Top 5 FREE Orchestra Plugins

[@orderd29]

Another great feature of the BBC Discovery plugin is how it still sounds SO good with just a tiny footprint - 200 MB! Go back five or ten years, and you would probably be paying hundreds for any one of the products featured here and be ploughing through a massive, dry user manual to find out how to operate your expensive DAW. What a great time we're living in to have a bedroom studio!

[@5ammy13]

Tip: while using Orchestra Layers, you can go to the Performance tab and set up layered articulations such that you can have the Major Chords trigger at low velocities, Minor Chords at high velocities and Sus4 Chords at the highest. You can adjust the range as you please as well. This makes writing on a keyboard so much easier. Highly recommend it, especially for layering.

[@eastercharles443]

Can You explain it in a video?

[@5ammy13]

@@eastercharles443 Sure, let me try whipping up a quick video and post it on my channel :)

[@darrenhirst9900]

The BBC Orchestra sounds amazing and that's why I love using it. Its good for any genre of music.

[@ileryon4019]

One of the best channels out there. Certified.

[@stevenkaiser3837]

Mike, just want to thank you for all that you do to bring us such great info. You are not only a great teacher, but a great source of quality free and/or low-priced plugins in a sea of plugin choices that are on the market. Thank you, sir!

[@timothythomasmusic777]

Did not know about the key switches being moveable. Learn something new everyday from you, Mike. Thanks!

[@rafik2910ify]

This is the video I was looking for so many years, can’t thank you enough !

[@LifeModeMotivation]

me too

[@mikenaughton4298]

Thanks! What excellent help.

[@jettlethedragonpeeltheoran8915]

I love the BBC Orchestra. My only criticism of it is that some of the sounds can be rather "muddy" in a mix because they have a lot of room ambience that can't be removed. The tuned percussion suffers from this in particular. However, the horns, trombones and celli are magnificent.

[@CrankCase08]

I've just discovered that. The strings are absolutely useless for that reason.

[@rox1601]

I'm glad not to be the only one missing the movable keyswitches. Thanks a lot. Great video from the 5th to the 1st plugin. Nice job!

[@amarug]

The instruments/sounds inside SAM's Free Orchestra left me absolutely speechless, as in "ready to out into a big bombastic feature film score quality" - good. That being said, the selection is really limited and you can probably never score anything with it alone, it's just a really great freebie to complement your other libraries. The BBC Discover is amazing, you really get a full orchestra and a selection of articulations with that. All for free, which is just incredible. But the whole orchestra, with all it's articulations is a bit over 200 MB, which is less than many single instruments within Nucleus, Ark 1 or some other popular library. Considering its all in all just 200 MB is mind-blowing and for that it sounds fantastic, but you still hear that it's just miles and miles away from the sounds like within SAM (which are just a few selected instruments of Symphobia, that is a paid library). Since I own Nucleus Full and all the orchestral tools essentials (which are also great valie imo) I never use Discover, while I use SAMs free orchestra (now there is a version 2 even) all the time.

[@alwaysaplanb3993]

Very useful overview. It could be my creative limits but the ProjectSam Free Orchestra definitely pushes people towards “epic” music, so I’m not sure it’s that versatile. I agree on #1 BBCSO Discovery is great. I would just like to be able to really tone down the built in reverb. You can turn it up but not take it off. But it’s FREE (and now you don’t have to wait to get it, like we did), so I should just be thankful, really.

[@ImNotFlawless]

This was actually helpful. Coming from me, a poor musician, free vsts that sound good go a very long way in the right hands. Thanks for this.

[@adg9042]

free vst’s are a godsend

[@MenachemRosenberg]

Would also be great if you could make a video about how to compose a simple orchestra symphony, just the very basics, I mean how the single sections interract with each other, with which one to begin or whatever would be noteworthy for a beginner.

[@MeWreck]

Orchestral Tools SINE player lets you layer multiple patches. I like to combine both of their free pianos (Ratio & Spindle) with (also free) Helix Strings (sustain). Just for playing around.

[@Justin.Franks]

You can do some pretty advanced stuff in SINE too with the polymap feature. Morphing/crossfading between articulations, different articulations triggered based on note velocity or any MIDI CC (like staccatissimo for low velocities, staccato for mid velocities, and marcato for high velocities for automatic switching between short articulations based on how hard you hit the keys on your MIDI controller), and a lot more.

