It's really over priced, and when my experience tells me Spitfire forgets its products in a short time and not updating them (like Hans Zimmer Strings which is still missing those basic Solo/Mute buttons in the mixer) so I'm not interested to buy more from you guys. Sorry. I've missed good old days when Spitfire was innovative.
They seem to get too "excited' about their next project and drop the current one their working on and strart a new one without finishing the current one. Very frustrating to say the least. After all, who's the customer, them or us?
For the price my main gripe is the lack of articulations and articulation combos. There's also no basic extended techniques using sul pont, no actual sul tasto (flautando is not exactly the same), no con sordino. I do miss some of the previous Spiftire libraries (looking at you, Chamber Strings) which to be honest had a comparative embarassment of riches in terms of articulations to choose from (down to even disco falls!). I know that Spitfire prides themselves on the spaces and equipment they record in, and tout the many gigabytes of samples they are offering, but I feel like the future development of such libraries (at this price range) should also be forward-thinking with sample modeling techniques, allowing users to do even more advanced articulation combos, more convincing runs, and more advanced gliss/port and special effects. I have no comparison of anyone doing this really well, SM and SWAM are still a bit synthetic and hard to use. But with Spitfire's money and resources, they could surely make a splash if they wanted to innovate... to me this release is nothing innovative from what Spitfire would release more than a decade ago, apart from having more detailed layers, file sizes, and a slick UI. I'm sure it sounds nice, and I wouldn't hate on anyone wishing to invest in it. But effectively it's the same tech still. Having owned dozens of sample-based string libraries over the years, it's becoming harder to feel excited with a re-packaging of the same thing over and over. Just my two cents!
I'm sorry to say, it just doesn't sound that good in comparison with other options that we have (including SF!). Of course, the AR room is there and we can definitely hear the space, but to me the realism of the transitions between notes is much more important. Some people will say it sounds synthy, but I don't dislike the tone. Probably it can be tamed with some mic mixing. Sadly, the problem is not there. Words written by a SF fan, but also a violinist and composer very used to work with libraries and real orchestras.
Imagine if cinematic studio or performance samples got the chance to record in abbey road. The customer would have ended up with a much better product imo, especially CS
@@TomMAF4 Imagine if all programmers from the OT, CS, Performance Samples, AudioBro, VSL united and made a library recorded in Abbey Road and some smaller studio(like Spitfire Studio range or Abbey Road Two)... We would get the ultimate symphonic library, with perfect legatos, all the extended articulations, and for literally any context.... Oh, what a dream...
@@AndyGrayedout For bundle price yes. But on the individual libraries. It’s only £29 less. So it’s essentially encouraging you to spend all your money in one go. Frankly they should have released the whole library in one go from the start.
@@ibanezman04isn’t that basic marketing? They are pricey but Spitfire has always been pricey. The discount on the top library should be more than enough.
Have many spitfire libs Some of them are great, some okay and lately many not good The whole overpriced ar orchestra series sounds far from premium Almost synthy...really dont know wjat went wronh but try out performance samples pacific solo strings, vista 2 cello for example....far better intro prices and whole othet level
Once this price point would have been perfect for the quality, I remember spending 1000USD on hollywood strings, but now we all struggle to make 50p a week after the whole music devaluation/audio network/short attention span/clownworld era that we now live in. I'd write you something that would break your heart with this package, but nobody wants to pay. I was a pro composer for 20 years and everything went dry over a period of years. I'd still love it, but can't justify a vanity project that isn't heard.
Spitfire, my only issue with "Abbey Road Orchestra Symphonic Strings" is that it lacks the articulations that Spitfire Symphonic, Chamber, and Studio strings have. Please consider adding those additional techniques, or at least in a new library called "Abbey Road Orchestra Symphonic Strings: EXPANDED".
I can't help feeling the much cheaper Kontakt SSO has more usefull performance legato patches. Fast(er) runs are a joy to play in SSO, not sure about ARO. The ARO legato's sound more MIDIish to me compared to say SSO. Perhaps Spitfire player limitations compared to Kontakts advanced scripting?
