KVR :: Instruments » A Free Vst Violin [View Original Topic]
There are 85 posts in this topic.

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NotTheCommonDose - Tue May 30, 2006 1:43 am

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Please.

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.jon - Tue May 30, 2006 1:50 am

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Some soundfont or MIS sample- http://theremin.music.uiowa.edu/MIS.violin.html

Krakli Stringz http://www.krakli.co.uk/ ?

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wakax - Tue May 30, 2006 1:58 am

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use sfz ( free sf2 player ) + some violin sf2.
( from http://www.hammersound.net or http://www.sf2midi.com )

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bambooman - Tue May 30, 2006 2:46 am

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this comes very close, sounds very good to me!!

http://66.49.138.249/files/plugins/Cellofan.zip

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NotTheCommonDose - Tue May 30, 2006 2:49 am

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Thanks guys, im still sifting through all the soundfonts but I'm sure I can find something.

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shanecgriffo - Tue May 30, 2006 3:02 am

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mmm cellofan , havent used that in a while.. it was quite nice from memory.

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Ja.x - Tue May 30, 2006 3:34 am

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I like the sound of Cellofan, but unfortunately it's a cello, not a violin, so it doesn't play above C4 (or something, don't remember exactly).

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NotTheCommonDose - Tue May 30, 2006 3:40 am

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Indeed. It was a nice gesture though, Thank you bambooman.

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jens - Tue May 30, 2006 3:48 am

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http://www.kvraudio.com/get/2059.html

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G-Ro124 - Tue May 30, 2006 4:08 am

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i wish I could find a string VST without vibrato....

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SRF - Tue May 30, 2006 4:26 am

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I don't know if you can still get it, but the old version of Sampletank Free included a violin I think. If you have any cash at all, and if can find one, the Sonic Reality Symphony Strings pack for Sampletank 1 included very nice violins and cellos - and lots more besides.

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xoxos - Tue May 30, 2006 7:50 am

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i've tried a pm model, but just haven't found anything near convincing for high notes.

otoh, for some apps, simple subtractive synthesis can usually please me.

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Boulotaur2024 - Tue May 30, 2006 9:48 am

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Mmm, I gave it a try some time ago, I must admit I hated it, I even thought it was a joke at first, but it may sound good with a bit of tweaking, I don't know... If anybody comes up with interesting patches, I'm more than willing to try it again.

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jens - Tue May 30, 2006 9:54 am

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it not only depends on the patches but also on how you use them - in the right context it can sound relatively realistic - or no - let me rephrase that: it can sound relatively convincing...

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Sandberg - Tue May 30, 2006 10:39 am

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StringZ was/is very promising. The demos sounded great. But, I had some trouble with unwanted noise/click/bump at the very beginning of the notes. Like an overemphasized attack, as it were... The ADSR couldn't cure it, to my ears...

I hope it's still under construction/refinement. Nice skin, btw.

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tconrardy - Tue May 30, 2006 11:25 am

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what do you guys think of the MIS samples?

Tim

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ianweb123 - Tue May 30, 2006 12:10 pm

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Stringz is the vst equivalent of Marmite, you either love it or hate it.. The thump you speak of is something that I am aware of and is caused by the reliance on using a tuned reverb for part of the tone generation (a bit like kicking an old spring reverb).

You can dial it out a bit by use of the sliders in the section marked colour..
The higher tones of Stringz have, rightly, been critcised and it certainly works better in the lower registers, which won't help the original poster.. Adding reverb to the fx chain is almost essential to a more accurate emulation, and use of velocity control really helps to make it sound less plastic..

Having said that all the Krakli string instruments (etiquet, etEquet and StringZ) have had a signature sound which appeals to what I was looking for with a string synth. I have always been more interested in the string quartet sound rather than the sting ensemble sound..! happy hunting

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mdsp - Tue May 30, 2006 2:27 pm

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what do you think about the sound of this one:

violin.mp3

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anzoid - Tue May 30, 2006 2:39 pm

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There is a great violin VST called easy#quartet01 by easy#toolz.

