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I have (and love) Ark I, and am strongly considering 2 and 3, given these prices.

My question, for those who have Ark 2 is: I already own Tundra. They appear to share significant overlap. Is there sufficient difference between the two to justify buying Ark 2? If so, how?

(I have Genesis, so I doubt I need Ark 2's choir patch)
Tundra is my most used library to date. In a nutshell, the Arks are similar in having a slightly off-center sound. However, the Arks are more dramatic and "sweeter" compared to what I perceive in Tundra as subtle and esoteric. The Arks can play nicely at low levels like Tundra, but they can get much louder past what works well with Tundra. It's Arvo Part versus Hans Zimmer in a quiet mood.

As far as overlap goes, I've been sitting here doodling with Ark patches and I haven't found anything that's especially Tundra-like. They're definitely complimentary and the room sound is very similar so they should mix nicely.
 
Tundra is my most used library to date. In a nutshell, the Arks are similar in having a slightly off-center sound. However, the Arks are more dramatic and "sweeter" compared to what I perceive in Tundra as subtle and esoteric. The Arks can play nicely at low levels like Tundra, but they can get much louder past what works well with Tundra. It's Arvo Part versus Hans Zimmer in a quiet mood.

As far as overlap goes, I've been sitting here doodling with Ark patches and I haven't found anything that's especially Tundra-like. They're definitely complimentary and the room sound is very similar so they should mix nicely.
Thanks for your insight, Bill. I'm looking forward to getting Ark 2.
 
I chronically get screwed on these type of sales. I already own all three Arks, inspire 1 and string runs. I was looking at inspire 2 when it came out but didn't buy it. Now the good news is I can get it for half off but for only around $125 bucks more I can get the entire Hollywood Orchestra.

Being an "early adapter" especially for a hobbyist is not the most clever thing to do.
 
I chronically get screwed on these type of sales. I already own all three Arks, inspire 1 and string runs. I was looking at inspire 2 when it came out but didn't buy it. Now the good news is I can get it for half off but for only around $125 bucks more I can get the entire Hollywood Orchestra.

Being an "early adapter" especially for a hobbyist is not the most clever thing to do.
Go for Hollywood Orchestra. You've pretty much got Inspire 2 covered with the OT stuff you've got, well pretty much anyway. HO gives you a whole different universe of sound, but is harder to use.

HO sometimes requires track-per-articulation work and heavy modwheel riding for best results. You could in theory duplicate a lot of the Ark sounds with HO, but you'd really have to work at it and that would be an ongoing, inspiration killing chore. But used for what it was designed for, HO is soundwise still first rate and the most amazing bargain out there when it is on sale, which is often. And it needs 663gb of disc space. But to be fair it falls down a bit on legatos and an inconsistent articulation switching paradigm.

Early adopters know that the early bird gets the worm. But ya gotta like worms.
 
Out of curiosity if you had to pick been the ark bundle and inspire, which would you go with, and why?
 
i'm still amazed with EWHO - especially for the 2018 price.

there are keyswitch patches in HO.

I got Ark 3 at intro, paid full for Ark 1.

And now Ark 2.

It's been a bumper year, and honestly - i don't need much else.

my work here is complete.

i bid adieu.

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Out of curiosity if you had to pick been the ark bundle and inspire, which would you go with, and why?
Compare the articulation lists on the OT website.

The Arks offer a lot more stuff for relatively little more money. As a ballpark comparison, the two Inspires take up about 17gb of disc space, Arks 1 and 2 together take up more than 120gb. Of course they differ aesthetically, but I think it's not too much of a stretch to say you can kind of get Inspire type sounds from the Arks, but not so much the other way around...have to think about that a little, but it might be true.
 
Compare the articulation lists on the OT website.

The Arks offer a lot more stuff for relatively little more money. As a ballpark comparison, the two Inspires take up about 17gb of disc space, Arks 1 and 2 together take up more than 120gb. Of course they differ aesthetically, but I think it's not too much of a stretch to say you can kind of get Inspire type sounds from the Arks, but not so much the other way around...have to think about that a little, but it might be true.

Great advice!
 
Out of curiosity if you had to pick been the ark bundle and inspire, which would you go with, and why?
If you already have a basic orchestra, then the Ark bundle without question, as it will be a useful supplement. The choirs are wonderful and both libraries have a lot of patches, especially the brass, that I constantly draw into work with other libraries. If you don't already have a basic orchestra, I might still go with the Arks just because they remain incredibly useful as supplements to other libraries, whereas I've found very little use for Inspire 1 (though many enthuse about the flautando strings of Inspire 2). As a standalone set, the Arks are still quite versatile but they lack high woodwinds, and personally I would need to fill that lacuna immediately.
 
Compare the articulation lists on the OT website.

The Arks offer a lot more stuff for relatively little more money. As a ballpark comparison, the two Inspires take up about 17gb of disc space, Arks 1 and 2 together take up more than 120gb.

That's what has me 2nd guessing going in on the Arks. For me, bigger doesn't necessarily equal better. I'll take 2.5GB of LASS Lite over 300GB of Hollywood strings any day. #hottake
 
Go for Hollywood Orchestra. You've pretty much got Inspire 2 covered with the OT stuff you've got, well pretty much anyway. HO gives you a whole different universe of sound, but is harder to use.

HO sometimes requires track-per-articulation work and heavy modwheel riding for best results. You could in theory duplicate a lot of the Ark sounds with HO, but you'd really have to work at it and that would be an ongoing, inspiration killing chore. But used for what it was designed for, HO is soundwise still first rate and the most amazing bargain out there when it is on sale, which is often. And it needs 663gb of disc space. But to be fair it falls down a bit on legatos and an inconsistent articulation switching paradigm.

Early adopters know that the early bird gets the worm. But ya gotta like worms.


Thanks Bill,

I also have the original EW Gold and gold Pro bundles in Kontakt format and use the strings and percussion quite a bit. I love the small footprint of an articulation like marcato_long. The only issue I have with Gold Pro is that the samples are pretty darn wet. I even thought of buying Platinum Plus to get the same articulation but with the drier mic position. But for, ironically less money I can get the Diamond version of HO. Now I just have to ante up for another SSD drive to install it.

Even in today's world of massive options I don't see a better bang for your buck than HO.

Darren

PS sorry to all for going off topic.
 
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