Century Series VS EWHO VS BBCSO VS Chris Hein

[PebbleStream]

Hi again all!
So, I've been trying to cobble together my first (relatively cheap) virtual orchestra, have been listening to demos for about the past half year or so, but BF is looming ahead and I am having a difficult time choosing after discovering some appealing options I hadn't thought of before...

For context: I have 32GB RAM (single channel, may become 64GB dual-channel before the holiday season ends) and a 1TB SATA SSD for samples, along with a Ryzen 3 3100 as my CPU (3.6GHz, 4 cores 8 threads). I'm trying to stay around the $300 range for my libraries (so ~$100 per section not counting percussion), and going for a more modern sound, but certainly have nothing against a more "20th century" style as well, really I'd like to be able to mockup a broad range of styles as I learn. Anyways... See, I was pretty set on EWHO, but recently have been hearing as many demos for Century Brass as I can (Guy Michelmore's is fantastic I think) and actually like those quite a bit-- possibly even better... problem is, if I went ahead and bought Century Brass, well, I'd have covered one of my bases but not the other two!

Now I noticed also 8dio's Century Strings, and it has plenty of articulations etc, however, something about their tone seems strange... like, the timbre is great (maybe even better than EWHO's to my ear, couldn't say for sure yet), but it almost sounds like it was EQ'ed badly, [EDIT: only sometimes though for some reason? The example I posted is one of these cases. Here's one where it seems to, well sound mostly fine: It sounds like it could also just be an issue with the what-do-ya-call-it, stereo data? Like there's too much signal dead-center-- an issue which I could probably solve in mixing of course...] an example here: Otherwise though it also sounds excellent. However even if I did go ahead and grab it during the (fingers crossed) mighty BF sale coming up, that leaves me short a woodwinds section...

Which is when I was reminded of BBCSO. Strings, woodwinds, brass (too weak for me, I need my blares! ) that could be supplemented by Century Brass, a percussion section, and just about all the articulations I think a learner like myself could want in all of those sections. However, knowing the brass' limited dynamic range, I'm a little concerned particularly for the strings-- they seem like the opposite of the Century Strings, they have a nice tone but not quite that edge that Century Strings have (perhaps because of the larger section size?), that and I don't think I've heard fortissimo strings in the demos I've heard so far (or at least it doesn't sound like it-- maybe just because they don't have that "raw" sound that Century has). The woodwinds I can't say much about, they sound quite good to my (relatively untrained) ear.

I suppose that brings up the last question-- I don't know if Chris Hein does sales or not on his products but I've also heard great things about them-- I've started listening to demos of the "Strings Compact" and they sound fine so far, plus there are quite a few solo instruments included. That, and he also has a woodwinds library, which I admittedly have not heard yet. (The brass, I didn't like so much).

Anyways, I feel like I've rambled quite a bit here, and I suppose it's time to actually ask you fine folks some questions-- would anybody be able to share their experiences with these libraries, their pros and cons unique to them, how they compare to each other, their workflow? Is there something not usually mentioned that should be known before purchasing any of these (for example, I've heard BBCSO has performance issues)? Should I just stick with my original plan of buying EWHO? Many thanks to all!

PS: I've checked out other companies as well besides these-- VSL, Audio Imperia, and probably others but for various reasons have decided (probably, 95% sure) not to go with them. Still, if you have any recommendations my ears are open! Thanks again!

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[Paul@Sydney]

I only own Century Brass out of everything you mentioned. It's ok - but the lack of consistency between instruments with articulations will drive you potty (it does me). Since you've discounted VSL, my advice - get EWHO. Try it on composer cloud first if you need to. But $334 for EWHO, and it's the best all-in-one for the money. In hindsight, that's where I should have started I'm sure.

 

[river angler]

Once I actually started using Chris Hein's orchestral instruments within my own system I was shocked how both all the video demos and the inadequate Best Service online trial player barely scratch the surface of what his libraries can achieve. The limitations of his instruments are literally only down to the user's lack of exploring them fully.

You will not find any orchestral instruments from any other developer with anywhere near the same versatility both in playability and programability. I have his full orchestral collection and each section is just as strong as the other- the brass is actually astonishingly powerful- again you really can't tell from any of the demos until you actually have the samples under your fingers! The velocity/dynamic layering/legato/note head is extremely comprehensive across all orchestral sections even in the compact version.

