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24 HOURS REMAIN: 67% off Palette Symphonic Sketchpad

Go for them! The price is right! :)

Sorry, but when you wrote RRA-SS / APD, you obviously meant Red Room Audio - Symphonic Sketchpad! But what is APD?

Just emphasizing AudioPluginDeals as source for current promotion price.
 
Really interesting to hear everybody's thoughts on what constitutes a "sketching" library. I guess we all work in different ways. Just to be clear, the current discounted price for Palette Symphonic Sketchpad is only through Audio Plugin Deals (APD), not Red Room Audio themselves - DETAILS HERE
 
Really interesting to hear everybody's thoughts on what constitutes a "sketching" library. I guess we all work in different ways. Just to be clear, the current discounted price for Palette Symphonic Sketchpad is only through Audio Plugin Deals (APD), not Red Room Audio themselves - DETAILS HERE

Yep ! Ordered and Downloading now. Looking forward ! 👍
 
For those of you who own this, what are your thoughts? How are the sounds? Have you found it useful?

Seems like a lot of tools for a great price. I wouldn't be using this for actual orchestra pieces. But rather as the end product in guitar/piano based library music (thinking corporate, advertising, Indie-pop).

Thanks...
 
For those of you who own this, what are your thoughts? How are the sounds? Have you found it useful?
I find it useful. I also have a few points of criticism, but for the sale price it would be a high level of complaining.
On its own some important things like legato instruments or sections are missing. It's conceptually designed so that you should buy the extensions for it.
If you have covered the solo and legato range, it is in my opinion not absolutely necessary, unless you want to have exactly the same sound.

Working only with ensembles instead of sections is something I have to get used to.
Plus point is that there is a piano, that don't offer so much in this area. So it is already quite completely instrumented for the ensembles. To have additional chamber sized ensembles is also great.
When it comes to a quick idea, it's sufficient.

The sound is fine, even if it can't keep up with the big players. Somehow it's all basic standard, and that's probably how it was meant to be.

I like the dry samples, it can be combined well with other libs. It can be combined well with Nucleus, so it becomes a complete package in real terms. Especially since Nucleus has no thrills or marcato for strings.

Definitely worth buying it.
 
My first teacher was Garritan Personal Orchestra 5! I did not like the dry sound out-of-the box, and I struggled to learn all the instruments and their ranges, how to create my own small sections and big ensembles, plus how to apply the right amount of reverb, depending on the situation! It was a very good lesson from a low-cost teacher! :)

Recently I upgraded to EWHO Gold, and the quality of the sound is so much better of course! Still I am learning, but this time is so much more enjoyable, so many amazing sounds to explore!

But in the end you have a point (about me) because I am not a professional musician or a music teacher! I am composing songs for other people to listen to! That's why I am searching now for an all-in-one sketch library: for faster / bigger / better results!

Still I am happy I followed the "proper" road, first learning all the individual different orchestral instruments and then proceeding to the full ensembles solutions! :)
Then you will probably love something like Albion One. You can get a quick sound that doesn't require a lot of work. If you are a student, you can get it for 50% off now or wait for the Christmas wish list sale and get it for 40% off, if you aren't. I don't know if I would recommend RRA for that since it is dry. Not an insta-sound. Symphobia is great too. Just more expensive. Though if it goes on sale? It would be a toss up.
 
For those of you who own this, what are your thoughts? How are the sounds? Have you found it useful?

Seems like a lot of tools for a great price. I wouldn't be using this for actual orchestra pieces. But rather as the end product in guitar/piano based library music (thinking corporate, advertising, Indie-pop).

Thanks...

I picked it up because it seemed like a really good price. After playing with it over the weekend I've got to say the experience has been pretty good. The scripting is good enough to make things sound dynamic. I do wish I had more solo instruments, but honestly if I wanted solo instruments I'd probably want a lot more articulations and a smoother workflow. This is a library that gives you "sound of string section" and "sounds of brass section". I could see my self using it as a placeholder while I'm composing, like for instance if you plan on revisiting the composition and scripting the double bases and oboe and french horns all separately. In other words it's perfect for tiding you over until BBC SO comes out ;) Another instance I could see my self using it is while performing live (I do keyboard magic in a rock band) which is another instance where you usually wan't "sounds like strings" rather than trying to actually articulate anything.

A few other notes. It's very dry, so out of the box it is a bit off putting. Even the room mics feel like you're eating chalk. Reverb is a necessity. Also it's missing a couple of instruments like vibraphone, church organ... Still this wasn't particularly a deal breaker with how many instruments it DOES feature, like cortales and harps and choir. At $100 it was a no brainer for me since it contained tons of instruments I currently didn't have sounds for. It's likely to be my lightweight "sounds of orchestra" for rock band settings while I have the terabyte sample libraries for really working on composition and record producing.
 
Then you will probably love something like Albion One. You can get a quick sound that doesn't require a lot of work. If you are a student, you can get it for 50% off now or wait for the Christmas wish list sale and get it for 40% off, if you aren't. I don't know if I would recommend RRA for that since it is dry. Not an insta-sound. Symphobia is great too. Just more expensive. Though if it goes on sale? It would be a toss up.
OF course... Albion One vs Symphobia 1 has been in my research for many months now! :)

Both seem to do the same thing, they can both help me speed up my workflow + provide me with some full ensembles sounds ready to use!

