# Best orchestra libraries for Kontakt?



## SaintDufus (Nov 17, 2019)

What are the best Kontakt-based full orchestra libraries?

If you want orchestral strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, etc. all in one Kontakt-based package, what would the top choices be in terms of quality?


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## Leon Portelance (Nov 17, 2019)

EW Hollywood Orchestra Platinum


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## Lawson. (Nov 17, 2019)

Leon Portelance said:


> EW Hollywood Orchestra Platinum



I see what you did there...


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## dzilizzi (Nov 17, 2019)

For a Kontakt instrument I would go for OT's Berlin series if you can afford it and have the computer resources to run it. Though personally I picked up SSO and have been very happy with it. It doesn't have percussion but frankly the percussion in the Factory Library is actually good. SSO or the Chamber Strings version, which is also popular, should have a decent discount at Christmas if you have it on your Wishlist. If you get the full SSO, you also get Masse, which is a sketching library that uses samples from the full SSO.


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## Kony (Nov 17, 2019)

dzilizzi said:


> percussion in the Factory Library is actually good


I think it's good too - and under-rated.  

OT would be my first choice as well btw.


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## dzilizzi (Nov 18, 2019)

Kony said:


> I think it's good too - and under-rated.
> 
> OT would be my first choice as well btw.


I have the winds but decided to go with SSO when I found out my 32 gb RAM machine would have a rough time with a full Berlin template.


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## SaintDufus (Nov 19, 2019)

Leon Portelance said:


> EW Hollywood Orchestra Platinum



This is a Kontakt-based library?


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## SaintDufus (Nov 19, 2019)

dzilizzi said:


> For a Kontakt instrument I would go for OT's Berlin series if you can afford it and have the computer resources to run it. Though personally I picked up SSO and have been very happy with it.



Are you saying SSO is a Kontakt-based library?

Do you run it through Kontakt?

(Also: do you mean Spitfire Studio Orchestra or Spitfire Symphony Orchestra?)


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## rocking.xmas.man (Nov 19, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> This is a Kontakt-based library?


No it isn’t. SSO though is. He is referring to spitfire symphonic orchestra. There is a bundle available that exchanges spitfire symphonic strings for spitfire chamber strings.

Another orchestra that does not get mentioned so often anymore is cinesamples cinesymphony.


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## SaintDufus (Nov 19, 2019)

dzilizzi said:


> For a Kontakt instrument I would go for OT's Berlin series if you can afford it



I am looking at this. Berlin Inspire looks really good, but the $442 price tag is steep...do they ever put this product on sale?


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## MarcelM (Nov 19, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> I am looking at this. Berlin Inspire looks really good, but the $442 price tag is steep...do they ever put this product on sale?



yes. it was on sale in the past. actually two times if i remember right. you might want to wait for black friday.


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## dzilizzi (Nov 19, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> I am looking at this. Berlin Inspire looks really good, but the $442 price tag is steep...do they ever put this product on sale?


Inspire is ensembles, if I remember correctly. So maybe not a good choice? It is Kontakt though. 

If you want a starter library, Audio Imperia's Nucleus sounds pretty good. And it's on sale. And Kontakt.


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## Geoff Grace (Nov 19, 2019)

dzilizzi said:


> For a Kontakt instrument I would go for OT's Berlin series if you can afford it and have the computer resources to run it. Though personally I picked up SSO and have been very happy with it. It doesn't have percussion but frankly the percussion in the Factory Library is actually good. SSO or the Chamber Strings version, which is also popular, should have a decent discount at Christmas if you have it on your Wishlist. If you get the full SSO, you also get Masse, which is a sketching library that uses samples from the full SSO.


I second *Lizzi*'s Berlin and SSO (or the Chamber Strings version) recommendations.

If you'd like percussion from the same room as SSO, Spitfire's Joby Burgess Percussion compliments Spitfire Symphony Orchestra very nicely.

