It's worth mentioning that you can export the MIDI from Orchestrator and edit it in Cubase or Studio One (Logic doesn't make it as easy, sadly). This way, Orchestrator plays the role I think it's best suited to: getting you started with ideas you can run with on your own. The other thing I like about Orchestrator is how it teaches, well, orchestration to composers who may not have much experience writing for strings, brass, and winds. Thanks for another helpful video, Mike!
I hope you are right because I will need all the help I can get. I have just bought their monthly plan and so far I am blown away by the pure quality of the sounds. And the software itself is amazing. I think also that you will benifit with a well spec'd pc and good internet and all will be well!! Great stuff!! I will now have to watch all these videos. Subscribed!!
Thanks for taking the time to do this video. I have subscribed today and my PC is downloading the libraries right now. I'm looking forward to using them. 😀
It’s worth noting that when you’re browsing with opus that you don’t have the remember all the abbreviations in the instrument list. When you click on one there is a comprehensive explanation above in the banner.
Opus is soooo much easier to use than Play for the orchestral libraries. You can find what you're looking for quite fast and get right to composing and arranging. My only issue is that it partially locks up in Cakewalk quite regularly and I have to shut down Cakewalk in Task Manager and restart to get it working properly again.
Great video and your character is great to listen to. If you need it, buy it. If you can’t quite afford it, wait for a promotional period. Subscriptions are not a good idea, even with this superb range. Orchestrator is fabulous ❤
Yet another great video! I’ve been on the fence as to whether or not to add EW to my toolbox, but I believe you’ve pushed me off to the ‘yes’ side. I may even redo some of my pieces using the Opus or Symphonic libraries. As to the Orchestrator, I agree that it would be very useful to help with finding some inspiration, from which I can then do my own thing. Thanks again for your work, and especially for introducing me to the EW libraries.
I'm a bit of both on subscription and buying outright. My main reason why I would want to buy outright is sometimes I'm living in areas where the wifi service isn't the best or there just isn't any so if I'm not connected to wifi there's a good chance any subscription based stuff I have wouldn't work anymore. The value of the composer cloud is fantastic and I would give it a go but I would just prefer to buy the product and activate it on my machine and leave it at that. Again I'm fine with both options. I just see them each for different purposes. Enjoyed the video man! Honestly forgot this thing even came out.
I've been working with the Composer Cloud for years and Opus is a great gift for me ! It is my main library since it contains .... everything ! Great review. Cheers.
12:46 - the solo violin is rough. On the other hand, I really like all the improvements with the player. I should add that, in my opinion, the solo violin is the hardest to sample well. Few get it good enough, if it ever has been. At 24:05: "Personally, I like to write all of my parts myself." Good to hear. That's what writing entails. If one wants to copy and paste, the orchestrator is for you.
Eastwest is great but beware once purchased items can’t be sold and licenses are non transferable it’s not an Ilok thing it’s their thing.You will be stuck with whatever you buy from them even if you don’t like it.
Currently, the only way to obtain EastWest Opus is to purchase the Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition, that is direct from EastWest. At some point in the future owners of the older libraries may be able to download and use the Opus player. Although I had numerous EW libraries, including Hollywood Orchestra Gold Edition, I did purchase the Opus Edition to be able to use it immediately. At least that was the plan. Although installed on my system several weeks ago I still haven't been able to use it. When it was downloaded and installed the new libraries got mixed up with the old libraries (not my doing, that happened during the install) in a way that meant only some instruments could be loaded in, e.g., Orchestrator. An EW support person used TeamViewer to correct the problem. it appeared, but when I tried to again use Orchestrator it was completely non-functional, no instruments at all would load and no error messages. I'm still waiting for EW support to get back to me to try to fix the problem.
Hi Mike. I have been using East West Hollywood Backup Singers for almost a year now and the software is fantastic. If their other software is of the same caliber then it is well worth the money.
Great video, and very high production quality - you deserve a lot more views and subscribers! :) One minor niggle is that your streaming had some hickups with the mic when loading instruments - looks like your cpu maxed out for a bit. Might want to find a workaround for that. I also have a question regarding subscription vs owning. The Diamond edition is on sale a couple of days longer for 595. To get the equivalent, you have to pay 30/month or 300/year, so if the goal is to spread out the cost, it will be a bit under 2 years of subscription before it makes sense to buy instead (disregarding all the other stuff in the subscription of course - but for me, I'm mainly orchestral/synth/choir and I have most of that covered in spades already). However, at 20/month for the Cloud X subscription, it leans more in favor of the subscription, however... you get 2 mic positions instead of something like 5+. How is your experience with only 2 mics vs the flexibility of 5+?
