# What free sample libraries to start with? (As a film composer)



## orchestraljames (Mar 17, 2022)

I just started in the industry with only $100, I decided that I would first buy a Digital Audio Workspace, which forces me to invest in free or cheap sample libraries at the moment. Any recommendations here? I prefer Kontakt libraries that can run on the free version. Next week, I have a project that involves orchestral cues and ambient sounds. I would really appreciate any honest response from people who have been in the industry for quite a long time, thanks.


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## dunamisstudio (Mar 17, 2022)

Native Instruments







www.native-instruments.com













The Free Orchestra - ProjectSAM


A 100% free taste of what our extensive catalog has to offer! Packing sounds from our entire product line, this diverse collection of instruments is a unique and cinematic introduction to the world of ProjectSAM. Now fully updated.




projectsam.com













 The Felt Seiler - Free Edition


The online library for premium sound samples




www.strezov-sampling.com





Sample Library Review "The Download Show" might have some:


If you want to venture outside of Kontakt for more free stuff. Check out Decent Sampler and getting libraries from Pianobook. Also Labs from Spitfire Audio. After would be considering picking up full Kontakt on sale. People like EastWest subscription but strapped for cash, I would stay free for now.


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## Getsumen (Mar 17, 2022)

orchestraljames said:


> I just started in the industry with only $100, I decided that I would first buy a Digital Audio Workspace, which forces me to invest in free or cheap sample libraries at the moment. Any recommendations here? I prefer Kontakt libraries that can run on the free version. Next week, I have a project that involves orchestral cues and ambient sounds. I would really appreciate any honest response from people who have been in the industry for quite a long time, thanks.


You're limiting yourself a lot for Kontakt freebies that only run on the free version, they're very rare 

You can pick up Kontakt for only around ~125$ USD during the summer and well that opens up a whole world of free samples. With that in mind everything I list below is only for Kontakt FULL. When / if you decide to get it, consider these:

Norrland Trumpet easily squares up against other paid trumpets, this thing is crazy good.








Norrland Samples - NORRLAND SAMPLES


Norrland Samples - NORRLAND SAMPLES




www.norrlandsamples.com






Performance Samples has a LOT of freebies. Many of them are discontinued but you can ask around for a copy since I'm sure many people still have them. There are free strings ensembles, free brass, solo violin, percussion, etc.





Performance Samples – Not for purists







www.performancesamples.com






Embertone has quite a few freebies, including ones with legato!





Embertone Home


Welcome to Embertone! Your place for sweet Virtual Instruments <3




www.embertone.com






I'm sure you know of Spitfire Labs as well, that's a good spot



Those are just the few that pop into my head for Kontakt. Now back onto no Kontakt Full land, SINE Factory provides a variety of good stuff as well.





ORCHESTRAL TOOLS


Virtual instruments for your music productions - Recorded in the world's finest studios




www.orchestraltools.com





Good pianos, string ensembles, percussion, organ, etc.


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## Elrik Settee (Mar 18, 2022)

to get kontakt full for 125... there's a totally legal hack. google that. because you really need it.


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## doctoremmet (Mar 18, 2022)

Also definitely get Soundpaint with the free 1928 Steinway sample and a couple of other free sample packs (foley type stuff). 









Try It Free


AN INSTRUMENT MULTIVERSE




soundpaint.com







And get Orchestral Tools’ free SINEplayer and their free Layers (orchestral samples) and subscribe (also free) to their SINEfactory offering (strings, piano, percussion, organ, an ever growing selection of good and very usable samples). [edit: just noticed @Getsumen already made the same suggestion. Remarkable coincidence that I mentioned the exact same types of sounds in the same order!]


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## Maxime Luft (Mar 18, 2022)

SINE factory has some super nice stuff





ORCHESTRAL TOOLS


Virtual instruments for your music productions - Recorded in the world's finest studios




www.orchestraltools.com





Also many freebies available for the full version of Kontakt, which indeed is available for 125,- by registering Embertone's Arcane library into Native Access


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## doctoremmet (Mar 18, 2022)

Maxime Luft said:


> SINE factory has some super nice stuff
> 
> 
> 
> ...


And of course Maxime is extremely modest and humble, so he does not even mention one of the BEST horn patches out there: Majestic Horn. Created by him. It is on SINE and unfortunately is not free.  It costs a whopping whole 2 EURO. And everyone should own it!


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## ThisFellowPlayingTheCello (Mar 18, 2022)

Is that 100$ included in having to buy a DAW?
If so I would probably just try one of the free DAW's for now and pick up Nucles Lite instead.
You can also get studio one on a rent-to-own subscription from splice (it will be more expensive in the long run though, than buying it when its on sale)
You can cancel (the subscription will pause, you won't lose what you invested) anytime you want though.


