best strings samples

[holden]

I've been casually shopping for string samples and one thing I have noticed is that the most revealing differences in string libraries is the quality and variety of attacks. Sample recordings offered by vendors often hide attack quality. So be careful that you don't make a decision based solely on sustained, wet string parts.

[Lee Blaske]

Lee, I have been visiting the VSL forum, asking for specific instruction on how to go about doing this. I know that Plogue Bidule exists and that's about it. I have been using the VST to RTAS wrapper but has been problematic but I can have about 3 instances on my Dual G5. I am willing to buy a Mac Mini to achieve slaving it to my G5. Appreciat any info on this.

Currently, I'm using a combination of V-Stack and NI's Kore. V-Stack is discontinued, but I expect Kore to be around for a long time. Kore also comes with and audio/midi interface (although you might want to utilize a Midi via LAN solution to get MIDI to your slave).

This has been posted before, but here's a link to a series of three articles on this topic (access the other two in the lower RH corner of the page)...

http://www.createfilmscores.net/?page_id=9

[Lee Blaske]

Sample recordings offered by vendors often hide attack quality. So be careful that you don't make a decision based solely on sustained, wet string parts.

OTOH, all some people want is a nice, lush, animated pad underneath things. For that kind of application, the string patches in Spectrasonics Atmosphere might be all they need.

[stevegalante]

OTOH, all some people want is a nice, lush, animated pad underneath things. For that kind of application, the string patches in Spectrasonics Atmosphere might be all they need.

I agree, though I have all the Eastwest QLSO and the VSL libraries, I often use Atmosphere or even Colossus patches. Unless you need this : http://www.audioimpressions.com/

[tomhartman]

Rinky, I'm a dummy, and I figured Plogue out. It's solid as a rock. I use a Mac Pro running PT HD2 and have a Mac Mini running Vienna. Works great. Bought an MAUDIO interface, go lightpipe out of that into the 96/IO. Everyone is happy.

TH

[Eric Lambert]

...have used East West's Silver Edition strings (too basic)...

Get the Gold edition, or better yet the Platinum - it's fantastic. Not sure what "too basic" means, but if you mean there's not enough sample options, Gold or Platinum will take care of that.

[rinky]

Rinky, I'm a dummy, and I figured Plogue out. It's solid as a rock. I use a Mac Pro running PT HD2 and have a Mac Mini running Vienna. Works great. Bought an MAUDIO interface, go lightpipe out of that into the 96/IO. Everyone is happy.

TH

TH, this sounds like what I really want to do! If you can provide some specifics before I commit to the mini and Plogue, in terms of what I need, I'd really be a happy dummy! Is the MAUDIO interface comparable to like MOTU's Traveler (which I have). Anyway, if you can share your setup, ie requirements, hardware and connectors needed (For Dummies), I will order the mini ASAP! I need to have this!!! Thanks in advance.

[PTGuy]

We've been using Garritan's Personal Orchestra for some time now:

http://www.garritan.com/GPO.html

Based on NI's Kontakt player, works very well, 8 voice multitimbral and many very usable sounds for only 200 dollars. Installable on 2 machines. The only thing that bugs me is that you always have to use the modulation wheel to get the most level out of the sounds.

No offense but out of all the string samples availible those have to be the worst. No kidding, my Roland XP-50 has better sounding section and solo string patches. I just have to roll my eyes (not at you) when I see anyone talking about the "recording quality" of the Garritan stuff. Anyone without tin ears can hear the multitude of problems in those wav's.

For almost the same amount of money you can get the East West package which, compared to GPO, is like comparing a BMW to a Pinto.

[Lee Blaske]

For almost the same amount of money you can get the East West package which, compared to GPO, is like comparing a BMW to a Pinto.

There are probably a lot of younger people on this forum who don't know what a Pinto is.

Regarding GPO, I think the features of that library are the low price, and small RAM footprint. It's ideal for doing things like proofing a score with a notation program, or working out orchestrations on a single computer where you need to have a lot of instruments loaded concurrently. It's an ideal product for educators.

[Lee Blaske]

BTW, another name that has yet to come up is SoniVox (formerly "Sonic Implants"). The con sordino (with mute) strings in the SoniVox library are the sweetest I've heard of any library I've used, and I have a lot of them.

Regarding VSL, the thing that's great about them is that they realize that one size does not fit all. Their original, large section string samples are very different from their Chamber Strings, their Appassionata Strings, and their Solo Strings. If you have all these resources, you can get some interesting sounds by mixing and matching.

I've got the EW Platinum and XP libraries. For my taste, they're on the bright and aggressive side of things. In some situations, it's exactly what's called for. In other situations, it's not.

Again, this is all very much a YMMV area. We all have different tastes.

Fortunately, all the major manufacturers of libraries have demoed the snot out of their collections. Invest the time and listen to all the demos (produced by the library creators and users), and go with what tickles your eardrums.

Library producers like VSL and EW also have very active user forums, and it pays to check those out.

In short, this is one area that with enough research, you can make a very informed choice.

Another thing to consider is that some of these libraries are VERY expensive. They are also often subject to ongoing development and refinement (plus development of new player engines, etc.). So, consider that you are in effect entering into a long-term relationship with a company, especially if you are going with a more expensive product. From that standpoint, I know I've really been quite impressed with VSL. I was initially skeptical of them when I first heard about them, warmed up to them a bit when I bought their first library in Giga format, grew to like them even more when I upgraded to a larger library in EXS-24 format, and really grew to love the product when I moved to the VI based instrument. There simply is no company that's as dedicated to the art of orchestral instrument sampling as VSL is. They're a bunch of fanatics, and I like that about them.