@@ArrenGaresto No full section control (e.g. violins, violas, cellos basses). Instead it has combinations (e.g. French Horns + Celli). So eventually, you'll have to buy something else, too. Might as well get an all-in-one orchestra will full section control in the first place imo.
Kevin, you have really outdone yourself! This may now be the BEST beginner library review video on the entire youtube! I wish i had this video 2 years ago, i would probably have made different choices.
@@Clasam09, several years ago, hollywood orchestra, and my computer couldn't run it. Then I bought nucleus 2 years ago. And I finally started learning. Now I want that more classical sound, but my PC STILL can't run HO-OPUS. So I was considering BBCSO, but the video made me want SSO.
@@Clasam09 I don't know. At the time i bought the silver edition cause it was cheapest. I didn't know much about any other Vsts either. I just know i didn't like the sound cause I wanted something "epic", and HO didn't sound "epic". And there were so many articulations i had never heard of, was impossible to understand. I Upgraded to Opus cause I thought the interface looked easier. And it was. But still overwhelming. Not a good purchase for a beginner, at all. But IF you like the sound, and have a supercomputer, and experience making mockups. Then it's likely very good.
Thanks for this comparison. Trick I use on BBCSO Pro - Close mics only, add your fave reverb to the section bus, put some saturation,compression and exciter on individual tracks. With the right settings on the effects, I can come very close to that edge you get from Nucleus. That said, I wish I’d discovered SSO or the VSL stuff before I spent money on BBCSO Pro. Now I’m broke lol.
I would like to add Project Sam to this “beginner” list. I own the entire Ark series including the BBC Pro. BUT I constantly find myself going back to Project Sam for a quick inspiration. Essentials 1 & 2 will cover you for almost anything. And if you wanted to take it further, there’s also Symphobia and other upscale libraries. One of my favorite things about Project Sam is that they constantly upgrade their older libraries. Nothing is ever considered deadware. Not only that, they have the beat-sync technology that makes life a lot easier. For a beginner, you couldn’t go wrong with them.
@ Agree. One of the best GUI’s out there. I love being able to stack combinations instantly. And then in the advanced panel, quickly selecting an additional note to create harmonies for any patch makes things quite interesting. All of it super fast and inspiring. Yes, it might not be ideal for mixing, but fleshing out a piece quickly and then separating it later on with other libraries if needed for a more serious mix is quite doable. And fun. :)
@@Tyrell_Corp2019 This approach to work doesn't make sense. Spending money to make a model, and then replacing everything... is wasting money. To do that, it is better to buy the "serious" library (who knows what is meant by this, talking about Symphobia as if it were a toy), and make the model directly. In electronic music there was this wrong approach back in 2005. I remember producers saying that they made a track in Cubase, and then mixed it in Logic or Pro Tools, which were "serious" tools. Today almost no one does that. Born in Ableton, ends in Ableton. Born in FL Studio, ends in FL Studio. It seems to me that the tool is not the problem.
@@marcelochagra3307 The majority of orchestral libraries are specialized or pre-orchestrated for quick arrangements. Tuttis, chords, runs, etc. If you have the ability to quickly mock up over 200 individual parts in BBC?? Go for it. Or give Hans Zimmer a call. I have dozens of libraries. So I'm not just pushing it because I don't know. That said- Project Sam is by far the best for mocking an entire score. To boot - it does sound great. It just tends to have more of trailer quality vibe. But not all of them.
I own BBC SO Core but here for me, when it comes to sound, the VSL Synchron Prime is the clear winner. But it's like buying a TV in a store. When you see/hear a comparison, you say to yourself, "This is better." At home without comparison, you won't recognize it. With sound libraries, it's even more complicated/simpler because we cannot compare sound of all articulations or mics in Pro version.
This video is very much appreciated. I'm on the fence whether or not to pull the trigger on one of these, and the side-by-side direct comparisons are invaluable. Thank you!
I'm here mainly for interest's sake, as I already have BBCSO Core. I bought it August 2022 in a really good sale they had then. I got it for performing my own classical orchestral compositions, one in particular. True, for this particular piece, I had to import a Cor Anglais, but BBCSO Core has really made me as a composer! Any of these libraries would be nice to have. (Though I'm not a fan of iLok, especially as my music PC is offline). Thank you for making and posting this video, a comprehensive line-up of good libraries.
