I'm a professional composer, musician, and teacher, and I make videos on composition, orchestration, theory, and general music topics. I've been teaching music for eight years privately and at the university level. I also teach private online composition and orchestration lessons. For more information please visit www.alexheppelmann.com/
Learn the Fundamentals of Orchestration by enrolling in my comprehensive online course, now in early access: course.alexheppelmann.com/p/the-fundamentals-of-orchestration
I now have a Patreon page where you can access MIDI files, audio stems, and other additional content related to my KZread channel. www.patreon.com/alexheppelmann
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Awesome content! Thanks a lot!
Synchron series had slow attack, not sure why. Around 2:53 or 2:54 I found the Flute? had a jump in dynamic level. From 3:00 it sounded like flowing, around 3:24 I felt like the Strings swells were a little artificial, more at 3:28. Sounded so beautiful after 3:41. Simply put, Cinematic, than pure Classical-ish. From 4:01 it sounded like just passable. Not good, not bad but a little weak side. It sounded good at 4:23 but then the material ends very soon after that. The BBC SO Pro’s beginning was well, it sounded like it had no attack. If it did, I think it wasn’t much pronounced, in terms of clarity. And then between 5:17 and 5:20, I think, the winds shorts sounded as if they were chopped to make fit in the piece. The overall sounding was good. The winds had definition most of the piece. Particularly at & after 6:24, it was beautiful. It had clarity & very expressive. Btw, the harp was beyond beautiful. Fitted very well in the mix. Love the tone, had clarity thruout. The SSO started, weirdly, as if it’s a chamber orchestra. Don’t know why but then I felt like the flute (or Clarinet on higher register ?) between 7:28 & 7:35 or something had minor phasing issue but May be I am wrong. The the crescendo from 8:02 or 8:04 ? to 8:10 or 8:12 was seamless. At 8:20 or 8:21 I found out it dropped pretty suddenly, compared to BBC SO Pro, which wasn’t like that. The Strings after 8:58 I think, sounded artificial & I think anyone can easily recognize that. Not my fav overall. The Berlin Series started pretty good actually. The crescendo was just fine but the right after the crescendo, at 10:40 or 10:41, I felt it didn’t sound as flowing as the BBC SO Pro, to me. Then it went good, actually nice than I thought it would do. To my surprise, this is kinda close to the BBC SO Pro. Overall, I love BBCSO Pro than the two but the Berlin Series can come closer, considering this piece. Thanks a lot for your time & the work. Vivasswan Sriharsha
Synchron Prime edition just good. At places sounded like a music software’s playing but the shorts had clarity. The ending sounded simple, not as if it’s meant. Berlin Orchestra was ok. It had this classical feel but it sounded like as if it’s lacking expression & found sudden dynamics at places May be I am wrong but that’s how I felt. The ending was not the best. BBC SO was extremely lively to my ears. There’s a little clarity to the places where Winds were suppose to be heard as the way they should be heard. It has a lot of expression & the modern age feel. The ending was just fine. Not the best & not bad at all. But the overall sound has this true Symphonic feel. Now, the Spitfire SO’s beginning sounded like as if Karajan or Abbado was conducting the piece. It took good but the winds sounded not really good. At times there was this synthetic feel. But the overall sound to me sounded much bigger than the BBC SO. As a matter of fact, it sounded bigger than all & are you you haven’t had the surround mics on when playing? It had that feel completely thruout. I think the Berlin Series sounded weak to my ears, of all. Although there were parts where the strings sounded truly real, followed by the bars where the winds play the lead. The ending sucked (sorry) to my ears. The Synchron series, the beginning I felt the attack was a little slow, compared to the rest. But the overall piece has more definition than the rest. But the strings from 19:52 sounded like chamber-ish & it had this rough tone that makes it sound synthetic a little but from 20:04 it sounded really good. I think the best of all to me, with perfect ending. Had a lot of clarity as if I am hearing the original recording. Thanks a lot for making this Alex. Vivasswan Sriharsha
Thanks for taking the time to share such detailed thoughts on each version!
