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Honest thoughts on Hollywood Strings and the EastWest libraries in 2022?

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amysteriouskeyboard

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So I started using orchestral libraries around 3-4 years ago, and for the duration of that time I've been using the EastWest libraries a lot. This is mostly because Composer Cloud seemed affordable and convenient when I first subscribed to it and I hadn't felt any reason to unsubscribe for a long time.

More recently I've found myself feeling as though the instruments, especially the strings, don't sound as great as they used to sound to me a few years ago. A lot of the time I'll listen to a piece and try to imitate the sound of the strings with the library and I just can't seem to get it to sound right with HS. Admittedly I'm nowhere near as talented as the composers I'm trying to imitate, so this is probably partly the way I'm orchestrating chords+melodies as well, but a lot of it also comes down to the fact that HS just seems sometimes a bit too dense (if that makes sense)?

I've heard a lot of mixed opinions on the Hollywood Strings library and also different EastWest libraries in general and as well as this, a lot of the opinions on the library online are from years ago when the library was a bit less outdated. I was curious to know, in 2022, do you guys think that HS and the EastWest orchestral libraries are still worth it and do they still sound good to you?
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Hollywood Strings and Hollywood Brass have nearly universal acclaim. They are some of the best sample libraries ever created - and some of the most in-depth. OPUS is an excellent player that has revitalized the entire Hollywood range.

But Hollywood Strings are NOT chamber strings. Sounds like you might need to look at getting a string library with smaller section sizes to fit the aesthetic you're going for.
 
They are still worth it and sound very good to me. I also don’t quite understand why one would consider strings that were recorded a little longer ago ‘outdated’ to be honest. Are strings really recorded entirely different nowadays than a decade ago?

Disclaimer: I am by no means a pro composer and do not have any inside knowledge of how strings sound nowadays when compared to let’s say in the early 2000s. I do have quite a few older and newer libraries, and in that subset HS ranks among the best - if not top three (for me personally). For whatever that’s worth. But you asked ;)
 
it doesn't matter what we think about library x from a sonical perspective. It's about how YOU like it.
If you think there are better options, and want to have them, then do buy them and use them.
you have to enjoy the sound, if you don't, look elsewhere for replacements.

there are many many good strings libraries, including HS, out there.. i mean, a whole lot. Each having it's pro's and cons compared to the other.. (think of ensemble size, articulations present, mic options etc etc)

ofcourse we can debate about the pro's and cons of e.g. HS alone.. but comparing in the context as you've put it.. makes little sense to be honest.
 
ALittleNightMusic said:
Hollywood Strings and Hollywood Brass have nearly universal acclaim. They are some of the best sample libraries ever created - and some of the most in-depth. OPUS is an excellent player that has revitalized the entire Hollywood range.

But Hollywood Strings are NOT chamber strings. Sounds like you might need to look at getting a string library with smaller section sizes to fit the aesthetic you're going for.
Click to expand...
I think I do definitely need a chamber string library for some of the pieces I've been working on. I've been thinking about getting Spitfire Chamber Strings or Tokyo Scoring Strings more recently. I'm still not the biggest fan of how HS sound when I'm going for a bigger sound but it could also just be to do with the way I've been using them.
doctoremmet said:
They are still worth it and sound very good to me. I also don’t quite understand why one would consider strings that were recorded a little longer ago ‘outdated’ to be honest. Are strings really recorded entirely different nowadays than a decade ago?

Disclaimer: I am by no means a pro composer and do not have any inside knowledge of how strings sound nowadays when compared to let’s say in the early 2000s. I do have quite a few older and newer libraries, and in that subset HS ranks among the best - if not top three (for me personally). For whatever that’s worth. But you asked ;)
Click to expand...
I use the word outdated because it's a word I've heard used to describe the library, but you may be right that it's probably better to describe it as an 'older' library instead.
 
amysteriouskeyboard said:
I think I do definitely need a chamber string library for some of the pieces I've been working on. I've been thinking about getting Spitfire Chamber Strings or Tokyo Scoring Strings more recently. I'm still not the biggest fan of how HS sound when I'm going for a bigger sound but it could also just be to do with the way I've been using them.

I use the word outdated because it's a word I've heard used to describe the library, but you may be right that it's probably better to describe it as an 'older' library instead.
Click to expand...
I think older at least is objectively true. I am not disputing it may be outdated though. I was just expressing my own lack of experience to be the judge of that. So I merely suspect that some people may confuse the concepts “older” and “outdated”. ;) Then again, maybe it IS outdated hehe.
 
