Orchestral Tools Metropolis Ark 4 - Elite Orchestral Forces

[MillsMixx]

I listened to both walkthrus and it sounds awesome to me. Don't understand the criticism, but that's me. Compared to BHCT i also have, it seems they sound very different. Between ark 1, 2, 3, Spitfire symohonic orchestra, chamber strings, BHCT, tundra etc - can't think of any of my libraries that can duplicate the sounds coming from ark 4.

True. The only thing that can duplicate the sound of Ark 4 are the Arks themselves. At least from what I'm experiencing. I own 1, 2, & 3. While watching the 2nd walk-through and I actually went through and pulled up same/similar instruments from the my other Ark libraries. (for example Horn Wagner Tuba & Trombone) and played them in combo together to see if I could create the sound of Ark 4.

Spot on my friends! Smaller Ark 4 sections aside they sound pretty damn close! Close enough to justify saving 400 bucks. Sure there are quite a few other articulations but honestly 1, 2, & 3 have you covered. Especially 1 & 2. Ark 3 is pretty bombastic (but in a beautiful way).

Still I can't help think I might be kicking myself later if I don't pick this one up. Next year there will be a blank space in my Kontakt library tab when 5 rolls around lol. And of course its arranged and presented beautifully like the others with their districts...and the choir offerings. wow.

Unlike a lot of comments I actually like "mixed or blended" instrument combos similar to Spitfire's BHCT. We've all spent time I'm sure mixing and blending various instruments from our libraries and maybe even creating Multis, but since this is presented for us in a nice well thought out package (by people who know a hell of a lot more about orchestral combinations than I do) it's pretty cool and a welcome addition. I see a lot more future libraries going this route in days ahead.

 

[Silence-is-Golden]

I appreciate the concept they're going for in these combinations, creating new colours that should be viewed as new instruments. I have a feeling that we may find more use out of these specific combos than anticipated, as the timbral qualities of many of these combinations seem to be diverse enough to play an important role in a variety of situations

in terms of texture/colours yes, they indeed could find use. And being recorded as they are its hard to "reproduce" with seperate sampled instruments layered together (but possible to some degree).

In my experience the greatest downfall with the combos is that they are limited by either: the overlapping range of the instruments, and/or the chosen sampled range of the instruments. This becomes an obstacle when the piece you are creating in a specific key asks for a melodic or chord structure that is (just) outside the range of the provided combo.

Nonetheless the combo's themselves provide new orchestration idea's that doesn't require the purchase of Ark4.

To me the strings are the main attraction

 

[MartinH.]

Yes their choir sounds are among the best and also a really strong selling point for IV. I could see them purposely never doing a dedicated choir, and doing several more arcs, little by little completing their "choir library" with each arc!

I think that's quite possible. The Arks seem to be a series that is designed so that they complement each other, but aren't very complete on their own. So I'll doubt we'll ever see an "Ark 5: The complete choir", because that would be "too universal" as a standalone choir library for someone who doesn't own any of the other Arks, and has too much overlap for people who do. That would rather be "Berlin choirs" I think. My bets for Ark 5 are either focus on aleatoric fx or evolving orchestral textures.

 

[Zoot_Rollo]

When is Ark 5 coming out?

Loyalty discount?

 

[Parsifal666]

This might be a Black Friday purchase for next year...maybe. I just don't see myself needing this except for that bit of inspiration coming from a new library.

Berlin Woodwinds is far more of a priority for me...

 

[jules]

When is Ark 5 coming out?

Loyalty discount?

Once a year. As locusts. So next stop is december 2019.

 

[zimm83]

I listened to both walkthrus and it sounds awesome to me. Don't understand the criticism, but that's me. Compared to BHCT i also have, it seems they sound very different. Between ark 1, 2, 3, Spitfire symohonic orchestra, chamber strings, BHCT, tundra etc - can't think of any of my libraries that can duplicate the sounds coming from ark 4.

+1

 

[MartinH.]