Prior to acquiring CH I used Orchestral Tools Berlin Orchestra Inspire Series which covers a fairly large orchestral pallet, has a pleasing sonic, but lacks anywhere near the same versatility as CH.
I have used East West within its Sound Cloud license but again CH eclipses this in all departments by a country mile.

One thing that banes me with so many orchestral instrument developers is their continual habit of omitting the option to control sustain articulations dynamics with key velocity hence I passed on Spitfire, 8 Dio and many others a long time ago. It's like the developers have brainwashed composers into thinking sustains should only be controlled by the modwheel! They forget that when actually spontaneously playing sustains on a part it is the initial velocity dynamic struck by your hands on the keys most of the time that is needed: being limited to moving a modwheel while playing consecutive clusters of notes and solo legato sustains is simply not natural and in fact takes away the inspirational feeling of triggering initial dynamics with your fingers on the keys.

The great thing about Chris Hein is that you can use both velocity and modwheel (cc number of your choice) to control dynamics simultaneously giving you the op to strike the initial dynamic with your fingers then swell the dynamics as you wish with the modwheel. Combine this with his fantastic "Note Head" feature and you will hear how the articulations come alive! realising just how beautiful and realistic his instruments are to play and compose with. The solo instruments are ridiculously inspiring: the combination of their programable legato and wide ranging dynamic layers are an absolute joy to work with!

Another great feature of CH is that all his samples are recorded bone dry making them extremely versatile for mixing in any arrangement. The on board convolution ambience/reverbs are superb but you can mute them as you like. I tend to mute the sound stage one keeping the short ambience in (which is often overlooked by many when searching for the right sonic) and throw all the instruments in an arrangement at a reverb of my own especially when composing classical.

There's plenty of orchestral CH on my showreel website!

 

[Aitcpiano]

I'd just go for BBCSO and Century Brass. BBCSO Brass can be weak, but Century Brass covers those higher dynamics really well.

Wait for an 8dio sale on the century series. They can go really cheap. I paid $143 for the entire Century Brass 2 bundle and then got the whole of the Century Strings bundle for free.

EWHO is also very capable. I'd just try that one out on a 1- or 2-month subscription to see if you like it or not. You can then cancel or buy. Personally, I prefer the room tone and sense of space that you can get from BBCSO and I also quite like their performance legatos.

 

[Snarf]

There's plenty of orchestral CH on my showreel website!

Thanks for pointing this out.
I listened to a couple tracks, and you can instantly hear the midi-ness of the CH instruments. The reasons you cite in favour of CH (mono, centered, bone-dry recordings, velocity controlled dynamics) are actually the same reasons these libraries will always sound fake to me. CH libraries sacrifice realistic expressiveness for greater control and playability. This is a the trade-off between samples and (partial) modelling techniques.

If it sounds good to you & your clients, that's great! But I suspect OP is looking for a more realistic sound, given their interest in EWHO, BBC, Century, etc.

 

[Xabierus Music]

Opus has a lot of articulations that covers a lot of ground, also has the 3 moods for soft, regular and epic, i have the composercloud plan and i have bought century brass first, i like them both but century brass has some missing articulations that opus have and also the overal sound of opus to my ears is better

 

[ZTYAAA]

My first orchestral library was BBC CORE, if I had to choose again I would choose EWHO.
The rationale is more bass instruments and mics and solo instruments.

 

[cqd]

If your computer can handle it and you've a terabyte to spare EWHO..

 

[ZTYAAA]

Musescore4 + MuseSounds ，Also a good choice，it's free。

 

[river angler]

Thanks for pointing this out.
I listened to a couple tracks, and you can instantly hear the midi-ness of the CH instruments. The reasons you cite in favour of CH (mono, centered, bone-dry recordings, velocity controlled dynamics) are actually the same reasons these libraries will always sound fake to me. CH libraries sacrifice realistic expressiveness for greater control and playability. This is a the trade-off between samples and (partial) modelling techniques.

If it sounds good to you & your clients, that's great! But I suspect OP is looking for a more realistic sound, given their interest in EWHO, BBC, Century, etc.

The classical pieces on my website are only there as reference mockups. Any "midi-ness" in the classical pieces are down to my lack of going that extra mile with the notational content in places to hide the occasional robotic timing between notes. In fact I just listened back to one of the pieces myself having not listened for quite some time and I could hear places where I could adjust things to make the performance sound more authentic. It is true that there is extremely little use of modwheel dynamics in any of the pieces and no doubt some judicious use of swelling dynamics here and there could fool the ear a little more.

