ProjectSam Orchestral Essentials vs Spitfire Audio Albion One - review

[@OfficialStevenCravis]

Martin, thank you for this video. That’s very interesting how the two companies’ libraries sound so good together. It’s as if their default frequencies are Match EQ complimentary to each other!

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Dear Steven, thank you. I was quite curious how the sound of the two companies compare to each other but not only. Albion One is some kind of flagship library of Spitfire Audio whilst Orchestral Essentials is more entry level of Project Sam. And I would say OE defended itself really good. Maybe one day I compare Albion One to Symphobia, especially after the expected update for some of the Project Sam's libraries. And you are absolutely right about the combined sound, they just work great together

[@mathisto21]

Love this video Martin! Thank you for taking the time to do this comparison. I own OE 1&2 and have been wanting to purchase Albion One for a long time because I feel I am missing out on something. I will eventually purchase Albion, but your video has shown me just how powerful and amazing OE sounds. Thank you very much.

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you so much Anthony for your kind words! Even me I really like the Project Sam Sound a lot and keep coming back to OE 1&2 quite often. Even for the lovely soloists and the small string ensemble. In terms of orchestral "sound" you don't miss much with Albion One imho except in the legacy folder there are nice orchestral runs and OE doesn't have legato, so if you don't need the Stephenson's Steam band or brunel loops, you won't miss too much. In this case Albion Tundra or Solstice might be more interesting if you plan something from SA . But that's only my opinion :)

[@drew6524]

As a working composer my general advice for starting with libraries would be yes, get something FULL like Albion One (or Essentials I haven’t watched the video yet), which is the film standard- to the point it’s what you expect to hear in a movie theatre. So a big orchestra library and then round it out with your own unique choices to create your sound. Like an Albion then pandora core (for action and suspense) and free LABS from spitfire and free orchestra from SAM whatever twizzles your wizzle. You will need the basic “cinematic library” because as a film composer said ‘get them on your side with what they expect first, then impress them with your skills’. So if say it’s worth it to buy Albion (IF ITS WHAT YOU WANT) it’s worth it to spend money on one good orchestra and then get ethnic or synths or the sound of boiled eggs falling into white buckets of angel tears in a glass room surrounded by inappropriate ice sculptures or whatever. I use Albion One and Albion Solstice as my cores. Use any core orchestra then use free cheap or if you’re magically rich expensive libraries to make it so ppl hear a few notes and know it’s you. My combination started as Albion one and solstice, pandora core, free orchestra, Intimate Textures by heavyocity - beautiful artistic strings with V1 V2 Vla Vlc & Bass patches and unparalleled control so you can select 2 cellos sur ponticello with 3 violas playing with evolutions with 2 violins sul tasto and one violin playing harmonics and pan them like a real ensemble and still have real time control over a dozen elements, the composer cloud+ etc this is me and this is my sound others might find it boring. Make YOUR sound! You DONT have to get the expensive ones to sound good. I have a composition degree and trust me- it’s the choices you make that others don’t that make you valuable. You do need the basic core to satisfy the lowest common denominator but once you’ve done that- let your imagination fly. Also- You can compose a major piece or soundtrack a film using only free LABS etc libraries intelligently so money doesn’t equal quality music. How many times have I watched a KZbin of some guy with a library which BLOWS MY MIND but he makes it sound like chud by playing it all wrong. Or a professional using a mod wheel and 4 faders and a pre-composed set of examples to make a crappy set come alive.

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Not much to add here: know your tools and know your libraries and you'll see they can get you way further than you might expect. And work on your personal skills, day after day after day. Anyhow, with that knowledge of yours you really should produce some tutorials. I'm sure they will be helpful to a lot of people!

