My perspective going into this: Skip to the next section for the review proper
Originally, I was going to hold off on buying a professional library until I had mastered what I already have (Kontakt 5 factory, ProjectSAM TFO, Pallete: Primary Colours, Miroslav 2 CE). But then I saw the 60% sale at 8Dio and decided that I could still only use lower level libraries in released songs while still buying and playing with a massively discounted pro library as an investment for later. I knew not to expect any kind of a magic bullet, as the library is section-based and designed for epic orchestral music specifically and is therefore not versatile. Still, I was hoping for something to allow for more professional-sounding compositions when the time is right.
Sound
I find it difficult to really get excited about Majestica 2's timbre without the use of at least a little saturation to reinforce the low-mids and bring out the high detail. The sound clarity is good overall, but a lot of texture is lost in the room acoustics and some post-recording EQ would not have gone amiss. Some brass notes have an annoying sound around 350htz which can add unwanted dissonance, and the string Legato Marcato patch C5 has a very strange sound.
I would recommend using the mixed mic, as the decca signals tend to sound much more 'dead' (and I don't just mean acoustically). Additionally, I would recommend turning the 'release tails' knob all the way down, bypassing the inbuilt reverb effect and using a third-party reverb instead.
Articulations
Long
Only the string instrument has legatos, and I wish I had known sooner that different legato articulations are designed for different speeds (legato is slowest, legato marcato is fastest). When used accordingly, these can sound very good if you disable 'range kill' in the Kontakt scripts menu and turn 'Legato Vol.' all the way down at all times (its more of a distraction than anything). Below is a comparison of a string phrase with regular legato, followed by the same phrase at double speed with legato marcato.
The standard sustains vary in quality between instruments. The string sustains are hardly the most romantic-sounding out there, but they do the job and can shine in the lower dynamics. The brass sustains again suffer from a kind of muddiness, which is a shame because they are excellently performed. The high woodwinds are brilliant below forte, but above the air noise becomes an ordeal. On the other hand, low woodwinds are too 'static' in the lower dynamics, but shine in higher ones (even if some of the lower notes can sound like ship horns).
The power sustains are my favourite articulation in this entire instrument. They can sound triumphant, lyrical, passionate, and sometimes even more 'flowing' than the legato patches. Rewarding, and very playable. A highlight is the brass Power Mutes.
https://soundcloud.com/user-4038214...d&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
8Dio are well known for their Arcs, and rightfully so. Majestica comes with three: Arc Control, Arc and Arc Cres (usually only 2 for each instrument, though). They sound nearly perfect for modern cinema swells, besides the low woodwinds and their bloated low end. Unfortunately, they are not tempo stretched (though if Silka is anything to go by, that may not be a bad thing after all).
https://soundcloud.com/user-4038214...d&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Marcato ranges from okay (strings) to phenomenal (brass, though mutes are disappointing)
https://soundcloud.com/user-4038214...d&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
For an epic library, there is a disappointing lack of tremolo, leaving dynamics automation to carry tension duties. There are, however, quite nice flutter tongues and trills for the high woodwinds.
Short
Staccato can only be found in brass, whereas strings instead use Spiccato. Again, the brass's excellent performance is let down by subpar mixing which has a somewhat colourless effect. In fact, they sound much better when I turn off my room correction software and listen through my headphones with notoriously inflated low mids. Some brass stacc notes are also slightly delayed, though I get why some would prefer the 'humanization' that brings. The example below was perfectly quantized.
Strings Spiccato is surprisingly versatile even beyond epic music. Spiccato fast proves quite capable at those 'epic ostinatos', and can sound good in semiquavers up to 144 BPM.
The spiccattos afforded to the brass and woodwinds are similarly nimble, though the woodwinds' lack of longer shorts besides the Double Tongue makes them disappointing in relaxed sections.
Percussive articulations, such as Bartok Pizz, Col Legno and 'Slap Notes' seem to have double the room noise, which makes sense but can be a little overwhelming in an already soaked library.
Special
Savage Hits are a little disappointing due to their lack of round robins and their inability to sound good (even dissonant good) played together.
I've never been a fan of Group Bartok, but Majestica's are the ones I dislike the least. The lack of round robins afflicts this too.
The Savage Phrases are creative for essentially being weird triplets. I can definitely see use in these.
Maybe I'm spoiled by Projectsam TFO, but I think the brass Swoops/Rips could stand to be a little more chaotic.
Much like the arcs, the brass bends are pretty much perfect.
I'm not sure who would use the 'Breaths' articulation or why.
Percussion
Too many articulations to describe individually. I'll just say they all sound great and having a dynamics macro for the rolls instrument was a stroke of genius.
Technical
Majestica has an impressively low footprint of 25 gigabytes and uses approximately 6% of my CPU when active (for comparison, Kontakt String Ensemble uses 3%). For some reason, 50 MB Majestica libraries can take upward of a minute to load into Kontakt 5, whereas all 1 gigabyte of Shreddage 3 serpent can be ready in under 20 seconds.
Verdict
I would say this was a very good investment for $160. But as a first professional library, I would have been much more conflicted if I paid full price.
