Orchestral Tools - Monolith by Richard Harvey (AIR Studios)
- Thread starter Evans
- Start date
It is not particularly consistent to what I'd prefer a library to be. You can get very stumbly phrases sometimes in certain cases and that is just no good. Overall I'd say about 80-90% of it is ok. Within the dynamic layer you're in you will notice some definite variation between the 6 rr's available. How problematic will this end up? I am not sure, but if you're trying to stay between one or two dynamics, you're not going to get much of a purposefully rigid bed of percussion from it, it will be looser most of the time.
Processed instruments menu
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Henrik B. Jensen
Senior Member
This sounds damn good!!
I'd say this sounds more "present" than the base version/ Hans Zimmer mixes of HZ Perc, but the Professional Version's Alan Meyersen and JunkieXL mixes do the detail/"forward" sound just as well as the demos seem to indicate in Monolith.I always wanted to get HZ Percussion someday, been waiting for a good sale))) Now comes this..! Is there anyone here who has both and can compare??
I'd definitely recommend checking out the "Comparing Mixes" video on the HZ Perc Professional page.
HZ Perc is more expensive but also includes a very good Timpani, good Snare and Buckets and good metals and a tamtam. So you can pretty easily do a full "epic"/action percussion track using it without having to pull in other libraries, whereas with Monolith, you'd need to find metals/snares elsewhere.
I disagree with this characterisation. To my ears, the Tom Meyerson and Junkie XL close mics/mixes in HZ Perc are every bit as present and defined as the demos of Monolith. I don't own Monolith, so I can't do a true side-by-side, but I'd only really say Monolith sounds more present/defined than the Hans Zimmer and Geoff Foster mixes/mics.
The differences in sound between the Foster, Zimmer and Meyerson mic setups is actually pretty incredible and almost sounds like 3 different libraries.
I would also say "which to buy first" is highly dependent on workflow and existing libraries.
HZP also has metals/tympani/snare/buckets, whereas Monolith would require pulling those in from other libraries. If you already have those things covered by other Sine Libraries, it's not a big deal, but if you don't, it would definitely make for a slower and less intuitive workflow.
Henrik B. Jensen
Senior Member
Before making a buying decision between Hans Zimmer Percussion and this new OT library it’s worth remembering that there is something called biased and unbiased opinions.
When people have been making audio and/or video demo(s) for a company, they can pr. definition no longer be considered neutral in matters concerning that company, including when it comes to comparing a new product from this company (OT’s Monolith) with a similar product from a competing company (Spitfire’s HZP).
Not implying there’s anything wrong with having an opinion and sharing it, as long as people reading this thread are mindful about bias vs. unbias.
When people have been making audio and/or video demo(s) for a company, they can pr. definition no longer be considered neutral in matters concerning that company, including when it comes to comparing a new product from this company (OT’s Monolith) with a similar product from a competing company (Spitfire’s HZP).
Not implying there’s anything wrong with having an opinion and sharing it, as long as people reading this thread are mindful about bias vs. unbias.
KEM
The TENET Guy
I might just need to spend more time with Monolith but so far I still prefer HZP, it’s just a sound I know so well and have been working with for years now. The JXL mixes are the ones I’ve always used and right off the bat they’re much punchier and bigger sounding to my ears than Monolith is, but I’ll have to play around with the mic positions more before I make my full judgement on it
Melniks
New Member
Hey guys. Really love how this library sounds. Pretty much versatile in terms of sculpting tone with bunch of mics.
I've made short piece, 99% of percussion is Monolith. Just add a bit of tambourine on the top.
View attachment Monolith Demo.mp3
I've made short piece, 99% of percussion is Monolith. Just add a bit of tambourine on the top.
View attachment Monolith Demo.mp3
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The lack of high-end punch you're hearing might be due to the fact they've used leather heads on the drums rather than plastic. Fear not though - have you listened to the processed presets? I think you'll find what you're looking for in there;
KEM
The TENET Guy
Honestly never tried out the HZ mixes, I started using the JXL mixes as soon as I got it and stuck with those, but I could take a listen to both of them side by side and get back to you on how they differ and what things you could do to get similar results
You can't, really. You don't have access to the individual mics in the standard edition. You have to upgrade to Professional.
ridgero
Senior Member
With HZ01 you can.
100%. I assume all the guys doing official demos got paid (at least I hope none of them did it for free and/or for a free copy of the library!), and I also assume they would love to get paid again.
Yes. HZ Professional is basically a repackage of HZ01 & HZ03. HZ Standard edition is a cut down version with all the instruments but only the Hans Zimmer Close/Room/Surround mixes. Which are wonderful, BTW, but not as "in your face" as the Meyerson and JunkieXL close mixes.
syrinx
Senior Member
Unfortunately that one is "Collection only". There's the "Drums processed", which I guess contains the same instruments?
babylonwaves
Darth Fader
You should do so because some techniques are missing from the JXL mixes. All the mixes are different, and some instruments are so different that you could think they are entirely different instruments.
When you compare Monolith to HZP (Pro), you can hear that both are recorded in the same location. It has different instruments and playing techniques, but the distinct character of the hall is all over the samples. I don't mean that they're super wet. It's more like the character of the reflections shapes the basic tone similarly.
And, of course, both have different instruments and players. Yes, one could say that all big drums have the same sound anyway. But if you don't share that notion, there is not much overlap between those two libraries.
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mussnig
Senior Member
KEM
The TENET Guy
Definitely agree that you can really tell that the hall is the same between both libraries, and that’s a great thing as I just love that Air Lyndhurst sound and I’m glad it was captured well here and the libraries blend together very well. Also didn’t know there were missing techniques with the JXL mixes, thankfully that hasn’t been a problem for me as I find that the JXL mixes still have everything I need so I don’t feel like I’m missing anything
I know exactly what you mean and yeah it’s not ideal, if I’m doing something like straight 16 notes where I need to be accurate the predelay can start to build up and really throw off my rhythm, but if it’s a slower backbeat where I have time in between the notes then I don’t really feel like it’s a huge issue
James Brecknell
Better late than never ...
That's my impression, too. LAMP is among my favorite percussion libraries because of its close, wide, impactful approach. While this seems closer to that than other things I've heard recorded at Air Lyndhurst (and admittedly all else that I can think of is from Spitfire), this is that little bit more ambient without getting lost in the room.
