Best Harp VST LibrariesWhich Harp VST Library?

Do you want a high quality harp for your music compositions?

The Harp is an amazing instrument. Great dynamics, airy and shimmering tone, and very light in the mix. It can sound angelic, divine, magical, historic, or simply atmospheric.

In this quick guide I have compiled a list of great harp software instruments.

Harp VST Libraries – Top List

  1. Elysium Harp (Soundiron)
  2. Grand Harp (Cinematique Instruments)
  3. Berlin Symphonic Harps (Orchestral Tools)
  4. Concert Harp (Project Sam)
  5. Harp Swarm (Spitfire Audio)
  6. CineHarps (Cinesamples)
  7. Angelic Harp (Orange Tree Samples)

Hello Composers! =)

My name is Mike, founder of professionalcomposers.com, music composer and sound designer since 1998, old school nerd, and coffee addict. So grab a cup of coffee, and let’s check out some Harp VST Sample Libraries! =)

Elysium Harp (Soundiron)

A 47-string Lyon & Healy bronze concert harpgrand concert pedal harp. Lots of articulations, plus natural glisses in 19 different scales, 8 round-robins per dynamic layer, plus a very feature rich user interface. Lots of different pluck styles (including harmonics), as well as ambient textures and pads are included.

My Favorite Highlights

  • Many Pluck Styles (Finger Pad, Finger Nail, Xylophonic, Harmonics…)
  • Gliss & Pedal Features included
  • 194 Natural Glisses in 19 scales and styles
  • Inspiring User Interface
  • Arpeggiator Module
  • FX Rack
  • NKS Mapped

Learn more about Elysium Harp here.

Grand Harp (Cinematique Instruments)

This concert harp sample library features 6 different articulations, 4 round robins and 5 velocity layers. It has a simple and effective interface, and includes a glissando feature controlled with the MOD-wheel on your MIDI keyboard.

My Favorite Highlights

  • A lot of articulations (6 articulations)
  • Great dynamic range (5 layers)
  • Automatic Note Length feature
  • An interesting glissando approach

Learn more about Grand Harp here.

Berlin Symphonic Harps (Orchestral Tools)

Two deeply sampled harps recorded in the Teldex Scoring Stage in Germany. Both harps have a consistent set of articulations, with a beautiful and shimmering sound and added room tone from the amazing scoring stage.

My Favorite Highlights

  • Huge Sample Set (79GB)
  • 2 harps in one product
  • True Pedal Control
  • Playable Glissandi Patches
  • Scale Glissandi in numerous modes and keys
  • Release Damping

Concert Harp (Project Sam)

A beautifully sampled concert harp, recorded in a concert hall environment. A variety of single note playing techniques and performed glissando scales and effects were sampled. This is a lighter library that doesn’t consume too much resources, 2.6 GB sample set, but still sound great.

My Favorite Highlights

  • All sounds are available in 2 different microphone sets
  • Paper notes (pieces of paper stuck between the strings)
  • Articulation Variation (Ex: Flageolets, Pres de la table, Sons xylo)
  • 7 Glissando Scales (Up, Down, Up/Down)

Harp Swarm (Spitfire Audio)

9 Harps playing simultaneously spread out around the Hall at Air Studios. From hauntingly slow and fast tremolandi, to long and short plucks, harmonics, and a great selection of glissandi. The Swarm series by Spitfire Audio is all about creating beautiful atmospheric vibes.

My Favorite Highlights

  • 6 Harps on the main scoring stage, 3 in the galleries recorded in unison
  • Slow and fast trems with speed control and dynamic crossfading via mod wheel
  • Amazing glissandi selection including release trigger and different speed options
  • Great Microphone Selection and Mixer
  • Ostinatum Engine

CineHarps (Cinesamples)

CineHarps is a collection of deeply sampled orchestral harps, recorded at the MGM Scoring Stage at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, which gives it that lush Hollywood sound.

My Favorite Highlights

  • 12 Main Patches (Concert Harp, Glissandi, Harmonics, Scrapes, Sildes etc.)
  • Microphone Mixer with Perspective Fader
  • Gliss Mode with amazing User Control
  • Close Delay Feature for a tighter sound when mixing microphones
  • Custom Velocity Curve
  • Round Robin Borrowing

Angelic Harp (Orange Tree Samples)

Angelic Harp is an extensively sampled 47-string concert harp. It features 6 1/2 octave range with 4 dynamics and up to 7 alternating round-robin samples. It has a great sound without taking up too much space (around 2GB).

My Favorite Highlights

  • Adjustable Preroll Samples
  • Glissando system for playing realistic harp glisses between notes.
  • Nice control over the Dynamics (curve, min and max settings)
  • Control over Release Decay and Volume

Honorable mentions

  • EastWest Hollywood Harps
  • Garritan Harps
  • VSL Harps

Harp VST Library – A Quick Guide

What harp should you choose? Well, you will need to find out what is most important to you, and of course listen to the audio demos of different harps, to find a sound you prefer.

What to consider in a Harp VST Library?

  • Size and amount of Samples
  • One or more Harps included
  • The amount of Articulations
  • Microphone Choices + Mixing
  • How many Dynamic Layers
  • How many Round Robins
  • Glissando Options and Control
  • Velocity Curve and Response Control
  • Attack & Release Control
  • Processed or Natural Recordings
  • The User Interface
  • Special Features (anything that matters to you)