I have no idea what the OP is intending to use an orchestral library for but yes to give a decent impression to an orchestral director of how my compositions are intended to sound CH delivers for me just fine! For film hybrid one can pretty much use any orchestral library as the orchestral instruments are blended with modern sonics. Hence the ears perception of wether they sound "real" or "fake" is harder to distinguish and actually somewhat superfluous.

As far as the sonic quality/texture of CH is concerned I think that's down to personal taste. No library appeals to everyone as we all have our own perspectives on what we look for in sound. For me the most important thing is for orchestral content to sound musically pleasing to the ear rather than technically "real". The most important thing for me and my clients is indeed the content: after all the pieces are to be played by/recorded with a real orchestra!

My main criteria using any software instrument is to be inspired to write quality composition- for me for orchestral instruments the CH engine just does this better than the rest.

 

[Juulu]

Based on you saying "modern" I would recommend EWHO. I don't use it personally, but when I tried it I could pull off a much more modern sound than I could with BBCSO Core. Out-of-the-box, EWHO will probably give you more bang for your buck. And you can also trial it out for a month with their subscription service before you pay full price for it.

 

[Jorf88]

I have 8dio century strings + brass and while I find some use for the strings in fast passages (their spiccati are pretty nice), I wouldn't honestly recommend either of them.

I got Aaron Venture infinite brass + woodwinds and that instantly replaced all other brass/woodwinds I had (century + spitfire). No contest, no competition.

Strings... I have century, spitfire chamber and spitfire symphonic. I should have listened to people about spitfire symphonic strings: they're too wet. The only use I have for them is to mix in with the chamber strings to make a wider/bigger room sound. Other than that, I honestly wish I'd gone with cinematic studio strings.

For any of the string libraries you're considering, check if Cory Pelizzari has a review of them. His reviews are candid and to-the-point. If something is frustrating or lackluster, he'll tell you.

I'm hoping for Infinite Strings to actually release before the end of 2022. If not, I'm probably going to grab CSS during the holiday season because the 1.7 update sounds fantastic and they just seem to be so much more coherent to work with than spitfire. My biggest issue with Spitfire is that they're too mellow. SSS and SCS go from pp to about mf/f depending on the section. The maxed CC1 is nowhere near FF, let alone FFF. They need more bite/grit at the higher dynamics and they just don't have it.

I have no experience with EW or Chris Hein, so I can't comment on those. Best of luck in your search. What I would suggest is that if you're interested in EW, get composer cloud for a couple months and really try out those libraries to see if they mesh with your preferred working style. It's not wasted money, I promise. If I'd been able to truly demo some of the libraries I own, I wouldn't own them... I'd just have been out of the money it cost me to rent them.

 

[PebbleStream]

Wow, thanks everybody for the responses!

I only own Century Brass out of everything you mentioned. It's ok - but the lack of consistency between instruments with articulations will drive you potty (it does me). Since you've discounted VSL, my advice - get EWHO. Try it on composer cloud first if you need to. But $334 for EWHO, and it's the best all-in-one for the money. In hindsight, that's where I should have started I'm sure.

Hey again Lino! Thanks! Yeah, I've been messing with the VSL demo but I just can't bring myself to like the sound as much as EWHO or the Century libraries I've mentioned here... that, and they're only discounting Prime by 25%-- so it not only doesn't sound as good to my ear, it is much more expensive (eu445).

I'd just go for BBCSO and Century Brass. BBCSO Brass can be weak, but Century Brass covers those higher dynamics really well.

Wait for an 8dio sale on the century series. They can go really cheap. I paid $143 for the entire Century Brass 2 bundle and then got the whole of the Century Strings bundle for free.

EWHO is also very capable. I'd just try that one out on a 1- or 2-month subscription to see if you like it or not. You can then cancel or buy. Personally, I prefer the room tone and sense of space that you can get from BBCSO and I also quite like their performance legatos.

Also demoing EWHO right now! I'm also finding I like the room tone of BBCSO, but it does feel like it lacks in the dynamics department, as well as mic mixing possibilities (the core version). If 8Dio does another sale of the Century series like that though, well I suppose I could go down the BBCSO + Century route and layer Century Strings with BBCSO strings if needed for that "raw", "edge" detail I really like in Century Strings... Perhaps I'll just have to wait for BF

Once I actually started using Chris Hein's orchestral instruments within my own system I was shocked how both all the video demos and the inadequate Best Service online trial player barely scratch the surface of what his libraries can achieve. The limitations of his instruments are literally only down to the user's lack of exploring them fully.

