Komplete 7 versus East Wedst Quantum Gold

stainlessbrown · Post by **stainlessbrown** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:26 am

I have someone who wants to use my studio in exchange for leaving me full ownership of one of the above... and

he said I could choose

I have an iLok so that's not an issue

Which would YOU opt for? He's planning on ordering (or buying locally.. not sure) this week

FutureLegends · Post by **FutureLegends** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:38 am

What do you mean with Quantum Gold? They Have both Symphonic Orchestra Gold and Pianos Gold, I believe.
The Komplete 7 is a very versatile set of programs. Although not so much for me as I don't really like the sound or the user interface of the NI stuff

I have Komplete 5 but won't upgrade as I never use it.
I love the EW stuff I own though...

But that's me. I'm sure someone will claim the opposite

stainlessbrown · Post by **stainlessbrown** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:44 am

Orchestra-

and the present score is

K7 - 0
EW - 1

jloeb · Post by **jloeb** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:13 pm

It completely depends on what you would find more useful:

1. A good orchestral sample set (not hugely flexible, in that the big hall reverb is printed into the samples unless you upgrade to Platinum)

2. A diverse collection of some of the best synths, effects and sampler around (you have to take a look at the NI website to get a sense of everything that's in there)

I own both. Me, I'd take Komplete in a heartbeat; there's so much packed into it and the ability to grow it further. But it could be that an orchestra is what you need more than anything else.

stainlessbrown · Post by **stainlessbrown** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:21 pm

back to a tie.....

good points

Prime Mover · Post by **Prime Mover** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 5:25 pm

Tough call. I use both, a lot. The problem with that question is that they are two completely different products whose functionality doesn't overlap at at all! Seeing that they are around the same price, you're going to have to ask yourself what your needs are. We can only explain our own experiences and daily usage.

I do all sorts of things: orchestral, rock, fusion jazz, electronic, whatever. On one hand, I could say that I use Komplete more because it's used, somehow, in practically ALL projects I work on. However, I'd be up sh*t creek if I didn't have EWQLSO for an orchestral project. So for me, on a daily usage, Komplete wins by a landslide, but that's really not a fair way of judging.

Komplete is a VERY good package, you get a lot of stuff, and quite a bit of it is usable: good to great. BUT, if you have a lot of money to throw around, you could probably replace every item in Komplete with something else, and get something better, maybe with the exception of Reaktor, and the Kontakt engine is simply the industry standard these days. I love Guitar Rig, I use it daily... but Amplitube is probably a set above it from what I've heard. I use battery on occasion, but you could do quite a bit better with drum synths. Their pianos are right up there with the best on the market, but Ivory is going to beat it out (though the Alicia's Keys piano, not included in K7, is just amazing, I wouldn't trade it for Ivory, personally). Their organs and electric pianos are killer, but there are other things out there. You'd pay about $5000 to get the top-of-the-line in everything included in the Komplete package, and some of those items wouldn't really be much of an improvement (like all the Scarbee stuff really is some of the best things on the market).

Do I recommend Komplete 7? ABSOLUTELY. One of the best purchases I've made in the last 5 years. It sees a lot of use.

Do I recommend EWQLSO over the other guys? I dunno, it's my first good symphonic synth. It's really great for full orchestral stuff, not so great for solo and small ensemble work. Abysmal for jazz, pop, rock, folk, or any other non-orchestral setting. Then again, you're probably not going to get an incredible folk fiddle and a killer orchestra in the same package.

I dislike EWQLSO as a company, but NI's your standard mega corporation. I guess that beats out "bad".

stainlessbrown · Post by **stainlessbrown** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 5:44 pm

more good points- he's mainly (I think) after more a contemporary orchestrated sound.

For me, I'm leaning toward Komplete, as it seems the better "all around". and after he's gone it's more the string section I'm after (with the ability to write/control individual instruments instead of ensembles). Horns would be nice... but I've no magic vision on believable horns yet in VI's... maybe they'll surprise me!