Best,

Geoff


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## lp59burst (Nov 19, 2019)

You may as well ask "_what's the best food to eat for dinner_"... 

You'll get less divergence of opinion...


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## dzilizzi (Nov 19, 2019)

Geoff Grace said:


> I second *Lizzi*'s Berlin and SSO (or the Chamber Strings version) recommendations.
> 
> If you'd like percussion from the same room as SSO, Spitfire's Joby Burgess Percussion compliments Spitfire Symphony Orchestra very nicely.
> 
> ...


I think I need to put Joby on the Wishlist just to match the Air reverb.


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## dzilizzi (Nov 19, 2019)

lp59burst said:


> You may as well ask "_what's the best food to eat for dinner_"...
> 
> You'll get less divergence of opinion...


Well, if you want it all to match with separate articulations, you are pretty much stuck with SA, OT, EW or VSL for the better quality. 

This is not to say the others aren't good or even better, just that they don't have all the sections recorded in the same room. At least not yet. If you don't mind cobbling it all together, there's a whole lot more choices.


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## river angler (Nov 19, 2019)

Both Orchestral Tools and Spitfire to my ears are the most musical and realistic if different "flavours" of that musicality and realism! However I have stuck with OT over Spitfire simply because one can choose to control dynamics of all sounds including longs via key velocity or mod wheel which makes them much more playable and spontaneous to score with.

And actually you would be surprised just how much you can do even with OT's Inspire series "sketch" libraries let alone their top Berlin series!


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## SaintDufus (Nov 23, 2019)

dzilizzi said:


> Inspire is ensembles, if I remember correctly. So maybe not a good choice? It is Kontakt though.
> 
> If you want a starter library, Audio Imperia's Nucleus sounds pretty good. And it's on sale. And Kontakt.



It's ONLY ensembles?

Meaning no solo instruments, right?


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## SaintDufus (Nov 23, 2019)

Geoff Grace said:


> I second *Lizzi*'s Berlin and SSO (or the Chamber Strings version) recommendations.
> 
> If you'd like percussion from the same room as SSO, Spitfire's Joby Burgess Percussion compliments Spitfire Symphony Orchestra very nicely.
> 
> ...



Just to confirm: Spitfire is a Kontakt-based library, right?


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## SaintDufus (Nov 23, 2019)

lp59burst said:


> You may as well ask "_what's the best food to eat for dinner_"...
> 
> You'll get less divergence of opinion...


I'm starting to realize that!


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## SaintDufus (Nov 23, 2019)

river angler said:


> Both Orchestral Tools and Spitfire to my ears are the most musical and realistic if different "flavours" of that musicality and realism! However I have stuck with OT over Spitfire simply because one can choose to control dynamics of all sounds including longs via key velocity or mod wheel which makes them much more playable and spontaneous to score with.
> 
> And actually you would be surprised just how much you can do even with OT's Inspire series "sketch" libraries let alone their top Berlin series!



And you don't find the fact that OT Inspire is "ensembles-only" to be a limitation?


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> And you don't find the fact that OT Inspire is "ensembles-only" to be a limitation?


Well actually its not an "ensembles-only" scenario as between the two libraries there are "sections" and all the solo instruments to boot as well as choirs and percussion.

The only limitation which I don't actually see as a "limitation" is the reduced dynamic layers and round robins


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## SaintDufus (Nov 23, 2019)

river angler said:


> Well actually its not an "ensembles-only" scenario as between the two libraries there are "sections" and all the solo instruments to boot as well as choirs and percussion



Ah, I see...so if you get _both_ libraries, pretty much everything's covered.


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> Ah, I see...so if you get _both_ libraries, pretty much everything's covered.


Indeed! and they are such an inspirational joy to work with! A real gem bundle!

IMO the Inspire Series will become a classic amongst composers


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

To further sway you to the Inspire Series: before I bought it I was actually concerned about the reduced level of dynamics and round robins available. However after liaising with the Orchestral Tools rep about it I decided to go with it and indeed once I started working with the samples themselves I was delighted to find both dynamics and round robins quite sufficient for my needs... and let me tell you! I must have instruments that respond well to my touch on the keys while I compose!...