You will not find any orchestral instruments from any other developer with anywhere near the same versatility both in playability and programability. I have his full orchestral collection and each section is just as strong as the other- the brass is actually astonishingly powerful- again you really can't tell from any of the demos until you actually have the samples under your fingers! The velocity/dynamic layering/legato/note head is extremely comprehensive across all orchestral sections even in the compact version.

Prior to acquiring CH I used Orchestral Tools Berlin Orchestra Inspire Series which covers a fairly large orchestral pallet, has a pleasing sonic, but lacks anywhere near the same versatility as CH.
I have used East West within its Sound Cloud license but again CH eclipses this in all departments by a country mile.

One thing that banes me with so many orchestral instrument developers is their continual habit of omitting the option to control sustain articulations dynamics with key velocity hence I passed on Spitfire, 8 Dio and many others a long time ago. It's like the developers have brainwashed composers into thinking sustains should only be controlled by the modwheel! They forget that when actually spontaneously playing sustains on a part it is the initial velocity dynamic struck by your hands on the keys most of the time that is needed: being limited to moving a modwheel while playing consecutive clusters of notes and solo legato sustains is simply not natural and in fact takes away the inspirational feeling of triggering initial dynamics with your fingers on the keys.

The great thing about Chris Hein is that you can use both velocity and modwheel (cc number of your choice) to control dynamics simultaneously giving you the op to strike the initial dynamic with your fingers then swell the dynamics as you wish with the modwheel. Combine this with his fantastic "Note Head" feature and you will hear how the articulations come alive! realising just how beautiful and realistic his instruments are to play and compose with. The solo instruments are ridiculously inspiring: the combination of their programable legato and wide ranging dynamic layers are an absolute joy to work with!

Another great feature of CH is that all his samples are recorded bone dry making them extremely versatile for mixing in any arrangement. The on board convolution ambience/reverbs are superb but you can mute them as you like. I tend to mute the sound stage one keeping the short ambience in (which is often overlooked by many when searching for the right sonic) and throw all the instruments in an arrangement at a reverb of my own especially when composing classical.

There's plenty of orchestral CH on my showreel website!

Thanks for pointing this out.
I listened to a couple tracks, and you can instantly hear the midi-ness of the CH instruments. The reasons you cite in favour of CH (mono, centered, bone-dry recordings, velocity controlled dynamics) are actually the same reasons these libraries will always sound fake to me. CH libraries sacrifice realistic expressiveness for greater control and playability. This is a the trade-off between samples and (partial) modelling techniques.

If it sounds good to you & your clients, that's great! But I suspect OP is looking for a more realistic sound, given their interest in EWHO, BBC, Century, etc.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check out more CH demos! And yes, as Snarf mentions, I definitely am looking for something a bit more realistic (a little "enhanced" wouldn't hurt though! ), I'm a very fresh beginner and will not be having anything I'm using played by an orchestra for quite a while I expect . I do hear the "MIDI-ness" you mention Snarf, thanks River Angler for clearing that up! I'll keep looking for more demos to make a more informed decision.

I have 8dio century strings + brass and while I find some use for the strings in fast passages (their spiccati are pretty nice), I wouldn't honestly recommend either of them.

I got Aaron Venture infinite brass + woodwinds and that instantly replaced all other brass/woodwinds I had (century + spitfire). No contest, no competition.

Strings... I have century, spitfire chamber and spitfire symphonic. I should have listened to people about spitfire symphonic strings: they're too wet. The only use I have for them is to mix in with the chamber strings to make a wider/bigger room sound. Other than that, I honestly wish I'd gone with cinematic studio strings.

For any of the string libraries you're considering, check if Cory Pelizzari has a review of them. His reviews are candid and to-the-point. If something is frustrating or lackluster, he'll tell you.

I'm hoping for Infinite Strings to actually release before the end of 2022. If not, I'm probably going to grab CSS during the holiday season because the 1.7 update sounds fantastic and they just seem to be so much more coherent to work with than spitfire. My biggest issue with Spitfire is that they're too mellow. SSS and SCS go from pp to about mf/f depending on the section. The maxed CC1 is nowhere near FF, let alone FFF. They need more bite/grit at the higher dynamics and they just don't have it.