I don't have any problem with dry libraries though, I always like to apply my own reverb! That's why I am almost ready to buy RRA Palette - SS. The price is so good right now...

Thanks for your advice! I am not a student in any way, I am already 41, in the process of composing my songs to open my YT channel, and - if everything goes well - sell my music through all the well-known internet music platforms! :)

I see right now Albion One has a 40% sale and Symphobia is very often for sale (here in this forum) at about $250. Do we have a clear winner between Albion One vs Symphobia 1 (in your opinion)? I have checked every possible demo and walkthroughs and both look great products!
 
Truthfully, for regular music, I like Albion better. Symphobia sounds great, but they have some weird, in my opinion, combinations of instruments. I'd have to look at it again, but I was playing with Symphobia 3 tonight and its not really playable, from a sit down and play perspective. They have these strange combinations that sometimes split the keyboard. Or like piano and bass, but only in the bass range. It sounds good, but you need more to play something. You can turn on and off articulations, so that only one plays. But then you are at individual articulations, which you don't necessarily want.

Technically, with Albion, you could load all the regular ensemble instruments (strings, winds, brass) and play across the keyboard, hearing all the instruments playing. If you wanted to. Maybe you don't. I'm not sure if that is possible with Symphobia. Someone can correct me. But Symphobia can be resold if you decide you don't like it. Albion can't.

If you like to do your own reverb though, RRA's palette may be perfect. I think you could do the same with it as with Albion. Albion comes with some other things, like the Stephenson's Steam Engine, which has some cool sounds. It can be good or bad depending on if you ever use it.
 
Truthfully, for regular music, I like Albion better. Symphobia sounds great, but they have some weird, in my opinion, combinations of instruments. I'd have to look at it again, but I was playing with Symphobia 3 tonight and its not really playable, from a sit down and play perspective. They have these strange combinations that sometimes split the keyboard. Or like piano and bass, but only in the bass range. It sounds good, but you need more to play something. You can turn on and off articulations, so that only one plays. But then you are at individual articulations, which you don't necessarily want.

Technically, with Albion, you could load all the regular ensemble instruments (strings, winds, brass) and play across the keyboard, hearing all the instruments playing. If you wanted to. Maybe you don't. I'm not sure if that is possible with Symphobia. Someone can correct me. But Symphobia can be resold if you decide you don't like it. Albion can't.

If you like to do your own reverb though, RRA's palette may be perfect. I think you could do the same with it as with Albion. Albion comes with some other things, like the Stephenson's Steam Engine, which has some cool sounds. It can be good or bad depending on if you ever use it.
Oh I agree so much with you! Those split keyboard combinations also confuse me, I strongly prefer a mixed-orchestra instruments selection that spread evenly through all the keyboard!

Even if I am 99% into organic music, I am impressed by the demos of Stephenson's Steam Band. Some cool options there! Is it much bigger (in variety and choices) than Symphobia's Dystopia?
 
Oh I agree so much with you! Those split keyboard combinations also confuse me, I strongly prefer a mixed-orchestra instruments selection that spread evenly through all the keyboard!

Even if I am 99% into organic music, I am impressed by the demos of Stephenson's Steam Band. Some cool options there! Is it much bigger (in variety and choices) than Symphobia's Dystopia?
I'd have to look. I do know you can make your own presets with Stephenson's. Not sure about Symphobia.
 
I'd have to look. I do know you can make your own presets with Stephenson's. Not sure about Symphobia.
Take your time... It's not urgent or something! I was just curious! As I mentioned before, I am 99% into organic sound! So really don't bother, you can check it if some day you use these 2 libraries! But thanks in advance anyway! :)
 
I was set on getting albion one but got distracted by RRA's sketchpad deal. After, listening to a bunch of demos, I reckon that albion's out-of-the-box sound is alot heavier, with lots of bass emphasis. This helps it sound more, for want of a better word, epic. Sketchpad on the other hand sounds more natural.

Take for example, the low brass, Sketchpad's sound is relatively tame compared to albion one's nasty low brass. Second example, the drums on albion one are much bigger from the get go without additional EQ and reverb.

Anyone share similar or contrasting thoughts?
 
I was set on getting albion one but got distracted by RRA's sketchpad deal. After, listening to a bunch of demos, I reckon that albion's out-of-the-box sound is alot heavier, with lots of bass emphasis. This helps it sound more, for want of a better word, epic. Sketchpad on the other hand sounds more natural.

Take for example, the low brass, Sketchpad's sound is relatively tame compared to albion one's nasty low brass. Second example, the drums on albion one are much bigger from the get go without additional EQ and reverb.

Anyone share similar or contrasting thoughts?

I do not have Albion but my love for Sketchpad is well known. I think you are completely right.

EDIT: To expand, I've been eyeing Jaeger for a long time but will now probably go with Metropolis Ark I and II considering the crazy sale going on. Palette is not really meant for 'epic', it's meant to provide some realism to the sound of the orchestra.
 
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I think the last two posts here sum up Albion and Palette pretty well.

For clarity it might be worth watching the "In Action" walkthrough that I did for Symphonic Sketchpad. Although it uses elements from all 4 of the Palette libraries, there's lots of focus on Sketchpad in the first 7 minutes of the video.

 
I wanted to get the Palette Melodics pack as well to have a more complete all-in-one orchestra - I heard some complaints about the legatos though. Any comments? From what I have seen (for example, have a look at the video below from about 2:20), some of those complaints might be justified:
 
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