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Cinematic Studio Series VS Nucleus

That's a good question. I would probably lean more towards option A for now as I'm still learning how to orchestrate. I don't currently have any work in this field yet, but I'm hoping it turns into something and I've gotten some decent feedback from people I know who do this professionally. So i'm debating about whether I go with the cheaper all around option until I get better and get some actual work or if I just go balls to the wall now and get the creme.
Considering you're still in the early days Nucleus seems like the smarter buy. The CS series will always be there... And it's not like Nucleus is mediocre or limited in quality. It's leaps and bounds better than Albion, and while I have a few dedicated section libraries, as well as all of the Arks, Nucleus is often one of the 1st things I reach for... Even if I just want to flesh out an idea quickly it sounds absolutely good enough on its own for 9 out of 10 situations. (I still layer it with others but that's its own topic... Overall I find it layers nicely with all of my staple libraries...)

Basically in a desert island scenario you could totally get away with using just Nucleus and your clients or libraries wouldn't have any complaints.... Sure CSS wins on the finer points but if you're not doing that kind of work yet I personally think Nucleus is a great way to get something that won't break your bank, at the same time giving you room to fit something else in if you feel it's really necessary....

And while CSS is widely used and heavily loved there are the odd folks that don't like its tone... (That's the top gripe I see...) Basically even if you do lean toward the CS series I think the smartest move would be to start with CSS and see how you get on with it 1st vs just outright buying the current lineup...

Last thing... And I'm sure you're aware... You could always buy Nucleus lite as a tester of sorts... (Or Areia Lite, currently on sale for $79) Mind you N.L. is a lot 'liter' than the full version, especially when it comes to percussion, choir, and there's no solos... Don't base your impression of the full version based on the lite version's weaker instruments. I jumped in with Lite 1st and the percussion and choir are especially weak compared to the full version...

And, If strings are where you feel weakest, Areia Lite might be a good starting point where you don't have to feel like you lose your shirt if there were anything you weren't crazy about... (And bear in mind it's a lite version... ((I should mention I only have the full version of Areia... Not sure how the lite version is but can't imagine it's regrettable)) TLDR; either should give you a good idea of how you'd get on with their more expensive, bigger siblings..

Nucleus, Areia, and CSS are all great. IMO none of them are bad choices. Kontakt can become a very expensive obsession (as I'm sure you know), IME it's smarter to buy based on what you need currently vs what you think you might need in a couple years...

Good luck in deciding wherever you land!
 
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Considering you're still in the early days Nucleus seems like the smarter buy. The CS series will always be there... And it's not like Nucleus is mediocre or limited in quality. It's leaps and bounds better than Albion, and while I have a few dedicated section libraries, as well as all of the Arks, Nucleus is often one of the 1st things I reach for... Even if I just want to flesh out an idea quickly it sounds absolutely good enough on its own for 9 out of 10 situations. (I still layer it with others but that's its own topic... Overall I find it layers nicely with all of my staple libraries...)

Basically in a desert island scenario you could totally get away with using just Nucleus and your clients or libraries wouldn't have any complaints.... Sure CSS wins on the finer points but if you're not doing that kind of work yet I personally think Nucleus is a great way to get something that won't break your bank, at the same time giving you room to fit something else in if you feel it's really necessary....

And while CSS is widely used and heavily loved there are the odd folks that don't like its tone... (That's the top gripe I see...) Basically even if you do lean toward the CS series I think the smartest move would be to start with CSS and see how you get on with it 1st vs just outright buying the current lineup...

Last thing... And I'm sure you're aware... You could always buy Nucleus lite as a tester of sorts... (Or Areia Lite, currently on sale for $79) Mind you N.L. is a lot 'liter' than the full version, especially when it comes to percussion, choir, and there's no solos... Don't base your impression of the full version based on the lite version's weaker instruments. I jumped in with Lite 1st and the percussion and choir are especially weak compared to the full version...

And, If strings are where you feel weakest, Areia Lite might be a good starting point where you don't have to feel like you lose your shirt if there were anything you weren't crazy about... (And bear in mind it's a lite version... ((I should mention I only have the full version of Areia... Not sure how the lite version is but can't imagine it's regrettable)) TLDR; either should give you a good idea of how you'd get on with their more expensive, bigger siblings..

Nucleus, Areia, and CSS are all great. IMO none of them are bad choices. Kontakt can become a very expensive obsession (as I'm sure you know), IME it's smarter to buy based on what you need currently vs what you think you might need in a couple years...

