11-05-2021

Best String Quartet Vst Plugin

Best String Quartet Vst Plugins
Best String Quartet Sample Library

Section Strings by Simon Larkin Free Vst Authentic Organ Piano violin. When I heard that a friend of mine had a string quartet in his recording studio, I was straight on the phone asking if he would record a batch of samples for me.

Best Orchestral VST Software Plugin Reviews of 2020 Today digital technology is used almost in every type of business. The music industry is not left behind as now most of the musicians are using some of the best orchestral plugins to create great music pieces. Best Strings VST Plugins. As far as paid orchestral & strings VST libraries go, there are definitely a lot to choose from. I will list the ones I think are the best here, but just know that most of the paid libraries available actually do sound extremely good. Cinematic Studio Strings ($399).

Esline is a vintage Arp Solina String Ensemble emulation. ARP Solina is a multi-orchestral machine with violin, viola, trumpet, horn, cello and contrabass. The contrabass and cello selectors can be used to turn on a 16' or 8' monophonic bass, which is triggered by the lowest of the keys one presses.
Synthphonica Strings is a virtual ensemble of strings consisting of sections conformed by violin, viola, cello and double bass, which can also be played as as solo instruments. It includes sampled articulations like staccato, marcato, spiccato and legato as well as bowing techniques such as pizzicato and tremolo.
The 3 greatest orchestral string VST's are: Cinestrings. Cinematic Strings 2.0 Sounds very very fat and big, awesome for loud orchestration and heavy trailer stuff. LA Scoring Strings (most expensive but the best) If you want solo strings, check out the Embertone solo violin, Cinesamples Tina Guo Cello legato or the VSL. solo strings (expensive).
VST (Virtual Studio Technology) is a software plug-in format developed by Steinberg. These plug-ins generally come in one of three types: instruments, audio processors, or midi processors. They are among the most ubiquitous plug-in formats, and are what most people refer to when the term “software plug-in” is discussed.
What better way to add some embellishments to your songs than with an orchestral plugin? Even better if its free, right? Orchestral samples, and samples in general, have come a long way. They were practically unusable back in the day, but now, even though you can hear the difference between a sample software and the The 10 best Free Orchestral VST/AU Plugins That Sound Great!

This instrument is the first to be finished and tested. I have used samples from the cello and viola to cover the 5 octaves required to populate, fully, a 61 note keyboard.

In addition to the normal ADSR, I have included controls for gain, pan and a built in reverb. I wanted to allow some extra expressive adjustment, hence the LFO rate and depth controls giving a little more control over the mod wheel behavior, as well as a drop down menu allowing the choice of three different velocity curves, ‘strong’, ‘normal’ and ‘weak’

There are both 32 and 64 bit vst versions in the one zip file, these are for windows only.

Keep your eyes open for more in this series.

Section Strings by Simon Larkin Free Vst Authentic Organ Piano Violin

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Orchestral strings are widely used in a multitude of contexts from pop music to television, film scores and game audio. You may need a string sample library to create a MIDI mockup for a director before sending the material to an orchestrator or the MIDI version may be intended as the final result.

In some situations, realism is the goal, and numerous deep sampled libraries are available with a variety of articulations and extended contemporary techniques (look for my upcoming article focused on string articulations coming soon to The Pro Audio Files).

Other times, you might want a string-flavored sound, where a heavily processed or hybrid sound fits the situation better than a realistic simulation. Described below (in no particular order) are some of the best string-based libraries offering a variety of approaches to get you the sound and texture appropriate for your particular musical context.

