First Ascent by blakus | DAWcast - featuring Abbey Road Symphonic Strings

Taking AR Strings for a spin! Im enjoying how these recordings fit together so easily.
Thanks to my friend Joel “Golden Ears” Dollie for the quick master!

[@RicoDerks]

Absolutely unreal Blakus. The dimension and depth is stellar!

[@AndrewBarracloughComposer]

Fantastic work! Sounds incredible. 💙

[@Sibi994]

This track perfectly shows how important thoughtful orchestration is. That combined with experience in getting the best out of sample libraries and of course great sample libraries itself will get you outstanding pieces like this one! Thanks for this!

[@AranTanseli]

Absolutely beautiful as always! Glad to have you back Blakus...

[@sandwich-breath]

This piece is pretty incredible and inspiring. I'm not lining up to purchase the library but I can see it has value.

[@crewmusicofficial]

absolutely INCREDIBLE

[@jadonharpermusic]

A rare but exciting glimpse into the midi maestro’s workflow

[@wagnerbertolino2]

Beautiful

[@ChristianFernandoPerucchi]

Love to see you writing a new original piece, always enjoy it my friend! all the best as always!

[@laurentsauvagnac]

i follow you for a long time now and it's just amazing. this is so perfect

[@govindsainimusic]

wow, sounds epic, insane, beautiful and amazing

[@envrie9423]

This piece is magnificent!

[@lkoleda]

Absolutly beautiful .... very happy of your come back

[@Tonny_filmscore]

I alwasy apprecaite you often do a screencast of a demo you provided to those major libraries, showing the tracks and midi data, which is very informative. And of course, the composition is absolutely phenomenal!!! 🤩🤩🤩

[@stevemartinalmonds]

Bravo Maestro! Absolutely amazing sounding. Thanks for inspiring all of us for what can be achieved 🙂

[@andrewmusician]

This sounds wonderful Blakus. Nice composition with these strings to show what they can do! 👍

[@LuisHumanoide]

Amazing composition and incredible orchestration, it has the magical Blakus signature (1:27 for example)

[@PeterTMusic]

Man you’ve got to do another template walkthrough now! A breakdown of this piece would be awesome

[@Shaneybob324]

So beautiful!

[@Arkogelul]

Beautiful!! Thanks for sharing!!

[@MichaelPilipp]

Absolut fantastic!!!

[@rolfmeyermusic]

Beautiful!

[@avamomoh]

Blakus! hot damn bro. it's good to have u back.

[@dilzaaaa]

That was beautiful. Loving this sooooo much. I've got them downloaded now and only played about with them quickly. But you've got them sounding amazing.

[@azkagast7336]

beautiful !

[@phaeraofficial]

I love it! ❤

[@generalextended4202]

What is the horn library you are using? Its sound is really good！！！

[@jeconiamaasbach]

SOUNDS AMAZING 🔥🔥🔥

[@romanbernardsauvan]

What a job... Real hears pleasure ! GG

[@ejw1234]

Great work!

[@SOUNTH11composingdesign]

Amazing!!

[@EvanDingman]

The legend returns! haha :)

[@Frank.Zimmermann]

Excellent work! :)

[@benedictnichols1539]

Beautiful writing (and production obviously!) would love to see a score for those harmonies, stunning stuff!

[@MECHINEAU49]

TROP FORT !!!!!🙏

[@blissorordeal6552]

Legend!

[@MrAbrantes1]

BRAVO!!

[@jeduardolopezo]

Beautiful! :)

[@kartikudhas16]

You’re taking the piss 😂 Great work as always man.

[@Harrysound]

Really nice low end

[@Alpha-ht5fz]

For the love of all things good can you please teach us how you mix! its so damn good blake

[@ivantorrent495]

Just wow!!! Man, you are so talanted...

[@nerevar6779]

Very cool man !

[@estebancoestaocupado]

Bravo

[@ultima_nova]

Damn, sounds amazing, very realistic!

[@MichaelPilipp]

Grandios!

