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Anthology II: Adagio general discussion

Fair point! Actually, one of the first 8DIO libraries I had was Anthology, and I wasn't thrilled (panning issues). Funny how those things work out... :D



I think I'm your exact opposite. 80% of my template, at least, is East West stuff, and I prefer PLAY over Kontakt (mainly because I learnt how to use VSTs on PLAY, so maybe it's just what I'm used to). I've only recently started to explore other options, mainly complementing my EW stuff instead of replacing it.

That’s always the hard thing about moving to a new system. It can sometimes feel like they’ve ruined your entire workflow for the sake of new product or some marketing talk about revolutionizing the industry. Honestly though. I started on EW back in 06’ or so and it was a game changer for me. Nowadays there are so many more intuitive options. I wish PLAY would catch up. I always liked east west sound, but if you use something like CSS, you’ll see how much faster things can be. Whether that’s a better workflow result depends on the user, but I’d say EW’s major flaw is not innovating on PLAY. Having their own engine should have given them the chance to make something better than what goes on in the confines of kontakt.
 
Back in December 2017, @Cory Pelizzari made this video, which compares Anthology to Adagio, before the release of Century. And his recommendation at the time was to just get the original Adagio Violas and Adagio Cellos plus Agitato Grandiose Violins.



Based on this video I purchased the violas when they went on sale and was waiting for a good sale on the cellos (now $118) I'm probably going to upgrade the violas for $28 and am thinking about getting the new cellos for $48.

What are your thoughts? How have things changed since then? Do you agree with Cory? Are the new Agitato Violins better than the Agitato Grandiose Violins Cory recommended, which are still available for $44? I also have the Agitato Sordino Strings, which I really like. Are they duplicated in this new series?

@Cory Pelizzari do you care to chime in? :)

If the panning issues haven't been fixed then I don't really see the update as any more than an attempt to grab some more cash for an older release. Mind you I have a rather cynical mind - considering these libraries are Kontakt full based I see no reason to keep charging for "updates" or "remasters"... But that's just me...
 
If the panning issues haven't been fixed then I don't really see the update as any more than an attempt to grab some more cash for an older release. Mind you I have a rather cynical mind - considering these libraries are Kontakt full based I see no reason to keep charging for "updates" or "remasters"... But that's just me...
ism did mention tuning fixes. But yeah, that's some weak tea if you've already got Adagio and the Agitatos.

However, if you're missing any of those, it'll partially fill them in for you.
 
Bought the Violas update for $28.00. Wasn't worth even for $28.00 IMO. Though they did fix the 'staccato' short patch where the 4th sample was always twice as loud as the other samples in the patch which made it unusable. Of course they promised a fix that never came when I 1st bought that library. I've bought other libraries for a staccato viola patch since buying the original 8Dio viola. I do think the Violas are the best sounding of the Adagio original library. Just too many silly panning issues and odd samples in the original library. I've been burned by 8Dio too many times and not sure why I still buy their super cheap 'new' versions of old libraries.
 
If you own all the adagios it's still not a one time fee of $28 like it is for Anthology owners who get a one time $8 fee.

Yep. And by the time I buy all four sections, I'll be paying around $160 CDN. Already owning he original Adagio bundle, I'd rather pay a bit more and get something else. The upgrade fees are a joke, really.
 
I always liked east west sound, but if you use something like CSS, you’ll see how much faster things can be.

I'm probably just biased, but I still prefer EW's one-patch-for-one-articulation approach. Sure, it's slower, but having to remember all sorts of keyswitches just isn't my thing. If I really put the effort in to learn all the shortcuts, I'd probably be able to get used to it, but I just refuse. :D
 
I'm probably just biased, but I still prefer EW's one-patch-for-one-articulation approach. Sure, it's slower, but having to remember all sorts of keyswitches just isn't my thing. If I really put the effort in to learn all the shortcuts, I'd probably be able to get used to it, but I just refuse. :D

No right or wrong answer just different workflows yeah? It took awhile to get used to key switches but as more libraries went that way and I started blending libraries, it became far less complicated with Keyswitches. Honestly the best ones are the ones that have such smart engines they can just pick the right articulation based on velocity and speed. I welcome progress toward smarter libraries.
 
