The Definitive List of Great Orchestral Sample Libraries for Producers [Strings / Brass / Choir / Percussion / Cinematic & Trailer SFX]

- INTRO -

One of the most common questions on Reddit, when it comes to Orchestral Music Production, is:

What are the best orchestral libraries for Strings / Brass / Perucssion / Woodwinds / Cinematic & Trailer SFX?

Another is:

What are the best orchestral libraries to get if you're tight on money, but still want something that sounds great?

I also get these questions on a daily basis on my YouTube channel, where I teach people how to compose orchestral music by ear, so I finally decided to answer them once and for all by creating a resource that people can check when they have such questions:

I took a couple days to make a huge video where I talk at length about my favorite orchestral libraries as a professional composer, showing examples of how I used them in context of full songs, listing their pros & cons and sharing information about their prices.

---

- HOW TO USE THE LIST & VIDEO -

The text list is split into sections for each main instruments, and comes in two parts.

I wrote timestamps and prices, so you can skip to whatever library you might be interested in and see their cost straight away.

• Part 1 - This part contains all my personal favorite sample libraries, which are the ones I talk about in the video. The details about them are in the video.

• Part 2 - This part contains all the other amazing, universally acclaimed libraries I heard a great deal about, but which aren't among my favorites (or which I simply don't own). These aren't in the video, so I wrote info about their pros, cons, and prices inside the list.

The video itself, is avaialble here > https://youtu.be/X6yNLvk8POE

Lastly, if you want to know more about a specific library, I recommend you to go on its website and listen to the demos.

Now, let's get into the list!

---

- THE DEFINITIVE LIST OF GREAT ORCHESTRAL & CINEMATIC LIBRARIES (2018) -

PART 1 - MY ALL-TIME FAVORITES

BUDGET LIBRARIES & RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BEGINNERS:

• 02:09 - EastWest Composer Cloud ($30+)

PIANO LIBRARIES:

• 03:22 - Native Instruments THE GIANT ($99)

ALL-IN-ONE ORCHESTRAL LIBRARIES:

• 05:34 - OrchestralTools Metropolis Ark 1 (€549)
• 08:24 - Audio Imperia Jaeger ($599)
• 13:46 - OrchestralTools Berlin Orchestra Inspire (€399)

STRINGS:

• 15:56 - Cinematic Strings 2 ($299)
• 17:48 - CineSamples Tina Guo Acoustic Cello Legato ($99)
• 20:14 - CineSamples CineStrings Solo ($399)

BRASS:

• 22:04 - OrchestralTools Metropolis Ark 1 [Brass Demonstration](€549)
• 22:29 - 8Dio Century Brass Ensemble ($398)

CHOIR:

• 25:54 - Performance Samples Oceania ($269)
• 27:01 - Strezov Sampling StormChoir II: Core ($329)
• 28:40 - Impact Soundworks Vocalisa ($129)

WOODWINDS:

• 30:14 - CineWinds CORE ($349)

ORCHESTRAL & HYBRID PERCUSSION:

• 32:14 - Heavyocity DAMAGE ($299)
• 36:34 - Rhapsody Orchestral Percussion ($199)
• 38:10 - 8Dio The New Epic Toms & The New Epic Dhol Ensembles ($99 / $99)

CINEMATIC / TRAILER SFX:

• 40:01 - Impact Soundworks Juggernaut ($139)
• 42:35 - BOOM Library Cinematic Trailers Designed (€99)
• 43:27 - AVA Instinct ($59)
• 44:24 - Audio Imperia Scenes From The Multiverse Vol.01 ($59)
• 46:15 - 8Dio Hybrid Tools Vol.02 ($249)
• 47:20 - Audio Imperia Shredders Vol.01 ($65)

- PART 2 - OTHER AMAZING LIBRARIES NOT MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO -

OTHER ALL-IN-ONE BUNDLES:

• Spitfire Albion ONE (€449).

  GREAT Sound, All-In-One Orchestral Library with Strings, Brass, Woodwinds, Percussion & Synths. Not as loud as Metropolis Ark 1, but more dynamic.