[@drew6524]

@@MartinHeidenreichMusic Since commenting I bought and have tried out the Orchestra Essentials from Sonuscore lol - could help myself. The Orchestra Essentials has some amazing time (and thinking) saving tools, which may make it MUCH easier for a newer composer to make ensemble rhythms to give the piece width and energy- a more experienced composer will find ways to use the tools to their ends also. In my opinion, and every composer is very VERY different, I would say get Albion One first -- simply because it is the "standard" and it covers all of the bases adequately BUT does require more music theory (and thinking) to make decent cues from. Also, as much as I adore it, it can 'lack teeth' I find. The Essentials is the opposite- play a chord and bam you have a harmonic rhythmic motif just like that, and ironically, if anything it can be EXTRA sharp-toothed, which makes it an amazing complement to Albion or a great standalone. TLDR; I think Albion is great as it covers the bases and is "The Standard" film library, but it may require more knowledge or work ,and O.E. is great because it will erupt will a full (and good) rhythmic ensemble just from a chord, and it is more fierce. BUT it doesn't yet seem to have the legato and control you have in Albion. They are BOTH great starters for composers, especially cinematic composers! Thanks a lot for doing this vid it, literally took me HOURS to find one vid about O.E. that addressed intelligent questions not just a goofy preset run-through -and hey, I went out and bought it on an outreach worker/indie film composer's budget (and I don't regret it!)

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

hahahah, in this video I didn't talk about the Orchestra Essentials by Sonuscore but Orchestral Essentials by ProjectSAM (a library that came out many years ago, someone was just pretty inspired by the name as it seems) which in my opinion would be my first choice and suggestion for beginning Composers for many reasons. I might make some videos one day about my personal suggestions for beginners: the free ones, the budget ones and the big toys that can really make the difference. Yes, Albion One is nice, but....

[@leroycarr9]

Excellent video and great music. I wanted to hear the Project Sam libraries as I am considering a purchase, especially now that they have been upgraded. Thanks!

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thanks for your nice words. Personally I do love the ProjectSAM sound and the fact that it is recorded quite dry. You can always add reverb but you can't substract it if it's baked into the sound like in Albion One. So in my humble opinion it's easier to blend SAM's libraries with others

[@leroycarr9]

@@MartinHeidenreichMusic I am glad you took the time to share this compelling point. Reverb can be so seductive. My problem is always needing to dial it back so the Orchestral Essentials will probably be a better starting point for my work.

[@wesboundmusic]

Really nice use of modulation and articulation, kudos, Martin! And yes, they both sound absolutely awesome, with a slight edge in favor of Spitfire Audio's Albion One. Great video work, too, with two cameras and nice big screeshare, that's how it's done! (y)

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you so much Wes. To be honest I would have a hard time to decide which one I prefer hearing only the final results. Listening to the solo tracks might change it a little but anyhow, nothing beats OE when it comes to workflow :) PS: can't wait to hear and "feel" the upcoming version

[@darrenhirst9900]

Martin you really love music and that's what draws people to you. I love watching your videos. Thank you.

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you. It's comments like yours that give me the power (a part from my love for music) to continue making those videos

[@darrenhirst9900]

@@MartinHeidenreichMusic Well you got me into Project Sam and Orchestral Essentials 😂 I love music too and to me music is life and love. I could tell you love music and that's why I love your channel. So, thank you Martin.

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Guilty as charged hahahahaha

[@MorisoniProductions]

Thanks so much for this really useful video. Much appreciated!

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you Henry! Always a pleasure to hear that my videos are useful to someone

[@bonuebonue]

Hi Martin, your videos are so inspiring and your way is so sympathetic that I have to subscribe! Viele grüße

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Vielen lieben Dank. Comments like your inspire me to do more and more videos. Have a great day

[@msoundz]

Great presentation. The tip about each library's patches having a different breaking point is priceless. I had never considered that when copying across... Albion still sound great to me. I passed on the opportunity to buy Albion One the last time it was on sale at half price ... when on a tight budget not one of my better decisions.

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you so much Mike for your nice words. Yes, Albion One has it's very own, warm, particular sounds, due to the space where it's been recorded. Personally I rarely use it these days, i stick mostly to the Symphobias, or Jaeger if it needs to get aggressive or Heavyocity if it needs to get hybrid. Hope to have you on board with your Orchestral Essentials Give away

[@diemcarpemusic]

@@MartinHeidenreichMusic I just noticed Spitfire has 40% sale on everything in the shop. But seems it doesn't offer much if I own nuclues, areia, OE1 & 2, soundiron hyperion brass and UVI hybrid orchestra. I checked albion one , colossus also in different videos and I'm not really impressed how they sound. Sounds very underwhelming to me and seems on official spitfire audio they boost them with some effects on mixer. I can make my instruments sound heavy and big if I want to with effects too. I just wish ProjectSam do another sale, I would really like to get Symphobia 1 & 2 to my collection haha. Waiting for summer sale. What is your favorite reverbs?