1. London Contemporary Orchestra Strings by Spitfire Audio

Best String Quartet Vst Plugins

Spitfire Walkthrough: LCO Strings

This library is organized into three general folders and five categories of Kontakt instruments: (description from the manual below)

Extended Techniques – contains ‘core’ and ‘decorative’ techniques for each section and can be viewed as the next stage in detail up from the ‘basic’ startup patches.
Individual Articulations – each separate articulation in its own patch.
Other Patches which contains three other articulation types:
Economic – A pre-curated smaller selection of articulations which won’t break you RAM bank.
Light – Stripped back articulations that reduce the stresses on your CPU.
Time Machine – These patches contain all of the short articulations fully loaded into RAM so that you are able to vary the length of the short notes via CC.

The Ostinatum section offers a programmable rhythm generator and arpeggiator capable of everything from chaotic textures to precisely defined rhythms.

Articulations include Sul Ponticello, Sul Tasto, Harmonics, various types of Vibrato and several extended techniques like transitional textures (Granular to normal), Spectral Scrubs, Granular Trem, Twitchy and a “unique Detuned Open String” setting for all sections.

Spitfire instruments, in general, have intense functionality and offer the user significant control. Referencing the manual is essential to take full advantage of what is available. This collection is perfect for creating contemporary textures and transitions as well as precisely defined ostinati.

Size (compressed): 26.5 GB
Price: $349

2. Symphobia 1 by ProjectSAM

I’ve included the Symphobia 1 library even though it is not strictly a string collection and includes a full selection of orchestral samples, as well as mixed ensembles. But the string sounds by themselves are excellent and the interface is very user friendly and intuitive, and deserves mention here.

The String-specific instruments include Sul Tasto (by section and ensemble), Long and Short notes, Clusters, Effects, Chords and Octaves among others. There are several standard key-switchable articulations available and some great contemporary transitional effects with a speed control for finding the right duration. The “Wild String Textures” and “Cellos Basses Col Legno” settings are particularly satisfying.

The string section is solid and it’s very easy to get a great sound quickly without much fussing around. The price is very reasonable when you consider the full range of orchestral instruments included along with the strings. Although I would love to see and hear a string-specific library from ProjectSAM, this collection is a great foundation for anyone looking to get into orchestral sounds in general.

Best String Quartet Sample Library

Interface walkthrough ProjectSAM Symphobia (1/7)

Size (compressed): 15.8 GB
Price: $549

3. Front Row Violins by Kirk Hunter Studios

This library focuses specifically on Violins from an expressive Solo player to a 16 player section. It excels at producing various flavors of vibrato including what the developer calls: Classical, Romantic, Baroque, Celtic, Lush and Western.

It features auto-divisi for chords, a “bow-stop” sound at the end staccato notes (used in Classical and Baroque styles), and intuitive playability that allows immediate control over vibrato. It literally senses and follows your playing style to achieve amazing realism in terms of bowing, dynamics and attacks.

The front end has an attractive wooden look with dials that indicate the current Vibrato, Dynamic level and Velocity. Popping the settings hood give you additional control over Key Switches, Envelopes, Attack Style and other features. There is even a way to control vibrato rate via repeated key presses which I have not seen before. The presets cover a range a ensemble textures, but where this instrument really shines is with the Solo Violin sound.

Kirk Hunter Front Row Violins OVERVIEW

Size (compressed): 2 GB
Price: $299 (currently offered at an introductory price of $199)

4. NOVO Modern Strings by Heavyocity

NOVO Modern Strings goes beyond acoustic strings samples, offering a rich effect section, sophisticated sequencer and the ability to layer three channels of audio in its String and Loop Designer instruments.

Also included is a Traditional category of string instruments by section, and high and low ensembles. Articulations are key switchable and include long, legato, tremolo, spiccato, and pizzicato. There is a nicely designed section for adjusting Round Robin playback of staccato/spiccato and up/down bowing modes. As with any feature-rich instrument, it is essential to read the manual in order to discover all its potential.

This instrument enters the realm of sound design in a significant way and holds its own in Heavyocity’s innovative collection of libraries. If you’re looking to take your string writing into uncharted territory, NOVO Modern Strings is the perfect vessel.

