Best of 2023 - Sample Library Review's Virtual Instrument Awards

SPONSORED by Realitone: - bit.ly/3Razt2D
Realitone is having their Holiday Sale, featuring the lowest price ever on their award winning Nightfall Hybrid Strings. Just $129, or if you have Sunset Strings, just $99.
Best Ensemble Orchestral Virtual Instrument of 2023
British Drama Toolkit: Brass & Reeds bit.ly/3v0m8T3
Best Service The Score, by Sonuscore bit.ly/3tEhdXo
Synchron Smart Orchestra by Vienna Symphonic Library bit.ly/3RM4qfd
Hollywood Fantasy Orchestrator bit.ly/40sSAJy
Salu by OrchestralTools bit.ly/3GHKJih
Best Sound Design Virtual Instrument of 2023
Nordic Spheres by Sonuscore bit.ly/3mMroWO
Low End Strings by Native Instruments bit.ly/3rqeL5S
Gravity 2 by Heavyocity bit.ly/4aplejd
SPECTRES by SLATE + ASH bit.ly/41nBbCt
Viewers Choice Best Virtual instrument of the Year: Gravity 2 by Heavyocity
bit.ly/4aplejd
Best World/Ethnic Virtual Instrument of 2023
World Fury by Sample Logic bit.ly/46Ni8U0
Malventum Pompeii bit.ly/SilenceAndOtherSounds
Sångara by Orchestral Tools bit.ly/3QESKu4
Best Brass Virtual Instrument of 2023
Valves Pro by Native Instruments bit.ly/4aeWdHn
Best Piano / Keyboard Virtual Instrument of 2023
Post Felt Piano by Jon Meyer bit.ly/46PBmss
BBCSO Piano by Spitfire Audio bit.ly/3CRYbOH
Virtual Pianist SCORE by UJAM tinyurl.com/566ctf2e
Max Richter Piano by SRM Sounds bit.ly/3GtLxqC
EZKeys 2 by Toontrack - bit.ly/49MPnbX
Viewers Choice: Alt Piano by Westwood Instruments bit.ly/42Y0Ws2
Best Woodwinds Virtual Instrument of 2023
Shire Winds by Insanity Samples bit.ly/2IwSZGT
Petrichor - Earthy Woodwinds by Fracture Sounds bit.ly/3RdCHDS
Best Toolkit / Cue Builder Instrument of 2023
Sick Ultimate by Soundiron bit.ly/46Vm5FT
Fables by Native Instruments bit.ly/3OQmxPm
Handpan Machina by Pulsetter Sounds bit.ly/42ZPpIR
(HM) Sounds from Beyond by Red Room Audio bit.ly/3smeL7q
Novella Origin by Westwood Instruments bit.ly/3tQ23hG
Viewers Choice: Novella Origin by Westwood Instruments bit.ly/3tQ23hG
Best Bass/Guitar Instrument of 2023
(HM) Hoard Picked Acoustic by Musical Sampling bit.ly/3ZPRKpZ
(HM) Nylon Rustique by Musical Sampling bit.ly/42hLQ0G
Hoard Mandolin by Musical Sampling bit.ly/43CQkPO
Session Ukulele by Native Instruments bit.ly/45uMeKH
Rosette Mandolin by Impact Soundworks bit.ly/3LveQMy
Evolution 10 String Stick by Orange Tree Samples bit.ly/3HZ8of2
Best Loop / Phrase Instrument of 2023
Damage Guitars by Heavyocity bit.ly/43HjApd
Fantasy by Sonokinetic bit.ly/3QfiT2L
Indie 2 String Quartet by Sonokinetic bit.ly/3Gwpjoc
Best Solo Orchestral Virtual Instrument of 2023
Intimate Legato - Violin by Sonixinema bit.ly/_Sonix
Lux Violin by David Forner bit.ly/3RKKqcN
Best Drums & Percussion Virtual Instrument of 2023
Rhythmic Origins by Soundiron bit.ly/3IDNXE4
PRISM Taped - Indie Pop Drums by AVA Music Group bit.ly/3qv37pE
Revelation Hybrid Mallets by Sound Yerti bit.ly/2ZZRfP7
Berserkr by Keepforest bit.ly/46TGwTI
Fragments by Sonuscore bit.ly/3pl3DX5
Abbey Road High Percussion bit.ly/3ZBuoDC
Damage Uncharted 88 by Heavyocity bit.ly/3IP2des
Best Vocal/Choir Instrument of 2023
Vocal Colors by Native Instruments bit.ly/3Npyz19
Eric Whitacre Contrast by Spitfire Audio bit.ly/492W6Ov
Ethera Gold Atlantis 3 -Zero-G bit.ly/46M5FQk
Best Orchestral Strings Virtual Instrument of 2023
Abbey Road Orchestra: 1st Violin by Spitfire Audio bit.ly/3Gd6BBX
Abbey Road Orchestra: Cellos by Spitfire Audio bit.ly/3tiEiyA
Synchron Duality Strings by Vienna Symphonic Library bit.ly/45grR4w
Peteris Vasks Strings by Orchestral Tools bit.ly/3KUzoxZ
Viewers Choice:
Synchron Duality Strings by Vienna Symphonic Library bit.ly/45grR4w
Peteris Vasks Strings by Orchestral Tools bit.ly/3KUzoxZ
Collectively, our contributors and voting industry professionals test out over 200 new virtual instruments each year. Sample Library Review’s “Best of” awards are determined by an advisory board and selection committee that includes music journalists, producers, songwriters, and media composers with Viewers Choice votes open to all viewers.
00:00 Introduction
00:23 Sponsored by Realitone
01:00 Best Orchestral Ensemble
03:46 Best Sound Design
05:42 Viewers Choice Best Virtual instrument
05:54 Best World/Ethnic
07:30 Best Brass
08:15 Best Piano / Keyboard
10:55 Viewers Choice: Alt Piano
11:09 Best Woodwinds
12:00 Best Toolkit / Cue Builder
14:44 Viewers Choice: Novella Origin
14:56 Best Bass/Guitar
17:17 Best Loop / Phrase
18:36 Best Solo Orchestral
19:43 Best Drums & Percussion
23:01 Best Vocal/Choir
25:05 Best Orchestral Strings

