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Any interest in a BBC Core/VSL Prime/Berlin Orch Berklee Shoot-out video series?

Are you interested in a Shoot Video with these 3 libraries

  • Yes

    Votes: 36 83.7%

  • No

    Votes: 5 11.6%

  • Add other libraries (please describe in response)

    Votes: 2 4.7%
  • Total voters
    43
dcoscina

dcoscina

Senior Member
I have these three libraries and they are roughly around the same price point. I find they all have strengths and some limitations. I have been positing doing a shoot-out between the three, fairly in depth. Thinking of dividing them up into 4 parts- Winds, Brass, Perc. and Strings. Any interest in something like this? This will take some time so I'm trying to get an idea whether it's worth the effort.

Thanks
Click to read more...
 
I think this series will be longer than just orchestral choirs. I think I would have to compare instrument by instrument per video so they don't run too long. YouTube doesn't love it and frankly, viewers don't either with overly long vids.
 
but... make it not just some notes or chords.. but use it in an orchestral context, getting the best out of each lib. (then show how you did it, why you did it the way you did..etc.)
 
RogiervG said:
but... make it not just some notes or chords.. but use it in an orchestral context, getting the best out of each lib. (then show how you did it, why you did it the way you did..etc.)
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Generally I play lines that are idiomatic to the given instrument. I agree that Single notes and chords would not be helpful.
 
dcoscina said:
Generally I play lines that are idiomatic to the given instrument. I agree that Single notes and chords would not be helpful.
Click to expand...
Well then it’s settled. You’ll write a symphony and render it in each. We’ll need the majesty of a glorious first movement, the intimacy of a second movement, and a blistering scherzo to fully evaluate each library. And since you might as well finish, go ahead a write a fourth movement with an epic choir.
 
Jett Hitt said:
Well then it’s settled. You’ll write a symphony and render it in each. We’ll need the majesty of a glorious first movement, the intimacy of a second movement, and a blistering scherzo to fully evaluate each library. And since you might as well finish, go ahead a write a fourth movement with an epic choir.
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sure thing. See you in 4 years with the videos. :rofl:
 
Just mock up the Star Wars main theme with all three.

None of them will be able to pull it off convincingly, but it will at least show each one's ability to do bombastic (intro), lyrical (middle), soft (end) and complex orchestrations (entire thing).
 
RogiervG said:
Nooooo not again...
it's becoming the ipsum lorem of music by how much it's used for demos and tutorials and such.

I know David will come up with some marvelous music of his own.
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Thanks but I cannot compete with Williams. the idea for this series is to look at each instrument compared to the other. To be honest, mock-ups are not my thing- they never will compare to the real thing and the music from film scores was written for live orchestra.

Now, there will likely be phrases or themes from some film scores inserted here and there. Oboes will likely get Rambo's theme from First Blood because it's a great melody. Legato flute could be treated to the opening chromatic line from Leia's Theme. You never know.

For legatos, I plan to play lyrical phrases that will reveal how good or convincing the slurs are. How fast they respond to quick passages... etc.

I've been going through Flute 1 from Prime/BBC/Berlin today and each one has its own merits.

Example: Flute 1 legatos
BBC- has shorts built in which is nice when wanting to play expressively and mix up staccato playing with lyrical playing
VSL- l lacks the same slur as the other two BUT it's very nimble for faster passages. Not enough vibrato for my taste, however. Multiple mics help shape the sound in its space, a good value add.
Berlin- my favourite of the 3 in terms of its tonal qualities. the slowest however for legato- difficult to get more fluid quick passages accomplished. But I love the tone.
 
Justin L. Franks said:
I assume that you want to limit this to libraries with individual sections?

I would add Nucleus and HOOPUS if possible, since both are in the same price range.
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Nucleus is great but it's not a complete orchestra the way the other three are. I don't own HOOPUS so I cannot use it in the shootout.
 
Awoo Composer said:
Just curious, what makes Nucleus not a complete orchestra in your eyes compared to BBCSO Core/etc?
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If you want to score only using VIs, it's awesome and sounds terrific. But it doesn't have the same breadth of instrumentation for the 4 orchestra choirs the way the other libraries do.
 
dcoscina said:
Thanks but I cannot compete with Williams. the idea for this series is to look at each instrument compared to the other. To be honest, mock-ups are not my thing- they never will compare to the real thing and the music from film scores was written for live orchestra.

Now, there will likely be phrases or themes from some film scores inserted here and there. Oboes will likely get Rambo's theme from First Blood because it's a great melody. Legato flute could be treated to the opening chromatic line from Leia's Theme. You never know.

For legatos, I plan to play lyrical phrases that will reveal how good or convincing the slurs are. How fast they respond to quick passages... etc.

I've been going through Flute 1 from Prime/BBC/Berlin today and each one has its own merits.

Example: Flute 1 legatos
BBC- has shorts built in which is nice when wanting to play expressively and mix up staccato playing with lyrical playing
VSL- l lacks the same slur as the other two BUT it's very nimble for faster passages. Not enough vibrato for my taste, however. Multiple mics help shape the sound in its space, a good value add.
Berlin- my favourite of the 3 in terms of its tonal qualities. the slowest however for legato- difficult to get more fluid quick passages accomplished. But I love the tone.
Click to expand...
This is a great summary. I don't have infinite hard drive space, but I love the tone of Berlin, and am thinking of just augmenting using their singles purchasing. I already own BBCSO Pro and Jaeger and Aaron Venture (at least I have something Infinite - and I quite like it). These libraries I have are all great (still learning to write original music because I get carried away in eclectic visions) but I am considering buying Metropolis Ark for the more trailer-ish intensity. VSL for some reason hasn't appealed to me but I think its partly because they don't invest enough in making good video presentations by people who know how to make a library sound good. East West seems to be better at that. Hollywood Orchestra, at roughly a terrabyte, may just find its way onto my drive rather than VSL, not because its actually worse than VSL, but because I don't hear a good stereo space in their sampling, which temps me beyond its actual value in reality (and the timbre and vibrato they choose in their demos is not my favorite). If I had a fast download speed I might do a test run, but alas I don't. (I bought Albion One, and LOVE that hall space & its still my go to if I want orchestral textures (but I can't get it to track rapid stacattos the way I want - yet), I've also bought a dozen expensive reverb tools [more to buy...] so I KNOW i can make up for a library that lacks space - but if I hear something that sounds raspy (simply because the presenter in the video didn't avoid showing that, which string samples typically have), Kirk Hunter will not get as much money from me. I guess I'm just kind of driven by impulsiveness.
 
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