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## dzilizzi (Nov 23, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> Just to confirm: Spitfire is a Kontakt-based library, right?


Most of their current libraries are Kontakt based. The BBCSO is Spitfire Player. But the ones we have mentioned are Kontakt. And if you want to try their player out, they have the free LABS instruments that run on the player. Some are fun. Others, like the felt piano, are actually really useful. The BBCSO is a decent starter library, especially if you aren't running Cubase on Windows 10. But it isn't Kontakt. The VSL SE libraries are also great starter libraries but they run on the Vienna Instruments player and require reverb to sound good. But really low RAM and the will be on sale next week.


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## John R Wilson (Nov 23, 2019)

river angler said:


> Indeed! and they are such an inspirational joy to work with! A real gem bundle!
> 
> IMO the Inspire Series will become a classic amongst composers



The inspire series does look really good. I just wish they weren't so expensive :( You can get EWHO for £290 for full orchestra nowadays or the BBCSO for around £660 for a full orchestra with individual sections, however, both these are not Kontakt based.


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

Johnrwilsonmusic said:


> The inspire series does look really good. I just wish they weren't so expensive :( You can get EWHO for £290 for full orchestra nowadays or the BBCSO for around £660 for a full orchestra with individual sections, however, both these are not Kontakt based.


I got mine in last years BF/Christmas bundle at £349 for both! and that bundle is bound to be available again in the next few weeks! So be patient and you may be rewarded!

EWHO is not Kontakt player based!- it uses its own player which I found far less intuitive.
BBCSO uses its own player too but for me this and virtually all of Spitfires libraries although sounding superlative, their longs dynamics can not be initially triggered by velocity which as I have mentioned before is a severe limitation for me.


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## John R Wilson (Nov 23, 2019)

river angler said:


> I got mine in last years BF/Christmas bundle at £349 for both! and that bundle is bound to be available again in the next few weeks! So be patient and you may be rewarded!



Awesome, that is really good. certainly couldn't afford them at the full price but id be tempted at £349 for both!! Do Orchestral tools normally discount much for Black Friday? Dam, this isn't good, this might be another library that need to get haha. I've already planned to spend too much this black Friday on sample libraries and a good set up that can last me a good few years before needing to buy anything else. 

Also, lovely piece. Just had a listen to it. Certainly enjoyed it. wheres the saxophone sound from? sounds great.


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## AndyP (Nov 23, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> This is a Kontakt-based library?


nope


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## AndyP (Nov 23, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> Just to confirm: Spitfire is a Kontakt-based library, right?


right


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## John R Wilson (Nov 23, 2019)

One thing I am lacking is a good orchestral sketching tool that sounds great enough to be used in final pieces and has good playability on the piano, maybe this is it. Would you say the inspires are one of the best orchestral sketching libraries? Their seems to be some good things for sketching out orchestra with project sam libraries, however, these are starting to get a little outdated now. Do you know how these compare to the inspires?


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## dzilizzi (Nov 23, 2019)

The Inspires were in the Native Instruments sale, not technically an OT sale. And they were just on sale a month or so ago. Last BF, OT only had the main Berlin Series on sale at 40% off.


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

Johnrwilsonmusic said:


> Awesome, that is really good. certainly couldn't afford them at the full price but id be tempted at £349 for both!! Do Orchestral tools normally discount much for Black Friday? Dam, this isn't good, this might be another library that need to get haha. I've already planned to spend too much this black Friday on sample libraries and a good set up that can last me a good few years before needing to buy anything else.
> 
> Also, lovely piece. Just had a listen to it. Certainly enjoyed it. wheres the saxophone sound from? sounds great.



The deal I got was actually on sale on the Native Instruments site but now Orchestral Tools have set up their own payment site you will have to wait and see if they offer the same deal this BF/Christmas season!

