Why You Shouldn't Use Free Orchestral Libraries (Edirol Orchestra Etc.)

[@AlexMoukala]

I also want to stress this was a comparison with a VERY simple track. If I tried to do the same thing with my acutal complex orchestrations, such as this one, Sonatina / Edirol would be blown out of the water: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnucqJyVmtSEpqM PS. Obviously this only applies if you aim to do music professionally in a field that does not accept lack of realism (which means most of them). There's some fields though, such as indie game soundtracks, where soundfonts would match the aestethic of games and are thus not a problem.

[@alonsom.643]

I challenge you to make an One Punch Man style track

[@kduy1383]

Hi @Alex Moukala Tutorials :) I just wanted to ask you which DAW is the best to use? I'm a pianist but I am also interested in getting into orchestral arranging.

[@woodyoulove-reynaldguibone6890]

@@kduy1383 I think he'll recommend FL Studio because that's what he is using...

[@user-xx8gw5nc8g]

Unfortunately practically all freebies required Full version of Kontakt which already costs 400$. But still thanks for the comparison.

[@DanielSmith_19]

Great video, Alex. I just started out with FL studio and I'm using DSK Overture. Is Metropolis Ark a full Library for orchestral? It's not just like a string library or something?

[@Niowiad]

00:55 conducting the orchestra with a mouse pointer like a boss

[@yogiconthatrack4335]

pahahahahahahahahaha

[@g718ny]

😂

[@PPedroFernandes]

Why you shouldn't use 500 dollars libraries. I don't have 500 dollars. Although, I do understand your point perfectly

[@WrektSK]

You can get very, very decent orchestral libraries for 250-400 bucks nowadays, especially during sale.

[@giftheck]

@@WrektSK Or some libraries are available on subscription, like SoundsOnline's ComposerCloud (he mentions it in the video as a suggestion - and some of those libraries in EWQL are used in films and trailers)

[@WrektSK]

@@giftheck Yeah those as well. I am personally not a fan of subscription services though. As someone just entering his 20s, it's hard to keep paying for something monthly. But yeah, what's worth it is worth it.

[@giftheck]

@@WrektSK That's an understandable position.

[@songfulmusicofsongs]

@@WrektSK It's better to know when the sale happens and where. I've never seen any yet. I'm a complete beginner in this stuff.

[@L3gionMusic]

Obviously when listened side by side it will sound like a large difference, but if you are just using the free stuff from the start you will really not notice any lack of quality. Obviously the people in the film industry etc. are really snobby about everything being as expensive and 'premium' as possible, but if you are just releasing the music yourself you shouldn't go out and waste all your money on some overpriced library. It is very difficult for music producers to ever get noticed at all. It isn't a matter of talent, there is loads of amazing music on KZbin and Soundcloud with only a couple of plays, much of it is luck. It is also easy for those who already have loads of money and exposure to go on about how simple things are, or how cheap things are.

[@maruko8324]

Oh man this is very true.

[@crystellik]

Indeed

[@ABE2000]

Very true.

[@mikeluna2026]

Well, if you just care about practicing composition or orchestration, then I'd just prefer using NotePerformer 3 + good mixing and extra reverb. It's cheaper than samples and can sound amazing out of the box. Though, the quality of the composition is a big factor. Large Ensembles/orchestras tend to sound the best and busy/fortissimo sections sound superb (I tried it with Flight to Neverland in Finale and it blew me away, haha...).

[@AKMautla]

Shut uuppp, he's not talking to those people.

[@federicorenkine4340]

If you are just learning to score like me and its just a hobbe, use this: sonatina for windwoods, violin section and maybe the horn(in sustain( vsco: for solo violin or organ spitfireLabs: for string section, atmos, piano, mandolin The free orchesta projectSAM: some powerfull brass, and violon Staccato and more And last, percussion i download some samples from difrent places and use it with sforzando

[@hedilium]

where did you download the percussion samples, pls tell me

[@mikeluna2026]

Like I said in another post, if you just care about practicing composition or orchestration, then I just prefer using NotePerformer 3 + good mixing and extra reverb. It's way cheaper than samples ($125) and can sound amazing out of the box. Though, the quality of the composition is a big factor. Large Ensembles/orchestras tend to sound the best and busy/fortissimo sections sound superb (I tried it with Flight to Neverland in Finale and it blew me away, haha...).

[@DiegoJPinto]

But maybe I want my music to sound like Age of Empires II.

[@TallicaMan1986]

But then you couldn't do Age of Empires: The Movie.