Dear Kevin, Thank you for all your incredible in depth informative videos. They have been such a great help for me, as I’m starting out on my own composer journey using computer-sample libraries. On that note, with your in depth experience and knowledge on what seems to be most of the best libraries, I really wish, that you at some point would try to do a deep dive comparison video about “Musio VS some of the best libraries like BBC and Nucleus”. From the videos I have seen, you have mantioned Musio some times, but only shortly. And I (and I think many others) are curious about, how well Musio actually stands up against the best like your Hollywood strings and Nucleus and even percussion like Damage and Tommi Percussions etc - not considering price. Best regards :)
Cinematic studio is very consistent sound and interface wise. I did some comparisons with musrscore though and i found it much faster to get a good result, especially now with orchestral tools, spitfire audio, and cinesample orchestral libraries just $20 a section. It's pretty amazing how well it sounds.
Hi Kevin, great video. I use BBC Pro from SA (got a 50% discount deal) 2 years ago but i'm still using the "old" Syncronized Special Edition Vol. 1 and 2 (renamed as Studio Series) from VSL, specifically for the woodwinds that I prefer compared to BBC. However, and I agree with the another comments, i am disappointed with the Brass section from BBC (same case with VSL Studio Series)
I love the BBC SO except the brass that are to a bit muddy which is a limit if you want to make modern cinematic music. But it fits really well to the Berlin Brass or Cinematic Brass. I also think that the celli are a bit to dark. But excellent piece of library. For beginners, Abbey Road One, Albion One and Symphobia can be a very good starting point
Personally, not the best price for what you get, but Berlin Orchestra for Berklee is a really nice sounding library. I like that it has individual instruments for Brass and Woodwinds so you can divisi and split it the way you want. It sounds really nice. It's very resource friendly in terms of processing and storage. It's become my library that I take with me on my laptop to sketch out ideas or even parts of full tracks. It has a very nice legato. It doesn't have choirs though, but then again, a lot of all-in-one libraries don't. That being said, Audio Imperia Nucleus is great bang for the buck and the sounds are really nice too.
So for my orchestral setup. I'm picking Nucleus Lite Edition then later upgrade to Nucleus Orchestral Core as my main orchestral vst librarie. Alongside the Free Orchestra 1 & 2 by ProjectSAM for other individual orchestral instruments. Audio Imperia & ProjectSAM makes such magnificent orchestral libraries. Nucleus Lite Edition / Nucleus Orchestral Core along with The Free Orchestra 1 & 2 will be the trio of best orchestral libraries. Komplete Start will the the trojan horse. With synths, band, effects, etc. Finally. My main DAW is going to be Mixcraft 10.5, An underrated yet excellent DAW. It's very easy to use, Very stable & flexible, The effects & instruments are amazing.
Haha, I got it on intro price and still regret not waiting. It was 40% off or something, and a week later they dropped it to 50% 💀 I wouldn't expect it to go lower than that, but I guess you never know...
Thanx a lot Kevin . I have only SSO in th s comparison. And yes, i love it. Bit sad that the extra mic‘s like Gallery.. are not included anymore. Did try the VSL Synchon prime edition. Did like the sound a lot. But this libraries is nothing for me. Albion ONE would be great too Best Pat But it wan
I just got the Berlin Series after buying bits and pieces of it over the years and very happy. I personally wanna get into details so I like all individual players in there. Though I wished I found Berlin Orchestra from Orchestral tools 1st as an all in one
It's got an interesting flavor to the hall. Works well in some situations. Anne-Kathrin Dern uses it and she gets some great sounds from it. To me it sounds reminiscent of my friend's British sounding modern orchestra vinyl recordings from the late 60's to mid 70's.
BBCSO core is a wonderful library and i use it a lot. my only grump is the lack of microphone control. The reverb is baked in. I know Pro has an army of Mic's but it would have been nice to have a little more control of that reverb for the core library especialy at that price tag but thats just a very small grump. Other than that i can not fault it :)
Yes agree, BBC SO core is great. But just one mix in Core and so many mics in Pro that I don´t need to (and I have ARO with plenty of mics). I would like to have Close and Tree mics in BBC SO as well for an additional price.
I am really happy with SSO, with an exception for the brass, which is full of strange sounds throughout 😅 Even for a non-purist that's a bit hard to work with. The strings are ok-ish, but I have many better options for those. Being far beyond the stages of using AIO orchestra libs, I still do use some of the woodwinds and percussion, though. That's still the only library I own featuring instruments like a contrabass clarinet... let alone the crazy amount of articulations it comes with ❤ VSL Synchron surprised me, and while it's somewhat tempting, I'm probably not going down that rabbit hole 😬
I know it's not popular but i prefer composer cloud for the multiple ethnic instruments and opus orchestra is very good and versatile and hollywood brass is practically the best brass around.