[@ployboy8587]

Spitfire has so much good free stuff! it all looks clean and is easy to use too.

[@Johnsormani]

BBC SO is a great library to start with and from that I stepped up to spitfire symphonic orchestra, which is just fantastic. Still using bbc alongside though

[@MatthewSwasta]

I just downloaded BBCSOD and haven't had the chance to get stuck in just yet, however, the enormity of Spitfire Labs is amazing as well. So many cool sounds!!! Foghorn is quite Brahms-y...

[@roqueavellaneda]

Oh Cheese! I've been using BBCO Discover very much lately, with different instances per articulation... Great tip with the keyswitches... Now i can build articulation maps in CWbB for it! I'll try the versillian one too... Cheers!

[@CreativeSauce]

I knew people would have missed it. I did!

[@roqueavellaneda]

@@CreativeSauce it was a pain setting 4 tracks for every string, or be held to just shorts and longs. It's an amazing plugin, but the legatos on the long notes must be crafted to be believable. Be well Mike!

[@zendakk]

I have only very occasional need for these, so reluctant to investment big. Great timing for this vid! Stay well and thanks, as always.

[@danepaulstewart8464]

MIKE!! You do such excellent work here. It’s amazing how much you bring to an immense number of people who are best helped by the level and the pacing at which you do your teaching. THANK YOU SIR! 😎🤚

[@raffaelesantabarbara1449]

Oh my goodness. I did not know about the key switches on the BBCSO, at all! 🤯 Thank you so much.

[@bdawg123]

ive never felt more compelled to need to give my gratitude as much as i feel now. thank you very much mike for this very informational and beneficial video

[@nigelcarren]

Very interesting mate. Been using BBCSO for two years and I didn’t know I could do that with it thank you! Also… I love your Welsh accent! 😉👍🇬🇧

[@STEPHxCA]

Nice! I think the key to making good tracks with these is combining the best elements from them, I like how the strings in the VC Orchestra sound a lot more than in BBCSO

[@jeremiahlyleseditor437]

I did not know about moving the key switches. Thanks Mike

[@zachary963]

Keyswitches in BBC Discover? Well my composition template just got 30 tracks smaller. Thanks so much for all the help and tips!!

[@nickellis9251]

Missed the key switches trick - Thanks yet again Mike!

[@joegrint6280]

Great review Mike - like others I hadn't spotted the key switches in BBC SO Discover - probably because they are a bit hidden as you say! My only criticism of the BBC SO (which is great in many ways) is the baked in reverb. I have all the others (Project Sam Free Orchestra is amazing if slightly misnamed) apart from the Orchestools which I keep being tempted by but with Miroslav & Garritan (bought at huge discounts) in my armoury it seems a few Gb too far but I'd say it was essential for anyone without a full orchestra! Nice product placement at the end😉 Seriously, Mike's course is excellent for anyone getting into music production and there were things in there that I didn't know about Cakewalk after many years of use!

[@CreativeSauce]

I hear yah on the reverb Joe. I want that under my control. Miroslav is still excellent I feel. Very undefeated.

[@billcornish8131]

Have had the Core version of BBC for some time and still did not know about the easy way to move the keyswitches. Thanks!

[@fredscaife6887]

Had 5 and 4, but got rid of them in favour of 3,2, and 1. Thanks for the tip on BBC Discover

[@Marco-HidalgoMusicRecords]

GREAT VIDEO AS USUAL MIKE!!! THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SHOW US!!! BLESSINGS FROM URUGUAY ✌🏻😍

[@MeWreck]

I'll be the first to admit, that I've missed the possibility of moving the KS in BBCSO Discovery. Thanks Mike!

[@CreativeSauce]

Glad it helped!

[@CaptainPhilipMusic]

My search has brought me to your page and truly you have given me the answers I was seeking with respect to orchestra plugins. Thank you and Thank you and Thank you so very much indeed.❤🎉

[@VentureOffroadAustralia4x4]

Another great video Mike. Some fantastic free sounds that you've shared. Thanks

[@CreativeSauce]

Thanks man. I hope the weather gets warmer for your adventures soon! BTW - loved seeing all them dolphins at Bremer Bay!

