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What's the best symphony app?
I was using that free BBC orchestra vst on Ableton then I think this thing is crazy good, there should be an equivalent one on iOS. So what's the best symphony/orchestral app?

Comments
I myself prefer Steinberg's Iconica Sketch if we're talking strictly symphonic sounds, but of course I'm assuming many will mention Decent Sampler and the free sound libraries one can find on pianobook.co.uk .
Iconica Sketch is good as @jwmmakerofmusic suggests, also check out some of the IAPs in Beathawk, String and Brass Ensemble's, and Tutti Orchestra are real good to name a couple.
Then there's the slightly older iSymphonic
Then there's also some excellent instrument collections in Staffpad.
I agree with those mentioned but also Xinematics has some good instrument samples plus the unique voice morphing bar.
There are plenty of good sounding apps mentioned here. I haven't seen SWAM apps from Audio Modeling mentioned but they can sound convincing too. Of everything available on iOS, I find Staffpad to be the most impressive of all in terms of realism. Its major drawback is that it requires an apple pencil and the user needs to be familiar with traditional music notation. But it's an amazing tool and there are so many great sounding libraries. A few exemples of what can be achieved with Staffpad
More experimental or contemporary but made only with Staffpad
do you experience any instability when using Xinematics? I have the impression it is unstable for some reason, but can’t remember why exactly. it has been keeping me away from it, despite it always looking really cool and intersting.
No problems with Xinematics. Best bang for the back when you’re after that cinematic sound. Swam and Staffpad if you’re knowing what you’re doing.
hey that’s great to hear. im likely to buy the IAP next time it goes on sale then.
thank you for the info.
🤙
I uninstalled it because of too many problems but I can recall what they were.
For the most part it's worked okay for me. Possibly sometimes when I've switched voices too many times; maybe a memory issue. Also the way the presets are arranged can be annoying; trying to find a sound I'm looking for.
These are all amazingly great! So much detail and nuance! I haven't noticed your orch stuff here for a while and hope you do more.
Gospel Musicians Pure Synth has some nice orchestral sample too.
Same here, one of the only purchase I really regret.
I'm possibly the only one here who used Notion Mobile, now called Fender Notion. Its cheap compared to StaffPad, doesnt require a pencil and is a good alternative if you like entering traditional notation.
I 'remixed' a GeoTony Geoshred track with it:
https://forum.loopypro.com/discussion/59690/following-footsteps-in-the-snow-notion-mobile#latest
I put it through a 'concert hall' reverb using Thafknar to get it sounding half decent.
@Johanso, I agree about the free BBC Orchestra; wish Spitfire would bring it to mobile - tiny install size and sounds great.
The orchestral bundle of Digital Sound Factory soundfont packs in Audio Evolution Mobile Studio is great value and sounds very good. Covers pretty much all orchestral instruments including solo instruments which a lot of iOS options miss out.
If you have Audiolayer, the ‘included’ VSCO community edition is another great option. Note, the version available to download in Audiolayer has been converted and mapped for Audiolayer’s requirements but VSCO community edition is free to everyone from their website and is, if I remember correctly, available in sfz format as one of the options, so perfectly usable in other apps which support the format.
Not iPad specific but I just stumbled on this video which may have some useful info in it…

Well, Halion Sonic Play was released today, and that has a myriad of great symphonic sounds in it (plus a lot more) for $15 intro price.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/halion-sonic-play-workstation/id6762268475
This paired with Iconica Sketch (which is also currently on sale) should cover everything one needs.
that is a good point.
i got some considering to do.
@ecou @Johanso thanks for the warning reminders. those are the kind of comments I recall when this app was newer. sometimes all the initial problems get fixed, sometimes not.
@MrStochastic thanks for the additional details. thats good it is working for you. good to hear about annoyances when using an app too, not just bugs or crashes. all of that stuff matters, as there are so many apps out there to sort through before choosing.
Indeed.
And, you have until 24 Aug (the sale period) to decide if Steinberg's instrument plugins are right for you. 
maybe worth also comparing korg module london symphony orchestra with xinematix, vcso, and iconica, i haven't bought iconica yet so can't say, but km is usable. i end up going back to doing it line by line with swam due to a frustration with the fixedness of library type sounds, but its a much more expensive option because you'd want at least viola sections, violin sections, cello sections, flute, clarinet and bass clarinet, for a strings and woodwinds composite (woodwinds not being sections you'd have to process/layer further), and a comfort with line by line workflow and possibly using expressive interface. the swam stuff is the ideal for organically and completely customized dynamics, like crescendo via controlling the aftertouch, or gradual increase in tremolo, or sudden falls on note-ends, the type of things that with samples have fixed parameters
Wow, I'm absolutely charmed by the 1st one. Which Staffpad's library did you use for the choir there?
I tried to make a small ensemble with SWAM strings (all 4 solo plugins, 2-3 instance of each one with different intonation and sound settings) but the final result wasn't that good tbh, even pizzicato sounds that should in theory be the easiest ones (the sound is too short to notice the issues)
Well, OK, I must admit, my result were nothing but my skill's issue
I suspect most of us underestimate that this is not as easy as playing a piano patch, and some of these guys have been learning how to coax that kind of ensemble expressiveness for a good number of years. Polyswam is going to be interesting
Edit: Clearly though it'll be worth your continued endeavours in the longer term! Hopefully not all that long
That guy in the video is using a “Breath controller” which unfortunately costs more than my last iPad purchase (which was in the $400 range out the door). I’ve been searching for a budget breath controller )a device that maps air flow to a MIDI CC. The only app I can recall that was sensitive to air flow was “Ocarina” by Smule… maybe a Mozaic script or FAC Envolver hack to complete the conversion to a CC stream.
Yeah, the other approach is MPE controllers. Anecdotally, breath controller users have spoken on the Linnstrument forum in the past about being able to do everything they need with just the Linnstrument. Not that I'm recommending visits to KVR but here's the URL anyway https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9041736&hilit=breath+controller#p9041736
Either way I/you/we still have to develop the requisite control, whether via fingers or breath.
(Plus Linnstruments are also not cheap)
It occurs to me that an “Expression Pedal” might make a good way to generate ADSR envelopes that are very much like “breath” flows. Time to dig out an expression pedal connected to the suitable USB device (BlueBox, M-Vave Chocolate, most MIDI keyboards that can emulate organs).
Yup, that’s what I ended up with. I’m using Boss EV-1-WL. It doesn’t need an additional usb device and can be connected right to the iPad
Looks like $130 but it does remove the need for an Intermediate device which I already own in the form of:
Bluetooth pedals which also have USB options I believe
Come to think of it, I own a Digital Digital Guitar Processor with a built-in Volume Pedal… but
Probably 5-pin MIDI so I’d need an audio interface. I have a Korg 5-pin MIDI box but it’s only the “Lightning Cable”.
The Boss option looks cleaner since I hate too many cables in the rig.
I have an opposite issue with it - my headrush mx5 can’t map midi input to the wah pedal (only builtin pedal or true analog external one). So if I want to practice wah and keep processor on the table, I have to buy a real expression pedal
By the way Boss pedal supports 2 midi CCs. You can switch by pushing the pedal like you do with a wah pedal to turn it on/off. And during this “switch” moment the pedal can send a separate midi impulse. Plus it supports boss FS-6 switches, that gives you 2 more pedals (latch and momentum are supported, with assignable CCs). So it’s a very clean yet suuuuper versatile setup