I have about 5TB of Kontakt libraries, from over the past ten years on the sister site. I had never heard of VSL until the week or so ago when their stuff started being released on the sister site - are they better than Kontakt libraries? I have all the Native Instruments libraries and about 500 others, should I be thinking about getting rid of all my Kontakt orchestral libraries and using VSL instead? (I use Pianoteq 9 for all my piano sounds and don't think I need anything else for pianos.)

 

Last edited: Dec 1, 2025 at 7:40 PM

You have a complete NI collection and 500 additional Kontakt libraries. Does it really matter if the VSL ones are better, or are you just looking for the next thing to hoard and never actually use?

Honest/serious question, not meant to be mean - even if it sounds that way.

 

Normal to question getting something else that is huge when you already have something that is huge.
There are a lot of large packages out there orchestrally. BBSO Pro, OPUS/Fantasy collections, VSL, KONTAKT, UVI...
Everyone seeks the one-size-fits-all. It does not exist. each one does something the other does not.

As for whether that validates having more than one or all of them, I cannot answer that, but none of them have perfect renditions of every nuance, every articulation, every possible phrase and use for every individual instrument and ensemble section, in every possible scenario. Some have different areas they excel in and it comes down to personal preference. If you mix and match regularly then that answer may or may not be yes. If you only like to ever use one library then the answer might be that one of them will only take up space. Only you know the answer to that.

 

Last edited: Dec 1, 2025 at 8:04 PM

I'm really asking - is it worth my time and effort, downloading the VSL libraries, if they are believed to be 'better' (which I know is subjective) than the Kontakt libraries. Yes, I have too many Kontakt libraries and I have only now got time to use them (because I was working so much before), and I am going through them and deleting as much as I can. I want to get them all onto about 3TB of space on a 4TB M.2 SSD I have, I think I will just stay with Kontakt, as I know what I'm doing, and I think I have more than enough to keep me going for the rest of my life.

 

The sound itself aside, an advantage to library's like VSL is that it is a unified system. Your brass works like your woodwinds works like your first strings works like your percussion, etc and.... the biggist of biggies imo, said system design wasn't forced into whatever NI exposed for them to create the interface. I'd probably keep whittling down your libraries until you're satisfied. Interface aside, it still comes down to sound. Then you can compare your chosen kontakt libraries directly to see if VSL offers something for ya.

e: But for flat out opinion, yes I would use VSL over most Kontakt libraries purely on sound alone.

 

Last edited: Dec 1, 2025 at 8:43 PM

Kontakt is actually the best player out there(capabilities)- I don't say vienna is bad, and probably you already have the best of the best libraries worth 2000$ a set ... see which are critical ones, just learn to use them and enjoy. (pro tip ... a bad arrangement sounds bad, even if played by San Francisco philharmonic orchestra)

 

VSL is something a bit extra. I never dreamed of doing what vsl can do with kontakt as far as orchestra is concerned.. i personally dumped a lot of kontakt string and horn stuff. most if not all of it is on rutracker. falcon, kontakt , Vsl, Three body, Kong, Nexus all can be mixed and layered.

 

Since you already should have Symphobia 1–4, and every orchestral library from Cinesamples, Cinematic Studio, BBC Symphony Orchestra Professional and of course the stuff from Audio Imperia, I see no point in acquiring VSL.

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