I have no experience with EW or Chris Hein, so I can't comment on those. Best of luck in your search. What I would suggest is that if you're interested in EW, get composer cloud for a couple months and really try out those libraries to see if they mesh with your preferred working style. It's not wasted money, I promise. If I'd been able to truly demo some of the libraries I own, I wouldn't own them... I'd just have been out of the money it cost me to rent them.

Ahh I've heard much of Aaron Venture's Infinite Series but unfortunately it's just too far out of my price range for now. From Spitfire's selection, have you happened to have also tried BBCSO Core? And if so, is their dynamic range similarly limited? It would seem so from the demos, and I've seen some threads on here saying it only has 2 or 3 dynamic layers. And thanks for the recommendation of Cory! I'll look up his reviews.

 

[Aitcpiano]

Also demoing EWHO right now! I'm also finding I like the room tone of BBCSO, but it does feel like it lacks in the dynamics department, as well as mic mixing possibilities (the core version). If 8Dio does another sale of the Century series like that though, well I suppose I could go down the BBCSO + Century route and layer Century Strings with BBCSO strings if needed for that "raw", "edge" detail I really like in Century Strings... Perhaps I'll just have to wait for BF

Ahh I've heard much of Aaron Venture's Infinite Series but unfortunately, it's just too far out of my price range for now. From Spitfire's selection, have you happened to have also tried BBCSO Core? And if so, is their dynamic range similarly limited? It would seem so from the demos, and I've seen some threads on here saying it only has 2 or 3 dynamic layers. And thanks for the recommendation of Cory! I'll look up his reviews

BBCSO is worth the upgrade if you want those extra mics and like BBCSO enough. I find the strings in BBCSO are very nice, woodwinds are not bad as well, it's really the brass the mainly suffers from a lack of dynamics.

I'd definitely hold out until black friday. 8dio will probably do a good sale and that might enable you to get both century brass and strings bundles for cheap. I also think that the century strings would work very well with BBCSO Strings, and the Century brass would also work well to make up for the lack of BBCSO Brass dynamics.

Aaron Ventures series is also very good options, especially the brass but it is pricier, and he does not often do deep discounts. Might be a 30% discount over black friday. AROOF also works well in conjunction with BBCSO Pro.

 

[Jorf88]

Wow, thanks everybody for the responses!

Hey again Lino! Thanks! Yeah, I've been messing with the VSL demo but I just can't bring myself to like the sound as much as EWHO or the Century libraries I've mentioned here... that, and they're only discounting Prime by 25%-- so it not only doesn't sound as good to my ear, it is much more expensive (eu445).

Also demoing EWHO right now! I'm also finding I like the room tone of BBCSO, but it does feel like it lacks in the dynamics department, as well as mic mixing possibilities (the core version). If 8Dio does another sale of the Century series like that though, well I suppose I could go down the BBCSO + Century route and layer Century Strings with BBCSO strings if needed for that "raw", "edge" detail I really like in Century Strings... Perhaps I'll just have to wait for BF


Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check out more CH demos! And yes, as Snarf mentions, I definitely am looking for something a bit more realistic (a little "enhanced" wouldn't hurt though! ), I'm a very fresh beginner and will not be having anything I'm using played by an orchestra for quite a while I expect . I do hear the "MIDI-ness" you mention Snarf, thanks River Angler for clearing that up! I'll keep looking for more demos to make a more informed decision.

Ahh I've heard much of Aaron Venture's Infinite Series but unfortunately it's just too far out of my price range for now. From Spitfire's selection, have you happened to have also tried BBCSO Core? And if so, is their dynamic range similarly limited? It would seem so from the demos, and I've seen some threads on here saying it only has 2 or 3 dynamic layers. And thanks for the recommendation of Cory! I'll look up his reviews.

Aaron will usually do some variety of sale during black friday.
If I have any advise to give, it's to figure out what library you really want... not which one you can afford right now. I would have saved so much money if I'd not bought as many incremental steps along the way, and just bought the big libraries I really wanted.

I don't think I've touched Spitfire Symphonic Brass or Century Brass since I got Infinite Brass (other than to A/B/C compare a few times and confirm that I just prefer IB everwhere). Does it mean the former libraries are bad? No, but I vastly prefer the sound and control that I get with Infinite brass. I used to have JXL brass on my wishlist and I've passed on it a couple times during sales after getting Infinite Brass because I can already do the loud/intense stuff and I don't need a separate library for it anymore.

