The 7 Best All-In-One Orchestral VST Libraries for Beginners

Today I would to show you the best all-in-one orchestral VST libraries for beginners. There are so many options out there now that it can be quiet difficult to find the right library for your needs, especially when you are just starting out. I hope this selection will help you to make a good decision.

All of these libraries cover the basic orchestral sections, strings, woodwinds and brass. Many of them also offer percussion and other extras. With this list I want to focus on the bigger, paid libraries that give you the most bang for your buck. If you are looking for completely free options, check out this list:  The Best Free VST Instruments

So without further ado, here are the best all-in-one orchestral VST libraries:

1. Spitfire Audio BBC Symphony Orchestra Core

While most of the other libraries on this list focus mostly on bigger ensemble patches, BBC Symphony Orchestra gives you all the main sections of a full orchestra.

So instead of just one patch for strings, you are getting Violins 1, Violins 2, Violas, Celli and Basses. In the brass section you will find Trumpets, French Horns, Tenor Trombones, Bass Trombones and Tuba and the Woodwind section is made up out of Piccolo, Flutes, Oboes, Clarinets and Bassoons. 

This gives you a tremendous amount of control while composing and you can really write each part exactly how you like it. The downside is that it can be a bit daunting for beginners, when you are not sure yet how to orchestrate and what sounds good together.

Some people say it's best to just jump into the cold water and learn how to orchestrate properly from the beginning, but I think there is nothing wrong with working with ensembles, since it is much quicker and easier to work with. It really depends on what kind of music you are going to make and what best suits your personal style.

BBC Symphony Orchestra Core also comes with orchestral tuned and untuned percussion, including Harp, Glockenspiel, Timpani Hits and more.

The core version has only one mic position, but the main mic sounds fantastic. Since all of the instruments were recorded in the same room, you really don't have to do a lot of mixing, it sounds great out of the box. Since you have full control over the orchestration, you can use this library for all kinds of genres and styles.

If you want to have a free taste, you can check out the discover edition, which has all of the sections and is completely free. You just need to fill out a short survey and then they will send you the library after 14 days. It does have much less articulations and only one dynamic layer though. Also it doesn't have any legato and the attack is quiet slow on the sustains, which makes it pretty hard to write any faster melodies, but it's still good to get a feel for the library.

The core version costs 399 $ but in this price range there really isn't much that can compete with it. The amount of content and the quality you are getting here is superb. If I was to start all over again, I would probably choose this as my first orchestral library. But the other options on this list are all great as well, so pick one that best fits your personal needs.

The professional edition is a lot more expensive at 949 $ and has 630 GB of content, which is just crazy! (SSD delivery is available though) The main difference are all kinds of mic positions. Personally I think the core version will be enough for most people and it takes just 28 GB of space. The only thing that is really missing from the core version are the first chair solo strings.

BBC Symphony Orchestra Core

Pros:

- All individual sections of a full orchestra

- Legato for all sections

- Excellent sound out of the box

Cons:

- No ensemble patches

Price: 399 $

Size: 28 GB

Link: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/bbc-symphony-orchestra-core/

2. Spitfire Audio Albion One

Lots of people have started their orchestral journey with Albion One, and for good reason. It's simply a great sounding library with lots of extra content.

There are four main sections, the Albion One Orchestra, epic percussion, synth sounds and loops. 

In the orchestra section you will find one patch for strings, high brass, mid brass, low brass, high woodwinds and low woodwinds.

There are also separate legato patches for each section, most of them are in octaves, which can be a bit limiting, but they sound great. Especially the high strings octave legato patch works great for soaring melody lines and has a lot of weight behind it.

This force is generated by a huge 109-piece orchestra. Spitfire says on their website that Albion One is perfect for epic cinematic music and that is certainly true. You can create great sounding scores really fast with this library.

Albion One was recorded in the famous Lyndhurst Hall, which gives it a really beautiful and powerful natural reverb. You also get 4 different mic positions to exactly shape the sound to your liking.