[@MaxUgly]

@@TallicaMan1986 that is a hilarious concept for a movie!

[@Author_SoftwareDesigner]

Lmaoo

[@LordComradeAnarchoCapitalus]

I've actually been looking for the Age of Empires II Hammered dulcimer sample for years now

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

@@LordComradeAnarchoCapitalus ask Steve Melin

[@obsidiantrumpet8418]

Doesn't it make more sense to buy something that sounds good out of the box? Yeah sometimes but sometimes it is also extremely helpful to get along with free stuff because your own creativity will be more challenged.

[@RahShanProductionsMTU]

The free one sounds like runescape music lol

[@agamaz5650]

ikr haha insane how bad it sounds compared to the pro

[@Fremmy]

woah, don't shame runescape.

[@BlackLynx4607a]

I used Edirol Orchestra for two years, hahah. It's okay, if you're composing for a low budget game or something like that.

[@mrquintontheone]

Anybody else think that Sonatina at 8:50 sounds amazing?

[@abishekraju8787]

Lmfao XD

[@grandhustle8711]

I‘m a Hip-Hop beat maker but still found this tutorial very useful. The knowledge you drop is very valuable no matter what type of music the viewer creates. Great video.

[@neutrinosky3144]

I used to use free libraries such as fl keys as piano, but now I can’t stand the sound, it sounds like playing plastic instead of playing the piano

[@Casur1N]

Keyzone Classic has two pianos that sound pretty well, and if you have Kontakt "Piano in 162" by Ivy Audio is really good

[@vodun270]

Keyzone classic is the best free piano VST hands down

[@agamaz5650]

@@vodun270 pianoteq 6

[@davidesp00]

4Front Piano is an AMAZING Free Piano VST

[@r0zemary]

Try the piano packs from DirectWave

[@live-the-truth]

Just a quick note: soundfonts aren't synthesized. That doesn't mean that they don't usually sound bad: they do typically. But to the best of my knowledge they are sampled. VST is a replacement format for SF2 etc. The differences you're hearing are all in the quality of the recordings (player skill, recording hardware quality, number of velocity layers and round robins recorded), the the ability of the programmer (who designed the package, compensating for the oddities of making recorded strings sound natural), and the limitations of the format (Kontakt via VST or SF2). I would hazard to say that if a large company decided to use SF2 to sample a professional library (as some have done) it would sound quite good, although not as good as Kontact because of the programming limitations of SF2. Sonatina was a university project I believe.

[@willia_music]

this

[@fuglbird]

Sonatina was made 10 years ago and you can hear that. I use the Sonatine because Spitfire BBC Orchestra has no choir and I also use the flutes. When using free libraries we need to be more flexible. I'm using a few classical compositions to evaluate the instruments from different plugins - sound and range.

[@NathanEllery]

"VST is a replacement format for SF2" Mixing your metaphors. SF2 is a sound font, a format to hold sound and some formatting to be triggered by a midi instruction/device. VST "is an audio plug-in software interface that integrates software synthesizers and effects units into digital audio workstations." A VST might have no sound fonts at all, using a synthesis engine to create sound. Some VST's might use a sound library of samples to build sound and it might use any format it chooses, one being Sound Fonts.

[@freddyspaghetti1055]

I personally use versillian chamber orchestra 2, (the free sfz version) and with velocity, key-switches and timing taken into account, i'd say it could be one of the most realistic sounding orchestras out there, with everything from organ, glockenspiel and nearly every drum and percussion instrument you'd find in an orchestra. So not the most epic sounding, but the most realistic.

[@robotcoffin]

I bought the paid version of that library and it was also easily worth it. I still find useful nuggets in there on certain projects I generally couldn't find anywhere else.

[@petertremblay3725]

Convolution reverb is the key to make them sound like pro!

[@da5idnz]

I know there are all these freebies going around, but I just can't afford Kontakt to run them in....

[@cg19]

@@da5idnz there's a free version of kontakt called kontakt player but it wont work if the library doesn't support it.

[@kalenbaker7901]

I actually really like the free ones. Sounds like some dope dungeon synth. Guess it depends on your artistic intent and what you want to do with your sound.

[@SlyHikari03]

Same.

[@BVK.]

Stylistic Choices

[@DarkVayu]

Pretty simple for me: if you want to be a professional music composer, invest. If you are doing things for fun, or for learning purposes, well, sonatina it's a good option.

[@elephantforceofficialmusic8914]

I understand the comparison. I've felt that the free ones are good for theory and those songs that need to sound synthetic. But if you really want realistic sounds save up and invest.

