Albion One vs Metropolis Ark 1 - Sound and Feature Comparison
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ค. 2024
- A comparison video between Albion One from Spitfire Audio and Metropolis Ark 1 from Orchestral Tools. Sound and feature comparison between these two orchestral music sample libraries both made for Kontakt.
www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-...
www.orchestraltools.com/librar...
Official Links:
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Studio Set-Up:
Custom Built PC
i7 6900k, 64GB RAM
OS: Win 10 Pro
Interface: RME UFX+
DAW: Cubase 10 Pro
Monitors: Focal CMS65 - เพลง
Sound comparison from 4:08 onward.
Metropolis Ark is like Inception and Albion is like The Dark Knight
Exactly !!
Best comparison ever!!! ... Both libraries are great and if they were cars models, one is a Ferrari and the other one a Lamborghini!!! ... So, if you can afford to have both great if not, make sure you get one on sale since remember... There not a car!!!
@@LeonardoMoraOfficial deep
@@Fabi-es1xy Lol
Metropolis Ark 2 is sooooo similar to The Dark Night
Amazing comparison.... it is helping me to Decide on which one to go for on this Black Friday
Hi
I've been really struggling with which one to choose because I love both of these libraries. Now I know,so this video was very helpful for me,thank you and all the best.
Albion is the "one" for me :). I like softer music, more ambienty perhaps like Jeremy Soule's sound but capable of a sound like that of John Williams
Now I got the differences between two of them clearly. Thanks a lot : )
Thanks for doing this comparison, really helped being able to see them side by side!
Thanks Matthew! Glad it was helpful.
Thank you for the comparison, it really help me to hear the difference between the two!
Thanks Kirk, glad it was helpful!
I own both and your really have to work the Dynamics to get the most out of any of these sounds. I love both products and found it best to over use these and other libraries together to make your music sound organic.
This is what I needed. Thank You
Cheers!
If you have the CPU/RAM power, play both libraries at the same time and call it Metropolis Albion.
I do this quite a bit, close mics from Ark and room mics from Albion.
Albion Ark :o
thanks a lot for the comparison, i really like the sound of metropolis ark
EXTREMELY helpful video, thank you!
Thanks Tom!
Fuck man thank you so much for this comparsion !
Thank you very much for creating this.. I've been looking into both of them as options to first dip my feet into actually purchasing a library that would be a decent starting point. I'm thinking more towards Albion ONE now, due in part to the beautiful tutorials they have posted around on their TH-cam channel but also because of the beautiful natural reverb they have been recorded with verses the dry-er MArk1 (just so I don't have to hassle with realistic sounding-ish reverb programming) but they both sound beautiful.
Currently the only Orchestral options I have are EWQL's monthly model and the free Spitfire LABS and The Primary Color palette from Red Room Audio and both of these definitely sound and seem like an upgrade for me.
You're welcome! Glad you found it useful, I'd say for a first orchestral library Albion One is a solid choice, I find it more versatile due to the wider dynamic range.
Hope I am not too late. You should seriously consider getting Audio Imperia Nucleus. The price is brilliant for what you get. You should seriously consider Nucleus.
@@BirendraKumar-po7jv how
incredibly useful video man, thanks
Thanks, glad it was useful.
Albion one all day for me
wow thanks for the comparison
Thanks for watching!
Exactly what I need to make up my mind. awesome. Thx
Glad to hear it!
@@WilliamMorrisMusic went for Ark 1. Love the rawness of the low strings
I would use both, because it can be very useful for any great music positions.
I want aspects of both, but in one package. lol
And the same price as Albion. Genius !!
Metropolis Ark 5 is kinda close to that
I think Ark 1 wins BUT having both libraries I think they compliment each other pretty well!
I have Ark 1, I LOVE this library, it is magical!! I just don't like the high strings that much, other than that it's sweet!
Agreed!
Ark is loud and powerfull but albion is soft and cinematic
Love the review! I already have Albion One but I'm looking for that beefier brass sound and I think MA1 is it. Is there a best time to buy MA1 on a sale?
