Cinesamples was actually my favorite.


Same here.
Is it right that it has 2 RR and 3 velocity layers? But demos sound good and it's only 650MB on harddrive. Soundiron harp is nearly 15GB. 

I actually like the sound Kontakt factory harp a lot but there's thing weird increase in sharpness on the tone from somewhere around D2.


----------



## SoNowWhat? (Nov 15, 2016)

elpedro said:


> I'm loving the elysium more every time I play with it, it's a steal at the intro price.


Good news.


----------



## khollister (Nov 15, 2016)

Loving it as well - the bass register is fantastic


----------



## Consona (Nov 15, 2016)

Guys, you're making me salivate just when I've spent my this year's bugdet on CS2.


----------



## NYC Composer (Nov 15, 2016)

I love the sound of Orange Tree's Angelic Harp when solo'd, but for some reason I can't it to sit well in a mix. Probably my failing, but I'm looking into Soundiron's -does it sit well for you folks?


----------



## paoling (Nov 15, 2016)

There's a new harp coming from Chocolate Audio. It seems wonderful.


----------



## kurtvanzo (Nov 15, 2016)

NYC Composer said:


> I love the sound of Orange Tree's Angelic Harp when solo'd, but for some reason I can't it to sit well in a mix. Probably my failing, but I'm looking into Soundiron's -does it sit well for you folks?



It's not you, I found the same thing. When working on something with few layers or solo it works great, but in a heavier mix it quickly gets lost. I believe it's because it has less body/ low mid range with clarity that can easily get lost. Kontakt Factory Harp and CineHarp seem to sit in the mix better, but Elysium could be a contender. I'm now interested to see what Chocolate Audio is about to release.


----------



## quantum7 (Nov 15, 2016)

After over 2 hours playing with Elysium and then comparing it to all 8 of my other harps, I've officially dumped them all! I found Elysium that good!


----------



## Mike Fox (Nov 15, 2016)

quantum7 said:


> After over 2 hours playing with Elysium and then comparing it to all 8 of my other harps, I've officially dumped them all! I found Elysium that good!


What are your 8 harp libraries?


----------



## Ashermusic (Nov 15, 2016)

quantum7 said:


> After over 2 hours playing with Elysium and then comparing it to all 8 of my other harps, I've officially dumped them all! I found Elysium that good!




Wow, that is pretty high praise indeed, Sean.


----------



## synthpunk (Nov 15, 2016)

If you add this free fake RR script it gets even better IMO.
http://nilsliberg.se/ksp/scripts/utkt/utkt.htm



SoNowWhat? said:


> I agree that the Kontakt factory one is not rubbish. Not amazing either but can do basics.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 15, 2016)

hi all!

thanks paoling for sharing the news...

yes, we're releasing a pedal harp this coming friday with some unique features.
Please stay tuned and I am looking forward to your comments and input.


----------



## quantum7 (Nov 17, 2016)

Ashermusic said:


> Wow, that is pretty high praise indeed, Sean.





mikefox789 said:


> What are your 8 harp libraries?



I would like to add that the other harp libs I "dumped" were not necessarily bad, it's just that they were redundant now having Elysium. I will still, of course, have to keep them for resurrecting old songs, but I'm really trying my best to have a minimal collection of sample libs to make my life easier. Elysium made it pretty easy, but unfortunately I wish it was that easy with my string collections. I have 6 or 7 really nice string libs but EVERY one has weak points that make it impossible for me to only settle on just a couple of them. Oh well!


----------



## Baron Greuner (Nov 17, 2016)

I only had the one harp from VSL. Must be about 12 years old by now. It still works well. Today I downloaded the Elysium harp and it sounds really good. Nice interface and the arp feature is a good touch.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 17, 2016)

Hi all!

here's one of the audio demos for our harp, coming out tomorrow.


----------



## Mike Fox (Nov 17, 2016)

Simone Coen said:


> Hi all!
> 
> here's one of the audio demos for our harp, coming out tomorrow.



Wow! I really like this! Anymore details on this?


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 17, 2016)

mikefox789 said:


> Wow! I really like this! Anymore details on this?


Just be patient... a few hours...


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 18, 2016)

released:
http://www.chocolateaudio.com/products/glissando-concert-harp


----------



## Satorious (Nov 19, 2016)

I'm torn between the Chocolate Audio Glissando concert harp (which sounds/looks amazing) and Soundiron's Elysium (which sounds/looks amazing). Arrgh - can someone please make the decision for me?


----------



## Living Fossil (Nov 19, 2016)

Simone Coen said:


> released:
> http://www.chocolateaudio.com/products/glissando-concert-harp



How long will the intro offer last?


----------



## LondonMike (Nov 19, 2016)

Satorious said:


> I'm torn between the Chocolate Audio Glissando concert harp (which sounds/looks amazing) and Soundiron's Elysium (which sounds/looks amazing). Arrgh - can someone please make the decision for me?


Me too! I'm leaning towards Elysium based on the videos I've seen of both so far.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 19, 2016)

Intro pricing until Dec. 18th.
Satorious and LondonMike I'd like to help you, but I may be a bit biased...


----------



## wst3 (Nov 19, 2016)

Same boat Satriuos and LindonMike. 

They both sound great, but very different!

Workflow is different too. I suppose I could buy both?

The Chocolate Harp sounds a lot like a harpist I used to play with, especially in the upper register. 