Thanks a ton for another great content Kevin! I forced myself to like Nucleus (since it's on a sweet spot pricewise) but it didn't work. I'm not into classical sounding libraries but just cannot stand that brittle and undynamic Audio Imperia sound even in classic mix setting at all.
Thanks Kevin, am looking for an all-in-one first purchase, and your reviews of Nucleus sway me towards that (and away from Abbey Road One, which does sound great, but has all those addons). Not being a full-on orchestral composer (or specifically, might not want to be in future), I think Nucleus might suit me. It's the usual quandary - lots of features spread thinly vs lots of specific tools that do great jobs (but add up to a lot of cash).
I own both Nucleus and the full Abby Road One and find myself reaching for Nucleus first. But with that said I will also almost always layer in ARO with it. HUGE sound
@@TheCheeksMiller thanks for that, a very useful perspective. I do own a few ARO additions - Thematic Trumpets and one of the Winds. Sounds great, although of course the sound is affected by the Abbey Road space.
For me personally, it's about which one gives me more control. Abbey Road One sounds good, but it's all ensemble patches. Nucleus allows me to pick and choose the exact instrument sections I want, and mix them however I want. I did end up buying both, but if you can only afford one, Nucleus is the better option.
I figured it's obvious that this is Tchaikovsky. But the demo mockup is made by the Spitfire team (it didn't say which individual composer on the website) and I wanted to give credit to that so I don't get in trouble :D
My ears perked up when you mentioned that VSL Prime has neutral legato without a lot of sliding, but that they have portamento. This could be one reason why I've never taken to their sound. So many times when I buy music software I wish there were videos like this. You really handled it in a well thought out manner. Top grade!
Hi Kevin, I'm looking for libraries with realistic orchestral instruments that I can use in hip-hop music. I'm not looking for a trailer music style but more of a realistic orchestra sound. But most of the realistic libraries are too "wet". Can you recommend libraries that are closer and drier without too much reverb?
I think looking at libraries labelled "studio" would be a good idea, generally they have a tighter sound with less instruments in a smaller room. spitfire audio's studio brass/strings/winds would be an example of this.
You gave sonuscore a mention but rather than elements, beginners can't go wrong with the orchestra complete 3 package. Not only is it jam packed and fully loaded, but it also has tons of animated presets that get things moving easily. Sonuscore The Score is quite a package for beginners as well. Musio is an insane value too. But for beginners and more, it's hard to beat sonuscore TOC or the score. They have so much capability.
Könntest du mal ein Video zum Symphonic Orchestra von EastWest machen? Das wird meistens übersehen, weil es so alt ist und alle nur über das Hollywood Orchestra reden, aber ich finde es tatsächlich immer noch an einigen Stellen sehr gut. Vor allem was den Preis angeht
I've heard more of it now, seriously impressed especially given a good chunk of it is older blended with some sound updates. It's won quite a few wards like the TEC this year too. I only had their pianos (EWQLP) back in the day. I remember being baffled at the 35 DVD install. It took me like 2 days to install lol. It's unfortunate they didn't update those, as they were monsters back in the day lol :)
Not a fan of Vienna Sound Libraries, issues with cracks and drops even with lots of memory, can’t figure how to adjust sample rates, I don’t use the Epic orchestra much because it’s problematic.
I'm not Kevin, but I have purchased both, so I can answer this one. I bought TOC3 for 200, so you might want to wait and see if you can save a bit more on that in the future. And it's still a great option if you just want to get things made easy, without having to spend too much time thinking about the details of which instruments you want to play, and how you want to arrange your music. But if you really want to learn properly, you are definitely better off with something like Nucleus, where you get to control the instruments. There is no shame in taking shortcuts with TOC3, but if you get too comfortable with it as a beginner, you might find it hard to want to step out of that comfort zone and actually learn more serious production.
if anyone goes the BBCSO route, wait until you can get core and pro both for half off (likely not at the same time), and be aware that pro can be a ram hog.
Performance samples woodwind brass solo strings and ensemble strings VS CS brass woodwin solo strings and strings video??? Or wait until Vista II core comes out with the primary strings section. Should of been mentioned in this video maybe for the $3000 budget.
Can I ask why you do not recommend East West Hollywood Opus for beginners? It may be too big, but as far as I know you can download just the parts you need and it's a good price right now.
