Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 3,461
J
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
J
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 3,461
right now i am reviewing paid and free 64 bit vsti orch libs re running on lower end pc's and also test them in detail.

frankly im haveing probs. many libs are very big and take a long time to
dload. yes they are great...but...

anyone know of 64 bit vsti orch libs under 350 mb d!oad and dont use lots
of pc resources ?? it strikes me such are needed for lower end pc's.

thanks.
happinesx

om. 🇨🇦🇨🇦. 🇬🇧🇬🇧


my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb)
(lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,229
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,229
https://www.spitfireaudio.com/bbc-symphony-orchestra-discover#overview

PC system requirements
Windows 10 or Windows 11 - (Latest Service Pack, 64-bit)
Minimum: Intel 2.8 GHz i5 (quad-core) or AMD Ryzen 5, 8GB RAM
Recommended: Intel Core i7 6th gen and later or AMD Ryzen 7, 16GB RAM
32-bit systems are not supported.
File size: 360 MB disk space required during install
and it is free!


BIAB – 2025, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, 1TB WD Black NVMe SSD, 2TB WDC Blue SSD, 1TB WD Blue, 2 TB SK NVMe, 6 TB External, Motu Audio Express 6x6

Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 23,191
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 23,191
Orchestra soundfonts are available also. You might want to find a soundfont player that will have all 16 MIDI channels available simultaneously as that will also save your resources. That would replace having to load a single channel soundfont player many times.

https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/482

https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1200140


Whenever I get something stuck in the back of my throat, I dislodge it by drinking a beer.
It's called the Heineken Maneuver.

64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,791
Expert
Offline
Expert
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,791
Originally Posted by MarioD
Orchestra soundfonts are available also. You might want to find a soundfont player that will have all 16 MIDI channels available simultaneously as that will also save your resources. That would replace having to load a single channel soundfont player many times.

The ARIA Player from MakeMusic/Garritan is fully compatible with BIAB (Garritan libraries are sFz) and 16 channel. Though bundled with Finale and Garritan libraries, it's available for free at this link. There are PG Music support docs on using it with BIAB.
Aria Player Installers for Mac & Win

IK Multimedia's Total Studio 4 bundles are the biggest bang for the buck. For orchestral sounds, you want Miroslav 2, included with both Pro—230GB and Max—670GB but storage is cheap. SampleTank 4 is the player — it's always free.
IK Total Studio comparison chart.


BIAB 2024 Audiophile Mac
24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer11, LogicPro, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro64/Notion6 /Overture5
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 3,461
J
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
J
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 3,461
Mario/DrDan/Mike.

thanks for the suggestions.
fyi heres the scenario.

ive got this extremely challenging 5/4 140 bpm song
i'm doing. frankly i'm not sure if i'm good enough.
i normally do regular time sigs rather than odds.
but what the heck...i like a challenge.

the status is beds are done/arrange/song skeleton.
(useing my fav apps reaps v2 and rb 2024.)
ive also got vocs/lyrics in ruff.
all together ive got about 12 tracks in beds.

the problem i'm haveing of course is ive tried pg content
and its difficult to assess what might apply to a 5/4
OTS (odd time sig). i lucked out testing some content
ie a bass track and a jazz rd that seems to work...the rest of
the tracks are midi of course because its the sorta song that
might benefit from orchestral lib sounds.
(btw my wife...my fiercest critic...lol.. likes the song beds
and skeleton....so maybe its worth doing...cos girls rule...lmao.)

but heres the rub...tho' the commercial orch libs are groovy they
are so big with long dload times and some consume lots of computing resources
from past experience.