Great I'd problem to have here I suppose


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 19, 2016)

we decided on purpose to sample with a certain setup and in a not-so-big room because we wanted to have an harp sound that is the most flexible and not only an harp fit for orchestral use...
I am not very familiar with Elysium so I cannot really stress differences (being also biased, again, doesn't help either)... but if any of you ends up buying both I'd be more than happy to read your thoughts.
Granted that I don't second comparisons with winner and losers (even when I am supposed to win), while I enjoy a lot to confront ideas, production approaches and best-use cases.
BTW: we're already working on a 1.5 update to the instrument which will feature some new functions (no new samples, what you get with 1.0 is our full sample set).

Thanks for reading


----------



## Rob Elliott (Nov 19, 2016)

Holy Everyone is Releasing A Harp Library, Batman. Chocolate and Soundiron both sound good. Funny how things come in bunches.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 19, 2016)

Rob Elliott said:


> Holy Everyone is Releasing A Harp Library, Batman. Chocolate and Soundiron both sound good. Funny how things come in bunches.


right!
go figure...
we sampled this harp in april 2012 and it was part of a research we did with one of my students.
We wrote the engine in 'alpha' form but then it was left in the dust.
Then a composer friend last year tried our pianos and he was amazed and said: ou should do an harp with this same concepts... and I was: we have it!
So I sent him the early release of the harp and he went: this is the best harp sound I have ever heard being sampled... so we decided to schedule it for this year, and we made it!


----------



## Rob Elliott (Nov 19, 2016)

An arp


Simone Coen said:


> we decided on purpose to sample with a certain setup and in a not-so-big room because we wanted to have an harp sound that is the most flexible and not only an harp fit for orchestral use...
> I am not very familiar with Elysium so I cannot really stress differences (being also biased, again, doesn't help either)... but if any of you ends up buying both I'd be more than happy to read your thoughts.
> Granted that I don't second comparisons with winner and losers (even when I am supposed to win), while I enjoy a lot to confront ideas, production approaches and best-use cases.
> BTW: we're already working on a 1.5 update to the instrument which will feature some new functions (no new samples, what you get with 1.0 is our full sample set).
> ...



Might an 'arp' be one of the new functions? Your gliss function is brilliant btw.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 19, 2016)

Rob Elliott said:


> An arp
> 
> 
> Might an 'arp' be one of the new functions? Your gliss function is brilliant btw.


look... we evaluated it for 1.0... 1.5 is a betterment of 1.0 features...
we tried it and decided we didn't dig the arp feature that much... but if sales permit it and there are enough requests... why not! 
Thanks for the compliments: the very idea of doing the harp came out of the Glissando thing... I love instruments and I take a lot of time analyzing them and their characteristics (something I shared much with my first partner in this business, Scarbee, in 2003) and the trick is always trying to translate an instrument to a keyboard and to be playable by a non-player of that instrument while giving her/him the chance to achieve believable results... or true-to-life if you're good enough.


----------



## Consona (Nov 20, 2016)

It's really hard to decide between Chocolate Harp and Elysium. I love Soundiron libraries, I really like that they have those ambiences patches in every library since I use them a lot, but after listening to Chocolate demos like this 
and watching the articulations video 

man, the sound is so delicious.  Chocolate Harp sounds so lively and vivid and full and warm and resonant. 
Hope I'll be able to decide before launch offer/the sale ends.  I'll give both libraries a listen again later today with more fresh head but I think I'm falling in love with the Chocolate.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 20, 2016)

Consona said:


> It's really hard to decide between Chocolate Harp and Elysium. I love Soundiron libraries, I really like that they have those ambiences patches in every library since I use them a lot, but after listening to Chocolate demos like this
> and watching the articulations video
> 
> man, the sound is so delicious.  Chocolate Harp sounds so lively and vivid and full and warm and resonant.
> Hope I'll be able to decide before launch offer/the sale ends.  I'll give both libraries a listen again later today with more fresh head but I think I'm falling in love with the Chocolate.




Thanks Consona!!!

We do have ambient/sound design patches too!
Trying not to overdo the webpage I totally skipped the mixer page...

here find the screenshots and I'll modify the page and do a video about the patches soon too...









and I think it might make sense to buy both libraries... I studied a bit the matter on SI website and it looks like we went in very complimentary directions :D


----------



## Living Fossil (Nov 20, 2016)

What i'm looking for in harp libs would be the possibility to use the strings as with a real harp.
That means, having the pedal settings and using only the seven C-major keys on the keyboard.
This would allow realistic textures aside from prefabricated glissandis etc.
(to make it clearer: e.g. you could use an arpeggio like C#,Db,E#,F,G,A#,Bb, i.e. have 6 strings playing the same 3 notes, etc)
Is this possible with the chocolate audio harp outside of the glissando-mode?
(if not, it should be included...)


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 20, 2016)

Living Fossil said:


> What i'm looking for in harp libs would be the possibility to use the strings as with a real harp.
> That means, having the pedal settings and using only the seven C-major keys on the keyboard.
> This would allow realistic textures aside from prefabricated glissandis etc.
> (to make it clearer: e.g. you could use an arpeggio like C#,Db,E#,F,G,A#,Bb, i.e. have 6 strings playing the same 3 notes, etc)
> ...



this is exactly what the Harp mode does! (and our Glissandos are never pre-fabricated but played by the engine in real time with endless possibilities! pardon my enthusiasm...)