[@mdp]

featuring... a fresh haircut!

[@Blakus]

Hahah! Actually though! Only hours before I shot this.

[@charlesyateschalfant]

You have good chops.

[@ASX2001]

Would like to see a remake of "Lawrence of Arabia" with that soundtrack. 👍 Great!

[@JerryCrisci]

Outstanding composition and sound, especially the dynamic variations! The brass also sounds excellent - is that a custom library?

[@AndreasSaag]

He describes in the AROSS user demo thread on vi-control forum which libraries he’s using

[@BlackCoyote]

bro that is amazing

[@toppermusic]

Anyone know what brass library he is using? Love the sound

[@jeffhijlkema]

This is just so beautiful composed and produced work! Do you play straight in, using CC faders (1-11-21), or did you tweak CC afterwards?

[@Blakus]

Cheers! I always perform straight in but am often going back in afterwards to tweak. Sometimes many times 😂

[@jeffhijlkema]

@@Blakus indeed, that's where the magic detailing happens, I know. And that's where the time goes often 😉. Love your cohesive, warm orchestral sound and depth on this one. Cherio, Jeff

[@1981KJan]

You do love Dark Crystal ;-) Great Composition!

[@Blakus]

I've never actually heard Dark Crystal, you made me check it out just now! Wow, I see why one might think that haha! And indeed I do love it, now!

[@michacielecki2927]

Congrats, brilliant work! Can't say I'm convinced by the legatos in the lib, but otherwise the sound is great. What did you use as brass and woodwinds? Also Spitfire? Cheers!

[@Drcfan]

Cheesus dude, really great. You bring me everytime back into writing music again. Not on this level though but still inspired :D

[@Blakus]

I take that as a huge compliment ❤. Keep writing, friend!

[@petersvan7880]

This sounds really, really good. Still wondering about doing fast runs with AR strings performance patches, are they as good as the Kontakt SSO ones?

[@Blakus]

I would say that fast runs are something that this library doesn't excel at, personally.

[@Imhotephp]

Has a Star Wars feeling or maybe its just a general John Williams feeling. I guess, from now on, Blakus is the new Star Wars man - a successor to JW.

[@TylerGrowOfficial]

Jesus Christ thats Jason BOURNE!

[@PeterTMusic]

AR strings!

[@Larsmannetje66]

What a great piece! Which vst’s did you use, apart from AROSS?

[@FabioBarnaba]

Bravo porca put! Coud you tell me what instruments for percussions please?

[@Blakus]

Percussion is all AR Percussion from their Metals/Low/High series along with AR One ensemble perc

[@zaharishtonov]

Stunning composition and the orchestration, as always, deserves to be in the college books! Well done, Blake! ❤

[@LeoRack]

Hard to believe the melody is completely written with sample libraries. Outstanding work!

[@codywrightmusic]

BLAKUS VIDEO

[@PoundSound]

😂 that cheeky grin at the end: “These ARE the samples you’re looking for…” Awesome as always!

[@pianodude01]

Most realistic mockup I’ve ever heard. Outstanding work!! Spitfire Audio is onto something here!

[@ultimatebeta805]

Bro, you alive? Thank God. I thought you were dead man.

[@davidmagnus]

Love the composition. Some great harmonies and pleasant surpirises in here. Are you also using the new Spitfire Reverb PlugIn for some of the samples or as an additional FX Channel? -- 350€ per AR string module. That is absolutely insane. The sound is nice, but man it feels overprized. I own 1VL + Celli already, but I really dont want to spend a 1000€ on the rest. Gotta wait for a black friday I guess...

[@dfizzbom]

F'ing tease lol. There'd better be a breakdown video coming.

[@uncle-ed]

Excellent composition, beautiful orchestration, ok mix, average strings that would have been a breakthrough library circa 2014.

[@Blakus]

Listening to this after a short time away from it, I agree about the mix being 'ok' - it's a little harsh for my liking, but alas, time for me to move on haha!

[@uncle-ed]

@@Blakus It doesn't remove one bit to the composition quality.

