Dan Dean Brass Ensemble or VSL?

[monkeymike]

Okay ,

I\'m new here, so pardon me if this topic has been brought up........I got GOS 6 months ago and I\'m pretty happy with it. I\'m trying to make a decision on whether to go the whole hog and get the VSL cube or piece together a library around GOS- ie: DDBE and Percussion library.

For those of you on a limited budget- would you stick with GOS and others or switch completely to VSL, or combine the two (I know I\'m opening up a can of worms)

[KingIdiot]

depends on the sound you\'re after.

[Ian Livingstone]

As Ashif says it\'s definitely a matter of taste. I personally much prefer DDBE to most of the brass in VSL, but I do mix and match (the close mic\'ed Dan Dean stuff compliments the rest of VSL pretty well, as does GOS layered with VSL\'s strings). Plus with DDBE you also get ambient mic\'ed versions, and it\'s 8 velocity layers.

This kinda defies the point of a full library recorded in the same environment but I\'ve still yet to hear a full library which satisfies all of my needs.

If I were you I\'d leave the cube, get DDBE and when you can afford it get the VSL performance set instead, as the performance stuff is revolutionary and totally unique.

Ian

[monkeymike]

thanks Ian,

What you posted makes a lot of sense- my intuition told me that the DDBE was great because of the layers and micing. This way I\'m not forking out money for more strings right now............would you get the Dan Dean solo woodwinds as well then?
cheers

[KingIdiot]

I prefer the VSL solo stuff right now, except that there\'s not enough sizzle in the trumpets.

I\'d much prefer more articulations than velocities if you ask me, but the 8 layers are all different in DDBE and its awesome for Xfade variations. (soft, medium, hard..etc).

The DDBE stuff is just plain awesom and it works really well out of the box, and even better with a little reverb to make it match other libs. I\'m finding the bones a perfect match with VSL since VSL has a bit more \"warmth\" in the lows.

Again tho it really depends on your needs, and tastes. If you\'re after great ambient sound, and everything from soft moody drones to epic anthemic themes - DDBE,if you after performance tools that shine in solos/melodic lines - VSL.

I still think DDBE\'s got the best FFF horn sound out there. Its possible I\'ll keep thinking this after QLSO comes out, but march is only a few days away.....once I get my hands on it I\'ll really be able to make my choice/preferences, or atleast realize which works best for which occasian.

[monkeymike]

So really- they all do something unique and it sounds like there\'s no \"ultimate library\" just different flavours...........thanks

I really like the character of the DDBE demos, althought the DD solo woods don\'t sound as rich as the VSL-the clarinet demo kills me (the reed attack!!)

So the VSL performance set isn\'t just prerecorded lines and phrases- you can interact with it? images/icons/shocked.gif

[Rob Elliott]

King,

With all the other options - i.e. DDBE, Sam Horns, bones, SI, etc. (and depending on what QL sounds like)is there any reason to buy more than VSL\'s performance set? I want as many \'colors\' as possible - of course I (like others I dare say) am contrained only by budget. Thanks in advance.

Rob

[KingIdiot]

Mike,

yah, the legato feature is just a \"play away\" thing once its set up. You play in MIDI jsut like you normally do, but it picks the correct legato interval sample for you. Pretty cool if you ask me

Rob,

Well there\'s a consistancy issue. The performance set is amazing, but, if you\'re not layering, you\'ll run in to some issues when you want to use other articulations like Tremolo, and \"standard\" staccatto (as opposed to the performance repetitions). If you\'re layering with other libs it will be less of an issue. Just keep in mind that you wont be layering for solo instruments images/icons/smile.gif

Still if you\'re gonna start somewhere with VSL, the performance set would be a great place. Since you prolly have a few other libs, like most of us.

Its for people that are looking for the \"whole shabbang\" that I tell to get both the 1st edition and the perf set at the same time. Or to take a look at QLSO. Both of these will be whole orchestras in a box. Its just \"easier\" and more consistant.

That said, Mike\'s right. Every lib has its own strength and sound. Not to mention if you can\'t make good music with them you\'ve got some other issues to worry about.

[Does It Matter?]

Hey King Idiot, thanks for your insight on the libraries. Very much appreciated because a lot of money is about to exchange hands. images/icons/smile.gif

[KingIdiot]

well, just remember that its my own opinion. Not really anything more.

There\'s definitely people here with other thoughts. I\'ll give it to you as striaght as I can, but its usually focused on what question is asked. Just make sure to think about what *YOU* are after, when you buy images/icons/smile.gif not what I like images/icons/wink.gif

[Ian Livingstone]

Haven\'t got his solo Wind as I use a mixture if Miroslav, Siedlaczek and VSL for wind, but if the quality of the solo brass and ensembles are anything to go off it\'ll be a good buy....

Ian

[sw]

I finally took the decision of buying vsl perf only. From the demos I heard and the demo cube I can feel the vsl orchestra cube is not necessary when you have a bunch of other libraries. Layering different libraries seems still to the best way to achieve realism. The only small doubt is about solo woodwinds does it sound ok if you switch from dan dean stac to vsl legato or repetition tools. I never had problem switching from dan dean to AO but maybe this is different.

[mitchb2]

Originally posted by sw:
I finally took the decision of buying vsl perf only. <font size=\"2\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">What\'s the difference between the performance set and the orchestral cube?

Their website is *not* well designed.

[Yves]

What about Kirk Hunter\'s new brass library?? does it \"sit\" well in context with other libraries?
I\'ve briefly heard it at Namm but not enough to judge it. Anyhow , with all the \"noise\" in and out of the booth , it was kind of hard to evaluate..!

Thanks!

Yves

[jzuker]

What I heard of Kirk Hunter\'s library, was quite impressive. It was at NAMM also, and I had to listen under the noise, but I still got a fairly good sense of it.
The most difficult thing is to really hear the ambient quality of the library in that situation. I\'d love to hear more demos on his website.