@@KevinKuschel Can you please characterize the HOOPUS in relation to other libraries? I loved your characterization of Spitfire Symphony Orchestra - which I bought partly because of your well thought out adjectives about it's particular sound in comparison to other libraries. (I already had Albion One and loved that Air Studios sound). I know HOOPUS, like Nucleus, allows altering the mix. HOOPUS has Soft, Classic, and Epic. But to me the Classic HOOPUS is it's base sound, and the alterations are just transient and ambience related one way or another, but it still retains a certain "Hollywood" generic sound. I guess it could all be a matter of taste, but you did so well describing SSO. When I play the string ensemble in HOOPUS it's nice but not exquisite.
If you are a beginner and you dont want to go for the trailer hype music. Would you recommend the SSO? because i feel like the BBC Core is far to classical and nucleus is far to modern. Would you recommend the SSO then if your a beginner?
Please suggest a perfect strings library specially for Symphonic Rock/Metal music and can you give a listen and check to one of my new track and let me know what's wrong in it?
Honestly? For that you'd be well off with either Pacific Strings from Performance Samples or Areia from Audio Imperia. You want a decently modern sound that pairs up well with rock and metal without much hassle, and both deliver just that. They're also both bold and dynamic enough to pierce through the mix, and they sound big thanks to the place were recorded in having a lot of natural reverb. Pacific has a nicer legato than Areia, while Areia has a more processed Hyped sound. Their prices are also different. So take your pick from whichever you like most.
What makes me sad is that the prices are always just in dollars/euros/pounds, wonder if there is a way to ask for other currencies. U$300 may look low price for someone in USA but converting to my country money it is over a minimum wage, and if you consider that... sounds ridiculous to pay vst librarys to try to make music :|
@ exactly. They have some hits and misses there as well, but it is the cheapest option to get some really good virtual instruments. And their packet is HUGE
Nucleus go 🔥, BBCSO go 🧐, SSO go 🤯, Synchron Prime go 😼
Your my favorite small youtuber right now
You made me want to buy all of them, including the ones I own!
Excellent video. Keep up the great work!
What do think about the Orchestral Tools Inspire Bundle? It includes Inspire 1 & 2, and is being on sale for 274,5 EUR.
@@ArrenGaresto No full section control (e.g. violins, violas, cellos basses). Instead it has combinations (e.g. French Horns + Celli). So eventually, you'll have to buy something else, too. Might as well get an all-in-one orchestra will full section control in the first place imo.
@@KevinKuschel thanks for your advice. This video means a lot for my Black Friday!
Kevin, you have really outdone yourself! This may now be the BEST beginner library review video on the entire youtube! I wish i had this video 2 years ago, i would probably have made different choices.
what did you end up getting?
Thank you!
@@Clasam09, several years ago, hollywood orchestra, and my computer couldn't run it.
Then I bought nucleus 2 years ago. And I finally started learning.
Now I want that more classical sound, but my PC STILL can't run HO-OPUS. So I was considering BBCSO, but the video made me want SSO.
@svendkorsgaard9599 oh wow, Hollywood Orchestra. It was a great thought though, right?
@@Clasam09 I don't know. At the time i bought the silver edition cause it was cheapest. I didn't know much about any other Vsts either. I just know i didn't like the sound cause I wanted something "epic", and HO didn't sound "epic". And there were so many articulations i had never heard of, was impossible to understand.
I Upgraded to Opus cause I thought the interface looked easier. And it was. But still overwhelming.
Not a good purchase for a beginner, at all.
But IF you like the sound, and have a supercomputer, and experience making mockups. Then it's likely very good.
Thanks for this comparison. Trick I use on BBCSO Pro - Close mics only, add your fave reverb to the section bus, put some saturation,compression and exciter on individual tracks. With the right settings on the effects, I can come very close to that edge you get from Nucleus. That said, I wish I’d discovered SSO or the VSL stuff before I spent money on BBCSO Pro. Now I’m broke lol.
Know what you mean.
Why didn't you get Core?
Hey Kevin, You are the best on YT covering orchestral libraries, really enjoying your videos. Thanks buddy.
Kevin, I cannot imagine the work you had with this! It is an amazing video for beginners and already owners of those libraries. Thank you so much!
The Mario Galaxy bits were amazing! Would love to see you use more passages from beloved games for demos. Brings a smile to our faces 😊
I would like to add Project Sam to this “beginner” list. I own the entire Ark series including the BBC Pro.
BUT I constantly find myself going back to Project Sam for a quick inspiration. Essentials 1 & 2 will cover you for almost anything. And if you wanted to take it further, there’s also Symphobia and other upscale libraries.
One of my favorite things about Project Sam is that they constantly upgrade their older libraries. Nothing is ever considered deadware. Not only that, they have the beat-sync technology that makes life a lot easier. For a beginner, you couldn’t go wrong with them.
