simple, cheap VST synth?

I'm dabbling with Sibelius and it comes with Kontakt Player, a VST synth
plug-in. The standard sample library is vanishingly small.

Yes, I can go out and buy a $400 library and have gigabytes of astounding
samples, but it simply isn't worth it. I just want to monitor my
compositions without grimacing at the cellos.

Are there inexpensive/free libraries for Kontakt with decent samples? Or
perhaps an open source VST player with good libraries?

Or is this a you-get-what-you-pay-for scenario?

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:27:16 GMT, Carey Carlan <gulfjoe@hotmail . com >
wrote:

>I'm dabbling with Sibelius and it comes with Kontakt Player, a VST synth
>plug-in. The standard sample library is vanishingly small.

That's a bit unfair to Sibelius Essentials. It doesn't have the depth
of a specialised orchestral, rock, band etc.library, but there's
enough in its 150 pitched instruments plus percussion sounds to give
perfectly recognisible playback of all but the biggest scores. And
don't forget Sibelius is primarily a composition and score-publishing
tool, not a fully-featured performance sequencer. Unless you're
firmly notation-based you're better of working in Cubase, Sonar etc.

The advantages of using Kontakt player and its specialised sound sets
is the way they translate test and graphic instructions - rit., accel,
hairpins, accents etc. - into sound. But if you're NOT
notation-based, you get much more control in a sequencer.

I know of no free sound sets for KP2 in Sibelius. Sibelius will,
however, address any other device, internal or external, capable of
receiving MIDI messages.

Laurence Payne <lp@laurencepayne.co.uk> wrote in
news:30mb14p26demests5o3pjo5n0ol43311kc@4ax . com :

> On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:27:16 GMT, Carey Carlan <gulfjoe@hotmail . com >
> wrote:
>
>>I'm dabbling with Sibelius and it comes with Kontakt Player, a VST synth
>>plug-in. The standard sample library is vanishingly small.
>
> That's a bit unfair to Sibelius Essentials. It doesn't have the depth
> of a specialised orchestral, rock, band etc.library, but there's
> enough in its 150 pitched instruments plus percussion sounds to give
> perfectly recognisible playback of all but the biggest scores. And
> don't forget Sibelius is primarily a composition and score-publishing
> tool, not a fully-featured performance sequencer. Unless you're
> firmly notation-based you're better of working in Cubase, Sonar etc.
>
> The advantages of using Kontakt player and its specialised sound sets
> is the way they translate test and graphic instructions - rit., accel,
> hairpins, accents etc. - into sound. But if you're NOT
> notation-based, you get much more control in a sequencer.
>
> I know of no free sound sets for KP2 in Sibelius. Sibelius will,
> however, address any other device, internal or external, capable of
> receiving MIDI messages.

Thanks for your input. This is absolutely notation based. I'm writing
arrangements for a local string ensemble. The playback is to assure me
that what I wrote is what I intended to write. I also let the musicians
hear it to give them an idea of what the arrangement sounds like.

It is better than the Windows synth, but I want more.

Carey Carlan wrote:
> Laurence Payne <lp@laurencepayne.co.uk> wrote in
> news:30mb14p26demests5o3pjo5n0ol43311kc@4ax . com :
>
>> On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:27:16 GMT, Carey Carlan <gulfjoe@hotmail . com >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I'm dabbling with Sibelius and it comes with Kontakt Player, a VST synth
>>> plug-in. The standard sample library is vanishingly small.
>> That's a bit unfair to Sibelius Essentials. It doesn't have the depth
>> of a specialised orchestral, rock, band etc.library, but there's
>> enough in its 150 pitched instruments plus percussion sounds to give
>> perfectly recognisible playback of all but the biggest scores. And
>> don't forget Sibelius is primarily a composition and score-publishing
>> tool, not a fully-featured performance sequencer. Unless you're
>> firmly notation-based you're better of working in Cubase, Sonar etc.
>>
>> The advantages of using Kontakt player and its specialised sound sets
>> is the way they translate test and graphic instructions - rit., accel,
>> hairpins, accents etc. - into sound. But if you're NOT
>> notation-based, you get much more control in a sequencer.
>>
>> I know of no free sound sets for KP2 in Sibelius. Sibelius will,
>> however, address any other device, internal or external, capable of
>> receiving MIDI messages.
>
> Thanks for your input. This is absolutely notation based. I'm writing
> arrangements for a local string ensemble. The playback is to assure me
> that what I wrote is what I intended to write. I also let the musicians
> hear it to give them an idea of what the arrangement sounds like.
>
> It is better than the Windows synth, but I want more.


I never know what people have looked at or not. This came up when you
were active on alt.music.4-track, eons ago. I am not sure you
were looking at stuff like this then. The technology is mroe
of that era.

You can always get the free version of sfz and go to SF2MIDI . com to
review the freebie Soundfonts there. Some are not too bad. There are a
great number of them available.

I still tend to use (Alesis) ROMpler string patches (but only rarely),
so we're not talking microbrewery levels of quality, only Budweiser
levels. Or maybe PBR... I may have missed a gem or two.

I do have a couple of piano patches from there that are keepers. One
is called Steinway_Model_C.sf2, and a nice cheezy one simply
called "Stereo Piano" that cuts thru dense mixes well.

--
Les Cargill

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:27:38 GMT, Carey Carlan <gulfjoe@hotmail . com >
wrote:

>> I know of no free sound sets for KP2 in Sibelius. Sibelius will,
>> however, address any other device, internal or external, capable of
>> receiving MIDI messages.
>
>Thanks for your input. This is absolutely notation based. I'm writing
>arrangements for a local string ensemble. The playback is to assure me
>that what I wrote is what I intended to write. I also let the musicians
>hear it to give them an idea of what the arrangement sounds like.
>
>It is better than the Windows synth, but I want more.

You'll find it very easy to get playback sufficient for aural
proof-reading of your score. If you want to chase realistic playback
of all the nuances and playing techniques a string quartet is capable
of, you're on an endless (and expensive) quest :-)

The sounds of Sibelius Essentials are a sampler of the other libraries
available. Many of the string sounds come from GPO (Garritan Personal
Orchestra). You may like to investigate this.
* w w w .sibelius . com /products/sibelius_sounds/personal_orchestra.html