----------



## Ashermusic (Nov 20, 2016)

In all candor, I was rather shocked that Simone wanted to use that quick pass I did playing the Debussy 2nd Arabesque opening (inaccurately that I sent him to illustrate a specific point I was making to him, but he thought it demonstrated the softer tones in the library, so I am glad it was useful.

It really is a beautiful harp.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 20, 2016)

Ashermusic said:


> In all candor, I was rather shocked that Simone wanted to use that quick pass I did playing the Debussy 2nd Arabesque opening (inaccurately that I sent him to illustrate a specific point I was making to him, but he thought it demonstrated the softer tones in the library, so I am glad it was useful.
> 
> It really is a beautiful harp.


Yeah... I know we all want to be soulful and musical, but sometimes just a few good-enough notes help others understand the scope of a library in terms of dynamics and feel. The other demos were on the hard-hitting side (apart from the wonderful Elegy that I received at the last minute) so I needed to show something more of this baby boy we nurtured for some time.
Thanks a million Jay for you input. Always precious.


----------



## Ashermusic (Nov 20, 2016)

Simone Coen said:


> Yeah... I know we all want to be soulful and musical, but sometimes just a few good-enough notes help others understand the scope of a library in terms of dynamics and feel. The other demos were on the hard-hitting side (apart from the wonderful Elegy that I received at the last minute) so I needed to show something more of this baby boy we nurtured for some time.
> Thanks a million Jay for you input. Always precious.




You are welcome. I seem to be all about the Italian developers these days


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 20, 2016)

Just in... Antongiulio Frulio didn't do a demo for us, but he was the one to re-ignite in me the will to work on this harp.

He just completed a piece of art IMHO, featuring Glissando Concert Harp.

Here it comes:


----------



## bryla (Nov 20, 2016)

As I commented on YouTube I would love to have the pedal diagram show the real position of the pedals: top position = flat. Symphonic Sphere, Elysium, Harp Redux do it this way, so if people are not familiar with it, they will learn it the right way from the start. Plus it confuses me and I have to double check.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 20, 2016)

bryla said:


> As I commented on YouTube I would love to have the pedal diagram show the real position of the pedals: top position = flat. Symphonic Sphere, Elysium, Harp Redux do it this way, so if people are not familiar with it, they will learn it the right way from the start. Plus it confuses me and I have to double check.



Ok. Adding the request to V. 1.5


----------



## bryla (Nov 20, 2016)

Amazing  thanks!


----------



## bryla (Nov 20, 2016)

Gotta say I love the Chocolate Audio Harp! Quite convenient for me it was released the weekend I was looking for a harp and was about to take the plunge on Elysium.


----------



## airflamesred (Nov 20, 2016)

bryla said:


> Gotta say I love the Chocolate Audio Harp! Quite convenient for me it was released the weekend I was looking for a harp and was about to take the plunge on Elysium.


+1, very well thought out, beautiful tone, and I wasn't even looking for a harp lib today.


----------



## Jack Weaver (Nov 20, 2016)

Been a fan since the Scarbee days....

Love the Chocolate Audio Harp. Beautiful when exposed. Congratulations on such a magnificent library.

*Please add that arpeggiator.* It will make it whole. Then I can retire the other harps in my template. 

I look forward to the update.


.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 20, 2016)

Jack Weaver said:


> Been a fan since the Scarbee days....
> 
> Love the Chocolate Audio Harp. Beautiful when exposed. Congratulations on such a magnificent library.
> 
> ...


Thanks to all!

Jack, please drop me an email (simone_at_chocolateaudio.com) with details on how you might want the arpeggiator to work.

Cheers,

Simone


----------



## Jack Weaver (Nov 21, 2016)

OK Simone, will do.

.


----------



## Mike Fox (Nov 21, 2016)

Simone Coen said:


> Just be patient... a few hours...


You sound like every woman I've dated.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 21, 2016)

mikefox789 said:


> You sound like every woman I've dated.


Still I am no woman...
And I kept my promise. Something women tend to overlook...
Sometimes...


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 21, 2016)

Jack Weaver said:


> OK Simone, will do.
> 
> .


Seen the email! Thanks!


----------



## soundshigh (Nov 22, 2016)

Has anyone compared the latest offerings from Soundiron and Chocolate Audio to the Symphonic Sphere Harp?


----------



## Living Fossil (Nov 22, 2016)

@Simone Coen: Have the harp since today, and it sounds great!

However, i have one suggestion and a question:
As far as i can see, in harp mode the velocity switches are always relative.
Depending on the size of cycle this could give wrong results occasionally.
In my opinion it would be (much) easier to have 3 velocity ranges which adress a direct position
rather then a relative: e.g. 0-35 -> pos nat (b), 36-90 -> pos 1, 91-127 -> pos 2 (#)

The question:
When playing the pizz. articulation, the hold pedal is on by default. To really get a short note, i have to press and release the hold pedal. Is this supposed to be like this?


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 22, 2016)

Living Fossil said:


> @Simone Coen: Have the harp since today, and it sounds great!
> 
> However, i have one suggestion and a question:
> As far as i can see, in harp mode the velocity switches are always relative.
> ...


Pedal control in 1.5 is optionally:
0-39 b
40-79 natural
80-127 #

Pizzicato: no. What you hear are the natural resonances of the other strings of the Harp.
When you release the key the harpist stops the string-key in question with the finger tip/nail or side of the finger (Etoufee). But the resonating strings keep on vibrating unlike on a piano.
The sustain pedal release acts like one of the first techniques an harpist learns: stopping the ringing notes with one or two hands.
This is a compromise to have the Harp play more fit to a piano player is used to (used to ask the piano to sustain notes) as opposed to the Harp where the Harp sustains by default and needs manual intervention to stop notes and a separate one to stop resonating strings.
Got me?


