TenLetters Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Hi All, I have got myself a bit of work composing a short piece of music for a horse dressage routine. I have done this previously for the same customer who at the time wanted a piece with influenced by Red Right Hand (Nick Cave). All standard instruments so pretty straight forward. For the current commission he is after a more orchestral piece based upon strings and piano. I have no intention of recording live strings due to cost issues but given its for a paying customer, will impact on the result of the routine and the stings are likely to be at the forefront, I want a decent quality realistic string/piano sound. I do have a reasonable budget but don't want to go nuts. I've done a bit of research into it but interested to find out what some of you guys use for this kind of thing? Cheers, Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Hi Adam. The Miroslav Philharmonic workstation is often used and comes recommended by folks on here. Costs around £110. http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/philharmonik/ If you want to push boat out further, have a look at the Spitfire Audio products: http://www.spitfireaudio.com They're top quality but as such command a fairly high price tag (averaging £300 or so per sample package). Other than that, most digital audio workstations (DAW) come bundled with a usable library of orchestral sounds. Hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 (edited) [size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Personally I use VSL special editions 1 and 2, and the 1 and 2 plus. Loads of articulations, which are all very playable. The only problem for some folks is that the library is recorded dry. But the samples are pristine. The downside of this is you have to use you own verb tails and halls to position the instruments in their Orchestral seating positions. Although you can purchase extra verb, hall and studios of the world and the presets do the placements for you. But of course you can then mix and match with other vendor libraries very easily. The Instruments are both in full Symphonic set up as well as Chamber size. I also use Cinematic Strings, full Symphonic straight out of the box, very lush with all the Instruments in their positions. The articulations are limited to the basics, but beautiful, realistic sounding. The best Orchestral libraries out there with out a doubt are. The two above, the East West stuff, Project Sam, Spitfire Audio, Orchestral Tools, Cinesamples and L.A.S.S. They all come at a price, but most have cut down versions or you can buy sections one at a time. For Piano, I use Cinesamples 'Piano in Blue' V2. Nice sounding, with good velocity touch and playability. There are so many Piano libraries out there, it will always come down to your personal choice of sound in your head. I have my eyes on one of these Grand Pianos at the moment ( sale deals going on at the present). These samples always get good reviews, so worth checking out the demos. [url="http://www.sampletekk.com/grand-pianos"]http://www.sampletekk.com/grand-pianos[/url] If you have not done so already, get yourself over to VI Control. Everything you need with lots of very helpful experienced composers. All the info you need on libraries, composing for Orchestra, tutorials and all the new deals (usually discounted) regarding software. Just about everything 'Midi Mock Up'. [url="http://vi-control.net/portal/"]http://vi-control.net/portal/[/url] One thing worth considering if you are undecided, is the monthly library rental that is in place over at 'East West'. [url="http://www.soundsonline.com/?ref=subpage"]http://www.soundsonl...om/?ref=subpage[/url] Of course, getting convincing, real sounding Orchestral results is not just about the sounds, it is as much about knowing what Instruments work with what (voicing wise etc), and all the articulations involved, and use them how a real player would, along with Reverbs, Halls and seating placements in the mix etc.[/font][/size] [size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Always a learning process, without a doubt. Good luck with the project.[/font][/size] Edited August 26, 2015 by lowdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 (edited) I bought a package from Spitfire audio a couple of years ago, they're well priced, and I think extremely good value. Someone on here recommended them to me. [url="http://www.spitfireaudio.com/spitfire-solo-strings"]http://www.spitfireaudio.com[/url] They sound brilliant. I did some music for a dressage routine a couple of years ago, my cousin trains dressage horses. Though it was prerecorded music, I just had to edit it down, and adjust the tempos to match the horses gait. Edited August 26, 2015 by ambient Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenLetters Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 (edited) Lots of useful stuff to look through and some amazing sounding samples! Especially enjoying Piano in Blue. Ambient - This is for a friends dad who also trains horses. He previously has had pre-recorded music but really liked having a piece written specifically for his horses routine last time out. The judges liked it too, so he wanted another done. Its strangely satisfying when you match tempo perfectly to the gait pattern/speed isn't it! Thanks for the suggestions! Edited August 28, 2015 by TenLetters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I've found the strings in Logic to be most excellent so far, but then you'd be buying a new DAW to get them (& maybe a Mac too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 [quote name='TenLetters' timestamp='1440763618' post='2853624'] Thanks for the suggestions! [/quote] Hey TenLetters, I mentioned getting over to VI Control for some good advice about the serious String (Orchestral) Libraries I forgot to mention that you get some good people checking in there. At the moment you can get to hang out with Hans Zimmer..... The thread is about an interview between his daughter and himself, and he has started chipping in - His name is 'Rctec'. [size=2][url="http://vi-control.net/community/threads/hans-zimmer-interviewed-by-his-daughter.48174/"]http://vi-control.ne...daughter.48174/[/url][/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenLetters Posted September 6, 2015 Author Share Posted September 6, 2015 (edited) Awesome - Thanks. Hans Zimmer seems like a genuinely nice guy with a great outlook on things! I've started trawling through Vi Control as well, some really useful stuff there! Sorry to have to ask this - I have tried finding out but cant get a clear answer - with the VSL libraries do you know if you need to buy the sampler software on top or do you get a basic version with the samples? Edited September 6, 2015 by TenLetters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 (edited) [quote name='TenLetters' timestamp='1441560023' post='2859829'] Awesome - Thanks. Hans Zimmer seems like a genuinely nice guy with a great outlook on things! I've started trawling through Vi Control as well, some really useful stuff there! Sorry to have to ask this - I have tried finding out but cant get a clear answer - with the VSL libraries do you know if you need to buy the sampler software on top or do you get a basic version with the samples? [/quote] I don't actually know this, but was curious about the samples so looked at the page. There are some free bits of software including a 'Vienna Instruments Sample Player'. [url="https://www.vsl.co.at/en/Software/Vienna_Instruments"]https://www.vsl.co.a...nna_Instruments[/url] Edited September 7, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 [quote name='TenLetters' timestamp='1441560023' post='2859829'] Awesome - Thanks. Hans Zimmer seems like a genuinely nice guy with a great outlook on things! I've started trawling through Vi Control as well, some really useful stuff there! Sorry to have to ask this - I have tried finding out but cant get a clear answer - with the VSL libraries do you know if you need to buy the sampler software on top or do you get a basic version with the samples? [/quote] You get the free Vienna Instruments player with any of the samples purchased. You can upgrade to Vienna Instruments Pro for more features. Also you get the free Vienna Ensemble player as well, which is a server hosting mixer. Again you can upgrade to VE5 Pro for extra features. The basic Ensemble player gives you 16 virtual midi ports per instance. So 256 midi channels hosted outside your DAW = no CPU hit on your DAW. It also purges all samples no in use. On the software page at VSL, there are plenty of tutorial videos if it sounds confusing. VSL player (free) https://vsl.co.at/en/Software/Vienna_Instruments#!Video_Demos VSL player pro https://vsl.co.at/en/Vienna_Software_Package/Vienna_Instruments_PRO#!Video_Demos VSL ensemble (free) https://vsl.co.at/en/Software/Vienna_Ensemble#!Video_Demos VSL Ensemble Pro https://vsl.co.at/en/Vienna_Software_Package/Vienna_Ensemble_PRO#!Video_DemosDid There are some amazing sounding customer Midi Mock up scores worth checking out. All done with only VSL Instruments. https://vsl.co.at/en/MUSIC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 (edited) The demos are very impressive. The voice demos sound a bit samey however. But the Requiem string demo sounds beautiful IMHO. Edited September 7, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenLetters Posted September 7, 2015 Author Share Posted September 7, 2015 Nice one - thanks again for the useful information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Some of the best Orchestra Midi mock ups I have heard. Mainly done with VSL (and some other libraries layered in). These are mainly well know classical pieces, but some originals in there as well. Carles is a top, top composer for media music work and really knows his stuff. https://soundcloud.com/carles-piles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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