Hi there,
the title seems to be a little misleading, since I've written Hands-On about harps. It's not a troll however.
The definitive choice for a harp is for me quite clear - Spitfire Skaila Kanga. While that one is stellar, I need different, more modern edgier cinematic sound. That would be fine to that point, however very few harp libs can match Spitfire One in terms of RR and velocity layers.
There seems to be The One harp library that everyone uses except for me - That One I keep hearing in many tracks.

Price is not a concern, though $200 max would be nice. It does not need to be Kontakt-only (actually VST might be better choice). However please, no I-Lok exclusives.

Thank you for your insights.

 

ProjectSam's harp isn't as good as Spitfire's but it does have a much heavier sound. I tend to use spitfire's for soft lyrical passages.
If I want a harp that pierces through the mix, I use ProjectSAM. Give it a try
It seems to be generally played harder at all velocity levels and also has more bass than spitfire's harp.

 

I know, but PSam Harp is not quite there, being very 'hard'. The closest one is EWQL, if only it had more RRs. Neighbour borrowing is not as good as I'd like (UltraTKT script).
Basically any harp that isn't mentioned in the hands-on.

Perhaps some with string resonances and pedal sound *yes*

 

Did you checked out the harps from Forest Kindom 2(check the demos) for their harps? Last time when i checked the V1 of this library, i pretty liked the harps in it but they replaced the lib later with the V2, but anyway, their stuff seems to be pretty well recorded.
Also Era Medieval(3rd demo) has a harp or two in it too.

 

I can't vouch for the sound as I have yet to try out the library, but Orchestral Tools Symphonic Sphere has a harp in it. There's a demo of the harp on the official page (last track).

 

All above suggestions are good but still I have always felt so warm inside whenever I had used Garritan Giga Harp . In my opinion one of the best harp library and the thing is, it is really small library.

 

Harp Libs, like many other, usually have something exclusive.
I ussually chop the libs and usually mix them
No mention here but worth a test
Orchestra Tools Synphonic Shere 1.2 harp
Sonyvox Symphonic Harp (old but different glissandi)
But if I wanna choose it will be spittfire too

 

Hello Andrew,

unfortunately the library you're looking for does not exist yet .

However, with what you already have you can done beautiful tracks with good compression and EQ plugins .

As you already know ,"VST" are used primarily to make demo.

Therefore,I do not believe that someone as talented as you are need any advice *yes*

 

Spitfire Skaila Kanga
aka Spitfire Harp Redux

 

I would opt for a true harpist :dancing:

 

I am on quest to become one
I just need $6000 for Dusty Strings FH36S

But I'll buy it, it's only matter of time.

 

Sonic Implants Symphonic Harp Kontakt library

Sonokinetic Arpeggio Concert Harp Kontakt

 

+1 on the Garritan Harps. After I played with this library I eventually decided to erase the old but gold GigaHarp.
The only thing I can say is that this vst features many harps not only one, a full range of articulations and a nice set of proprietary IRs tailored for the harp. It simply satisfies all my needs as a composer and in terms of sound quality. ;)

 

I second the Dusty Strings FH36S comment! But maybe I'm a bit biased, since my dad started/owns the company. That's on my wish list too... For now I think it'll have to be Spitfire Harp!

 

I've been using VSL's harps for a long time now. Still very satisfied by the sound. Very hot, ppp volume is maybe not that low, but both harps have a good tone to them.
But you'll need the Vienna Key...