Thanks Jordan, OT don't have that many sales but I think they've started doing Black Friday, that's likely the best discount option. They usually do intro pricing as well, I think they had a sale on MA1 when they moved over to their own player.
Videos like these are in freaking valuable dude, thank you for taking the time to do this, incredible affort, I was immediately able to tell that I much prefer the sound of Metropolis Ark over Albion's, although it would have been cool to get some more basic and standard stuff with Metropolis as well, like normal pizzicato instead of octave, etc..
If you know the other Metropolis Ark or Albion libraries, do you have any recommendation for one that could complement Metropolis Ark 1 nicely in that it would deliver the things that it doesn't have, like more standard playstyles and lower dynamics?
Again, thank you very much for this. It's a pity you don't have more subs, definitely deserve them.
You're welcome, glad bit was useful.
You could check out Ark 2 as it covers the lower dynamics. Although it would be a pain if you wanted to write something really dynamic as you'd need to start a line with ark 2 and then use ark 1 for bigger sections. Albion is probably more versatile overall. Ark 4 might be a good middle ground but it really will depend on the music you want to write.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic Thank you very much for taking the time to reply to me, much appreciated! Yeah I can imagine it must be really tedious to constantly switch back and forth between libraries for big dynamic ranges. On the other hand, after watching your comparison, Metropolis Ark sounds so much better and more real to me personally, I can't imagine buying Albion after this. I'll have a look at Ark 4 then. Thank you again, and looking forward to more content from you.
@@exiledmonastic4650 thanks man, yeah I love the sound of Ark 1, if you want those all out fff dynamics nothing comes close that I've heard. You might want to also check out Jaeger, it's a dryer library like Ark.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic Hey man, sorry for my late response. Yeah I heard about Jaeger, but doesn't it lack Woodwinds? It kinda sucks that there are so few "all in one" solutions in an affordable price range with that kind of quality. Seems like you always gotta buy more than one library if you want high quality. (or a bundle of many high end libraries for several thousand dollars lol).
Anyway, just wanted to say it's seriously cool to see a channel like yours. To be able to listen to and talk with real score composers whose soundtracks end up in media I might end up consuming in my daily life. You should have a lot more subs. Thanks again for these videos and for your responses. Very helpful!
@@exiledmonastic4650 no worries man, yes you're right Jaeger doesn't include woodwinds. It's aimed at trailer and hybrid scoring where woodwinds don't see much use.
Most of the libraries around $500 tend to have a focus. If you want every orchestra section with full dynamics and articulations then it can get pricey.
If you like Orchestral Tools you could also check out their Inspire orchestra. Has all sections just limited articulations. Also ark 4.
If you're in this for the long haul though I'd recommend saving and going with something you're not going to outgrow within a year or two. Most libraries can't be resold so it's worth getting it right first time round.
The tremolos from Metropolis Ark sounded like something straight out of a horror movie xD
Yeah they're quite intense!
@@WilliamMorrisMusic Murder she wrote.
It was the orchestra that gave her the heart attack.😂
Need both
Both libraries are great and if they were cars models, one is a Ferrari and the other one a Lamborghini!!! ... So, if you can afford to have both great if not, make sure you get one on sale since remember... There not a car!!!
Metropolis sound good solo, but Spitfire Sound better in the total mix, Spitfire is my choice
thanks a lot, i have found your video very useful for me. cause when listening separetly i was sure metropolis is much more superior to albion and all other spitfires. but now i have to say that Albion is for sure to be used as a primal force: it is more definite, distinct and realistic esp in terms of dynamic. may be i would wish to use Metropolise in addition to Albion if i had to create a feeling of a real big powerfull orchestra but very carefully, with quite low volume...but i am not sure it is worthwile to have such a big and expensive library just for this purpose)
thanks! glad it was helpful. I think Albion One is definitely better if you want the full range of dynamics, Ark 1 is great but basically starts from mf. Ark 2 is their lower dynamic library.