Heavyocity – NOVO – Content Overview

Size (compressed): 38 GB
Price: $549

5. Vertigo Strings by Cinematique

This new offering by Cinematique is capable of rich textured strings pads right out of the box. The Concept as described by the developers:

“The major principle of Vertigo Strings is to use 16 different sound sources which can be mixed, pitched and paned individually. In addition there are some master tools available for you to refine the individual melange of instruments. Finally we have added 15 inspiring Presets, giving you a powerful set of sounds to base your compositions upon.”

While this library does not have the same level of control found in some of the others talked about here, it does offer the possibility of creating beautiful organic textures by combining traditional string sounds with non-orchestral sounds such as bowed guitar, tape effects sounds and vintage harmonium with a clean and intuitive interface and a small storage footprint.

Walkthrough | Vertigo Strings

Size (compressed): .5 GB
Price: $150

6. Morphestra 2 by Sample Logic

Morphestra 2 is a full-blown sound design engine that has significant string library content based on their association with Kirk Hunter Studios (see Kirk Hunter Solo Strings library) as well as other orchestral instruments.

This library operates differently from others mentioned here and it is most certainly skewed towards sound design as opposed to traditional orchestral scoring. The main interface uses a four core system of playback engines, each cable of playing two sound sources for a total eight possible layers. For a detailed discussion of this instrument see my full review here.

MORPHESTRA 2: Instruments In Action

Size (compressed): 25 GB
Price: $499

7. Analog Strings by Output

Output is one of those companies that is putting out one astounding instrument after another. My review of Analog Strings in January (2018) can be accessed here.

This is a feature-rich instrument with a searchable library of over 500 presets. It’s visually stunning main page offers quick access to four programmable parameters that can be used to quickly customize an existing preset and create a unique voice. The sounds possible are hybridizations of acoustic strings and analog electronics, yielding a contemporary sonic palette equally viable for music production and scoring for the moving image.

ANALOG STRINGS by Output – Walkthrough

Size (compressed): 19.7 GB
Price: $199

8. Hollywood Strings by EastWest Sounds Online

No discussion of String Libraries would be complete without mentioning Hollywood Strings by EastWest. This iconic collection of samples recorded at renown EastWest Studio One has been heard in a multitude of television and film scores and is still widely used by many A-List composers. The company recently celebrated its 30 year anniversary.

It differs from other products discussed above in two significant ways. First, it is not a Kontakt-based instrument and requires its own plugin called Play to function. Secondly, EastWest has moved to a subscription cloud-based model. Admittedly, the subscription model is not something I’m very fond of. But what EastWest offers seems to be an extraordinary deal. Access to their entire collection for as little as $25/mo (or $15 for students/faculty). The price is higher for the Diamond edition which includes 24-bit samples and more mic positions. Boasting access to over 10,000 instruments this deal seems like a no-brainer.

The String Libraries, included in the EastWest ComposerCloud, which also has an enormous collection of orchestral libraries and other sounds, are fully comprehensive in terms of articulations, solo and ensemble instruments, key switching and MIDI controllability. If you are an orchestral composer you’ll find everything you need for traditional string writing. These instruments do have a certain “sound” that’s hard to describe and whether it’s desirable is a matter of personal taste. But one benefit of the subscription model is the ability cancel without losing a significant investment. Definitely worth a try given the low financial risk.

EastWest Hollywood Strings Walkthrough

Size (compressed): HUGE – about 1 TB for everything
(can be purchased on a Hard Drive for an additional cost or downloaded one collection at a time)
Price: $25/month

Summation

The other offerings from these library developers go well beyond strings and I encourage you to investigate the wide range and rapidly expanding collections being released on a regular basis.

If you are a little confused by the terminology surrounding playing techniques for strings, watch for my upcoming article on string articulations and playing indications; what they mean and how they affect the sound.

Check out my other articles, reviews, interviews and my video tutorial series, Synthesis 101 available exclusively on The Pro Audio Files.

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