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 22, 2016)

1.5 is going to be out within a few weeks. Probably very very soon.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 22, 2016)

And thanks for buying it... help us share the word (if you dig it enough, of course!)


----------



## Living Fossil (Nov 22, 2016)

@Simone Coen : Thanks for your answer! 
Your explanation of the pedal's behaviour sounds perfectly logical.
But I will need to practice a bit using the pedal in this way 

And yes, the sound is really gorgeous and totally inspiring...


----------



## Consona (Nov 23, 2016)

How many velocity layers has Chocolate Harp? I mean, how soft can it be?


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 23, 2016)

Consona said:


> How many velocity layers has Chocolate Harp? I mean, how soft can it be?


I think you can find out listening to the demos that there's quite a wide dynamic range at disposal.
We sampled p, mf and ff more or less...
We actually sampled at the edge of where the timbre varies quite much and of course you have all of the intermediate volume levels via velocity.
There 4 round robins per note which I think is more important 
Thanks for asking!


----------



## AlexanderSchiborr (Nov 23, 2016)

Did anybody use the Hollywood Harp from Eastwest in their orchestral templates? Any opinion on it?


----------



## quantum7 (Nov 23, 2016)

After hearing the Chocolate Audio harp demos I'm tempted to pick it up considering the great intro price of $69. I'm not hearing anything that Elysium isn't giving me....except perhaps a bit more "bite" withe the Chocolate Audio's harps, but without actually playing it in person I guess I'll never know if it would be be in my best interest to own them both. Worst case, I guess having 2 killer harps wouldn't hurt.


----------



## JeffvR (Nov 23, 2016)

quantum7 said:


> After hearing the Chocolate Audio harp demos I'm tempted to pick it up considering the great intro price of $69. I'm not hearing anything that Elysium isn't giving me....except perhaps a bit more "bite" withe the Chocolate Audio's harps, but without actually playing it in person I guess I'll never know if it would be be in my best interest to own them both. Worst case, I guess having 2 killer harps wouldn't hurt.



I also love the tone of Chocolate's Audio harp, but the Elysium harp has a bit more content. It has 8rr instead of 4, 3 mic positions instead of 2, 194 recorded glisses, arpeggio mode and a lot of synth like sounds. Things to consider


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 23, 2016)

JeffvR said:


> I also love the tone of Chocolate's Audio harp, but the Elysium harp has a bit more content. It has 8rr instead of 4, 3 mic positions instead of 2, 194 recorded glisses, arpeggio mode and a lot of synth like sounds. Things to consider



I won't comment on the competition, of course, but we do have synth like sounds too, we haven't just advertised them yet as much as they did. I can't comment on the rest, since it would be an unfair comparison made by a slightly biased guy like me 

The more I look at it (and I don't have Elysium and of course let me stress again I am a bit biased), the more I think our harps, while being almost contemporary, couldn't be more complimentary.

It'd be great if an independent reviewer picks them both and reviews them head to head pinpointing the differences.

Cheers!

Simone


----------



## airflamesred (Nov 24, 2016)

I don't own Elysium but I do own a good number of Soundiron libs, Motor rhythms and waterharp amongst others. No complaints at all, in fact Soundiron is one of the first places I would look for inspirational libs. 
8rr, I don't (logically) see the need for in a harp and the synth stuff, although useful, in all honesty can have material derived from any source. So, you know what you get with a Soundiron lib - very well recorded, clean and useful.

The Chocolate Audio harp (which I do own) is also well recorded, the velocity layers blend well and it has a wonderful brightness. Now this, can be tamed to be more like the VSL harp which folks on this thread (including myself) were/are using. 
There are an awful lot of artics, and whilst you may not use all of them all, it does have that feel of a harpist having a serious input into the lib and how it can be used.

My only crit, and this is for selfish reasons around triggering from edrums, it to be able to re-map the keyswitches.


----------



## resound (Nov 24, 2016)

I picked up the Chocolate Audio harp after seeing the gliss features. I never liked using prerecorded glisses because it was always a compromise to find something that fit. With the Chocolate Audio harp, it feels like you have an actual harpist in front of you. You can easily program glisses that start and end exactly where you want them to. It's pretty amazing!


----------



## Mike Fox (Nov 24, 2016)

AlexanderSchiborr said:


> Did anybody use the Hollywood Harp from Eastwest in their orchestral templates? Any opinion on it?



It's nice, but I felt like it didnt have enough character.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 24, 2016)

airflamesred said:


> My only crit, and this is for selfish reasons around triggering from edrums, it to be able to re-map the keyswitches.


How would you like it to be done? Most of the keys are taken by the harp itself or its pedals... would you like to have each key assignable in the Articulations page? Might be a v. 2.0 feature.
Thanks for the very kind words and for recognizing the sound of it, which is something we really wanted and, yes, we worked in close relation with the harpist for many months.


Simone


----------



## michaelamlacher (Nov 24, 2016)

I own several harp libraries, but I always return to the harp in Symphonic Sphere from Orchestral Tools, sometimes the Cinesamples Cineharp. But I have also heard very good things about the Angelic Harp from OTS, might also be worth a look. Also had the Hollywood Harp from East West, but wasn't happy with it.


