FREE vs $30 vs $450 Orchestra VST - 6 Sample Libraries Comparison

What is the best Orchestral Sample Library / VST for you?
Should you get a free one? A cheaper one? Or an expensive one?
Here's a comparison of 6 different orchestral sample libraries of different prices, straight out of the box.

- Free Orchestral Libraries:

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⏫ PRIVATE LESSONS: Coming soon...
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:02 - Normal Sketch (Nucleus for Orchestra, Oceania for Choir & other libraries for the trailer stuff)
02:30 - VSCO2 CE (Free)
04:30 - Palette Primary Colors + Angry Brass (Free)
06:29 - EastWest Hollywood Orchestra ($30 monthly subscription / there's a typo in the video)
08:47 - Audio Imperia Nucleus ($449, currently on sale for $379)
11:14 - Audio Imperia Jaeger ($599, currently on sale for $399)
12:33 - Metropolis Ark 1 (€549 + VAT)
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🎻 LIBRARIES & SOFTWARE:
(For each module, the libraries are sorted based on how much I like them).
- STRINGS: Metropolis Ark 1 & 3, Nucleus, Cinematic Studio Strings, Fluid Shorts, Cinematic Strings 2, Jaeger
- BRASS: Metropolis Ark 1 & 3, JXL Brass, Nucleus, Twelve Horn Ensemble, CineBrass CORE, Century Brass, Jaeger, Angry Brass
- CHOIR: Oceania, Metropolis Ark 1, Stormchoir 2
- WOODWINDS: CineWinds CORE, Nucleus, Metropolis Ark 1 & 3
- HYBRID PERCS & LOOPS: Damage, PercX, Decimator Drums, Cerberus
- BIG CINEMATIC PERCS: Los Angeles Modern Percussion, New Epic Toms Ensemble, New Epic Dhol Ensemble, CinePerc
- ORCHESTRAL PERCS: CinePerc, Rhapsody Orchestral Percussion, Kontakt Factory Library
- PIANO: The Giant, Woodchester Piano, Spitfire LABS Soft Piano
- HARPS & OTHERS: CineHarp, Kontakt Factory Library
- SYNTHS: Juggernaut, Serum, Harmor, Jaeger, Evolution Atlantica,
- ORCHESTRAL SFX: Metropolis Ark 3, Palette Orchestral FX
- SOLO STRINGS: Tina Guo Solo Cello, Solos of the Sea, Cinematic Studio Strings Solo
- SOLO VOCALS: Jaeger, Vocalisa
- GUITARS: Basic Live Guitars & Bass routed into Waves GTR / Guitar Rig, Metropolis Ark 1, Heavyocity Atlantica
- TRAILER SFX: Custom / Private Samples, AVA Instinct, Cinematic Trailers Designed, Epic Sound Effects Quantum, Scenes From The Multiverse Vol.1, Juggernaut, Jaeger, Evolution Atlantica, AizerX Classic Trailers Toolkit, AizerX Trailer SFX Tools
- REVERB: ValhallaRoom, ValhallaShimmer
- MIXING & MASTERING: iZotope Ozone 9 Advanced, iZotope Neutron, FabFilter Pro-Q3, FL Studio Plugins
- DAW: FL Studio 20
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💻 HARDWARE & PC SPECS:
- Desktop PC: 3.7 GHz Intel Core i7 8700k / 32GB DDR4 RAM / 2TB Samsung Evo860 M.2 SSD
- Laptop PC: Asus ROG GLW752 (2.6GHz Intel Core i7-6700HQ / 16GB DDR4 RAM / 1TB Samsung Evo860 M.2 SSD)
- Audio Interface: M-Audio M-Track Plus
- MIDI Keyboard: M-Audio Keystation 49 MkIII

[AlexMoukala]