@ Agree. One of the best GUI’s out there. I love being able to stack combinations instantly. And then in the advanced panel, quickly selecting an additional note to create harmonies for any patch makes things quite interesting. All of it super fast and inspiring.
Yes, it might not be ideal for mixing, but fleshing out a piece quickly and then separating it later on with other libraries if needed for a more serious mix is quite doable. And fun. :)
@@Tyrell_Corp2019 This approach to work doesn't make sense. Spending money to make a model, and then replacing everything... is wasting money. To do that, it is better to buy the "serious" library (who knows what is meant by this, talking about Symphobia as if it were a toy), and make the model directly.
In electronic music there was this wrong approach back in 2005. I remember producers saying that they made a track in Cubase, and then mixed it in Logic or Pro Tools, which were "serious" tools.
Today almost no one does that.
Born in Ableton, ends in Ableton. Born in FL Studio, ends in FL Studio.
It seems to me that the tool is not the problem.
@@marcelochagra3307 The majority of orchestral libraries are specialized or pre-orchestrated for quick arrangements. Tuttis, chords, runs, etc. If you have the ability to quickly mock up over 200 individual parts in BBC?? Go for it. Or give Hans Zimmer a call.
I have dozens of libraries. So I'm not just pushing it because I don't know.
That said- Project Sam is by far the best for mocking an entire score. To boot - it does sound great. It just tends to have more of trailer quality vibe. But not all of them.
I own BBC SO Core but here for me, when it comes to sound, the VSL Synchron Prime is the clear winner.
But it's like buying a TV in a store. When you see/hear a comparison, you say to yourself, "This is better." At home without comparison, you won't recognize it. With sound libraries, it's even more complicated/simpler because we cannot compare sound of all articulations or mics in Pro version.
Such devotion! It's long, but I feel like this video has A LOT of value as a beginner.😍
Thank you for sharing this for free!
This video is very much appreciated. I'm on the fence whether or not to pull the trigger on one of these, and the side-by-side direct comparisons are invaluable. Thank you!
This video was incredibly helpful. Thank you.
You just talked me into buying Spitfire's Symphony Orchestra library. I'm downloading it now.
I'm here mainly for interest's sake, as I already have BBCSO Core. I bought it August 2022 in a really good sale they had then. I got it for performing my own classical orchestral compositions, one in particular. True, for this particular piece, I had to import a Cor Anglais, but BBCSO Core has really made me as a composer!
Any of these libraries would be nice to have. (Though I'm not a fan of iLok, especially as my music PC is offline). Thank you for making and posting this video, a comprehensive line-up of good libraries.
Dear Kevin,
Thank you for all your incredible in depth informative videos.
They have been such a great help for me, as I’m starting out on my own composer journey using computer-sample libraries.
On that note, with your in depth experience and knowledge on what seems to be most of the best libraries, I really wish, that you at some point would try to do a deep dive comparison video about “Musio VS some of the best libraries like BBC and Nucleus”.
From the videos I have seen, you have mantioned Musio some times, but only shortly.
And I (and I think many others) are curious about, how well Musio actually stands up against the best like your Hollywood strings and Nucleus and even percussion like Damage and Tommi Percussions etc - not considering price.
Best regards :)
As for me, I really like the Berlin orchestra (for Berkeley) from Orchestral Tools. Expensive, but the strings and the brass are excellents.
Loved the Mario Galaxy snippets!
This was such a great overview with enough detail to really show what you get in each library. Thanks!
I love that Synchron now has pp, it's my favourite woodwind
Cinematic studio is very consistent sound and interface wise. I did some comparisons with musrscore though and i found it much faster to get a good result, especially now with orchestral tools, spitfire audio, and cinesample orchestral libraries just $20 a section. It's pretty amazing how well it sounds.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Just the amount of detail i need to make my first orchestra VST purchase, and just at the right time!!!!
Much love Kevin. What an amazing work you provide! Thank you so much man. May God bless you 🌪
Thank you!!
Hi Kevin, great video. I use BBC Pro from SA (got a 50% discount deal) 2 years ago but i'm still using the "old" Syncronized Special Edition Vol. 1 and 2 (renamed as Studio Series) from VSL, specifically for the woodwinds that I prefer compared to BBC. However, and I agree with the another comments, i am disappointed with the Brass section from BBC (same case with VSL Studio Series)
Great job on your videos
I love the BBC SO except the brass that are to a bit muddy which is a limit if you want to make modern cinematic music. But it fits really well to the Berlin Brass or Cinematic Brass. I also think that the celli are a bit to dark. But excellent piece of library. For beginners, Abbey Road One, Albion One and Symphobia can be a very good starting point
Personally, not the best price for what you get, but Berlin Orchestra for Berklee is a really nice sounding library. I like that it has individual instruments for Brass and Woodwinds so you can divisi and split it the way you want. It sounds really nice. It's very resource friendly in terms of processing and storage. It's become my library that I take with me on my laptop to sketch out ideas or even parts of full tracks. It has a very nice legato. It doesn't have choirs though, but then again, a lot of all-in-one libraries don't.