[@infinitesauce8206]

Yes, but I believe companies like Spitfire have good free options too (LABS) with more expensive ones, aswell (Kepler Orchestra). Not all free samples sound bad, for example most of the LABS collection is sampled from an actual orchestra.

[@garyharney3764]

Tough love that may have just persuaded me to go ahead and use my savings. Your channel is awesome man.

[@deadalonethe1]

Dude, this is the first video of yours I've seen, and you are really inspiring. Keep it up!

[@LittleRichard1988]

I think many people in the comments misunderstand this video, it's not really aimed at hobbyists or keen amateurs but it is aimed at anybody who is serious about composing music commercially and in many fields they expect music to sound as realistic as possible otherwise it will be rejected. But if your creating music just to share it on KZbin and your in the hobbyist/amateur camp then there is no "right or wrong" answer on what you should use, there are many different people on KZbin who like different kinds of music. Also as this video was made 4 years ago things have changed since and you can now get half decent libraries for free like Spitfire Labs and BBCSO Discover.

[@SilloniusAeldarian]

I recently using Sonatina, because im still learning orchestration, mixing and music theory. But i'll bought quality sample library someday

[@LogansDarling]

This comment really bothers me for some reason.

[@LogansDarling]

@Soul Muzic Productions No, I think it's the fact that it got 26 likes.

[@ClicStudio]

Sillonius Aeldarian Same

[@RickyC0626]

Not a lot of us have spare cash lying around, so the free libraries will make do for the time being.

[@lordspongebobofhousesquare1616]

free libraries are fine if you're just learning

[@giftheck]

The only reason I've used Edirol is for very specific sounds (for instance, certain percussion - or if I want the oboe from Nathan McCree's original Tomb Raiders) but I much prefer using the instruments I've got though the ComposerCloud subscription. I've even played around with other packages in the past. I know some of the stuff I've written certainly would not have sounded great or even come around if I had been using Edirol to make music. Edirol has its place, but I agree that it definitely shouldn't be used as a crutch.

[@apenastorugo]

High quality fee orchestras on the market: - Palette Primary Colors by Red Room Audio. (requires full version of kontakt) -The Free Orchestra by ProjectSAM (works with Kontakt Player) -BBC Discover Orchestra by Spitfire Audio (they have an own host) - X3M Taikos by Strezov Sampling (requires kontakt full version) - The Big Bang Orchestra by Vienna Symphonic Library (they have an own host, but you will need to download ilok to use as an e-licenser that is free btw). - Labs by Spitfire Audio (isn't an orchestra, but have nice samples to use when creating a score/soundtrack).

[@WilliamMorrisMusic]

For those starting out I think the full version of kontakt has to be a good option. You get a decent orchestral library and lots of other instruments but also the full version will allow you to use lots of the free and paid libraries available.

[@natehubbardmusic8146]

“Why you shouldn’t be poor” 😂

[@WhitesandComposer]

wow, really well done on the Shore Mockup, sounds very great and big! I'm a huge LOTR fan myself!

[@AlexMoukala]

Cheers! I think I'll do a full one someday. Got a bit of a weird idea already

[@sotosonic413]

@@AlexMoukala Yes please!

[@KaugestadOlsen]

I’ve tried making some orchestral tracks over the years just for fun, and only ever used the Logic Pro stock plugins. It took hours upon hours to make it sound even close to decent, but I learned a lot about how to get closer to the sound I wanted by utilizing what I had available to it’s fullest potential (relative to the degree of skill I had), and it forced me to pay very close attention to how I arranged my tracks. After coming across your videos recently, I pulled the trigger on Metropolis Ark 1-4 on a massive sale, and after a few hours of learning how to use it, it really feels like pay to win. But I also feel like what I learned from using free libraries for so long plays a big part in how easily I can use the instruments and articulations to get the sound I want, and identify the problem when something sounds off. To get to the point, those “hours you’re giving away for free” are hours well spent if you use them wisely, because you’ll learn a lot of valuable lessons. And when you finally move over to more professional libraries, it will give your music (and motivation) new life.

[@eaccentaigu]

Great insight

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

totally agree. I scored my first film using only logic pro and ozone imager! This means i get hired based on this as well

[@Midaspl]

The problem with freebies like in 4:00 is that it still requires kotakt (full version) for like $300+... At that point you can get almost full one, good library that runs on kontakt player.

[@da5idnz]

Yep, you could get BBCSO Core on sale for that price.