Timestamps for all the examples:
01:02 - Normal Sketch (Nucleus for Orchestra, Oceania for Choir & other libraries for the trailer stuff)
02:30 - VSCO2 CE (Free)
04:30 - Palette Primary Colors + Angry Brass (Free)
06:29 - EastWest Hollywood Orchestra ($30 monthly subscription / there's a typo in the video)
08:47 - Audio Imperia Nucleus ($449, currently on sale for $379)
11:14 - Audio Imperia Jaeger ($599, currently on sale for $399)
12:33 - Metropolis Ark 1 (€549 + VAT)
⚠️ BEAR IN MIND ⚠️
Literally all of these libraries can sound 3-4 times better if you learn how to use them properly, and how to compose / mix in a way that is more catered to them (as I do when I use them for tracks I seriously spend time on).
What I wanted to show in this video is the raw sound you'd get out of them as a STARTING POINT, so you can get a better understanding of what they'll sound like if you buy them as a beginner.
If you want a good example of what they sound at their full potential (which I recommend too), check out my released tracks, or even better, check out the demos on the sample libraries's websites.

[DarianClarkMusic]

The ultimate power move would be to acquire your own orchestra.

[mlpfimguy]

Alex Moukala: "This example sounds absolutely basic, unprocessed and undeveloped"
*plays a literal god-tier quality track*

[BirdYoumans]

Your perception of how things work musically is nice. Great grasp on what emotion is in music. Great little demo piece by the way.

[fh]

Thumbnail: 3 Sample libraries!
Title: 6 Sample libraries!!
Intro: "I'm gonna compare 7 different sample libraries!!!"

[HastalaMason]

Honestly, as an orchestra violin player, Nucleus was the one who convinced me the most as beeing close to real instruments. At least the strings, as that's what I'm more familiar to know what it sound like.
You can even hear the open E strings in the final section in the 3rd bar/chord. I think little details like this, are what make Orchestral VST's more convincing, so congratulations to the people who did Nexus! All the others have done some nice job aswell, I can't even imagine how hard is doing something like this. What makes a real orchestra sound real, it's the humans and their different behaviours, so "humanizing" something like this must be everything except easy.

[carlosjazzpick]

"Free or not, thanks God for the orchestral sampler libraries, as it avoid me making a fool of myself with a real orchestra"
- one of my guitar students -

[TonyThomas]

In all fairness, the VSCO library is a chamber orchestra library, not a triple fortissimo epic music library. Also, it does not have super heavy percussion.

[extrememovies]

1:02 music in my mind
2:33 music I make

[ComposerChronos]

Still though, Hans Zimmer's words still apply. Ideas are not limited by budget :p

[lawrencebehar]

I'm still using instruments and effects from 5 years ago. $30/mo over 5 years will set you back $1800 and you'll still have nothing if you decide to stop paying, which makes $450 seem like a steal in comparison.

The subscription model is terrible unless it's a product that evolves enough that old versions are obsolete, like Photoshop. Maybe you could make a case for Ableton or even a plugin that stays on the cutting edge like Ozone or Melodyne. But this is not one of those cases.

[VGMMarkH]

Really glad you've decided to do a video like this

[mirrorseyes]

My creativity and mental agility are increasing drastically thanks to all the information you'r giving away. What you do has a lot of spirit in it, and it's reaching people from different parts of the world. A big THANK YOU " from Argentina"

[trevan]

EXACTLY what I needed for Black Friday! Thanks for everything you do!

[yugpatel]

*And he says it's not mind blowing*

[yeserguitar]

Thank you so much for making an amazing comparison with a great demo!

[kiwi]

Great video, and perfect timing! I was trying to figure out what library to start with and this settled it for me. I'm going to pick up nucleus during the sale. Thanks!

[ssd]

Great compilation, very well presented!!! I liked your balanced and detailed comments, where you clearly highlighted good and not so good parts of a library... and you didn't hesitate to highlight weaknesses in a library even if it costed a lot. Keep up good work!

[ArtsConfused]

Even though I don't have the budget to get the best stuff, there's something to learn still about the way orchestral arrangements work, that I feel can help enhance your music making overall. I'm def gonna subscribe to you.

[MANIAKRA]

Sick video, I love when people actually make stuff instead of just talk. Great job subbed