You can get it from here although it looks like you have to register to download the file.

The author's website (select easy#classics) links back to the the plugindex.de website.

Hope this helps.

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djsubject - Tue May 30, 2006 4:32 pm

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verry intresting!!!!!!!

is it somthing your working on?

some parts sound verry real IMO

also i justchecked out your site

Thank you for the gifts!!!!

Subz

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CapnLockheed - Tue May 30, 2006 5:00 pm

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Right on brother! I simply adore Krakli string synths. They are what
they are....very fine fromage!! I defy a violin to sound like them!! ElkaSolinaMmnnn!

Cheers.....CL

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NotTheCommonDose - Tue May 30, 2006 7:18 pm

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lol, registering in german is like a Point and Click Puzzle game, Hopefully I'll find the right combination soon enough.

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tuz - Tue May 30, 2006 7:24 pm

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no friggin way!!!

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bduffy - Tue May 30, 2006 8:03 pm

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Uh....what's that?

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bduffy - Tue May 30, 2006 8:05 pm

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I just tried this out of curiousity, and it starts up with an OK Pizz, then when I try to switch sounds, I get error messages about missing soundfonts?

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NotTheCommonDose - Tue May 30, 2006 8:33 pm

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I get the same errors, wierd.

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bduffy - Tue May 30, 2006 8:39 pm

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Which probably means: just download some soundfonts!

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NotTheCommonDose - Tue May 30, 2006 8:44 pm

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all the violin soundfonts suck

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bduffy - Tue May 30, 2006 8:47 pm

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Yeah, well, this was made from soundfonts, so you probably won't like it either.

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Yagushi - Tue May 30, 2006 8:52 pm

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Well... let's just suffice to say: "You get what you pay for"

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ugo - Tue May 30, 2006 9:33 pm

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here's an mp3 of string theory, run through vintage warmer, and with a bunch of volume correction. it gets pretty noisy and inconsistant with the higher notes but its the closest i've been able to get so far, without using samples.

string theory violin demo

-ugo

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rogerperrin - Tue May 30, 2006 11:13 pm

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I gave up trying to register there months ago, maybe longer.

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adl - Wed May 31, 2006 12:06 am

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Hi guys, here's a link to the demo of the german violin thing http://www.vst-archiv.de/index.php?templateid=download&file=746

At plugindex.de there are two ways to register: a free (for Forum use only and a 25 Euro registration which allows you to download some nice plugin such as these http://www.plugindex.de/index.php?templateid=artikel&id=110.
The link to register is here http://www.plugindex.de/index.php?templateid=faq&faid=10: left is free, right is 25 Euro/year just click on the "Abo Mitglied werden"-Box and you can paypal 25 Bucks to get member (=Abo-Miglied)

Coming back to "where can I get this fuxxing german violin??!!"

It's totally confusing, even for germans

Go here http://easytoolz.oyla.de/cgi-bin/hpm_homepage.cgi
click "easy#classics"
click "easy#quartet 01 FREEWARE" (below the picture)
you'll be directed to plugindex
click download and... voilá download should start!

On the easy-toolz side check out the other plug's from that guy. I don't use them but maybe you'll like them

Hope I could help!

Greets
Thomas

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adl - Wed May 31, 2006 12:12 am

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Seem's to have probs in Live 5. Can't load the presets. Oh and btw: I felt in love with Cellofan! Sound so griefy, i like that!

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.jon - Wed May 31, 2006 1:21 am

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That was the one I tried to remember - I somehow get always confused with odo and ugo and oli and ian and whatnot

GREAT VSTi in any case, thank you!

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mdsp - Wed May 31, 2006 1:27 am

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I can't say more, sorry

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ianweb123 - Wed May 31, 2006 2:08 am

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In much the same way that SE synths all sound the same, actually we are all the same person!

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Rangtangtang - Wed May 31, 2006 2:11 am

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20th century schitzoid man?