Once a year. As locusts. So next stop is december 2019.

Speaking of locusts, maybe it's gonna be Ark 5: The orchestral swarm. Huge section sizes with unusual articulations.

 

[Brian Nowak]

I guess it just depends on what kinds of sounds interest different people. To me I do think it all sounds really good ... but I just personally don't see the utility in just about any of the "combo" patches. The strings and the choirs are what seem like they'd be really useful to me. I think many others feel similarly. As such I think the criticism by and large is less about the sound itself and more about the utility of that sound for one's personal use, if you get what I'm saying.

Yes, and a part of me does wonder if I'm just being a bit too hard on the release as a way of avoiding wanting to buy it - ha!

It's not that those instrument pairings don't sound good. It's just that those pairings have a very particular identity and I think about how many times I can refer to those color choices before I start to sound like I'm making poor arrangement choices as a composer.

Thus, I would have to be very careful and choosy about how I would use roughly half of this library. It's not like having 9 French horns, 3 bass trombones, or even octave strings. They are incredibly particular sounds that, if referenced too often, will haunt me.

 

[jbuhler]

My bets for Ark 5 are either focus on aleatoric fx or evolving orchestral textures.

This seems to be what Tine Macro is. Indeed I’m still convinced that the idea for Time Macro emerged from the initial discussions on what Ark 4 should be. In any case, I find Time Macro fits nicely with the other Arks and offers me more in the Ark sound world as I understand it than does Ark 4. Still waiting to be convinced that Ark 4 will be worth the price to me.

 

[richhickey]

Regarding the Berlin series, after listening to the strings,
I feel like they might make Berlin Chamber Strings. If they are, they need to implement that aggressive bowing they have in Ark 4 and of course power legato as well.

The strings sound nice in this library, although I'm not ready to spend $400 just on strings.
But I would be interested in a dedicated string library which sounds like this. (and I thought I had enough string libraries....)

+1 Berlin Chamber Strings would be an instabuy for me. 4/4/3/3/2 ?

 

[ism]

I’m surprisingly convinced by what I’m hearing in Ark 4. The other Arks are strike me as perfectly nice to have epic libraries - but not doing epic myself, they’ve never felt essential (maybe the exception is Ark 2 choirs) especially at their crazy price points. Ark 4 though - and I’m surprised that my initial skepticism has faded - really does feel like a real innovation on solid, and unexpected, concept.

Not something I would have thought I needed, and still not essential enough to buy at that price (especially when I would probably never use any of the brass, percussion, keyboards etc of any of the arks). But still, I’m quite convinced that there’s something unique here that I would really love to have.

It seems a reasonable theory that Time Macro evolved out of Ark 4 brainstorming. And I’d add that for all it can’t escape (interesting and valuable) comparisons with certain Spitfire libraries, I can see now that it’s also a direct descendent of Ark 3 , and maintains a very distinct OT vision. It really not as similar to Orchestral swarm as it first appears, for instance. And it works - both conceptually and sonically - amazing well with the spitfire libs, even if I haven’t quite got my head fully around the conceptual side of exactly why it works so well.

Ark 4 though - I don’t think I would use it quite the way it seems to be intended. It strikes me that bits of it could be used for subtleties that don’t really fit with the agressive epic ethos that runs through the marketing. I have the same sense with Ark 2. I’d love to have them just to experiment with how they would work in non-epic work. But this would be an expensive, experiment and, there’s probably better investments for non-epic work to be made (like, gosh I hope they’ll have a sale on Winds exp b).


Still, this NI sale suggests that the market is changing, perhaps even dramatically. So perhaps they’ll find ways to segment the market, or expand it, or something, that afford people like myself an entry into the OT world. Time Macro was a pretty good start.

 

[jbuhler]

Ark 4 though - I don’t think I would use it quite the way it seems to be intended. It strikes me that bits of it could be used for subtleties that don’t really fit with the agressive epic ethos that runs through the marketing. I have the same sense with Ark 2. I’d love to have them just to experiment with how they would work in non-epic work. But this would be an expensive, experiment and, there’s probably better investments for non-epic work to be made (like, gosh I hope they’ll have a sale on Winds exp b).