That's actually me playing the sax! lol! I don't know wether you're thinking it was a sample sax is a complement to my playing or not LOL!...
The solo cello part towards the end is Inspire's solo cello which like other solo instruments available in the library does have adjustable legato.
The only instrumentation that's not from the Inspire Series is my own vocals at the start of the piece over a customed pad from Alchemy in Logic Audio and then at a few key points in the piece there are one or two chords embellished with Spitfires Symphonic Strings Evolutions library but literally one or two chords- thats it!


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## John R Wilson (Nov 23, 2019)

dzilizzi said:


> The Inspires were in the Native Instruments sale, not technically an OT sale. And they were just on sale a month or so ago. Last BF, OT only had the main Berlin Series on sale at 40% off.



Bugger, didn't see it in the native instruments sale back a month ago. Just missed that one.


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

Johnrwilsonmusic said:


> One thing I am lacking is a good orchestral sketching tool that sounds great enough to be used in final pieces and has good playability on the piano, maybe this is it. Would you say the inspires are one of the best orchestral sketching libraries? Their seems to be some good things for sketching out orchestra with project sam libraries, however, these are starting to get a little outdated now. Do you know how these compare to the inspires?


I listened extensively to everything on the market at the time including Project Sam libraries before purchasing and let me remind you I was about to spend thousands on this! 

All I can say is that I'm so glad I didn't lash out and that the results, I hope, speak for themselves!


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## AndyP (Nov 23, 2019)

river angler said:


> Well actually its not an "ensembles-only" scenario as between the two libraries there are "sections" and all the solo instruments to boot as well as choirs and percussion.
> 
> The only limitation which I don't actually see as a "limitation" is the reduced dynamic layers and round robins


I like the Inspires of the sound, but the articulations are already very limited.

That's also a reason I'm a little bothered about Nucleus. Sounds great, but limited as a standalone solution.
I'm still a fan of VSL and HO. I have from Spitfire BBCSO and the BHCT. I can't really make friends with BBCSO yet. That is neither fish nor meat and somehow I am missing something. 

BHCT is awesome because it covers a niche and it does it very well.
I somehow always use a mix of all libraries because I don't have a single library that I like completely.

EWHO is super old, but still ingenious for strings and brass, and the percussions are also good. 

I'm partly satisfied with my OT libraries, I'm not a fan of Teldex studio sound.
And sometimes the RRs of the shorts at the stings are terribly inconsistent.


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## John R Wilson (Nov 23, 2019)

river angler said:


> The deal I got was actually on sale on the Native Instruments site but now Orchestral Tools have set up their own payment site you will have to wait and see if they offer the same deal this BF/Christmas season!
> 
> That's actually me playing the sax! lol! I don't know wether you're thinking it was a sample sax is a complement to my playing or not LOL!...
> The solo cello part towards the end is Inspire's solo cello which like other solo instruments available in the library does have adjustable legato.
> The only instrumentation that's not from the Inspire Series is my own vocals at the start of the piece over a customed pad from Alchemy in Logic Audio and then at a few key points in the piece there are one or two chords embellished with Spitfires Symphonic Strings Evolutions library but literally one or two chords- thats it!



Annoying i missed the Native instruments sale on it. Hopefully they reduce it this black friday. I would be tempted to get it at the reduced price.

Also, I assumed it was a real saxophone recording as it sounds very very good, brilliant playing. Wish their was a sampled saxophone that sounded that good.


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

Johnrwilsonmusic said:


> Bugger, didn't see it in the native instruments sale back a month ago. Just missed that one.


Well if it's any consolation I had my eye on OTs Time Macro/Micro bundle and missed out on that one too!... don't worry! I'm sure there will be a deal! Even if it is only 40% off this time round I still think it's the best money can buy for a so called "sketching library" that IMO is so much more than that!


