@Rob Elliott said:

Hi there,
I am the proud owner of Pro Ed., French Oboe, Glass and Stones, Overdrive and have some interest in the following libraries
1. Epic Horns
2. Chamber Strings
...What have been others impressions of these two AFTER they have had them a few months?
Rob

Dear Rob
I can offer a comparison
The demo you know already played by the chamberstrings...
Concerto Grosso No 6 First Edition
and
Concerto Grosso No 6 Chamberstrings
(Same effects > little ambiance)
The upper two examples are both played without Perf-Legs. But the
legatos of the chamberstrings are wonderful (You can hear the finger's typing)!
> An excelent expression over all! [[:D]]

The short staccatos! > fantastic [[:D]]

There is only one thing which I am peronally missing:
You will get all the dynamic samples with only one layer.
So it is impossible to end a piece with a mf-pp dim ... [[[:(]]] [[[:(]]] [[[:(]]]

Nevertheless > The chamberstrings are to be highly recommended...
even you own the Pro Strings.

With the best wishes from Switzerland
Beat

Thanks Beat. Nice comparison. I have a project coming up that would benefit from having a more 'intimate sound' such as Chambers.

What about the Short Staccs is it that you like?

Again, many thanks for these sample mock-ups - they are wonderful.

Rob

@Rob Elliott said:

Hi there,

I am the proud owner of Pro Ed., French Oboe, Glass and Stones, Overdrive and have some interest in the following libraries

1. Epic Horns
2. Chamber Strings

Of course the worse thing about spending so much money on these samples is when you get them loaded up and they perhpas are not what you thought they would be (from the demos).

Asking for frank advice as to the usefulness of these two selections. While I like my Pro Ed - the two weakess section, IMHO, are the strings and the horns. I am hoping that the two libraries above fill the gap. What have been others impressions of these two AFTER they have had them a few months?

Your opinion and advice is appreciated.

Rob

Rob,

I would have thought you knew all this by now. [:)]

I agree, the strings are the main bugbear of any library currently out there at the moment in my view. A lot of time has to go into messing with the velocities and I am guessing that like me, you tend to play most things in via a keyboard, as opposed to entering notes with a mouse.

Epic Horns - the best sounding horn library out there currently. There's always a lot of talk about Sam and this and that - and naturally they are all good. Epic Horns though, is something special and can make you lazy with the writing - it sounds that good.

Chamber Strings - I have these also and again, it's back to the strings difficulties regarding - strings. Same applies as before - BUT - very good for certain solo phrases and even better for layering I would humbly suggest. Naturally, there is a lot of talk about Synful etc - but the Chamber Strings, whilst not being quite so keyboard playable, give you quite a few options.

Bottom line for me when trying to remain neutral - Epic Horns are a must for anyone like yourself writing orchestral works with samples.

Thanks Paul for the feedback and frank advice. I have a project just finishing that really needs a 'bigger horn' sound and I think with the discount offered I'll jump on it. [:D]

As far as Chamber - I don't know what it is but I just like the 'sound' of it relative to all that is out there. For part writing I really see it strong (without having a billion string section playing at once - at times sounding like a 'string pad')

I'll order both (but now I have to get another PC [:'(] )

Again thanks for your help - both of you.

Rob

I'll order both (but now I have to get another PC [:'(] )

Again thanks for your help - both of you.

Rob[/quote]

Always a pleasure to talk with you Rob - one day you might even buy a Mac. [:P]

Cheers!

@Rob Elliott said:

What about the Short Staccs is it that you like?
Rob

Hi Rob
Thank you for your compliments

Beside the (normal) staccatos exist a new kind of samples "sh stac" (short staccatos)
in the Chamber Strings' library. You get this sound by "throwing" the bow on a string.
Good for very fast sequencies. And... Yes I like it.
By the way: These short staccatos are used in Grieg's Holbergsuite demo.

Beat

Not to be argumentative [[;)]] and you are certainly welcome to your opinion but concerning the Pro Ed horns being weak...

What? The horns are one of the greatest strengths of the library. In fact, maybe the single best sound in the whole library is the mp legato section horns. That's weak? I don't get it.

@William said:

Not to be argumentative [[;)]] and you are certainly welcome to your opinion but concerning the Pro Ed horns being weak...

What? The horns are one of the greatest strengths of the library. In fact, maybe the single best sound in the whole library is the mp legato section horns. That's weak? I don't get it.

Should have choosen my words better - meant 'too small' for this particular project. Epic sounds like it will be perfect.

Rob

O.K., I get you. One thing about the Epic Horns I really like is how they blend in perfectly with the other horns. Extremely consistent programming which allows you to go from solo to 4 to 8 seamlessly. And now a Triple Horn is available...

I'm starting to get horny.

[[[:D]]] [[[:D]]] [[[:D]]] - nice one William. Sounds super on the transition from 4 to 8 horns. Ordered this and Chamber yesterday, 3rd PC being built as we speak. Looking for to the little expansion project!

Thanks for everyone's help.


(BTW, for the mellow 3-4 part horn underlayment harmony the VSL filtered patch is really top drawer stuff.)

Rob