But what really sets Albion One apart from the competition is the amount of additional content here. All of the synth pads and textures are simply stunning. They were made from the original orchestral samples and therefore blend really well with the orchestra.

The loops are really useful as well, especially if you need something a bit special to add some groove to your track.

You will also be really happy with this library, if you are looking for some hard hitting epic percussion. Albion One offers plenty of that and also has some specially processed Easter Island Hits that are incredibly useful to add some impact to certain parts of your composition.

All in all you really can't go wrong with Albion One, it's a great starter library to have.

Pros: 

+ Great for epic music

+ Also sounds nice with softer dynamics

+ Fantastic sound with big natural reverb

Cons:

- No individual sections

- Legato is mostly in octaves

Price: 449 $

Size: 55.7 GB

Link: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/albion-one/

3. Spitfire Audio Albion Neo

Among the Albion series I think Albion One and Albion Neo are the best ones to buy as a first orchestral library because they are the most versatile and can be used for all kinds of genres.

The biggest difference to Albion One is that Albion Neo has much smaller ensembles, which gives it a more intimate sound. This makes it perfect for drama and indie music, but it certainly is not limited to that kind of music, you can use it any way you like.

In the orchestral section you will find strings, brass and woodwind ensembles again. The brass and woodwinds are smaller than Albion One and feature a few more unusual instruments like Euphoniums and low Saxophones.

But the real star of this library are the fantastic strings. The interesting thing is that you are getting two divisi sections. You can use these separately for a very small and intimate sound or combine them to get a larger ensemble.

There are lots of unusual articulations and a few of them are slightly different for both sections so that you get some really nice textures, when you layer both patches together.

The flautandos and con sordinos sound especially soft and beautiful here.

Another highlight of this library are lots of cinematic pads and textures made from the orchestral material. This collection is hauntingly beautiful and super useful for all kinds of compositions.

The same can be said about the loop section, which is instantly inspiring and adds a lot of nice rhythmic textures to your tracks.

Pros:

+ Intimate and beautiful sounds

+ Lots of unusual articulations

+ Stunning pads and textures

Cons:

- No percussion (You do get lots of loops though)

Price: 449 $ 

Size: 59.4 GB

Link: https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/a-z/albion-neo/

4. Orchestral Tools Berlin Inspire 1 + 2

Until now we have only looked at products from Spitfire Audio so lets check out some options from Orchestral Tools. I'm going to cheat a bit here because Berlin Inspire 1 + 2 are two separate libraries, but they can be purchased as a bundle with a big discount.

Both of these libraries complement each other really well and cover pretty much all of the basics for orchestral writing, so I think it's definitely worth it.

Berlin Inspire 1 is for general use and Inspire 2 is made for softer, emotional music.

In Berlin Inspire 1 you will find string, brass and woodwind ensembles, a nice Steinway D piano, tuned and untuned percussion and even some full orchestra patches, which are instantly satisfying with an impressive sound out of the box.

Most of the true legato patches are in octaves, like the trumpets and horns 8va patch, but you can turn on unison scripted legato for the bigger ensemble sections, which sounds pretty nice.

You even get a nice first chairs string ensemble, which can add a lot of definition to the bigger ensembles.

Inspire two adds really warm and beautiful sounding flautando strings, a soft piano, a French Horn section, a Celli + Horn patch, a Violins + Children Choir and more. There is also a separate women + children choir patch, which sounds really lovely.

What's great about the Inspire Bundle is that you get 4 solo instruments in each library. So you get 8 solo instruments in total, which have nice true legato and can be used for lyrical passages.

You get a Cello, Violin, Trumpet, Horn, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon. 

With all of this content the Berlin Inspire Bundle makes for a great starter orchestral library.

Pros:

+ Very complete package

+ 8 solo instruments

+ 1 Choir and 2 Pianos

Cons:

- Limited dynamic layers

- Only one mic position (It does sound great though)

Price: 549 €

Size: 34 GB

Link: https://www.orchestraltools.com/store/bundles/inspire-bundle

5. Orchestral Tools Metropolis Ark 1

If you want to write a lot of epic trailer tracks, Metropolis Ark 1 might be exactly what you need. This library was made specifically to sound very aggressive and in your face.

