Need a new big-ass VST Library

[HoboKa]

Hey guys, I think I'm in the shop for another VST mega-library.  My (Play) Composer Cloud is not rendering properly, often with tempo glitches, artifacts and not proper reverb space and delay, sounding VERY dry etc.  I can sometimes get it to work if I throw it on a BUS, and use MIDI Outputs channels, but it's pretty on and off.  Not exactly the best workflow for my needs.  So...Should I grab Komplete instead or look elsewhere? 

 

[djpretzel 🎮]

I would always recommend Komplete first, above all other mega do-it-all libraries/collections - Reason Rack *is* great, Arturia V-Collection *is* great, but Komplete feels the most essential and capable of handling pretty much anything.

[Garpocalypse]

If Composer Cloud isn't working for you it definitely would be worth it to see what you need to do to get it fixed.  I've been using EWCC now for 4 years and have never run into these issues between Sonar and Studio1. Then again I never update PLAY unless it's actually worth it to do so. 

I'll concur with DJP on Komplete.  I only just made the purchase for Komplete Ultimate during the sale this summer and wish i did it years ago.  I could have been using Massive, FM8 and Absynth back when they were popular :/ Really though having a full version of Komplete lets you get a lot of great or or obscure instruments from smaller companies for relatively cheap.

As the sale is currently over, If you don't feel like dropping a ton of money on Komplete Ultimate and would rather make smaller purchases over time you can always join the good folks over at r/audioproductiondeals.  Warning that this sub WILL give you gear acquisition syndrome.   

 

 

[Argle]

On 8/26/2020 at 12:37 PM, Garpocalypse said:

you can always join the good folks over at r/audioproductiondeals.  Warning that this sub WILL give you gear acquisition syndrome. 

I wish I hadn't seen this.

[Garpocalypse]

15 hours ago, Argle said:

I wish I hadn't seen this.

I check it at least once a day.  My reddit app has become my dedicated audio production sale notifier. It's a very awesome sub with a dedicated moderator. I've come across vst's and plugins I would have had no clue existed otherwise. 

[HoboKa]

On 8/24/2020 at 8:09 PM, djpretzel said:

I would always recommend Komplete first, above all other mega do-it-all libraries/collections - Reason Rack *is* great, Arturia V-Collection *is* great, but Komplete feels the most essential and capable of handling pretty much anything.

Woah...I didn't get a notification.  Well, that is my second go-to option.  Someone on the Forum recommended it to me a long time ago and suggested I buy who the whole thing rather than parts, b/c it'd save money.  I wish I listened to him back then.  I made some real poor VST decisions on lackluster deals...until Omnisphere 2 and Composer Cloud (which I'm KIND of getting to work right now).

 

On 8/26/2020 at 10:37 AM, Garpocalypse said:

If Composer Cloud isn't working for you it definitely would be worth it to see what you need to do to get it fixed.  I've been using EWCC now for 4 years and have never run into these issues between Sonar and Studio1. Then again I never update PLAY unless it's actually worth it to do so. 

I'll concur with DJP on Komplete.  I only just made the purchase for Komplete Ultimate during the sale this summer and wish i did it years ago.  I could have been using Massive, FM8 and Absynth back when they were popular ? Really though having a full version of Komplete lets you get a lot of great or or obscure instruments from smaller companies for relatively cheap.

As the sale is currently over, If you don't feel like dropping a ton of money on Komplete Ultimate and would rather make smaller purchases over time you can always join the good folks over at r/audioproductiondeals.  Warning that this sub WILL give you gear acquisition syndrome.   

 

 

I suspect that I might need a Windows 10 Machine with more updated Sound Cards and newer Processor etc etc.  Maybe my USB ports are dying.  I found some work arounds to get EWCC to work better-ish now.  Sometimes it has latency problems with drum kits, but when I fart around with processing methods, it eventually renders the way I want.  Yeah, Komplete is looking more and more tentalizing.  Maybe this X-Mas :3

Edited September 20, 2021 by HoboKa

[Master Mi]

Yeah, I guess a big big bundle of Komplete from Native Instruments might be one of the best choices for a wide variety of really sophisticated and realistic VSTi sample libraries with lots of instruments and synthesizers.
And yes, you might have to upgrade your system to Windows 10 or higher if you want to install and use the newest Komplete bundles.

I'm still a big fan of a very stable former Windows version - and I guess, I won't change my nicely running system in the next years.

Not sure if your question is still up to date.
But if it is, you might also have a look at the pretty well-resourced Independence Pro Premium Suite (which is around 300 bucks and still works perfectly with former Windows versions like Windows 7 - at least I use it since Windows 7, although the newer specifications say that it requires Windows 10 or Windows 11 - but the content didn't change since then).

With the Independence Pro Premium Suite version you get a highly complex sampler ( quite a paradise for sound designers) and around 70 GB of various VSTis and VST plugin content.
The instruments are really well-sampled, they sound absolutely realistic, contain lots of articulations and you might find a bunch of instruments and a few synthesizers for nearly each genre - no matter if you are looking for basic stuff like acoustic and electronic drum kits, acoustic and electric guitars, acoustic and electric basses, acoustic and electric pianos, strings, brass and common woodwinds or further stuff.
It also contains some pretty rare and exotic VST instruments, like ethnic drums, industrial percussion, a pipe organ, different saxophones, oriental flutes, a waterphone, a rainmaker, a bell tower, a cow tin, chimes, a gamelan, triangle and anvil sets, barrels, taiko drums and a basic set of really good electronic synthesizers.

All in all, it's a really big collection of several hundred well-sampled and very realistic VSTis and synthesizers.
The only instruments I would probably miss in the Independence Pro Premium Suite collection might be a pan flute, a harp and maybe a bagpipe or an accordion.

If you wanna listen to some samples of the huge library, check out this link and click on the "listening symbol" in the top right corner of the pictures for the different categories:

https://www.magix.com/int/music/independence/libraries/

...

If you are especially looking for a greater collection of electronic synthesizers, you might be really satisfied with Titan 2.
It contains nearly every important synths (around 12500 synths presets from 266 synthesizers in total) which have been used since the 70s, 80s, 90s and in the modern age.
It's some really huge stuff of content - I got it several years ago and I have only managed listening to around 50 % of the whole content with the 12500 synth presets.
 

If you want to check the interface, the synth categories and if you wanna listen to some of the synth presets in Titan 2, you might check out this YouTube link: