Hello everyone, some of you might recognize me doing mainly electronica music, in the past.. now, i got the EWQL Gold DVD's to borrow from a local store to see if it's any good for me, along with Cubase SX3, because i've been thinking of parting with reason and moving on to something that suits my needs a bit more (orchestral) So, now i'm sitting here, i've been playing around with Cubase enough to know how to sequence a track, import a VST, and so. I've made a few tracks over at http://shiro.loffel.org/mp3/Cubase/ Mostly just fooling around, just chilling to the insane quality! Anyway, i've only got a week or so before i have to return the packages, since i don't 'own' them yet. But, how much i'm still trying things out, i'm stuck with 512mb RAM for a while, and i'd like your opinion on wether it's a good idea to get Cubase SX3 and East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Gold VST (Contra to getting any newer software, or if the platinum version of EWQLSO is that much better?) Is this the right choice? I'm looking for strictly orchestral composing, i'm attending to composer's school next year, will it last long? I think the quality and power of the EWQLSO Gold is unquestionable, but if you have experience or suggestions please post them :D

Nobody? :<

I think EWQLSO Gold is a great set. I think the main difference with Platinum is the multiple mic positions (other articulations too?). I've been very happy with it. It seems to be best suited for a big, dramatic sound (though, soft, intimate is not out of the question). The price has gone down quite a bit from when I got it, so it seems like a great deal.
I don't know about Cubase though, I'm using Sonar. Seems like all the main sequencers have the same features over all, so I guess it's just a matter of what you're comfortable with. There are plenty of happy Cubase users out there, so I suppose it would be a good choice.

The difference between Gold and Platinum is that Platinum is 24 bit and has 3 mic positions (surround or back-of-the-hall, full or stage, and close mics). Gold is 16 bit and has one mic position (full or stage position).

What this means is that Platinum requires more RAM.

The articulation list is the same, parallel on both sides.

You get more articulations if you get Gold XP or Platinum XP which is the Expanded professional set of articulations (which I wholly recommend).

I like Cubase. I'm just sayin' :-)
I've used it since... 1988, I think.

If you are composing for buddies, as a hobby or just to get an idea, than Gold is for you.

If you are composing professionally for commercial industries, than Platinum is the choice. 24bit over 16bit makes all the difference in mixing & mastering. The Extra mic positions can enhance more life to it, but Gold is still exceptional in this respect.

In short for you I'd start with Gold and once you got that under your belt you can simply upgrade. (And with the money you save on Gold, you can but more RAM :D)

As for Cubase...

It's buggy and bloated and prone to crashing, but it's an industry standard... kind of like Windows. It has exceptional MIDI capability and as such I'd choose it over most other sequencers.
Cubase 4 is available but I won't touch it since it doesn't support DX plugins.

For multi-track Audio editing there as an astounding low cost program called "Reaper" which provokes a lot of interest in the audio world.

Hope this helps!

I use Gold, and it's great, but 512 mb is NOT enough by a longshot, even with disk streaming active. I have 3 gb RAM and I still need more for big templates!

This is assuming you want to load a full orchestra. If you want to only use a couple instances at a time you should be fine.

First off, thanks for all the great responses! I almost gave up :(
Well, i've been a hobby composer for quite some time now and i'm about to go in-depth with orchestra, I mean, as in actually learning theory and how to set up an orchestra, what aspects to think about, and alot of things i don't know about. I like Cubase SX3, i can't understand why Cubase 4? doesn't support DX plugins? Anyway, i'm getting SX3 for a fair low price, and EWQL Gold aswell, so i think i'll start out with that, and until i've capped my capabilities i'll stick to it. This is probably the best way to do, because even if i had all these mic positions, and 24bit audio, it probably wouldn't matter, or i wouldn't know how to effectively use it yet anyway. Thanks for the tips though!

/Michael

I do recommend GOLD XP PRO.

You're just going to give yourself more FLEXIBILITY in your writing when you have more articulations at your service.

Alright, i'll ask how much that is compared to what he's selling ordinary Gold for, as it is now he's selling EWQL for a palprice of $200 :D