Hey all! It seems like a lot of folks are continually checking in to see if this is a good library. Here's a small update - - Spitfire has NOT fixed the loading issues, and I am not the only one to experience it. It is a widespread problem and it is NOT BEING ADDRESSED! Stay away from the library for now.

@Dariocomposer

Жыл бұрын

Only reading this now that I've purchased the library 😅. I can only confirm

@goodbear_goodblair

Жыл бұрын

@@Dariocomposer yikes. Sorry dude! That sucks. It is a really nice sounding library though!

Great balanced review 👍 Keep it up.

Thanks for this review. Very helpful. Love the composition!

@goodbear_goodblair

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much!

Very informative review. Thank you!

@goodbear_goodblair

2 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful. Thanks Christian!

didn't even watch the review part yet, but you already get my like, because your musical excerpt is beautiful already!

@goodbear_goodblair

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!!

@NickJacobsMusic

Жыл бұрын

@@goodbear_goodblair great review too! Can I ask what Sample Libraries you generally use most personally? I'm just getting into sort of film scoring for fun, but I am overwhelmed with all the options, from Spitfire, to Native Instruments or EastWest

@goodbear_goodblair

Жыл бұрын

@@NickJacobsMusic great question. My go to orchestral libraries right now are: Strings - cinematic studio strings, and I’m pretty sure that the upcoming pacific strings (by performance samples) will be one of my main libraries. Then brass - I’m really working through my brass sound. It’s actually the weakest part of my mock-up game at the moment. But I like caspian brass and angry brass (performance samples) sample modeling, Hollywood brass, and abbey road orchestra’s brass (as well as cinebrass) I’m also gonna try out cinematic studio brass here really soon. Winds - cinematic studio woodwinds, as well as Hollywood winds, and spitfire symphonic woodwinds! For percussion, I really like abbey road one. It’s simple, and won’t have everything, but it sounds amazing.

@NickJacobsMusic

Жыл бұрын

@@goodbear_goodblair thanks a lot for the detailed answer! Gonna have a look at all different options 😄

@goodbear_goodblair

Жыл бұрын

@@NickJacobsMusic please do! They’re great libraries. Also, feel free to reach out/follow up on my Instagram @blairlovesmusic

Thanks, great piece and it nicely demonstrates the library's features and brings out the nice sound well; very informative review! As a future feature, looking at the violin behind you and assuming you play violin, it would be nice to hear demonstrations and comparisons of the various solo violin libraries and their features considering if one would like to create a really nice solo violin performance for different types of music :)

@goodbear_goodblair

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! As far as the violin behind me, that is actually my wife’s. She just plays for fun! That’s a killer idea though!

@khkommonen

2 жыл бұрын

I think lots of people are wondering which solo violin etc would be good for them.... many overview demos but few comparisons with real musical content ... that would be very helpful to have 🤗

@goodbear_goodblair

2 жыл бұрын

That’s a great point! Hmmm. A solo violin shootout. I like that.

great review and lovely tune thanks

@goodbear_goodblair

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much!

This is the best review of this product that I've been able to find. Thank you. I was really excited for this library until I saw the price tag, and it made my heart a little sad. I thought it would give me a James Newton Howard "The Village" kind of sound, and was set that this is THE library for me. Your honesty has relieved me of the stress over the cost and given me piece of mind that there are other options out there for my needs. There's no 100% perfect library, unfortunately. This is a very lovely ensemble sound, but it might not be right for me at this point in my career. I look forward to more reviews of yours. Lovely composition, by the way. While I'm at it... Would you happen to know of any library that would give me that "The village; Silk Road" kind of sound? I have a love/hate relationship with Spitfire, and there are so many other companies out there... Any thoughts?

