Had been in the same situation, starting with the Special edition and then added Apassionata 1.

I was undecided for a few weeks between extending to Apassionata or Solo Strings. In the end I took the Apassionata extended.  It gives you some nice trillers and effects, that can come handy for movie or game compositions, where Efx are needed.

The SE extended will also give you more instruments, but for me it was unattractive, because many of the new instruments consist of Brass and woodwinds, which I don´t need that much.

Have a look at the sample content table and compare.

Apassionata 2 gives you the muted articulations. If you are low on budget, I´d recommend to go for another library first.

The Elements library is always worth a look. I like it, because you get results, that never sound artificial, whereas with many other orchestral instruments you have to really go deep into programming and articulation theory to make it sound like a live orchestra.

An impulse like percussion sound on the other hand is very impressive and realistic out of the box.

 For me this would be have to be an opportunity to grab the best deal, with Special Edition bundle Extended worth £730 (though if the SE Bundle is excluded from the offer, even SE extended is worth £395), yet Appassionata extended is worth £275 (or £175 for II extended), the best value for the free library has got to be Special Edition Extended.

Hello jonlipow

Which library? On the one hand it depends on the music and the syles you will play.

But on the other hand you always are in a good initial position when you own one or more complete string libraries.

So why don't you buy the Appassionata (I) extended?

The reason is, that in quite every composition the strings have important parts or melodies.

Further, the strings are sitting in front of the winds and the percussion instruments > closest to the listener...

So if you are able to play the strings as realistically as possible the half of the project is done...

Beat

Kleinholgi,

Thanks for explaining your situation as well.  I have a tough choice to make.  I see your point about having a more complete library for these strings.  I do like the fact that the SE extended gives me more instrument choices, however.  I do tend to use some brass and woodwinds so having a greater arsenal of those is enticing.  I don't plan on spending too excessively on VSL for now, as my budget is somewhat limited for the time being.  I will continue to ponder this and look at that sample table you mentioned.

Regards,

Jonathan

Andyjh,

A better deal it is.  I do like the idea of a more complete Appassionata library, but more articulations of more orchestral instruments is sensible too.

I want them both!  That's what the folks at VSL want me to say! In either case, thanks for your input on this one.

Regards,

Jonathan

Beat,

Thanks for offering your input and advice.  I have heard several of your pieces and am always impressed by your arrangements.  I do use brass and woodwinds as well as harps and percussion. Although upgrading my string section is the main priority for this purchase, It seems that SE extended would be a better value for me.  Unless Appassionata extended offers me so much more, that just having the standard is like having a dog with two legs.  I can always upgrade later, I suppose.  Will Appassionata 1 standard give me the realistic and passionate strings I am looking for? On another note,  I am hoping that when I also upgrade to VI Pro, which I will do as soon as I install these new libraries, that the process of creating realistic and humanlike performances is streamlined.  I have a lot to learn when it comes to programming matrices and selecting articulations.  I'm the guy that just wants to sit down and play when inspiration strikes.  I am trying to minimize the 'process' so I can compose more effectively.  Thanks again for your time on this.

Regards,

Jonathan

Jonathon,

I am a new VSL user like you, and also purchased the Special Edition and the Appassionata Strings I. For my free extended library I chose the Special Edition Extended for two reasons.

I will really use the additional wind and brass instruments from the extended. (I love the epic horns) And secondly the price of the Special Edition extended was greater than the price of the Appassionata I extended. So it'll be a smaller cost when I eventually get the Appass. extended license.

 Jonathan, IMO it really comes down to what you will use the most in your compositions.  Others also make good points about having a complete strings library as well as choosing the more expensive extended library.

In the end, as you said, having both would be beneficial.  The library combination of SE, SE extended, AP Strings, and AP Strings extended is a fairly common one.  Note that my interests lie in more traditional orchestral/chamber music and not film/epic so AP strings is not a first choice.  However, with your interests, aiming for the above combination may prove to give the most long-term flexibility at the least overall expense.

In my own case, I have finally been able to start purchasing full libraries (through the great recent holiday promotions), and there is no question that I prefer them by a wide margin over SE.  However, there is no chance that I would ever be able to afford all of the standard and extended libraries.  My hope is to gradually acquire key ones, and use my various SE libraries for the rest.  Three major advantages of the full packages are: greater number of velocity layers, chromatic sampling, and more articulations.  If one can afford the expense, going straight to the full libraries is not a bad idea.  For most of us, myself included, budget constraints simply eliminate that option.  The SE libraries are a great value in that regard.

Jonathan,

if you prefer a wide mix of instruments, then the Special Edition extended is the right choice. I think it is really dependent on if one likes Brass and Woodwinds. If yes, then grab it.

If you have a Vienna Key, you can also demo the Level 2 extended instruments for a while. So if you are unsure, just test it before buying. Without the Exploration Kit of course you can only demo the L2 articulations of instrument libraries, that you alreaday have physically installed ( like the SE in your case e.g.). It automatically comes with the extended on bord, so it is no problem to have access to this area for a limited time. Naturally that won´t work for alien libraries that you never installed (unless you have the exploration kit).

SE is sampled full tone, so all half tones are possible but they get transposed on the fly.

Full DVD Collections are sampled half tone, so less processing (and better quality) is the result.

Thanks to all of you who took the time to share your thoughts regarding this choice.  I have selected and already have received my license for the SE extended library.  In the future I will be upgrading Appassionatta Strings anyway, so my cost savings will be greater as many pointed out.  My next challenge is to develop a template wherein I can load up my most frequently used instruments and articulations, matrices, etc.  This is so important as by the time I get everythiing set up and find the right voice/instrument, I may lose the inspiration to play what I was originally sitting down to get to in the first place.  Nonetheless, I am eager to get started and compose, compose, compose.  Thanks again VSL community!

Regards,

Jonathan

@gabriel81 said:

Full DVD Collections are sampled half tone, so less processing (and better quality) is the result.

That's an interesting point, so is it the case that loading a sample for every note and the RAM required plus processing time loading the sample (streaming) is more efficient than shifting the pitch of an existing sample in RAM, or maybe is it only if the sample has to be loaded into RAM and pitch shifted in one go.  This throws an element of doubt about using "lite" patches (apart from RAM requirement).

Can anyone spread more light on this .......

I think, quaility is the main issue here.

Memory requirements I would even calculate higher compared to the Special Edition, because it is more about data volume & streaming and number of articulations inside RAM and loading from the harddisc. Pitch shifting shouldn´t be that complicated for modern processors.

The main difference that everyone will notice apart from technical specs is really the huge amount of additional articulations that you get when using the big libraries instead of the SE.

The trillers for example were the most influencing point for me to get Apassionata Extended.

Btw, i just once tried to figure out by listening to slow played chromatic runs which are the "recorded" and which the "calculated" samples ... to be honest - no chance for me to differ