Anyone have both of these and care to comment on a comparison?
I have been pondering Komplete. If the VSL Orchestra in Kontakt is as good (or better?) than HSO VST Sound Set, then I would put the $99 towards Komplete.
On the other hand, if HSO is clearly better, or if Steinberg is working on an expanded or improved version of HSO that I could upgrade to (feel free to chime in Steinberg!), I would see the $99 as a good investment.
Thoughts anyone?
Sincerely,
J.L.
Although these two are pretty much comparable in the range of instruments and articulations covered, I think the Kontakt orchestral strings have more nuances in sound than HSO strings. The same is true about Kontakt solo strings, which in my opinion sound much more realistic compared to those in HSO. As for woodwinds, brass and orchestral percussion, I think these are very good in both libraries. Kontakt has a very decent harp, a couple of pianos, which are so-so due to a limited number of velocity layers and an organ. There is no harp in HSO, I like the S90ES piano included in HSSE more than the two Kontakt pianos, there is no organ in HSO, although there is one in HSSE, but it doesn’t have various registrations like the Kontakt one.
You can create good music with both libraries of course, but if realism in sound is of a crucial importance to you, there are more professional options available today on the market. Some of them require a full version of Kontakt, some come with their own sampler. I’d say it’s good to have Kontakt for some excellent 3rd party libraries anyway.