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## AndyP (Nov 23, 2019)

Johnrwilsonmusic said:


> One thing I am lacking is a good orchestral sketching tool that sounds great enough to be used in final pieces and has good playability on the piano, maybe this is it. Would you say the inspires are one of the best orchestral sketching libraries? Their seems to be some good things for sketching out orchestra with project sam libraries, however, these are starting to get a little outdated now. Do you know how these compare to the inspires?


Technically, the Symphobia are no longer up to date (RR, dynamic), but their sound is still excellent. I still use them intensively, not only as a sketching library.


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## SaintDufus (Nov 23, 2019)

> That's actually me playing the sax! lol! I don't know wether you're thinking it was a sample sax is a complement to my playing or not LOL!...



1. Nice playing!
2. Damn...I was hoping those _were_ samples, they sound so good.


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## John R Wilson (Nov 23, 2019)

AndyP said:


> I like the Inspires of the sound, but the articulations are already very limited.
> 
> That's also a reason I'm a little bothered about Nucleus. Sounds great, but limited as a standalone solution.
> I'm still a fan of VSL and HO. I have from Spitfire BBCSO and the BHCT. I can't really make friends with BBCSO yet. That is neither fish nor meat and somehow I am missing something.
> ...



Yeah I'm certainly thinking/planning on getting the full diamond edition of EWHO. Its the cheapest option and covers so much ground and I personally think it sounds one of the best.

What do you feel is missing with the BBCSO? I've got the BBCSO myself and somewhat agree with you on this.


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## AndyP (Nov 23, 2019)

Johnrwilsonmusic said:


> Yeah I'm certainly thinking/planning on getting the full diamond edition of EWHO. Its the cheapest option and covers so much ground and I personally think it sounds one of the best.
> 
> What do you feel is missing with the BBCSO? I've got the BBCSO myself and somewhat agree with you on this.


I don't like the legato scripting and the dynamic layer at BBCSO. I find it difficult to generate the sound I want. EWHO comes much closer. I also like to use the L&S Chamber Strings, layer also with VSL.
The legato strings in BBCSO don't suit my taste of playability.
I don't use the brass at all. The Woodwinds are nice, but I prefer the VSL Woodwinds.
I would rather not buy BBCSO again. For that I have too many better alternatives.


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

AndyP said:


> I like the Inspires of the sound, but the articulations are already very limited.
> 
> That's also a reason I'm a little bothered about Nucleus. Sounds great, but limited as a standalone solution.
> I'm still a fan of VSL and HO. I have from Spitfire BBCSO and the BHCT. I can't really make friends with BBCSO yet. That is neither fish nor meat and somehow I am missing something.
> ...


I don't mind the Teldex sound but as it happens I tend to mute most of the release samples in nearly all the samples I use from the Inspire libraries as I fiddle with their attack and release times to create my one customed samples. In fact in the piece above the Teldex room is barely present because of this and instead I add my own reverb/ambience to the instruments.

I actually like the fact that there are not so many articulations to work with- it forces one to work harder to express a mood with the tools one has access to. Also I think the expressive nature and audible "mistakes" in some of the samples lend a subtle human vibe to the mix. I forget where in my concerto one hears it but there is a sample where you can here one of the players moving his foot or something similar and I like to hear that!

As I have said elsewhere one of the things I hate to hear in production mockups these days is squeaky clean so called "perfect" performances- part of what makes music so gorgeous to listen to and be inspired by is the space and human interaction between the notes. Imperfection is perfection!


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## AndyP (Nov 23, 2019)

river angler said:


> Imperfection is perfection!


Well said! I have a similar opinion.
I don't know, maybe in I'm old-fashioned and do hard with new things, but I don't find EWHO too complicated. It takes time to get to know the library, but the possibilities are great. At least it suits me from the usability.
But where I don't like to have problems are string shorts. If the same sound disturbance is repeated more often it doesn't sound good anymore.
And out of tune instruments are also a problem. Just today I noticed in the L&S chamber strings that the bass shorts are completely out of tune.


