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Cinematic Studio Series VS Nucleus

J

johnnyboy

New Member
Hello all!

I am new to the forum but have read many posts on here for info about sample libraries and whatnot.

I am just getting started in composing for film/tv/video games. I purchased Albion One a while ago and have done a number of pieces with it. I am not super happy with it tbh. The string legatos aren't great and there are no solo instruments. I do like the brass and woodwinds ensembles and have gotten some use out of the percussion, despite it lacking many standard percussion instruments like timpani. I'm also not a huge fan of the hall they recorded the samples in.

Downsides are:
- Not great legatos (sometimes no legatos)
- No solo instruments
- No tuned percussion (Timpani!!)
- Hall not my taste

When Albion One has failed to provide certain instruments I have resorted to the stock Logic Pro X instruments. Piano, Timpani and Celeste mostly. Are these any good? I don't think they sound bad honestly. The strings, horns and woodwinds are awful though.

I have set aside some funds (about $1200) to upgrade my libraries to get some better sounds. I want good legatos. I want solo instruments. I want timpani.

I'm debating between buying the entire cinematic studio series line (Strings, Solo Strings, Brass and Woodwinds) along with Project Sam True Strike percussion, or going with a better all around library like Nucleus. Nucleus would be way more affordable obviously, and I like that it comes with a choir, pads and drones. I think those extra features would be really usable. I'm just annoyed that I got Albion One cuz I would much rather have Nucleus instead of it.

Knowing me I'll probably end up with both. But for now I'm going to go with only one option. Are there any users of either or both libraries that can shed some light on this situation? Would the extra dough for the cinematic studio series be worth it? Are there things I'm missing because I don't know what I don't know? I've heard CSS is harder to program because of delays or something like that.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

P.S. You're probably going to ask what kind of music I compose. You can listen to some of the pieces I've done here (broken link removed)
Click to read more...
 
Also I should mention that I do have Omnisphere 2. I haven't done much digging around in it, but I'm guessing I could find some good pads and drones in there if I go with the CSS.
 
By the sound of your complaints, CSS is the way to go... Nucleus might do a better job than Albion but it's mostly the same sort of library for the same type of customer. You'll need some other source for percussion though.
 
What kind of sound are you looking for? If it’s modern and hybrid, Nucleus will get the job done, but be prepared to get used to stacking sustain and stacatissimo patches or you’re going to wish you had more articulations and be tempted to expand to Jaeger and Areia. Pricey but I like them a lot too. I started with Nucleus and it’s still my go to library.

If you’re interested in a more traditional sound, you really can’t beat BBCSO Core as a starter library, especially after the latest patch. You could pick up that along with CSSS and have your bases covered with enough left to add Abbey Road One for that Williams/Spielberg magic sound, Damage 2 or CinePerc on its current sale.
 
purple said:
By the sound of your complaints, CSS is the way to go... Nucleus might do a better job than Albion but it's mostly the same sort of library for the same type of customer. You'll need some other source for percussion though.
Click to expand...
That's kind of what I'm thinking. I wish I had known about Nucleus when I bought Albion. Oh well.
 
Trash Panda said:
What kind of sound are you looking for? If it’s modern and hybrid, Nucleus will get the job done, but be prepared to get used to stacking sustain and stacatissimo patches or you’re going to wish you had more articulations and be tempted to expand to Jaeger and Areia. Pricey but I like them a lot too. I started with Nucleus and it’s still my go to library.

If you’re interested in a more traditional sound, you really can’t beat BBCSO Core as a starter library, especially after the latest patch. You could pick up that along with CSSS and have your bases covered with enough left to add Abbey Road One for that Williams/Spielberg magic sound, Damage 2 or CinePerc on its current sale.
Click to expand...
I'm looking to do both really. It would depend on the project. That's why I'm looking for a versatile library or set of libraries.

I looked into BBCSO and it looks great, but I decided against it because it doesn't work in kontakt, the plugin gui isn't great, and the extreme memory usage it requires. That and I'm kind of over the spitfire thing.
 
That’s fair. You might want to look into Nucleus and combine that with Jaeger and Areia. That should fit your budget and cover everything you need.

Cinematic Studio Series is pretty great, but it’s probably going to be an uphill battle to make it sound more modern.
 
Almost forgot, if you’re willing to deal with the strange patches, EW Hollywood Orchestra Diamond can usually be had for about the same cost as Nucleus or a single Cinematic Series library and sounds phenomenal. Maybe their Opus update will fix the UX issues, but the sound is definitely there.
 
I totally get how you feel about Albion One. I was very disappointed by it too. It was my first expensive orchestral library and I didn't know what I was doing.

Back on topic, BBC has more articulations but lacks the solos of Nucleus.

With your budget you could go with any combination of Audio Imperia's libraries depending on what you want. Maybe Nucleus + Jaegger, or Nucleus + Areia + Cerberus, etc.

Another option could be going with Orchestral Tools. Multiple bundles and libraries depending on what you want.

ORCHESTRAL TOOLS

Virtual instruments for your music productions - Recorded in the world's finest studios
www.orchestraltools.com www.orchestraltools.com
 
Really, Cinematic Studio Series against Nucleus?

ok, Nucleus has some additional instruments... Vocals and Choirs...

But on the conservative side... CS Series is a orchestral Library with many options, Nucleus don´t have...

If you want All in One with Choirs... OT Metropolis Arks are very nice...

If you want only an Orchestral Library... Use the CS Series or look at SSO or BBCSO Pro...or or...
Many options are there....

But i admit, i am not a fan of audio imperia... Ariea is an awful string library in comparsion to others...flat and strange with all the volume behavier...
 