@goodbear_goodblair

Жыл бұрын

Hey! Thanks so much for the lovely comment. As far as getting that "The Village" type sound, I'm curious if you're more leaning toward the Hilary Hahn solo violin sound, or the larger (but still intimate) ensemble sounds? I'm curious what exactly you're going for, but as I listen to the soundtrack, a couple things stand out to me: 1) the solo violin sound is virtuosic. The tone and timbre is lovely, but it has to be able to achieve that accuracy and real light quickness. The only solo violin library I know that can do that right now is Josh Bell. Performance samples - solos of the sea can also get you darn close. Both will be real work to get useable, and not be embarrassing in your mix. If you're on a smaller project where you don't need to record an hour or two of music, I'd find the best violinist in your area and ask them to record for 100-200 dollars and a really nice dinner. lol. If they're decent, they'll sound better than programming 95% of the time. 2) The ensemble sounds from the village are not massive - they seem to be a much smaller chamber ensemble. They also seem to be without vibrato most of the time... leaning into that dry, slightly emotionless sound... milking that sort of creepiness. I'd go with either spitfire chamber strings (they'd absolutely work well for that) or cinematic studio strings, with the close mics turned up about halfway. You need that presence to really get the whisper quality that the score has. FWIW, I would layer these two libraries for that sound, 100% I hope that's helpful, Eicho! Again, thanks for the kind words!

Thanks for the non biased review!! Really appreciate it! On another note, which string library would you recommend to adding strings to pop music and also rock music?

Thanks for good review

@goodbear_goodblair

Жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it!

Thanks for the reveiw

@goodbear_goodblair

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Hope it was helpful.

Blair great review. Have you tried Sacconi Quartet? Do you think this is now the reference library for quartet ensemble (not solo instruments)?

@goodbear_goodblair

2 жыл бұрын

I have not tried Sacconi, unfortunately. I have heard generally good things, but from even their best demos I don't think it's the best you can buy. The best quartet at the moment is probably Cinematic Studio Solo Strings! The legato is super convincing, and the sound quality is definitely on par with the very best. Also, the ability to control vibrato convincingly is one of the things that helps me most to make a solo string library sound convincing. Abbey Road 2 (in my opinion) sounds best with non-traditional music. I was able to eke out a convincing quartet-ish sound here, but that's cause I was purposefully trying to stretch the abilities of the library. In some ways it works, and in some ways it doesn't. Behind a good vocalist and guitar? That would be perfection. I'd definitely throw in my vote for Cinematic Studio Solo Strings, but it's also worth it to keep an eye out for Performance Samples... seems like Jasper is going to throw some incredible solo strings into the next PS string library.

@MusicFed

2 жыл бұрын

@@goodbear_goodblair thank you for the long and interesting reply. I do have CSSS and love it but was intrigued by the new Abbey Road arranger for sketching ideas, as well as the specific sound quality of abbey road. By the way I’m trying to cover a song (Shiloh) by Billy Corgan that was produced by Rick Rubin. I find the quartet arrangement amazing and I wonder which library would give me that sound, as it seemed similar in inspiration to the mood of Abbey Road (if you have a minute to listen to it - kzread.info/dash/bejne/eZlhzKafibG0o84.html). Thanks. Fed

@MusicFed

2 жыл бұрын

@@goodbear_goodblair non-traditional music you mean non-classical here? So Abbey road in your opinion works best in pop arrangements?

@goodbear_goodblair

2 жыл бұрын

@@MusicFed awesome! Thanks for the reply. I’ll definitely take a listen to the arrangement. Also, yes! I’m referring to non-traditional as anything non-orchestral in this context. Pop/rock music.

@goodbear_goodblair

2 жыл бұрын

@@MusicFed Alright, I listened to the arrangement, and my ears may be deceiving me, but that doesn't sound like a quartet, Maybe 10-15 players. I think you're best bet with that sound is Spitfire's Chamber Strings. That's one of my swiss army knife libraries, and it works great in a pop/singer-songwriting context. Cinematic Studio strings could also work, but it's a little big for this. That being said, if you layer Cinematic Studio Solo Strings with Chamber Strings with the close mics bumped up quite a bit (on CSSS), and the big room mic turned down, I think that would basically get you the exact sound you're looking for... throaty/bow-y and present, but with a nice warmth that you get on analogue recordings like that.

Paul Thompson said there's an update coming in early 2024. It's a great sounding library and I'm looking forward to the update.

@goodbear_goodblair

4 ай бұрын

Very glad to hear it!

@Mr_Blacker

4 ай бұрын

Where did he say that? I want to know more about the update

Nice vid. Thanks. Opted for Pro myself, as you know to save myself the pressure LOL... The long patch has vibrato control. Check that out for more expressive moments. Think that is the only one available. Wish more. Some devs work out a LFO vibrato long legato. I suspect the LONG here is LFO, but no legato... FYI some of the pro mics have port issues, reported, but they do add something nice to the tone options. Loading time is high - if you can disable virus scanning on the folder.

