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Spitfire Studio Woodwinds - Coming Soon

Robert_G said:
Probably because the clarinet is the hardest ww to sample. I struggle to find a clarinet that i like...and 8dio made a good attempt on theirs. Minor pitch issues can be worked around in most cases.
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If you want a clarinet library as close to perfection as is currently possible, give the Fluffy Audio one a go.
It's tone and playability is fucking stellar, pardon my French.

https://fluffyaudio.com/shop/johndiamantifox-soloclarinet/
 
thereus said:
Hard to know who to trust on here, sometimes...
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Ultimately, you need to trust yourself. No one else has your taste, set of needs, nor pair of ears; so no one else can decide what library will suit you best.

Don't get me wrong, other people's experience and opinions are valid and often worth considering; but I always take "the buck stops here" approach when deciding how to spend my bucks.

Best,

Geoff
 
Robert_G said:
Claire was designed for solo concerto....I wouldnt even try them in essembles. As for solo, imho claire is the best there is. The clarinet is really nice and stands out. So i agree. Claire doesnt play nice with others....but it doesnt need to. 8dio CSW will probably be phenominal if it takes after CSS and CSB
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I'm guessing here, but my feeling is that the Claire instrument are more designed for the 8dio-esque in your face hybrid kind of sound.

Nothing wrong with that of course, and it's great that there are soloist and concerto-like orchestral situations in which they work well. But before I realized just where the fit, I was very disappointed with the Claire oboe.

It retrospect I was looking for something to augment the SSW oboe for more lyrical moments, but without going hyper in-your-face lyrical. I now think the Berlin exp B oboe is far more what I was looking for.

I've since come to love the Claire instrument, when used in the context they're designed for (though it would have been nice if the marketing could have been a little more helpful in sorting out exactly where this expressive space is). And in general its great to have so many options covering so much expressive space.

If only it wasn't so hard to figure out what goes where.
 
Well I did get a chance to play around with the Studio Orchestra core after downloading it today and while I haven't had time to extensively go through it all, it doesn't reach the depths of awfulness described earlier. High expectations that fall short usually steer the rudder of discontent and maybe that fueled the other reviewers diatribe. I don't know...it's kind of what I expected given all the demos I listened to. I don't see this library as dragging compositions down because of a blatant lack of realism. While nothing is perfect, it add variety...another arrow in my quiver.
 
rottoy said:
If you want a clarinet library as close to perfection as is currently possible, give the Fluffy Audio one a go.
It's tone and playability is fucking stellar, pardon my French.

https://fluffyaudio.com/shop/johndiamantifox-soloclarinet/
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It is amazing... but pretty expensive for 1 singular solo ww considering this is a hobby for me. It also comes down to how much id use it. I dont use a solo clarinet as often as say a solo violin....but when i need a solo clarinet.....the 8dio one is good enough.
 
I LOVE the sound of Spitfire Studio Strings (I have professional) but don't care for the programming - it seems uneven. I can get a good sound though if I blend them with a library that has programming I like but sound I'm not crazy about. I feared the same would be true for the brass and woodwinds so I passed and will stick with my VSL woodwinds and sample modeling brass.
 
I think this library will benefit nicely from a midi breath controller. I just went online to purchase the TEControl BBC2. Not only Spitfire Studio Woodwinds, but all my other woodwind and brass libraries need this. There are so many nuances in the human performance and scripting can only get you so far.
 
Now that I've listened to more demos, I'm really thinking I might take this off my purchase list. Which is a huge bummer. The demos I've heard were great compositionally, but the woods just sound synthy and fake.

One thing I haven't heard, however, is an example of the woods drenched in reverb (to fit them into a hall with, say, CSS and CSB).

If anyone has any examples to share, I'm all ears!
 
boxheadboy50 said:
Now that I've listened to more demos, I'm really thinking I might take this off my purchase list. Which is a huge bummer. The demos I've heard were great compositionally, but the woods just sound synthy and fake.