While most other libraries stop at f or ff, Metropolis Ark goes all the way up to fff dynamics. Especially the brass in this library is amazing and will blow your socks off.

Another thing that gets a lot of praise are the female and male choir patches, which are absolutely stunning and sound just as epic as the other sections.

A nice surprise here is that you get some electrics guitars and a drumset, which can be useful if you like to write orchestral rock music.

Stings are split into high and low and there are a lot of smaller sections for brass and woodwinds. Unfortunately high woodwinds are missing though.

You also get 5 different mic positions to shape the sound exactly to your liking.

Pros:

+ As loud and epic as it gets

+ Stunning brass section

+ Excellent female and male choir

+ With guitars, e-bass and drumset 

Cons:

- Can't really play softly

Price: 549 €

Size: 75 GB

Link: https://www.orchestraltools.com/store/collections/metropolis-ark-1

6. Orchestral Tools Metropolis Ark 2

Just like Albion One and Albion Neo were a nice combination for epic and intimate, Metropolis Ark 1 and Metropolis Ark 2 can be used in the same way.

Metropolis Ark 2 is all about the quiet dynamic layers. Instead of being just soft, it still tries to be epic though and can sound quiet intense and sinister.

At least that is the official theme of this library, I think you can make it sound very warm and beautiful as well, it always depends on how you are using these instruments.

The strings are divided into high, mid and low this time and you get a nice selection of smaller brass and woodwind ensembles again. This time you also get high woodwinds though.

The instruments here are a bit more unusual. For example they include, Alto Flutes, Bass Flutes, Bass Clarinets, Contrabass Clarinets, Fluegelhorns, Euphoniums, Bass Trumpets and more. As you can see, the focus is on the lower sounding instruments.

Really nice is a beautiful Harp ensemble of 6 harps and a soft piano. There is even a patch with 3 pianos playing very quietly in unison.

Just like with Metropolis Ark 1 the choir in this library is a real highlight again. This time you are getting a children choir, a female choir and a basso profondo choir.

Also included are some percussion, a harmonium and an organ.

Pros:

+ Great for softer dynamics

+ Lots of sections and extras

+ Beautiful Harp ensemble, 3 different choirs and piano

Cons:

- No louder dynamics

Price: 599 €

Size: 40.9 GB

Link: https://www.orchestraltools.com/store/collections/metropolis-ark-2

7. Sonuscore The Orchestra Complete 2

Sonuscore has recently combined their orchestra libraries into one full package. With The Orchestra Complete 2 you are getting the original The Orchestra plus Strings of Winter and Horns of Hell.

What sets this library apart from others is the function to quickly orchestrate chords. You just need to play a few chords and let the engine do all of the orchestration for you. There are lots of inspiring patterns and themes to choose from for all kinds of moods and situations.

This is a great option for beginners and allows you to get instant results. It's also just really fun to play around with to get some new ideas.

Of course you don't have to use this engine, you also get all of the single sections and can start from scratch. Since you get all of the main orchestral sections here with legato included for most of them, this is actually a really complete orchestral package.

You even get a traditional Mongolian strings ensemble called Morin Khuur, a grand piano, harp, organ, choir, percussion and more.

With the addition of Strings of Winter and Horns of Hell, you also get lots of articulations to choose from.

Sonuscore says on their website that they wanted to avoid too much of a polished sound, so they kept the recordings more raw and organic. Which is great, but it might not be ideal for everyone, so I would suggest to look at the walkthrough before and see how you like the sound. 

Pros:

+ Instant orchestration with simple chords

+ Great for beginners

+ All major orchestra sections

+ Lots of extra content

Cons:

- The sound might not be for everyone

- More experienced composers might not need the orchestration engine

Price: 459 $

Size: 18.2 GB

Link: https://sonuscore.com/shop/the-orchestra-complete/

I hope this list of the best all-in-one orchestral VST libraries for beginners was helpful for you to find the right library for your style. Good luck with your music!