IK Mutimedia

IK Multimedia Miroslav Philharmonic Review

IK Multimedia Miroslav Philharmonic Review

Philharmonic is a plugin that focuses mainly on strings and brass, as well as having a few choir and drum/percussion kits in there.  It is considered as one of the best plugins for strings sounds as its quality is simply amazing.  The thickness and purity of the strings is what makes this plugin stand out from the rest and is the closest to the real thing as you will ever get from a string plugin.  Not forgetting the other sounds philharmonic offers, the trumpet samples, choirs samples and drum kits are equally as good in quality.

There are 4 different types of strings offered (Basses, Cellos, Violas and Violins).  Each one of these offers you the option to loop the sound to get a long constant sound of the sample, the option of tremolo to make the strings tremble, or the option use the strings as stabs by using pizzicato style or staccato style.  It also gives you the option to use these option with every other instrument including the trumpet samples.

Ik Multimedia’s Philharmonic doesn’t only offer strings and trumpets but also offers a variety of woodwind samples (Bassoons, Clarinets, Flutes and Oboes).  Like everything else in Philharmonic, they are also of very high quality in sound.  They also have a small section called other instruments, in which a guitar, a harp and piano can be found.  Although these these are good in quality, you would probably never use them as there isn’t a wide variety to choose from.

As an added bonus, they also have drum and percussion sets with quite a lot of high quality samples.  Included in this section are some chromatic percussion samples such as a glockenspiel, vibraphone and tubular bells.

Regarding the actual plugin, it has allot of effects built into it that work very well.  They include an attack effect, decay effect and sustain and release effects.  There are many other effects available onboard the plugin, but I believe you are better off using separate plugins to achieve the effect you want from a dedicated plugin.  You have the option to turn the volume level up of the instrument you are using which you will most likely need as the instruments and samples are quite quiet compared to other virtual instruments.

Philharmonic is built both for PC and for Mac as a standalone program, or as a plugin in the format of VST, RTAS and AU.

This plugin is very well built, has an amazing library of string samples, brass samples and percussion samples and is full of useful effects.  If you are looking for that professional sound, then this plugin is a must buy!

Overall Score: 10/10