Quote:
Originally Posted by dreemeternal
Thanks guys. Yeah; I do feel silly with this broad question; and agree with all of you 100%. Hope this is allowed; here's my music: https://dreemeternalmusic.com/music/
considering all of those things; I feel I've hit a wall.
Thank you all! |
Just a quick listen on your first few songs, not in a critical listening environment, but my immediate reaction was to your string sound… I would start with improving that and then mix the rest of your sounds around the strings. Even with a good sample library, there are several things you need to consider to make your strings sound convincing.
1. Use quality string samples, and play or program each layer specific to the library you are using. Each library will react to the same MIDI data differently. Simply copying and pasting the same midi track to use with a different library, or even a different patch in the same library isn’t enough… the playing or programming needs to be tailored to get the best out of the library you are using.
2. Every string sound needs its own space. Pan each layer differently, try to set them up the way a live orchestra would be positioned on stage. Send them all to the same reverb using busses, adjust distance front to back with the bus send and fader for that track. I usually roll off everything under around 600Hz on my string reverb so it doesn’t clutter the low end of my mix. Once you have this set up, save it as a template for future string projects.
3. Never double the same sample! This will create a chorusy, fake sound. This means when you play a chord, each note of the chord should be triggering a different sample. While there are some sample libraries that can do divisi under the hood for you, it’s important to understand that they still have limitations.
4. Experiment with blending different libraries, also experiment with blending different section sizes. 4 solo violins from different libraries will probably sound better than a patch that was 4 violins recorded together. There isn’t one end-all string library, they all sound a little bit different and do certain things better.