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

Johnrwilsonmusic said:


> Yeah I'm certainly thinking/planning on getting the full diamond edition of EWHO. Its the cheapest option and covers so much ground and I personally think it sounds one of the best.
> 
> What do you feel is missing with the BBCSO? I've got the BBCSO myself and somewhat agree with you on this.


I worked with EWHO last year on a film and apart from having to battle with ProTools poor sequencing facilities at my mates studio even after an intense month I just couldn't get on with the East West Player. Also although the samples themselves are of good quality I just didn't find them blending in the same musical way that I now find with the Inspire Series- again there's something too clinical about the East West sound.
I'm sure there are plenty of composers out there who have worked a lot longer than I did with EW samples and have learned to tame their libraries to their needs but I just couldn't get it to sound musically satisfying.

Sorry, I can't comment on BBCSO


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> 1. Nice playing!
> 2. Damn...I was hoping those _were_ samples, they sound so good.


Thank you for the compliment!...well I hope the sax will remain one of the trickiest of instruments to fully replicate in a VI as it could cut me out of some session work LOL!


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

AndyP said:


> Well said! I have a similar opinion.
> I don't know, maybe in I'm old-fashioned and do hard with new things, but I don't find EWHO too complicated. It takes time to get to know the library, but the possibilities are great. At least it suits me from the usability.
> But where I don't like to have problems are string shorts. If the same sound disturbance is repeated more often it doesn't sound good anymore.
> And out of tune instruments are also a problem. Just today I noticed in the L&S chamber strings that the bass shorts are completely out of tune.


I certainly haven't come across any tuning issues in the Inspire series and I've never felt the shorts are lacking in realism in ostinatos.


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## John R Wilson (Nov 23, 2019)

AndyP said:


> I don't like the legato scripting and the dynamic layer at BBCSO. I find it difficult to generate the sound I want. EWHO comes much closer. I also like to use the L&S Chamber Strings, layer also with VSL.
> The legato strings in BBCSO don't suit my taste of playability.
> I don't use the brass at all. The Woodwinds are nice, but I prefer the VSL Woodwinds.
> I would rather not buy BBCSO again. For that I have too many better alternatives.



I completely agree with you. I'm not the biggest fan of the legatos and its playability in BBCSO. I find the trombones and bass brass quite good but the horns and trumpets are not good. Also, the lack of RR ive found a bit of an issue as well. I like the percussion and woodwinds though. Its a shame as I love the sound of the room and how all the instruments mix well together. I really hope that Spitfire update the legato scripting and resolve these issues with the BBCSO.


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

Apart from the fact that most of Spitfires libraries don't have the velocity control of dynamics on their longs I have always been a little wary that their Air Studios ambience, as delicious as it is, maybe a little too baked into the samples for my liking- I don't find this an issue with OT.


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

Hey! people! Aren't we getting off track here!...?
The OP was asking about the best libraries working with Kontakt no?...
That counts any East West library out!
And BBCSO too!


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## John R Wilson (Nov 23, 2019)

river angler said:


> Apart from the fact that most of Spitfires libraries don't have the velocity control of dynamics on their longs I have always been a little wary that their Air Studios ambience, as delicious as it is, maybe a little too baked into the samples for my liking- I don't find this an issue with OT.



I agree, although I like the sound of the airs studio after using SSO for a while I have began to find them too reverberant for my liking and its something you cant remove at all.


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

Yes! I even find their Evo libraries just a tad too baked at times having worked with them for nearly a year now. They are beautiful sounding libraries and it's perhaps a little unfair to compare these with their regular symphonic libraries which I have no experience with but the ambience does slightly limit their useage in certain scenarios: mainly within the mixing/blending side of things. Having said this the Evos and within these I also include their London Contemporary Orchestra Textures Library are of a particular ambient ilk that are designed to add that floaty, dreamy, subscape type feel which they do very well indeed.