Ark 1's choirs is EVERYTHING.
yup the choirs are a great addition.
Thanks for the comparison! They both sound great. Metropolis is generally more aggressive, it seems. And Albion is a bit less epic with maybe a little more emotion.
P.S
In my opinion, I still haven't heard a brass instrument that beats Musical Sampling Trailer brass in terms of power. What do you think of that library? Thanks!
You're welcome! I've not got MS trailer brass myself, but I've heard good things, especially from other trailer composers.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic Ah yeah, cool. It's my personal favorite library, despite the lack of legato
Dies Does anyone know if IT Sine player lets MA1 articulations be stacked and balance moved.between artics by a midi cc - which is the way to work them in the OT Capsule versions...?
Thanks
You're welcome!
I love that Orchestral Tools lets you buy single instruments from their collections now. What do you consider the best instruments in Ark 1? Thanks!
Ark 1 Low Strings and Choirs
The french horn marcatos are awesome and there is a blurred spicc string patch I use quite a lot. Overall the brass is a highligh of the library, also the choirs and most of the string patches.
That's how I'm buying it. Now on 7 of 18.
This is a great video to help people understand the differences between the libraries. Its so clear that Albion One is not well suited to contemporary Epic music, of course you can tweak it a little but no match for Ark. However Albion is an amazing library, the best Epic music has quiet and elegant parts not just full on BLAAAAA. Albion has such wonderful textures and sounds and its steam band library is a hidden gem. I think ARK is like a dragster car, just full on monstrous power, but it can only go straight. Where as Albion is more like a Ferrari it has elegance and beauty and can be driven on many driven roads. I would say if you are serious about music you need both types of Libraries, but if you write a 3 minute piece with full a non stop Sonic Thunderstorm from the first bar to the last bar its going to be hard to keep it interesting. Best example I can think of is Holst and Mars, notice how it builds with emotional music and the BAAAAAA. But it was the soft in contrast with the hard that made it so good. I love both libraries, if you wait to the special offers you can get both for around 300 euros each.
Well put, both libraries have their strengths and best use cases. They can also work well together with a bit of tweaking.
Most well rounded orchestra in your opinion for someone just beginning to purchase and use libraries? Or, perhaps top three that you would absolutely choose if you were building your library right now?
Three that come to mind for being reasonably versatile are Albion 1, Nucleus from Audio Imperia and the VSL big bang orchestra range. They're all in more of a starter price bracket and could be used in different styles and dynamic ranges.
In this price range you generally get ensemble style patches, so strings low, strings high etc. Some of the more expensive libraries have separate patches for instrument sections so violins, violas, celli etc.
I prefer metropolis because Albion is versatile and I don't like versatile libraries. I prefer having one extremely good at one thing but not suited for anything else. Ark 1 is litteraly a bomb when you want to make "in your face tracks". However you can't make it sound melancolic and slow. With Albion you're not the best in anything but you're really good at everything.
Just a question, does Metropolis Ark1 always play octaves for strings or can you switch to single notes? It is quite annoying when you play softer parts in a music.
Thanks for your answer in advance.
Nice video btw ;)
Most of the low strings are in octaves, the majority of the high strings patches have both octave and unison.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic Thank you very much!
Same question, but for Albion.
@@fromchomleystreet you can choose a different patch for Albion Low 8ves and just normal Basses/ Cellos. so there is some flexibility. But they tend to double most others which is annoying - But thats what you might have to invest in a solo patch library like Cinematic Studio Solo Strings (amazing)
Metropolis Ark's string sound is impressive though the issue I find is that it adds one octave difference to any single note being played, Albion One is a little softer but more accurate to pitch
Yeah some of the patches are in 2 octaves. Usually one above.
I own Albion One and they're 85% similar in the strings. Main key difference would be Metropolis Ark 1 Low Strings... they're brutal and have no comparison due to the more Basses vs Cello ratio.Also you can buy Ark 1 instruments separately thru Sine.
I do really like the buy seperately option.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic is there any like that you can buy separately?
