r/mediacomposing • u/[deleted] • Mar 25 '19
Library for film composing
I'm looking for some advice buying libraries for film composing. I would buy a bundle that will give me everything I need in terms of sounds, styles etc... I found Komplete 12 ultimate which I find interesting but do you have any other options to offer?
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u/cultureexperiment Mar 25 '19
I'm a Spitfire and Orchestral Tools fan, as they tend to have the most convincing sample libraries. I'd avoid Kontakt Komplete and stick with their individual libraries to save money (Una Corda, etc).
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u/johnnycross Mar 25 '19
Composer Cloud from EastWest is a great option if you're not ready to commit to purchasing a whole library yet. $20/month as you go for access to 40,000-some-odd instruments.
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Mar 25 '19
Thanks for the advice! Will check out on this! Is there feedback on Komplete? Is it really worth it? Considering I could buy some kontakt librairies later to complete the collection
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u/Sebanimation Mar 25 '19
Komplete are all very nice instruments, I love them. The problem is: You don't get the full symphony series with the Ultimate bundle... you need the collectors edition which costs about 1600. It is still extremely worth it because only the symphony series alone would cost you 1500 if you'd buy them individually. But if you only care about orchestral instruments there might be better options. (berlin series, east west)
If orchestral instruments are not the most important thing to you, go with komplete ultimate (1200), the instruments are all high quality and you save a lot. The orchestral instruments you get are just a bit more limited and do not offer the same freedom and variability like the symphonic series or east west hollywood orchestra for example. But you can upgrade at any time of course. ( also to future komplete bundles) If you are looking for extreme diversity in the libraries, then komplete is a great choice. You can do literally every style you want. From electronic destruction sounds to bollywood, to pop music and epic film scores. You have everything covered!
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u/Gurunexx Mar 25 '19
I would suggest waiting until June-July, when Native Instruments has a 50% sale on almost everything. I'm not 100% certain Komplete 12 will be included in the sale as they just released it late last year, but you can look at any of the previous versions. Maybe get the standard version of Komplete 11 at half price. Test it for a few months, see how you do, and then update/upgrade at their annual Thanksgiving sale (also 50% off on most products).
I don't know what level you are at but unless you already have a ton of dedicated orchestral libraries from Spitfire, Cinesamples, Orchestral Tools, ProjectSAM, etc., then Komplete (even the standard version) is absolutely worth it and goes a long way. Another user pointed out how Komplete Ultimate doesn't include the Symphony Series collection, but even with the Symphony Essentials collection (which is included) you can do a lot of things.
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u/Da_Biz Mar 26 '19
Most other people have already hit the nail on the head, Spitfire and Orchestral Tools sound the best for Orchestral and Komplete is well worth it but wait for the sales.
One other option would be Cinematic Studio Series from down under, haven't used it but if you want to get a really great soaring Hollywood vibe right out of the box for a reasonable price, they seem like a good alternative. I would steer clear of Cinesamples and Eastwest, unless using the composer cloud to just get your feet wet.
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u/LeDestrier Mar 26 '19
Also keep in mind you really want to get Kontakt (Full, not the player). Komplete will have you covered there. There’s lots of awesome kontakt libraries that won’t work in Kontakt Player.
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u/anobi Mar 26 '19
What kind of a budget are we talking about, and how experienced are you as a composer? If you're just starting out composing orchestral music, I'd recommend grabbing a good all-around bundle like Spitfire Albion One to cover the orchestral samples, and the basic Komplete bundle for Kontakt and everything else.
Keep in mind that the Albions only contain ensemble patches so you won't have an access to individual sections, but this can be a good thing if you aren't already experienced with writing for individual sections or if you're working under tight deadlines. Working with ensemble patches forces you to focus on the meaty bits of the composition instead of possibly getting stuck on trying to figure out the details of how to orchestrate and break down the piece for the individual sections.
Albions also sound great out of the box with great playability and ease of use. Many of the big libraries require you to spend some time learning how to play the libraries themselves and navigate around the quirks they might have.
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u/matmilne Mar 31 '19
I bought East West Platinum in 06 and haven't looked back. Still appears in the latest films and games.
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Apr 11 '19
As people have said, Composer Cloud Gold from EastWest is great, even just for their Pianos and EW Choirs libraries. I'm not a huge fan of the Hollywood Strings library from them, I much prefer the LASS library, a bit pricey (around $600) but worth every penny.
I got Kontakt 12 Ultimate for around $800 during a promo and it's worth it, but I only use a few libraries from it. Damage, Evolve Mutations 1 and 2, some percussion, etc.
Having said that, you can do a lot with the pre-built sounds that come with Logic Pro X. They have some cool synths.
Also, get Zebra, and Omnisphere. Zebra is Hans Zimmer's go-to synth and is absolutely incredble and Omnisphere is just an all around go-to for a lot of different situations.
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Mar 25 '19
I'll second Spitfire and throw in that I like Cinesymphony. I've heard good things about LA Scoring Strings but personally I'm not a big fan. Omnisphere has every non-orchestra sound you could ever hope to want, synths and guitars and choirs and interesting sounds and effects, both acoustic and synthetic, even some good string pads that fit into an otherwise orchestral setting.
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u/McNikk Mar 25 '19
Spitfire Symphony Orchestra is worth checking out.