Live Orchestra
Cross-platform library
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Prologue
About 2 years ago, I've stumbled across this library, which despite all technological advancements of a 21st century, still works quite well with older hardware. Even though it's not Kontakt library, it is possible to load/unload instruments on demand. Live orchestra does not support keyswitches, CC or SysEx commands, it's performance highly depend on its sight reading ability.

Introduction
Live orchestra is still in development and its sonic and performance qualities largely depend on the price point. Unlike with most VST instruments, sequencing and recording with Live Orchestra requires flat-rate subscription, e.g. no one-time payment.
Live orchestra comes in variety of options, and in most cases you pay for each instrument separately:

• Standard 60-piece String orchestra
• Full version 90-piece
• Full version + choir 150-piece
• User customizable

Performance
This library comes with no GUI, what a surprise!
Actually to properly run it, you need plugin wrapper named "Conductor". "Conductor" is a hardware unit, with just one input. Choosing the right version is crucial for achieving latency-free performance with maximum expression. Such plugin can be both cheap or expensive, and as usual, I'd encourage you to read detailed reviews on specific versions.
The wrapper accepts basic MIDI commands in the form of printed sheet music, unfortunately real-time MIDI to Sheet music adapter is not yet available.


Strings

Fig. 1 - Strings

Unless noted, all articulations for every single instruments are included, for strings, that include very rare Martéle, Détaché, Sul Tasto, etc.
Legato transitions include Glissando, Portamento, Bow Change, Slur, and even more.
You can even change the bow speed or type of resin used. Wow!

Programming divisi is very easy, just write single lines, that's all. Each string section has usually two principal players, those are always assignable. 4-part harmony is now possible inside single section, only LASS has come that far. Awesome!
Switching from arco to con sordino takes approximately 10 seconds, regardless on your CPU performance. Same goes for arco > pizzicato, but that's a bit faster, about 4 seconds.
Double stops are possible as well as harmonics.

Brass

Fig. 2 - Brass

Brass samples are not looped and after abusing the instruments they just stop working or start to produce breathing sound, so keep an eye on that and use the instruments only sparingly and preferrably in small groups.
Otherwise the dynamic layers are very smoothly crossfaded, in fact is sounds like the real thing.

Brass section comprises of about 10 instruments (depending on the initial price), as with strings, you can load/unload every single one. Be sure though to properly mark the desired articulation on the "sheet", there are tons of arts for brass.
All articulations are possible, shorts - Staccatissimo, Staccato, Marcato, Double/Triple/Quadruple tongue as well as longs - Legato (Slur, Detached, ...), Cuivré, Schalltrichter Auf (for horns), Stopped, Muted, and more.

Woodwinds

Fig. 3 - Woodwinds

Same as with Brass, the woodwinds cannot be 'abused'. Watch for notes longer than 8 seconds, as the samples are not looped, the instrument stops playing after this time period.
14-piece woodwind section is the standard, and again, the parts can be assigned to individual instruments.
What is different though, is that the instruments are 'floating', e.g. one instance can load more instruments, then switch them in real time (it takes about 20 seconds), but bear in mind, that this might change the section's timbre.

Most articulations are the same as with Brass, so not much new stuff there, but again, it's complete package, which gives that extra realism and touch of real-life woodwind section

Percussion

Fig. 4 - Percussion

This is perhaps the most complicated section, as it's mostly not bundled with others. Finding the right patches is no easy task, and in most cases you have to rely on recommendations.
To help you get started, you'd need these instruments:

Gran Cassa (Bass Drum)
Concert Snare (Tenor, Military and Picollo)
Toms - comes in bundles of six
Timpani - four bundled drums

Piatti
Cymbals (Crash, Ride)
Gong (also called Tam Tam, don't ask me why)

Celeste
Crotales
Glockenspiel (beware, mostly not bundled with extra mallets)
Triangle (Small, Medium, Large, Silver, Gold, ...)
Tubular Bells (not to be confused with Mike Oldfield's 1987 album, you need the instrument, not the CD, there are no samples on it anyway)
Marimba
Vibraphone
Xylophone
Wind chimes or Bar chimes (alternative is Mark Tree, but it works in a different way)

Some patches won't play well with others, sample start offsets could be misplaced, and also you rely on your instrument wrapper "Conductor". More expensive ones do a good job of keeping your track in tempo, but quantization becomes a problem, as the wrapper plays along its preprogrammed layer called "Intuition" or more likely "Musical taste". There's a solution not to quantize at all.