That being said, Audio Imperia Nucleus is great bang for the buck and the sounds are really nice too.
Only one mic mix for 849EUR regular price + VAT :( Great sound, though!
So for my orchestral setup. I'm picking Nucleus Lite Edition then later upgrade to Nucleus Orchestral Core as my main orchestral vst librarie.
Alongside the Free Orchestra 1 & 2 by ProjectSAM for other individual orchestral instruments.
Audio Imperia & ProjectSAM makes such magnificent orchestral libraries.
Nucleus Lite Edition / Nucleus Orchestral Core along with The Free Orchestra 1 & 2 will be the trio of best orchestral libraries.
Komplete Start will the the trojan horse. With synths, band, effects, etc.
Finally. My main DAW is going to be Mixcraft 10.5, An underrated yet excellent DAW. It's very easy to use, Very stable & flexible, The effects & instruments are amazing.
Sounds like a good start!
No Musio mention? 😢
Superbe travail, merci et bravo !!
SSO for me! :) You can get SSO even cheaper with their 50% deals. I would wait for the Christmas Sale, I'm pretty sure it goes lower.
Haha, I got it on intro price and still regret not waiting. It was 40% off or something, and a week later they dropped it to 50% 💀 I wouldn't expect it to go lower than that, but I guess you never know...
Thanx a lot Kevin .
I have only SSO in th s comparison.
And yes, i love it.
Bit sad that the extra mic‘s like Gallery.. are not included anymore.
Did try the VSL Synchon prime edition.
Did like the sound a lot.
But this libraries is nothing for me. Albion ONE would be great too
Best Pat
But it wan
i love you so much kevin and your videos are amazing can you please make some more courses on composing music
got SSO with the 50% EDU discount they had recently, absolutely insane value!
That piano alone is so silky.
Great video ! What do you think of UVI ORchestral suite ?
Appreciate the Mario Galaxy. Always a pleasure, never a chore. ^^
I just got the Berlin Series after buying bits and pieces of it over the years and very happy. I personally wanna get into details so I like all individual players in there. Though I wished I found Berlin Orchestra from Orchestral tools 1st as an all in one
It's got an interesting flavor to the hall. Works well in some situations. Anne-Kathrin Dern uses it and she gets some great sounds from it. To me it sounds reminiscent of my friend's British sounding modern orchestra vinyl recordings from the late 60's to mid 70's.
Great overview!
BBCSO core is a wonderful library and i use it a lot. my only grump is the lack of microphone control. The reverb is baked in. I know Pro has an army of Mic's but it would have been nice to have a little more control of that reverb for the core library especialy at that price tag but thats just a very small grump. Other than that i can not fault it :)
Yes agree, BBC SO core is great. But just one mix in Core and so many mics in Pro that I don´t need to (and I have ARO with plenty of mics). I would like to have Close and Tree mics in BBC SO as well for an additional price.
@dustintheblacklight maybe if enough of us poke at spitfire they may offer an update with a bit more mic control for us Core users ;)
@@adammassacre4715 Unfortunately, it is against Spitfire business. If people were buying extended core, they wouldn't be buying pro.
Do you have an opinion on Hollywood Strings 2 and Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra?
4:21 Mario galaxy enjoyer, love it🔥
I am really happy with SSO, with an exception for the brass, which is full of strange sounds throughout 😅 Even for a non-purist that's a bit hard to work with. The strings are ok-ish, but I have many better options for those. Being far beyond the stages of using AIO orchestra libs, I still do use some of the woodwinds and percussion, though. That's still the only library I own featuring instruments like a contrabass clarinet... let alone the crazy amount of articulations it comes with ❤
VSL Synchron surprised me, and while it's somewhat tempting, I'm probably not going down that rabbit hole 😬
It's very tempting 😂
Good vídeo! Thanks Kevin !
Still worth mentioning Orchestral Essentials from ProjectSam, it's a really great first library for the price
(also 4:21 and 6:51 were appreciated)
I know it's not popular but i prefer composer cloud for the multiple ethnic instruments and opus orchestra is very good and versatile and hollywood brass is practically the best brass around.
