Review: ProjectSAM Orchestral Essentials 2

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Hey what’s up fam!

Hope everyone is enjoying the new year!

Back with a new review on the latest product from ProjectSAM

You may remember my review of Orchestral Essentialsย a while back, well today I’m checking out Orchestral Essentials 2

Let’s dig in!

So what is Orchestral Essentials 2?

OrchEssentials2It’s a follow-up to the original Orchestral Essentials, and the concept is to provide a compact, versatile selection of sounds and instruments from across the entire range of ProjectSAM libraries.

You get orchestra ensembles, strings, brass, percussion, keyboards, piano, fx, winds, and sound fx.

It’s for those that need a go to library of diverse orchestral instruments and sound design textures but may not need the full libraries like Symphobia, True Strike, Lumina, Orchestral Brass, etc.

It’s a really cool way to get that ProjectSAM sound in a condensed yet high quality package.

Quick Specs

How does it sound?

Reel to Reel Tape RecorderIt sounds epic, rich, and ready to go.

The quality of the library is evident from the first patch, thick ensembles, natural acoustic brass, airy winds, all covered properly.

There’s even a really cool piano sound that I love in here, it’s got a dreamy/ambient quality to it that just sounds great.

They also have percussion and even some choir patches in the library, so many instrument categories are covered and the recordings just sound real.

The overall sound I would describe as “bright” or even “hi fi” which may or may not be what you’re looking for.

These sounds are ready to go into the next trailer, film score, or epic video game soundtrack right out of the box.

I do wish there was an eq included in the interface as I found myself wanting to roll off some of the high end for my personal tastes, sure I can use a plugin…but let’s face it, I’m lazy and would prefer to have it right there ๐Ÿ™‚

That said, this doesn’t impact the sound quality in my opinion, and the library delivers the tones and textures we’ve come to expect from ProjectSAM

So what’s the bottom line?

If you need an all around orchestral library, it’s hard to go wrong with the Orchestral Essential series.

Anyone that’s heard the demos of Symphobia, True Strike, Lumina, and others, knows what the ProjectSAM sound is all about.

And while the larger libraries may be out of reach for some budgets, the Orchestral Essential series brings that quality and creative toolset within the reach of many.

What I like about it, is that it’s not just based on one product, like a scaled down Symphobia 2 or a “mini Lumina”, it grabs from all of their great libraries and retools them for the Orchestral Essentials concept.

4andhalfsubsOverall I give Orchestral Essentials 2 a 4.5 out of 5 subs, it sounds great, is easy to use, and hasย an interface that allows you to quickly tailor it to your own tastes.ย 

As I said for my tastes, it’s a little on the bright side and the inclusion of a simple 3 band eq would have gone a long ways in allowing quick tone adjustments. I can sorta get what I want using the filter, but sometimes I just want the change to be a bit more subtle.

Of course, that’s personal preference and doesn’t take away from the fact that this library sounds amazing and gives you quite a bit of content across various instrument categories in the orchestral realm.

I also dig the inclusion of some sound design patches and texture elements, those are some really cool and useful patches as well.

You can pick up a copy directly from Time and Space:ย http://www.timespace.com/product/OE2-1/6/orchestral_essentials_2/projectsam_orchestral_essentials_2.html

Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think!

10 Comments

  1. that legato flute is real nice huh? def a couple of really great/useful patches in there. I think i like #1 as a whole better, but this is a very nice expansion to it.

    Reply
  2. He SJ ๐Ÿ™‚ Back again and waiting for you to do this one! Just wondering whether you think think you need both OE libraries to make a Orchestra palette or is one enough on it’s own? Weighing up between these and Cinesymphony Lite. Looking for the John Williams sound and style.Which way would you go?
    Great demo as usual and a huge fan! Keep up the great work!! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • There’s stuff I like in both honestly, I feel like 1 is more of a complete “foundation” if that makes sense? Seems they released this one to compliment it. But I don’t think you can go wrong with either, or CineSymph Lite! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  3. Thanks SaintJoe! Really appreciate your feedback and time..I guess the OE 1 & 2 Bundle would cover it all. Albeit the large $ outlay..but if it brings inspiration then that’s priceless!

    Reply
  4. Had heard about OE 1 from a feature in Future Producers on DJ Joker. I’ve jut relied on Philharmonik, though had wished for OE 1. Now this OE 2 seems even better. Really good quality vs. quantity there.
    Thanks for the thorough review!

    Reply

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