----------



## AlexanderSchiborr (Nov 24, 2016)

mikefox789 said:


> It's nice, but I felt like it didnt have enough character.


What do you mean by "didn´t have enough character"?



michaelamlacher said:


> Also had the Hollywood Harp from East West, but wasn't happy with it.



Why you weren´t happy with it?


----------



## michaelamlacher (Nov 24, 2016)

AlexanderSchiborr said:


> What do you mean by "didn´t have enough character"?
> 
> 
> 
> Why you weren´t happy with it?



It just didn't compare well enough against the other competitors. I really tried to like it, but I was always reaching back to the Orchestral Tools Harp. It had some patches that were quite nice, but overall it just didn't fit to me and the sound I was going for. I also have to mention that I have had major issues with Play 4 on my system, maybe it's better now with Play 5, but honestly I stripped all EW products out of my template.

The best harp I used is the Orchestral Tools one. It's easy to work with, it sounds great and fits perfectly into the mix. The Spitfire Harp also sounds nice, but is so drenched with ambience, even with the Close Mics that it's completely unuseable - at least for my purposes.


----------



## Consona (Nov 24, 2016)

When does the Chocolate Harp launch offer end? Thx.


----------



## quantum7 (Nov 24, 2016)

mikefox789 said:


> It's nice, but I felt like it didnt have enough character.



I agree! I "dumped" the EW Harps after purchasing Elysium.


----------



## AlexanderSchiborr (Nov 24, 2016)

michaelamlacher said:


> It just didn't compare well enough against the other competitors. I really tried to like it, but I was always reaching back to the Orchestral Tools Harp. It had some patches that were quite nice, but overall it just didn't fit to me and the sound I was going for. I also have to mention that I have had major issues with Play 4 on my system, maybe it's better now with Play 5, but honestly I stripped all EW products out of my template.
> 
> The best harp I used is the Orchestral Tools one. It's easy to work with, it sounds great and fits perfectly into the mix. The Spitfire Harp also sounds nice, but is so drenched with ambience, even with the Close Mics that it's completely unuseable - at least for my purposes.



Thank you for the detailed explanation. I heard many complaints with EW Play Engine, luckily I never had by myself any issues, since I am using Play 5 the loading times were improved. I also have the OT Harp and it is surely a good harp. 
Besides all technical issues, what do you think of the sound of the EW Harp? As form the few demos and some independent Yt Videos it seems the harp has some nice sound. Also the glisses and the playable glisspatch seem to be convincing. You know I ask because actually EW has the harp on sale. 
Info: My main use of harp is in classic Orchestral context, either classic Filmmusic or even classic romantic mockups, so I need a harp which has truely some good playable glissando and some nice room tone.


----------



## AlexanderSchiborr (Nov 24, 2016)

quantum7 said:


> I agree! I "dumped" the EW Harps after purchasing Elysium.



So Elysium beats Hollywood Harp? How are glissando function? Thanks.
man..there are no so many harps..around.


----------



## quantum7 (Nov 24, 2016)

michaelamlacher said:


> It just didn't compare well enough against the other competitors. I really tried to like it, but I was always reaching back to the Orchestral Tools Harp. It had some patches that were quite nice, but overall it just didn't fit to me and the sound I was going for. I also have to mention that I have had major issues with Play 4 on my system, maybe it's better now with Play 5, but honestly I stripped all EW products out of my template.
> 
> The best harp I used is the Orchestral Tools one. It's easy to work with, it sounds great and fits perfectly into the mix. The Spitfire Harp also sounds nice, but is so drenched with ambience, even with the Close Mics that it's completely unuseable - at least for my purposes.



I agree! Spitfire did a great job, but the close mics are still a bit wet, which can be difficult to work with when you need something more dry. When you need wet though, they do sound fantastic.


----------



## michaelamlacher (Nov 24, 2016)

AlexanderSchiborr said:


> So Elysium beats Hollywood Harp? How are glissando function? Thanks.
> man..there are no so many harps..around.


The Hollywood Harp is ok, in my opinion. Nothing special, almost a little bit sterile. 

I don't have Elysium but it sounds great on the demos. Cinesamples Cineharp is also good, but very quick on the hard side with the plucks if you play it with higher velocity, Angelic Harp has been recommended to me several times, should also be very good and the demos sound good as well.


----------



## quantum7 (Nov 24, 2016)

AlexanderSchiborr said:


> So Elysium beats Hollywood Harp? How are glissando function? Thanks.
> man..there are no so many harps..around.



I don't think any library "beats" any library. It's all just personal opinion. For my tastes, Elysium just sounded better to my ears than the EW Harps.  The glissandos are pre-recorded, but there are so many that I don't mind that. If I need to create glissandos manually though, I've never had problems doing that myself in Cubase.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 24, 2016)

Consona said:


> When does the Chocolate Harp launch offer end? Thx.


Dec 18th


----------



## Mike Fox (Nov 24, 2016)

AlexanderSchiborr said:


> What do you mean by "didn´t have enough character"?
> 
> 
> 
> Why you weren´t happy with it?



Hard to describe. It felt kinda flat, and a little lifeless, though could be pretty at certain times.


----------



## airflamesred (Nov 24, 2016)

Simone Coen said:


> How would you like it to be done? Most of the keys are taken by the harp itself or its pedals... would you like to have each key assignable in the Articulations page? Might be a v. 2.0 feature.
> Thanks for the very kind words and for recognizing the sound of it, which is something we really wanted and, yes, we worked in close relation with the harpist for many months.
> 
> Simone


Ideally to be able to asign them anywhere, I probably wouldn't use all 11 of them, but realistically just to move them down an octave in accordance with other libs.


