- SAMPLED ORCHESTRATION IN A WEEKEND - If you want to learn how to use libraries like this, check out my Sampled Orchestration in a Weekend course. It starts right at the basics, teaching you how to get the absolute best sounds out of your sample libraries. Over 6 hours of video and accompanying course text. Check it out here: thinkspaceeducation.com/courses/soiaw/

Crazy you got John Williams to be in this video.

12:31 This library is so amazing it gave Windows an orchestrated error sound.

Appreciate the humour and sharp editing. A joy to watch!

Through my interest in spitfire, I got a youtube vid recommended to me by some bloke on a channel called ThinkSpace. Where he talked about the BBC SO. Turns out that bloke was Guy Michelmore and the channel is now one of my favourites. So thanks, spitfire, thanks ThinkSpace, and thank you most of all Guy, you're inspiring and great fun to watch!

Very active these last weeks...Always a great pleasure to hear and see you! thank you for these delightful moments

You're so full of energy, it brings me hope. Great points btw.

Can't believe John Williams stopped by. Haha love your videos Guy. Thanks for putting a smile on my face 😊

It's always a pleasure to have your advice on what libraries to buy. Thanks for all the effort!

Thank you for this video a million times. I honestly mean that. I haven’t even watched it yet, but just from the description its exactly what I need. I’ve been bashing my head over these libraries the last couple of weeks... I thought I was going to get a seizure watching every walkthrough, but couldn’t find any comparing them all together... It’s not like I can buy them all right now... This video came at a perfect time!!! Also with Black Friday and all that. Thank you!!!!!! For a while now I’ve been wanting to upgrade my strings and move away from the Frankenstein mishmash (libraries I won’t mention but have spent quite a lot on)... They’re not bad on their own but requites tons of mixing to fit together. Plus my musical taste has changed since then. To simplify things and get a more or less cohesive natural sound the only logical way that is possible (in my mind) basically comes down to sticking with one company that records their samples in the same hall, having the same mindset for programming their libraries... Plus, not just offering one good library e.g solo strings, but the whole lot - big orchestral strings, con sordino, divisi (chamber) to solo... the best possible choices with enough variety and articulations and great sound for me seems like Spitfire or Orchestral Tools... but many people are raving about cinematic studio strings... all the one’s you present here seems to fit that... so lets see... Once again thanks!! Will comment again after watching and let you know on which I decide to go with!

I love this guy! Must be my warm memories of being co-raised by my British grandparents. :)

This is by far my fave making music channel - utter brilliance

Cheers for the video! I am personally a massive fan of the Spitfire Chamber Strings, the moment I started playing with the Ensemble Flautando and Spicato patches I was blown away. I haven't picked up the Symphonic Strings yet and have been 'making do' with the Albions for that larger sound, maybe one day.

Thank-you sir. Always a pleasure and a treat to watch your videos.

incredibly helpful ! Usually when im deciding what to buy or choose and Im trying to get a showcase its a very unplesasant and lenghty process until im confident in my decision but this has given me such a good overview, I cant thank you enough !

I composed a film project using solely Hollywood Diamond libraries. When you struck the keys at 19:09 that really caught my attention. The fluidity and aural transition from note to note sounds near superb given the speed at which you rolled from one key to the next. I've known of Berlin Strings for some time. I suspect the price tag is less than that of the Hollywood Diamond series. In any case, Berlin sounds wonderful (and Berlin Brass, too:)

Love your videos! :) Looking forward to hear comparisons with Spitfire Studio Strings

OMG this one touched me so deeply. Thank you!! The Spitfire Chamber Strings are so amazing, they're like from another planet ... so good!

Brilliant review. Thank you for taking the time.

Awesome review and summay, thanks so much. I have a number of these libaries, and you summarise them very well. I love Spitfire most for my purposes, but the only thing I would emphasise is that for slow/expressive legato, Cinematic Studio Stings is incredible. That's one reason it's so well liked... the amazing legato.

I've been considering Cinematic Studio Strings. Currently working with Albion One and Studio Strings Pro, which work well enough combined, but I'd prefer to have more individualized sections than what Albion One has in the box. Thanks for the comparison video: it helps!

You have fantastic videos ! Thank you for doing it . In this video I’m surprised you didn’t mention Synchron Strings I from Vienna Symphonic Library . I thing they are fantastic .....

great to see John...

Your videos are always a pleasure and informative!

Super insightful video, many thanks!

Hi nice to meet you. I am Ray (Floatwithme) a Dutch composer. Keep up that great work. Thanks for sharing the information. Glad that i have subscribed to your channel. Cheers Ray

I feel like this video is due for a 2021 refresh :) Lots of great libraries in the last 2 years!

I absolutely love this channel bro keep up the great work

Looking into getting a new string library, thanks for the video.

Completely new to the channel, saw this video in my recommendations, asking myself "What does this guy do?" and this mad lad just have a real-size John Williams cardboard standee. Subscribed

Every video this guy makes is instant charisma.

Fantastic, funny, and inspires me, thank you.

