CineSamples 50% off sale

[Guy Rowland]

NB - original post is from May 2020.

I think this is genuinely the steepest discount CineSamples have ever done. For this week, 50% off the following:

CineBrass Pro $199
CineStrings Solo $199
CineWinds Pro $199
CinePerc $349
CineHarps $124
CinePiano $99

https://cinesamples.com/products?mc_cid ... 4d5b01019e

[wst3]

yeah - if I did not own nearly all of them, and all that I want to own, I'd be all over this.

[Mike Marino]

How have you all found CineWinds Pro to work with? I don't think I have any ensemble libraries for woodwinds outside of EWQLSO (and NotePerformer).

[Lawrence]

The advantage of setting a fairly high retail price is that a 50% discount isn’t exactly cheap. I’m still in search of a harp though, and the Cinesamples harp seems well liked and not so pricey. Thoughts?

[wst3]

How have you all found CineWinds Pro to work with? I don't think I have any ensemble libraries for woodwinds outside of EWQLSO (and NotePerformer).

Well I seem to be in the minority, but I find core and pro editions of winds and brass to be very usable, and I really like the sound. I am using the Claire winds from 8Dio as well, but I could probably use just the Cinesamples libraries and be happy.

The Cinematic Studio Brass is a whole 'nother animal, and I do use that with and/or in place of CineBrass. But again, if I did not have CSB I don't think I'd be in terrible shape.

(I am looking forward to Cinematic Studio Winds for the same reason.)

Strings are yet another category - the Cinesamples Strings are cool, but I find myself supplementing them with Cinematic Studio Strings and the 8Dio Adagio/Agitato strings.

I also have the Spitifire core studio strings, winds, and brass. A very different sound, not quite as easy to use, but sometimes that is what I am looking for. I have not had much luck blending Cinesamples and Spitfire.

[Mike Marino]

Thanks for the feedback, Bill. I do use the Claire series as well as the solo winds from Fluffy Audio. I'll sometimes even grab the VSL legacy flutes legato patch (and horns for that matter) that came with Kontakt. I'll have to do some more listening around.

For what it's worth I'm finding that I like Century Strings layered with Venice Modern Strings from Fluffy Audio.

[wst3]

Both 8Dio and Fluffy Audio have some really great libraries, I picked up the Claire series before the Fluffy Audio winds were released, otherwise I might still be agonizing over the choice<G>.

[Linos]

The advantage of setting a fairly high retail price is that a 50% discount isn’t exactly cheap. I’m still in search of a harp though, and the Cinesamples harp seems well liked and not so pricey. Thoughts?

Don't have it. At 124$ it's still not cheap. The Orange Tree harp costs half that at full price. That's my go-to harp. I like it a lot. If it is on sale you can pick it up for 40 bucks or so. I haven't compared the two and feel no need to. So far Angelic Harp covers all my needs.

https://www.orangetreesamples.com/products/angelic-harp

[Lawrence]

I was deeply disappointed with Angelic Harp. I like it on its own but for some reason it gets lost in my orchestrations in a way that my old EWQLSO harp never did. EQ didn’t work...I really can’t explain it. The price was reasonable, I love the company, but. (shrug)

[Linos]

Well then I hope somebody who owns Cineharps can chime in. The Cinesamples demos reveal very little about how it will sit in a mix.

[lofi]

I was deeply disappointed

So am I, mostly nowadays about life and how things turn out. Not so much about stuff, more people.
Well, I guess that’s life.

On topic-ish
If you’re NYC Composer on ViC I hope I managed to tag/ping you.
Re: other harps that might sound good.
Or at lest worth a listen, if you’re up for that kind of thing.

On topic.
Can’t comment on the Cinesample harps.
Don’t own them.

Best,
/Anders

[Lawrence]

Great. I am (NYC Composer there), and thank you Anders!

[Guy Rowland]

Sale revived, valid for the month.

[Lawrence]

Do I remember that you were enamored of CinePiano, Guy? Sounds quite good and versatile in the walkthrough.

[Guy Rowland]

Do I remember that you were enamored of CinePiano, Guy? Sounds quite good and versatile in the walkthrough.

Yeah! My only real reservation is that there's a pretty big transition between the gorgeous ultra soft layer and the next one up, so I have to midi massage quite a bit on the softer parts.

[Muziksculp]

Nice to see CineSamples offer 50% off their libraries this month.

Love their Piano, and Harpsichord. Also their Brass.

I have a quite a bit of their libraries, but don't have any of their their Woodwinds, or Orchestral Perc. I don't think I need them, since I have alternate options for these two.

Curious to know if you still find CineStrings Core very useful, and use it regularly, given the many other Strings Libraries that have emerged on the market since it was released ? I also wonder if they have plans to release a CineStrings Pro one of these days ?

[Guy Rowland]

For whatever reason I've majored on Sable for strings in the past year, but when it needs to be bigger CineStrings is usually next in line for me, and still very happy with it. Great tone and - unlike Sable - pretty much no fighting with it.