[@cadenzapetestudios]

Thanks Mike, I had most of these but I always learn something new and your usage tips are very helpful too!!! 😀

[@gordh5953]

Thanks for the info o the key switches. always chalk full of helpful information. love learning with you.

[@ivankojunalta]

14:11 now i know, thanks!

[@quatermass8]

Thanks for showing us these !!!!! Note that Synchron player uses up a large quantity of CPU juice.

[@bf99ls]

I learned how to move the BBCSO key-switches after several messages back and forth with Spitfire. Obvious when know know. Not so much otherwise. Found some of the untuned percussion VERY quiet. And with my diminished hearing, the triangle is just about silent. But managed a workaround.

[@ronnyjuliette3699]

Happy New Year for you Mick

[@streamingvideo6654]

Wow. This is so awesome! Thanks for the very informative and useful video.

[@red_m8624]

Oh, I actually didn´t know about the function in Spitfire Audio, thanks for the tipp.

[@RikusLategan]

Your research is invaluable and I love your content

[@TracyLee7777]

Wonderful

[@dafingaz]

What a time to be alive!

[@Artur_Chernyavsky]

Yes, yes, yes!!! I've just wanted to ask Spitfire support about KS!)) Mike, thanks a lot!)

[@Did-You-Hear-About-This]

I was just thinking about this question, did a search, and of course Mike did a video. I shoulda checked here first.

[@ontrada]

14:09 Great tip! Thank you!

[@clemenshartung6961]

Cool! I used to have an instance of BBC Discover for each articulation. :D Thank you for the great video!

[@dafingaz]

Yep. Didn't know about the key switches in BBC SO Discover! :)

[@KarryConway]

thanks again Mike i always learn something new from you cheers!

[@RobertoFassani-bt8nx]

Amazing Mike,thanks

[@Trapsoul8457]

Man Thank you some much a blessing your tutorials are great and helpful.

[@NoamStudio1]

The key switches!!!!! 🙏

[@97guitarzan]

Great information Mike!

[@mr88cet]

Great topic, and demos! Thanks. Can any of these play microtones?

[@Tornado4TheLord]

Excellent video. Thank you sir.

[@maxiesley]

Hey Mike, does the Versilian Chamber Orchestra Community works with Kontakt 7? Thanks for this video!

[@CefinBeornMusic]

Thank you for this video.

[@rainsound5811]

Used BBCSO Discover for a while and I really like it, in case I need to address some of the inconvenient, that is this version of BBCSO doesn't have legato articulation and the long artics are just pretty slow, so this may not be fit to pretty fast song while didn't want to use other artics (at least for my prespective)

[@AlenFekonja]

Big up for BBC command key tip!!! 👋👍🙂

[@mimi-000]

super helpful stuff, thanks mike!

[@24hrMusic]

Love BBCO Discover! Yup... missed the ability to move the articulations. Thanks Mike

[@divi1700]

Thank you 👐

[@abdessamadben2025]

There's also Orchestral by Edirol also a good one

[@haoshuaizhou6167]

Thank you so much dude.... Helped me a lot

[@ukerrorlogg]

Thank you! Great video!

[@vewilli]

Thank you. Very good overview, but I don’t need to react as I‘m happy to have the number 1!

[@Vockalibre97]

Makoto, viper and sean. I don't play them but I want to see how good they would be in SF6. And my favorite character of all time, M Bison!

[@heckensteiner4713]

Awesome reviews! It's amazing that these companies are giving away such great quality libraries for free. LABS usually comes very highly recommended, but I found that their library artificial sounding. Especially the strings. It comes with of ton of stuff, which is great, but if I had to rate realism/sound quality only, I would put LABS last on this list.

[@НикаК-ъ4ф]

There were no LABS here, it’s BBCO Discover. As for realism, I would recommend you to go to your local philharmonic and listen how a real orchestra sounds like in real life, not in all those Hollywood soundtracks. You would be surprised.

[@Onemanband410899]

14:10 So THAT’S what that button is for! From someone who never reads instructions… Thank you!

[@roopekivimaa]

Thank You for these amazingly grea t videos and tips! About those keyswitches in BBCSO: When I add them to my tracks with Piano View, they don't usually work (for example, switching from violin long to violin spiccato C0 and C1). I just wonder, what am I missing? I've noticed that many people create separate tracks for different articulations, but is that necessary?