I must say they are all very nice poeple

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TrekStar - Wed May 31, 2006 2:14 am

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you won't find hardly something convincing as a commercial product, not to speak of a freeware product. it's like asking for a new porsche with a budget of 2,50 bucks. wrong question. strings are the most difficult instruments to reproduce. brass or percussive sounds like piano or guitar, no prob...but orchestral strings....definitely not for free.

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mdsp - Wed May 31, 2006 2:20 am

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well, if the engine behind this example ever exist as a vst, it will be free:

violin.mp3

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ianweb123 - Wed May 31, 2006 2:28 am

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I think that sometimes people forget that what they think of as a 'Strings instrument' is in reality dozens of individual instruments each with their own characteristics and nuances varying on a note by note basis.. Even Accoustic piano is devilishly hard to replicate convincingly and that only has 2 or 3 strings per note..!

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.jon - Wed May 31, 2006 2:44 am

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that niceness is the problem, everyone's so cool, making great instruments. So if you want to stick out from the competition, start behaving like an asshole

We will surely get convincing string instruments in + couple of years. IMO the guitars are already pretty good, violin modelling requires some more juice... but quadcores will be normal in a while.


@ mdsp, sounding good!

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snooky - Wed May 31, 2006 4:10 am

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very odd demo..sounds like a bad string soundfont player with a tarncegate.

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mdsp - Wed May 31, 2006 5:40 am

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oops, too bad.

this is just the bow/string sound without the body of the instrument so I reckon it's a bit dry, but I found it not that bad. nothing to do with soundfonts and trancegate though.

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xoxos - Wed May 31, 2006 7:21 am

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okay, great, make tuz happy, wrap it up and post it :p

cos you know if you don't, it doesn't get used.

he's a bit demented about some 'gypsy violin' concept.

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bduffy - Wed May 31, 2006 7:22 am

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Thanks, but the problem isn't getting the instrument, it's that it is asking for soundfonts when you change the presets.

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NotTheCommonDose - Wed May 31, 2006 7:26 am

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No, I couldn't get the instrument at first, that's what he was remarking to. Thank you BDuffy.

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ugo - Wed May 31, 2006 7:33 am

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mdsp - Wed May 31, 2006 8:31 am

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well, this is far from being usable ATM nor easy on cpu anyway.

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adl - Wed May 31, 2006 10:15 am

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I just wanted to help...

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jacobh - Wed May 31, 2006 4:02 pm

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This is the BEST violin you will find from any sampler or synth:
http://www.garritan.com/stradivari.html

Just take a listen:
http://www.garritan.com/Strad/Fabio-SonataAdagio.mp3

It is a sample set for Kontakt, from Garritan, called The Stradivari Solo Violin.

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The Chase - Wed May 31, 2006 4:12 pm

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I tried to make string sounds with it for the first 5 minutes, and then I just used it as a great, unique pad synth, ignoring that it's meant to do string sounds.

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xoxos - Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:28 am

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when i said 'drop it,' i hadn't listened to the mp3 yet :p sounds like genesis p. orridge's technique.

using fdn modeling, i was able to get decent tone to ~the low note of your mp3 - resonance above this was either too weak for realism or uncontrolled.

anyway - a cpu killing bounce-to-audio vst is better than nothing at all! i'm sure the appreciative will endure a host-param gui

bol

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mdsp - Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:55 am

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it's not even a VST, nor does it uses somthing like FDN.
for now it's just a command line model with hardcoded values, so really nothing useable for a musician.

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xoxos - Thu Jun 01, 2006 7:02 am

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not to bully you into it, but.. bol

used to use a command line w/ midi files i export from host for voices called 'flinger.' if it sits there for a while, you know there are 'extremists' out here who think the extra process is worth it

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saulc12 - Thu Jun 01, 2006 7:13 am

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Is this output from your scanned synth - sounds very good if it is and I am very impressed even if nobody else is

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mdsp - Thu Jun 01, 2006 7:23 am

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no, it's not ScansynthGL, just a nice experiment for the moment.
Scanned synthesis can produce dynamic evolving pads or nice basses but in no way something sounding close to a violin.