@@EzY-Ed yes the whole of Ark can be bought as separate sections on their website. Think it might be for the Sine player though and not kontakt.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic well thanks but I have Kontact player. I’m also looking for a soft strings that I can play cords with piano. Any recommendations on which library I should be looking for
@@EzY-Ed Spitfire have a lot of choice for soft strings, con sordino, sul tasto style patches etc in their libraries. I'd check out albion Tundra or Neo.
Sounds like they're made for each other.
I do layer them sometimes and it works well.
The transitions between notes sounds much better on Metropolis ark! I own albion one but consider buying ARK because I need some more "bite" than what albion has.
I think you'll like Ark then, it has more bite in the strings and is less 'wet' than Albion which helps with that tone.
Listening to this as there is a sale at NI now going on for Ark 1 and 2 for 500$. Notice that on the sine page on OTs website it seem to have integratded legatos in all sections, both on Ark 1 and Ark 2. Cossgrade to sine might be interesting!
I think that's one of the biggest discounts I've seen for the Ark series. I'd try the Sine player out first with one of their free libraries and see how you get on. It wasn't stable for me so I've kept Ark in Kontakt.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic yes this is for kontakt om NI. Might be the last time they offer them on kontakt
@@WilliamMorrisMusic now Albion one is also on sale (again) for 40% off. Almost as if Spitfire is trying to match the Ark 1 offer :)
Well, Albion and Ark are both on sale at the moment. Ah, the sweet tyranny of choice xD
Thank you for the comparison - it's been very helpful.
I'm here exactly cuz of that. Which one did you go for?
Thanks!
how much was it on sale for? I'm waiting for Black Friday for another sale
@@cesmcmyth Hey Ces, I'm sorry for not replying earlier. After some deliberation I went for BBC SO Core edition for the intro price of £299. I like the 'classical music' sound and BBC SO Core delivers on this and offers more control over individual instruments parts. That said, being completely new to music composition, there has been a lot to learn and I suspect it takes me longer to compose than it would with Ark or Albion (that's not a criticism of the product - just my personal experience). Which one did you go for?
@@tdesercey Hi Tony, Albion was on sale for around £230 in the spring sale (I can't remember the price for Ark now). Let's hope the sales are good this year!
Boomp!!
People who own those expensive libraries are so lucky
Ikr. I really want to get one of these but I'm too broke
Is there no marcato in the Metropolis strings?
Yes there are, for some reason it's called portato in the video but if you check the MA1 articulation list it's marcato. There is a short and long version for both the high and low strings, they sound great.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic oh ok. Thanks dude
Spitfire audio have great discounts and sales all the time, I would definitely have bought metropolis ark 1 by now if they had an educational discount
OT have had a 60% sale on all the Arks this last week or two.
They also have a permanent 25% EDU discount.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic
1.What is OT
2. Is that sale over
3. Do they do sales often
4. how do I apply for an EDU discount
@@MiloMcCarthyMusic 1. OT is Orchestral Tools, they make Ark.
2. Yes, just. Might be worth emailing them though.
3. Couple a year usually
4. Just email them, all the info is on their website.
still it is kinda stupid that they don't take part of Black Friday / Cyber Monday. It is that period of time when people look to spend their money. Also Orchestral Tool future libraries will not be Kontakt compatible so keep that in mind. They want to launch their own launcher which means a couple of months up to 1 year of unstable piece of software
Thanks for the video Milo!
Super helpful, proud owner of Albion One. But man do I enjoy the aggressiveness of Ark.
Will have to add to my collection one day.
One thing that would have been great to see was more variety in what you played on the keyboard for each set of patches, I feel like we didn't get a full feel of the potential for each one.
I know that going through everything would have been monumental and editing would have taken ages so good job and thank you!
Albion One Is The Best All In One Library For Film Scoring
Why dont you try the new Spitfire Colossus against ARK! That would be great to see..
That'd be an interesting shootout. I'm not sure I'll buy Colossus though.
So is there no way with either to play a string line that isn’t in octaves?
