Abbey Road Orchestra Symphonic Strings - Review

[@VivaswanSriHarsha]

Waiting for your SSO video, Sam. This video is very helpful. Thanks for taking your time. Vivasswan SriHarsha

[@rasakiayodele7479]

They should really have an option to only download the mic positions you want.

[@SecondTierSound]

I've said this to spitfire every time. At least be able to download just the ones you want to save on space

[@5ammy13]

Not willing to spend this much on just strings... I got Pacific Ensemble Strings and Cinematic Studio Strings and can't be any happier. Also got the Air Studios Reverb, so putting those strings in that space is good enough for me. I do have the Abbery Road Orchestral Foundations so I use that for layering.

[@SecondTierSound]

Sounds good to me

[@chrismusic44]

Spitfire has to remove these problems but they have the best sound of the market imo. I have ARO first violins and cellos and i'm very happy with this. I will wait until they correct problems to buy the rest of the collection... Thank you for this honest review 😊

[@SecondTierSound]

Yes, I agree.

[@kwameryan]

I think everything you're saying is fair! I have AROSS, but only because I got the Vl. 1 and Cello for 50% off and then tested extensively before deciding to add the rest at the bundle price. I wasn't prepared to pay the full bundle price. I did exactly the tests you did - CSS, Afflatus and SSO - and only decided to complete AROSS because of how uniquely easy it is to play. I simply don't have ONE other library that offers that workflow at that high quality level. I have a patch here and patch there from other libraries that can do individual things better, but they also have their quirks, problems and shortcomings in sound quality, workflow or flexibility. For example, I was playing with CSS today and noticed that the portamenti are baked in with no round robins. If there's a slide between two notes, it will be there EVERY TIME you play them, whether you want it or not. I want more control than that. In Afflatus, I paid for a lot of sound design stuff I'll never use and the full price is just as crazy as AROSS for less impressive recording quality. SSO is a great deal, but AIR is very wet in a cinematic way and not as flexible as Abbey Road for the shaping of concert sound. In that sense, for me, those aren't Holy Grail libraries either. That library still doesn't exist, so I have many diversely able/flawed libraries at my disposal and I've found time and time again, that having the right tool quickly when I need it on a deadline is worth quite a lot of money to me. I make the money spent back in time saved. AROSS is not a library to buy as a hobby accessory or even as a pro tool at the full price. At a significant discount - only just, but I got there. As you say, everybody needs to know what provides value at what price and act based on that.

[@SecondTierSound]

Thank you for a great comment and good insights. I agree with you. Yep, no library is without it's problems.

[@henrik5284]

In CSS, you can turn off portamento in settings.

[@AFourForty]

Thank you for the video. Don't think for a second that Spitfire will update their libraries. They very rarely if EVER put out updates. That's why I don't use them that much. I have about 15 of their libraries and I don't think I have ever seen an update worth speaking about.

[@GoOKuSj33]

They just updated Albion one, not everything is lost yet 😅

[@ridgero]

SSO, Albion One? lol

[@MichaelPilipp]

I have to agree with you completely. They sound nice, but they are not playable. I prefer to use my VSL Synchron Duality Strings, where I can program my own perfect legato. They are also much more flexible. The big problem with sounds with reverb is that the reverb doubles with each key. +++ Ich muss dir absolut Recht geben. Sie klingen schön, sind aber nicht spielbar. Ich verwende dann lieber meine VSL Synchron Duality Strings, bei denen ich mir die eigenen perfekten Legato selbst programmieren kann. Zudem sind sie sehr viel flexibler. Das große Problem bei Sounds mit Hall ist, dass sich der Hall mit jeder Taste verdoppelt.

[@amotkram99]

What do you mean by... VSL Synchron Duality Strings, where I can program my own perfect legato

[@Transform108]

The percussion is glorious. The mics are pristine and varied. Great dynamics. Clear sound... This is a pretty crappy String Library for the cost. Lifeless IMO. The attacks and releases are vanilla, even compared to VSL. There are some nice patches though I give them that. Col leg... For the space too needed on the drive ... they need to have individual mic downloads, better compression ... and select dynamic layers you want to use or not use like SINE.

[@SecondTierSound]

Agreed.

[@AlonsoJoaquinComposer]

I agree, sounds pretty lifeless despite the tone being just like the movies. The performance nuance is just not there. AR1 is too expensive of a room for Spitfire to take any risks like sourcing their samples from performances which would have helped so much. I guess we'll never see something like that from them. That said I'm still going to get all the ARO stuff for layering with better-sounding samples (Like the Performance Samples stuff) at some point. Meanwhile ARO Foundations will do it just fine for me.