Insanely beautiful. You need to be an actual genius to understand music theory this well
Excelente.......Muy buena la explicación. Bendiciones.
Privet friends... Hi, this is my version of my Star Wars Medley for Concert Band. I used NotePerformer 4.5.0 powered by Dorico 5 Pro. In my opinion, NotePerformer has far more capabilities than credited for, one must understand sound enginering. Take a listen: kzread.info/dash/bejne/oJqDtZWHaLXZerw.html До свидания
Your channel is absolutely yhe the best orchestration channel with the most effort put as well ❤❤❤
This course is a new and improved version of the free series of videos on KZread: kzread.info/head/PLuiUfQk8zxhQmWpD1iNvYs7qPTB60MBxt
Brother, I tried to follow you, but your clinical analysis left me dizzy. I admit I have no "Formal" education" These schematics of form and function are lost to many of us with "Ears and instincts." Although I admire your depth in the technical weeds of this. It's not always about technique or painting by the numbers... It's about imagination. I often dream what many cannot write down. It's organic. Perhaps I have stumbled upon the wrong lesson. You are very talented. I wish you the best. I suppose some music is about architecture, but for some, it is about the dreaming of the sound. God Bless you....
Great comparison (with the greatest music!). While all have a very good sound, the VSL and OT perform much better in quick accents and agile groups. Just listen from bar 15 - SA libraries play weak accents, and make the fast notes after them disappear. As for VSL and OT, the difference between the reduced and the full editions is very evident, in particular with the faster string passage at the end of the excerpt. Here, Duality Strings is probably unrivaled.
Amazing.. I am just so impressed ,,, If I were younger I would study with you. Brilliant!
There was a fan trailer for this please help me find it
Brilliant
Great much appreciated video !
Great stuff! What is the piano vst?
Great work Alex! Suggestion, why not compare this with a noteperformer and a real orchestra recording?
Thanks! Would have loved Cinematic studio included too
I don't own the woodwinds from them, and I have too many libraries as it is!
@@AlexHeppelmann Ah that's unfortunate, the WWs are awesome! Amazing tone imo. Fair enough though ofc
Hi, did you make any mixing ?
very little (EQ, light compression), i try to balance / mix as I go with CC1 and CC11
@@AlexHeppelmann Thank you Alex.
Do you use any special compressor or is it a stock compressor from your DAW ?
I like the Fabfilter compressor, but stock compressors work just as well!
@@AlexHeppelmann ok. Thanks for your answers and your kindness
I think we should bring back saxophones in the orchestra
I crave for the day that we cannot tell the difference vs live orchestra. They all sound...virtual😞 As I am sure many have, I have spent days/weeks sometimes on a small part just to see if I can get it close to live sounding. Nope. I mean some individuals or small group can get somewhat close but all sections always sounds synthy 😞
Agreed 💯 We aren't there yet. Let's hope that we will get there before our lives end on this Earth.
You may get your wish with AI generative instruments very soon!
To get a muted horn sound, you should definitely check out sordina by librewave.
I was under the impression that this was designed for close microphone positions only? Are there video/audio demonstrations of this on orchestral brass that work well on distant / room mics?
@@AlexHeppelmann Orchestral Tools has an expansion to berlin brass with stopped horns. You can hear an example in my Adventures of Tin Tin mockup.
@@tylerpedraja6049 I have the stopped horns from OT, but that library doesn't include con sordino horns (straight mutes)
@@AlexHeppelmann ah gotcha. I can recommend Aaron Venture brass as an alternative. :-)
@@tylerpedraja6049 I'm also looking at sample modeling brass as an option
From my perspective as a piano player, VSL is the best at expressing phrases. The Berlin Series is not good at expressing phrases.