You have a life-sized John Williams who speaks? I like how this is going, you got me subscribed!

Your playing alone is very inspiring. Thank you

thank you for this. Love!!

Hello! from France. You are crazy and you seem to be a happy man, I love that. Your video is really very useful and very explicit. just for that thank you very much.

A review of the new JXL Brass would be wonderful. Love your content. Keep it comming ;)

I purchased Spitfire Chamber Strings in the Black Friday sale. Only just getting around to playing with them and they really are gorgeous. ‘More articulations than you’ve had hot dinners lad’ comes to mind!

Second video from you that I've watched this Christmas morning and thoroughly enjoyed the laid back inspiration. Your voice sounds so familiar, forgive my ignorance, did you ever present on television way back in my Homelands of good old England ? I left 18 years ago. Thank you for a wonderful presentation here and a very happy Christmas to you.

Great humor in here and you do a good job of discussing the libraries. Personally, my favorite string library is Berlin strings, despite it having extremely harsh frequencies towards the higher end. I love the control and dynamics and the techniques for embellishing arrangements and pieces. It's really fun and, for me, inspires more creativity. The CSS are also a favorite. Anyhow, thanks for this! It was entertaining.

This is so brilliant!

Damn, I really want Spitfire chamber strings. It sounds amazing!

John is so lucky to get a chance to visit Guy's studio

Genius. You are a really nice guy!

The Spitfire and Berlin (symphonic) strings complement each other wonderfully. I mostly use Berlin now, but it's very true that by using them you sacrifice ease of use and speed for realism. That said, the tweakability and not least the IMO absolutely unmatched legato patches are what makes Berlin the top string library for me. Stuff like the fast runs and the playable glissandi are simply stunning. For just going in and writing your mock-up I'd absolutley recommend Spitfire, if you want to get the maximum emotion and realism, you need Berlin. (And then there's Andy Blaney.)

I saw you were at 399 comments, so I added one more to make it 400. Delightful video. Cheers!

Great video! Thank you!

Fantastic sounds..

great video! thanks

Some say: Potato Guy says: 18:19 xD

I have the Spitfire Studio Strings and love them.

Have you tried the Spitfire Studio Strings yet? I got them recently and I'm still not sure whether I love or hate them (great definition and texture, no ensemble patches, weak legato patches).

thanks for your comparison, gotta know my strings

Fantastic video! Only thing I am missing are the Zimmer Strings and Spitfire Studio Strings. What do you think about those?

Can you make a video walk through of your midi/DAW controllers. I'm not looking to mimic your setup but I believe good ideas come through understanding a good rig outfit

Will have to check out the Spitfire offerings. Am very happy right now with Sonuscore The Orchestra.

Thank you, sir!

Spitfire strings were the best sounding strings ever!

I often layer CSS with spitfire chamber and I love those two together! 👍

You are oooooozzzzzzzzing in creativity!

Hi Guy, Awesome comparison thanks! I currently have CSS right now and am looking to upgrade this year. In my situation, would you rather go for: 1. BBCSO? 2. Or Spitfire Chamber Strings? (And if so, do you think the Professional are worth the price mark up on the regular Chamber Strings? Thanks for your answer!

how about doing a video about the akai device - how to set up the articulations?

Could you please have a look at Nucleus from Audio Imperia?

Hi, appreciate your channel and the passion you have for what you do. I am not a composer, but a producer who requires strings for rock and pop projects. I've always been slightly overwhelmed by the many options of strings libraries - the various articulations. I want to have convincing strings, convincing arrangements as would be required for pop, rock and folk. Can you recommened, which articulations I should always be prepared to audition and also, perhaps a library you think I might find most useful, that has an instantly useable, musican friendly point of access? Many thanks Jon

thank you! of course it is the very first time you try berlin since you don't know even select an articulation etc.. but it is useful to compare libraries with your playing style.

Great video! Do you use any specific stand for your midi keyboard? I also use an M-Audio Oxygen 88 as my main weighted midi controller, though I have always found it a bit tricky as to fitting it flush with my desk in a way that I can still fit my legs under it due to the sheer thickness of it.

I've lusted after SCS for a long time, but after buying BBCSO this year, I don't think I need another string library for some time - totally happy with it, and I think THIS library answers the question of your video.

Nice overview, thank you! (As a learner,) Generally I'm happy with EastWest stuff because I can use a lot of libraries for a low subscription price. However, once you start pushing quality up, they don't always do the job well. Right now I'm hunting for good solo strings. I have BBC SO Core, which is handy, but it doesn't try to be a solo instrument library. I have 8Dio Anthology Strings, which is a joke - the solo violin uses one sample for several octaves, and is just pitch shifted. Embarrassing. I'm deciding between 8Dio, Spitfire and VSL solo violins, they're 100-145 EUR each. From the sound demos, I'm leaning towards VSL. Anyone's got any experience, or advice? Also: are there ANY libraries that have any real double stops at all?

