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EWQLSO Gold Percussion Vs Spitfire Percussion

Mark Schmieder said:
I had completely ignored Spitfire Percussion after buying it in a bundle that completed my early Spitfire collection a few years ago, not even knowing what was in it and assuming it was not a very deep library due to being "old" and a catch-all.

Due to this library being mentioned in some other threads recently, I finally got around to reviewing and annotating it in full tonight, and was blown away by how much of it is deep, broad, flexible, and better than almost anything out there for several instruments! Even the chromatic percussion is top-notch, and for that sort of thing I usually go to specialty single-instrument libraries.

What really made me happy though was the Anvils, as I use them a fair amount and need a LOT of variety in them. No one library will do for all projects, but the ones in Spitfire Percussion are the most varied of any library by far! The newer Hans Zimmer Pro is a bit better-recorded, but it only has a single articulation and pitch, which won't always be the one I need.

The one in Rhapsody Orchestral Percussion is also quite good and flexible, but not recorded nearly as well overall. It actually can serve as a good replacement for tired old synth drum type "trash" sounds.

I'm surprised anyone would compare this unfavourably with EWQLSO Gold, but perhaps I never went deep enough on that one either. I've long been put off by the Play interface as I find it so time-consuming to figure out what's really available articulation-wise and an efficient way to quickly review.
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Ok...sooooo although this thread started in 2012, what's the general view on spitfire percussion after all these years?

Does it still hold up against some of the newer libraries?

Not that the age thing should matter too much, if the sampling is good of course!
 
I'm still a big fan of the QLSO Platinum Perc...what it lacks in RR it makes up for in sheer musicality. That Marimba patch is magical.
 
Spitfire Percussion is a keeper. It's up with the best. It compares well to Cinesamples and Berlin - there are differences obviously in tone and coverage, so the different libraries have different strengths.
 
That's why I'm apologizing, because I didn't intend for it to resurrect closed arguments and the like -- I just thought it provided better context than starting a new thread; especially as there might not be many people specifically interested in Anvils, Castanets, and other oft-overlooked percussion instruments.

I went through my EWQL Percussion today (I have Platinum, which is the highest level), and thought it was a mixed bag, with nothing coming remotely near the top of the list but a lot more in the middle (vs. bottom) than I expected. And it's better than I thought it would be, but it fails to reach above middle-of-list due to velocity layers, sample size, etc. The raw recordings are quite good though overall, and some of them (including the Anvils) have a larger number of variations than many other libraries, even if I'm suspicious that some of them were time-stretched and pitch-shifted. :)

I almost bought Hollywood Percussion a few times on sale, but ultimately decided I had enough, until the bar got raised again recently, so I may look at the instrument list for that one again and see what all it covers. It's rare to find one library that does it all, and especially equally well. And as I've mentioned in other threads, often the vendor doesn't really understand the domain and so they just pick "whatevers" as their source instruments, often recording toys vs. pro instruments.
 
Mark Schmieder said:
That's why I'm apologizing, because I didn't intend for it to resurrect closed arguments and the like -- I just thought it provided better context than starting a new thread; especially as there might not be many people specifically interested in Anvils, Castanets, and other oft-overlooked percussion instruments.

I went through my EWQL Percussion today (I have Platinum, which is the highest level), and thought it was a mixed bag, with nothing coming remotely near the top of the list but a lot more in the middle (vs. bottom) than I expected. And it's better than I thought it would be, but it fails to reach above middle-of-list due to velocity layers, sample size, etc. The raw recordings are quite good though overall, and some of them (including the Anvils) have a larger number of variations than many other libraries, even if I'm suspicious that some of them were time-stretched and pitch-shifted. :)

I almost bought Hollywood Percussion a few times on sale, but ultimately decided I had enough, until the bar got raised again recently, so I may look at the instrument list for that one again and see what all it covers. It's rare to find one library that does it all, and especially equally well. And as I've mentioned in other threads, often the vendor doesn't really understand the domain and so they just pick "whatevers" as their source instruments, often recording toys vs. pro instruments.
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No need to apologize. People who get bent over old bumped threads usually have their panties in a twist.

HOP is awesome for clarity, but really lacks any kind of soul.
Seriously though, take a look at TS1. It's stupid cheap and well worth the dough!

Good luck!
 
Mike Fox said:
No need to apologize. People who get bent over old bumped threads usually have their panties in a twist.

HOP is awesome for clarity, but really lacks any kind of soul.
Seriously though, take a look at TS1. It's stupid cheap and well worth the dough!

Good luck!
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i dont like HOP (i only own the Gold edition so i could be bias). somehow, i prefer the old SO which has some really good sound. TS1 sounds better than HOP even though it's a dated library.
 
I just used the marimba from EWQLSO on a piece, and it's outstanding.

And I'm using the timps from it on another one - on the downbeats, but LADD's timps (which are sharper, probably harder mallets) on other beats.
 
constaneum said:
i dont like HOP (i only own the Gold edition so i could be bias). somehow, i prefer the old SO which has some really good sound.
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To me, that's because of SO's gorgeous hall sound. I usually prefer a drier sound that I can shape with my own reverb, but I can't get HOP to sound like the baked-in room in SO's percussion. I'm sure people with superior tinkering skills can get HOP to sound much, much better - but in terms of classical orchestral percussion, SO is still my "load patch, play, done" library.
 
I am still discovering things about Spitfire Percussion that are awesome. For instance, the Suspended Cymbals, which come in three pitches and have a lot of articulations as well as real-time playing control via dynamics (CC1) and other factors. You can even choke the hit.
 
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