G’day everyone!
NativeInstruments is gifting me a sound library. I’m thinking about getting either their symphonic woodwinds or their symphonic brass sound library. Has anyone used either of these sound libraries before? Would love to hear some pros and cons about each of them please. Thanks so much!
Hey @35TCB77 :
Hope you are well!
Congrats on the gift!!
I have the Symphony series. I’d recommend not getting the essentials as they are pretty chopped down in articulations.
That being said, here are my thoughts;
its a perfectly serviceable library. It is not without its idiosyncrasies as all libraries have.
the winds do not have an English Horn or Piccolo, but has ensembles and some very cool FX, Crescendos Diminuendos etc.
Brass is more or less complete with the usual instruments and aforementioned FX.
A few caveats:
One of the common complaints is that each section was recorded in a different space. So there is different ambience for each section. Some don’t care for this, I didn’t mind at the time.
Also, the libraries are VERY wet, Lots of ambience and room ‘baked’ in. Meaning the reverb is part of the sound. there are some mic options but it is still difficult to get a dry sound like VSL and use your own reverb etc.
Overall it was my second ever orchestral library (I have the others in the series too) and really enjoyed using it. As I’ve “progressed” to use other libraries I do still use it and enjoy it occasionally.
overall I could describe it as “big,” Lush," etc. But perhaps not agile in the sense of smaller sounding drier libraries.
Of the lot, the winds and percussion are considered to be better but I really used the strings a lot and still like them. Brass i felt was big sounding in a positive way.
Finally, as a gift I’d say its worth it. I got the series as part of a bundle but purchasing it outright is pricey and better can be had for less. Here in Canada the set costs $1300. thats quite steep considering the anxiety surrounding NI’s recent reorganization which may cast doubt o the library’s maintenance/updates.
These are my own thoughts as a not-very-experienced composer with some additional research to see what the general consensus on the web says about them. Lots of opinions out there both pro and con.
Good luck in the decision and I’m sure others will chime in!!
Take care
Shore
Hey,
Thanks for the help! I went the brass library. I’m most likely never going to use it, but I’m not going to pass on a free $500 USD sound library, ha. I mean, I’ll probably download it just to see how it is, but other than that, I’m probably not going to use it. I’m loving NotePerformer. It’s also odd how the NativeInstruments’ woodwind sound library doesn’t have an individual bass clarinet sound.
Thanks,
TCB
Hey @35TCB77:
excellent!! Glad to see you made a choice!!
I’d encourage you to try the library it can sound cool. (No stress or judgement)
Also a Noterperformer user here for many years and currently trying to migrate from the discontinued NPPE system of version 4.5-5.0. I found it made composition really accessible since I could concentrate on notes and not endless midi cc editing etc. I felt it was what my composition journey needed at the time.
Good luck and happy composing, let me know how you make out with the library if you’d like (again no worries life gets busy)
Take care
Shore