[@mrmusicalsharma]

Okay... I am going to sound DUMB here but I really need to ask this.... How everyone on KZbin is clicking on the playlist in FL while keeping their plugin window open?!!!.... I SERIOUSLY NEED HELP WITH THIS ONE!

[@ARandomMinecraftVillager]

Ok, you are right, but here's my counterargument Me no have extra 500 dollars to spend on music that's gonna be in my project folders for all eternity

[@Stormgnome]

Just so you know, Sonatina isn't synthesized, it is all based on recordings. Not as many nor as good quality recordings(samples) as modern paid libraries but recordings none the less. I think Edirol is also sample based at least some of the instruments, again very old and very few samples. The rest is fair advice.

[@leonwillett4645]

correct: the point is "use good samples" not "use samples that were expensive". The advice here could lead someone to ignore a great sound just because it was free, or use an expensive (but bad) library without additional thought. And there are many expensive but bad libraries :) (and there are some magnificent free sounds out there too!)

[@artetconscience]

Sonatina seems to be a little outdated now. Aside from the freebies you mentioned (unfortunately they all require a full version of Kontakt except for the labs ones) there are better free alternatives to Sonatina, such as VSCO2 (CE) and Virtual Playing Orchestra which are much more complete in terms of possibilities (keyswitches, articulations, dynamics for VPO, etc.). Indeed they can't compete with the sound of premium studio recorded libraries like Metropolis Ark or Albion but I think they may be enough for specific use of instruments (eg if you have a generalist but limited library) or for sketching.

[@leojosepila3005]

You can actually trigger articulations in sonatina, we've discovered it accidentally because it isn't in the module, in the violin section the switches starts at C3 to G#3. In the Cello section it is in c2 to D#.

[@michatroschka]

You're right especially about the end, that time, money and effort thing. really enjoy your honest opinions and need that sometimes ;)

[@CedricMialaret]

TLDR: Don't drink beer.

[@DevDungeon]

Next level tip with the FL Patcher and VFX Color Mapper. I had been wondering how to switch articulations and I figured you just had to include the control keys like the low C# into the piano roll.

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Sonatina as well as VSCO2 are available as free Kontakt libraries with articulations, CCs, etc. Virtual Playing Orchestra is only available as sfz. All are sampled anyway, not modelled, and offer controls, performance patches and so on. Another free orchestral library is The Total Composure.

[@ErickMcNerney]

I still can't find a string sound quite as buttery smooth as the Edirol strings. I think with certain things, you cannot use free ones, but sometimes they get the job done, and in other cases (like in Edirol's case), it's something completely different. As far as I understand, it's not a real orchestra, but is a combination of synthesis and real instruments? So I personally wouldn't really lump Edirol in with the rest of the free Romplers (based on RF samples). But for sure, get the free versions of the high end libraries.

[@tvncgn]

I bought Edirol about 15 years ago I think and I still use it from time to time. Sometimes a lightweight out-of-the-box tool like this fits perfectly (especially if you need your computer's ressources for something else at the same time).

[@Deathstaroya]

god damn man you got some skillz

[@nathanielwilcox7294]

Just another music snob. You don't need expensive instruments nor do you need expensive programs to get the job done. I personally use Mixcraft 9 Pro Studio and it's far less expensive, it's easy to use, and it has everything you need including a video editor so. And with the right eqing and mastering you can make free instruments sound more realistic.

[@LittleRichard1988]

I have done loads of projects in Mixcraft RS using just stock VSTs in the past and at the time I thought the Acoustica Instruments sounds were good samples even though I don't really use them that much now. But when it comes to VST effects I nearly always use DAW stock and only download free VST effects if there is something the stock plugins can't offer.

[@mponce1849]

I think the differences is on what you intend to do and how much resources and skill you have. Like everything. You can have the money to purchase the best quality orchestras libraries and yet not posses the skill or the knowledge on how to use it therefore it will be pointless. like having a Bentley to go to the local market that is less than 3 miles from your home... What that tell me is that you just expending on luxuries that you will don't need or use appropriately. It is like buying a $5,000 keyboard and using 3 sounds that are piano, pad and an organ. You are using .1 percent of your keyboard plain and simple. With that in mind a it is important specially with orchestra to spend in knowing how an instrument sound and what an instrument can or should do and what it doesn't. Then how easy is to produce that sound in the library you want because if is not easy then you will spend tons of time trying to do the sound more than producing something. Finally get familiar with the sound of the library since it can be recorded professionally but sound vary and that is good depending on what type of music you want to produce. Each library have different sound and they can be a good tool if that is what you do for life, however, like I said a good library would never substitute the skills and knowledge of how an orchestra should sound.

