jbuhler
Senior Member
It depends on whether you use the hybrid stuff in the Albions. Albion One would give you upper woodwinds lacking in the Arks, albeit in ensemble form. In some ways the strings are more useable in Albion One compared to those in the Arks, but opinions differ a lot on the Albion One strings. (I personally prefer them to the Ark 1 strings in most instances.) Albion 2 has very nice strings but is comparable to Ark 2, and to some extent Tundra, so it depends on what you are looking for. The smaller ensemble of Albion 2 is definitely nice, and I like these strings a lot. The horn/euphonium patch is also excellent. Sackbutts and recorders? I've never really known what to do with those. But the additional materials in Albion 2 are some of the strongest in the Albion series. Albion 3 is low end, and whether you find it useful depends a lot on the extent of variety you need there. Homay's recent video on this library is excellent for letting you hear another side to this library. I don't have Albion 4, so can't comment on it.Quick question here. Wondering if I already have Ark 1, 2, 3 & Tundra, would it be redundant for me to complete the Albions Bundle? Or they compliment each other well?
In short, because of the non-orchestral components to the Albions, redundancy is a hard question to answer. Also the utility of Albion 1 and 2 will depend on how well you get along with the strings in the Arks. Somehow you need to fill in the gap of high woodwinds—or decide that is not a sound you care about.