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

@@diemcarpemusic I do love Blackhole but even the reverbs from Audio Brewers

[@berndmartin1378]

Hallo Martin! Man muss nur tiefer bei YT, suchen dann findet man so fabelhafte Musiker wie Dich! Großartige Videos und Deine Musik ist grandios! Ich habe auch all diese wunderbaren Instrumente und ich bin jedes mal begeistert, wenn ich sie spiele und höre. Dankeschön, das Du Dir soviel Mühe gibst und ich bin ganz Deiner Meinung "Ohne Musik, ist das Leben ein Fehler!" Ich werde da ganz sicher noch mehr anschauen und freue mich auf Neues! Ganz großes Kino!!!! Viele liebe Grüße!!!

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Hallo lieber Bernd, danke für Deine lieben Worte! Das ist auf jeden Fall ein Ansporn so weiter zu machen 😊 Habe schon ein paar Ideen für die nächsten Videos, die Tage kommt auch noch ein Aufruf zu einer "Collaboration". Liebe Grüße (momentan aus Wien)

[@hablemosdefoto]

you video is amazing Martin , I just bought Albion One. they have a sale right now 40% off thanks for this video it help me a lot.

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Glad that I could help. They are both great each in it's own way and sound. You'll see, you will be very happy with Albion One. Take your time to check out the Stephensons Steam Band and the Legacty patches

[@kenbanhiki1224]

I like Albion ONE the best. It has a great orchestral sound.

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Yes it does, maybe a little wet due to the hall it was recorded in, but I guess that's part of it's beauty

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Sorry, my first video had a real bad audio. Fixed it this time :) So which one do you prefer? Let me know in the comments. And please feel free to subscribe to my channel to don't miss the next review or tutorial

[@stefanorossi3480]

Great, you re-uploaded that video with much better sound. Still the same interesting comparison of two libraries that are quite different. But the sound of both is just great, you wouldn't tell that Orchestral Essentials is that old...and what was that spoiler? Do you have any news from Project Sam regarding Orchestral Essentials?

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Let's say I heard some rumours :) I guess Project Sam will have a nice surprise for us later this year regarding Orchestral Essentials

[@stefanorossi3480]

@@MartinHeidenreichMusic Interesting, very interesting, thank you

[@Larsmannetje66]

I like how you made both Albion and OE shine! I love them both. And BBC SO Core…

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you so much Lars. Was easy with Albion One as I originally played it in with it, but after tweaking around a little bit with the Midi Orchestral Essentials just sounded as good as it really is. Even me love both, don't have BBC SO Core, only the Discover but use it rarely

[@cyborgmetropolis7652]

Nice! But extra points for that awesome shirt!

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you so much, this comment made me smile a lot. Will try to put it on again on one of my next videos :)

[@TheMikeJr2001]

Martin Firstly, Thank you so much for making this vid. OE is truly underestimated . . . . as much as I like OE it really can't compare with Albion. You said you were going to review OE and to my surprise you did it!!! Wow . . . fantastic! Not to mention the fantastic Albion One. Fantastic my friend!!! Great point about mixing the two!!

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you so much Mike. This was not my review of OE yet, will follow soon 😊 Me too, as you know, I'm a big fan of OE and the magic Project Sam Sound itself. In this video I just wanted to compare the sound of those two workhorse libraries and IMHO they are quite close. Of course, looking at all articulations, content, and extras like Stephenson and brunel, Albion is way more complete, so then it would be fair to compare Albion One to Symphobia (which might be interesting one day).

[@kenwallace5250]

I like the music especially the two libraries at the end of the video. Would love to have the midi to analyze it.

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you Ken, I still should have that Midi file somewhere. If it's OK with you just buy me a coffee or two (the link is in the description) and I'll send the Midi file to you.

[@fabioconciatore8942]

wow!!! interesting news about the Orchestral Essentials Update. Do you have more detailed information?

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Hi Fabio, not yet, but Project Sam for sure will make a great library even better :)

[@sfx1674]

Nice video, Thanks for sharing. My feeling has always been that Spitfire stuff is 'over engineered' as compared to Projectsam Libs, it's akin to the problem we had back in the day, between Vinyl and CD. In any case can you share the location of Projectsam projects so that we can take a close look at the arrangements, etc...?

