Jump to content

Amicus717

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    460

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Posts posted by Amicus717

  5. Posted

    2 hours ago, SPAK said:

    That's a good mix of DAW's (IMO) ... Cubase has a great many tricks up its sleeve when you find them and Sonar plat has great tools for audio ( Breverb for one ), and they're my fave two DAW's .

    Pro Tools  is expensive, but that said, If you get used to it, it feels like (  me anyway ) Sonar Plat's 'big brother'. 

    My son does have  Samplitude,  X3, Mix bus and Reaper in hand but I never thought I needed them when he was demonstrating  the progress of a  song , however to be fair. he's a bass player and skin man .... for what that's worth, I'm a songwriter and he feels he's setup  suits his stuff ...  but Pro Tools is his fave''go to ' .... mine however is Cubase and  Sonar plat ... As said

     

    Yeah, I like all Cubase's tricks, and there always seems to be more to discover.

    And I really like Cakewalk's ProChannel and its modules, and just the overall look and feel of its editing tools.  And the plug ins.  I know they are older than Moses, but the Sonitus plugs still get called up a lot in my projects -- especially the compressor.   

  7. Posted

    I liked it, Wookie, and for the same reason I like all your stuff - very relaxing, and kind of hypnotic. The repetitive nature didn't bother me at all, as there was enough interesting stuff going on around the main motif - that beautifully timed and subtle shift at the 3:59 mark, for example - that it kept me listening.

    • Thanks 1

  10. Posted

    15 hours ago, chris.r said:

    Am I loosing much of the excellent MIDI tools (whatever they are) if I go for Cubase Elements instead?

    I briefly used Elements a couple years back, as I had a copy on DVD that I received with one of my soundcards, but I honestly cannot remember how much it differs from full Cubase in terms of its midi toolset. Both programs are obviously siblings and share much of the same tool set and overall details, but that's all I really remember...

  13. Posted

    3 hours ago, Matthew Sorrels said:

     

    Yes, I decided to complete my Albion collection with this sale.  Though to be honest I'm not sure how much use I'll get out of Albion III.

    I'd be very curious to know what you think of Albion V...I've got ONE and Loegria, and the only other one that interests me is Tundra. 

  16. Posted

    Among the many things I like about Albion ONE: they have the best string ensemble spiccato and staccato  articulations in the business, to my ears. The velocity layer calibration is just right, and there is not a hint of the machine-gun effect, and it all sounds really wonderful. You can go from light and agile, to punchy and authoritative, and it always sounds natural. 

    • Like 1

  17. Posted · Edited by Amicus717

    1 hour ago, Sergio said:

    Matthew, how do you rate Cubase's MIDI editing capabilities/tools compared to Sonar/CbB? I keep reading elsewhere that Cubase has the most advanced MIDI editing tools but my only experience with it was an old SE version in early 2000's.

    I moved to Cubase when Cakewalk went down, and like Matt I don't regret it at all - mainly because the midi tools are the best I've used, period. Sonar's midi tools were fine, and I had no trouble using them when I was doing midi work in Sonar (I still fire up Cakewalk for audio work, as I prefer it's overall GUI for audio stuff), but Cubase' tools are top class. I find them intuitive, fast and comprehensive.  I think their midi tools are among the best in the business. Combine CbB's audio tools, GUI, and ProChannel with Cubase' midi implementation, and you've have the best DAW ever, IMO. 

    • Thanks 1

  20. Posted

    1 hour ago, Starise said:

    Thanks for this review Rob.

    I believe I seen  an ad for Vienna in my email also on sale.  I don't really intend to compose for film, plus I already have a lot of the cinematic swoohes, rises and such in Komplete, has some Heavyocity multi stuff in it which I seldom ever use. My main intention would be realistic orchestra mock ups of my compositions  and possibly backing tracks for my violin.  

    For a guy like me who has Amadeus which is an excellent writing tool,  Hyperion strings and all the strings included with Komplete, Kirk Hunter Diamond ( I know it's getting long in the tooth but it works still). I have a few dedicated violin libraries including Joshua Bell which doesn't make a lot of sense for me I guess. I'm supposed to be playing my violin lol. Would Vienna be a better overall bet in your opinion? 