I don’t know the pricing of VSL, but the fact that SSO sounds like it does for that price range is just mind blowing. Berlin has the best sound overall but that should be a given for that price. If you want to do something interesting, maybe an excerpt from Beethoven 3rd symphony for the next comparison?
This is it exactly. When you can buy SSO so cheap and get this sound, why would you buy anything else?
Berlin, BBCSO, SSO, VSL--in that order. The two Spitfires were close, though. I liked different things about each of them. VSL was a distant 4th for me. Berlin won this by a country mile IMO.
Thanks, Jett. I should try mocking up one of your works at some point!
@@AlexHeppelmann Well that sounds perfectly frightening!!😂 I might eventually bounce a couple of movements off of you over on VI-Control that you can think about futzing with, but I’m a ways from that at present. It’s hay season, and other than surfing a few videos while sitting around in the tractor, I’m far removed from music at the moment.
Interesting comparison. For this one I'd say Berlin sounds best imo but VSL Synchron is a close second. I also like the sound quality of SSO but the other two were a little clearer I think. Nice example.
Thanks!
Well done Alex! A very interesting comparison using a well chosen excerpt to show overall tone, cohesion, legato strings and note repetitions. It’s audible that you‘re most comfortable programming the Berlin Series, but I think what you‘ve presented is fair and mostly representative. I use Duality Strings a lot for its tone and wealth of articulations, but I don‘t use its legato for anything slow and soaring because that’s not one of its strengths. For slow legato I use the sustains and overlap just enough to create the kind of sustained legato a good string section would deliver. It can sound fantastic. Ironically the best sounding violinata comes from Berlin Strings - the only major symphonic strings library I don’t own. May have to fix that this BF….😊
Thanks! Berlin and VSL were definitely easier for me on this one -- I think it really just depends on the type of music.
Thanks so much for this helpful comparison Alex! In my opinion, VSL's full Synchron range sounds the best here until we get to the fast portion of this piece in the 2nd half. There, when the tempo increases, it starts to sound synthy to me. Honestly though, they all sounded pretty good! I wouldn't say that there's any obvious loser far below the others.
As a percussionist growing up, who likes to write highly syncopated and harmonically dense music, I'm with you 110% on the importance of rhythmic accuracy and available articulations over having the perfect timbre. Yes, BBC I think sounded the warmest and lushest, but at the expense many times of sounding rather mushy - rhythms completely lost and some articulations sticking out randomly in ways they shouldn't. VSL sounds a little thinner but I love that it sounds like what you expect when writing - it's predictable and consistent in that way. For fast runs and incredibly syncopated shorts across multiple sections, I'd take VSL any day over the rest for those reasons - I'd rather hear every note that I write than have it all turn to soup. Plus the fast it loads quickly, can't be mad at that! P.S. Love your writing, examples #2 & #3 are fantastic!
Really good video dude, you win a subi, keep going 👌👌
Finally someone explaining the harmonics in the best effective way. Thank you so much!
Thanks for that!!!! 😍
I got Randy Edelman vibes from this example, well done! Thanks for sharing and discussing it with us. :)
Thanks for the demonstration. Great music!
Hi. First let me congratulate for your didactic feeling for explaining realy complex musical work. For me the thinking of orchestration parallel to compisition is essential for I regard every piece/type of music "being a story" somebody is moved by and wants to tell either the story as well as what touched him/her to others. In this sense I have always to keep 3 things in mind: What is the story about? Where/When does it take place? What/who is touched/moved in which way. Thanks for your Interpretation of how a story can be told. Best regards; Berny
I think God made me watch this
Privet friends... You are not really demonstrating NotePerformer. I personally use it a lot and is sounding much better than what you demonstrated here. Any VST can sound quite authentic if worked on under hood. До свидания
the most complete and clear video on this topic on KZread
I thought more of these were to follow. I would really love any excerpts from Wagner's Ring on Berlin Series.