Thanks a ton for another great content Kevin! I forced myself to like Nucleus (since it's on a sweet spot pricewise) but it didn't work. I'm not into classical sounding libraries but just cannot stand that brittle and undynamic Audio Imperia sound even in classic mix setting at all.
Thanks Kevin, am looking for an all-in-one first purchase, and your reviews of Nucleus sway me towards that (and away from Abbey Road One, which does sound great, but has all those addons). Not being a full-on orchestral composer (or specifically, might not want to be in future), I think Nucleus might suit me. It's the usual quandary - lots of features spread thinly vs lots of specific tools that do great jobs (but add up to a lot of cash).
I own both Nucleus and the full Abby Road One and find myself reaching for Nucleus first. But with that said I will also almost always layer in ARO with it. HUGE sound
@@TheCheeksMiller thanks for that, a very useful perspective. I do own a few ARO additions - Thematic Trumpets and one of the Winds. Sounds great, although of course the sound is affected by the Abbey Road space.
For me personally, it's about which one gives me more control. Abbey Road One sounds good, but it's all ensemble patches. Nucleus allows me to pick and choose the exact instrument sections I want, and mix them however I want. I did end up buying both, but if you can only afford one, Nucleus is the better option.
o shh.. i will take it all 😤
29:42 Blake Robinson, Bumps in the night. And 15:45 Waltz of the Flowers? Composed by Spitfire Audio? Is not Pyotr Tchaikovsky?
Thk for video!
I figured it's obvious that this is Tchaikovsky. But the demo mockup is made by the Spitfire team (it didn't say which individual composer on the website) and I wanted to give credit to that so I don't get in trouble :D
Yeah the new SSO is just OP for the price imo, love it
My ears perked up when you mentioned that VSL Prime has neutral legato without a lot of sliding, but that they have portamento. This could be one reason why I've never taken to their sound. So many times when I buy music software I wish there were videos like this. You really handled it in a well thought out manner. Top grade!
Hi Kevin, I'm looking for libraries with realistic orchestral instruments that I can use in hip-hop music. I'm not looking for a trailer music style but more of a realistic orchestra sound. But most of the realistic libraries are too "wet". Can you recommend libraries that are closer and drier without too much reverb?
I think looking at libraries labelled "studio" would be a good idea, generally they have a tighter sound with less instruments in a smaller room. spitfire audio's studio brass/strings/winds would be an example of this.
Tokyo Scoring Strings for strings could work well (but it's a full-priced flagship strings library)
Hey 🤨🤨 TSS 2.0 update is already up but where's the video 🧐🧐? @@KevinKuschel🧐
Does the SSO have Glissando for strings supported?
You gave sonuscore a mention but rather than elements, beginners can't go wrong with the orchestra complete 3 package. Not only is it jam packed and fully loaded, but it also has tons of animated presets that get things moving easily. Sonuscore The Score is quite a package for beginners as well. Musio is an insane value too. But for beginners and more, it's hard to beat sonuscore TOC or the score. They have so much capability.
Performance samples beats all of these in quality and articulations but it’s at La cart pricing
Könntest du mal ein Video zum Symphonic Orchestra von EastWest machen?
Das wird meistens übersehen, weil es so alt ist und alle nur über das Hollywood Orchestra reden, aber ich finde es tatsächlich immer noch an einigen Stellen sehr gut. Vor allem was den Preis angeht
Performance samples just finished it's pacific library except the drums. Woodwind, brass, and ensemble strings.
Yes, love it a lot!
As long as you have the hardrive space... East West is a beast
I've heard more of it now, seriously impressed especially given a good chunk of it is older blended with some sound updates. It's won quite a few wards like the TEC this year too. I only had their pianos (EWQLP) back in the day. I remember being baffled at the 35 DVD install. It took me like 2 days to install lol. It's unfortunate they didn't update those, as they were monsters back in the day lol :)
Great comparison thanks! How would you rate Jaeger among those libraries reviewed here?
Very specialized for epic/hybrid, not a generalist.
@@KevinKuschel Thanks!
Curious to know why you did not include Opus more in depth? What shortcoming made it not get part of the list
Not a fan of Vienna Sound Libraries, issues with cracks and drops even with lots of memory, can’t figure how to adjust sample rates, I don’t use the Epic orchestra much because it’s problematic.
What is your opinion about "The Orchestral Complete 3" currently on sale at 239€? Is it worthy at that price range? Or, Is Nucleus in a higher tier?
I'm not Kevin, but I have purchased both, so I can answer this one.