I have Amplitube, had Eleven (didn't really find it all that wonderful) and I can always re-amp... so Guitar rig may be fun to play with... and if it's less a CPU hog, then it might edge out Amplitube

and as far as keyboards- I have a Hammond M3, a Rhodes 88 and 3 "modern" electronics (Yamaha, Korg and Rhodes... and I still have an old Farfissa Professional if I want cheesy 60's)

so... I may 'suggest" he get K7 and hope he's happy with what he does

Thanks for the thoughts

jlaudon · Post by **jlaudon** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 6:35 pm

I have both, and would definitely recommend Komplete 7 over EW anyday. As mentioned, the EW Orchestra is smothered in reverb, and Play is flaky.

Komplete 7 includes Kontakt, which has usable orchestral samples, and to supplement it, I would pick up the audiomidi.com no-brainer of Miroslav orchestra for 15 bucks.

stainlessbrown · Post by **stainlessbrown** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 7:08 pm

cool- does it work with Sampletank 2 or is it stand alone?

buzzsmith · Post by **buzzsmith** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 7:36 pm

stainlessbrown wrote:cool- does it work with Sampletank 2 or is it stand alone?

MS-CE is a separate plugin with it's own GUI. Works within DP or as a stand-alone.

There's a thread somewhere in the forum (recent) that discusses this.

Buzzy

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

buzzsmith · Post by **buzzsmith** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 7:37 pm

stainlessbrown wrote:cool- does it work with Sampletank 2 or is it stand alone?

MS-CE is a separate plugin with it's own GUI. Works within DP or as a stand-alone.

There's a thread somewhere in the forum (recent) that discusses this.

Buzzy

EDIT: Sorry for the double post. TapaTalk is acting a bit flaky.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Prime Mover · Post by **Prime Mover** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 1:55 am

jlaudon wrote:Komplete 7 includes Kontakt, which has usable orchestral samples

This I have to disagree with. I haven't found ANYTHING usable about Kontakt's orchestral samples. Now, I'll preface by saying, I haven't really gone to great lengths to really try, but from everything I've seen, they're abysmal, NI knows they're abysmal, everyone who buys it knows they're abysmal, and noone cares, because noone buys Kontakt for a premium orchestral synth anyway. The only thing I can say is that sometimes I find the solo instruments SLIGHTLY more usable for rough mockups of rock/folk/jazz, because they have quick attacks and aren't "drenched in reverb", as you so correctly put it. However, as for realism, they're only a small step up from a mid-90s General MIDI patch.

The reverb thing in EW can be countered by two things. First, they do have a version of Gold Pro now with close-miked samples. The second thing is, you just realize that that is how orchestra's sound in real life, and you get over it or change your arrangement to account for that. In that way, it's not such a bad thing. Is it great for producing close-miked film score cues? No, and that's a problem. But if you want a live orchestral sound, EWQLSO has it.

Everything said though, I think Komplete is a better deal. You're not going to find any package remotely as complete for anywhere close to that amount. Is EWQLSO the best bang for it's buck? That's really debatable. I certainly have my gripes with the package... PLAY being one of them, reverb being a second, and Doug being the third.

stainlessbrown · Post by **stainlessbrown** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 1:06 pm

well it's settled now- he's ordered Komplete 7... should be here early next week and registered in my name!

FutureLegends · Post by **FutureLegends** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:02 pm

jlaudon wrote:I have both, and would definitely recommend Komplete 7 over EW anyday. As mentioned, the EW Orchestra is smothered in reverb, and Play is flaky.
Komplete 7 includes Kontakt, which has usable orchestral samples, and to supplement it, I would pick up the audiomidi.com no-brainer of Miroslav orchestra for 15 bucks.

For what it's worth, you can now upgrade Gold with the close mics for about €79. They should be considerably dryer, no?

Also, I have no problem with PLAY and much prefer it to NI's interfaces.

MOTUnation.com