bitflipper Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 I'm generally a Spitfire fanboy, and have always liked the Hollywood-esque tone of Albion One, but have never owned it. It's currently on sale for $269, and has recently added some new brass samples. So I am considering the purchase. I hesitate because I already have a bunch of orchestral libraries and don't actually need another one. (But when has "need" ever been a factor in G.A.S. mitigation?) Also, it seems more geared toward epic trailer music, which I love but just ain't my thing. Furthermore, a friend who does have it has said he rarely uses it. That could just come down to our respective genre preferences. So my question is: for those who do have Albion One, do you find it useful? If not, can you suggest an alternative (preferably < $400) worthy of consideration? I don't have a problem spending money if it means never buying another all-in-one orchestral library. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antler Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 I hope you don't mind me chiming in despite not having it. I collected a few orchestral libraries over time. While I like to do an orchestral mock up every now and then (I didn't say I was any good at it), it's not the only type of music I like to make. So one of the things I look for in libraries is flexibility. I believe the patches in Albion One are combined patches - so e.g. strings, rather than violins 1. Depending on your point of view, this might be a good thing, or a bad thing. Another thing I've read is the sound of Air studio is heavily baked into it. So if you don't like the sound, you'll find it difficult to use the library. Personally, I find myself looking towards Spitfire every time they do a sale. But I always think I should use what I already have and manage to talk myself out of it; it'd probably be a different story if I didn't already have the libraries I do. Finally, something to consider as you asked about alternatives: Musio 1 Perpetual is currently on sale for $199 right now. Musio's a fairly new product. (I don't think) they have all the mic positions of the libraries' Kontakt equivalents (yet?), but I think I saw somewhere it might be coming. That said, its got all the CineSymphony component libraries as well as the CineSymphony library (that contains combined patches for sketching). And it's got a few more specialist libraries too. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mettelus Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 11 minutes ago, antler said: Another thing I've read is the sound of Air studio is heavily baked into it. So if you don't like the sound, you'll find it difficult to use the library. This is probably the biggest consideration to focus on. Very much like the LABS instruments, the processing is baked into the library, so you do not have the ability to tweak much of it out in many cases. There are older reviews (IIRC, there is a large one in the old forum) that go into more detail comparing libraries, but the advantage of Albion One is you can get a lot of work done with that specifically with fewer tracks, but it lacks the versatility of "fine detail" in certain areas. It can do a lot of higher level composition work fairly quickly. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted August 10 Author Share Posted August 10 That "slap a glob of strings on" aspect is actually part of the appeal. I normally don't work that way, preferring separate tracks for violin1, violin2, viola, cello and bass. Over the course of the mix, I like to bring up different sections at different times and apply different amounts of reverb/room to each. I like the basses dry, the violins wet. Maybe not realistic, but I'm not a purist for realism. I like to play bass parts in their upper register and cellos in their lowest notes, and have the violins and violas weave about each other. I like to have different articulations for each section or instrument. But I already have libraries for that. There are times when I just want to underlay some strings in a piece that's not primarily orchestral, using them as pads. I would like a nice-sounding library for that kind of stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Fowler Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 43 minutes ago, bitflipper said: That "slap a glob of strings on" aspect is actually part of the appeal. I normally don't work that way, preferring separate tracks for violin1, violin2, viola, cello and bass. Over the course of the mix, I like to bring up different sections at different times and apply different amounts of reverb/room to each. I like the basses dry, the violins wet. Maybe not realistic, but I'm not a purist for realism. I like to play bass parts in their upper register and cellos in their lowest notes, and have the violins and violas weave about each other. I like to have different articulations for each section or instrument. But I already have libraries for that. There are times when I just want to underlay some strings in a piece that's not primarily orchestral, using them as pads. I would like a nice-sounding library for that kind of stuff. Sounds a bit like the Big Bang Orchestra stuff from VSL could suit - especially the Lyra and Musca (think I've got the names right) packs that are low/high string sections. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dumbquestions Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 (edited) I have it, like it. though i haven’t used it to it’s fullest, based on my observations so far I agree with what’s said here. My initial thoughts/opinions were that it was like an oversimplified epic-sounding orchestra, rather than a super versatile universal one. It is indeed lacking some specificity and individual controls, but compensates with high quality, pre-mixed instrument combinations and section-bypass toggles. This aspect makes it easy to layer into a track that sounds like a big hollywood production, but I’ve yet to try squeezing it into something smaller and more intimate. Not saying it can’t be done i just haven’t tried it yet. Maybe need BBC or AR for that (which i dont have, but comparable price point). First thing i made with it was something that sounded like it was an action scene off of Dune or something Hans Zimmer-esque. I guess that was the first thing that came to mind when i started playing the instruments, but that’s my experience with it. Yours may differ. I