@goodbear_goodblair

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I’ll have to check that out. There are definitely some patches with vibrato control, but not the Legato patches. You’re seemingly able to control wether the legato samples plays by manipulating velocity just a bit! I’ll take a look at the long patches and see if that adds any usability.

@henrikpetersson3463

Жыл бұрын

Do you get the core version as well when you buy the pro? How do you like it now a year later?

@Transform108

Жыл бұрын

@@henrikpetersson3463 The tone and responsiveness of the library is very good. Mix A and B the core mics are great. Many of the Pro mics are still busted, misfires ... You can uninstall Pro mics to save space but you cannot just download the core. I like the library for its up front unprocessed but crystal clear sound. IMO if you can do without portamento the Core suffices just fine.

@henrikpetersson3463

Жыл бұрын

@@Transform108 Thank you for sharing! Yeah, I feel like I would miss having portamento so I would probably end up with the pro version in the end anyway. My main concern is the space it requires though. It would be ideal to have a smaller version on my internal drive for composing and then the larger one on an external when it’s time to mix. So you mean that I can have a smaller install and still keep the portamento? That’s ideal really. But it’s not possible to move the other mics to a different volume?

@Transform108

Жыл бұрын

@@henrikpetersson3463 But yes you would be able to keep the portamento with that process.

My issue with AR2IC is that the demos make it sound like gorgeous strings with clouds of roisin perfect for a quartet. Then I noticed EVERY demo was LOUD ONLY. I thought maybe just trying to sell it as rock strings or wev. BUT then I watched a couple reviews…. PS I get dynamics and expression confused because EXPRESSION IS HOW THE PERFORMED EXPRESSES ON THE INSTRUMENT EG “PERFORMED LOUDNESS” and “dynamics” is literally a measure of HEARD VOLUME. Or that’s what I was taught in my masters of music composition… So I’ll call the rightmost CC Dynamics regardless of the spitfire or English way. Ok so ADORE the timbre but worried it is only loud. Watched reviews and yep. The people would play while pulling the dynamics slider from top/100% to bottom/1%. Can you guess what I would expect the dynamic change to be? Closer to 100% to ~10%. Nope. The difference from slider from top to bottom was a HEARD LOUDNESS CHANGE of 10-15%. The only quiet (ish) option is flautando and personally I don’t have the patience to wait 10 seconds for an instrument to be full. I haven’t watched your video yet but I’m hoping you’ll address it. Idk why people are pretending to not notice a GLARING issue. Also, Spitfire WTF? You’re better than that! I’m getting offers to receive betas and if I do it and do a KZread I will be honest no matter the allegiance to the product

I've purchased the library only a few days ago, first thing I noticed is the loading issue, but I think I will get around it. I have a bunch pretty dramatic scenes to score and I'm curious to try this library and see the results. Thanks!

@goodbear_goodblair

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, it’s certainly a nice sounding library! I will say, if you decide you’re gonna use the library; bounce your individual tracks to audio as you finish mocking up individual sections of your piece. That way, as you finish your piece it loads up really quickly because it’s just audio. This will keep you from having to wait 20 minutes to open a session if you just need to get into it to make a quick revision. Hope the project goes well!

@Dariocomposer

Жыл бұрын

@@goodbear_goodblair I will definitely do that. Thanks so much! 😊

Beautiful music

@goodbear_goodblair

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Sean!

Two questions: 1) Whoa... 15 to 20 MINUTES to load up a Spitfire library on your M1 Mac Mini? That's what I have, and now I'm frankly freaked out about forking out a lot of money for this library and then have to deal with such a crazy wait time each time a piece with this in Logic :o 2) So this is your Honest review. But I was puzzled that I didn't see your corresponding Dishonest review! Okay, sorry, that's more snark about my dislike for "an honest [review / post / etc.]", sorry :D Snark on #2 aside, thank you for this detailed, helpful review! (and particularly the cool info about mapping articulations to cc ranges)