[Muziksculp]

For whatever reason I've majored on Sable for strings in the past year, but when it needs to be bigger CineStrings is usually next in line for me, and still very happy with it. Great tone and - unlike Sable - pretty much no fighting with it.

Hi Guy,

Thanks for the feedback.

Spitfire's Sable is now Chamber Strings, so you are still using the older discontinued Sable version, or did you mean the newer SA Chamber Strings ?

CineStrings Core has a nice bright sound, and great acoustics from the Sony Stage. I have it, but haven't really put it to use a lot, but lately I have been interested in discovering it in more detail, and experimenting with it.

I will post some more feedback on my experience with CineStrings once I have spent some more time with it.

If you have any specific comments, i.e. what you feel it does very well, and doesn't, any tips, .. etc., I would be interested.

Cheers,
Muziksculp

[Guy Rowland]

I do have Chamber Strings Muziksculp, but I never use it. It didn't fix a single problem from Sable, and the legato seemed to perform worse than the final Sable version, so it gathers digital dust.

CineStrings is a funny one - I think most people (including I) sort of feel its a bit unexciting. But the thing is... it never really lets me down. It just works. In a crowded market that's a bit of a tough USP.

Here's a quick thing I did a while ago in my ongoing project with my local singer friend, but this is a very short instrumental variation of one of her songs. Whenever I listen back, the strings just sound lovely to me. I know its a very undemanding part, but it does show how easy it is to work with and get a nice tone from. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ywdfof2f1duxx ... 2.mp3?dl=0

[Muziksculp]

I do have Chamber Strings Muziksculp, but I never use it. It didn't fix a single problem from Sable, and the legato seemed to perform worse than the final Sable version, so it gathers digital dust.

CineStrings is a funny one - I think most people (including I) sort of feel its a bit unexciting. But the thing is... it never really lets me down. It just works. In a crowded market that's a bit of a tough USP.

Here's a quick thing I did a while ago in my ongoing project with my local singer friend, but this is a very short instrumental variation of one of her songs. Whenever I listen back, the strings just sound lovely to me. I know its a very undemanding part, but it does show how easy it is to work with and get a nice tone from. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ywdfof2f1duxx ... 2.mp3?dl=0

Thanks for the feedback, and audio demo track.

I personally like the bright sound of the legato/sustains of CineStrings Core, because it is easy to darken their tone via EQ, or tweak them to taste if needed. I think the legato is pretty good given it's age. The short articulations are good as well. Not the best I have used, but can deliver a decent performance.

Do you like the short articulations of CineStrings Core ?

[Guy Rowland]

Do you like the short articulations of CineStrings Core ?

Yeah - they're fine, good, dependable. Again, I find myself reaching for unexciting adjectives, but I've no complaints.

[wst3]

I was looking at the Con Moto strings, and waiting to see if Nashville Strings would drop in time to make an informed decision... then along comes Vista strings.

It is enough to make a person tear their hair out! (as if there were no other topics that can cause hairlessness??))

Obviously I probably won't get to hear Vista in time to make an intelligent decision, so it comes down to Con Moto vs Nashville. The demos for both sound really good for the most part (one can pick apart any library if one chooses).

Right now I have 8Dio Adagio and Agitato which sound really good, and are really flexible, and are a real pain in the tuckus to use. I also have CineStrings Core, the Spitfire Studio Strings core, and all three of Alex's string libraries. And between them I think I am covered for the time being. I mean that's a lot of strings!!!

What I was hoping to find in Con Moto or Nashville was a more intimate, and smaller ensemble. The Spitfire Studio comes close, but thus far I've found it somewhat difficult to wrangle, I haven't used it a lot yet, so maybe I'm still in the learning curve. Adagio, Cinestrings, and the Wallbank libraries are lovely, but large.

If anyone has suggestions for a small-ish studio orchestra that works well in pop and chamber music settings I am all ears. And I am in no hurry to purchase, if that makes a difference.

Back to Cinesamples...

I have their winds and brass, core and pro, and these make up the backbone of a lot of my projects. I like the sound, and I find them very easy to use. Cinestrings Core is in the same league, and I do use it with the others, but it always seems to be missing this feature or that. As if a Cinestrings Pro would complete the picture. Or maybe that is just in my mind?

Guys description of unexciting seems a tad harsh, but I get it. They are really solid, workhorse libraries and I've been using them long enough that I seem to know the pitfalls. Maybe that was the goal?

I have not, yet, picked up Cinestring Solo, or any of their percussion. For the later I have that well covered with a variety of other libraries, the Cineperc sounds great, I just don't need it. (the current surprise leaded in the perc category is Toontrack Orchestral Percussion - man it just works everywhere!)

And I've not been bowled over by the Cinestrings Solo - I have Cinematic Studio Strings Solo, the Embertone solo strings, and there are solo strings in Adagio. I think I have this covered until something remarkable comes along.

As always, I am open to opposing views, and suggestions for things I had not considered...