[@SuzuneTakada]

Edirol Orchestral isn't free. It's just discontinued obsolete commercial virtual instrument.

[@pw6002]

So.True. And I can only agree with the « freebies » tip. Performance Samples & Spitfire Labs are great choices (don’t know the others, will try them!), as well as the ComposerCloud.

[@blasttrash]

do most musicians have the ability to figure out if I used free vs premium instruments? Like if I gave a random youtube song for example. I am guessing no.

[@majid__jafari]

Hey Alex, it was a few months ago when i subscribed to your chanel and back then you had 20k subscribers. I just noticed you've grown up to 38k and i just wanted to share my happiness for you with you. Keep going man. You're gonna reach 1 million in a blink of an eye... Good luck man ;)

[@c14n_]

Dropped my free library for Jaeger just now. While I am unable to get anywhere close to its full utility as compared to you, a beginner like myself will eventually have to make the switch some day. It's not going to be cheaper on "some day" so I might as well get it now and in the meanwhile face marginally less amounts of frustration while learning.

[@graysonsolis]

Edirol is amazing if you play around with it, honestly

[@gregoriysharapov1936]

Heh, didn't think of seeing you here!

[@jakedaniel3763]

True. EQ work , compression, panning, etc. can bring out a pretty organic sound.

[@LegionIvory]

I tend to use two separate softwares for the sound I want. I use Finale for my original orchestral pieces, and FL Studio for my remixes and original gaming music. For FL Studio, I prefer more synthetic sounds, because it matches the atmosphere of gaming. However, you are absolutely correct. We *do* need legit libraries if we want high quality orchestral pieces.

[@johnpenguin9188]

Very educational. The working composers I know all buy huge numbers of libraries. As a humble synth-head I can sympathize, after all I have at least a half-dozen FM synths.

[@AlexMoukala]

Yep, and the cool thing is that you can even be good with just 3-4 great libraries. No need to spend an incredible amount either if you buy them on sale. Then of course, the more you have, the more freedom you get but I'd argue it's best to build a collection over the span of many years, so that you have the time to master each library you buy 100% before hopping on a new one

[@VivekTheMesmerizer]

Alex u r the best man and I don't want any other tutor. U r at the top man, keep teaching us. Thanks for your services Sir!! ❤️😊👌🙏

[@Gilannun12]

1. What do you think about SOVINOX instruments? 2. I've used Virtual Playing Orchestra. It's a free sound library that can be played with Plogue's Sforzando. It can be a good (free) start for music composition. But it has it's problems.

[@ThomC]

For what it's worth, I really like Sonivox. There are some great staccatos, the string sustains can be very nice combined with other libraries, I like the flutes and some of the other winds. The brass staccatos are great, the room in which the instruments were recorded sounds great. Though there is no proper modwheel dynamics on the instruments which is a pity. But I personally like them :)

[@tnbee]

inspirational!

[@camelCased]

Actually, Sonatina also is based on samples. Just short and not high quality. For a good quality free orchestras, you can try Spitfire Discover and ProjectSAM - so much better than the old Sonatina and Edirol.

[@aimbot165]

In my opinion I like the lower quality version, it gives the music a certain sound and feeling that I really like. also getting random soundfonts and using new samples really peaks my inspiration.

[@Likwidl]

I totally agree with your points but everyone has to start somewhere so probably the free stuff are good for starters.

[@muyuancui7606]

I would say it really depends on what do you want at the end, if you are looking for commercial standard output, then you definitely wanna spend literally thousands of dollars on the sound libraries. But if you are doing some basic mock ups and planning to record it later with actual orchestral band, then I would say free libraries are just fine

[@tvncgn]

That`s the point. Creating something with all those libraries is one thing, beeing able to transfer that into a score playable (and well sounding) for a real orchestra is a completely different thing.

[@arthurlee91]

I think that there are definitely some bad VST's out there, but I have to admit that Ediro and Sonataina, while not professional, can stand on their own. Especiallyfor being free lol.

[@falco7626]

Alex: Creates the best, most complex music I've ever heard in my life, something that I can only dream of even getting close to- Alex: Now that's not really a good compisition, even a bad one maybe.

