Welcome to our Top 5 Free Recommendations For Orchestral Sample Libraries. 

Whether your cranking out  beats and need a lil string flair,  music licensing cues for a film trailer or remaking soul samples and need some orchestral elements, we have you covered.

In no particular order:

1: Orchestral Tools Layers

As stated on the website:    

Free orchestral VST instrument

Full orchestral patch plus individual string, woodwind, and brass sections—each with several articulations

Simple one-touch access to major, minor, and suspended chords with multiple inversions—plus single bass notes

Multiple, mixable mic positions and configurations

Unique layering capability that lets you seamlessly blend instrument sections and shift dynamics using your MIDI controller

Captured at Teldex Scoring Stage in Berlin

Layers delivers the same pristine sound as all Orchestral Tools collections. Just like those other collections, the instruments for Layers were meticulously recorded on the Teldex Scoring Stage in Berlin—a large hall with amazing acoustics. Engineers used select microphones in multiple positions and configurations. All sections featured hand-picked musicians from contemporary Berlin orchestras.

What you need: 

Layers runs exclusively in the free Orchestral Tools SINEplayer

2: ProjectSam The Free Orchestra 1 & 2

As stated from the website: 

A free taste of what our extensive catalog has to offer! Packing sounds from our entire product line, this diverse collection of instruments is a unique and cinematic introduction to the world of ProjectSAM.

The Free Orchestra 2 builds on the legacy of its predecessor, offering you an even larger collection of cinematic sounds from our renowned orchestral catalog.

3: Spitfire Audio BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover

As stated from the website: 

Designed to make orchestral scoring accessible to music creators of every level, BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover is an inspiring gateway into orchestral composition, recorded at the iconic home of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Maida Vale Studios — also host to The Beatles, Hendrix, Bowie, and countless film scores. It features the same professional recording process as both the Core and Professional editions in an incredibly lightweight and accessible package (only 240MB). 

We have selected 34 instruments and 47 techniques available with one mix signal, enabling you to write instantly great-sounding orchestral music — presented in a beautifully designed, easy-to-use plugin, with simple controls and NKS compatibility. Owners of BBCSO Professional and Core will automatically receive Discover for free.

As stated from the website: 

Welcome to the Vienna Symphonic Library’s series of Synchron Instruments! As the name says, Big Bang Orchestra furnishes you with a selection of full-orchestra articulations, at the same time allowing you (if you haven’t done so already) to explore our powerful Synchron Player software. If you're looking for that extra dramatic effect or want to highlight a passage in your composition, this bonus library could be the solution, or at least point you in the right direction.

What you need: 

iLok Account and iLok License Manager for 2 license activations on a physical iLok 2/iLok 3 key or on a computer (machine-based)

5: Orchestral tools Berlin free orchestra:

As stated from the website:

Berlin Free Orchestra is a complete symphony orchestra with ensembles and solo instruments made from the same recordings as our flagship Berlin Series.

Specifications: 

Complete symphony orchestra

20 solo instruments

13 instrument ensembles

67 articulations

4 expressive legato soloists

Round robins and multiple dynamic layers on strings and brass

Full range of standard orchestral instruments

Includes pitched and unpitched percussion

One professionally mixed mic mix

6.4 GB of samples uncompressed, 3 GB when installed

Instruments: 

You get strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. You get expressive solo instruments for main motifs and melodies, and you get ensembles for the broader brushstrokes and for sketching. You get auxiliary instruments like bass clarinet and contrabassoon, and you get some great pitched percussion including tubular bells and vibraphone. And all the instruments here are the same as in our flagship collections, flagship quality for free.

Summary: 

Berlin Free Orchestra 

Stands out for its breadth and realism, its the closest to a real orchestra sample library among the free offerings, with solo, ensemble and percussion instruments all from the prefessional series. 

Project Sam The Free Orchestra: 

Cinematic and immediate, great for epic, dramatic music but with less controlover orchestral details.

Big Bang Orchestra Free: 

Excels at massive orchestral tutti effects but is not designed for nuanced, section by section writing.

Orchestral Tools Layers:

Is optimized for speed and inspriation, delivering orchestral moods and textures rather than deeply sampled instruments. 

Spitfire Labs BBC Symphony Discover:

Experimental and creative/ Offering unique, hybrid orchestral textures rather than a traditional orchestral palette.

Conclusion:

Exploring free orchestra libraries is a game changer for beatmakers and producers looking to elevate their music without a big budget. These libraries may have limitations from paid libraries but are powerful enough to get you started and maybe a finished production. 

Whether your'e just starting out or seeking fresh inspiration, these libraries offer articulations, dynamics and textures all for free. 

Dive in, get to work and experiment! 

Your next hit could literally be a download away.