Customer Reviews
View and download the Garritan virtual instruments manuals for our entire lineup of sample libraries.
Amazing experience
Bob Chapin is an amazing salesperson. He is truly knowledge, responsible, and reliable. Honestly and unfortunately, I haven't come across a lot of well informed salespeople in the past. He replied to every single email with the least delay. I hope there were many more Bobs working for Sweetwater. I just wanted to bring this to your attention. He is a true professional and he never hesitated to explain about my recording needs. I also never under the impression that he wanted to get off the phone and make the phone call quick. This kind of quality is truly appreciated by customers. Greatly appetite it Bob.“A small treasure “
I found the software easy to download and install.. It shows up in your daw like its part of the family.
ProTools welcomes the Garritan (Personal Orchestra) plug in with 'Open arms'.
Be careful... There is no end to your choices in this sw.. The first time I opened it in my daw, I spent 2 or more hours just in the brass section, just exploring with my Akai usb midi controller.
This is perfect, if you are just starting to dig working with VI's... I have walked away from my daw feeling like I have a secret weapon.
As long as you know how to use your preferred daw, you will find that this addition to your creative toolbox will serve your needs as you learn more about digital music production.Works great, sounds great!
I was pleasantly surprised at how good GPO 5 sounds. Check the feature set. It does everything I need and sounds excellent in my compositions.
I almost did not purchase this because so many people say you have to spend big dollars to get godo sounding samples. I think it matters very little how samples sound when you audition them in solo. What matters is how they sound in your mix. These recordings were done very well and the articulations are accurate. Thy don't sound 'processed' they sound like a clean recording and I can apply EQ and compression in mix as needed.
The ARIA sample player is easy to use and also plays sound font files. So I was also able to download a ton of free open source orchestral samples from the web to compliment this library. The included effects are nice as well so it all around a great value and does exactly what I wanted it to do, hence the 5 stars.Natural expressive sounds!
These orchestral sounds are usable and just what I'm looking for at an affordable price. Quality sounds need not be expensive!Great intro level library (better than East West)
I tried this and several of the libraries from East West. Found this was far superior in a number of areas:
1. Keyswitches: You gotta have them.
2. ModWheel: Again, just a must have. Might have been cool five years ago, but now it is just essential.
2. General tone: Garritan is at least as good — but for much less money.
3. Playback quality: East West libraries — especially the horns — have goofy playback issues. Google it. It is well documented and really gets in the way of creation.
If you, like me, are new to sampling libraries this is the way to go. If you are an advanced composer with a large stable of samples, I'm not qualified to comment.
For new guys like me: Keep in mind that as with all these libraries, making your song sound like the demos is difficult. Performing with the sample libraries and getting them to sound good is a skill — just like writing good harmony and good orchestration. To that end, I wish Garritan had some nice training courses, aimed at helping users not only when using their app but when creating beautifully sampled performances in general.
Overall, great library!Strings!!
Fine strings and symphonic sounds. Very versatile, and at a great price. I'm a pro level guitarist that uses it for backgrounds to music I create for fun.Garritan Personal Orchestra 5
The sounds, ensembles and ARIA Player are all very superior quality. The only thing that kept this from being 5 stars is the difficulty of installation. After 2 tries I contacted customer support. They answered within 1 business day with much more detailed instructions than came with the product. By following these instructions I was able to install and use the software. It is just what I was looking for in Orchestral sounds, and a great value.Garritan PO5
I have used it a few times now and really like it. I use Sonar Platinum and there is an issue with having to set an automation at the start of a track to keep the volume set (check google for details if you have this issue). Other than that, it works great.An Amazing, Lightweight Library Punching Above Its Weightclass
I've gotta say, I've tried multiple orchestral libraries and this is one of my favorites so far. Provided you know your way around an orchestra, FX such as reverb, etc. and panning, you can get it to a point where it sounds amazing. It's lightweight, compact and easy on the CPU compared to similar, more expensive ones.
With that being said, the choirs are a little dissapointing and I wish they'd work more on those, And things can sound a little lifeless, or in the case of the choirs, like it comes straight from a soundfont from 2008-2009.The strings, woodwinds and lot of the other instruments can sound a little bland and boring at times as well, but that can be fixed with a little bit of convolution reverb from the Aria Player.I think I made the right choice
So, far I have not even made one recording with this VST package. I initially like many, just didn't think I'd need support, but I found this software sounds flat, until you use the engines that allow studio like performance. The Chinese symbols and gongs make we think I'd actually gone to China.
