Hello,
I'm starting my journey with orchestral arrangements and I would like to buy my first orchestral VST. I read your opinions, went through a "basic guide" and I still have some doubts. This is my first attempt to this topic, so I'd like to spend no more than 1000€ for this. So first - I am interested in creating "pure" symphonic music (at least for first months, to learn how to do it good).
I thought about
NI Symphony Series (full version), but I see, that - in general - people don't have a good opinion about it (especially woodwinds). One of things that I'm interested in is an access to each instrument section (this is not a "must have", but it would be good to have this possibility).
Albion series from Spitfire Audio sounds great, but it is 5 packs, 450€ each, so that exceeds my budget.
EastWest - i watched some tutorials and it looks really complicated to me. Also (for me) - strings sounds a little bit rough.
Berlin Orchestra Inspire - I don't have an opinion about that one. Is one mic position a big problem?
Metropolis Ark series - also exceeds my budget.
Maybe i should use different vst's for each section?
Thank you for support
Hi, lutzek. I was looking very much for the same thing when I started looking into VIs a year ago. The challenge with this is that so many orchestral libraries are not geared towards traditional symphonic music, but film scoring, trailers, pop music, etc. In particular, a lot of the playing in the more popular genres is much simpler, requiring relatively few articulations and depth in the VI. If all you are looking for is some samples that do a good job sounding a particular way, there are potentially scores of libraries to consider. In particular, if your wants are some nice-sounding swells and staccato ostinato notes or similar, you'll find tons that will do the trick. But, if you want a more traditional expression, most of these libraries are
not well suited.
In particular, I've found the following unsuitable for classical music:
- EastWest Symphonic and Hollywood Orchestras/Choirs
- Symphobia series
- Cinema Studio Strings and CSSS
- Sonuscore The Orchestra
- Sonokinetic products
- Most other products
On the other hand, the VIs that seem, in my humble opinion, to work best for classical are:
- VSL
- Orchestral Tools (but not the Arks -- although their choirs are very nice)
- Iconica (so far; still getting a feel for it)
I suspect some Spitfire libraries would be another good option, but for "reasons" I haven't gone that route so I can't say first hand.
If you went the VSL path (which is my favorite), I would recommend VI Pro, a MIRx venue, and SE Bundle Vol 1 (you may want Vol 2 for ensembles and rarities, but you likely won't need the Plus articulations). Best Service is a great place to get these and you should do the upgrade stepped purchase. VSL takes a little practice, but is incredibly good at handling some traditional playing styles.
Orchestral Tools Inspire is a nice library to start, although the sound isn't on par with the larger kits from OT. I don't mind the single microphone. You will likely mostly miss the individual instruments, but you could potentially pick up Berlin Strings or whatever you'd prefer using the 150€ off from the Inspire. The out of the box sound of OT is very nice and the playability is usually pretty good.
Iconica is new, but you could get the whole enchilada within your budget. I like the sound, but it is much improved with a good reverb. The playability is reasonably good, although it's a resource hog. Most people haven't given a lot of love towards Iconica yet, but I think that's because the out of the box sound (like VSL) is too dry for most folk's taste.
Obviously these are just opinions, but I think it is undeniably true that most libraries out there aren't geared towards traditional music, partly because there's not much career there for most folks. Whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy it and have fun creating music!