[@Darkshine585]

Thanks I missed the key switches tips lol

[@RemphMusic]

4:06 What is that melody, it's so beautiful ;_; I swear I heard it before

[@GMTunes]

Have you come across a double bass where a bow can be used? Been looking for one that can give me a nice low bass sound (more like a now on a bass guitar) BBCSO is awesome but realised note velocity cannot be controlled which Studio One could. Speaking of which I got one free with my Presonus Audiobox Go. Had great features but then realised it wouldn't let you use third party VSTs unless you paid for it which was a major disappointment. So Cakewalk it is 😊

[@djchemie]

Wow great! Does anyone know any free orchestral plug-ins for DAWs?

[@vinodsreedhar8960]

I use BBC Discover in Reaper and it works perfectly.

[@tdismusic57]

I had Discover for a while. Then they had a sale on Core. Cool. But then they had sale on the full Professional version. Well, who can resist a sale? Right? 😂

[@GeorgFreese]

Mike! You Rock!!! :D 😃

[@CreativeSauce]

Cheers George :)

[@semillama3500]

Thank You so much!! You saved my day.

[@imbailing]

thank you Mike

[@hbrmetal]

Thanks

[@VintageFlowers]

Awesome video!

[@nickeddowes2629]

Thankfully I found BBC Symphony a few weeks ago. If anybody knows how to expand the Tubular Bells range there using the "Tune" feature I would be so thankful (I literally need a note to finish my track). It works with semitones, but for some reason it uses decimals, which makes it impossible for me to set it to the tone I need.

[@nickeddowes2629]

@mika L I actually tried many things so I reached out to Spitfire and they told me I can fine tune the plugin from -3 to +3 octaves from the default tuning point, in cents, holding Shift while using this Tune control, as otherwise, this will be in sts. The exact value is not possible to enter. I still have to try this but I think It'll do the job. Thanks for the help tho!

[@universeofmovietrailer5260]

Hi thank you for the great video Just one thing. With what software I can play this plugin?? I'll be very thankful If you could answer me.

[@PeterPopoola]

Hi, Mike. Thanks for the great list! I couldn't find the card to the full review for Project Sam, though. Not sure why...?

[@blackcitadel37]

BBC spitfire is awesome

[@thevinhnguyen2462]

Hi Mike can you shows us how to use komplete kontrol 13 please ...your video is very usefull

[@IcedMelodies]

Boosting this video❤❤❤❤

[@CGMusicProduction975]

I've had the Spitfire BBC SO Discovery for a few months now the only complains I have is the bass drum just doesn't deliver the power i'd want and all the strings in the long setting have such a long build up it's really noticeable in faster pieces you feel like you have to slow down to compensate or over layer the midi to tray and get a "natural" note change with starting another long build up.

[@dimitargadzhev3800]

Thank you very much.

[@dafingaz]

Great list. The top 3 are the top 3 free ones for me too! LOL

[@SohaldSpike]

Can't believe Spitfire hid us the keyswitches on Discover all this time

[@Shivamtiwarijackie]

thank you

[@monovibe5924]

The Versilian one is really confusing, the link to the page doesn't clarify what you should get as there are lots of things on that page. Would you be able to clarify the steps required please

[@jnelson508]

Sadly, I have read that the free version of Cakewalk will be discontinued and 2 paid DAW's will be released under the name Sonar

[@JustineAndrew]

am i the only one who has a problem with Sine.When i'm using it,it's decreasing the volume whenever i playback until it's gone.If there's someone who knows how to fix it,please let me know 🙏

[@wojciechjastrzebski5572]

Hi Mike, I'm just looking for a free orchestra, but I don't know if I need a DAW. I'm looking for something in exe format. I had the free Vital Text to Wavetable plugin in exe format, but I couldn't figure out how to enter text for singing. I uninstalled it. I also have Alter / Ego, which does not require DAW, but I can not configure.

[@Kracicordeordnd]

How do i download the versilian chamber orchestra community plz respond i really need help

[@XNamelessXNill]

Honestly the 3&2 seem better than the number 1. I've had the #1 plug in for awhile it's extremely restrictive I hardly get any results with it.