I feel like SF forgot what an actual legato sounds like. Each new string library sounds more synthy than the last, and at a time where the competition is better than ever. I'm failing to see what I'm spending so much money on here that isn't available in higher realism from Performance Samples or VSL. The "runs" section in particular is awkward to even listen to - Sounds nothing like an actual string instrument. Edit - The legato in particular does not sound like it has improved from SSO or BBC, and those might actually sound better in the example phrases used here.
I’m sure the short demo hasn’t entirely shown what the ARO strings are capable of, but in any case, legato isn’t everything, and string libraries can have other strengths and weaknesses: For example, the normal legato in VSL’s Duality Strings (all of which I own and love) isn’t better than what Spitfire is offering here - it’s actually the least convincing part of the library for me. The legato in Synchron Strings Pro, on the other hand, is great but that library has other weaknesses, and for example doesn’t hold a candle to Duality Strings’ agile legato. On another note, the ARO Basses we heard here are insanely good - much better in tune than the any others I have right now. Fact is, most professionals I know own many different libraries to use their strengths based on what they need, as options in a palette. I don’t own a set of symphonic strings that offer as many articulation details as Paul demonstrated here DIRECTLY from the keyboard without programming, so I’ll be picking these up. If they don’t add anything to your workflow, I get that.
@@TalmoTheSell Agreed. I just don't think your description is accurate. At best, it's a drastic oversimplification since there are lots of different legato types, only some of which Paul demonstrated. The only libraries I know of that have entirely convincing legato are some of the PS libraries (like Vista or Pacific) and CSS, and those libraries all have potentially deal-breaking legato limitations baked in. Vista only has one vibrato setting that is too strong for many types of music. Pacific has more portamento than I can use in all but a few situations. CSS is lovely, but really hard to play and to programme because of the delay. I programmed 90 minutes of symphonic cues with it last year and while the results were good, it was incredibly time consuming and I honestly nearly killed myself with all the midi nudging. VSL is incredibly disciplined and deep for programming, less so for playing. It looks like ARO is focused on playable flexibility with a lot changing under the hood as you play. That has a real workflow value to me in itself, especially since it sounds great in most cases. If I need to layer in a few bars of Pacific or Vista for ultimate legato in an exposed sweeping melody, I can do that quickly with a specialist library and still benefit from the Spitfire programming saving me weeks of messing around in the midi editor. I often just don't have the time. I'm happy to have options since I know there is no one Holy Grail library that covers everything equally well. It just doesn't exist yet.
Long time SF fan here - great marketing/branding, but unfortunately I have to agree with others and their comments on the legato patches - they just don't sound realistic to my ears at all. The shorts sound great however, and if they were available as a separate module (without the bloated legatos price point), I'm sure there'd be more orders coming through. Still, it's disappointing to not have realistic sounding legatos as part of the package. Most of the composers I know use a handful of different libraries to get the job done though, and so the shorts would be a welcome addition for many I'm sure.
@@ytinutroppo I understand that people have different viewpoints. I watched the demo and found it really compelling, which is why I felt it was worth the investment for my music. Everyone has different needs and budgets, and this fits mine.
@@dilzaaaa"I thought you'd forgotten all about us" =So you think they are thinking about you/us? That's what it meant. It's marketing. It just sounded like a very inexperienced opinion of yours to me.
Btw watch out the Wallfisch Strings by Orchestral Tools...(an example) Just simply compare the "worth" with other libaries you could get with that price.
@ytinutroppo Of course not. I'm speaking about the range. It seems like a long time since they released cellos. I just said it in a more playful and informal way. I'm not understanding why you have to target me with words like naive and inexperienced because I like something that you don't. I don't buy exclusively Spitfire products, but I have bought a lot. I like the sound, the support, the innovation, the community, and this particular range. If you don't, that's fine too. I'm not gonna berate you for it. 😊 I've seen the demo for Wallfisch Strings too. It does sound nice.