Originally, I was going to hold off on buying a professional library until I had mastered what I already have (Kontakt 5 factory, ProjectSAM TFO, Pallete: Primary Colours, Miroslav 2 CE). But then I saw the 60% sale at 8Dio and decided that I could still only use lower level libraries in released songs while still buying and playing with a massively discounted pro library as an investment for later. I knew not to expect any kind of a magic bullet, as the library is section-based and designed for epic orchestral music specifically and is therefore not versatile. Still, I was hoping for something to allow for more professional-sounding compositions when the time is right.
Sound
I find it difficult to really get excited about Majestica 2's timbre without the use of at least a little saturation to reinforce the low-mids and bring out the high detail. The sound clarity is good overall, but a lot of texture is lost in the room acoustics and some post-recording EQ would not have gone amiss. Some brass notes have an annoying sound around 350htz which can add unwanted dissonance, and the string Legato Marcato patch C5 has a very strange sound.
I would recommend using the mixed mic, as the decca signals tend to sound much more 'dead' (and I don't just mean acoustically). Additionally, I would recommend turning the 'release tails' knob all the way down, bypassing the inbuilt reverb effect and using a third-party reverb instead.
Articulations
Long
Only the string instrument has legatos, and I wish I had known sooner that different legato articulations are designed for different speeds (legato is slowest, legato marcato is fastest). When used accordingly, these can sound very good if you disable 'range kill' in the Kontakt scripts menu and turn 'Legato Vol.' all the way down at all times (its more of a distraction than anything). Below is a comparison of a string phrase with regular legato, followed by the same phrase at double speed with legato marcato.
The standard sustains vary in quality between instruments. The string sustains are hardly the most romantic-sounding out there, but they do the job and can shine in the lower dynamics. The brass sustains again suffer from a kind of muddiness, which is a shame because they are excellently performed. The high woodwinds are brilliant below forte, but above the air noise becomes an ordeal. On the other hand, low woodwinds are too 'static' in the lower dynamics, but shine in higher ones (even if some of the lower notes can sound like ship horns).
Low Winds Sustain
Listen to Low Winds Sustain by Sense of Suspense #np on #SoundCloud
soundcloud.com
The power sustains are my favourite articulation in this entire instrument. They can sound triumphant, lyrical, passionate, and sometimes even more 'flowing' than the legato patches. Rewarding, and very playable. A highlight is the brass Power Mutes.
https://soundcloud.com/user-4038214...d&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
8Dio are well known for their Arcs, and rightfully so. Majestica comes with three: Arc Control, Arc and Arc Cres (usually only 2 for each instrument, though). They sound nearly perfect for modern cinema swells, besides the low woodwinds and their bloated low end. Unfortunately, they are not tempo stretched (though if Silka is anything to go by, that may not be a bad thing after all).
https://soundcloud.com/user-4038214...d&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Marcato ranges from okay (strings) to phenomenal (brass, though mutes are disappointing)
https://soundcloud.com/user-4038214...d&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
For an epic library, there is a disappointing lack of tremolo, leaving dynamics automation to carry tension duties. There are, however, quite nice flutter tongues and trills for the high woodwinds.
Short
Staccato can only be found in brass, whereas strings instead use Spiccato. Again, the brass's excellent performance is let down by subpar mixing which has a somewhat colourless effect. In fact, they sound much better when I turn off my room correction software and listen through my headphones with notoriously inflated low mids. Some brass stacc notes are also slightly delayed, though I get why some would prefer the 'humanization' that brings. The example below was perfectly quantized.
Strings Spiccato is surprisingly versatile even beyond epic music. Spiccato fast proves quite capable at those 'epic ostinatos', and can sound good in semiquavers up to 144 BPM.
Strings Spicc Fast
Listen to Strings Spicc Fast by Sense of Suspense #np on #SoundCloud
soundcloud.com
The spiccattos afforded to the brass and woodwinds are similarly nimble, though the woodwinds' lack of longer shorts besides the Double Tongue makes them disappointing in relaxed sections.
Percussive articulations, such as Bartok Pizz, Col Legno and 'Slap Notes' seem to have double the room noise, which makes sense but can be a little overwhelming in an already soaked library.
Special
Savage Hits are a little disappointing due to their lack of round robins and their inability to sound good (even dissonant good) played together.
I've never been a fan of Group Bartok, but Majestica's are the ones I dislike the least. The lack of round robins afflicts this too.
The Savage Phrases are creative for essentially being weird triplets. I can definitely see use in these.
Maybe I'm spoiled by Projectsam TFO, but I think the brass Swoops/Rips could stand to be a little more chaotic.
Much like the arcs, the brass bends are pretty much perfect.
I'm not sure who would use the 'Breaths' articulation or why.
Percussion
Too many articulations to describe individually. I'll just say they all sound great and having a dynamics macro for the rolls instrument was a stroke of genius.
Technical
Majestica has an impressively low footprint of 25 gigabytes and uses approximately 6% of my CPU when active (for comparison, Kontakt String Ensemble uses 3%). For some reason, 50 MB Majestica libraries can take upward of a minute to load into Kontakt 5, whereas all 1 gigabyte of Shreddage 3 serpent can be ready in under 20 seconds.
Verdict
I would say this was a very good investment for $160. But as a first professional library, I would have been much more conflicted if I paid full price.
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