What's new

Sonuscore's "The Orchestra Complete" and new "Strings of Winter" library

Other than the sound of the instruments and the hall they are recorded in (which I like a lot), is there anything I can do with the ensemble patch in The Orchestra that I can't do (with a lot more effort) with Cthulhu or Kirnu Cream or Thesys in front of a Kontakt multi?

If you just wanted an arp. Other software can do that, but this is 5 variations of orchestra intended arps, with accurate dynamics and envelopes applied. Some settings may just be staccato rhythms, others are a mix of arcs, sustains and staccato rhythms blended. It’s a good inspirational jumping off point in some applications.
 
If you just wanted an arp. Other software can do that, but this is 5 variations of orchestra intended arps, with accurate dynamics and envelopes applied. Some settings may just be staccato rhythms, others are a mix of arcs, sustains and staccato rhythms blended. It’s a good inspirational jumping off point in some applications.

I think the most important point is that the 3 arps plus 2 envelopes in the TO engine are interlocked extremely well in a musical way. The presets are working like little orchestration presets that you can use to sketch music in a very quick way.

And there is another thing which I think is brilliant: the instrument groups are all programmed to play in "their" register: for example, if a basic rhythm preset is built with string ensemble, I just play a 3-note chord with my right hand. The TO engine then works in the way that violins and violas are playing repetitive chord notes or arpeggios, while the cellos and basses play their rhythms only with the lowest note as fundament. And they are playing their notes within their typical range, cello 1 octave lower, basses 2 octaves lower. This is exactly like you would split up the notes when orchestrating for a full string ensemble.

This way I get a little orchestrated full string ensemble (or other sections) by playing just notes or chords with one hand. The left hand can be used to create crescendos or decrescendos with the mod wheel. I love starting a composition like this, because I get my ideas sketched in a minute and can polish it later.
 
I think Elegance and Ease are 2 powerful words when it comes to TO vs [MIDI pattern generators]
True. I implied as much in my question: "(with a lot more effort)". On the other hand, money is very tight right now, so I'm asking a lot of questions.
 
What other orchestral library is most comparable to The Orchestra in terms of the sketching and arranging features (I'm not asking for sonic comparisons)?
 
What other orchestral library is most comparable to The Orchestra in terms of the sketching and arranging features (I'm not asking for sonic comparisons)?
What other orchestral library is most comparable to The Orchestra in terms of the sketching and arranging features (I'm not asking for sonic comparisons)?

Actually this basically resembles most of the sonokinetic loop based libraries that have drag and drop midi alongside loops of orchestral phrases. However because of this you have far less flexibility than orchestra and it’s arp/envelope based system. Only problem is not having drag and drop midi in orchestra requires different steps to use it with other libraries.
 
Any decent library, if you use a sub host like bidule with 3 Arps and 2 envelope plugins inside.

Far from ease. At $199 no brainier.


What other orchestral library is most comparable to The Orchestra in terms of the sketching and arranging features (I'm not asking for sonic comparisons)?
 
GAS attacks are especially uncomfortable on an empty wallet.
Seriously, if you don't have the money now, you can wait until BF when it will almost certainly be 40% off in the Best Service sale. It will cost you another $40, but you will gain time to study videos and think about whether you really want or need it, and to save up for it if you do.

This was on my list of potential purchases on Black Friday. I was not expecting to buy it this week, but I was close to making the decision to buying it then.
 
you can wait until BF when it will almost certainly be 40% off in the Best Service sale.
The risk of that approach is that whatever they mean by "taking it to the next level" will cost more if you don't buy in now to be eligible for an upgrade.

By the way, I haven't heard anyone speculate on what they mean by "the next level." My personal guess (or is it wish?) is keyswitches to switch among multiple patterns on the fly, without needing multiple instances of the instrument. I think exporting MIDI would be my second priority.
 
The risk of that approach is that whatever they mean by "taking it to the next level" will cost more if you don't buy in now to be eligible for an upgrade.
Possibly. But it's also possible that current owners will have to pay for an upgrade. If that happens the price is likely to remain $399 for new purchasers. It might even be cheaper to wait for BF. We just don't know.

By the way, I haven't heard anyone speculate on what they mean by "the next level." My personal guess (or is it wish?) is keyswitches to switch among multiple patterns on the fly, without needing multiple instances of the instrument. I think exporting MIDI would be my second priority.
Good ideas.
  • Solo instruments would take it to a new level. Adding this would make it more of a competitor with Amadeus.
  • More instruments - piccolo, alto flute, english horn, tuba, piano, more percussion, the choir can be expanded. It would be cool to get some of the instruments from Sonuscore's other libraries (ie Origins, Mallet Flux) added to The Orchestra.
  • More articulations
  • At this point you can only access the harp and glockenspiel from the percussion menu in the main Orchestra patch (with arps)
  • The controls on the onboard effects are pretty threadbare. No sends on on the separate instruments--the effects probably need their own page. It's easy to work around this, and most will probably want to roll their own anyway, but still.
Of course, as with 1.1, any improvements would be reflected in a host of new presets to show them off. Which for many people would be the biggest reason to update.
 
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Well, despite telling myself I wouldn’t get it due to the lack of midi dump from the arps, I bought it yesterday and spent last night playing around with it.

Initially I wondered if I’d done the right thing as I struggled to integrate it into a current composition that needed some ostinato type movement. However after a little time to understand the engine, I got some results I’m quite pleased with.

I think on a learning level, it will help me better understand how to create rhythmic movement in my compositions.

Another good feature which hadn’t occurred to me... although the sounds aren’t all top quality, most of them are very passable and in-fact way better than they ought to be for just 7gb. In one rhythmic section I created (from a patch) a nice little woodwind section of flute, clarinet, oboe and bassoon. All this sat back in the mix and sounded very nice to my ears, and the patch was just 125mb. If I’d loaded those instruments separately in a major library they’d likely have been over a gigabyte. For me, with just 8gb ram, that’s a real benefit!

Very pleased with it so far! :)
 
In one rhythmic section I created (from a patch) a nice little woodwind section of flute, clarinet, oboe and bassoon.
Hah! I'm using one of those Woodwind patches in a project I've been working on since I got The Orchestra. I guess that those of us who know The Orchestra will recognize our favorite presets when we hear them in other people's work, as some do with Sonokinetic's stuff.
 
I did jump on this sale and I’m glad I did. Sure, as others have said some of the separate sample instruments aren’t great but many are serviceable and the engine is IMHO an excellent tool for creating ostinati and moving textures. When using those samples in context they work quite well. The lack of midi drag and drop is the biggest weakness for mine but, when digging into the engine it’s relatively easy to see what it’s up to in their presets and it’s easy to build your own and then translate that to other tracks if needed.
 
Best Service says that Sonuscore is bringing The Orchestra "to the next level" on June 19th.

I hope it will be a free update, but I bet that it will cost $$$. More likely that they wanted to build up their client base with the half price sale.

I wrote a few posts before this on this thread about what might be included.

Anybody else care to speculate?
 
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