Eastwest products are ancient by VI market standards, but somehow they get to age gracefully, and firing up some of the patches from almost 20(!) years old EWQLSO, can leave you with a big smile on your face. Would I buy all these libs today? Probably not, but is it a good time to jump off Composercloud? Not sure either. You would have to spend substantial amount of cash to successfully replace it, and improve upon. There is just too much fine material in there.
 
I think using the same samples over and over gives a kind of fatigue. It's listening to the same recordings again and again. Instead of the impression of musicians playing the library GUI pops up in the brain. No matter how good the samples are it's good to have some changes from time to time.

New and different samples bring fresh air into the production process. Just keep the balance between GAS and your and your family's standard of living.
 
amysteriouskeyboard said:
So I started using orchestral libraries around 3-4 years ago, and for the duration of that time I've been using the EastWest libraries a lot. This is mostly because Composer Cloud seemed affordable and convenient when I first subscribed to it and I hadn't felt any reason to unsubscribe for a long time.

More recently I've found myself feeling as though the instruments, especially the strings, don't sound as great as they used to sound to me a few years ago. A lot of the time I'll listen to a piece and try to imitate the sound of the strings with the library and I just can't seem to get it to sound right with HS. Admittedly I'm nowhere near as talented as the composers I'm trying to imitate, so this is probably partly the way I'm orchestrating chords+melodies as well, but a lot of it also comes down to the fact that HS just seems sometimes a bit too dense (if that makes sense)?

I've heard a lot of mixed opinions on the Hollywood Strings library and also different EastWest libraries in general and as well as this, a lot of the opinions on the library online are from years ago when the library was a bit less outdated. I was curious to know, in 2022, do you guys think that HS and the EastWest orchestral libraries are still worth it and do they still sound good to you?
Click to expand...
Maybe it would help if we knew what pieces (or parts of them) you're talking about ...?
 
You could also listen closely to LASS 3. Features divisi and autodivisi as well as first chairs. However, here and there with a little flexibility in terms of deviating tuning, which also sounds good to a certain extent, especially if you layer it with other strings. Sometimes the detunings go so far that they are almost unusable. It always depends on the context.

I mainly use the divisi and the first chairs, full sections then rather Opus / Hollywood strings and layer them with either the Opus or LASS 3 divisi.

Otherwise I am a big fan of OPUS and the Hollywood strings. Many layers, many roundrobins and an excellent selection of articulations (e.g. playable string runs patches) that only a few string libraries offer in this quality. I also like this buttery, sometimes schmaltzy legato sound.

Opus / Hollywood strings are among the ones I use the most.
 
amysteriouskeyboard said:
I think I do definitely need a chamber string library for some of the pieces I've been working on. I've been thinking about getting Spitfire Chamber Strings or Tokyo Scoring Strings more recently.
Click to expand...
Check out VSL Elite Strings, which are currently on sale. I'm about to purchase, and they are the best sounding chamber-sized library I have heard. You also get 14 days to try them out....if you don't like them, full refund.

Regarding Hollywood Strings, I echo what many others have mentioned. They are still a top-tier pro level library. They may be old, but good samples are good samples. Although I still find Opus too buggy, I still use Hollywood Strings Diamond religiously.
 
The original Hollywood Strings were a true game changer when first released, which is why the hold up so well to this day. Very capable string library, they just require a little more work than some of the string libs that have been released in the last few years.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone. I think I'll stick with using Hollywood Strings for now but also get a chamber string library. It's sometimes difficult to tell whether my perception on these sorts of things are correct since I'm not a professional - these replies were useful.
 
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Yeah, Opus is pretty much all I use now tbh..(although that may change whenever cinesamples v2 are done, or whenever csp comes out)..If you're looking for a smaller string sound you can get close pushing the mid/closer mics..(mid +5 main -2 I saw suggested recently and they're nicely present..)..you can get a lot of sounds with those 5 mics..
 
amysteriouskeyboard said:
Thanks for the responses everyone. I think I'll stick with using Hollywood Strings for now but also get a chamber string library. It's sometimes difficult to tell whether my perception on these sorts of things are correct since I'm not a professional - these replies were useful.
Click to expand...
If you're looking for chamber strings to expand out of the sound you have, my recommendations to check out would be Spitfire Chamber strings, 8dio century strings, cinematic studio strings, and impact soundworks' Tokyo scoring strings.

All are great libraries with different tones than you have and would give you some great flexibility in your sound and ways to go outside of the box you might find yourself in right now.
 
FYI... Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Diamond + HW Orchestrator is going for $334 again (66% off) at JRRShop if you use coupon code GROUP. This is back to the lowest-ever price we had seen. Crazy times. I bought in April at this price and have been very happy with it. I likely won't need to renew my CC membership now, so it will pay for itself in ~18-20 months.
 
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