The 7 Best Orchestral Sample Libraries
Few instrument groups can capture the majesty, drama, and beauty of orchestral performances. In the past, the need to hire an orchestra allowed only the biggest of productions to make full use of their incredible sound. Nowadays, each orchestral section and instrument has been meticulously recorded to provide a wide array of samples. This lets you transport entire orchestras into your DAW.
Whether you’re looking into the world of film and game music, or just want some high-quality classical instruments, you’ll have all your needs covered with the free and paid orchestral libraries presented in this list.
The Best Free VST Orchestral Sample Libraries
Buying the latest and greatest orchestral sample libraries can be an expensive proposition. Fortunately, certain dedicated developers have created high-quality orchestral samples that you can use without spending a dime.
1.Spitfire Audio - BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover
Spitfire Audio is perhaps the best free source of instrument libraries you can get in terms of sonic quality and choice of instrument samples. Its best orchestral sounds can be found in its BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover sample library. The Discover version represents the free starting point; we’ll look at the paid versions further on.
The platform also includes a distinct range of excellent orchestral sample libraries, such as Strings, Scary Strings, Cello Moods, Percussion, and Foghorn. Additionally, you can find interesting blends between orchestral instruments and other textures, such as Frozen Strings and Amplified Cello Quartet.
If you’re interested in guitar sounds, you could also find some ofthe best guitar sampleson the Spitfire Audio LABS platform.
2.The Free Orchestra
The Free Orchestra presents a small selection of cinematic orchestral instrument samples of the highest quality. Some sounds you may even recognize from movies, games, or tv series that you’ve watched. In essence, The Free Orchestra gives you a sneak peek into the top-of-the-range orchestral samples made by ProjectSAM.
It offers 16 cinematic instruments, a sleek and easy-to-use user interface, and beautiful sample recordings in need of little to no edits. You can use it in your DAW via the free Kontakt Player.
The only downside is the relatively small number of samples in each instrument. However, you can still compose cinema-ready tracks with the samples available in this orchestral sound library.
Layers is a free orchestral VST instrument library that combines the great sounds of a full orchestra with a simple, streamlined UI. This makes it great for beginners in the realms of orchestral composition and music production.
Each orchestral instrument and section boasts several articulation (play style) settings, and by pressing just one note, you can construct multiple chord types. The developers, Orchestral Tools, are giants in the field of orchestral sample libraries, so don’t miss out on their great free sounds.
The Best Paid VST Orchestral Sample Libraries
While some free orchestral sample libraries can blow you away with their quality, the best paid orchestral sound libraries will leave you speechless. Remember to check the developers' websites to see if their products undergo seasonal sales, so you can save as much money as possible.
4.Kontakt - Orchestral
Kontakt is a gargantuan 50+ GB sample library, and its latest version—Kontakt 7—includes an Orchestral instrument section developed by Orchestral Tools. Here, you can find the full range of strings, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments with different articulation settings and other intuitive controls.
The quality of the orchestral instrument samples speak for themselves and are regular features in the biggest film, media, and game productions. If you’re interested in the world of sound design for films and other media, this multi-genre library could be the tool you’re after. You may want to look intothe best VST synthesizersto further develop your sound designing capabilities.
5.ProjectSAM Orchestral Essentials
Unlike Kontakt 7, Orchestral Essentials by ProjectSAM offers a sample library that focuses solely on orchestral sounds. It also represents a significant step up from The Free Orchestra library discussed earlier.
Orchestral Essentials captures the authenticity and grandeur of real-life orchestral performances and acts as the perfect gateway for those wanting to get involved in film and game music compositions. It includes samples for all the instruments found in an orchestra as well as an array of samples that go beyond one-shot (one note) recordings.
For those looking to step up the quality of their classical sounds, all you could possibly need is included in this top-quality library.
6.Spitfire Audio - BBC Symphony Orchestra Core
Unlike many other orchestral sample libraries, Spitfire Audio focused on capturing the nuance, experience, and synergy of a world-renowned orchestra with the BBC Symphony Orchestra Core. Recorded in London, this sound library pushes the limits of what a dedicated orchestral plugin can do, offering 44 instruments and 344 playing style techniques.
Its sonic quality and capabilities are exemplary and represent the cutting-edge in the field. If you’re looking to make a considerable investment that covers all your orchestral needs, you may look into the even more feature-heavyProfessionalversion. Also, consider combiningthe best VST reverb pluginswith your orchestral sounds for that extra dash of sonic quality.
7.Miroslav Philharmonik 2
The acclaimed artist Miroslav Vitous was one of the key pioneers in the field of orchestral samples, and Philharmonik 2 delivers an excellent (and reasonably priced) orchestral sound library.
Philharmonik 2 offers over 2,700 instrument samples (in over 56 GB) with its library split into five categories: Brass, Chromatic, Piano, Strings, and Woodwind. It prides itself on delivering ready-made sound samples that convey the emotions of the recorded musicians.
it’s possible to also find a wide range of articulation settings and 30 in-built high-quality effects to further sculpt sounds into your desired form. You can refine your sounds even more by learninghow to use EQs.
Get the Best Orchestral Sounds for Your Audio Projects
Orchestral sounds can help you enrich the texture of modern musical styles as well as capture the majesty of classical compositions. For free and high-quality orchestral sound libraries, try out Layers by Orchestral Tools, or the orchestral samples available on Spitfire Audio. Also, consider The Free Orchestra for top-quality cinematic sounds.
For an extensive set of professional-grade orchestral sounds, go for Kontakt 7, Orchestral Essentials, and Miroslav Philharmonik 2. Consider Spitfire Audio’s BBC Symphony Orchestra Core for samples from a world-renowned ensemble, and your audio can make full use of film-ready sounds.
Reverb is an essential component of audio production. Look further than this list of VST reverb plugins to complete your next audio project.
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