There's gonna be sales on everything, soon enough. You'll have your choice of what you want to buy, and plenty of very expensive products become reasonable for a short period of time. The only real exception are Orchestral Tools because they usually only put one set of stuff on sale during the holidays (they don't typically do a store-wide sale like many other companies).

 

[PebbleStream]

Aaron will usually do some variety of sale during black friday.
If I have any advise to give, it's to figure out what library you really want... not which one you can afford right now. I would have saved so much money if I'd not bought as many incremental steps along the way, and just bought the big libraries I really wanted.

I don't think I've touched Spitfire Symphonic Brass or Century Brass since I got Infinite Brass (other than to A/B/C compare a few times and confirm that I just prefer IB everwhere). Does it mean the former libraries are bad? No, but I vastly prefer the sound and control that I get with Infinite brass. I used to have JXL brass on my wishlist and I've passed on it a couple times during sales after getting Infinite Brass because I can already do the loud/intense stuff and I don't need a separate library for it anymore.

There's gonna be sales on everything, soon enough. You'll have your choice of what you want to buy, and plenty of very expensive products become reasonable for a short period of time. The only real exception are Orchestral Tools because they usually only put one set of stuff on sale during the holidays (they don't typically do a store-wide sale like many other companies).

That's a great point, but unfortunately I just don't have the budget to go all-in on my "dream" sample libraries (at those prices it would probably take me a few years to put together a complete virtual orchestra), for now I'm looking for something solid that I can potentially always use, that I'll be able to enjoy learning and writing with, and that is good enough that it even has the potential to earn me a little cash if my writing skills improve enough (maybe even enough to eventually be able to justify splurging on "dream" libraries like Aaron Venture's ).

 

[WhiteNoiz]

BBC doesn't have a proper Purge function and you have to load an instance for every articulation. With 64 (or even 32) gigs you should be fine for the Core version though. Something to consider... The room sounds nice, dynamics are kinda limited. Articulations are limited in a sense, although there's a good bread and butter selection. It's best suited for mellower stuff in general. If you want a more upfront mix you'll have to play with volume and probably EQ the mid freqs... But you'll also be affecting the room reverb. Keep it in mind if you like drier or more present mixes or adding effects. So, best suited for more traditional sounding orchestra, not so much hybrid, epic etc.

HO has a wider dynamic range and 4 mics (which have room information, but are still fairly dry). You WILL have to mix (EQ, verb, volume at least; as a general rule I'd suggest starting with every channel in the -10 to -14 db range) in most cases. That brings better versatility in terms of sound shaping, of course... It can do soft for sure, but doesn't really have any "artistic" articulations (very intimate, fragile, noisy, soft, blooming... a la usual spitfire style), but it does have variety and depth in what it has. And the shorts are killer, still. I actually still like QLSO for the expressive patches (mostly solo woods/strings... and those harmonics are crystal clear!), the shorts and perc... Outdated but still solid editing and sound.

8dio feels very similar to HO to me... Haven't used it (yet?), just my impression. It sounds good, but maybe a bit redundant if you have HO. Brass seems to be my favorite. I do like the tone/expression. Other than that, it may be a bit more consistent articulation-wise and in terms of ease of use. Maybe you could sprinkle some here and there to fill in minor holes or for variety.

CH I haven't also used, but in terms of control it looks great. Not crazy about the sound, though I assume it needs work similar to HO to really bring it out, since it's dry. I think the solos would be miles ahead of EW's offerings though (as in being more varied and actually suitable for complex solos, compared to the more basic, most useful for simpler lines or layering EW ones).

I feel century brass would be good to have lying around as a filler (not essential). Maybe CH solos if you need very extended solos (as add-on, too)... And it should play nice with a mixing approach similar to HO's. From what you've said and considering price to content ratio I'd go for HO. But do demo it, since you can...

 

[Nashi_VI]

