Tone Comparison: ARO Flutes, Berlin WW, Cinematic Studio Woodwinds, CW, SA Symph. Orch.

[@c-c-laurin-lenschow]

As always I'm happy to read your questions, feedback and sugestions in the comments! If you like this kind of content, please consider giving the video a like and subscribing to my channel. Also check out my main channel if you want to hear my original compositions: www.youtube.com/@c-m-laurin-lenschow ...and consider following me on Instagram for more music content: instagram.com/laurinlenschow.music/

[@ToeShimmel]

Thanks very much for this comparison Laurin!

[@c-c-laurin-lenschow]

You're welcome!

[@minder01]

Actually surprised me how close in tone Berlin and ARO flutes are. Those rooms are quite different in everything else. That said, that returns the topic to the 300 dollar elephant in the room. I know the staff for Spitfire's socials aren't exactly having a great time right now because of this library, which is sad. Thanks for the demonstration.

[@c-c-laurin-lenschow]

I agree - ARO Flutes and the ones from BWW sound quite similar, which makes the price of ARO Flutes seem even more questionable. Berlin Woodwinds can be bought for 324€ + VAT right now, which isn't that much more than full MSRP for ARO Flutes Pro. I haven't really complained about the price of the ARO libraries before, but this one really doesn't sit well with me. It's also the first time I didn't go for the Pro version - even the price of Core was a hard pill to swallow and if it wasn't for my channel I might not have bought it at all. That's not to say ARO Flutes was a bad library, it's just really bad value (and that's coming from me, who bought ARO Low Perc at launch 😂) I too feel sorry for the people at Spitfire who had nothing to do with the decisions behind this library.

[@minder01]

@@c-c-laurin-lenschow In addition to that, OT offer the flutes on their own and while those are solos and the updated version of Berlin Woodwinds, it's still quite the price gap compared to ARO Flutes. Pacific Woodwinds also just came out which coincidentally has a2 flutes so now that's another heavy hitter to compare with. It would make sense for the price to be high, it's the great Abbey Road hall. It would make sense for the library to sound really good and be very playable, it's Spitfire. We shouldn't be doubting these points but people are and it's not hard to see why. It hasn't been a smooth ride. My enthusiasm for ARO is fairly deflated now. ARO Clarinets are going to sound great because I feel clarinets have always been Spitfire's strong suit with winds but if it's priced the same as Flutes then I also feel like it doesn't matter how good the library is. Bad value is bad value. If they continue this format, I feel like the big one will be the brass. That's where I think the price may actually be warranted and representative of what you're getting. Unless they go bananas and sell horns a2, a4, a6 as seperate libraries 300€ a pop. VI-control forums would have a field day with that one.

[@c-c-laurin-lenschow]

@@minder01 Them selling Horns a2, a4 and a6 as seperate libraries is exactly what I'm worried about... However, the next WW releases might be a bit less expensive; we've seen the same pattern with strings.

[@Noctarilfate]

Thanks for taking one for the team and picking it up on launch day! Personally I was put off by the price but I think they're pricing everything assuming they'll sell most copies at 50% off now.

[@c-c-laurin-lenschow]

You're welcome! Yes, I suppose that's part of it - still hurts though 😅

[@andrewmusician]

This confirms a lot of what I'm feeling about this release. The sound is great (contrary to what haters were posting on their video) BUT it is not $309 greater than every other flutes a2 on the market. I can still get some beautiful stuff out of SSO winds (when the bugs don't act up) and one day the VSL winds with the right mic config and mixing. Currently I see myself waiting it out till the full ARO winds are done and in a 50% bundle. If this strange release pattern takes too long though and OT or a comparable company beats them to the punch with a better sound, I may never end up purchasing the winds unless they complete the full orchestra bundle.

[@eylam9690]

Spitfire and CO are definite winners for me.

[@Noeticus5]

Can you say what the "Cinematic Rooms" settings were to match, oh so wonderfully, the Berlin WW to Spitfire Abbey Road?

[@c-c-laurin-lenschow]

I used the "Score Pit" preset and shortened the tail to 1.65 seconds. The reverb is mixed at 0/-11 dB. This was done in a few minutes of trial and error - I'm sure that further improvements could be made. I also could have tweaked the mic settings of BWW instead of sticking with the default mix, but the point of this test was that you can get suprisingly close to the sound of ARO Flutes without hours of tweaking :)

[@Noeticus5]

@@c-c-laurin-lenschow You, my friend, are staggering talented! I would love to see a video literally showing you adjusting the settings to make the near perfect match! : )

[@c-c-laurin-lenschow]

@@Noeticus5 Thank you, you're very kind! I'm afraid you' might be the only one who would want to see me tweaking a reverb preset for who knows how long, but I have thought about making a preset that's as accurate as I can manage and then maybe selling that preset... I'd have to look into the legal implications though (can I sell presets for a plugin I didn't make, am I allowed to call it "Abbey Road" etc), but who knows... I feel like the ARO percussion libraries would be very handy when it comes to assessing and replicating the sound of the room, and this way I might get a small return of investment after spending ~1k€ on them 😅