Did you have the previous string , orchestra library with play, wondering if there is a sound improvement , it sounds the same I think, but interface looks so much better, highly functional,
Hi Mike great as per usual. Now what I would like to see you do is try and produce a little something in cakewalk..... Ive had it for about a month now and for the first week I saw my cw daw disintigrate in front of my eyeslll LOL. And the instruments sound great in the player but the mastering in the player does not transfer to the daw.... but that could be me,probably is have a good one mate. gratefull for all you do.
Will look into this. It IS a heavy plugin. My PC has been a bit slow in general the past couple of weeks, so I wasn't sure if its this or not. Either way, it's a good candidate for freezing tracks!
Great presentation of the Opus Edition Mike,I got hold of it a few weeks ago and I am truly impressed with the new Opus engine. As for the Orchestrator program I am amazed at what it can do. I understand your tacit misgivings about it at times feeling like cheating in a way. But that said there are so many software programs out there that one could argue is doing the same thing and have been for years. The question I had to answer was did it add to my own creativity ? The answer was a resounding yes. Like you my musical roots are not in Classical but in my case jazz. This for me is a great tool to expand my knowledge of classical construction techniques especially with understanding what parts should be played by certain instruments. As good as this might be I still believe that tools like this still need to be in the hands of a decent and creative musician to get the best out of it. which makes me think the "Cheat value" of this program ultimately will only get you so far. Really enjoyed this vid looking forward to the next one.
WONDERFUL work! Engaging presentation, informative and valuable observations! I found myself with the same train of thought as yourself on so many occasions .... hoping not to sound pompous .... this also makes your appraisal so much more credible and trustworthy for me! Thank you! Dr Simon Fricker :)
Another good video and I like the cheating bits and feel like they could make up for my lack of ability. I've only used light strings etc in pop/rock stuff I do and don't really know what I'm doing 😂. On a side note the audio appeared to be breaking up a few times in this video and I skipped back to check it wasn't just a blip on my end.
Hey Rob, you are most likely right. I did a studio refit this week, and had to make do with inferior cables. I noticed it on the instrument track in my video editor... a bit noisy :(
Yes, I use it with CW. It installs as a virtual synth and you can pull up the browser and mixer within CW, assign multiple instruments to a single track or multiple tracks and channels. You can also assign automation to some parameters.
Orchestrator need not be thought of as controversial. To my mind, it is a tool that could allow even low-budget contracts to result in big-budget sound. The composer can use an ensemble track and a score track and produce something that sounds like a large number of tracks were used. I wanted a big-sounding title theme for a game I was monkeying around with, so I used orchestrator to produce this: th-cam.com/video/TefGe5X4inI/w-d-xo.html Using orchestrator could allow newer composers to get more paid projects, as a lower price could be charged and thus fitting into more people's budget. Big budget contracts could still use full template composition with much more unique results.
Mike, the panning of the orchestra hears reversed (french horns heard from right, tuba and basses from left) and doesn't seem to correspond with the close mic panning. Did you happen to accidentally reverse the stereo channels during the recording of this video? :-)
It's worth mentioning that you can export the MIDI from Orchestrator and edit it in Cubase or Studio One (Logic doesn't make it as easy, sadly). This way, Orchestrator plays the role I think it's best suited to: getting you started with ideas you can run with on your own. The other thing I like about Orchestrator is how it teaches, well, orchestration to composers who may not have much experience writing for strings, brass, and winds. Thanks for another helpful video, Mike!
I hope you are right because I will need all the help I can get. I have just bought their monthly plan and so far I am blown away by the pure quality of the sounds. And the software itself is amazing. I think also that you will benifit with a well spec'd pc and good internet and all will be well!! Great stuff!! I will now have to watch all these videos. Subscribed!!
how well does it run in protools ????
Just installed this and am in LOVE with OPUS!! Its a stunning program and thank you for your video, Mike!
Thanks for taking the time to do this video. I have subscribed today and my PC is downloading the libraries right now. I'm looking forward to using them. 😀
Just bought their yearly plan. Amazing software, amazing sounds and incredibly low cpu usage. Highly recommended
so they fixed the ram issues??? oh well it's in reality just a juce skin. a well made juce skin but a juce skin none the less
Hollywood Opus is my favorite orchestral library. Extremely useful.
Just bought this, waiting on the HD arriving, well excited.