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ianweb123 - Tue Jun 06, 2006 4:24 pm

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Just to reinforce (I hope) what Chase was saying (a few days ago, now) ..
This is a short demo using Stringz for something other than strings.. I leave you to guess which sound I mean.. Theres a little bit of help from Richman2, but the feature sound is the one I was interested in..

If you compare that with this that I posted a while ago, you will see that StringZ can do interesting sounds, IMHO

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P.T. - Tue Jun 06, 2006 7:18 pm

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I've never been able to find a decent violin soundfont. Some of the violas aren't as bad.

If it isn't for solo work then a few different free violins playing a part together doesn't sound bad sometimes.

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sweet_trip - Tue Jun 06, 2006 7:54 pm

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tease

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sweet_trip - Tue Jun 06, 2006 7:56 pm

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there used to be a VST called Bowed Synth. It sounds ok, but it's an old plug... if i find it in my files i'll up somewhere (?)

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ianweb123 - Wed Jun 07, 2006 5:41 am

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I'm suprised, I thought that the supertramp thing might have got a response

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sonarman - Wed Jun 07, 2006 8:59 am

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I spent all afternoon trying to find that harmonica sound on stringz... no luck.

BTW - only just downloaded Chill (I'm so out of touch). Great synth!

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ianweb123 - Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:06 am

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It is one of the presets tweaked just a little and with a bit of added reverb.. I would have thought that somebody might recognise which preset.

We can play for a lttle while and then I'll post the fxp

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Lagrange - Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:44 am

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Dude this sounds terrible.. But I guess its free..

C

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ianweb123 - Wed Jun 07, 2006 10:27 am

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Like I said, Marmite!


Actually it might be quite interesting to hear what Kvr members think is a succesful string synth, which to be fair shouldn't include samplesets.

I ask as it is quite marked the polarity of opinion about string-synths. I have seen similar POV aimed at piano instruments, and 303 clones. It would seem that some people have very clear ideas as to what makes the perfect sound, but we can't all agree on what the perfect sound is, methinks.

As I said StringZ is flawed, but I was pleased with the end result:- it fitted somewhere near the sound I was aiming at, it is clear that that sound is way off target for some and it would be cool to hear what instruments are a better fit..

Discuss

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oxymoron - Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:07 pm

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ian, congrats on some fine vsts. I really like stringz and was glad to see it in this thread. It's a unique synth and I like to mis-use it for strange sounds...

IMHO, a semi-decent sample/pm is only the start of a convincing violin sound. The rest is in the *performance*. Unless you are surgically going in and swapping samples for bowing articulation or position relative to the bridge, I recommend that you aim for an idiomatic performance. Ride the attack controller to mimic bowing styles, play with filter to vary brightness, use LFOs effectively to introduce vibrato when needed. Etc.

I'm not saying it'll transform a crappy soundfont into Garritan, but you'll squeeze a whole lot more out of it.

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Mango - Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:41 pm

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i feel i've misunderestimated Stringz and am probably going to re-evaluate all the krakli VST's

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alex zonder - Sat Jun 17, 2006 4:43 pm

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Except one! The Cadenza Strings soundfont is a string quartet soundfont (violon, viola, cello, bass) of a quite amazing quality.

User reviews: http://www.hammersound.net/cgi-bin/review.pl?action=view_reviews;SoundFont_Index=464
Download link: http://www.hammersound.net/cgi-bin/soundlink_download2.pl/Download%20Norway%20II;Cadenza_Strings.zip;464

A 13 MB download. Be sure to give this one a try.

Another one that really stands out is made by the young composer Nando Florestan. It is absolutely perfect for staccato strings: http://www.sf2midi.com/index.php?page=sdet&id=6066
Florestan made more orchestral soundfonts ( http://oui.com.br/n/download.php?list.2 ), but only this one at www.sf2midi.com is amazing.