You seems very educated in sample libraries already..much more than me a couple of years ago when i was starting out buying them, thats for sure.
I think EWHO is really hard to beat for the sound you are looking for and the budget you are willing to spend, really hard to beat, i had HO for a couple of years,but i made the "mistake" to be using the Composer Cloud, since, back then the complete HO costed more than what it does today (only a couple of years ago), because if not, i would have probably just bought it straight away. i personally think there is no better legato 6horns on the market to this day ( i have JXL A6horns and it is not even comparable imo).
However since then, i moved on, because i wanted to own my libraries and not be forced (by myself of course) to always spend every year for the same samples, so i started looking around to complement the libraries that i already owned and to replace the ones that i used all the times from HO, but without breaking my bank in the process.
Now, assuming you have Full Kontakt, BBCSO Core, plus Century Brass is in my opinion another great option that you are already thinking about, and it is a very damm good one, for the most part i have replaced HB with Century, and it is really good, but i have done in in a modular way, since you can buy the instruments a la carte, and that lead me to my 2 cents on the matter, consider, the a la carte options to complement what you are missing regardless of your choice, i am not saying to buy everything a la carte, because that would cost you most likely more than 100$ per section, but 8dio has a lot of stuff a la carte (all of Century and Century solo are ) Orchestral Tools has a la carte for everything (and they are very pricy, but maybe finger crossed, they will finally do sales on the this BF)...and, even if you don't like the sounds of a lot of them, VSL does a la carte for a lot of stuff (also you can find them second hand since they are resellable), and they have so many products and instruments, that i am sure you will find something you like, i personally like their woods and tonal percussion for example (that is why i bought them ).
Of course, for the sound and price you are looking for the obvious choice would be Nucleus, but if you don't like the sound/company for whatever reason there is no point in trying to convince you otherwise.
The Chris Hein stuff really sounded good for solo instruments to me..but i have never actually bought it myself, because they are more expensive that other alternatives (but o boy the demos for the solo cellos...they are special), so they seems to be out of you budget, but if you want good solo instruments to complement HO or BBCSO Core, i guess you can look at the usual suspect, Tina Guo cello, Performance samples Soloist (and the freebies as well), the new legato cello by Sonixinema, Bohemian violin and cello, the emberton stuff...all of them, not only Joshua bell violin, and of course, once again, the a la carte options from OT (a bit more pricey but with a lot of articulations and tons of layering potential with the sections from your other main libraries).
Also, since neither EWHO nor BBCSO Core comes with epic percussion, i would also look at a la carte options, all of the 8dio ones are great, as well as the OT ones, i let you on a little secret that not a lot of people know about i feel like, if you buy Metropolis Ark 3 a la carte, you can get all of the ensemble patches/instruments for 132$ + vat and if you want the solo percussions as well on top (gran cassa solo, tom solo, surdo solo, taiko solo and many more) it would cost you in total 200$+vat. (or if you want only the solo percussion 68+vat) Also... LA modern Percussion is on sale at 150$ and you can not go wrong with that if you don't like the sounds of the other libs i mentioned.

 

[PebbleStream]

BBC doesn't have a proper Purge function and you have to load an instance for every articulation. With 64 (or even 32) gigs you should be fine for the Core version though. Something to consider... The room sounds nice, dynamics are kinda limited. Articulations are limited in a sense, although there's a good bread and butter selection. It's best suited for mellower stuff in general. If you want a more upfront mix you'll have to play with volume and probably EQ the mid freqs... But you'll also be affecting the room reverb. Keep it in mind if you like drier or more present mixes or adding effects. So, best suited for more traditional sounding orchestra, not so much hybrid, epic etc.

HO has a wider dynamic range and 4 mics (which have room information, but are still fairly dry). You WILL have to mix (EQ, verb, volume at least; as a general rule I'd suggest starting with every channel in the -10 to -14 db range) in most cases. That brings better versatility in terms of sound shaping, of course... It can do soft for sure, but doesn't really have any "artistic" articulations (very intimate, fragile, noisy, soft, blooming... a la usual spitfire style), but it does have variety and depth in what it has. And the shorts are killer, still. I actually still like QLSO for the expressive patches (mostly solo woods/strings... and those harmonics are crystal clear!), the shorts and perc... Outdated but still solid editing and sound.

8dio feels very similar to HO to me... Haven't used it (yet?), just my impression. It sounds good, but maybe a bit redundant if you have HO. Brass seems to be my favorite. I do like the tone/expression. Other than that, it may be a bit more consistent articulation-wise and in terms of ease of use. Maybe you could sprinkle some here and there to fill in minor holes or for variety.

CH I haven't also used, but in terms of control it looks great. Not crazy about the sound, though I assume it needs work similar to HO to really bring it out, since it's dry. I think the solos would be miles ahead of EW's offerings though (as in being more varied and actually suitable for complex solos, compared to the more basic, most useful for simpler lines or layering EW ones).

I feel century brass would be good to have lying around as a filler (not essential). Maybe CH solos if you need very extended solos (as add-on, too)... And it should play nice with a mixing approach similar to HO's. From what you've said and considering price to content ratio I'd go for HO. But do demo it, since you can...