It’s worth noting that when you’re browsing with opus that you don’t have the remember all the abbreviations in the instrument list. When you click on one there is a comprehensive explanation above in the banner.
Opus is soooo much easier to use than Play for the orchestral libraries. You can find what you're looking for quite fast and get right to composing and arranging. My only issue is that it partially locks up in Cakewalk quite regularly and I have to shut down Cakewalk in Task Manager and restart to get it working properly again.
Ahhh yesss finally you review East West stuff .. Thanks Mike!
My pleasure Jack :)
Thank you for reviewing this I recently got it and I love it!
Awesome!
Yet another great video. Thanks Mike! In particular, the section explaining subscription to the cloud-based instruments. P.S. Happy 80K !!!
Great video and your character is great to listen to. If you need it, buy it. If you can’t quite afford it, wait for a promotional period. Subscriptions are not a good idea, even with this superb range. Orchestrator is fabulous ❤
As usualy your videos are informative and fun. Thank you for all your videos, they are very appreciated.
Yet another great video! I’ve been on the fence as to whether or not to add EW to my toolbox, but I believe you’ve pushed me off to the ‘yes’ side. I may even redo some of my pieces using the Opus or Symphonic libraries. As to the Orchestrator, I agree that it would be very useful to help with finding some inspiration, from which I can then do my own thing. Thanks again for your work, and especially for introducing me to the EW libraries.
I'm a bit of both on subscription and buying outright. My main reason why I would want to buy outright is sometimes I'm living in areas where the wifi service isn't the best or there just isn't any so if I'm not connected to wifi there's a good chance any subscription based stuff I have wouldn't work anymore. The value of the composer cloud is fantastic and I would give it a go but I would just prefer to buy the product and activate it on my machine and leave it at that. Again I'm fine with both options. I just see them each for different purposes.
Enjoyed the video man! Honestly forgot this thing even came out.
I've been working with the Composer Cloud for years and Opus is a great gift for me ! It is my main library since it contains .... everything ! Great review. Cheers.
hi , frensh ?
@@tanglung4379 Yes
Great video Mike. Certainly given me food for thought and I love your piece at the beginning.
Thank you. I bought Opus Diamond. Absolutely fantastic.👍🏻👍🏻
12:46 - the solo violin is rough. On the other hand, I really like all the improvements with the player. I should add that, in my opinion, the solo violin is the hardest to sample well. Few get it good enough, if it ever has been. At 24:05: "Personally, I like to write all of my parts myself." Good to hear. That's what writing entails. If one wants to copy and paste, the orchestrator is for you.
Eastwest is great but beware once purchased items can’t be sold and licenses are non transferable it’s not an Ilok thing it’s their thing.You will be stuck with whatever you buy from them even if you don’t like it.
Great review and great advice Mike. thanks a million
My pleasure, thank you!
Currently, the only way to obtain EastWest Opus is to purchase the Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition, that is direct from EastWest. At some point in the future owners of the older libraries may be able to download and use the Opus player. Although I had numerous EW libraries, including Hollywood Orchestra Gold Edition, I did purchase the Opus Edition to be able to use it immediately. At least that was the plan. Although installed on my system several weeks ago I still haven't been able to use it. When it was downloaded and installed the new libraries got mixed up with the old libraries (not my doing, that happened during the install) in a way that meant only some instruments could be loaded in, e.g., Orchestrator. An EW support person used TeamViewer to correct the problem. it appeared, but when I tried to again use Orchestrator it was completely non-functional, no instruments at all would load and no error messages. I'm still waiting for EW support to get back to me to try to fix the problem.
Did they ever fix it?
Ahh..those woodwinds. Was hoping you would do a dash of Peter and the Wolf.
Hey Mike........how much hard drive space does one need for the subscription? Thanks
Hi Mike. I have been using East West Hollywood Backup Singers for almost a year now and the software is fantastic. If their other software is of the same caliber then it is well worth the money.
Great video, and very high production quality - you deserve a lot more views and subscribers! :) One minor niggle is that your streaming had some hickups with the mic when loading instruments - looks like your cpu maxed out for a bit. Might want to find a workaround for that. I also have a question regarding subscription vs owning. The Diamond edition is on sale a couple of days longer for 595. To get the equivalent, you have to pay 30/month or 300/year, so if the goal is to spread out the cost, it will be a bit under 2 years of subscription before it makes sense to buy instead (disregarding all the other stuff in the subscription of course - but for me, I'm mainly orchestral/synth/choir and I have most of that covered in spades already). However, at 20/month for the Cloud X subscription, it leans more in favor of the subscription, however... you get 2 mic positions instead of something like 5+. How is your experience with only 2 mics vs the flexibility of 5+?