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 24, 2016)

airflamesred said:


> Ideally to be able to asign them anywhere, I probably wouldn't use all 11 of them, but realistically just to move them down an octave in accordance with other libs.


I see... we chose to 'stay' there because already the harp + pedals are exceeding the 88 keys of a master keyboard, but I see your point.

Thanks!


----------



## markleake (Nov 24, 2016)

Simone Coen said:


> I see... we chose to 'stay' there because already the harp + pedals are exceeding the 88 keys of a master keyboard, but I see your point.
> 
> Thanks!


What I find useful is what Spitfire and some other companies do with their libraries. You can just grab the little keyswitch icon with your mouse, move it left and right, and the keyswitches move up and down the keyboard, one note at a time (they move as a group). And they allow to move beyond the 88 key range, which is very useful.


----------



## The Darris (Nov 24, 2016)

One of my favorite Harps is in Orchestral Tools Symphonic Sphere but it is limited in terms of articulations. Sonokinetic and Spitfire Audio's Harps are my other go to Harps. Sonokinetic's if I want more soloist/intimate sound and Spitfire Audio's for more Orchestral and wider/cinematic sound. 

I am also considering Harp Swarm by Spitfire Audio during the Black Friday sale as it just sounds cool. 

Best,

Chris


----------



## JeffvR (Nov 24, 2016)

quantum7 said:


> I don't think any library "beats" any library. It's all just personal opinion. For my tastes, Elysium just sounded better to my ears than the EW Harps.  The glissandos are pre-recorded, but there are so many that I don't mind that. If I need to create glissandos manually though, I've never had problems doing that myself in Cubase.


You can create your own glisses with Elysium Harp actually just using the white keys


----------



## Consona (Nov 28, 2016)

Simone Coen said:


> Dec 18th


Enough questions, just bought it.  Cannot wait to play it!

And thank you very much for really fast and kind response to my support request, Simone! Cheers!


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 28, 2016)

Consona said:


> Enough questions, just bought it.  Cannot wait to play it!
> 
> And thank you very much for really fast and kind response to my support request, Simone! Cheers!



Thanks to you for buying it!
Vers. 1.5 is being pushed tomorrow most likely. I will announce it here and through our newsletter.

Cheers,
S.


----------



## rottoy (Nov 28, 2016)

airflamesred said:


> Now this, can be tamed to be more like the VSL harp which folks on this thread (including myself) were/are using.


It's funny, I bought the Cineharp way way back to use as a dedicated harp library, yet I still reach for the Kontakt VSL Harp. I heard the VSL Harp being used as recently as the latest episodes of Westworld.


----------



## reddognoyz (Nov 28, 2016)

I have to disagree about other harp libraries being redundant to Elysium. Elysium really shines as a close mic'ed harp, it has a naturally intimate sound and while it can certainly be placed farther back in a room with the tools provided, I don't think that is the same sound as a harp recorded in place like the Spitfire harp( or OT or cinesamples or Hollywood harp etc..)


----------



## Simone Coen (Nov 28, 2016)

FIY we just updated Glissando Concert Harp to v. 1.5 addressing most of the user-requests here + bug fixes + other features we were already working on:
*Glissando*

Change Glissando Mode on-the-fly using Black Keys (F#0-G#1)
Change Glissando Direction using A#1
Optionally Stop/Quit Glissando Mode when releasing MIDI Keys (Glissando Settings)
Optionally use a MIDI CC# of your choice to start and stop glissando (Glissando Settings)
Set Glissando volume offset (Glissando Settings)
maximum speed of glissandos raised
*Pedals*

Move Pedals via MIDI (C0-B0), now in 2 ways (via Preferences):
Programming - Absolut: velocities 1-40 "#", 41-80 "Nat.", 81-127 "b"
Performance - Relative Mode (v. 1.0): playing harder than a user-set velocity will move the pedal to a "sharper" position, playing softer will move to a "flatter" position
Pedal action on GUI is now reversed like on a real harp (flat > up, sharp > down)
Pedal order reflects the one on a real harp (D C B E F G A)
Set the level of Pedal noises in the Articulations page and optionally disable them completely
*Tonal Centers / Modes - Chords*

use MIDI CC#74 to set Tonal Centers
use MIDI CC#71 to set Modes - Chords
*Various bug-fixes
Updated in-line Help*

New buyers get v. 1.5 straight away.
Former customers: look for an email in your inbox now.

Thanks.

Simone


----------



## Consona (Nov 28, 2016)

Playing the Chocolate Harp now... Love the sound. The higher registers on lowest dynamic levels, the sound is full and bright at the same time, really delicate and soft, just what I was looking for.


----------



## brett (Nov 30, 2016)

@quantum7 and others who have one or both of Elysium or Glissando harps:

Can you comment on the noise floor? I have the Spitfire harp which I love, however I find the muted / harmonics patch has excessive hiss, especially at lower velocities - unavoidable given the hall it was recorded in. So I'm looking for a drier harp to complement it.

From the demos the Elysium harp has more hiss but in the video where the harmonics samples are demonstrated it is drenched in reverb :(

In the Glissando video he plays only a handful of notes! :(


One other question to those that own Elysium. Can you switch articulations using midi CC or automation or keyswitches?


