Orchestral sounds for Cubase 5

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dicus
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Dicus

Dicus

Enthusiastic Member
Hey Everyone,

Not really sure where to post this, so I'm posting it here. I love to compose and make music, have used GarageBand for a while since it came with my computer. But I switched to Cubase 5 LE lately.
I'm searching for a nice soundpackage with orchestral sounds, so in stead of orchestral string I'd like to be able to write for violin, alt violin, cello, 2nd cello and so on, separatly. There is a lot on the market and most of it is very expensive. I'd like to know what sound packages are the best in your opinion and if it is possible how they relate to their price.

Thanks already!
 
Thanks, that gives me some ideas. But still there must be a best sound package for orchestra when comparing price to quality... Anyone any experience, please share!
 
Dicus said:
Anyone any experience, please share!
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I swear by Miroslav Philharmonik. It is a little pricey if you don't have much money, but it's worth it. Anyway, once money is spent, it no longer exists for me. I've been using it since around 2006. I use it alot. I personally think it's excellent. Prior to it, I used Garritan personal orchestra which was OK. Not as good in my opinion but more than adequate.
 
Dicus said:
Miroslav Philharmonik looks really good, it's a lot of money. But if it is as good as it looks, then it definitely is worth it.
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Once you learn to tweak the instruments and blend them, believe me, it's worth it.
 
I took some time to listen to the examples Miroslav has on its website. And I have to say that sounds are beautifull but it sounds like they're not used well or something. Perhaps something wrong in the mixing or mastering.

Anyways: when I compare the sounds to the sounds from Eastwests Symphonic Orchestra www(dot)soundsonline-europe(dot)com/Symphonic-Orchestra The latter sounds better. What is the difference between the both then. Or is it just that the latter took more time to finish it nicely.
 
If the latter sounds better to you, then that's probably the one to go with. I tend to be a bit of a gambler with VSTis because I've become a little wary of taking my cue from the examples they post on the product sites. The first virtual instruments I ever heard {a double bass and acoustic guitar} sounded so real and amazing that I sold my double bass {space was an issue as my wife was expecting our second kid and our flat isn't exactly the size of the universe} thinking that great double basses should be easy to find.
Wrong !
And 8 years on I just bought a double bass again. The acoustic guitar VSTis weren't close to being better than what I could do with my acoustic ~ and I'm not even a good player. What I've found is that in order to get the instruments in Miroslav to sound good, I have to tweak them, doing things like turning off the reverb and adjusting the attack and release and upping or downing the level or playing with the envelopes etc. That way, you create very personal sounds. My days of thinking VSTis really are just 'plug in and play' went a long time ago, through hard experience !
 
I hoped to make my recording bedroom/homestudio more professional so that I could spend more time making music and less time working on the technical side. But I start to realise that I need to get a friend who loves all the technical stuff to be able to record more professionaly without decreasing my music-making-time.

Could it be that Miroslav sounds are better but that Eastwests took more time to tweak it nicely? If that is the case then I'd better go with Miroslav, I have to say that the info on their site looks really cool. I love it that they took time to record all the performance variations, cause that is what I absolutely miss with Halion One in Cubase and the built-in GarageBand sounds.

Do you know if it matters in what DAW you use the VSTs, I'm using Cubase LE 5 for now? I'll be upgrading once I have the money and start missing options that upgraded versions have. And can I keep on using the same VSTs after I upgrade or chance DAW, without paying extra or buying it again?
 
Yes. VSTs are saved separately from your DAW. They will work with any program that uses VST's. If you upgrade to a paid version of Cubase, the VST's will automatically be there. If you change DAW's, then you may need to just direct it to the VSTPlugins folder.
 
Ok, that's a good thing. Thanks for the reply. Could I use it for mac and pc simultaneously or would I need two licenses then?
 
Well, when you upgrade to a 'paid' version of Cubase, your license is stored on a dongle (like USB flash drive), so you can install Cubase on as many computers as you like. Just have to plug in the dongle.

You would need to install the 3rd party VST's on the other computers.
 
Dicus said:
I hoped to make my recording bedroom/homestudio more professional so that I could spend more time making music and less time working on the technical side.
Click to expand...
Tweaking really doesn't take long unless you choose to take long. Maybe I'm just not fussy but I spend a couple of minutes tweaking the sounds I require. I know what I'm looking for and as I've gotten a little better at it, finding a suitable sound isn't hard or time consuming. Say, I want a viola. I select one, play a few notes and straight away, I'll know if it's within the scope of what I want. If it isn't, I select another one. I got into VSTis because I like particular sounds of instruments, not because I want to spend eons creating new ones !
 
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