Well looks that i am donr with spitfire No love and care for existing products , no updates that matters, overpriced stuff and more mediacore quallity instead of innovation
These aren’t worth $1000. Maybe $600 but not $1000. It feels like Spitfire has been so out of touched with their customers. We want ethnic libraires with rare Instruments and techniques with reasonable pricing. It feels like spitfire overprices everything just because they can
Sounds great! Ignore the haters and crybabies. If I remember correctly SSO pro was $3500 when it was on top. So the pricing for this 1/3 of the final orchestra looks appropriate especially for the higher quality sound up from SSO. 👍
I agree. You get to “virtually” write orchestral music in Abbey Rd played by world class musicians on some of the best instruments in existence. The criticism of the price is foolish.
@@paulm5857These arguments are far too simple. Basically, it's about the bottom line. It plays a role for the creator which equipment he uses (cost and quality), but you always have to compare it to other things, i.e. other string libraries. I don't want to say anything more than that the prices can't just be defined because the best musicians and the best instruments were used. What counts is the experience, the benefit you can derive from it... the workflow. I'm always thinking about whether I should give OT a chance with the Walfisch Strings, I've read through a lot of opinions, you should definitely always look around first.
For those being unhappy about the price... If a library is twice the price, in my opinion at least, one is allowed to expect a very noticible difference for their personal sound or workflow. If it's not there, or you personally can't hear it, look for other libraries or stick to your current ones. If you CAN hear a massive difference and the library is an absolute game changer for you, then a higher price would honestly not be stopping you or make you unhappy. So... sad about the price after hearing the demos and watching the walkthrough? Thank Spitfire for slapping some sense into YOU, so YOU are not wasting your money on yet another string library that FOR YOU doesn't really bring anything new to the table. If you can't justify the price, trust your gut! You do not need this library! It's really that simple.
I wish you would sort out your Eric Whitacre Evo plugin, that would make us all excited. A lot of money spent on a broken libray. Get your priorities right guys , come on.
Downloading now. The icons don't match the rest of the collection. Can't wait to play on them though. Think I'm gonna need to expand my 8TB SSD storage soon though. :)
@@DSenji yeee well that’s what we as vst users have to work on, programming and mocking up properly to get a nice sound. I would never recommend using a library out of the box !
@@AlonsoJoaquinComposer Really?? I'm not owning that lib, just seen the reviews. OT has a history with not well polished samples, but they get better over the updates. What's up with the Divisis? I'd like to hear about your experience.
It's really over priced, and when my experience tells me Spitfire forgets its products in a short time and not updating them (like Hans Zimmer Strings which is still missing those basic Solo/Mute buttons in the mixer) so I'm not interested to buy more from you guys. Sorry. I've missed good old days when Spitfire was innovative.
They seem to get too "excited' about their next project and drop the current one their working on and strart a new one without finishing the current one. Very frustrating to say the least. After all, who's the customer, them or us?
The engineer who sampled the Spitfire Sable/chamber strings could serve as a great inspiration for their future projects
What do you mean by this?
For the price my main gripe is the lack of articulations and articulation combos. There's also no basic extended techniques using sul pont, no actual sul tasto (flautando is not exactly the same), no con sordino. I do miss some of the previous Spiftire libraries (looking at you, Chamber Strings) which to be honest had a comparative embarassment of riches in terms of articulations to choose from (down to even disco falls!).
I know that Spitfire prides themselves on the spaces and equipment they record in, and tout the many gigabytes of samples they are offering, but I feel like the future development of such libraries (at this price range) should also be forward-thinking with sample modeling techniques, allowing users to do even more advanced articulation combos, more convincing runs, and more advanced gliss/port and special effects. I have no comparison of anyone doing this really well, SM and SWAM are still a bit synthetic and hard to use. But with Spitfire's money and resources, they could surely make a splash if they wanted to innovate... to me this release is nothing innovative from what Spitfire would release more than a decade ago, apart from having more detailed layers, file sizes, and a slick UI. I'm sure it sounds nice, and I wouldn't hate on anyone wishing to invest in it. But effectively it's the same tech still. Having owned dozens of sample-based string libraries over the years, it's becoming harder to feel excited with a re-packaging of the same thing over and over. Just my two cents!