@goodbear_goodblair

Жыл бұрын

Hey! Thanks for your comment. 1 - Yeah, it’s not great. I like the sound of the library, and I LOVE the “brushed” articulation. No one else does that, and I feel like it’s such a unique thing that I just can’t get anywhere else. Wish more libraries did them! But, I really haven’t used this library, period, since I did this demo. Can’t get it to load in a reasonable amount of time. I also have figured out that Cinematic Studio Solo Strings can achieve a very good and similar(ish) sound if I just turn off everything but the close mics. It’s a wonderful library. There’s a huge thread at VI - Control talking about the bugs in this library, and the bugs everyone’s facing. Just this week it seems like there have been some talk of updates from Spitfire, but they sure have taken their time. I don’t know if I’d suggest this library… It can be beautiful but the aforementioned CSSS is consistent, beautiful, and I’ve literally had directors ask me “are those real strings??” - I’d go with CSSS. 2 - lol, I see your point, but I think the “honest” review thing works because sometimes channels review this stuff and they’re big fans of the library, maybe hoping to work for them one day, and do a demo with kid gloves on. The “honest” in the title lets folks know that my intentions are just to make clear what I find good and bad. - That’s probably why these types of videos are fairly popular, people are just looking for answers. Would “unbiased review” be a better title? Maybe, but I’m not gonna lose sleep thinking about the difference. Really glad you liked the review, and the mapping articulations part! I honestly love doing it that way. So glad it could be of help!

@auberginedreams00

Жыл бұрын

Not sure if this is helpful but I have an M2 MacBook Pro with 64GB of RAM and it loads in like 10 seconds. This library is just what I was looking for personally - dry and versatile but authentic and full of character

@goodbear_goodblair

Жыл бұрын

@@auberginedreams00 Yeah, that's one of the big shames about this library! The sound quality is awesome. Yeah, so far it seems to be pretty indiscriminate as far as who's having the load issues and who isn't. It doesn't seem to be related to computing power. I just re-tried opening it on my mac studio with 128gb of ram, and it's still taking eons to open. People can, and maybe should, totally buy it! But it's absolutely a throw of the dice.

@ThatAdamGuy

9 ай бұрын

@@goodbear_goodblair Heya, Blair... heh, wow, a very belated thanks for your detailed reply! :) Based on the note from you and others, I decided not to get this library. The fact that Spitfire has dragged their feet on a great many bugs (especially with NKS / Komplete Kontrol) for *years* has also not endeared me to them, so I've largely decided to stop buying their libraries. Oh, and the fact that they offer no downloadable demos, have no return policy, prohibit resales, etc. I've gone from being a bit Spitfire fan originally to frankly really disappointed with what I perceive to be their customer-hostile approach. But I digress :D On the "honest" bit... heh, maybe I'm an outlier. I just assume that -- in too many cases -- when people explicitly insist on their honesty or unbiasedness, I am skeptical ;). Rather, I've just come to trust folks by their output / content / actions over time. I just assume most creators online are decent, honest folks unless they demonstrate otherwise :)

It's not really so much the space (which is great) but rather the equipment used and the fact that the recording setups using said equipment are done by the best engineers in the world such as Simon Rhodes or Sam Okell in this case. Sadly Spitfire's programing and sampling still leaves a lot to be desired, but even then it's one of their better libraries, which is not saying much but at least it's not a complete mess ahahaha. And well the sound quality/versatility of mics is and will be unmatched for a very very very long time. Honestly 3 dynamics is perfectly fine for the legatos, solo instruments are tricky and you run into all sorts of phasing issues the more dynamics you do, I prefer when devs do 1 very very good dynamic for legatos. For shorts and sustains (when they are not solo instruments) I'm a sucker for deep dynamic sampling though

@goodbear_goodblair

6 ай бұрын

Eh, it's definitely a little bit the space, along with all the excellent elements you've listed! Rooms are quite important and Abbey Road has a fairly definitive sound. People adjust their mixes to sound just like the room. That's not a bunch of A level mixing engineers all just happening to mix in the same mid-focused kind of way. Agreed, you do run into issues with lots of dynamics on longs. I think my issue here is they just haven't programmed quite convincingly enough, regardless of dynamic levels - though I would have loved to see at least four. The whole Tina Guo 1 dynamic thing is cool, and has worked fine but I think that solo strings can go further in sampling than they have been pushed up to this point. Cinematic Studio Solo Strings is doing very convincing work with multiple dynamics, and so is Performance Samples. I'm more looking forward to seeing that technology evolve in the coming years - I don't really see much more to do with single dynamic solo sampling.

I think i just found my newest channel