I bought TOC3 for 200, so you might want to wait and see if you can save a bit more on that in the future. And it's still a great option if you just want to get things made easy, without having to spend too much time thinking about the details of which instruments you want to play, and how you want to arrange your music. But if you really want to learn properly, you are definitely better off with something like Nucleus, where you get to control the instruments. There is no shame in taking shortcuts with TOC3, but if you get too comfortable with it as a beginner, you might find it hard to want to step out of that comfort zone and actually learn more serious production.
I own eastwest hollywood orchestral ❤
Are you happy with this library? I‘m thinking about buying this for one year with student discount but can‘t decide between musio and east west
What about Spitfire Symphony Orchestra? On sale for ~340,- now... I'm thinking about it.
SSO is mentioned in detail in the video :D
if anyone goes the BBCSO route, wait until you can get core and pro both for half off (likely not at the same time), and be aware that pro can be a ram hog.
Performance samples woodwind brass solo strings and ensemble strings VS CS brass woodwin solo strings and strings video??? Or wait until Vista II core comes out with the primary strings section. Should of been mentioned in this video maybe for the $3000 budget.
Can I ask why you do not recommend East West Hollywood Opus for beginners? It may be too big, but as far as I know you can download just the parts you need and it's a good price right now.
It's an honorable mention, I do recommend it.
@@KevinKuschel Can you please characterize the HOOPUS in relation to other libraries? I loved your characterization of Spitfire Symphony Orchestra - which I bought partly because of your well thought out adjectives about it's particular sound in comparison to other libraries. (I already had Albion One and loved that Air Studios sound). I know HOOPUS, like Nucleus, allows altering the mix. HOOPUS has Soft, Classic, and Epic. But to me the Classic HOOPUS is it's base sound, and the alterations are just transient and ambience related one way or another, but it still retains a certain "Hollywood" generic sound. I guess it could all be a matter of taste, but you did so well describing SSO. When I play the string ensemble in HOOPUS it's nice but not exquisite.
If you are a beginner and you dont want to go for the trailer hype music. Would you recommend the SSO? because i feel like the BBC Core is far to classical and nucleus is far to modern. Would you recommend the SSO then if your a beginner?
Nucleus also has a classic mix and it sounds very good and a lot softer and less hype/modern so pretty sure you should consider it
Yes. Nucleus with Classic Mix can do general orchestral, too. SSO is a great choice, as well.
@@KevinKuschel Because i heard that the SSO requires alot of taming and is generally beginner unfriendly. What would you say?
BBCSO Violins II Staccassimo are terrible 😔 I hope SA will prepare it well some day. Greetings
Please suggest a perfect strings library specially for Symphonic Rock/Metal music and can you give a listen and check to one of my new track and let me know what's wrong in it?
Honestly? For that you'd be well off with either Pacific Strings from Performance Samples or Areia from Audio Imperia.
You want a decently modern sound that pairs up well with rock and metal without much hassle, and both deliver just that. They're also both bold and dynamic enough to pierce through the mix, and they sound big thanks to the place were recorded in having a lot of natural reverb.
Pacific has a nicer legato than Areia, while Areia has a more processed Hyped sound. Their prices are also different. So take your pick from whichever you like most.
@UXMetalVTuber thank you I will definitely check it out the both library, currently iam using Audio Imperia Nucleus and Chris Hein strings compact.
Which daw you are using?
this is studio one
Yes, Studio One.
@@KevinKuschel Best DAW ever
What makes me sad is that the prices are always just in dollars/euros/pounds, wonder if there is a way to ask for other currencies. U$300 may look low price for someone in USA but converting to my country money it is over a minimum wage, and if you consider that... sounds ridiculous to pay vst librarys to try to make music :|
Symchron for advance programming, that so loot knobs 😢
No piano in the BBC core? There is one in the free version...
MUSIO
…and the winner is… Musio that is not even presented 😂
For the price... Absolutely. Musio is the best thing to get for a beginner right now considering the price and what you get.
@ exactly. They have some hits and misses there as well, but it is the cheapest option to get some really good virtual instruments. And their packet is HUGE
I don't consider Musio as one all-in-one orchestral library. But I'll cover it in the next video (coming today or tomorrow) :)
Nucleus or Jaeger? the fact that they are sharing content makes it nonsense to own both.
Depends on the genre. Jaeger for full epic hybrid, Nucleus for more balanced.
Stuff cost too much man
check my video on the best orchestral freebies
@ lol right now I use opus. But Im gonna buy SSO today. Im jus complaining because im tired of spending so much money😂
@@ronniekitchens6502 It's a bottomless pit!