[@bblas5199]

I've got so many VST plugins I couldn't hear all the presets in my lifetime, yet I still watch these videos 😅 Love this channel, SLR, keep em coming 😎

[@ZeroKami86]

I'd love to see a series "Best of All Time" videos like this, updated every few years to include newer libraries dethroning old winners - and old winners reclaiming the throne too of course XD

[@SoundYeti]

Thank you for showing some love to Revelation Hybrid Mallets Don!

[@binaryoptionstrading360]

This was awestronomical!

[@fransteeno]

Dan, I look forward to this every year. Thank you for all the energy you put into presenting current sample libraries. I have made decisions based on reviews at SLR.

[@SampleLibraryReviews]

Thanks for the support @fransteeno , really glad teh channel is helpful and useful

[@StefanMichaels-ut9jg]

Proceeds to name every library on the market

[@joshbarron8961]

I would love to see you do a review of Petrichor from Fracture Sounds. I looks to be a gorgeous library :)

[@dafingaz]

Been a great year!

[@brainrussell6811]

Coming out of coma, cool to hear what I've missed over the last 10 months... thanks SLR!

[@SampleLibraryReviews]

Welcome back! Glad to be of service

[@evanseesred]

Watching this is dangerous. (Great list. Thank you!)

[@SampleLibraryReviews]

hey @evanseesred, you're welcome.

[@DirettoIZM]

Great stuff all year long - Love those ensemble picks! Might be the weekend to pick up Low End Strings by NI... Thanks for all the great info, demos and previews!

[@SampleLibraryReviews]

Rock on!

[@just1stone689]

Very nice overview - thank you!

[@SampleLibraryReviews]

Always pleased when the videos are helpful and useful @just1stone689. Thanks for your comment and support

[@sentimentaltrash]

Aah awesome seeing salu and spectres on here! Have you guys done a full review of spectres? Not many people have and I’m still on the fence about it given there’s no user samples!! Always respect your guys opinion & thoroughness

[@SampleLibraryReviews]

Specter review coming very soon

[@samburtyboy]

Honestly once you experience the vast array of included samples in Spectres and what you can do with them, you might not even be bothered about user samples! Also as a key bit of the instrument is the fact that each sample as four different mix treatments done outside of Kontakt and you can blend between them, I just don't think this engine would be that easy to adapt for user samples. It would be neat in an update no doubt if they can make it work, but I would not see it as a deal breaker personally.

[@sentimentaltrash]

@@SampleLibraryReviews amazing!!!

[@sentimentaltrash]

@@samburtyboy yea I appreciate what your saying however with landforms / cycles / choreographs I’ve legitimately barely touched their samples and just used my own as a processing library!! A few years ago Phobos came out and while I really liked a lot of the samples- I found it so hard to navigate and figure out what parts to use which is why user library is so useful to me is it’s the easy & quickness of it!

[@pjgover]

Big thanks D, another year over nearly. Stay safe and have yourself a peaceful break.

[@SampleLibraryReviews]

Hi @thedogsofwar, thanks for the support :)

[@samburtyboy]

Great year for samples and especially the last 6 months went a bit crazy!

[@EdVizenor]

I think you rank among the highest and best youtube channels. THANK YOU for your hard work.

[@SampleLibraryReviews]

Wow, thank you! appreciate the support Ed

[@xianning]

You notice that a lot of developers have started moving away from using the K7 engine.

[@SampleLibraryReviews]

Yes, We have noticed slowly more instruments for media composers are working on their own platforms.

[@jenstornell]

Nice but where are the chapters?!

[@SampleLibraryReviews]

done!

[@IsHeHigh]

Okay but for real... who in the world is still out there buying cinematic libraries like this? There are SO many of them.. so many good ones. Almost 30 years worth of good ones, since Miroslav. What could possibly motivate someone to make another one? Let alone buy another one?

[@5ammy13]

It's a disease I tell ya... It's gotten me too 😢

[@ellensoomers9496]

@@5ammy13 YEP, so true, the worst disease without a fever!

[@marieandallanslade6673]

Umm… Acoustic Samples.. not even mentioned

[@SampleLibraryReviews]

I have heard really good things about the VWinds, but unfortunately none of our reviews worked with the library and only one of the industry professionals and composers who nominate instruments gave Vwinds a vote.