[@geompon6505]

Man stop being a s@ck @ss, this is a melody from Lord of the Rings OST, not even his own (he does make great music though)

[@falco7626]

youre mom gay

[@SMCwasTaken]

Let artists criticise their own music

[@elbuhdai605]

I agree, but there's something to be said about using cheap, free, or mid-tier libraries (EastWest Composer Cloud for example) to learn with. What I did was use ComposerCloud to learn to nail the orchestration and composition aspect of this craft, so that when I moved up to better, easier to use libraries, my compositions could really start to shine. If you can make good music with bad/mediocre libraries, you can make great music with great libraries. I still think it's a good plan that others should follow, because I know a lot of mediocre composers with many different professional libraries that they expect to carry their skills. If you use this strategy, always remember that at some point you should switch if/when you can.

[@abz124816]

Alex, very good analysis because you have what most people don't have. You have sensitive and refined ears! The average person listens to music on a speaker of a smart phone and they don't mind the "tinniness" of the sound. There is an orchestral sound VST engine called GPO 6. I have the GPO 4 and with the tight massaging it imitates reality pretty well. I don't have the patience to tweak it. I use it basically as a mistakes checker. "Garritan Personal Orchestra" GPO 6, I hope that you decide to review it one day.

[@mikeluna2026]

Umm, if you just care about practicing composition or orchestration (not Midi Orchestration), and don't mind spending a tiny little, then I just prefer using NotePerformer 3 + good mixing and extra reverb. It's way cheaper than samples ($125 or so) and can sound amazing out of the box in Finale/Sibelius/Dorico. Though, the quality of the composition is a big factor. Large Ensembles/orchestras tend to sound the best and busy/fortissimo sections sound superb (I tried it with Flight to Neverland in Finale and it blew me away, haha...).

[@NewNoise1]

I use all plugins. Stock, free and omnisphere. It all sounds fire.

[@MoeMentumBeats]

Love these vids. Really interested in how you set up those settings in patcher too. Seems like a game changer.

[@earthlightsmusic2743]

Looks like your point concerns what is software enough for Professional work. Not being Megan Randa Composer For Media, I'm not ready for an investment in EW libraries, just dabbling with Spitfire BBCSO Discover. But I know there'll come a day when I'll want Spitfire's serious libraries, so your point is well taken. I'm just taking my old stuff and advancing it past the Roland MT-32 synth box that was so state of the art back in the 1990s, for now. Gotta start somehow.

[@masterstacker2833]

Alex, you are a treasure. A wealth of Orchestral plug-in info here. Not yet ready to buy but I did pick up Layers (free) from orchestraltools as a starter. I just found out about and downloaded Labs (free) yesterday from spitfireaudio. There is also BBC Symphony Orchestra which you can also get for free from spitfire if you fill out a questionnaire, which I did.

[@gabrielbarnagaud6287]

To have a pretty good free orchestral library, you can have the spitfire LABS (strings, horns, percs) , LABS Discover Orchestra (free if you fill a survey) and projectSAM The Free Orchestra (sampled from their costy libraries).

[@JockJaimeRadfordBromley]

Your beers are really expensive. I'm so sorry

[@maruko8324]

@Fresh Burrito 10 dollars for a beer?

[@brunocosta6849]

For real dude! Here in Portugal, the standard price for a beer is 1 euro, 1,2 dolars. And don't get me started on the beer quality

[@CERTI0151]

@@maruko8324 He mentions how you can save money for your expansions and said if you don’t have 10 beers you already save $60... That’s some expensive beer. I buy a pack of 12 for £10 😂

[@charliecalzbeats]

Man this video hit so many key points. I like how you are keeping it real about the craft. From all the KZbin tutorials I’ve seen, no one has kept it this real! Man I sat back and re-evaluated my entire career. Appreciate you bro! 🙏🏾 (also, I’m a hip hop/lofi producer)

[@ArturoAlbero]

I loved that you used the beer = money analogy. I used it all the time whenever I try to justify an investment (you know, this Virtual Instrument/game is just three beers or two saturday night). For most of those freebies you need full Kontakt, which is not free... That's why Spitfire LABS uses its own plugin, to be completely free. And, well, you could also apply this topic to classical background composers who used all their life Sibelius/Finale/Dorico-like programs and expect people to listen to their music as they do... Oh, I can relate a LOT of this. I wish in my music school they have taugh us how to use properly DAWs and virtual instruments, not Notation editors (which are great, but far easier to master an less useful to actually do music). And it is related with the free instruments, as the problem is the same: Sound Quality. You can't expect people to imagine your music as it would sound in an ideal world. You have to deliver quality. And this requires a lot of skill and training time! Thanks Alex, great video!

[@augusto7681]

The sounds from Sibelius and stuff sound terrible. Any free plugin in fl studio are more decent.

