Hi there. I was wondering has anybody here tried spitfire albion and how does it compare with other orchestral libraries? The demos sound very good to my ears.

http://www.spitfireaudio.com/albion.html

 

demos sound really great

 

is like a symphobia, here you have a review of albion in action, the guy of this video is amazing doing cinematic compositions

 

Thanks for the video.

I wonder when we will see a cracked version of this library. Any speculation, anyone?

 

I wouldn't get your hopes up, tbh. Spitfire Percussion, which is a -fantastic- percussion library isn't available (hint hint), and it has been out for years (I think? I believe it has been at least 1-2). Actually, I don't think any Spitfire stuff has made it as releases.

 

Are the libraries watermarked? It seems like they are distributed in digital form, so what is stopping people from sharing?

I will speak for everyone here, but I'm pretty sure we are all anxious to get our hands on this library!

 

I don't think it is watermarked... not even in the silly attempt at "watermarking" some developers are trying, by just putting the customers name within the program. My best estimate would be that the reason why many great libraries like this haven't been shared is simply because there aren't any willing people to upload. To pay 300+ for a library only to upload it so thousands can have it free (and have the -uploaders- make money with it through filesharing sites!) probably isn't very appealing to many. I don't mind sharing myself since I do truly use the try before you buy approach often, but the possibility that someone else could be making money off of my purchase does annoy me (note!! I don't know exactly how this system works and who exactly would get the money from uploading to sites like filesonic) and make me a bit wary.

Personally, I compose for a living, but as luck would have it, the majority of the libraries I own that can be distributed are already available, and the rest have yet to be cracked (notably East West's PLAY engine... I own and love many of their recent products). I have my eye on Hollywood Brass for my next purchase, and likely wouldn't buy anything Spitfire before 2012. If I do get it and it still isn't out, I'll contact one of the groups.

That said, while I don't have anything Spitfire, I think there are various libraries that I own that haven't been shared yet... I'll take a look this weekend.

 

In the meantime, if you're looking to set up a good orchestral template with the tools freely available (again, I will stress--- buy them if you use them!! slowly, if you need to, but don't just sit on 3000+ dollars of "shared" software and make money off of it): LA Scoring Strings, Cinebrass blended with Project Sam Orchestral Brass Classic, whatever VSL Winds you can grab coupled with the Westgate Winds you can find, with Sonivox Winds filling in any instrument gaps, Symphobia 1 and 2 (Symphobia 1 is very much like Albion and is -fantastic- even against libraries half its age), and Project Sam True Strike 1 for percussion. Albion is a fantastic library, but assuming you have the writing experience (and if you don't, Albion won't make your music sound all that much better), all of the tools you really need are out there.

 

I highly doubt we will see this or Spitfire Percussion anytime soon. Just can't see it happening

 

I never really thought about what you just mentioned. Like you, I am also a composer. But I look to it as a hobby, and I hope that I never make money off it. It is too much fun to make money off it. Or if I did make money, I would feel guilty and I would have to buy the libraries I use.

I think there are many people out there just like me.

In buying the products that are more protected, I hope you realize that you are really doing the opposite of what you should do if you wanted to promote sharing. IMO buying products that are already protected will allow them to make more products that are also protected, preventing us from getting any of it. Buying libraries that are really good, on the other hand, would lead to them not protecting their future releases (because by definition they would realize that there is no need to protect since they are making more money). So I don't really see how it's so hard to share such a great library. The way I see it, sharing is helping the world. I shared my entire orchestral template, and almost 80 people are peers. It was my first post.

I don't intend to seem snarky or cocky. So please understand this is my personal opinion.

 

No worries, you don't come across as snarky or cocky really.

In a perfect world: yes, composers would boycott all libraries with protection (and they do when it gets ridiculous/they introduce a dongle other than the widely used iLok or Steinberg Key). But again, composing is my living and while I am lucky enough to have only about half of my finished music be midi mockups (instead being played live), when they are mockups, I'm going to use the best tool for the job, plain and simple. Without the update and without Cinebrass Pro out yet, Hollywood Brass is simply a better, more inclusive library than unprotected libraries like Cinebrass. Sorry, but I'm not going to cripple my sound for the sake of a one person petition that won't make a dent in their sales (here you did come across as a bit high and mighty, I'm afraid).

I'm not saying people shouldn't share Spitfire stuff, just citing the reasons why many won't, and why I'd be hesitant myself (although still willing, and as I said, I intend to go through my libraries for any content that hasn't been shared yet). For the record, I don't completely buy the whole "I'm a hobbyist so I never have to buy" angle... not saying you feel that way, but I know many here do. The phrase (which some scene groups do say) should be more along the lines of "If you use it, buy it". Just because you're a hobbyist filmmaker, for example, doesn't mean you can just steal an ultra high end camera and claim that it's okay because you're not a pro. The most you could get away with is borrowing a friend's camera of that quality, but you'd be limited to however long that friend lets you use it. There are shades of grey here of course, but yes, I do think that some of the hobbyist composers here need to stop telling themselves they don't owe these developers their sale if they use the library. BUT, I'm not really interested in getting into that argument here, the post was more for my first paragraph.

 

Absolutely.

And while I do want to avoid straying from the topic, I do feel that some of us (in fact a great portion of us) don't have the financial means to purchase all the software we use. I'm sure you're aware of this, as many others who are reading this. It's quite plain to me that I have a way of justifying my actions of poor moral judgement just as everyone else. So whether the things we "steal" call more to the phrase "try before you buy" or "I'm a hobbyist" I see it all the same. It's still the smoker saying he needs one more fix because today's "special". In informal logic, this would be a logical fallacy.

If it didn't occur to you yet, my objective is to convince you (and possibly anyone else sharing your opinion) that it's worth the satisfaction of knowing you have helped the world to share libraries like Spitfire Albion. You will likely affect the next generation's music, and those who like it and make money will buy it and use it because they knew of it because of you. You can revolutionize the world with sharing, and it's for the better.