There are non octave patches as well, you can find full patch lists on their respective websites.
You can just load both in kontakt so it does both at the same time
Albion is better for me. More details may be. But Metropolis Ark is more agressive, better attack and choirs are amazing
Definitely agree Ark goes more agressive and the choirs are a great addition.
I think Audio Imperia Nucleus trumps both of these. Also, MA 1 excels at doing the heavy epic stuff, whereas Albion is targeted towards more softer scores. Nucleus has everything, including solo instruments that sound great. Audio Imperia Nucleus is the next big all-in-one library...
Why don't you make one comparison for MAJESTICA vs METROPOLIS Ark 1...
I am so confused on the price point
I'm afraid I don't own Majestica to do the comparison.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic oops... I wish you had.. could have got some guidance from ....
But Amongst these 2 what do you suggest... Albion is way more cheaper that METROPOLIS ARK
Not really fair, The Metropolis instruments are played in a very closer situation when Albion's instruments are played in a mixed mics position (close/far) wich gives obviously a big bite and accuracy to Metropolis.
They are both mixed mics, by default MA has the tree mics loaded so it's not just a close mic. I'm comparing the out of the box sound. As I point out both libraries have further mic options. Albion is a wetter library though even with just the close mics, it's much more of a hall sound.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic ok, my bad !
Albion sounded more natural...
I have both. Have never ended-up using Albion in any project - really not sure why its marketed as being "Epic" - which it clearly isn't....
They cannot really be compared. Metropolis is the angry version of Albion 😂
😄😄
Metropolis Arc one is the best for Powerful Epic orchestral music ! Agressive and very laud
Yes, if you like created in hell and injected with demon venom.
How did you save space metropolis ark 1 is 69 gb, and actually I try to install program but didn't work even I downloaded long time
Sorry I'm not sure I understand, I've listed MA as 70GB, (its actually 69.7GB for me on disk). You'll probably need more space than that when installing maybe as it unpacks from the zip folder?
I'd get in touch with Orchestral Tools, they should be able to help you out.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic can i also install using another harddrive?
@@testimonies-stories6027 as long as you tell kontakt where to find it then I think it should be fine.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic okay i save to my hard drive, i will install it later, anyways i got another french horn libraries that is why i need it i love french horns
@@testimonies-stories6027 french horns are pretty awesome.
What are the choirs saying? Is it Italian? Latin? Why would you want random lyrics in your score? Surely it would be better if they were just vowels.
I believe its latin.
The best thing I used for orchestral music was symphobia 2 !!! I was a very young lad back then ...
Hey, thanks for the video. It helped me out a lot 6 months ago. Here is some updates for Albion
~47233 SAMPLES
87.4 GB UNCOMPRESSED .WAV
55.7 GB DOWNLOAD SIZEToo large to download? Choose hard drive delivery at checkout.
111.40 GB DISK SPACE REQUIRED DURING INSTALL
Thanks!
My only problem with the Albion libraries is the articulations. You basically hae to memorize which symbols do what, which can detract you from composing, as you have to initailly stumble through each until you discover which articulation you're seeking. Though I haven't tried Metropolis Ark yet, it looks promising and more user friendly than Albion, especially Ark I and Ark II.
My current workflow is to use the individual patches and label them all up in my template. That way you can avoid keyswitching all the time and loading in the big multi patches.
I never thought of that. I was initially working with the ensembles, and found it tedious and disruptive to my creative workflow. I use a template in Studio One for Rock production, as each instrument has several plugins on them, and each has its own levels and buses. It really saves an incredible amount of time when starting a new project.
Hello,
I have a big problem with the expressions map and articulations with orchestral tools ark 1, I search the internet on orchestration forums, can not find an answer, I explain, I want to use via kontakt "Strings Finckenstein High" and all these articulations, so I load each articulations in kontakt, "High Bartok strings Pizzicato Col Legno, Glissandi cluster, glissandi up, etc." I load in expression map the preset "String Finckenstein High" that I found on the forum (VI-control), we can see articulations in the midi editor on cubase that appear, but at the data level via the "expression map configuration" I do not understand how to connect the articulations of the instrument to midi information. In the "expression map configuration" what to put in "output settings"? I have tried a multitude of options, nothing is consistent and my joints either do not work, or it is not the right one that is triggered,
can someone help me? Thank you
Hi there, personally I don't use expression maps, just the single articulation patches. I'm sure Orchestral Tools could probably help you out though if you send them a message.