can you do more videos on this reverb. i'm about to give up on it.. never been able to get a good sound out of it.. this video might help i dunno tho.. i'm using CSS. CSB. .. it sounds horrible to me.. i do not know how to set it up.. Samplicity don't really teach us how to use it. it's meant for a whole orchesra.. someone really needs to make a video showing how to do that with this plugin.. i'm breaking my brain over here and ready to just give up
Although I feel like I ve been doing this intuitively right because I have been playing in symphony and large brass orchestras for decades as a trombonist - this video is extremely well explained! As always the sole knowledge doesn't make much of a difference: You have to try and try and try again :) Wish you all a lot of fun experimenting with this knowledge <3
Thanks a ton for taking the time to go through this. I've been asking around for 15 years how to set up multitimbral setups with Kontakt and Vienna Ensemble being accessible from Cubase. That trick of setting the midi channel in VE to all is what gave the light switch a tug. Thank God I lived this long.😍😅
Thanks
Thank you!
Thanks for the overview. I'm just starting to get into all of this stuff and am a little overwhelmed with the options. For example, is noteperformer a library that you use with a notation software like Sibelius/Finale only? Are all of these libraries compatible with notation software or do you need to use a DAW program like Logic Pro/Reaper etc.? Also, I keep hearing about Kontakt and these libraries being used with it somehow, but I'm confused - is Kontakt some kind of supplementary plugin/tool, another library, do we need it for orchestral composition along with a library like BBCSO etc.?
It can definitely be confusing. Noteperformer is designed for notation software only (Dorico, Sibelius, Finale). That's what I'm showing in this video near the beginning. Noteperformer also separately sells a bunch of playback engines (NPPE) that integrate commercial sample libraries into the notation software, so that if you own VSL Synchron libraries, or BBCSO for instance, it's relatively easy to use in your notation software. Without the NNPEs, it's still possible to set up VSTs into Dorico (not sure about the others), but it's not so easy. I'd check out the Noteperformer website if you're interested. And Kontakt is a sample player that hosts a lot of libraries (Cinematic Studio Series, Spitfire Symphonic Orchestra, etc...). Most of the big commercial libraries that use Kontakt work with the free version of the player. BBCSO, and many other libraries use their own sample plugin host software, so no need to worry about Kontakt. Hope that helps!
Synchron sounded like a modern recording from a professional orchestra. BBCSO sounded like the karajan’s berliner era ahahah
But with less punch in the later part
I'm not a trained musician, just a guy who goes off of sound so keep that in mind when I say my opinions Orchestral Tools Berlin has really good brass, but Orchestral Tools Berlin Orchestra has good strings. For me, a guy who can't buy every single one, I think I'll avoid VSL Synchron + Prime, has that vst strangeness that reminds me of 90s daw orchestrations . Since I wanna do something similar to Japanese anime, I'll keep an eye on the OT. BBCSO is great, but I'm not rich so this is both compare and contrast alongside budgeting Edit Honestly re-listening, OTB Orchestra has setbacks in how it's volume flows with its strings 8:56 vs OT Berlin Series 16:32 that I'd actually go focus fully on OTB and not OTBO. Will probably grab a different soloist violin VST like Bohemian Violin to really get good contrast
I am very curious on what these orchestra vsts would be like for film scores from the likes of Elmer Bernstein, Alan Silvestri, and Danny Elfman. before the whole idea of the "EPIC" music became a thing.
P.S I want to invest in on of them, I want to have a VST that sounds like a score you would hear from an 80s movie, I mean from movies like Robocop, Ghostbusters, Stripes, and Trading Places films that have these raw sounding recordings, that sound natural.
That is a BRILLIANT series. Brilliant idea! You're doing WORK❤
VSL sounds great! Super realistic
I love your demonstration! But as someone who has listened to Don Giovanni many times, should the fifth bar be Staccato?
Thnks for this video. For me Spitfire Symphony Orchestra 2024 Best. I love use with Kontakt 7. And I love new GUI. Sound is Amazing.. Best Regards