[@notchillustgrhymecity5904]

I kno this is 4 years old but still on point today thanks King BlessUp

[@ClicStudio]

I just bought my first orchestral libraries thanks Alex for all the tips!

[@scottybeats5328]

I guess if your goal is realism sure, but for application to a hip hop beat or covered with effects, it can still be made use of perfectly fine. You should in fact use it if you can. it's easy to use and free.

[@mowburnt]

I m 42. Ive always wanted to compose scores. I am learning piano and have really good hearing for pitches etc and spent A LOT of my 20s playing with sonic foundary Acid - loved that. From your experience what subjects and software do you recommend buying and learning and in which order? Very excited!

[@thegrumpybeethoven]

Awesome. I really needed to hear this. Good video for many people.

[@AndyChamberlainMusic]

the harsh truth with the harsh lighting lol thanks for the side-by-side though, thats a WORLD of difference.

[@xenontesla122]

3:07 Sonatina's instruments are technically sampled, not synthesized. But they don't sound that great because the samples aren't recorded very well and aren't played back with realistic effects like legato. The only thing they excel in is percussion. I like to use the Alpine libraries, which are free.

[@HalfgildWynac]

Well, most "synthesised" instruments imitating real instruments have been sampled for ages. It is just that you should not use old libraries where the whole orchestra was packed into 100 MB of samples. Edirol HQ Orchestral is a professional library but it is REALLY REALLY OLD. I am probably too young because I barely remember the time it was not there. I guess it is ideal for those making something like an early 2000s videogame soundtrack. :) Sort of realistic but too simple and blurry by modern standards.

[@sndsrc]

I understand what you are saying but I thought both renditions sound great and have a place - both remind me of audio from video games, but different games/era's etc. Thanks for sharing

[@CoolDudeClem]

The Sonitina sounded pretty decent to me. But then I'm not a professional composer, I'm more into rock, funk, blues, jazz, disco, soul and retro 80's electronic music.

[@masterstacker2833]

Ark 1 for Sine player is on sale today for a limited time on the orchestraltools site. Get it while you can! I did.

[@ChrisKadaver]

I prefer simply yet genial music. With VST like edirol you can compose pretty good arrangements for smaller enables. At least good enough for me back in the days. But maybe not as a "end of the line"-production. But that's not exactly what it's for, so I guess you're right on that one. Still I think it's really usable for what I'm using it for.

[@jaguarcap6494]

One example is Plants vs Zombies OST music... just listen to it, the Composer used Edirol Orchestral and it sounds 11/10. Listen to Watery Graves (fast version)...

[@CRZYSND]

Oh I was also stuck in Sonatina Orchestra. when I got my first real library, It was sooo much better! Thank you for explaining it to beginners.

[@TRL2303]

Actually none of the Performance Samples libraries are really free to use. They do not work with Kontakt Player (free), they only work with Kontakt full retail version, which is not free.

[@TakeHit0]

Just torrent everything lmao

[@Chonasmusic]

This is super interesting even though I am not even producing orchestral music 👍🏽 I really enjoy seeing how people make their music and I always try to take notes for myself 👀

[@MortenChristian]

Composer Cloud is amazing. Can totally recommend it!

[@ComposingGloves]

Great video! Always enjoy your content. Really like the comparison. I still remember the first time I actually bought a hefty lib from spitfire. Blew my mind how much better it sounded and started a bad trend for my wallet. XD Just a side note, Soundfont files are sample based and then they use the samples to "synthesize" the rest of the instrument similar to making an entire instrument in kontakt with only a couple samples, so its really sample based, just nowhere near the level of proper libs. Shreddage is an example that exists in both .nki and soundfont files.

[@rayderrich]

Okay, I agree with your arguments why to use good paid for libraries. But do me a favor and apply that advise to your camera and lighting if you want to also be that good on KZbin. Your orchestration with the good library sounded fabulous by the way!

[@galacticsongbird]

I mean, the only reason I don't have Eastwest Hollywood VSTs is because I just don't have online money nor a method of using it. Once (and if) I can get good enough to sell commissions (and have a way to collect and use the money) that's really the first thing I'm looking for though.

[@abadmusician2176]

Thank you Alex. Very epic tutorial!

[@Observ8or]

The difference is amazing

[@wintermoonomen]

When your poor your poor and use what you can get your hands on. From there as someone else stayed in another comment you are challenged to create with what you have and its limitations. I have been fortunate to try some really expensive libraries that my peers have. Some sound fantastic, others I was disappointed in. It all depends on the vision you here within your mind and how you are able to create it.