My SONAR 8 has a license transfer issue and I'm awaiting cake Walk support. I'm fairly certain this package is the best 'modern' 64 bit VST I have.Sound pretty good in some cases
I think it has to be improved the realism in some articulations like legatos on the strings or the punches on the brasses. Also it would be helpful having more articulation options on the KS instruments, as well as a vibrato control which can be activated while you play a note.Pretty Cool So Far
I just got this yesterday and I am impressed with the quality of the sounds, and the potential this brings to my home studio. I was a band geek as a grade schooler and all through high school, so I'm nerdy enough to know what each of these instruments are supposed to sound like, and Garritan has done a pretty good job of nailing them all. Seems like it will take some learning to arrange multiple instruments, but playing this via midi with my keyboard will be very fun.Perfect Introduction into the World of Orchestral Composition
Garritan successfully introduced us to a cheap but great sounding library, for those who wish to try out composing orchestral music. It has good sounds, a flexible and easy to use interface, and a low CPU footprint (I use this software on a $300 laptop with no problems). I isn't however perfect, and I would like to list out the pros and cons of this software:
Pros:
- The Aria Engine is easy to navigate and use
- The instruments were recorded dry so you can add your own reverb to them
- The Piano,Harp, and some of the brass instruments sound really good
- Low CPU usage - Perfect for laptops or dated desktops
- Easy to install, took me all of ten minutes for everything
- Tons of reverb presets making adding reverb to your instruments a breeze
- Multiple channels in the interface for loading multiple instruments in the sampler at once - up to 16 channels can be utilized. Keeps the CPU usage even lower when using with a DAW instead of loading Aria multiple times for different instruments
Cons:
- No manual. I found out that the previous version, GPO4 has a manual that you can download as a PDF, and it was a huge help figuring out how to use the instruments and Aria Engine
- Sounds don't hold up in comparison to the bigger, more professional libraries, but for the price, they are the best in that budget
Comparing this with Miroslav and Halion, I think this one is the best bang for your buck. It's a perfect introduction into the world of orchestral composition.Need an Orchestra on a Budget?
Most of the recorded music being created today is coming from younger folk who create and hear very rhythmic and modern voicing s, as well as using talented instrumentalists. I envy their youth and creativity! But as a musician, I tend to go more the speed of ' Lawrence Welk'. I love spending time in my Studio One DAW and creating original comps as well as backing tracks for friends to use as accompaniment, and trying to replicate incidental music that I hear in TV programs and movies . Garritan Personal Orchestra is very new to me and I'm thoroughly enjoying discovering all the(realistic sounding) instruments and the various ways of manipulating their voices. Thank You Garritan for providing musicians like me with an affordable way to enhancing my arrangements. (the Strings and Pipe Organ sounds are absolutely AMAZING!)Garritan PO5
For $130 you can't get a better orchestra. My rock music has classical influences so this software is perfect for me.Not bad, not great
I looked at and considered a lot of orchestral sample libraries before settling on this one. All the reviews said it was the best value and gave it high marks. That's well deserved... lots of samples of different performance techniques, some of which seem redundant, but most sound pretty good. I primarily use the orchestral strings, and the grand piano. I've got a much older horn sample library that's better than this one. Still it's good to have options for that as well, especially for building ensembles.
The mixer and effects section allow you to customize the sound and effects, and it works very well. It interfaced seamlessly with my DAW. If you're on a budget and are wanting to build your orchestral instrument library, this isn't a bad way to go.Garritan Does Not Work With All DAWs
Just to let all those who want GPO products to work with their personal DAW - It Does Not Work With All DAWs! Some people here will have you believing it works with Pro Tools - It Does Not! It also Does Not work with Reaper very well at all and most integration with the available DAWs out there takes a LOT of work! It will crash your DAW (if your DAW doesn't crash already - Pro Tools is noted for crashing) and will take a constant re-integration with your DAW every time you try to use it.
Having said the aforementioned, the instrumental quality is pretty good; albeit, not as good as those much higher priced orchestra libraries out there, but still extremely usable for those not having the financial assets to purchase the more expensive versions. GPO will do in a pinch and will hold you for years, if you don't want to or have to go into the upper stratosphere of orchestral sounds.
In short, the sounds are definitely worth the money, but the constant wrestling with GPO to integrate into your DAW may have a lot of you thinking twice!
Garritan Personal Orchestra 5
Item ID: GPO5Orchestral Sample Library with Over 500 Symphonic Orchestra Sounds - Mac/PC Standalone, AAX, VST, AUMore Info...Windows PCAUVSTSoftware Compatibility
Most software is compatible with both Mac and Windows computers, but check to make sure.If you're using Pro Tools, AAX plug-ins (or RTAS for older versions) are what you need. Most other Mac DAWs support AU plug-ins. VST is compatible with a number of Mac and Windows programs. Be sure you choose plug-ins that work with your DAW!To learn more about software compatibility, check out our buying guide.List Price:$149.95+Free 2-year WarrantyOr $20/month‡ for 6 months