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Just asking for general opinions from experienced orhestral composers: what is currently considered "industry standard" for sample libraries... EWQL? Vienna? Garritan?Thanks for the input!

Many here have had success with EWQL Gold or Platinum. Either of those could be considered "industry standard" fairly well rounded libraries.There are composers here that also use Vienna.I would not consider the bulk of the Garritan Personal Orchestra to be industry standard. There are good sounds in there but I wouldn't rely on that library alone to compete in the film/tv/library market.I am of the opinion that it helps to blend the sounds of different libraries. Partly because it helps the sound be more "realistic" and partly because all libraries have their strengths and weaknesses, and the weaknesses can partly be overcome by filling them in with a library that is stronger in those areas.Libraries that I consider to be high quality and that work well in the "mix and match" approach are, in no particular order:EWQLSOWestgate Studios woodwinds and solo French HornSampleModeling TrumpetLA Scoring StringsSAM Orchestral BrassKirk Hunter Diamond OrchestraVir2 Elite Orchestral PercussionEast West Symphonic ChoirsI've heard great things about Symphobia, East West just announced Hollywood Strings and Kirk Hunter has teamed up with SampleLogic to create Morphestra, which looks very interesting: http://www.macmusic.org/news/view.php/lang/en/id/8321/ Morphestra looks like it's more specialized. It's very cool, but it's not a "standard" orchestra library.You can dump a lot of money into this orchestra game. If I was starting out and had a grand I'd consider East West's Composer's Collection. If I had about 1500, I'd add Kirk Hunter Diamond.HTH,Mazz

Thanks a ton, Mazz. You confirmed some of my own thoughts and already-made choices on this as well as adding some food for thought on diversifying my library. On my way to check out the Kirk Hunter library...(Any thoughts on Omnisphere and/or Heavy-O-City Evolve regarding sample quality?)

Sept 17, 2009, 4:53pm, ddw wrote:(Any thoughts on Omnisphere and/or Heavy-O-City Evolve regarding sample quality?)Yeah they are superb products but not "orchestral". Omni has some nice strings (more of the pad type) and also vocal samples from Symphony Of Voices, but basically it is a synth.

Heavyocity Evolve does have some orchestral percussion samples which are awesome and bigger than life, but the strength of that library is in it's ability to add that little extra "something" vibe to your music. It's well suited to add modern textures to orchestral music for film, trailers and games, but it's not an orchestra library like EWQL or Vienna. As an adjunct to an orchestral palette, it's highly recommended.

I have Symphobia and it can be considered industry standard, but you should have something to supplement it. Percussion, especially. TrueStrike or StormDrum should do the trick nicely. I would also recommend EZDrummer.