----------



## Consona (Nov 30, 2016)

With Chocolate Harp there's no floor noise whatsoever. Or any hisses or high end noise, just a very clean yet lively recording, which is great, it's not too dry nor too roomy. They were able to find the right balance.


----------



## byzantium (Nov 30, 2016)

Thanks. I'd also be very interested to hear from anyone that has Elysium, how articulations and gliss patterns (scales/keys/pedal arrangements) can be selected via keyswitches / CC, so that you only need one Elysium instance in your project. Thanks.


----------



## Consona (Nov 30, 2016)

Out of curiosity I've bought Impact Soundworks' Highland Harps and if you don't mind it's not an orchestral harp I can fully recommend it. The harps and lyre sound wonderful!


----------



## brett (Nov 30, 2016)

brett said:


> @quantum7 and others who have one or both of Elysium or Glissando harps:
> 
> Can you comment on the noise floor? I have the Spitfire harp which I love, however I find the muted / harmonics patch has excessive hiss, especially at lower velocities - unavoidable given the hall it was recorded in. So I'm looking for a drier harp to complement it.
> 
> ...



Thanks @Consona 

Bumping for more opinions on the above


----------



## desert (Nov 30, 2016)

You were considering adding an arpeggiator, right? Is that still happening or just an idea? @Simone Coen


----------



## Mike Fox (Nov 30, 2016)

How's the harp included in AGE?


----------



## Simone Coen (Dec 1, 2016)

desert said:


> You were considering adding an arpeggiator, right? Is that still happening or just an idea? @Simone Coen


it's still being evaluated. We will have an internal meeting in december and decide what to do re: arpeggiator. Once we take a decision (the 2 of us working on this), we'll have an eventual development plan and release dates.

Thanks,

Simone


----------



## LondonMike (Dec 9, 2016)

I'm yet to decide between Elysium and Chocolate. Can anyone tell me if it's possible in either/both libs to assign different pedal tunings to a keyswitch ? I presume it must be but none of the videos I've seen mention it.


----------



## Simone Coen (Dec 12, 2016)

LondonMike said:


> I'm yet to decide between Elysium and Chocolate. Can anyone tell me if it's possible in either/both libs to assign different pedal tunings to a keyswitch ? I presume it must be but none of the videos I've seen mention it.



Can you better explain what you mean?

Cheers,

Simone


----------



## LondonMike (Dec 12, 2016)

Simone Coen said:


> Can you better explain what you mean?
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Simone


Hi Simone, I need to be able to set the pedals to various different tunings and recall them with keyswitches during the course of a song. I do this with Angelic Harp and I've now found out it is possible on Elysium.

I hope that's more clearly put.

Thanks


----------



## Simone Coen (Dec 12, 2016)

you can use the GUI/Midi Keys C0 to B0 in Harp Mode to set the pedals via Keyswitch or use the GUI/Midi CC 74/71 to set tonal centers and scales/chords to tune the harp to. It's a selection of the most used settings, 'cause contemplating them all would have required too many options.

Cheers,

Simone


----------



## LondonMike (Dec 12, 2016)

Simone Coen said:


> you can use the GUI/Midi Keys C0 to B0 in Harp Mode to set the pedals via Keyswitch or use the GUI/Midi CC 74/71 to set tonal centers and scales/chords to tune the harp to. It's a selection of the most used settings, 'cause contemplating them all would have required too many options.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Simone


Many thanks!


----------



## Simone Coen (Dec 12, 2016)

if you go to our site you can download the pdf manual or see the screenshot of the GUI so you can see yourself the ready-available options.


----------



## Simone Coen (Dec 12, 2016)

desert said:


> You were considering adding an arpeggiator, right? Is that still happening or just an idea? @Simone Coen


yes it is... not too soon, though. It will be a free update, though, when it comes.


----------



## ZeroZero (Jan 11, 2017)

Simone Coen said:


> yes it is... not too soon, though. It will be a free update, though, when it comes.



Let me know when this arrives please, I shall buy


----------



## Parsifal666 (Jan 11, 2017)

I love my East West, but still use my Garritan Personal Orchestra harp, too.


----------



## jononotbono (Jan 11, 2017)

I'm definitely going to invest in a Harp this year. What do people think of the Spitfire Harp?


----------



## juliansader (Jan 11, 2017)

I am curious to know if any harp sample library includes so-called "pre-pluck buzz" noise samples.

When a harpist plucks a string that is already vibrating from a previous note, there will inevitably be a momentary buzzing sound before the string is plucked, as the string will briefly vibrate against the finger before it is stopped and re-plucked. These performance noises should help to make a MIDI mockup sound more real and alive.

In a live harp performance, the pre-pluck noises can be heard clearly:


----------



## maxime77 (Jan 11, 2017)

The Spitfire harp has a great sound, I particularly like the flageolet articulation which sound gorgeous


----------



## mark.warman (Jan 11, 2017)

jononotbono said:


> I'm definitely going to invest in a Harp this year. What do people think of the Spitfire Harp?


Skaila Kanga recorded in the Hall at Air Studios - sheer perfection. Highly recommended!


----------



## ZeroZero (Jan 12, 2017)

jononotbono said:


> I'm definitely going to invest in a Harp this year. What do people think of the Spitfire Harp?


I am gradually learning that the interface is mission critical to getting the right sound of any instrument, for this the chocolate audio seems best or will be after an arp is added as is promised - just my opinion.I have just downloaded the SonoKenetic cos it's reasonably priced.