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thanks for your nice words. Not so sure about that "over engineered", both companies do have great sounding libraries and as you can see in the video you really need to take your time but then (nearly) every library can shine. Anyhow, my heart beats for Project Sam, personally I do prefer their very unique sound. Here is the link to the tutorials of Project Sam: projectsam.com/tutorials/ Enjoy :)

[@johnsampan]

great video as usual Martin! i just got albion one today and out of the box they kinda dont sound as loud and clear as from your video, are you using any effects?

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Dear John, thanks for your nice words. No, I didn't use any filters or effects. Not in Logic and neither in OBS. It's the sound right out of the box, but I used a lot of Expression and Modulation ups and down. That might be the secret. Just let me know if it helps.

[@bonuebonue]

Hi John. In Kontakt, Spitfire uses the default volume at -6db: for me it is always too soft, maybe you need to increase it and get it to 0db. (You can also adjust the default volume in Kontakt settings for new loaded instruments to be at 0db). When Volume default is set at 0db than you can rise it with CC7 till this value of 0db (or with your mouse in Kontakt). You can also go all the way up to +6db, but it may become too loud in the mix. Hope this helps. And thank you Martin for the wonderful video!

[@紅葉亀]

That’s a nice video, you should do more libraries comparaison it’s always good to know another point of view. Albion1 actually on sale 40percent… BTW how old is Albion1? Hope your new videocam is well;)

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

I know, comparisons like this are really interesting, just listening to the sound, not getting into detailed tech specs. If I'm informed well Albion One was presented in 2015, Albion 1 around 2005. Best news: within the classic Symphobia 1 from Project Sam will be re-issued :) And thanks, yes, the Brio is just great

[@紅葉亀]

@@MartinHeidenreichMusic I actually bought lumina and work on a project with true strike, Pandora & lumina to know them well, as you I’m also big fan of project Sam stuff;) I was hesitant between Symphobia 1&2 or lumina during sales and hope they introduce another decent price for Symphobia 1 new release, maybe...

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Or maybe a Christmas Sale. Symphobia has some incredible String patches. Scored a short movie recently, will talk about it soon

[@紅葉亀]

@@MartinHeidenreichMusic I’m looking forward my friend

[@IsmaelAngelus]

Amazing video, sir!

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you so much Ismael

[@SpeakOfTheDavel]

Found it!

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Good, I'm very curious about your opinion of this comparison and if you like the Project Sam sound

[@ottomanbeatsofficial]

Almost none of the spitsfire libraries are worth 500$ per library. They should be like 100-150 max. Albino very disappointing

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Guess if you take the amount of money it takes to produce certain libraries (the number of players that need to be paid, the studio that needs to be rented....) the price might be adequate. Do I personally prefer other developers? Probably...

[@robertwagendorfer6976]

Hi Martin! Thanks for this comparison. I bought OE1 & OE2 in 2019 for the price of 1. OE2 has String Ensemble Sordino, some legato presets (Trumpet, Flute ...). Albion One sounds fantastic. But in combination with ProjectSams Free Orchestra, there is no really need for Albion One. Danke und Gruß aus Österreich!

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Hallo Robert und servus nach Österreich! OE1 is the basics and OE2 adds some magic to it (the soloists and yes, those Sordino Strings and my favourite, the small Violin and Viola Ensemble). Albion One has a quite different sound but true, OE1&OE2+TFO and you don't need Albion One as you can get the whole Stephenson's Steam Band Stuff for free (just think about LABS). Merry Christmas

[@alanhainsworth6292]

@@MartinHeidenreichMusic Hello Martin. I wonder if you could please elaborate on what you said above. You stated, " you can get the whole Stephenson's Steam Band Stuff for free"? How does one go about getting the Stephenson's Steam Band Stuff for free? You seemed to hint at LABS, but I have LABS - with all LABS modules available to date, and I can find no correlation between the instruments in LABs and the many Stephenson's Steam Band presets, as they run within the eDNA engine. Please explain. Thanks!