Good luck in deciding wherever you land!
Thanks so much for your detailed advice and insight. I really appreciate it! Also I checked out your work. Awesome stuff man! If there's any other practical insight you might have on the business in general or even some constructive criticism of my practice work I would appreciate that!

https://www.johnnyoskam.com/filmcompositions
 
Just comparing BBCSO with Nucleus who are similar in price, BBCSO is just much better value.
That depends on what matters most. As mentioned, they omit string solos, which is a very odd and glaring omission (and a stated concern of the OP); they also don't have any ensembles. Yes it has a lot more articulations, so if those are really needed and solos and ensembles are less of a thing, BBCSO is probably the way to go.

CSS I've never used, but even if it's awesome it's SO expensive. For someone starting out, unless they have a lot more money than most starting out, I wouldn't recommend.
 
Nucleus as one of those purchases I keep coming back to. It actually have great all around sounds for strings, brass and woodwinds (I only use the classic mix though). It have AMAZING soloists (Oboe is my all time Oboe favourite and the Cello is quite good as well). The Choir is awesome if you are going for epic stuff as well. If you can live with the limited articulations set (and for now - I bet you can) I would go (and did go) for Nucleus.

One thing I would add - BBCSO is quite amazing as well in my opinion. I have both it and Nucleus and lately I've been doing more and more BBCSO than Nucleus but maybe because it's the shiny new toy :)
 
, you really can’t beat BBCSO Core as a starter library, especially after the latest patch
Did the patch improve the legato sound or something like that? I have cinematic studio series myself but I'm considering picking up BBCSO Core during the next 40% off sale cause I like the idea of having a full orchestra including percussion with a cohesive sound
 
Did the patch improve the legato sound or something like that? I have cinematic studio series myself but I'm considering picking up BBCSO Core during the next 40% off sale cause I like the idea of having a full orchestra including percussion with a cohesive sound
The new BBCSO legato sounds good to me, but I don’t have the most critical ear for that.
 
The more I get into saturation as a form of tone alteration, with something like HG-2MS or a few other well-regarded saturation units like Vertigo VSM-3 or apparently some of the work done by Fuse, the more I wonder whether the tone complaints people have about CSS can't be largely addressed with that. There is a demo floating around VI-C with a Starkiller mockup using Gulfoss and Vienna Exciter, and the sound is very bright and clear. Not crystal-clear, as there is some noise to the signal but I think with some playing around you can get some really fantastic results.

Anyway, hope you're enjoying whatever you ended up with (assuming you've already made your decision and I'm guessing it was for Nucleus), @johnnyboy. A good friend of mine has used Nucleus for about a year now as his first orchestral library and he's been doing very, very well with it, it sounds very good, his projects are sounding more and more professional by the month (the library won't hold you back from a professional, flexible sound in my opinion) and I can vouch that the oboe sounds really freaky good. I'm an oboist, it's a little unnerving how much expressiveness they managed to capture (and props to the oboist they recorded).

Cinematic Series is also a fantastic library, but with a definite cinematic, emotional bent to it. When you can afford it, you may find you enjoy working with both (should you decide you'd have a use for both). Nucleus I'm confident you will find to be very flexible until you decide whether you want to try more.
 
Perhaps it would be helpful for you to know what the Cinematic Series actually costs with the 30% loyalty discount.

CSS $399 ($299 during Black Friday in 2020)
once you have that or another $399 CS library.
CSSS $199
CSB $279
CSW $279

So $1156 to get everything, or $1056 if you wait for the sale to buy CSS, CSB or CSW.

Of course, after that you'll still need percussion but there are a lot of reasonably priced good ones out there. When the Cinematic Studio Percussion library comes out, you'll get the same 30% discount.
 
Hey johnnyboy, I can strongly recommend Cinematic Studio Series as the workhorse for your orchestral work. It never ceases to amaze me. Surely, there are a lot of other great choices for orchestral libraries. In my YouTube videos, I only display libraries that I seriously like. The cinematic studio series is a set of libraries I always come back to. Compare it to other sensational libraries here:





 
I like a lot of aspects of HOD but it's really not a great recommendation at the moment. If you really want Hollywood Orchestra Just get composer cloud and instantly have the Opus versions plus everything else in their catalog. The Play version is a complete dead end for now.
 
? Because?

Paying for a monthly subscription for anything but a short time makes zero sense IMO because you have to keep paying and paying and no matter how long you do it, you never own it. If you really want Hollywood Orchestra, buy it.
 
? Because?

Paying for a monthly subscription for anything but a short time makes zero sense IMO because you have to keep paying and paying and no matter how long you do it, you never own it. If you really want Hollywood Orchestra, buy it.
It's been discontinued, apparently, so buy it at your own risk
 
I think he is talking about the license key. it might become invalid (for new registrations).
A store might not have taken them offline in time to replace for Opus licenses, while the license servers from EW might have them invalidated the HOD licenses (again for new registrations).
 
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