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  • Help me choose for the holiday special!

    I've been contemplating which standard library to get for a long time now. I already own the special edition, along with various special brass download instruments. The two extended libraries I am interested in are the SE extended edition or brass 1 extended. Here's my dilemma: to get brass 1 extended, I have to get brass 1 standard, and I was already planning on also getting Dimension Brass. I'm also interested in the saxophones standard library, but the SE extended library might already cover my sax needs. To get the SE extended library, I could also get brass 1 standard, but I really only want the extended version (it is the only library I've found with stopped horns).

    Are there any of the standard libraries that you couldn't live without? I'm never against having too much brass or strings, but getting brass 1 standard, extended, and Dimension seems like overkill. For strings, I already have all the EW libraries and LASS. Is there a standard string library that fills in the holes of these other string libraries?

    I appreciate the help. Thanks!

  • Hi gs_vsl,

    I would go for the solo strings, it is one of the best parts of the full VSL library. Of course to be used as solo strings, you also can use it as support instrument with many other string libraries, if properly mixed however; preferably with other VSL string products.

    erik

    Can you live with the out of tune samples of LASS btw?


  • last edited
    last edited
    Thanks for the help, I'll check out the solo strings.

    @Erik said:

    Can you live with the out of tune samples of LASS btw?

    They are certainly a pain. There's times where I will have a perfect phrase only to be ruined by one really out of tune note. I can usually find a workaround though by using a different articulation, using a different dynamic, etc. In my experience, the "full" patches (the ones without the auto-divisi) are the worst. Are you also using LASS?

  • As was suggested, do take a look at Solo Strings.  If you are after a chamber sound, and have "issues" with LASS, consider also Chamber Strings.  It sounds like you have "Hollywood sound" covered in strings with LASS, so AP Strings might not be the best choice. 

    The real question, though, is what style(s) do you prefer to write in?  If, as you say, stopped horns are critical, then that may make the choice for you.  Obviously, you cannot own an extended library unless you own the corresponding standard library.

    Do you have a long term plan?  At point "X" in the future, do you have some idea of which libraries you may want to own?  If you desire to eventually build a large collection of VSL libraries, planning those purchases out (as best as is possible) might not be a bad idea as far as helping you with your immediate choice.


  • Since you seem to already have lots of string libraries, what about a different idea ?

    Do you like Harps ? This library is comparably cheap and really great. Since it features a kind of impulsive timbre, it sounds totally realistic.

    Same is true for percussion or "Elements".

    Of course everything depends on what you want to do with it


  • IIRC, Harps standard is one of the libraries that is NOT part of the free extended library promotion #1.