[@contemplativecomposer5983]

I really appreciate your transparency on reviewing this. Very good video and well researched beforehand. I watched a video just before this where the guy was saying "it is my opinion, and I don't think it has that?". When you are reviewing surely it matters to research your product competitors first. Thanks for doing so 😀

[@5ammy13]

Would love to see you review some of the new Performance Samples libraries :) Cheers.

[@SecondTierSound]

Maybe. I just got the Pacific brass, but right now there's little time for a review. I love it though.

[@scott_glasgow]

Cinematic Studio Strings after all these years and all these newer libraries still comes out as one the best sounding libraries ever from our friends from Down Under. TrackDown is a great sounding recording studio and they just captured magic, then programmed it properly. Funny how it all works out, years shows what is best. The best about ARO is the hall not the instruments TBH. If they can get a reverb plugin out of this stage (like they released of AIR)--- then the ARO samples become not that important. ARO Violins 1 and Cellos are not bad. Percussion is also very useful.

[@SecondTierSound]

Yes, the violin I and cello sound/work better.

[@scott_glasgow]

@@SecondTierSound I wonder if Spitifre rushed out VLN 2, VLAS and CBS as a cash grab to be fix it later. I am not buying yet.

[@SecondTierSound]

@scott_glasgow that's my suspicion

[@patzumbrunn]

I totally agree with you. the CSS and Trackdown studios are so very good. I mean, everyone knows the sound of Abbey Roads or AIR. but the trackdown has a similar short reverb. I love my CSS. It's just a shame that they sound a bit dull.

[@scott_glasgow]

@@patzumbrunn A convolution reverb plugin of that stage would be nice too. I almost recorded a score there years ago, but the costs became too much (including travel costs). Maybe some day... another opportunity to record orchestra at that stage will arise.

[@saruphim2548]

Spitfire is fantastic. But along their long journey they seem to have lost their way and now charge super premium prices for products that lack the necessary features and articulations. I think the safer bet would be BBC Pro and Abbey Road ONE COMPLETE together. Also, Spitfire Symphonic Orchestra is such a great deal for $600 being it is updated and recorded in AIR. Spitfire used to be a company that really cared about pricing and features. Now, they've got ahead of themselves and seem to consider themselves as the Bach of Orchestral VSTs. Might as well go for Orchestral tools instead as they are probably still the best on the market right now. Heck, Afflatus Brass and Performance samples gives you more bang for your buck. In short, it sounds great but Abbey Road Orchestra is too expensive. And maybe I only think this, but ever since Christian Henson left/got the boot/isn't in the limelight anymore, Spitfire has gone downhill. I miss Christian Henson and seeing his input. Oh well. Thanks as Always Sam!

[@SecondTierSound]

Well, the ARO strings is definitely a head scratcher

[@Ximonic]

I can confirm from my part that BBCSO and Abbey Road One (the ensemble stuff) seem to blend well together. I use the best of both worlds. Lately also adding Performance Samples stuff in, because Jasper managed to capture certain motives really well. Also Cinesamples - especially brass from their Musio software, which was a heck of a deal for the library set. As I tend to lean towards this certain acoustic space feel, instead of a cleaner studio sound, I'm quite satisfied and excited about all those. I recommend learning about them all for a classical leaning sound. Most of that you will find for much cheaper than this new Abbey Road product line, especially during sales.

[@ASX2001]

Very good review. Got this library, don't like the clean sound (string machine?). Even when I use mid or close mics, I don't feel the soul of the SSS and don't smell the sweat of the BBCs.

[@g.p616]

First review ive seen which didn’t have a free copy given to the reviewer.👍

[@SecondTierSound]

Actually, not true I'm afraid. It's standard procedure to get a NFR copy when you do reviews. It doesn't affect my reviews though.

[@3009arod]

Wonderful review, thanks for your comments are very helpful 👍

[@lowrater]

Great review. First time viewer here, and you nailed it spot on.. I hope they see this video and take notes! - By the way. Is it the meaning that we didnt get leaders in this package? I see etc. BBCSO pro has leaders.

[@SecondTierSound]

Thank you, and good point actually. They have to improve this one.

[@Angelcomposer]

My personal opinion is that it lacks the expressiveness and vibrato that the Cinematic Studio Strings do have. For me, the best in terms of expressiveness and realism. Spitfire Audio is the best but I'm not convinced by this new string library, much less its price. 😒 I agree with you about the "runs" function where other cheaper libraries do have the symphony and CSS series, while Abbey Road does not. Greetings...