Great review! Thank you!
My pleasure Michael :)
Thank you Great review
Great as always!! ... .and at 80K!!
Does anyone have any trouble getting their keyboard to work and/or have a solution?
So, after buying the defaul Opus, do we need to buy an extra package for the basic violins but with content?
Thanks! Very good!
Did you have the previous string , orchestra library with play, wondering if there is a sound improvement , it sounds the same I think, but interface looks so much better, highly functional,
Hi Mike great as per usual. Now what I would like to see you do is try and produce a little something in cakewalk..... Ive had it for about a month now and for the first week I saw my cw daw disintigrate in front of my eyeslll LOL. And the instruments sound great in the player but the mastering in the player does not transfer to the daw.... but that could be me,probably is have a good one mate. gratefull for all you do.
Will look into this. It IS a heavy plugin. My PC has been a bit slow in general the past couple of weeks, so I wasn't sure if its this or not.
Either way, it's a good candidate for freezing tracks!
Any advice on computer system requirements to run this stuff. Maybe not full blown orchestras but 3 or 4 instruments per track. Cheers
Also when exploring the sounds, you need to try the mod wheel in order to see everything that library item has up its sleeve.
Great presentation of the Opus Edition Mike,I got hold of it a few weeks ago and I am truly impressed with the new Opus engine. As for the Orchestrator program I am amazed at what it can do. I understand your tacit misgivings about it at times feeling like cheating in a way. But that said there are so many software programs out there that one could argue is doing the same thing and have been for years. The question I had to answer was did it add to my own creativity ? The answer was a resounding yes.
Like you my musical roots are not in Classical but in my case jazz. This for me is a great tool to expand my knowledge of classical construction techniques especially with understanding what parts should be played by certain instruments. As good as this might be I still believe that tools like this still need to be in the hands of a decent and creative musician to get the best out of it. which makes me think the "Cheat value" of this program ultimately will only get you so far. Really enjoyed this vid looking forward to the next one.
Excellent and well expressed points, thank you Ricky :)
WONDERFUL work! Engaging presentation, informative and valuable observations! I found myself with the same train of thought as yourself on so many occasions .... hoping not to sound pompous .... this also makes your appraisal so much more credible and trustworthy for me! Thank you! Dr Simon Fricker :)
thank you!
is it work whith own player or need kontakt ?
HI! Is this sensitive to keyboard velocity?! thx
hi but this is Diamond edition?
Opus needs a user presets pool for free share..Or midi import to orchestration skill..
Another good video and I like the cheating bits and feel like they could make up for my lack of ability. I've only used light strings etc in pop/rock stuff I do and don't really know what I'm doing 😂. On a side note the audio appeared to be breaking up a few times in this video and I skipped back to check it wasn't just a blip on my end.
Hey Rob, you are most likely right. I did a studio refit this week, and had to make do with inferior cables. I noticed it on the instrument track in my video editor... a bit noisy :(
Is this can be use in Cakewalk? I didn't see any demo using Cakewalk with this.
Yes, I use it with CW. It installs as a virtual synth and you can pull up the browser and mixer within CW, assign multiple instruments to a single track or multiple tracks and channels. You can also assign automation to some parameters.
Orchestrator need not be thought of as controversial. To my mind, it is a tool that could allow even low-budget contracts to result in big-budget sound. The composer can use an ensemble track and a score track and produce something that sounds like a large number of tracks were used.
I wanted a big-sounding title theme for a game I was monkeying around with, so I used orchestrator to produce this:
th-cam.com/video/TefGe5X4inI/w-d-xo.html
Using orchestrator could allow newer composers to get more paid projects, as a lower price could be charged and thus fitting into more people's budget. Big budget contracts could still use full template composition with much more unique results.
Mike, the panning of the orchestra hears reversed (french horns heard from right, tuba and basses from left) and doesn't seem to correspond with the close mic panning. Did you happen to accidentally reverse the stereo channels during the recording of this video? :-)
Incredible value for the cost. The samples aren't quite as good as like VSL libraries, but for $180/year right now...honestly it's pretty good.
good dem thanks
the Phantom of the opera famous break came into the chat...
Its just woow
$295 upgrade!
hi hello
Hello ^^
I'm a simple girl. I see Mike upload and hit the dislike button twice 😉
Simple is good :)
the strings sound quite bad ngl....
Hit the dislike button twice!!
:)