Started video
Clicked the link to see price
Stopped Video
😂
In capable hands this instrument will give a cool outcome.👍
Thank you Spitfire Audio. I hope you guys continue to record more at Abbey Road & keep adding articulations to these libraries.
I'm sorry to say, it just doesn't sound that good in comparison with other options that we have (including SF!). Of course, the AR room is there and we can definitely hear the space, but to me the realism of the transitions between notes is much more important. Some people will say it sounds synthy, but I don't dislike the tone. Probably it can be tamed with some mic mixing. Sadly, the problem is not there. Words written by a SF fan, but also a violinist and composer very used to work with libraries and real orchestras.
They f’d it up 👎
Imagine if cinematic studio or performance samples got the chance to record in abbey road. The customer would have ended up with a much better product imo, especially CS
@@TomMAF4 Imagine if all programmers from the OT, CS, Performance Samples, AudioBro, VSL united and made a library recorded in Abbey Road and some smaller studio(like Spitfire Studio range or Abbey Road Two)... We would get the ultimate symphonic library, with perfect legatos, all the extended articulations, and for literally any context.... Oh, what a dream...
No discounts for pre-existing Abbey Road Orch violins/celllos users??? Come on spitfire you’re taking the piss now.
Thats Odd I am seeing a massive discount as I own Abbey Road Orch violins/celllos. make sure you login
@@AndyGrayedout For bundle price yes. But on the individual libraries. It’s only £29 less. So it’s essentially encouraging you to spend all your money in one go. Frankly they should have released the whole library in one go from the start.
@@ibanezman04isn’t that basic marketing? They are pricey but Spitfire has always been pricey. The discount on the top library should be more than enough.
Just incredible stuff I already have the Chamber Strings and the BBCSO, but man, those legatos are so tight!!!!!!!
Have many spitfire libs
Some of them are great, some okay and lately many not good
The whole overpriced ar orchestra series sounds far from premium
Almost synthy...really dont know wjat went wronh but try out performance samples pacific solo strings, vista 2 cello for example....far better intro prices and whole othet level
£885 for one mic position, what is wrong with you guys?
No, they have all of the extra mic positions.
Congratulations Paul, they do sound terrific
This looks amazing! i'm scared to see the file size though haha
Once this price point would have been perfect for the quality, I remember spending 1000USD on hollywood strings, but now we all struggle to make 50p a week after the whole music devaluation/audio network/short attention span/clownworld era that we now live in. I'd write you something that would break your heart with this package, but nobody wants to pay. I was a pro composer for 20 years and everything went dry over a period of years. I'd still love it, but can't justify a vanity project that isn't heard.
Spitfire, my only issue with "Abbey Road Orchestra Symphonic Strings" is that it lacks the articulations that Spitfire Symphonic, Chamber, and Studio strings have.
Please consider adding those additional techniques, or at least in a new library called "Abbey Road Orchestra Symphonic Strings: EXPANDED".
No. In a so-called definitive library, those articulations should all be included. If not initially, then as free incremental updates.
This reminds me how beautifully sampled were the strings in Roland XP/JV series expansion cards :-)
While using it all together, i was wondering why leaders wasn't a part of it. Why is that?
Orchestral Tools Berlin Style typografi and colors.
I can't help feeling the much cheaper Kontakt SSO has more usefull performance legato patches. Fast(er) runs are a joy to play in SSO, not sure about ARO. The ARO legato's sound more MIDIish to me compared to say SSO. Perhaps Spitfire player limitations compared to Kontakts advanced scripting?
Violas and 2nd Violins？
And basses
this seems like a good companion for bbc pro
I feel like SF forgot what an actual legato sounds like. Each new string library sounds more synthy than the last, and at a time where the competition is better than ever. I'm failing to see what I'm spending so much money on here that isn't available in higher realism from Performance Samples or VSL.