• EastWest Hollywood Orchestra (Usually on sale at $499)

  Has Strings, Brass / Woodwinds / Percussion and contains an incredible variety of articulations for each. A bit of an old library, sounds less mind-blowing out of the box compared to its competition.

• 8Dio Majestica ($599):

  A larger than life Orchestral Library. Same concept as Metropolis Ark 1, but differently from it, it doesn't contain any choir. I personally prefer the sound of Metropolis Ark 1 big time.

• Metropolis Ark 3 (€399):

  Orchestral Clusters / Percussion & Rhythmic Clusters on steroids. Incredible quality, very useful if you write music for film, can't think of another use for it however as I have the impression it's mostly cluster notes which you wouldn't hear outside of soundtrack for films.

OTHER STRINGS:

• Cinematic Studio Strings ($399):

  The "sequel" to Cinematic Strings 2.

• Cinematic Studio Strings Solo ($299):

  Like Cinematic Studio Strings, but with soloist Strings instead.

• OrchestralTools Berlin Strings (€840):

  Heard a great deal about this one, and the rest of the Berlin Series, they're expensive but are among the best Orchestral Libraries at the moment.

• Audiobro LASS 2.5 ($499 / $1399 - Sometimes in sale for less):

  Great "dry" and clean sound. Extensively programmed.

OTHER BRASS:

• CineSamples CineBrass CORE & PRO ($399 / $399):

  Quite old but still pretty great. The "Twelve Horns Patch" in CineBrass PRO is an all-time favorite between composers.

• OrchestralTools Berlin Brass (€799):

  Supposedly one of the best Brass Libaries ever made, but quite expensive at that, too.

OTHER CHOIR:

• 8Dio Lacrimosa ($599):

  An "Epic Choir" library from 8Dio. Fairly new, but from all I heard, I prefer the sound of Metropolis Ark 1's Choir, which, considering is just a little part of the entire library, is also way less expensive than Lacrimosa.

• 8Dio Insolidus ($599):

  Lyrical / Gregorian Chant type of choir, most dynamic and fluent choir I ever heard, but very soft too. It works well as a quiet choir, but I'm not sure if it can get loud and epic like Metropolis Ark 1 or Lacrimosa.

• Strezov Sampling ARVA / FREYJA / WOTAN / RHODOPE ($329 - $429):

  Very particular kind of choirs, ranging from Children, Ethereal Women Choir, "LOTR" Men Choir or Ethnic Bulgarian Choir.

OTHER WOODWINDS:

• OrchestralTools Berlin Woodwinds (€649):

  Supposedly one of the best Woodwinds Libaries ever made, but quite expensive at that, too.

• 8Dio Claire Virtuoso Bundle ($688)

OTHER PERCUSSION:

• OrchestralTools Berlin Percussion (€499)

• StrikeForce Cinematic Percussion ($389):

  A ground-breaking Hybrid Percussion library, the one true heir of Heavyocity DAMAGE, it seems. Endorsed by the man himself, JunkieXL. Definitely getting this one someday.

• Native Instruments Action Strikes ($299)

  A percussion library of various percussive kits, each geared with tweakable cinematic loops, but can be used without loops too.

OTHER CINEMATIC / TRAILER SFX:

• Heavyocity GRAVITY ($449):

  This one is all about cinematic motion pads & atmospheres, but it also has risers, stringers and hits. In my opnion, not as fundamental as the libraries I mentioned in my video for Trailer Music.

• Native Instruments Rise & Hit (€149):

  Amazing library for building your own trailer / cinematic hits, woshes and risers.

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EPILOGUE & CREDITS:

That's all, folks!

I want to keep this list updated, so if you have recommendations on great libs to add, feel free to contribute in the comments, we'd all be grateful for it!

And a massive thank you to all the developers who make it possible for us to write awesome music with their products. You guys rock.

- Alex (http://youtube.com/c/AlexMoukala)

Submitted January 26, 2018 at 08:57AM by silentedge92 https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/7t41y1/the_definitive_list_of_great_orchestral_sample/?utm_source=ifttt

Javier Rodriguez

edm producers, edmproduction, fl studio tutorial, Music Theory

Friday, January 26, 2018

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