I'm just contemplating taking up the offer at $19.99 per month during their Cyber Month offer but am first just trying to gauge whether its worth it?

Is the Opus Edition good when compared with Kontakt?

Does it have elements and instruments that make it worth it over using Kontakt libraries like the Albion seties, Metropolis Ark series, Cinematic Studio series, and so on?

Views and thoughts of any user's would be hugely appreciated!

 

I'd say it's worth it for 2 types of people, 1) Your making a living as a composer. 2) You're an amateur composer with money to burn.
Would I want a subscription? Heck yeah!
Unfortunately I don't fall in either group.

 

Why do you have those views?

 

Big Modern Kontakt libraries can be even more rich/deeply featured, and have amazing/unique stuff..

But I think EWHO still stands its ground as it's got a very Cohesive sound out of the box,
the mix is well Balanced/Panned and that's a big time saver..

And well it has that certain hollywoodesque sheen on it,
which is good as long as it fits the style/medium you're working in.

At least as far as Strings go, they may not be the best/most "anything" in particular,
but they are just good enough/great in most areas, so you can work it out and save time.

Ofc they have their own quirks (lots), and limitations (perhaps legato is a bit outdated now),
but I imagine if you stick to it and work it out it can cover most situations..

 

Thanks for this. Pretty good, yet brief summary of your thinking!

Do you have specific views on Opus versus Kontakt at all?

 

Considering the whole catalogue was cracked a while ago (well except Opus player, so just the Play player) you can see how you like the instruments themselves.

 

I haven't tried the Opus engine yet,
so my experience is based on EWHS Play version in contrast with all the Many other String libs I've tried..

As far as Strings goes there's a few contenders I'd consider for a definitive/workhorse library,
although that will always depend on the style/medium you gonna be working in.

But all in all I'd say:
Videogames - VSL, EWHS, LASS2..
and maybe the newly Updated CSS

Movies - VSL, Afflatus, MSS, BBCSO..
and maybe the newly Updated CSS

Interesting libraries that don't quite cut it:
OT BSS, Sonokinetic Strings, Tokyo Strings.. and the rest of old-timers.

And.. that's pretty much it!
while many/most other libraries can have strong points/virtues,
they also have deal-breaking shortcomings imo (impossible to enumerate),
so I don't see all the other libraries as a Definitive workhorse library solution..

OTOH Brass/Woodwinds/Ethnic/Choir/Drums&Perc has never been an issue,
there's always been great libraries that cover them one way/another, and you can easily get going with what you've got.

It's the Ensemble Strings which are the hardest most elusive element to nail down in my experience..