fyi i have tried to get the 'discover' lib a couple of times.
(i set up a temporary email to test orch libs.)...and done the
account rigmarole...but...i never seem to get the email re
allowing access ?
its one heck of a rigmarole these days getting trials of stuff
what with account set ups and personal details etc etc.
fyi...in the spirit of not being biased...this week...i wanted
try a music app used by the big boy studios.
only problem was it wanted to install special security software
on my pc...no thanks...ive got enough to think about.
jeesh...i really wish companies would do things the way
multitrackstudio.com and podium daws do things.
ie download and install in 5 minutes flat.
i simply refuse to bow down to paradigms that try to exert
too much invasive control. (pg does it right imho.)
i reckon some companies are loseing business because its often
onerous for the user to test out some apps.

so...in summary...i'm looking for...libs that are ...
..not overly invasive
..a doddle to download and try out....and..
..dont consume tons of pc resources.
(note my new pc is extremely fast with latest m.2 ssd etc etc.
win/rb/bb boot in just a few secs....amazeing little beast that cost peanuts.)

mario...thanks also...i'll look at that.
might be just what i'm looking for.

fyi...to you both...

i dloaded this...looks very interesting...

https://www.synful.com/

easy to get installed...but...the daws couldnt find the
*.dll to instantiate in the daw.
(i looked everywhere on the pc.)
try at your own risk/ymmv/cover my rear etc...lol.

ps...mario where do i dload aegean from ?
thanks for the help.
appreciated...

happiness.

om

Last edited by justanoldmuso; 08/06/24 05:04 AM.

my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb)
(lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 23,191
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 23,191
Originally Posted by justanoldmuso
................................................

i dloaded this...looks very interesting...

https://www.synful.com/

easy to get installed...but...the daws couldnt find the
*.dll to instantiate in the daw.
(i looked everywhere on the pc.)
try at your own risk/ymmv/cover my rear etc...lol.

ps...mario where do i dload aegean from ?
thanks for the help.
appreciated...

happiness.

om

You can DL Aegean here:

https://sites.google.com/view/hed-sounds/aegean-symphonic-orchestra/old-aegean-symphonic-orchestra

Scroll down to find the right version

I have Synful orchestra. I would delete what you have already installed and then reinstall.
The install program will ask you where to put the dll. I put all of my VST2 dlls in this folder, C/program files/ VSTs and my VST3 dlls in the C/program files/ common files/ VST3. Windows sets up the VST3 folder, at least mine did.

Good luck and I hope this helped.


Whenever I get something stuck in the back of my throat, I dislodge it by drinking a beer.
It's called the Heineken Maneuver.

64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 3,461
J
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
J
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 3,461
Mario.

thanks for the aegean link...looks v interesting.

re synful lib.

installer didnt ask me where to install...just went ahead.

will check out further.

thanks for links...

C/program files/ VSTs and my VST3 dlls in the C/program files/ common files/ VST3.
Windows sets up the VST3 folder.

(ps...where are people uploading songs these days ?
i got too many songs and scloud isnt getting the traffic it seems
from the normal consumer of music.)

happiness.

om


my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb)
(lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 7,555
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 7,555
I don't think anything on my list is as lightweight was you're requesting, but they should be smaller and more lightweight than most modern orchestral libraries.

I don't know what sound you are aiming for, but I've found that I've never used a full orchestra in a pop song. More typically, I'll use strings and some solo instruments, such as violin, french horn and oboe.

Garritan Personal Library is an older library, and ran well on my older machines. It was sold to MakeMusic, and they haven't really been updating it. In the right context, it can still sound quite good. It uses the .sfz player. Since it's been years since it got any updates, I think it's a bit overpriced at $150. But it was my first orchestral library, and stopped me from spending all my time looking for good free samples on the Internet. So I've got a soft spot for it.

The Amadeus Symphonic Library is pretty lightweight and loads instruments up quickly. It's got some "all in one" symphonic library patches that are fun to play. It's not as realistic or detailed as most of the modern orchestral libraries, but it's very complete and easy to play. It uses the free Kontakt player. The sounds aren't as realistic as the other libraries I own, so I generally don't use it.

BBC Discover (as far as I recall) doesn't include solo instruments, only sections. It uses the free Spitfire player. Because I focus more on solo instruments, I haven't used it a lot.