@@WilliamMorrisMusic ok, thank you for answering me
Obviously, Metropolis wins.
This video illustrates my gripes with Albion One perfectly. It's incredible how much better Metropolis Ark sounds. They kept the recordings somewhat raw, you can still hear the wood of the strings, etc. It's a massive ensemble, but it's pretty natural, real orchestral sounds. It just has so much life and power. Albion sounds extremely synthy in comparison. Everything seems overly tightened up and run through a bunch of filters until no power and bite is left. Which is so disappointing to me because the original Albion, which they discontinued, sounded nothing like that.
For me i still prefer Albion, both sound great imo
Its likely to come down to personal preference, I still use both but for different things and sometimes layered together. I'd agree that I actually prefer the sound of the some of the legacy albion patches but they are included in the Albion One if you prefer them. Albion is also a much wetter library compared to Ark and I know a lot of people prefer a drier library as it retains more of the detail and bite and can sound less 'synthy'.
None of that is true. I am 100% certain you don’t own Albion one. Also the original Albion is not discontinued, you get it when you buy Albion one and it is AWFUL
@@MiloMcCarthyMusic I have them both and obviously you're the clueless one.
The Spitfire interface is very small
Albion One is way more musical and emotive. Metropolis is a bull in a china shop.
T.T why am i not satisfyed T,T
You say Portarto…
I still think Albion one is better , more natural and pure
Вот я думаю Арк победил а вы как думаете))????
😘😀💖
I think it just depends on what you want to use them for. Ark wins for aggressive epic stuff but Albion wins for lower dynamics and sweeping orchestral work.
8:09 that sounds like col legno to me
It's called Bartok pizzicato, but yes it does sound a little like col legno.
Metropolis Ark 1 is more expensive so its obviously better. Duh.
Albion sounds more realistic & naturally orchestral.......Metropolis Ark sounds more cinematic.....if that makes sense.......would probably compliment each other if you write both melodic & also Epic/Trailer like music.
I think they compliment each other well, Albion has more dynamic range and Ark can be used to add more drive and power when needed.
MA 1 is a lot brighter, AO is good for depressing tunes
Lul
Fuck albion is 499$ how can i buy to 399??
Spitfire have lots of sales throughout the year, up to 40% off.
Spitfire should definitely FIRE DEVELOPER who created Kontakt interface. Super tiny small, impossible to read. Waste of money.
This is not Spitfire's fault. The truth is that Kontakt doesn't support high resolution.
Berlin better by far
i don't understand the point of that guitar, it isn't even di sampled and recording with just a mic is just no.. plus the sample range for the other artics are pathetic compared to any decent guitar lib.
imo they should just get rid of the guitar and bass and make the thing cheaper for everyone
ALBION has terrible interface. Just bought it and I hate the small fonts etc.
I wonder if METROPOLIS interface is also so small creapy ?
The terrible interface is due to Kontakt's bad gui design, not because of ALBION.
I'm listening on 650$ headphones and I can assure you Albion sank. Metro wins hardcore.
I think you need new headphones
A $650 headphone is barely professional in monitoring, maybe when you have $10,000 studio monitors you would be a bit more convincing, you try too hard and not hard enough.
I have much cheaper headphones and Albion also sank for me.
this shows how weak spitfire is LMAO
Hater
Spitfire should definitely FIRE DEVELOPER who created Kontakt interface. Super tiny small, impossible to read. Waste of money.
I find the ostinatum tool too small but don't really have an issue with the rest. The UI matches a lot of their other libraries. I don't know how it could be a waste of money though, the interface is available to see before you buy.