One thing I haven't heard, however, is an example of the woods drenched in reverb (to fit them into a hall with, say, CSS and CSB).

If anyone has any examples to share, I'm all ears!
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I honestly don't hear this synthy quality when the instruments are being used right. I'm not fond of what I've heard of the clarinet (though @ism likes it), but I don't like the clarinet in the SSW either.
 
Here is Paul's video using the Studio Woodwinds (mostly low-woodwinds), with other Sections like Studio Brass, ...etc.

I love the texture, and timbral detail in the low-woods. I would use the low woods quite a bit based on his video, It is more the mid-high range woodwinds that are harder to get right. I wonder why Paul skipped showing the Flute, Oboe, English Horn, and Clarinet in the Studio Series Video (below).

I think with some dsp treatments, and a good controlled performance (i.e. use of a breath controller), the Studio Woodwinds Pro mid-range instruments can sound quite good. I plan to experiment with various mid-range Studio Woodwinds instruments, and see how close I can get them to sound very good, and realistic, and to have the sound character that suits my taste.

 
muziksculp said:
Here is Paul's video using the Studio Woodwinds (mostly low-woodwinds), with other Sections like Studio Brass, ...etc.
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I found Paul's video a little weird. "Here, are a few patches from the libraries I like as well as some random multis I made with it." I think he would have done better talking through the use of the libraries in a composition. Partly because Paul's playing is often not very idiomatic for the instruments he has loaded up. This is a problem in his walkthroughs as well.
 
jbuhler said:
I found Paul's video a little weird. "Here, are a few patches from the libraries I like as well as some random multis I made with it." I think he would have done better talking through the use of the libraries in a composition. Partly because Paul's playing is often not very idiomatic for the instruments he has loaded up. This is a problem in his walkthroughs as well.
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Yes, I agree.
 
Welp... I think I've decided to hold off on this one and limp by with Composer Cloud and Albion ONE.
Out of all the demos I've heard of this library, only one kinda puts the library in a good light - Oliver's "Purgatory." It's really unfortunate, because I had high hopes for this library.
Fingers still crossed for CSW before the end of the year!
 
After putting Studio Orchestra through the paces for a few days, I must say that the smaller room and close miking gives this library a totally different ambience. It's really takes a while to get acclimated to it and figure out how and where it fits. I don't have any other library that sounds like it. I'm not sure how to describe it but this library invades your space with an "in your face" sonic approach. I have Symphonic Strings and Albion One and when I listen to them side by side with Studio Orchestra....the different room and vibe really jumps out at you.
 
two more cents worth...

I have great respect for Piet, and many others here, but I read reviews with a filter - that is, not everyone is looking for the sound I am.

I love Alex's studio strings and studio brass, they are really good, and very useful libraries.

What I was looking for with these Spitfire libraries was something akin to studios in which I've worked - that is a smaller, dryer recording. I only own the Studio Strings thus far, but they have lived up to my expectations, and they fit in well. For reference I use 8Dio Adagio/Agitato, Cinematic Strings, Cinematic Studio Strings, Cinematic Studio Solo Strings, and Spitfire Alternative Solo Strings. And now Spitfire Studio Strings Core.

I have similarly odd collections of brass and winds libraries, and I am leaning towards purchasing the rest of their Studio Orchestra because I think it will be a useful addition. The only way to know for sure, unfortunately, is to purchase. I do with it were otherwise, but I do not begrudge developers the opportunity to protect their efforts.
 
Hey all,

I've been using these as my main template winds and unlike re-peat, have few complaints. The stuff I'm working on doesn't have featured winds very often, more like orchestral-context winds in Goldsmith/Williams style mockups, but I think these are fairly good instruments, at a fantastic intro price, with some important holes in the lineup (no cor anglais in core version, no esp / molto vib across the library are my two main issues).

That said, I had the morning off and spent it listening to the back half of Firebird (the 50-minute ballet version) and are these winds in that ballpark? Not even close. Neither are any sampled winds I've ever heard, except perhaps VSL in the hands of @Guy Bacos .

