Xenon Odyssey Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 alright, I'm looking to find some good quality orchesta soundfonts. Since i now have a computer that can use them, i won't mind dropping some money for them (depending on the price, that is). if you would like to here what i can do NOW, click here to hear my works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Souliarc Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Don't you mean www.myspace.com/xdyssey ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emura Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 alright, I'm looking to find some good quality orchesta soundfonts. Since i now have a computer that can use them, i won't mind dropping some money for them (depending on the price, that is).if you would like to here what i can do NOW, click here to hear my works. EastWest: http://www.soundsonline.com/ These guys are pretty much industry standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DZComposer Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 What is your price range? If you're willing to pay, go above Sound Font and get an entry-level sample library. One of the better low-cost sample sets is the Garritan Personal Orchestra * http://www.garritan.com ). $200 US Garritan also has an upcoming general MIDI set for $150. EastWest has the silver editition of their orchestra ( http://www.soundsonline.com ) $195 Expanded editition (Pro XP) currenty on sale at $295. List is over $500. Both include a sample player and have a pretty decent sound. GPO, I think, is better value as it comes with an 8-instance host that allows you to use 64 instruments, unlike EWQLSO for which you need a 3rd part host if you wish to use more than one instance (8 instruments). I own GPO and have used it as my main library until I got EWQLSO Gold Pro XP ($900). I have been satisfied with it. GPO's drawbacks are that it uses a nonstandard method for dynamics control and that there are not section samples. You have to build sections with individual instruments (uses more RAM). It is advisable to have an ASIO capable soundcard and at least a gig of RAM for these libraries. There are others out there, such as the Advanced Orchestra (though that is a litle more expensive and IMO lesser quality). That's on sounds online as well. For the mid-range, there is EWQLSO Gold (Sounds online), Miroslav, VSL Opus, and others. These will cost you between $500-$1000 and may or may not have players. I know that EWLSO Gold and Miroslav do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FM Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Garritan has some advantages, and I think as an aid to composing it might be better than EWQLSO Silver. But in terms of sound, I prefer Silver immensley. You have to ask yourself what you want - are you going to want to use the sounds to help to give you a more accurate idea of sound of the ensemble you're writing for? Garritan might be a better bet. Even with EWQLSO, I still usually write with general midi and then apply the samples afterwards using Cubase and Kontakt. I find that there are only a handful of samples that are really useful "out of the box" - the rest take tweaking. But if you're willing to spend the time, and care mainly about the final sound, I think Silver would be a better bet. There's also the issue of the ensemble you're writing for. The entire EWQLSO line was designed for the sound of a very large ensemble, wheras Garritan naturally lends itself to smaller ensembles. Both can be bent to do the opposite, but it does tend to show in the demos that are avalible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanjika Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 (sorry for not responding to your PM dude..I'll answer here) If you have the money to do so, I would forget all of the sample sets right now and get Kontakt 2. This will open up so many possibilities for your music (orchestral and other styles). The VSL library thats included is pretty adequite for a starter set, and is especially flexible as a library because it's sound can be molded into many different things. But, as most "normal" orchestral libraries do, it takes a little time and knowledge to be able to get things sounding good. Also, anything is possible with most libraries, even if you hate the sound. You could turn a "small" sounding library into a monster orchestra with a few scripts and the proper use of reverb. QLSO's horribly tinny horns in the maximum velocity could be remidied in seconds, you could ensemble GPO's strings without opening more than 2 patches (instead of like, eight). If you go with an entry level library, Silver is an okay choice, but it's pretty easy to reach the limits of what it has in terms of articulations, and color of sound. It totally lacks the power and effect of Gold/Platinum versions once your really hear them, but it's effective enough. It's also probably one of the easiest to use out of box, but sounds quite generic. GPO is fine, and if you like solo instruments, the ability to customize the size of your ensemble (although annoying at times) it's a good choice. Recording quality wise, QLSO wins. Both of those are limited as the included Kontakt players suck. Why do they suck? No editing capabilites beyond basic ADHSR, volume, pitch, and some effects that are rivaled by most free plugins. They also hog the HELL out of RAM, DFD or not. There are a few other good options, like Pete Siedlaczeck's Classic Collection, which I own and use many parts of. It has like 5 libraries in one, including the Extended AO. VERY useful phrases can add lots of realism. Before you say "But I don't use loops", Let me tell you that's it's not anything beyond runs, chords, and grace notes. AO is very similar to VSL in ensemble size, but slightly more primitive. It does have a few rare things, like good woodwind ensembles, and a GREAT piano. Another advantage, is that this is a very computer friendly library. Id doesn't suck up tons of RAM, even with the Kontakt player, but that might be different for you. Again, it's not going to give you a big good sound out of box. It has a learning curve like most libraries. So, my reccomendation is get Kontakt 2 if you're serious, and you'll learn how much more it is rather than the name of the samples. If you just want orchestral sounds to use, you can get an entry level library and be just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uboichi2 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 I'm using GPO and I'm pretty satisfied with it. That is of course because EWQL is not an option for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prasa_U. Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 I've had experience with both GPO and EWQLSO, I would say that of the two low cost products there, GPO (only 1 version) and EWQLSO Silver, I think you get a better deal with GPO. EWQLSO Silver is inconsistent, some of the samples are really great but some are not that great, whereas GPO is consistent across the board, and also includes a lot more then the barebones EWQLSO silver. Anyways, on a low budget I reccomend GPO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FM Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 I most heartily agree with what Kanjika said about Kontakt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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