[@srt5490]

Any free or paid sounds library/ vst are ok to use. It all depends on what is your aim or the purpose. Saying that this or that is no good is very wrong. In fact, some people prefer using lower-quality sounds for the mockup. On the other hand, some people are more inspired or driven by less. Less is more.

[@moxxiefan2.055]

I'm planning on using one paid orchestral vst plugin. Along with a bunch of other free vsts, With two DAW's in hand. Nucleus Lite Edition BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover The Free Orchestra The Free Orchestra 2 Komplete Start Surge XT BitFlip Vinyl Guitar 2 Shreddage 3 Stratius Shreddage 3 Precision MT Power DrumKit 2 MFreeFXBundle Mixcraft 10.5 Pro Studio Cubase 13 Elements

[@neovxr]

Alex, your talent is huge and I love what you do with your productions. I think dynamics are really a bit much, bigger than life, so perhaps the best game makers are employing you (or soon). Did you find Tina Guo? She is an incredible cello player, but also composer, and master in Asian instruments. Her dynamics are so right on the spot. Perhaps some collaboration might become a win-win? She also works with a plugin maker, who records her playing for his products.

[@petertremblay3725]

The way i proceed is to use sonatina orchestra to compose and when my composition is done i then rent a month of composer cloud and i replace instruments with better versions of them. And honestly i will never become a full time compositor since there is already legions of them and wages are becoming ridiculous since they now have the choice.

[@billycooper2833]

Hey, i’m kind of new and confused, so packages like arc one are only for a month or can i keep it once i buyed ?

[@romualdphillip666]

I'm currently using those free stuff.....sonatina and edirol are a couple of those. Its very time consuming. I did learn a few tricks over the 8 months since I start goin into orchestral music at the start of this year. However it's very frustrating sometimes to do alot of things on them just to get them sound alittle better than they originally are. I do plan to purchase a good library in the near future. But at the moment I can't afford one yet. Oh and Alex what do you think of Audio Imperia's Nucleus?

[@carlos.e.flores]

Some day I would like ear some comparative with Miroslav Phiharmonik 2. I just have that library.

[@tecnoline57]

Optimal !!!! Thank you!!! What do you think of the orchestral plug-ins in Logic pro x?

[@maruko8324]

I can clearly hear the difference between a good library to a synthesized one. Good job on this insight man.

[@TimothyShortellMusic]

Thanks for the video Alex. I started off my composing career using mostly freebies like the ones you linked here. I think it's quite possible to achieve great results with these, especially with libraries such as Spitfire LABS, which are actually very high quality. However, I would definitely not recommend Sonatina orchestra. I downloaded it once to give it a try, and it was probably the worst orchestral library I have ever heard. While I haven't used Edirol personally, I do know someone who has been featured on Epic Music World multiple times who uses it, so I do think it's possible to achieve reasonable results with that if you know what you're doing. It will, however, as you said, require a serious investment in time and knowledge of music production. So overall, while free libraries may be good to start experimenting with at first, I do agree that it's important to save up for the bigger libraries. Not only will they speed up your workflow, but they will make the composing and production process more enjoyable as a whole. With access to great out-of-the-box sounds, it's much easier to be inspired and to produce great music efficiently. I have bought pretty much every high quality library I own at 50% off or more, so it is super SUPER important to wait for sales IMO if you're on a tight budget (Black Friday is always a good time). It actually makes good quality production quite affordable if you're careful about how you spend your money and do a TON of research before buying anything.

[@infinitesauce8206]

I was about to get really triggered because of the title until I realized you linked LABS in the description. To be honest, it's the absolute best free orchestral pack. Lots of instruments, they sound incredible, and if you're ready to move to something better they have literal *tons* of other instruments such as Kepler Orchestra, a 300$ pack that they advertise *on* the LABS website. They'll even deliver a hard-drive to you if you want!

[@borgestheborg]

If you are just learning composing and are looking for entry level orchestral libraries then Amadeus Symphonic Orchestra is a great option at just $150, another is Garritan Personal Orchestra 5, which is the same price.

[@rafaelhernandez5550]

I have to add in my own experience. I had following your channel for some time now and love your tutorials. Thanks to you Alex., I had taken the EVENANT COURSE and today 5 days after taking class. I can say that, this is one of my best investment in my Recording Studio. You will see the change in my composition very soon. My youtube channel will tell the improve of my music. I got the tools and the piano skill, but I didn`t know how to do the orquestation. You guide me to the right place, and I will be gratefull all my life for it. Thanks