    I generally agree with Hidden Symmetry, and I do think Albion ONE at 50% off is a killer deal. I listed my dislikes of Albion ONE because I'm very self-conscious about recommending libraries without trying to give as balanced a view as possible. Everyone can be so different when it comes to what works and what doesn't. I've read reviews and reactions from folks who love Albion ONE; and I've reviews from folks who think it's a major disappointment and barely useable.  I'm in the former, but I'd feel bad if you turned out to be in the latter after spending $250 bucks on it :) What I like most about Albion ONE is it that you can use it to build meticulous mock-ups with lots of complex programming, or you can use it to make quick and dirty, two patch sketches that still sound great. The VSL stuff I find to be more focused on detailed work and realistic classical orchestration, and they way they break-out their patches and articulations seems geared towards this. 

    My template also has both Spitfire and VSL stuff (especially the latter's woodwinds and brass, which I am really liking). The combo works well for me, but I have to admit that I am very, very divided on the VSL stuff. They do have a lot to offer, and although the overall packages are expensive, they do offer some flexibility because their products are so moduler - you can buy what you need, as opposed to buying whole sections or bundles, and sometimes that is actually reasonably cost effective.  Also, their sample players (including the Vienna player and the Synchron player) are really configurable and you can tailor them to suit any working style and template setup

    On the downside, their copy protection scheme requires a Steinberg E-licenser or Vienna Key (their stuff is not iLok compatible) and their policies regarding dongle failure or loss are draconian. Basically, if your dongle dies (and you haven't bought into their insurance plan) you have to send the broken key to them, and you lose your licenses and can only get them back for a $20 fee for each license.  If you lose your key or it is stolen, you have to buy back your licenses at half the original cost (they refer to this as "meeting you halfway" in regards to recovering your instruments). Even for myself, with a modest selection of their SE starter libraries and few extra Standard libraries, that would be prohibitively expensive. But for someone who is deep into the VSL ecosystem, it would be a disaster.  I reluctantly decided that I needed to buy into their Protection Plan, simply because I use their stuff a lot and cannot afford to replace my modest libraries if my e-licenser goes down, so the $90 fee for two years of protection makes sense. But it bugs me rather a lot that I need to do this. They already have my money, but now I need to send them more - just in case a random lightning strike takes out my USB hub. It makes me really hesitant to keep adding to my VSL collection, even though I like their stuff. 

    Personally, I'd guess that you may find Albion ONE to be what you are looking for. But as always, YMMV.

    Rob

  22. Posted · Edited by Amicus717

    5 hours ago, kitekrazy said:

    For about $50 more when it is on sale I think I would go with with Hollywood Orchestra Gold.  Then again I have the VSL SE's and I really need to use that.  This one though is tempting.

    Well, it is worth noting that Albion ONE has weakness, too. These are just my 5 cents worth, but for the sake of perspective:

    1) I really don't much like the brass patches in Albion ONE and almost never use them. There are some nice bits and pieces here and there, but overall the brass is rather synthy and never struck me as overly detailed or realistic. This is particularly true of the high brass, which is quite unconvincing to my ears. The mid brass is okay, and mid brass legato patch has a nice vibe to it, but the note range is more restricted than I'd like.

    2) The strings are really nice, beautifully recorded onto 2" tape, and then converted to digital. So they have a real gloss to their sound. But they offer one specific kind of sound, and so if you are looking to summon a more intimate vibe, or work with divisi stuff or similar, you won't have much luck with Albion ONE. Basically, there is an Albion sound that is very particular to this library, and beyond changing the mic mix (which has limited effect, in my experience) you're stuck with that sound. I don't mind, as it suits me perfectly, but others might feel different about it. Also, the vibrato is not overly...vibrato-ish. Applying vibrato does make a difference, and it's quite nice -- but its more of an additional layer of texture added over the string than a real sense of the players applying deliberate vibrato. It works, but I find it has to be used judiciously, or the strings start to sound a bit synthy.

