Spent the past two days using Afflatus in a pop track. Here are some observations:
I really like this company - I read somewhere they try to do minimal processing on their samples to preserve realism. I feel some of my libraries are so over-processed they start sounding fake - not so with these strings.
I would describe Afflatus as "charming." Beautiful tone with interesting and innovative patches. This is what I hoped Spitfire Studio would sound like (and unfortunately that library will sit unused on my SSD until SF deems it worthy to update it with better scripting.)
Afflatus is on the dry side, although not totally so, but dry enough for my pop tracks. It sounds like close mics are mono and are for providing detail to the decca and/or hall mics. I'm currently using a mix with faders at +2 close, 0 decca, no hall, reverb off.
They're nimble and playability is very good. Viola Chamber seems a tiny bit out of tune on some notes as I played it in but it seems to hide among the rest of the strings in the mix (can you program Kontakt yourself to adjust tuning?)
However, for my pop purposes, I'm not liking Afflatus by themselves (maybe not quite aggressive enough) - but they blend
fantastically with VSL. For legatos I get the quick, precise response from VSL with the warm realism of the Afflatus Chamber patches. Previously I've been blending VSL with LASS but now prefer the refined tone of Afflatus for blending.
The shorts are my new favorites of all my libraries and I'm using the Roofchase patch blended with VSL chamber spiccatos.
Now on to the big topic: pricing. On the other thread I was way off on my prediction of $299 lol! Now that I've seen the content, they are of course worth much more than $299. Afflatus with intro price and discount cost me $751.53, and the regular price at the current exchange rate would be $905.86. I feel this is overpriced, and here's why:
For comparison, Spitfire Studio is $499 and for all the problems does have a ton of patches specifically for string production. I also like the tone of Spitfire Studio so if they can work on their legatos (and add a performance patch) I might start using it.
Afflatus, at nearly twice the price, has far fewer patches, and many of these are quirky things I'd never use in a million years. On occasion I use portamento and will miss it. The "Pads" patch, while cool, is a lot of content I don't want or need, and it really could be a stand-alone library for $99. I feel like I've paid for quite a bit in Afflatus I'll never use (I predict I'll use just individual chambers, lush, minimals and shorts.)
As I said before, I really like the company and I really like Afflatus. I'm not mad I just spent $751.53 but I might be a little irritated if I had spent $905.86
Plus, I'm excited about the upcoming update with first chairs.
And remember, my needs are specifically for pop - I'm using my strings in mixes with drums, bass, keyboards and electric guitars. Those doing symphonic mockups / cinematic might be over-the-moon with Afflatus and have no reservations whatsoever.
In summary, if you're depressed about not being able to afford Afflatus right now, don't be. While it is a lovely library you'll get by just fine with what you have - and perhaps you'll snag a great deal on it when it will probably go sale in the future.