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

The only other Spitfire library I own is the British Drama Toolkit which thankfully does have the velocity control of dynamics and here I find the ambience is just right... probably because the instruments weren't recorded in such a large room

Golly I'm digressing myself now! ... a nod to the OP: these are niche libraries I'm referring to here NOT main orchestral libraries!


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## John R Wilson (Nov 23, 2019)

river angler said:


> Yes! I even find their Evo libraries just a tad too baked at times having worked with them for nearly a year now. They are beautiful sounding libraries and it's perhaps a little unfair to compare these with their regular symphonic libraries which I have no experience with but the ambience does slightly limit their useage in certain scenarios: mainly within the mixing/blending side of things. Having said this the Evos and within these I also include their London Contemporary Orchestra Textures Library are of a particular ambient ilk that are designed to add that floaty, dreamy, subscape type feel which they do very well indeed.




The Evos certainly look great and perhaps the air studio does aid more in these particular libraries due to their particular focus. I do however find the SSO too reverberant for my taste, they are slightly limiting in their usages in mixing and blending. Hence why I've started to look elsewhere for other more flexible alternatives and ones that are more dry sounding.


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## John R Wilson (Nov 23, 2019)

river angler said:


> The only other Spitfire library I own is the British Drama Toolkit which thankfully does have the velocity control of dynamics and here I find the ambience is just right... probably because the instruments weren't recorded in such a large room
> 
> Golly I'm digressing myself now! ... a nod to the OP: these are niche libraries I'm referring to here NOT main orchestral libraries!



I think i may have derailed the conversations quite a lot from the OP original questions.


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## SaintDufus (Nov 23, 2019)

river angler said:


> Hey! people! Aren't we getting off track here!...?
> The OP was asking about the best libraries working with Kontakt no?...
> That counts any East West library out!
> And BBCSO too!


Thanks river angler, but by all means, talk about whatever you like...there's plenty of useful info here.


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## river angler (Nov 23, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> Thanks river angler, but by all means, talk about whatever you like...there's plenty of useful info here.


...well I hope we've managed to perhaps point you in the right direction!
If it was me buying fresh again this year I would still buy the Inspire Series!


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## Mark Schmieder (Nov 23, 2019)

Yeah, having one of the early posts be a smart-ass swipe at the transition of EWQL from Kontakt to Play sure added a lot of confusion to every post that came after, for the OP and others who're trying to learn something here...


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## river angler (Nov 24, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> Yeah, having one of the early posts be a smart-ass swipe at the transition of EWQL from Kontakt to Play sure added a lot of confusion to every post that came after, for the OP and others who're trying to learn something here...


...I must say on the occasion when I'm trying to find out about something specific on the net it is indeed irritating to have to wade through red herrings!


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## SaintDufus (Nov 24, 2019)

river angler said:


> The only other Spitfire library I own is the British Drama Toolkit which thankfully does have the velocity control of dynamics and here I find the ambience is just right... probably because the instruments weren't recorded in such a large room
> 
> Golly I'm digressing myself now! ... a nod to the OP: these are niche libraries I'm referring to here NOT main orchestral libraries!


Thanks for the clarification.


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## SaintDufus (Nov 24, 2019)

Johnrwilsonmusic said:


> I think i may have derailed the conversations quite a lot from the OP original questions.


It does appear to have gone off derails a bit...


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## SaintDufus (Nov 24, 2019)

river angler said:


> ...well I hope we've managed to perhaps point you in the right direction!
> If it was me buying fresh again this year I would still buy the Inspire Series!


I was leaning toward the Inspire series until someone pointed out it's ensembles only...though I guess that's not the case if you buy them both.


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## D Halgren (Nov 24, 2019)

lp59burst said:


> You may as well ask "_what's the best food to eat for dinner_"...
> 
> You'll get less divergence of opinion...


Pizza


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## river angler (Nov 24, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> I was leaning toward the Inspire series until someone pointed out it's ensembles only.