The "runs" section in particular is awkward to even listen to - Sounds nothing like an actual string instrument.
Edit - The legato in particular does not sound like it has improved from SSO or BBC, and those might actually sound better in the example phrases used here.
Unfortunately true
It is weird that the little guys like CSS and Performance Samples are making much more compelling products
I’m sure the short demo hasn’t entirely shown what the ARO strings are capable of, but in any case, legato isn’t everything, and string libraries can have other strengths and weaknesses: For example, the normal legato in VSL’s Duality Strings (all of which I own and love) isn’t better than what Spitfire is offering here - it’s actually the least convincing part of the library for me. The legato in Synchron Strings Pro, on the other hand, is great but that library has other weaknesses, and for example doesn’t hold a candle to Duality Strings’ agile legato. On another note, the ARO Basses we heard here are insanely good - much better in tune than the any others I have right now. Fact is, most professionals I know own many different libraries to use their strengths based on what they need, as options in a palette. I don’t own a set of symphonic strings that offer as many articulation details as Paul demonstrated here DIRECTLY from the keyboard without programming, so I’ll be picking these up. If they don’t add anything to your workflow, I get that.
@@kwameryan the problem is price. A library like this shouldn’t have crappy legato
@@TalmoTheSell Agreed. I just don't think your description is accurate. At best, it's a drastic oversimplification since there are lots of different legato types, only some of which Paul demonstrated. The only libraries I know of that have entirely convincing legato are some of the PS libraries (like Vista or Pacific) and CSS, and those libraries all have potentially deal-breaking legato limitations baked in. Vista only has one vibrato setting that is too strong for many types of music. Pacific has more portamento than I can use in all but a few situations. CSS is lovely, but really hard to play and to programme because of the delay. I programmed 90 minutes of symphonic cues with it last year and while the results were good, it was incredibly time consuming and I honestly nearly killed myself with all the midi nudging. VSL is incredibly disciplined and deep for programming, less so for playing. It looks like ARO is focused on playable flexibility with a lot changing under the hood as you play. That has a real workflow value to me in itself, especially since it sounds great in most cases. If I need to layer in a few bars of Pacific or Vista for ultimate legato in an exposed sweeping melody, I can do that quickly with a specialist library and still benefit from the Spitfire programming saving me weeks of messing around in the midi editor. I often just don't have the time. I'm happy to have options since I know there is no one Holy Grail library that covers everything equally well. It just doesn't exist yet.
Long time SF fan here - great marketing/branding, but unfortunately I have to agree with others and their comments on the legato patches - they just don't sound realistic to my ears at all. The shorts sound great however, and if they were available as a separate module (without the bloated legatos price point), I'm sure there'd be more orders coming through. Still, it's disappointing to not have realistic sounding legatos as part of the package. Most of the composers I know use a handful of different libraries to get the job done though, and so the shorts would be a welcome addition for many I'm sure.
Agreed regarding the legatos
OMG. I thought you'd forgotten all about us and then you go and drop all that at once. I love you. My wallet hates you.
It's always shocking how naive people can be
@@ytinutroppo I understand that people have different viewpoints. I watched the demo and found it really compelling, which is why I felt it was worth the investment for my music. Everyone has different needs and budgets, and this fits mine.
@@dilzaaaa"I thought you'd forgotten all about us" =So you think they are thinking about you/us? That's what it meant. It's marketing. It just sounded like a very inexperienced opinion of yours to me.
Btw watch out the Wallfisch Strings by Orchestral Tools...(an example) Just simply compare the "worth" with other libaries you could get with that price.
@ytinutroppo Of course not. I'm speaking about the range. It seems like a long time since they released cellos. I just said it in a more playful and informal way.
I'm not understanding why you have to target me with words like naive and inexperienced because I like something that you don't. I don't buy exclusively Spitfire products, but I have bought a lot. I like the sound, the support, the innovation, the community, and this particular range.
If you don't, that's fine too. I'm not gonna berate you for it. 😊
I've seen the demo for Wallfisch Strings too. It does sound nice.