Nucleus Lite also only has orchestral sections. It uses the free Kontakt player. I don't own it (yet), mostly because it's got a larger sound than what a typical pop song needs.

The Versillion Standard Chamber Orchestra is available in a Free Edition (.svz or Kontakt Full), Standard (Kontakt Full) and Professional (free Kontakt Player). There are some nice instruments in the collection, but the sound of the instruments doesn't seem to gel together well.

There's a list here of free orchestral plugins, which is:

  • BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover
  • SINEfactory
  • Synful Orchestra
  • Layers
  • VSCO 2 Community Edition
  • LABS
  • Big Bang Orchestra
  • Virtual Playing Orchestra
  • The Free Orchestra
  • Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra
  • One Track Orchestra


If you don't mind composing using notation (it's orchestral, after all), you could look at MuseScore. It comes with a relatively small .sfz library, but you can upgrade to the free MuseScore sounds, or purchase scaled-down instruments/sections from other commercial library vendors.


-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 3,461
J
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
J
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 3,461
dcuny.

what great info.

much appreciated.

yep ive looked at some on your list.
i agree re pop songs.
btw im useless at notation...only reason i went to music theory class when a young chap...
was the new teacher was an amazeing beauty. the theory class went from 4 students to total!y packed out...girl power...us guys are sooo stupid..lo!

its a very delicate balance between size of lib and ones resources.
cos not everyone has i9's etc. call me lazy but loads of choices in sample
libs are kinda frustrating for me.

thanks again.

mario...as a result of your great info i found synful dll hiding.
comes up in rb. fyi if i fail on this 5/4 maybe once ive finished rough vocs
maybe i should tbrow it open to people who know libs better than i and see
if there is interest in a collab...maybe people will think its a junk song idea...lol. it takes a village etc etc.
what im trying to do is very demanding....wife likes it tho...says it reminds her a bit of spy films music.

happiness to all.

om 🇨🇦🇨🇦. 🇬🇧🇬🇧

Last edited by justanoldmuso; 08/06/24 10:05 AM.

my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb)
(lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,468
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,468
Originally Posted by justanoldmuso
the problem i'm haveing of course is ive tried pg content
and its difficult to assess what might apply to a 5/4
OTS (odd time sig).
Caveat ... I haven't tried this, but...
As 5/4 is usually played with the main emphasis on the 1 and 4 and assuming(!) the BiaB default creation of alternate bars of 3-beats and 4-beats, I wonder if Waltz would work.


Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
.
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,809
Veteran
Online Happy
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,809
+++ Solid State Symphony +++ is an orchestral simulation that also includes automated features like a gated pad, two pitch-modulated synth elements, simple bass, and percussion sequencers, and chords. It is meant to be played in real-time and allows you to bring in the different sections according to key velocity and range. The "orchestra" sounds were modeled using analog synth waveforms. 1.7 GB download. Requires Kontact 5.5 or higher. $59 US


Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (Build 1128) RB (Build 5) - Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk Sonar - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD
Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 3,461
J
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
J
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 3,461
Gordon.

re waltz.
good idea. i was wondering about that.
will pursue further. would love it if there was a special
section in pg content for odds. would save time useing ots
in a song.
G ...my wife is tempting me with good old roast beef for din dins.
ttfn and thanks.

Jim.

thanks...i'll check out solid state symphony.
i never realised there were sooo many orch libs.
not exactly easy work i'm sure.
i'm hoping one day i can just tell AI to make my recorded gtr track sound like the lead on
halen 'Panama'...lol.

weeeelll.......i finally got synfull orch installed.
interesting approach. the vsti loads fine in rb 64 bit.
for anyone testing synfull out..the dll resides in common
files. thanks mario....i found it....your a prince sir.
also synfull doesnt seem to need lots of pc resources.
synfull DOES have a variety of orchestra instruments.
but more testing to do.

the reason i'm concerned about pc resource re orch libs..
is i dont want to suggest to someone i know a lib thats a resource
hog if they have a clunky old pc.

happiness to all.


om

Last edited by justanoldmuso; 08/06/24 01:50 PM.

my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb)
(lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,791
Expert
Offline
Expert
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,791
If one does not already own a license for Kontakt 5 or 6, a Kontakt library will not work unless it's with the free Kontakt 6 Player, still available from Native Instruments. I can find that link if anyone needs it. Neither K5 nor K6 can be purchased from NI anymore (there is a used market, however).