It's NOT ensembles only! Check out the instrumentation of both Inspires on the Orchestral Tools website to see for yourself!


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## SaintDufus (Nov 24, 2019)

river angler said:


> It's NOT ensembles only! Check out the instrumentation of both Inspires on the Orchestral Tools website to see for yourself!


Oops...didn't edit my post fast enough!

But you would have to buy both Inspires to get all the instruments, right? Does this work out to be a lot more expensive?


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## river angler (Nov 24, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> Oops...didn't edit my post fast enough!
> 
> But you would have to buy both Inspires to get all the instruments, right? Does this work out to be a lot more expensive?


Got both mine bundled together in BF/Christmas sales last year for around £349 if I remember rightly.
Wait for the sales next week and over Christmas!


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## SaintDufus (Nov 24, 2019)

river angler said:


> Got both mine bundled together in BF/Christmas sales last year for around £349 if I remember rightly.
> Wait for the sales next week and over Christmas!


Aha! That's a different story...thanks, I'll watch for that deal.


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## river angler (Nov 24, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> Aha! That's a different story...thanks, I'll watch for that deal.


Check out this older post of mine: https://vi-control.net/community/threads/berlin-inspire-1-and-2.85076/post-4464587


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## dzilizzi (Nov 24, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> I was leaning toward the Inspire series until someone pointed out it's ensembles only...though I guess that's not the case if you buy them both.


Okay, just looked at the actual articulation. Between the 2, you have solo instruments and ensembles such as high strings and low strings. There is no solo Trombone or Tuba, and only solo violin and cello. 

Also, I would not expect it to be on sale again for a while. only because the $349 for both deal was through Native Instruments and they just rand it for the second time recently. it is unlikely to be on sale again this soon. Last BF, OT ran a 40% off sale on the main libraries only. Extensions were on sale last May/June time frame, I think. It kind of runs together after a while. 

Now, having said all that, the Inspires do sound good. And if you can get them on sale, they are probable worth it. But they aren't individual articulations by section, like you find in most of the better orchestras.


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## river angler (Nov 24, 2019)

Inspire 1 & 2 instruments:

https://www.orchestraltools.com/store/collections/43

https://www.orchestraltools.com/store/collections/41

Click on the instruments tab to reveal the full list on both of these pages! 

There are in fact not just solo violin and cello! there's also solo clarinet, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, flute and horn! 

Study these lists carefully and watch the walkthrough videos right the way through!


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## SaintDufus (Nov 24, 2019)

dzilizzi said:


> There is no solo Trombone or Tuba, and only solo violin and cello.



Only solo violin and cello...meaning no ensembles for these instruments?



> Also, I would not expect it to be on sale again for a while.



Damn! That probably kills it for me.


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## dzilizzi (Nov 24, 2019)

SaintDufus said:


> Only solo violin and cello...meaning no ensembles for these instruments?
> 
> 
> 
> Damn! That probably kills it for me.


Of the strings, they only have solo violin and cello. They have all solo woodwinds, and only solo trumpet and horn. Everything else is ensembles - strings, winds, brass, all in high/low plus variations. Plus a lot of percussion. There is a lot, but if you are trying to learn orchestration, this won't work. If you just want to write music? It's great.


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## SaintDufus (Nov 24, 2019)

dzilizzi said:


> Of the strings, they only have solo violin and cello. They have all solo woodwinds, and only solo trumpet and horn. Everything else is ensembles - strings, winds, brass, all in high/low plus variations. Plus a lot of percussion. There is a lot, but if you are trying to learn orchestration, this won't work. If you just want to write music? It's great.


Okay, I think I understand what you're saying.

You're saying it has ALL the ensembles, but only SOME solo instruments.

That's not too bad: I mostly use ensembles anyway.

Now if they only put it on sale for BF....


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## Geoff Grace (Nov 30, 2019)

Guy Michelmore's new video just focuses on strings, but it's otherwise on-topic:



Best,

Geoff


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