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Just an old retired guy here... hobbyist... former music teacher then on to a long career in the trucking industry. Like you, I started in VI with Albion One and branched out from there... Jaeger, Albion5, EWH Perc, Albion3, Damage2, MetArk1 & 2, HZ Percussion, some 8Dio offerings... a few others along the way and now with the woodwinds just released, I have the full Cinematic Studio series. If your goal is to be able to compose for full orchestra, you really need a full orchestra, and though not perfect (no library is) CS is a really good library and reasonably priced for your budget. And there is a lot to be said for the "same room" recordings and "same GUI" workflow.

For a little less, you could also look at Spitfire's BBC Orch. which would include your percussion but my preference is for CS.

As for decent percussion, right now you can get EastWest Hollywood Perc (Gold) for only $106... very good tympani and all the other orchestral perc in there! I picked it up at that same price a while back.

Good luck!
 
BassClef said:
Just an old retired guy here... hobbyist... former music teacher then on to a long career in the trucking industry. Like you, I started in VI with Albion One and branched out from there... Jaeger, Albion5, EWH Perc, Albion3, Damage2, MetArk1 & 2, HZ Percussion, some 8Dio offerings... a few others along the way and now with the woodwinds just released, I have the full Cinematic Studio series. If your goal is to be able to compose for full orchestra, you really need a full orchestra, and though not perfect (no library is) CS is a really good library and reasonably priced for your budget. And there is a lot to be said for the "same room" recordings and "same GUI" workflow.

For a little less, you could also look at Spitfire's BBC Orch. which would include your percussion but my preference is for CS.

As for decent percussion, right now you can get EastWest Hollywood Perc (Gold) for only $106... very good tympani and all the other orchestral perc in there! I picked it up at that same price a while back.

Good luck!
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Yeah and the good thing with the Hollywood / EastWest stuff too is you can buy their Composer Cloud subscription for only $30 a month, and you get everything. It's a good way to trial and test to see if it's something you want to pay for.
 
If you have the funds, I would go with the Cinematic Studio Series. I use Nucleus and it’s great, but I only got it because I couldn’t afford the CS libraries, which would have ended up being 3x as much. I use the classic mix because I‘m not interested in the trailer sound and it’s fine for me.

I don’t want to start beef, but I wouldn’t listen to people that say AI’s libraries are awful or too “modern” because it all depends on how it sounds to your ear, so make sure to listen to the samples that are out there.

The biggest piece of advice I have is wait until the libraries you want are on sale (Black Friday). I picked up Nucleus for the equivalent of one of the CS libraries.
 
Another option on Perc and Choir... You can buy OT's Berlin series 1 and 2 instruments individually now for use with their SINE player. I think the tymp is on $30 and maybe $40 for a womens/children's choir. But again, you get a lot of perc in the EWH for $106.
 
johnnyboy said:
That's kind of what I'm thinking. I wish I had known about Nucleus when I bought Albion. Oh well.
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Nucleus is a fantastic upgrade to something like Albion... (I also have Albion One and these days I only use the Steamband section, a few Perc ensembles, and the odd loop now and again..) It's much more modern sounding and more versatile. Albion's pretty quiet and pretty vanilla for todays standards, especially for something like trailers or aggressive action-based music... Basically Nucleus can cover the upper dynamics in more or less any genre but does the less intense, more delicate stuff just as well... IMO it's the current best starter library for someone just getting a start in production music. You can't beat the price, and it sounds both excellent and modern...

The other thing to ask yourself is: What's your preference for a library?

A.) Working quickly while trading off a few of the 'finer' details? (While still sounding very good and covering you in most situations)... Or
B.) Having lots of highly detailed articulations for more complex orchestration?

Both approaches have their strengths and ultimately it's a good idea to look at the kind of work you have/have gotten, the time typically involved, and factor in the cost as well... Unless you're doing a lot of ornate work that requires something like the CS series Nucleus is probably the smarter all-around buy, and it won't hurt your wallet nearly as much!
 
jcrosby said:
Nucleus is a fantastic upgrade to something like Albion... (I also have Albion One and these days I only use the Steamband section, a few Perc ensembles, and the odd loop now and again..) It's much more modern sounding and more versatile. Albion's pretty quiet and pretty vanilla for todays standards, especially for something like trailers or aggressive action-based music... Basically Nucleus can cover the upper dynamics in more or less any genre but does the less intense, more delicate stuff just as well... IMO it's the current best starter library for someone just getting a start in production music. You can't beat the price, and it sounds both excellent and modern...

The other thing to ask yourself is: What's your preference for a library?

A.) Working quickly while trading off a few of the 'finer' details? (While still sounding very good and covering you in most situations)... Or
B.) Having lots of highly detailed articulations for more complex orchestration?

Both approaches have their strengths and ultimately it's a good idea to look at the kind of work you have/have gotten, the time typically involved, and factor in the cost as well... Unless you're doing a lot of ornate work that requires something like the CS series Nucleus is probably the smarter all-around buy, and it won't hurt your wallet nearly as much!
Click to expand...
That's a good question. I would probably lean more towards option A for now as I'm still learning how to orchestrate. I don't currently have any work in this field yet, but I'm hoping it turns into something and I've gotten some decent feedback from people I know who do this professionally. So i'm debating about whether I go with the cheaper all around option until I get better and get some actual work or if I just go balls to the wall now and get the creme.
 
Nucleus is more epic, much more limited, and cheaper. CSS is more cinematic, much more extensive, and more expensive.

I would also have another look at BBCSO Core cause that kind of gives you all you seem to want in a really good deal.

With 1.2 the legatos are wonderful. You do get all solos except the strings. You get full classical percussion including timpani. And the hall is not as sploshy as Albions.

CSS might be even better but also more expensive. Just comparing BBCSO with Nucleus who are similar in price, BBCSO is just much better value. You really get a lot.
 
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