[@Ahmad-Mounir44]

Sweet composition and orchestration mate. I've been writing hybrid orchestral for action trailer but I really need to soak my head in this style of pure orchestral mockup. Do you read music by any chance mate? Keep it up :)

[@Blakus]

Cheers! I do read music, yes. My favourite way to learn is to analyse the written music of scores that I love to then recreate them.

[@Ahmad-Mounir44]

​@@BlakusThanks mate for clarifying. I defo need to start reading music so I can interpret and analyse orchestration scores ❤

[@Blakus]

It’s worth it I think! You don’t have to be particularly fast or fluid at it to benefit.

[@gianandrelubin]

[@OliKember]

What an absolutely stunning piece! Wouldn't it be a dream if you decided to put a course together some day Blakus - we'd have so much to learn from you. Cheers!

[@DarwinIsInCharge]

If you pause it at 2:09 there is an Easter egg of the Enterprise

[@paulthiebaut]

How can someone be a composing, mockup and mixing Jedi, all at the same time ?

[@GleamingSplinter]

Abbey Road Orchestra Strings Professional... Nice :)

[@nikitapigusov2849]

Pacific brass??

[@ferdmusic8]

Probably, Performance Samples just released a few new products or is just about to release them!

[@koencomposer]

@@ferdmusic8 Pacific Solo Strings was just released indeed, brass is coming soon

[@ASX2001]

When I listen to Paul Thompsons Demo, I miss detail in the strings (that Spitfire Symphonic Strings have). Sound synthy. Anyway, not in Your composition. 👍

[@sparshvermamusic_]

Paul Thompson entered the chat 😝

[@ejw1234]

Are you all composing with no intention of selling or licensing or doing contact work? Just original compositions for the joy of it...

[@trackhero2714]

lol, Blakus has plenty of work, I think he probably only gets a day here and there (if ever) to write a piece for himself, and even then its likely a demo for a library. In this case it seems to be something Spitfire Audio will be using....

[@Blakus]

I've been flat out with contract work for the last few years thankfully! (hence why my KZbin channel is quite neglected). I took a quick breather here between projects to write something for myself, I find it invigorating :)

[@ejw1234]

@@Blakus It's good to get off-spec or break from requirements. Great for the creative process, it makes sense. Well, we certainly like it when you do. :)

[@Pax30001]

Awesome composition!! Just my thoughts. I think the tone of the strings is good, but, the dynamic feel of the strings, if it could be improved i think it would be better. And i don't mean with automation but the natural texture dynamic character of the strings. I can be corrected but i think each note in a violin or viola or an orchestral string has an imperfection of velocity fluctuation, may not be very noticeable but i think it may be there, when a string player such as the violinist or cellist, holds a note or does a legato. Keep up the great work!

[@trackhero2714]

you're absolutely cooked with this comment, nobody can do a better mockup than Blakus. There are library limitations, and you're not going to get the real thing, but I mean telling Blakus that he could get more "imperfection of velocity" (Lol) has to be one of the funniest comments I have read lately.

[@Pax30001]

I wasn't referring to blakus improving the velocity. It was the library's manufacturer or the company. not blakus. This music composition is awesome! What i was suggesting was improvement of Abbey road symphonic strings by spitfire, not blakus improving the velocity.

[@trackhero2714]

@@Pax30001 Ah! I understand. Thanks for clarifying!!

[@krismiller7593]

I’m totally confused as to what the purpose of this live cast was all about.

[@BrianLanders]

why does it need to have a “purpose”? are you inconvenienced in some way by its existence?

[@Blakus]

Just releasing a new track for fun, taking the new AR strings for a spin 😊 I didn't want to mention the library until official release.

[@Paulie62]

Well, there's the title, was that not sufficient? "DAWcast - featuring Abbey Road Symphonic Strings", a library that was just released today. And if you were confused, search it out, don't throw negativity at the person who wrote such a piece. Speaking of, can you not recognize the quality of this composition and have some appreciation for it?

[@trackhero2714]

are you ok