I'm not sure the lyrical-solos approach to sampling makes a lot of sense. And I mean this across the instrument range, encompassing solo strings and so on. If you're on a project where they're actually letting you use winds and you're not cringing every time you open your email waiting for the infamous "Why can't it sound more like..." email, then you probably have the budget to record live winds. Same with live solo strings. They're cheap to get and will always sound better than samples, even samples of Tina Guo or Joshua Bell.

BTW when you look at the Firebird score you can see why we maybe don't use winds so much anymore. Every player with a beautiful individual part, quite detailed and with ever-changing nuances of color and articulation. That's a lot of work, and expertise. Then I look at my own use of winds in recent mockups and it's mostly doubling melody lines to soften brass or brighten strings, as well as creating runs or accents in action pieces. At 3 AM in the morning because the mockup has to get done. Being realistic, how good of a woodwinds library do I need? I'm not gonna be writing Swan Lake any time soon unfortunately. I need winds that just "get it done" fast and consistently. These winds have replaced HWW in my template for three reasons - it's Kontakt not PLAY, there's good & consistent articulation management, and they sound decent.
 
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NoamL said:
Hey all,

I've been using these as my main template winds and unlike re-peat, have few complaints. The stuff I'm working on doesn't have featured winds very often, more like orchestral-context winds in Goldsmith/Williams style mockups, but I think these are fairly good instruments, at a fantastic intro price, with some important holes in the lineup (no cor anglais in core version, no esp / molto vib across the library are my two main issues).

That said, I had the morning off and spent it listening to the back half of Firebird (the 50-minute ballet version) and are these winds in that ballpark? Not even close. Neither are any sampled winds I've ever heard, except perhaps VSL in the hands of @Guy Bacos .

I'm not sure the lyrical-solos approach to sampling makes a lot of sense. And I mean this across the instrument range, encompassing solo strings and so on. If you're on a project where they're actually letting you use winds and you're not cringing every time you open your email waiting for the infamous "Why can't it sound more like..." email, then you probably have the budget to record live winds. Same with live solo strings. They're cheap to get and will always sound better than samples, even samples of Tina Guo or Joshua Bell.

BTW when you look at the Firebird score you can see why we maybe don't use winds so much anymore. Every player with a beautiful individual part, quite detailed and with ever-changing nuances of color and articulation. That's a lot of work, and expertise. Then I look at my own use of winds in recent mockups and it's mostly doubling melody lines to soften brass or brighten strings, as well as creating runs or accents in action pieces. At 3 AM in the morning because the mockup has to get done. Being realistic, how good of a woodwinds library do I need? I'm not gonna be writing Swan Lake any time soon unfortunately. I need winds that just "get it done" fast and consistently. These winds have replaced HWW in my template for three reasons - it's Kontakt not PLAY, there's good & consistent articulation management, and they sound decent.
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I'm curious, Noam, because I know you're probably using these alongside CSS and CSB, how you make these fit? Do you have to drench them in reverb?
I've yet to hear a demo where this library is placed behind wet strings & brass, and maybe that's why I've gone from "yes!" to "meh." I plan on getting CSS and CSB soon, so your opinion is super valuable.
I think the dry room I hear in some of the demos actually brings out some of the programming that to me sounds icky (flute legato, for example). I'd really like to hear more of your opinion (or examples, if you have any!) Thanks, Noam!
 
Definitely put some Valhalla Room or other similar space on there. Woodwinds will sound okay with reverb because they don't excite the room as much as cellos, tubas etc. I think the levels of SSTW are pretty hot, I have them at -9 in my current template relative to CSS but that might change because I haven't written a ton with them. I think the onboard reverb is not so great so if you have the Core version, watch out because each instr loads with the reverb half on. Killing or enveloping the dry sound inside the wet sound is key instead of having a dry in your face sound and then a reverb tail. For that reason I always bus dry and wet returns separately to manage the levels.
 
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