The overblown articulations sound very nice, as do the choral shouts, and my initial impression is that the strings will turn out to be the most useful of the Ark strings. If I end up getting it, it will almost certainly be for those things....

I don't do that much epic stuff either—at least not by the current meaning of the term—but I love the sound world of Austrian-German music 1900-1930, and the Arks are an excellent base for that.

If you don't already have it, you might also look at Sphere, which has all kinds of nice fingered tremolos through the trill orchestrator, and the sound has always struck me as more of the French impressionist line refracted through Disney's orchestration practice than either the Berlin or especially the Ark series.

 

[sostenuto]

The overblown articulations sound very nice, as do the choral shouts, and my initial impression is that the strings will turn out to be the most useful of the Ark strings. ***************
If you don't already have it, you might also look at Sphere, which has all kinds of nice fingered tremolos through the trill orchestrator, and the sound has always struck me as more of the French impressionist line refracted through Disney's orchestration practice than either the Berlin or especially the Ark series.

Without a 'pressing' project, or mainstream focus …… and …. having Ark 1 & 2 , do you feel it reasonable 'now' that order of Ark 3 & 4 acquisition is not so important ?
Sphere is no on list, at current, attractive cost.

 

[whiskers]

Without a 'pressing' project, or mainstream focus …… and …. having Ark 1 & 2 , do you feel it reasonable 'now' that order of Ark 3 & 4 acquisition is not so important ?
Sphere is no on list, at current, attractive cost.

Wondering if Sphere would be too redundant to Time MACRO

 

[sostenuto]

Solid question ! Also have Time Macro and failed to consider this.

 

[whiskers]

Solid question ! Also have Time Macro and failed to consider this.

Seems to be a lot of overlap with harps and glissando, etc., But unsure

 

[jbuhler]

Without a 'pressing' project, or mainstream focus …… and …. having Ark 1 & 2 , do you feel it reasonable 'now' that order of Ark 3 & 4 acquisition is not so important ?
Sphere is no on list, at current, attractive cost.

For me, I would say Arks 3 & 4 are not so important. Ark 3 is harder to say though since I have it. And I admit that it is incredibly fun to take out those multis now and then. But as I've said I don't find I use it much. Others on the forum, however, swear by it, so I think for some styles of music it can be an essential tool. I'm still assessing Ark 4, which has some very good content along with its more peculiar content (and even that sounds good, except for the power legato which I didn't like in any of the instruments), but at the moment I'm leaning against buying Ark 4 as I think other libraries will be more valuable to me.

I like Sphere and the current NI price is excellent, but it's more an auxiliary library for doing some things like fingered tremolo that other libraries don't generally have.

 

[jules]

Speaking of locusts, maybe it's gonna be Ark 5: The orchestral swarm. Huge section sizes with unusual articulations.

Yes, i realy would like to see them explore some unusual territories with the fifth installment !

 

[jbuhler]

Seems to be a lot of overlap with harps and glissando, etc., But unsure

Sphere has a fully sampled harp—it's not my favorite harp but it gets the job done and it has some nice stuff in it—so it's quite different from the one in Time Macro, where it is doubled with vibe (a combination that is quite marvelous and very different and more successful, I think, from the kind of combinations OT is trying to do in Ark 4). The string and woodwind articulations in Sphere are pretty normal—longs, shorts, etc., but no legato—but for the strings they have a bunch of other articulations. The TO patches are the ones that give you the fingered tremolo up to a fifth for each section of strings and the woodwind ensemble. I also very much like the trill sweeps, the sul pont trem and trills, and the harmonic trem. Some of these articulations appear in various forms in Time Macro, but they are sectioned out in Sphere in the usual way: violins, violas, cellos, basses (though only one section of violins).