    3) The Albion ONE string legato patches are very subdued in terms of legato transitions. The transitions are there, but not nearly as dramatic or swoopy as others, and there is no portamento. They also don't break the legatos out by individual sections (violins, cello, etc), but are broken out as simply Strings High, Mid and Low, and they use a lot of stacked octaves and similar. They work fine, but if you want more flexibility and tonal options, these are not the patches you want to use.

    4) The  Darwin Percussion patches have some nice sounds, but I have always found them hard to use, as the calibration between velocity layers is rather twitchy and abrupt. The sounds are big and boomy and resonant (except the high sticks), and all the percussion patches are really of one flavour: big, intense movie trailer thunder. Which is fine and useful, but limited in range. I'm not really into that sort of Zimmer-esque tribal, storm-drum routine, so aside from the Easter Island hits (which are deeep, thrumming booms that I often employ on transitions), I don't fire up the Darwin Percussion all that much, as I prefer to use more classical percussion.

    5) In all honesty, I never use the Brunel Loops, and likely never will. They are fine, and when I've poked around that section of Albion ONE I have found some fun sounds and useful loops. But that kind of music is not where my current interests lie, so the Brunel Loops are not a huge factor to me.

    Basically, I like Albion ONE a lot because certain parts of it are perfectly suited to my tastes and the kind of music I want to do, and so they have become central to my working template. But other parts are not and don't see any significant use. It's clearly a well made and professional product with real polish, and it works as advertised. And even the weaker parts of the library can be coaxed into producing great music, judging by the demos on the Spitfire site. They do sound amazing, and I have no doubt that with proper care its possible to evoke all that from Albion ONE.

    But it won't be for everyone, and how much use you get out of Albion ONE will depend on how much it's baked in sound and overall patch design suits your tastes and working style. I figured I should mention all this, as it is always nice to know as much as possible about a product - both good and bad - before spending a few hundred bucks on it. It would be great if companies made demo versions of their big libraries available to try, as I hate dropping money on a library that sounds great in theory but doesn't turn out to be what I was looking for.  I'm pretty sure we've all had that experience.

    Rob

     

    • Like 3
    • Thanks 6

  23. Posted · Edited by Amicus717

    It's intended as a complete toolkit for cinematic scoring, sort of a one-stop shop for all your cinematic orchestral and hybrid scoring needs. To that end it has:

    a) full set of strings, woodwinds and brass articulations, including some legato articulations and fx. Most of the patches are combination patches (woodwinds in octaves, strings and woods together, etc), or full ensemble patches with a few specific legato sections.  There are no solo sections. I don't find the Albion orchestra patches to be as granular as others (Hollywood Strings, for example), but offers a set of commonly used textures and flavors often found in orchestral and cinematic scoring. They sound great, and I use them a lot for my own stuff.  They have a fair amount of baked in ambiance, and generally are designed to sound pretty big and epic.

    b) cinematic percussion (toms, big hits, metal hits, etc). There is only a limited amount of 'traditional' orchestral percussion (some cymbals, etc), but no timps, and a cinematic piano patch which I use mostly for low end texturing.

    c) Stephensen's Steam Band is a collection of patches based on the orchestral and synth samples, and are run through their eDNA synth engine, and basically turned into a big set of hybrid synth patches. Most have a pretty huge sound, and are configurable (with gates and sequencing, etc)

    d) Brunel Loops - set of prerecorded loops that can be mangled and twisted for whatever use you want.

    It's all really nicely recorded and put together, and it is hands down one of my fav libraries. I don't use the whole thing -- my current template makes heavy use of the ensemble string patches and some of the big percussion hits. I use other libraries for solo instruments, string legatos and brass.

    But you can do a lot with just Albion ONE, and there is more than enough stuff to create a full piece of orchestral/hybrid scoring just within this one library.  It's really great. YMMV, of course, as with all libraries like this. But I consider Albion ONE to be a desert island purchase. 

    • Thanks 1
×
×
  • Create New...