Choir

Fig. 5 - Choir

This section speaks for itself, literally.
It talks and sings. Finally you are not tied with a,e,i,o,u,y sustain patches.
This instrument accepts written lyrics, and it sings even better than EWQL Symphonic Choir. Also it does not require much tweaking, apart from warm ups (use slow single octave runs with lyrics "La, La, La", change key in ascending way, then reverse the direction).
Sound right out of the box is awesome, but don't overdo the dynamics, otherwise the instrument will stuck, unresponsive, like the Brass and Woodwinds. Samples are not looped, so watch for sustains longer than 4 seconds.
Assigning multiple harmonic parts is recommended and advisable, as the choir tunes itself, but I wouldn't go that far to write separate parts for each patch.

So that's about it.

Sound Specifics

The sound is simply awesome and I agree with the opinion that it's mostly worth the money. It sounds like the real thing, literally. Didn't hear more convincing library in ages.

Microphone positions are not bundled and not included in the price, but they are not very expensive, well the first one is, but then it's just a minor investment. Mics are fully customizable, e.g. you can place them anywhere in the hall.

Speaking of halls, the library only works on large spaces and mimics the auditory characteristics of the space.

Drawbacks & Recommendations
The sound is flawless, but the workflow can become a huge hassle

• All instruments require specific transpositions, so you need to dust off your skills regarding tenor and alto key, also the notation differs from instrument to instrument
• Production and recording with this library is really, I mean really expensive, $10,000 and more
• Instrument patches require nutrition every few minutes.
• Unavoidable player noises, these cannot be simply turned off
• Library takes a long time to warm up and load.
• Wrapper sometimes misinterprets your music ideas.
• Requires tuning before use, also most special tunings are not possible with all instruments.

Highlights in a nutshell

• Ex-Cell-Ent sound
• Loads of articulations
• Comes with visually stimulative animation
• Highly customizable

Auxiliary & Demonstrational Video

Conclusion

Live Orchestra is there for many years and has always brought inspiration to numerous musical genres. This library is really versatile one, with all articulations you'd need in your tracks, larger-than-life legatos, punctual staccatos and silky con sordini.
However its sonic quality comes at a very high price, cumbersome functionality, limited reliability, missing functions (noises cannot be turned off) and having to deal with the patches like they were people.

Taking into consideration all the pros and cons, Live Orchestra still wins 10 stars for its legacy.

Reviewer's rating:
10 out of 10 stars


PS: Happy April Fool's day!!!!!!

 

lol, I recently realized
In my country is not usually give importance to fool day, but I've done last fall, muaajajajaja

 

Best review yet, Andrew. I'm buying this product ASAP

 

OMG!!

i NEED THIS!! Where i can find this???? I have a big house with plenty of room for this amazing product!

But i have heard the learning curve is a little bit difficult, isn't it?


Absolutely brilliant review!!! very very thank you, best "article" of the day

 

Détaché...yes. Finally, thank you Andrew I will be getting this as soon as humanly possible...but who has the space? You know what's crazy? That you spent more time making a joke than some people have doing anything in the years they've been here. If there's a hope for humanity it's with people like you.

 

This Library belongs to DoNative Instruments

Pay Andrew (Only U$1.999,00) and you will receive the package with bonus features...

 

1 hour in writing. 3 replies... your joke failed!

 

That's because people were probably too mesmerized by all the awesome to even speak. It's been known to happen.