----------



## byzantium (Jan 12, 2017)

As far as I know, Soundiron Elysium Harp has an interface with similar functionality.


----------



## Karma (Jan 12, 2017)

I have Project Sam and Spitfire's Skaila Kanga. I haven't touched PS since getting Spitfire.


----------



## Simone Coen (Jan 14, 2017)

ZeroZero said:


> Let me know when this arrives please, I shall buy


not earlier than a few months I am afraid.
We're now focused on further projects and updates we hope you will love.

Cheers,

Simone


----------



## Quasar (Jan 14, 2017)

Simone Coen said:


> not earlier than a few months I am afraid.
> We're now focused on further projects and updates we hope you will love.
> 
> Cheers,
> ...



I got the Soundiron Elysium Harp because I revived this old thread and then purchased it literally one day before you announced yours... But I did get your BBassV, which has supplanted an NI bass as my go-to and given me a very high opinion of Chocolate Audio's library quality, and look forward to future projects. Thanks!


----------



## Simone Coen (Jan 14, 2017)

Tugboat said:


> I got the Soundiron Elysium Harp because I revived this old thread and then purchased it literally one day before you announced yours... But I did get your BBassV, which has supplanted an NI bass as my go-to and given me a very high opinion of Chocolate Audio's library quality, and look forward to future projects. Thanks!


Well... I bought it too in the end... to find out about the competition 
I hope you'll get ours too sooner or later.
Thanks for the compliments about the bass: we are also working on updates for that engine for the coming months.


----------



## vms (Jan 15, 2017)

Elysium Harp comes with 6 velocity layers+8RR but doesn't have release samples 
but soundwise, Elysium Harp >> Spitfire Harp
and Spitfire Harp is wet, even close mic


----------



## Haakond (Jan 15, 2017)

After two weeks with comparing Chocolate Audios harp and the Elysium Harp, I decided to for for the Chocolate Audio harp. It was the glissandi function that made it for me. Very intuitive and easy to use. Lovley tone to the standard plucking too. There is a lot of extended playing technies that I might never use, but it is always nice to have the possibility


----------



## wst3 (Jan 15, 2017)

Haakond said:


> After two weeks with comparing Chocolate Audios harp and the Elysium Harp, I decided to for for the Chocolate Audio harp. It was the glissandi function that made it for me. Very intuitive and easy to use. Lovley tone to the standard plucking too. There is a lot of extended playing technies that I might never use, but it is always nice to have the possibility



I came to the same conclusion, for similar reasons. I've yet to purchase a SoundIron library I didn't like, and use. That's a big factor for me. Kept me in turmoil for quite a while in fact. In the end I decided I like the sound of the Chocolate Audio harp a little better, and I was impressed by the Gliss feature.

Sadly the sale ran out before I made my purchase (I wrote down the wrong end date - shame on me!), and since I don't have a burning need for a harp for an upcoming project I'm going to wait till I need one now. That's probably for the best (he says, trying to convince himself<G>!)

I think it is a lovely problem to have - too many top flight libraries!


----------



## Parsifal666 (Aug 23, 2018)

When people mention Spitifire Harp here do they mean this?

https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/skaila-kanga-harp-redux/


----------



## Nao Gam (Aug 23, 2018)

Parsifal666 said:


> When people mention Spitifire Harp here do they mean this?
> 
> https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/skaila-kanga-harp-redux/


Funny I was reading this thread earlier today.
Yes I believe so
Been listening to Chrysalis (their other harp library) and it seems like a goldmine of soundscapes plus classic articulations. But I'm pretty sure the one recorded at Air was skaila kanga


----------



## Parsifal666 (Aug 23, 2018)

Nao Gam said:


> Funny I was reading this thread earlier today.
> Yes I believe so
> Been listening to Chrysalis (their other harp library) and it seems like a goldmine of soundscapes plus classic articulations. But I'm pretty sure the one recorded at Air was skaila kanga



Many thanks, and I'm checking Chrysalis as of now.


----------



## Parsifal666 (Aug 23, 2018)

Can anyone tell me which they like better, or what the two Spitfire harps do best: Swarm and Skaila? Any help would be massively appreciated.


----------



## Grégory Betton (Aug 23, 2018)

A bit out of topic perhaps, but you may check Performance Sample's harp textures freebie (https://performancesamples.com/riverharp/#1495069395173-bbefac5b-0c98). Could be useful... and it's free


----------



## markleake (Aug 23, 2018)

Parsifal666 said:


> Can anyone tell me which they like better, or what the two Spitfire harps do best: Swarm and Skaila? Any help would be massively appreciated.


They are very different. One is Spitfire's main orchestral harp library, the other is an effects and atmosphere library.

Their main harp is wonderful. I use it all the time. It's very flexible also if you are mixing with other Spitfire stuff, due to the different microphones... the usual Spitfire fare.

The harp in EWQLSO is also very good, but I only have Gold, so only one mic position.

Another harp is the Versilian Studios Etherealwinds. It's not an orchestral harp, it's more Celtic, brighter in tone which is very useful sometimes, and it sounds amazing. I got it for $15... it's the best cheap VI I've ever bought. I've been using it a fair bit lately.


----------



## Parsifal666 (Aug 23, 2018)

Grégory Betton said:


> A bit out of topic perhaps, but you may check Performance Sample's harp textures freebie (https://performancesamples.com/riverharp/#1495069395173-bbefac5b-0c98). Could be useful... and it's free



This I like.


----------