Kontakt 7 does not support VST2 and BIAB for Windows does not support VST3.

Not an issue with AU on the Mac.


BIAB 2024 Audiophile Mac
24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer11, LogicPro, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro64/Notion6 /Overture5
Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,809
Veteran
Online Happy
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,809
Solid State Symphony can not use the free Kontact Player. Solid State Symphony requires the full version.


Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (Build 1128) RB (Build 5) - Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk Sonar - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD
Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support

Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins

Join the conversation on our forum.

Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac Videos

With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll also keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.

From overviews of new features and walkthroughs of the 202 new RealTracks, to highlights of XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAKs 18, the 2025 49-PAK, and in-depth tutorials — you’ll find everything you need to explore what’s new in Band-in-a-Box® 2025.

Reference this forum post for One-Stop Shopping of our Band-in-a-Box® 2025 Mac Videos — we’ll be adding more videos as they’re released!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac is Here!

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac is here, packed with major new features and an incredible collection of available new content! This includes 202 RealTracks (in Sets 449-467), plus 20 bonus Unreleased RealTracks in the 2025 49-PAK. There are new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 4, two new sets of “RealDrums Stems,” XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAK 19, and more!

Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac with savings of up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special—available until July 31, 2025! Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.

2025 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
We've packed our Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK with some incredible Add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is automatically included with most Band-in-a-Box® for Mac 2025 packages, but for even more Add-ons (including 20 Unreleased RealTracks!) upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49. You can see the full lists of items in each package, and listen to demos here.

If you have any questions, feel free to connect with us directly—we’re here to help!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 Italian Version is Here!

Cari amici
È stata aggerate la versione in Italiano del programma più amato dagli appassionati di musica, il nostro Band-in-a-Box.
Questo è il link alla nuova versione 2025.

Di seguito i link per scaricare il pacchetti di lingua italiana aggiornati per Band-in-a-Box e RealBand, anche per chi avesse già comprato la nuova versione in inglese.

Band-in-a-Box 2025 - Italiano
RealBand 2025 - Italiano

Band-in-a-Box 2025 French Version is Here!

Bonjour à tous,

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 pour Windows est disponible en Français.
Le téléchargement se fait à partir du site PG Music

Pour ceux qui auraient déjà acheté la version 2025 de Band-in-a-Box (et qui donc ont une version anglaise), il est possible de "franciser" cette version avec les patchs suivants:

BIAB 2025 - francisation
RealBand 2025 - francisation

Voilà, enjoy!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 German Version is Here!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!

Die deutsche Version Band-in-a-Box® 2025 für Windows ist ab sofort verfügbar!

Alle die bereits die englische Version von Band-in-a-Box und RealBand 2024 installiert haben, finden hier die Installationsdateien für das Sprachenupdate:

https://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/languagesupport/deutsch2025.exe
https://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/languagesupport/deutsch2025RB.exe

Update Your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 to Build 1128 for Windows Today!

Already using Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 1128 now from our Support Page to enjoy the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.

Stay up to date—get the latest update now!

Forum Statistics
Forums58
Topics84,269
Posts777,085
Members39,607
Most Online25,754
Jan 24th, 2025
Newest Members
Mtbowe, emorrison1962, mariaedinson3, raniking2025, Antonio Sotomayor
39,607 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 150
zedd 119
DC Ron 104
WaoBand 102
nonchai 99
rsdean 91
Today's Birthdays
There are no members with birthdays on this day.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5