Those first two demos sound like a 1990s Korg string patch. Not remotely impressive.
This sounds killer! well done Paul and all , The Cello and Violin 1 are the most playable libraries out there, and by a long way!
🙏🙏
How long will the introductory price be?
So strings for $1200...when the rest of the orchestra is done, are we talking about a $3000-4000 library?
Well looks that i am donr with spitfire
No love and care for existing products , no updates that matters, overpriced stuff and more mediacore quallity instead of innovation
Ondes martenot ?
Same old same o. Synthy, overpriced 3x, shortly to be abandoned. Yeah you can make them sound nice with a ton of work. Yuck!
Good
These aren’t worth $1000. Maybe $600 but not $1000. It feels like Spitfire has been so out of touched with their customers. We want ethnic libraires with rare Instruments and techniques with reasonable pricing. It feels like spitfire overprices everything just because they can
Ethnic???
Yes 💯%
Or you can just simply buy from another company.
Spitfire roots were always in orchestral samples.
Why not just go to Orchestral Tools, they have exactly that.
Sounds great! Ignore the haters and crybabies. If I remember correctly SSO pro was $3500 when it was on top. So the pricing for this 1/3 of the final orchestra looks appropriate especially for the higher quality sound up from SSO. 👍
I agree. You get to “virtually” write orchestral music in Abbey Rd played by world class musicians on some of the best instruments in existence. The criticism of the price is foolish.
@@paulm5857These arguments are far too simple. Basically, it's about the bottom line. It plays a role for the creator which equipment he uses (cost and quality), but you always have to compare it to other things, i.e. other string libraries. I don't want to say anything more than that the prices can't just be defined because the best musicians and the best instruments were used. What counts is the experience, the benefit you can derive from it... the workflow. I'm always thinking about whether I should give OT a chance with the Walfisch Strings, I've read through a lot of opinions, you should definitely always look around first.
why would anyone still pay for this?
Zzzzzzz
For those being unhappy about the price... If a library is twice the price, in my opinion at least, one is allowed to expect a very noticible difference for their personal sound or workflow. If it's not there, or you personally can't hear it, look for other libraries or stick to your current ones.
If you CAN hear a massive difference and the library is an absolute game changer for you, then a higher price would honestly not be stopping you or make you unhappy.
So... sad about the price after hearing the demos and watching the walkthrough?
Thank Spitfire for slapping some sense into YOU, so YOU are not wasting your money on yet another string library that FOR YOU doesn't really bring anything new to the table.
If you can't justify the price, trust your gut! You do not need this library! It's really that simple.
Super clean and nice bass sound, really great
Glad you like it 🙌
Thought Paul was in his PJs at first.
How is this more sxpensive than chamber strings,you people are strange
I wish you would sort out your Eric Whitacre Evo plugin, that would make us all excited. A lot of money spent on a broken libray. Get your priorities right guys , come on.
Woah
Excellent decision to finally pack everything to a “strings” library.
Downloading now. The icons don't match the rest of the collection. Can't wait to play on them though. Think I'm gonna need to expand my 8TB SSD storage soon though. :)
Synth sound😢
Go check out blakus’s demo and come again
@@paulthiebaut tbf blakus can make anything sound good lmao
@@DSenji yeee well that’s what we as vst users have to work on, programming and mocking up properly to get a nice sound. I would never recommend using a library out of the box !
@@paulthiebaut bingo, context often matters more than raw sound
Do you recommend any videos on working with plugins to make them sound better? I have the BBCSO Pro. Also got the NPPE.
Divisi A and B sections?
You are at the wrong page. Go to Orchestral Tools Benjamin Wallfisch Strings. Divisi is there 😊
@@mehranmosaddeq Sadly the divisi BWS is not very usable and the library isn't as polished overall
@@AlonsoJoaquinComposer Really?? I'm not owning that lib, just seen the reviews. OT has a history with not well polished samples, but they get better over the updates. What's up with the Divisis? I'd like to hear about your experience.