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

You placed the same question twice in two very different videos, where do you want me to answer? 😂 To make it short, the LABS are very nice libraries but that Spitfire Player has only very limited sound design capabilities, so you will need external effect plug-ins but they will get you wherever you wanna go sound wise, you don't need an eDNA engine to morph sounds or pan them from left to right or apply filters. Just watch this tutorial how I create a custom, evolving cinematic pad with the FREE Foundations series by Heavyocity as even in their free libraries they include some nice features :) Hope this helps kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpDOoJ9_ar2IeNU

[@alanhainsworth6292]

@@MartinHeidenreichMusic Thank you for the quick response and explanation. Sorry about the dual posting, I posted here, then realized this thread was a year old, so I was afraid you might not see this one.

[@GiulioPirondiniMusic]

Good video mate! Big news about OE? Wow! How much do you want to tell us what all that is about? What do you know we don't? 😅

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Just be patient my friend, the news will be spread soon :)

[@tcb6771]

I guess ProjectSAM will update OEs with content from Pandora and Adaptive Runs!

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

@@tcb6771 As I know it will go quiet deep and not only be for OE but even the Symphobia series :) Can't wait to put my fingers on it

[@gabrielenr1534]

very very good

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you!

[@daisyduke6573]

Beautiful 🎹

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you Daisy

[@zenmeditation2120]

Nice

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Thank you

[@fingerhorn4]

Spitfire Albion One is $200 more expensive. It also is obsessed with imposed, non-optional OCTAVES. No intelligent, musical or skilled arranger would EVER choose automatic octaves. If you need them you can simply play octaves. YOU DO NOT NEED dumbed down pre-made octaves. It is like painting by numbers. Listen more closely to the woodwind patches. The Project Sam samples are NOT in octaves and they are clearer. It is a more useful package. No-one cares about the mics. You can distance them using reverb or reflections. Albion is far too expensive for the limited palette of sounds. Project Sam is more useable for nearly half the price. But of course everyone raves about Spitfire. It's marketing BS.

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

Of course, it's difficult to compare Albion to Orchestral Essentials, would be more fair to compare Albion to the flagship Symphobia. Albion One offers much more different articulations that you don't get in the Orchestral Essentials, but you do in Symphobia. Albion One has much more content (just think about the Brunel Loops and the stunning Stephensons Steam Band) and wonderful combinations and so on. Stuff that you find similar in Symphobia and even in Symphobia you get the optional octaves as they come quite handy if you are under time pressure. This video was all about the sound and I think Orchestral Essentials really did well against the flagship from Spitfire Audio. Of course, even here it's hard to compare as they have been recorded in two very different studios and whilst nearly all Project Sam libraries have quite a dry sound you hear the huge space of Lyndhurst Air Studios in Albion One, really wet samples. Up to personal taste I would say. And I disagree about the microphone positions, even Symphobia has various mic positions and they can become handy, but for quick sketches they are definitely not needed. This is why I love Orchestral Essentials: without too many choices I don't get lost in details but get good sounding results quick 😊

[@danielgfrost]

audio too soft!

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

thank you Daniel, but not sure what exactly you mean: the voice or the music. If the voice, personally I do prefer to don't max out everything and then have 30% of hiss in the sound. If the music then yes, uncompressed orchestral music might seam soft to the hybrid trailer music spoiled ear

[@danielgfrost]

@@MartinHeidenreichMusic Just letting you know that I had to turn up my speakers just to hear you... You really should increase the master of your videos. or maybe even use a compressor to even everything out.. shout outs from Australia! :D

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

@@danielgfrost Don't know what to tell you. No one else of the other 3000 viewers had that problem, one even commented on the quality of the sound of my Albion being better than his Albion One out of the box. So sorry, guess I can't help you here, just use your volume knob. Happy new year!

[@danielgfrost]

@@MartinHeidenreichMusic It's starts out fine.. but at 0:32 the volume decreases dramatically... several db lower than the intro... makes me have to struggle to hear what is being said.. aside from that.. I'm only new to your video's.. but i am binging all your video's the past few days :D thanks for your efforts.. very informative & entertaining... keep up the great work & I'm sure you will get many more subs.. kind regards..

[@MartinHeidenreichMusic]

@@danielgfrost 100% right about the drop at 0:32. Was switching from one camera to the other not taking care of that....errors from the past, let's see which ones I will make in the future, for sure there will be 😊