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Orchestral Tools up to 63% off - which one

if you don't have any arks, ark 1 + 2 is a no brainer over 4. There is way more content there - and a lot more purpose.

ark 4 definitely seems like a supplemental library more than a stand-alone library. It's more the butter of the bread and butter.

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ofcourse the arks would have tons of differences over SSO + HZP. SSO has stronger winds and more flexible strings - but ark brass is incredible. SSB is the weakest link in SSO imo, and probably the biggest strength of the Arks.

however, for both percussion and strings - theres something very specific about the sound, which cannot be achieved without recording it with that purpose. Even though some of the ensemble sizes are similar with SSB, the style of playing is not, and certainly not how it was recorded. Having a bunch of timpani libraries won't mimic the sound of a timpani ensemble - for instance. And having a crap ton of basses compared to celli in octaves is it's own sound, and the ark series is played with a level of aggression not captured with spitfire stuff. Which is fine, because ark I doesn't do quiet and delicate -and that's what it adds to your palette.
 
I have nothing by OT, but love the sound of the teldex stage. I am considering the Ark 2 as I prefer non-epic but for the extra money would probably get the 1+2 bundle.

Can anyone point me towards demos that highlight the close mics more than the others. I want to see how dry these libraries can become and most demos/walk throughs I've seen don't spend much time on the mics.

Has anyone seen anything that could help me decide?
 
I would also love to know how dry these can be. Also what about Inspire 1 or 2? Don't see anything in the pdf about mic position(s).
 
I would also love to know how dry these can be. Also what about Inspire 1 or 2? Don't see anything in the pdf about mic position(s).
The Inspires only have 1 mic (actually I think it's a mix of several of the mic positions from the Berlin libraries but it's baked in). The Arks all have a close mic but it's not especially dry.
 
So if I want dry on the OT I should look at First Chairs. And over at SFA the BHCT or SCS?? Would First Chairs be a good match for the Bernard Hermann? Would the First Chairs be redundant with SCS, or would they add spice? Thanks all!!
 
So if I want dry on the OT I should look at First Chairs. And over at SFA the BHCT or SCS?? Would First Chairs be a good match for the Bernard Hermann? Would the First Chairs be redundant with SCS, or would they add spice? Thanks all!!
I don't know what you are trying to do exactly, but I think @Parsifal666 regularly mixes Ark 2 and BHCT.
 
I don't know what you are trying to do exactly, but I think @Parsifal666 regularly mixes Ark 2 and BHCT.

Both Arks and BHCT! :) Also Chris Hein (I use those high woodwinds more than any other to complement the Arks) and to a lesser degree the Hollywood series (mostly because I'm still pretty much breaking in Ark 2...Hollywood always makes a dramatic re-entrance into my music sooner or later).

I often have to keep the drier libraries down in terms of volume, and sometimes have to mess with the predelay on my reverb to make sure the dry fits with the wet. And I'm hyperconscious of orchestral layout when integrating.

So, though it can take some work/patience at times, dry libraries can go just fine (or better) with the OT stuff.
 
Got Symphonic Sphere, can't wait to test the trill orchestrator, would work great for textures. Also lots of useful articulations; I'll be using the trems a lot.

Which libraries are you using Sphere with? Do you use any eq? Reverb?
 
Still haven't bought anything....now I'm worried that Ark 1 is a part of a sonic trend which will sound old-fashioned soon anyway. This is what I'm telling myself in order to save 500 bucks...
Yes, after this, everybody will have it, so it will be all you hear everywhere. Since you want to be different, you should save the money and go buy a Sonokinetic Oud for 15 euros. Because hardly anyone uses an Oud. But it's cheap, so we will buy it. Just in case. :)
 
Yes, after this, everybody will have it, so it will be all you hear everywhere. Since you want to be different, you should save the money and go buy a Sonokinetic Oud for 15 euros. Because hardly anyone uses an Oud. But it's cheap, so we will buy it. Just in case. :)
Yes maybe but its really the context in which you use it that will separate you from the rest!!! I mean alot people record at AIR and have the same string players on the recording but the way they use them is different, sometimes!!!
 
Still haven't bought anything....now I'm worried that Ark 1 is a part of a sonic trend which will sound old-fashioned soon anyway. This is what I'm telling myself in order to save 500 bucks...
Arguably, Ark 1 was already a rather old-fashioned sound when it was released—their marketing evokes the film Metropolis and the sound world is generally the big, post-Wagnerian orchestral and operatic Austrian-German music from roughly 1900 to 1930 (well, to Carmina Burana). That's what I liked about initially—not the proximity to the contemporary epic but the evocation of the epic sound from that older world. Its biggest concessions to the contemporary epic—the rock band, the array of percussion hits, and the lack of upper woodwinds—are of varied success. The integration of percussion hits is a useful extension of the style and fits within the general aesthetic (think about Wagner's anvils, Mahler's hammer, or the extensive battery of percussion that Orff deploys). The rock band is neither here nor there and OT hasn't really pursued that potential. The lack of upper winds has been an issue—it's a fundamental part of the post-Wagnerian scoring palette and it's interesting to consider what the upper winds do in the post-Wagnerian orchestra, how the role of the upper woodwinds differs from the French and Russian/Soviet music of the same period, and why it is lacking in the contemporary epic sound. I could say something about the significance of muted brass and coloristic doublings as well, but I think I'll leave it there.
 
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