Hi great people,
 
I have been looking on and off for a while to expand my string libraries, previously I had looked  looking at eastwest and a couple of others.
 
Then recently I have been taking note of  the kirk hunter group buy as well as the Cornucopia strings that have just been released.
 
I currently have Komplete 8 so have Kontakt 5 the standard library and also session strings.
 
Also I should  point out I am not really looking to do full orchestral work but mainly string work to support rock/indie type music.
 
1) what do people think in terms of value, quality and usability of the libraries mentioned above?
 
2) Is what i have good enough?
 
3) Would you hold fire and save towards something from eastwest or another higher priced one?
 
 

You've got everything you need to do backing tracks and orchestral pads. Most of the features of the big libraries are lost on pop/rock genres. 

There are plenty of other things you can blow your money on. Consider investing in other types of Kontakt libraries such as unusual percussion, world instruments and warped conventional instruments.

Bit is correct if you just looking for pads and background string parts, but if you do want more fully featured articulations and you are not totally satisfied with your current sounds Kirk Hunters Pop and Rock strings would fit the bill pretty well. As the name suggests its tailored to rock and pop, rather that large scale orchestral arrangements.

Kirk Hunters Pop and Rock strings plus the easy arranger add on will sell for $125 as the group guy has just hit 103 and the maximum discount. Its well worth considering that price, its a very nice package.

No need for a big expensive package. You'll end up with a load of GBs sitting in the graveyard that is your sample drive wondering where your money went.

Miroslav from IK does a good job, as does Kirk Hunter, as does EastWest cheaper packages.

Whatever you choose, buy when it's on sale - it's cheaper (I don't get paid for this advice).

strikinglyhandsome1


No need for a big expensive package. You'll end up with a load of GBs sitting in the graveyard that is your sample drive wondering where your money went.

Miroslav from IK does a good job, as does Kirk Hunter, as does EastWest cheaper packages.

Whatever you choose, buy when it's on sale - it's cheaper (I don't get paid for this advice).

So it's priceless?
 
KHS is really good right out of the box (and this group buy doesn't come very often from KH).....Miroslav needs to be layered and massaged a bit, but is quite good.

Garritan Personal Orchestra 4 is pretty good at the price. It is not on the level of Kirk Hunter or the more expensive EastWest but at it's price level it's pretty hard to beat. They also have another string library they just released a few months ago. I don't remember the name but it's supposed to be pretty good as well.

You can technically get Miroslav Philharmonik for $50 off by buying iRig Keys and getting TWO free IK VI's with the probability of getting all 5 thrown in by the end of the Group Buy.

Just wanted to say thank you for all the replies.
 
Some great advise, I have spent some time with what I have got and think it is enough for now.
 
It is so great  the generosity of spirit on this forum!!

First, I'm connected with Kirk Hunter Studios. I consult to Kirk and came up with the idea for Pop/Rock Strings. But I'm primarily a user of sample libraries who also consults to a number of sample developers (I'm a marketing professional and a former semi-pro musician, now just a hobbyist) in the development, pricing and promotion of libraries and VSTs -- I don't get compensated for posting and I don't make royalties on Pop/Rock Strings.

I own Miroslav and GPO (as well as Session Strings and some other string libraries). Being a KONTAKT library, and much newer than Miroslav (which was created back in the 90s before round robins), Pop/Rock Strings gives you scripting functionality and things like round robins that are not available in either SampleTank or GPOs player. Ftr, I find Miroslav is fun to have and useful for layering. However, I wouldn't compare it to any of today's KONTAKT string libraries that offer scripting, round robins, velocity layers, etc. I think of it mainly as a secondary or tertiary library useful for layering/thickening up lush string parts. Further, the technology for Sampletank is far less sophisticated than KONTAKT and the samples were recorded back in the 90s before developers were thinking about things like round robins, velocity layers or scripting (I own a ton of SampleTank libraries from IK, Sonic Reality and others and have been eager for SampleTank 3 to come to market). Consequently, I find the scripting and other capabilities of KONTAKT really make a huge difference, imo, if you're seeking to have a realistic string part whether you're talking about Pop/Rock Strings, Concert Strings II, LASS (which, imo, sound great too), etc. If you're doing disco or 70s cheese type Motown retro strings, Session Strings is a very good choice imo and should be in your consideration set.

For the Orchestra? You can't go wrong with EWQL Gold... 
http://www.soundsonline.com/Symphonic-Orchestra

For solo instrument, I like EWQL Gypsy.
http://www.soundsonline.com/Gypsy


It won't blow your budget, but it will blow your mind... (I should copyright that?)