Questions about Vienna and EWQLSO Gold

[kurtkreimier]

I recently purchased a new PC and plan to upgrade my EWQLSO Silver to Gold. I am also planning to purchase some Vienna Samples as well but I had some questions I am hoping some of you might be able to answer for me.There seem to be different versions of the EWQLSO Gold, Edition versus XP, versus Bundle, etc. Can anybody explain the differences in these versions, if any, and recommend the best way to go here?I also plan to spend somewhere between $1,000 to $1,500 additional on some Vienna Samples but there are so many packages to choose from. I would like to purchase some of their quality string samples as well as some good woodwind, brass and perhaps even some percussion samples. Does anybody have a recommendation on which Vienna product or product combinations to consider based on my budget?Both I and "Visa" Thank You for your Replies!Kurt

[crs7string]

Kurt,I have had Gold for a little over a year. The Gold bundle is Gold and XP (XP is additional articulations) The drop in price, and as an upgrade from Silver, is the way to go. You will have a lot to work with and get your arms around.At the Road Rally I had a mentoring session with a film and tv composer and one of his few observations was that my orchestral track on my CD was "weak" . He also mentioned the VSL libraries. My initial thought was "I need to add VSL" I quickly realized that I had not spent the time to learn what all the articulations in Gold could do, so why would I want to add another library, yet.I think the Gold bundle and the VSL Special Edition and the expander for that library would have you more than covered for orchestral music. I may add Special Edition at some point, but in the meantime I'm learning what Gold can do. I also will have a better idea where the holes are that I want to fill. (my ideal trumpet sound may sound like a kazoo to you)Another option that may be worth exploring is Kontact 3. Gold will come with Kompact player.You can open all of the sounds in Kontact and have a lot more control. It's a far better intreface as well. Kontact 3 comes with around 17 gigs of VSL sounds as well. The rest of the library covers band, ethnic, urban, and vintage instruments. Many other libaries will also open in Kontact including RA, the Garritan libraries (Jazz and Big Band, The Stradivarious and Gofriller Cello. etc.)Chuck

[davewalton]

Quote:I recently purchased a new PC and plan to upgrade my EWQLSO Silver to Gold. I am also planning to purchase some Vienna Samples as well but I had some questions I am hoping some of you might be able to answer for me.There seem to be different versions of the EWQLSO Gold, Edition versus XP, versus Bundle, etc. Can anybody explain the differences in these versions, if any, and recommend the best way to go here?I also plan to spend somewhere between $1,000 to $1,500 additional on some Vienna Samples but there are so many packages to choose from. I would like to purchase some of their quality string samples as well as some good woodwind, brass and perhaps even some percussion samples. Does anybody have a recommendation on which Vienna product or product combinations to consider based on my budget?Both I and "Visa" Thank You for your Replies!KurtI started with EWQL Silver, upgraded to Gold, upgraded to Gold XP (bundle), upgraded recently to Platinum XP bundle for a total cost of $163,874. Buying the Gold bundle for under $500 is the way to go. Especially for film/tv applications, EWQL Orchestral products are ideal but any "top-of-the-line" product easily makes the grade. It's like trying to debate whether Cubase or Sonar is better... gee they both have so much power that probably few of us really put them to full use. EWQL Gold Bundle will allow you to compete for probably 99% of opportunities that'll come your way (or mine).To the credit of EWQL Gold (XP, bundle, whatever), it sounds as good as Platinum. Platinum I can see is going to give me some subtle benefits when doing pure orchestral arrangements but when mixed with any other instruments (like for electronica, hip-hop or whatever), I don't think there's any way to pick out a backing voilins/cellos track to say "Oh that's Gold, that's Platinum, etc). They both sound SOOOOOOO good.Even though the EWQL site stupidly still "sells" the Gold and Platinum base versions (last time I looked), you want the "bundle" which includes the base versions combined with the XP (expanded) version. The base version by itself is more expensive than the "bundle" (the base version plus the XP). It's one of those dumb corporate things where they think they'll confuse people by no longer offering the base version (even though they really don't want to sell just the base version and price it accordingly). My rant for today against corporate idiocrosy (after dealing with my cable company recently). HTH,Dave

[mazz]

I've recently added Kirk Hunter Diamond orchestral library to my arsenal and I've found the instruments I've tried so far to be very playable. They respond well to different articulations on the keyboard even without keyswitching (I use the Kontakt version which has more flexibility than the Gigastudio version). They don't come with the hall reverb sampled in like the EW stuff but they seem to blend well with EW anyway. You have to have Kontakt 2 or better to run it but Kontakt is a good investment in the future anyway given the plethora of third party libraries written for it (not to mention all the older libraries that can be "ported" over relatively easily).The Kirk Hunter libraries are just another option that is not as well known generally but is a very viable option nonetheless. I've not been drawn to the Vienna stuff, even after playing the new library at the Road Rally. It just seems dry and impersonal to my ear, I like the excitment and less clinical/more emotional feel of the EW and Hunter libraries. Just my taste.Good luck,Mazz