[@SecondTierSound]

Yes, this one needs some work

[@samoooo]

Great review

[@SecondTierSound]

Thank you

[@samoooo]

@@SecondTierSound Your review is a good reminder that a high price tag can be misleading. Until now, I didn't even question whether their legatos are better than their Air Studio strings. Now I appreciate even more what I have.

[@SecondTierSound]

@samoooo this is certainly true

[@angelocast]

I love Spitfire Audio, and yes this sounds amazing. BUT as a Music producer/Film Composer I MUST CONSIDER THIS: 1 - I need to think about who will listen my music. If I am creating orchestra music for a big budget movie/advertising, I won't need ultra expensive libraries, I will hire real players, and/or combine real musicians with my libraries. 2- If there is a low budget movie, or advertising, and I don't have this super high end libraries, it wont be necessary either. 3- Big change the audience, at least 90% of the people that will listen to this, HAVE NO IDEA or EDUCATED EAR to understand and appreciate real musicians playing vs an expensive VST vs a not so expensive VST 4- Other thing, we also can layer things in the production, combine 2 or more different libraries. 5- So yes, I am more into USE WHAT I HAVE, keep creating and don't feel bad if you cannot afford these things. Later if you can, buy it as a toy and reward for yourself🥰 Thank you SecondTierSound Great Video!

[@SecondTierSound]

Good points to consider.

[@tomiarti8878]

Nice Review! Thank You!

[@SecondTierSound]

Cheers!

[@user-pi2qd5zr8b]

I have recently being talking to support over jumps in volume on the strings in the Albion Colossus library. I thought it was either a bug in my installation or something on their radar to fix. Got absoutely nowhere after providing lots of audio examples and the response was that's how it's supposed to be. But the jumps in volume between notes are so noticeable and like the examples you've shown with this far more expensive library all needs correcting in the DAW once recorded in. The older libraries I've bought from them have been wonderful, but will think long and hard about investing any more as it's just sloppy and as you say in this case erodes the illustion that this is a premium product..

[@SecondTierSound]

That one I haven't tried, interesting it has that problem too.

[@MartinJG100]

Interesting review. On the flaws, this seems to be a bit of a Spitfire 'thing'. They are very good at capturing the organic sound but sometimes fall short on the technical stuff especially when you consider that performance scripting is an increasingly important tool. I guess they will get there at the end of the day but I can't help feeling they have perhaps lost a little of their former lustre. It happens.

[@SecondTierSound]

Could be. Let's see and hope for the best

[@gof36]

Thank you for your review. I would love to know your opinion about the last update (almost a rebranding!) of SSO, including all the new legatos and its new price!

[@SecondTierSound]

Upcoming video actually!

[@PerchHunter]

Great video! I think that AROSS have too many problems for this price range, definitelly. By the way, I know its "little bit" off topic but i would like to ask if You could do some even short one video in near future, about tricks and ideas to fix CSS latency legato problems. Im new in CSS series i have strings and solo strings and gosh they are really amazing but im really struggle with this latency not being on time problems. I know they are some scripts for this like CSS control panel but to be honest i have no idea how to set it up correctly. I think this kinds of video would be really helpfull for many. Greetings

[@SecondTierSound]

Thank you! It's not a bad idea. Maybe I will.

[@CampbellDownie]

It's just way too expensive for us down in New Zealand. You have to double the price, and in these current climates, this is just something for the super pros because spending $2000 plus of our money on a string library is a joke. Plus i can make all the other string libraries i have sound like this lol

[@5ammy13]

I am in Australia too and I concur. Only for the hyper-professionals. Even then, heard a few game scores that only used Cinematic Studio Series and it was terrific. So, don't see any need for getting this when it is soooo expensive...

[@GoOKuSj33]

I’m in Brazil, hold my beer 😢

[@charlesyateschalfant]

I love a number of Spitfire's products but not this series. Yes, the sound is great but the cost is insane, plus there are too many omissions. I use CSS, MSS and BBCSO, as well as Tundra and Neo.

[@LeeGee]

After spending this much on BBC SO Pro, only to have it discontinued with too few articulations (and far too many mics on most instruments), and after the way the company treated their co-founder ... no.

[@SecondTierSound]

They have discontinued BBC pro?

[@LeeGee]

@@SecondTierSound The BBC sold the Maida Vale studio, so it's not really Spitfire's choice, but it isn't like they were releasing the regular updates the this 'all you need' orchestra.

[@SecondTierSound]

@LeeGee I see. Too bad. I really like the SSO though. I will review that update soon