like the Timpani's a lot. Edited August 10 by dumbquestions 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 2 hours ago, Craig Fowler said: Sounds a bit like the Big Bang Orchestra stuff from VSL... In my initial post, I had typed "no VSL suggestions, I can't justify that kind of money". But then deleted that line before posting. I didn't want to influence anyone's suggestions by eliminating anything up front. The first time I heard VSL was at NAMM in 2008. I walked into their booth and was almost lifted off my feet by what I heard. My first question was why the VSL patches that came with the Kontakt factory library didn't sound anywhere near that good. My second question, "why is this so expensive?" didn't need to be asked. Two downsides to BBO: First, although the basic library is free the add-ons that truly make it pro-sounding are not. Buying the entire collection would be over $1,500. Second negative: dongles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Fowler Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 1 hour ago, bitflipper said: In my initial post, I had typed "no VSL suggestions, I can't justify that kind of money". But then deleted that line before posting. I didn't want to influence anyone's suggestions by eliminating anything up front. The first time I heard VSL was at NAMM in 2008. I walked into their booth and was almost lifted off my feet by what I heard. My first question was why the VSL patches that came with the Kontakt factory library didn't sound anywhere near that good. My second question, "why is this so expensive?" didn't need to be asked. Two downsides to BBO: First, although the basic library is free the add-ons that truly make it pro-sounding are not. Buying the entire collection would be over $1,500. Second negative: dongles. Fair enough. The nice thing about BBO is being able to build it up as you need/can afford. I have less than half of it and the strings were what I went for first - they're about $80 a pack, I think. I think I also got sidetracked by the 'gobs of strings' phrase so I kinda missed the idea of it being an all-in-one orchestral package! No dongle needed now, though, for VSL. Ilok cloud is an option (separate can of worms I know, but I've not encountered any problems). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitekrazy1 Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 11 hours ago, bitflipper said: I'm generally a Spitfire fanboy, and have always liked the Hollywood-esque tone of Albion One, but have never owned it. It's currently on sale for $269, and has recently added some new brass samples. So I am considering the purchase. I hesitate because I already have a bunch of orchestral libraries and don't actually need another one. (But when has "need" ever been a factor in G.A.S. mitigation?) Also, it seems more geared toward epic trailer music, which I love but just ain't my thing. Furthermore, a friend who does have it has said he rarely uses it. That could just come down to our respective genre preferences. So my question is: for those who do have Albion One, do you find it useful? If not, can you suggest an alternative (preferably < $400) worthy of consideration? I don't have a problem spending money if it means never buying another all-in-one orchestral library. That is the answer no one ever follows. I bought Albion Legacy and haven't messed with it just like EW HO, there's probably a couple more I haven't messed with. As for Albion One it's Kontakt which I prefer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Morgon-Shaw Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 I prefer Symphobia over Albion One, they have a load of free stuff over at the Projectsam site so you can try selected instruments risk free. The interface is much better on Sympobia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fret_man Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 Another consideration might be that you can't sell your Spitfire libraries. Once you buy them, their yours forever whether you use them or not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 3 hours ago, Mark Morgon-Shaw said: I prefer Symphobia over Albion One I am only familiar with the original library, which I like. But I am confused about the product line - how on earth do they have four volumes without repeating themselves? I've listened to the demos, and they all sound lovely, especially Lumina. I can't justify buying all four. And wouldn't Orchestra Essentials be a closer analog to Albion One? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitekrazy1 Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 1 hour ago, bitflipper said: I am only familiar with the original library, which I like. But I am confused about the product line - how on earth do they have four volumes without repeating themselves? I've listened to the demos, and they all sound lovely, especially Lumina. I can't justify buying all four. And wouldn't Orchestra Essentials be a closer analog to Albion One? There are more than one Albion as well. Every developer has to do something than just reinvent the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 46 minutes ago, Paul Young said: Every developer has to do something than just reinvent the wheel. That's just the nature of a business in which products have a short shelf life. Unfortunately, the result is more often redundancy than revolution. OTS guitars are a good example. Every one of them is excellent, but my favorite is still the original Strawberry. Well, that and the Jumbo. And the Rick bass. Then there's the acoustic slide guitar. OK, so maybe OTS isn't the best example. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Morgon-Shaw Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 16 hours ago, bitflipper said: I am only familiar with the original library, which I like. But I am confused about the product line - how on earth do they have four volumes without repeating themselves? I've listened to the demos, and they all sound lovely, especially Lumina. I can't justify buying all four. And wouldn't Orchestra Essentials be a closer analog to Albion One? https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/projectsam-symphobia-2 https://www.soundonsound.com/news/lumina-projectsam-now-shipping https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/projectsam-symphobia-4-pandora 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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