Hm no purging could be quite a workflow issue, as well as having to open a million instances of the player... I did see something about BBCSO Core being "NKS Compatible" on the Spitfire page, does that mean it's compatible with Kontakt?

You seems very educated in sample libraries already..much more than me a couple of years ago when i was starting out buying them, thats for sure.
I think EWHO is really hard to beat for the sound you are looking for and the budget you are willing to spend, really hard to beat, i had HO for a couple of years,but i made the "mistake" to be using the Composer Cloud, since, back then the complete HO costed more than what it does today (only a couple of years ago), because if not, i would have probably just bought it straight away. i personally think there is no better legato 6horns on the market to this day ( i have JXL A6horns and it is not even comparable imo).
However since then, i moved on, because i wanted to own my libraries and not be forced (by myself of course) to always spend every year for the same samples, so i started looking around to complement the libraries that i already owned and to replace the ones that i used all the times from HO, but without breaking my bank in the process.
Now, assuming you have Full Kontakt, BBCSO Core, plus Century Brass is in my opinion another great option that you are already thinking about, and it is a very damm good one, for the most part i have replaced HB with Century, and it is really good, but i have done in in a modular way, since you can buy the instruments a la carte, and that lead me to my 2 cents on the matter, consider, the a la carte options to complement what you are missing regardless of your choice, i am not saying to buy everything a la carte, because that would cost you most likely more than 100$ per section, but 8dio has a lot of stuff a la carte (all of Century and Century solo are ) Orchestral Tools has a la carte for everything (and they are very pricy, but maybe finger crossed, they will finally do sales on the this BF)...and, even if you don't like the sounds of a lot of them, VSL does a la carte for a lot of stuff (also you can find them second hand since they are resellable), and they have so many products and instruments, that i am sure you will find something you like, i personally like their woods and tonal percussion for example (that is why i bought them ).
Of course, for the sound and price you are looking for the obvious choice would be Nucleus, but if you don't like the sound/company for whatever reason there is no point in trying to convince you otherwise.
The Chris Hein stuff really sounded good for solo instruments to me..but i have never actually bought it myself, because they are more expensive that other alternatives (but o boy the demos for the solo cellos...they are special), so they seems to be out of you budget, but if you want good solo instruments to complement HO or BBCSO Core, i guess you can look at the usual suspect, Tina Guo cello, Performance samples Soloist (and the freebies as well), the new legato cello by Sonixinema, Bohemian violin and cello, the emberton stuff...all of them, not only Joshua bell violin, and of course, once again, the a la carte options from OT (a bit more pricey but with a lot of articulations and tons of layering potential with the sections from your other main libraries).
Also, since neither EWHO nor BBCSO Core comes with epic percussion, i would also look at a la carte options, all of the 8dio ones are great, as well as the OT ones, i let you on a little secret that not a lot of people know about i feel like, if you buy Metropolis Ark 3 a la carte, you can get all of the ensemble patches/instruments for 132$ + vat and if you want the solo percussions as well on top (gran cassa solo, tom solo, surdo solo, taiko solo and many more) it would cost you in total 200$+vat. (or if you want only the solo percussion 68+vat) Also... LA modern Percussion is on sale at 150$ and you can not go wrong with that if you don't like the sounds of the other libs i mentioned.

Thanks for sharing your experience! When you say you replace HB with Century Brass, you mean Hollywood Brass? I also am enjoying the timbre of the Century Brass more than the Hollywood Brass, part of the reason I started this whole thread TBH

Nucleus yeah, I don't quite like the sound and it doesn't have a very broad palette of articulations. As for epic percussion, I already have Damage 1, but who knows? Maybe I'll grab Majestica or something during BF for its percussion-- I have a feeling it won't be in the budget but hard to tell with 8dio :D

 

[Nashi_VI]

Thanks for sharing your experience! When you say you replace HB with Century Brass, you mean Hollywood Brass? I also am enjoying the timbre of the Century Brass more than the Hollywood Brass, part of the reason I started this whole thread TBH

Nucleus yeah, I don't quite like the sound and it doesn't have a very broad palette of articulations. As for epic percussion, I already have Damage 1, but who knows? Maybe I'll grab Majestica or something during BF for its percussion-- I have a feeling it won't be in the budget but hard to tell with 8dio :D

Yes i meant Hollywood Brass, also if you already have Damage 1...you are definitely covered in epic percs,at least for now.