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Joined: Sep 2010
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MuseScore is a free to use music notation program. It comes with quite a number of free high-quality sounds, taken from their commercial StaffPad program: - Choir
- Strings
- Woodwinds
- Brass
- Percussion
- Keys
- Harp
- Guitars
In the latest release of MuseHub, there's now an option to create an account and purchase instruments. These instruments come from other commercial libraries (Orchestral Tools, Spitfirst Audio, Cinesamples). The instruments are much smaller than the full versions, with limited articulations, and only offer a single microphone position. And MuseScore is purely a notation program, so you won't be able to play any of these instruments live. On the plus side, they are much cheaper than the full versions and are integrated into the MuseScore notation. At the moment, many are on sale, up to 67% off. That makes most of them less than $10 each. I've heard a number of demos, and they sound pretty good. Orchestral Tools- Berlin Woodwinds
- First Chairs
- Berlin Strings
- Berlin Brass
- Berlin Soloists
- Berlin Percussion
- Berlin Pianos
- Berlin Harps
Spitfire Audio- Symphony Woodwinds
- Symphony Percussion
- Symphony Brass
- Symphony Strings
- Harpsichord
- Chamber Strings
- Union Chapel Organ
- Felt Piano
Cinesamples- CineWinds
- CineStrings Solo
- CineStrings
- CineBrass
- VOXOS Epic Choir
- Tina Gua Acoustic Cello
- Taylor Davis Violin
- CinePerc
- CinePiano
- CineHarps
So if you've ever thought I'd love to have some orchestral libraries so I could use them in a notation program, now's your chance. 
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Joined: Apr 2017
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Is that $10 each or are there bundles? If each, then Miroslav Philharmonik 2 at $199 is the better buy. If one owns any IK/SampleTank libraries, then the cost is lower from $99 – $199 for the Total Studio Crossgrades, all of which include Miroslav Philharmonik 2 and a whole lot more. The Alan Parsons Bösendorfer Imperial is also included in all of the bundles and is my wife's go-to VI.
BIAB 2025 Audiophile Mac
24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia/Tahoe, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer11, Logic, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro/Notion6/Overture5
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Posts: 8,189
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Is that $10 each or are there bundles? That would be roughly $10 for each, so "Symphony Woodwinds", "Symphony Strings" or "Berlin Woodwinds" would each be separate libraries. To make this clear, the MuseScore libraries only work with MuseScore. If you're not interested in using MuseScore, or are happy with the free MuseScore sounds, there's no reason to look at this. For a BiaB user, using MuseScore means using a different tool to notate, render, and integrate those sounds with BiaB tracks. That's already a fairly small subset of BiaB users. MuseScore already comes with MuseSounds, which will give you a full set of orchestral instruments - both full string sections and orchestral soloists, as well as guitars and other instruments. So none of these additional instruments are necessary to use MuseScore. The advantage of using MuseScore instruments with MuseScore is that they are tied to the program's notation, so they work automatically with pp, pizz, turns, and so on. Currently, commercial libraries can be used, but they are not yet integrated with the performance notation. So you can use Miroslav Philharmonic 2 in MuseScore, but you've have to jump through hoops to get the strings to change from legato to staccato. But rumor has it that support for popular commercial libraries will come eventually. All of the libraries I mentioned are available from the vendors are full, stand-alone libraries. For example, Spitfire sells their Chamber Strings library for $374. It consists of Violins 1, Violins 2, Violas, Celli, Basses and Ensembles and supports a wide variety of articulations. The MuseScore version of Spitfire Chamber Strings is derived from that library, but contains a cut-down version with only a single microphone position, and less depth of sampling. Again, it only works with the MuseScore library. What these libraries give you is the "sound" of these commercial libraries. If you love the sound of the Berlin orchestra instruments, the MuseScore version of the library gives you an affordable way to get a reduced version of that sound that's integrated into MuseScore's notation. I hope this clarified the initial post.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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