Kontakt

[whyterabbyt]

^^^
Yes, of course, but they are likely to include the good quality ones that the OP is seeking.

Not necessarily. A very large number of the best quality libraries dont use the Player. Far more than do.

[whyterabbyt]

If you're looking for good orchestral sounds, forget Kontakt and get one of these

East West Quantum Leap (Hollywood Strings, Brass, Woodwinds)
Vienna Strings
8Dio Strings
Albion Spitfire

Some of these are obscenely expensive but you get what you pay for. How realistic do you want?

But forget Kontakt. Their orchestral stuff, compared to the elite libraries, are so-so at best. That's not what Kontakt excels at.

Two of those only work with Kontakt. So no, dont 'forget Kontakt'. In fact VSL and EW are probably the only 'elite' orchestral libraries which arent Kontakt-based, so your whole hypothesis pretty much misses the mark.

[wagtunes]

If you're looking for good orchestral sounds, forget Kontakt and get one of these

East West Quantum Leap (Hollywood Strings, Brass, Woodwinds)
Vienna Strings
8Dio Strings
Albion Spitfire

Some of these are obscenely expensive but you get what you pay for. How realistic do you want?

But forget Kontakt. Their orchestral stuff, compared to the elite libraries, are so-so at best. That's not what Kontakt excels at.

Two of those only work with Kontakt. So no, dont 'forget Kontakt'. In fact VSL and EW are probably the only 'elite' orchestral libraries which arent Kontakt-based, so your whole hypothesis pretty much misses the mark.

Maybe it does. My point is this. When you buy Kontakt, you're paying for a whole lot of other stuff that you may or may not need (the factory lib's as well as some other things that it comes with) when all you really need is a sample player that will play these orchestral libraries. There are cheaper solutions that will do the job without having to pay for that extra stuff. That's what I meant when I said you don't buy Kontakt for orchestral libraries. At least I didn't. I bought it for the drums and synths and all that other stuff as I already had elite orchestral libraries that don't use Kontakt.

Everybody's mileage, of course, may vary.

[whyterabbyt]

Maybe it does. My point is this. When you buy Kontakt, you're paying for a whole lot of other stuff that you may or may not need (the factory lib's as well as some other things that it comes with) when all you really need is a sample player that will play these orchestral libraries.

Then your 'point' is wrong. When you buy Kontakt, you get that content, but to claim you are paying more for Kontakt than if it came with zero content is a nonsense; that content has not changed in several revisions of Kontakt, and it was provided when NI's pricing was considerably more expensive than it is now.
The content with Kontakt is a bonus, but noone buys it for that.
And what else is it you think comes 'with' it apart from the factory libraries? Stickers? Keyfob? Cuddly toy?

There are cheaper solutions that will do the job without having to pay for that extra stuff.

£70 say for a good Kontakt Player library (one of SoundIron's choirs, say), and £90 for the current upgrade to the full version.

Okay, so what's cheaper and better for £160?

(And FWIW, Ive seen one Player library recently at something like £20)

That's what I meant when I said you don't buy Kontakt for orchestral libraries.

You dont buy Kontakt for the provided orchestral libraries. But yes, people do buy it for orchestral libraries. Dont conflate the two situations.

At least I didn't. I bought it for the drums and synths and all that other stuff as I already had elite orchestral libraries that don't use Kontakt.

Everybody's mileage, of course, may vary.

Yes, they do. Not everyone presents their MPG as an absolute, though.

[wagtunes]

Maybe it does. My point is this. When you buy Kontakt, you're paying for a whole lot of other stuff that you may or may not need (the factory lib's as well as some other things that it comes with) when all you really need is a sample player that will play these orchestral libraries.

Then your 'point' is wrong. When you buy Kontakt, you get that content, but to claim you are paying more for Kontakt than if it came with zero content is a nonsense; that content has not changed in several revisions of Kontakt, and it was provided when NI's pricing was considerably more expensive than it is now.
The content with Kontakt is a bonus, but noone buys it for that.
And what else is it you think comes 'with' it apart from the factory libraries? Stickers? Keyfob? Cuddly toy?

There are cheaper solutions that will do the job without having to pay for that extra stuff.

£70 say for a good Kontakt Player library (one of SoundIron's choirs, say), and £90 for the current upgrade to the full version.

Okay, so what's cheaper and better for £160?

(And FWIW, Ive seen one Player library recently at something like £20)

That's what I meant when I said you don't buy Kontakt for orchestral libraries.

You dont buy Kontakt for the provided orchestral libraries. But yes, people do buy it for orchestral libraries. Dont conflate the two situations.

At least I didn't. I bought it for the drums and synths and all that other stuff as I already had elite orchestral libraries that don't use Kontakt.

Everybody's mileage, of course, may vary.

Yes, they do. Not everyone presents their MPG as an absolute, though.

I stand corrected. Some people WILL buy Kontakt just so that they can use their elite orchestral libraries.

[Saukar30]

A good idea as well would be to get kontakt, some free or low cost orchestral libraries/pieces to go with it AND layer with either other romplers or synths.

Putting the Konakt factory orchestral content with Miroslav from Sampletank & some Personal Orchestra from Dimension/Rapture Pro and you've got a diverse sound.

[Bubbamusic]

When you buy Kontakt, you are buying access to the best sample libraries available.