FOR A QUICK BACK TO BACK COMPARISSION 👇 symphonic strings - 3:24 chamber strings - 3:33 berlin strings - 3:54 cinematic studio strings - 4:32 THANK ME LATER

Great video-very entertaining and natural! Question: Why do you prefer running Cubase on a Mac? I've heard it runs significantly better on a PC. (I'm currently running Logic Pro on a Mac but have considered switching over to Cubase.)

You had a legendary film and television composer with you and he got in exactly one word at the end: "phenomenal". You did all the talking. We'd frankly like to hear more than one word from John. May I also suggest cutting back on the caffeine?

A fine video. Berlin is my favorite. Spitfire a close second.

Stumbled onto your channel a couple of days ago. Wonderfully entertaining. Very enlightening. This video with a comparison of libraries is particularly useful to me at this point. So, thank you for that!

Thanks for this, much obliged! I also use an old Oxygen 88, do you ever miss aftertouch?

The John Williams part is Fantastic

What is the unit that You are using for midi controls? Volume, and other stuff?! Great videos and etc.! Best! Michal Urbaniak & UrbSymphony & Urbanator

you ever tried Novo and forzo and other stuff from Heavocity their sound is awesome not knocking spitfire BTW

Come on Guy... It is time to get yourself a proper composing throne ;-) Thanks for the video and your humor as always... Kind regards, Max T.

gr8 vid ..thanx for sharing ... Did you use your Akai APC mini in Cubase as a DAW Controller ..

nice john Williams "Cameo" lol

SCS is by far the most complete library, which Spitfire has ever released. A big contender to be the best Strings library out there.

makes me want to get my rondo veneziano albums out !

Hi guy, I`ve been looking at spitfire strings and due to your video chamber strings "which are now on sale" look like the ones to get. My question is. WHAT SSD DRIVE ARE YOU USING IF AT ALL? I`m using an Aorus 7, windows i7 16gb laptop with a 250gb internal ssd drive. So due to space I would rather run these strings from a USB external SSD drive and was wondering if you could recommend one that runs fast and smooth as a stand alone drive. Thanks

Thanks for the review. I use Steinberg Dorico Pro and I use / develop a playback template for each instrument for articulations normally works with key switches or cc values programmed such that if the note has a particular articulation attribute it picks the right sample for playback in real time. I was trying to figure out how sforzando or other variables allocated to mod wheel or buttons (in case of cinematic studio strings) can be programmed in notation. So it made me think that programming wise perhaps there are some libraries that may not be as user friendly. Do you happen to know that aspect of comparison between string libraries? Thank you. 🙏🏽

Great video, i love your approach! What are the Best Choir Libraries of 2019?

Hello Michel What do you think between the new Spitfire BBC SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA CORE and the EWQLSO or the Hollywood series. Thanks a lot for your very instructive vidéos ! I really love them !!

i hope someone replies to this comment. I really love the sound of chamber strings, one question. Does it have rebowing functions like CSS? I have CSS but it is too dark to my liking. I tried layering with the solo strings and boy did my DAW crash...sound was okay though...

Thank you

I like this guy😍

Very informative. Thank you so much. A couple thoughts. Everyone waited for BBC and you did a wonderful review and I wondered if it was competitive in this shootout. The other thought. I’m always trying to find ultra intimate small strings with personality to comp my arrangements. When you have time I’d love your thoughts about what is out there right now. My current strategy is usually performing with audio modeling instruments through the EWI and stacking 16 performances- very much a time suck.

Awesome 👍👍

Great video :)

I don't own any of these libraries but I've heard countless demos. Spitfire's stuff is just so beautiful, covers soooo many bases. The orchestral tools stuff sounds like it edges the Spitfire in terms of being more grand sounding in general. The scripting on the CSS, unbeatable. Really, feel like you could own all three libraries and be happy.

Loving Spitfire as much as Guy does, and seeing that they have a number of different offerings (Complete Orch., Albion, BBC Orch., Kepler, etc...) Can anyone say more about those choices? Are they meant to be complimentary? What's my best all around choice (for under $499?), or do I buy smaller libraries of higher quality and buy more later? Been primarily an acoustic musician and I'm on the cusp of finally buying myself some pro sounds but don't want to blow it all on an orchestra... thanks.

Is it better to use the reverb provided in the string program, or use a separate plug-in?

What do you recommend for oriental instruments?what's the best in your opinion?

I have Beline 2, Sonuscore The Orchestra, and ProjectSAM Orchestra, and Garittan Personal Orchestra. I think the VSTs best when we suite the Sounds from the library to multi library sounds in our patterns and create some configuration of the Parametric Equalizer. In another word: I don't know what the best... They'll have greatness and I can't choose the right one... All sounds good to me 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

You should have checked out the CSS legato, the standard and advanced legatos. They are exquisite too 😁

Did you try NI Cinematic Symphony Series Strings? Seems like it could be a contender maybe. Their have auto divisi which is rare.

Little surprised Vienna Symphonic Library wasn't mentioned. It's a PITA to use, in fact probably my biggest drawback with it is the complexity, but it sounds amazing.