I'm probably just biased, but I still prefer EW's one-patch-for-one-articulation approach. Sure, it's slower, but having to remember all sorts of keyswitches just isn't my thing. If I really put the effort in to learn all the shortcuts, I'd probably be able to get used to it, but I just refuse. :D

I don't necessarily think because a library provides a keyswitch patch, it mandates keyswitching to be part of the workflow in using the library. You're free to parse out articulations over multiple tracks in your project files as you wish.

It's already what I do with Anthology anyway and other libraries like Musical Sampling Trailer Strings/Brass.
 
EW's one-patch-for-one-articulation approach

An additional thought - many of EW libraries have keyswitch patches. Albeit I don't use them because they don't really add anything, they are there.

Also in a lot of conversations I've had with other composers over the years about their workflow, I've never really heard consistent, objective responses to the WHY question behind choices in workflows.

If I were a nerd <cough>, I would reference early workflow methodologies that stemmed from Toyota's early 20th century operations in textile manufacturing. They developed business processes, in use to this day, which focused around improving efficiency in work execution.

The goal with work in all fields should always be in implementing solutions that make the work occur more efficiently - which doesn't mean it has to be less enjoyable. With music technology there are objective and subjective workflow ideas. To me, things begin to become subjective when they introduce abnormal amounts of time in the workflow.
 
The goal with work in all fields should always be in implementing solutions that make the work occur more efficiently

There is a fine line between efficiency, and inspirational workflow. Playability and creativity should trump efficiency. If using KS allows me to feel the performance better then I’ll do that. If it’s a another way I’ll do that also. That’s why it’s important to have options from the developers, as everyone’s creative workflow is different. If it’s not intuitive, it’s going to be hard to perform.
 
Though they did fix the 'staccato' short patch where the 4th sample was always twice as loud as the other samples in the patch which made it unusable.
I know it's ultimately the developer's responsibly to fix their libraries, but proactive users can also fix small errors like this themselves. The beauty of owning full Kontakt is the ability to make changes in an instrument file.
 
There is a fine line between efficiency, and inspirational workflow. Playability and creativity should trump efficiency. If using KS allows me to feel the performance better then I’ll do that. If it’s a another way I’ll do that also. That’s why it’s important to have options from the developers, as everyone’s creative workflow is different. If it’s not intuitive, it’s going to be hard to perform.

I mostly agree, except for the fact that both playability and creativity are variable words relative to objective impact on any individual's workflow requirements.

If using KS makes your workflow more efficient...use it.

If using KS doesn't make your workflow more efficient...don't use it.

Efficiency is also dependent on what you're doing and why you're doing it one way versus another.

e.g. If your end product is never going to be a sample-based piece of music, later live-recorded, and you're using KS to aid you in expediting the writing process...by all means use KS.

In general I'm positive creative individuals/businesses don't regularly consider their own efficiency, or measure it, because inefficiency is a naturally widespread problem in most businesses and they pay millions/billions annually to identify those inefficiencies.
 
I mostly agree, except for the fact that both playability and creativity are variable words relative to objective impact on any individual's workflow requirements.

I agree here that it would be hard to be creative, if there is no efficiency in the workflow. Last thing we need is the technical side to get in the way.

I think for myself, I try and start out to be as efficient as possible, but then things start to change and little b little, I'm back to having to make things efficient again.. LOL. Part of grow I think for any business as you mentioned.
 
I agree here that it would be hard to be creative, if there is no efficiency in the workflow. Last thing we need is the technical side to get in the way.

I think for myself, I try and start out to be as efficient as possible, but then things start to change and little b little, I'm back to having to make things efficient again.. LOL. Part of grow I think for any business as you mentioned.

I similarly agree with you, I'm the same way with how I work. My underlying point was just that it's very situationally dependent. For me, regardless of the tech details I actually prefer to work with hard, fast deadlines versus loose timeframes because it reduces creative second-guessing w/ the end goal being just getting the work done by XX:YY:ZZ time.

I've also done a little bit of freelance workflow/improvement consulting for larger production music publishing orgs over the past few years and had great conversations w/ some of their leadership about where improvements might be possible across the board industry-wide. I was inspired by those interactions but also disheartened at the same time as the separate businesses involved in our industry are so operationally independent compared to other businesses in the world it creates this weird lack of accountability in making sure efficiency and accountability exists.

With any/every industry from first note conceived by the composer to the time it gets to somebody's ear, I think there's a lot that can be improved upon to benefit any/all people & businesses involved.
 
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