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## ThisFellowPlayingTheCello (Mar 18, 2022)

Also if you can afford full kontakt when it's on sale, then grab it.
You will save money over only sticking to player libraries.
Like others mentioned, there's free stuff.
But more importantly, cheap quality instruments and crazy deals from companies like 8dio etc


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## el-bo (Mar 18, 2022)

LABS


An infinite series of free software instruments, made by musicians and sampling experts in London, for anyone, anywhere. Presented in our own plug-in, they are easy to use, and compatible with any DAW. And in case you missed it — they're all free.



labs.spitfireaudio.com













Decent Sampler Plugin [FREE] - decent|SAMPLES


A FREE sampling plugin that allows you to play samples in the Decent Sampler format. Available in VST, VST3, AU, AAX, and Standalone for Mac, Windows, Linux, and iOS.




www.decentsamples.com










Decent Sampler – pianobook







www.pianobook.co.uk


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## Maxime Luft (Mar 18, 2022)

Many thanks! Very happy to read that.


doctoremmet said:


> And of course Maxime is extremely modest and humble, so he does not even mention one of the BEST horn patches out there: Majestic Horn. Created by him. It is on SINE and unfortunately is not free.  It costs a whopping whole 2 EURO. And everyone should own it!


And you're right, not strictly free, therefore no mention of it!


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## cel4145 (Mar 19, 2022)

In case you could use a free synthesizer, I can recommend Vital. The free version is the same as the pro, only fewer presets









Vital - Spectral Warping Wavetable Synth


Vital - Spectral Warping Wavetable Synth




vital.audio





And then see the first post of this thread on the Vital forum where someone has been collecting free Vital presets in a folder on Google drive and putting them into preset banks









March 2022 Free Patch Sharing Thread


Post your free Vital patches here! Note: This a single place to find free patches. At the end of the month they will be collected all up and re-posted as a Vital bank. This thread is ideally limited to free stuff. Producers of commercial patches can have their own threads and thus make a bit...




forum.vital.audio





The presets will probably be designed for electronic music, but you still might find something you can use.


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## kro (Mar 19, 2022)

+1 to previous suggestions (my top 3 free)

*Spitfire BBSCO Discover* - free when completing 5 min questionnaire (normally $50)
Worth it, highly recommended orchestra + awesome harp, tuned percussion, timpani 

*Spitfire LABs* - acous/elec pianos, guitars, strings, music box, lots of random textures

*ProjectSAM Free Orchestra* - legit strings, brass, percussion, choir, sound design (free Kontakt Player)

Some of the other suggestions are really good too, however my choices are sample libraries I have experience with.


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## SergeD (Mar 20, 2022)

orchestraljames said:


> I would first buy a Digital Audio Workspace.


Cakewalk is free and top rated https://www.bandlab.com/products/cakewalk

Some very affordable Kontakt libraries are on sale now here and may qualify to the Kontakt crossgrade when on sale https://soundiron.com/collections/kontakt-player-edition-collection


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## Wally Garten (Mar 20, 2022)

There’s a limited but great set of free libraries for the Plogue Sforzando player (which is also free). Karoryfer Lecolds has a lot:









Free samples from Karoryfer


Karoryfer Samples free sample library download. Meatbass, Karoryfer x Bigcat cello, Marie Ork, Bear Sax, Weresax, Gogodze Phu, War Tuba, Scarypiano and friends.



shop.karoryfer.com





They are more band instruments than orchestral (lot of guitar, bass, and drums), but you’ll likely need some of that for media composing, too, and if you like the style their paid products are very reasonably priced.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Mar 22, 2022)

Grab Cakewalk, it's free.

And then get a one-month subscription EW Composer Cloud for $20, it will have everything you need for your upcoming project....and doesn't require Kontakt. If you are a student, you can get it for around $10 a month.

What are you computer specs? This will determine what libraries you can actually use.


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## Taron (May 5, 2022)

Sforzando is a beautiful lightweight sampler and I stumbled across it because of (Versillian's) VCSO2:





VSCO Community







vis.versilstudios.com





When I only had my tiny $100 miniPC to work on, I found the above and was floored at what was possible with it, besides the curious fun of working without any expectations. I've made a number of tracks with this alone.


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## Nigel Andreola (May 5, 2022)

You could try a Musio free trial. https://www.musio.com/
I used it when it was in beta. It is strait forward and easy to use. The free trial should get you through next week's project without having to spend any money on subscriptions or software.

For ambient stuff you can get a lot of mileage out of the Eduardo Tarilonte soundscapes included in the free Engine Artist Library. It comes with a lot of content and runs in the free Engine 2 player. Some of the patches included are the same as the full versions. https://www.bestservice.com/engine_artists_library.html


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## Jackal_King (May 8, 2022)

Spitfire Lab, Spitfire BBC Discover, and The Free Orchestra are a good start. You can also try your hand at some of the freebies that Performance Samples has out.


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