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alex zonder - Sat Jun 17, 2006 5:51 pm

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Here is a short mp3: a fragment of Beethoven's Grosse Fuge (midi file) performed by Nando Florestans strings soundfont. Played, recorded and rendered in REAPER:

http://stashbox.org/uploads/1150595220/Beethoven.mp3

Not bad, is it? And I say that a someone who considers B's GF to be one of the greatest achievements in music.

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ianweb123 - Sun Jun 18, 2006 7:38 am

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Doesn't work for me.. every note played sounds identically the same, which makes it sound very synthetic to my ears

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tconrardy - Sun Jun 18, 2006 10:57 am

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I guess I asked this before..but did anyone try the MIS samples and also try to construct a multi-sample from those?

http://theremin.music.uiowa.edu/MIS.html


Tim

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Patrice Brousseau - Sun Jun 18, 2006 12:31 pm

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There's a couple of sf2's made with the Iowa samples you could find at sf2midi.com but they are mainly part of the wind and brass sections. There's one cello (RAW sf2 with ff samples) and one cbass (RAW with ff samples too) however... but no Iowa violin I guess.

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Sascha Franck - Sun Jun 18, 2006 12:34 pm

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Most of the Iowa samples unfortunately aren't exactly worth the trouble anyways.

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alex zonder - Sun Jun 18, 2006 2:53 pm

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!?! I'd say, compare this to an actual performance of this piece; maybe Beethoven's notes sound all identical to you
No matter, It's simply a good soundfont in comparison to other "strings".

Here's another short MP3, now of the cadenza violin soundfont I mentioned earlier. I'm not saying it is perfect, but it is certainly better than what you get in Edirol's Orchestral or Synful Orchestra:

http://stashbox.org/uploads/1150670637/cadenza_violin_soundfont.mp3

And this is a free instrument. Again a midi file (second rate composer this time), played, recorded and rendered in REAPER. Well, just get it if you think it could be useful.

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Jace-BeOS - Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:13 am

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"String Theory" has always been one that i like. But if you want true realism, you will have to shell out for an expensive sample set and learn how to play the set with the music style you want (the sets generally have slow, medium, fast and staccatto styles, as well as various other such variations).

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P.T. - Tue Jun 20, 2006 11:47 am

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You did a very good job with that piece, but there are problems.
The loop points in the sample are very obvious and the fast passages slur quit a bit.

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griels - Tue Jun 20, 2006 11:58 am

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Can't say I agree about Cadenza being better than Synful (at least not with Delay For Expression on), but I'm not aware of anything better in the freeware arena. In terms of synthesized violins, I'm quite fond of the AAS String Studio ones, which have somewhat more dynamism than most sample sets. On the other hand, a finely tuned Kirk Hunter, VSL Solo Strings or Garritan Strad performance will probably sound the most convincing of all, short of the real McCoy.

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saulc12 - Tue Oct 24, 2006 11:39 am

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It won't be free, but it will be cheap - you could try Bowin (there is a mssage thread witha link to the demo version elsewhere)...

Try this thread...

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2183728

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Jace-BeOS - Sat Nov 11, 2006 6:39 pm

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here's a super late reply about this topic...
it's not free, and requires Tassman, Reaktor or Korg Oasys PCI, but Harm Visser has some fantastic models for sale. Check out his demo tracks for the bowed instruments and see what you think.
http://www.hvsynthdesign.com/
As soon as i can justify the expense, i will be buying his whole Tassman library.

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Jace-BeOS - Sat Nov 11, 2006 6:51 pm

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Also, about StringZ from Krakli... i too thought it sounded terrible when i played around with it... but then i put some reverb on it and was impressed. The sound of the strings coming from this synth are very woody, too, so if you're not interested in that timbre, then sure, it doesn't work for ya. but i have kept it since discovering how nice it sounds with reverb. i plan to try using it in something eventually. Thanks Ian! (really liked your joke about "like all SE synths sounding the same, we're all the same person")

String Theory is really nice, too, btw. (also SE, i think)

Two tracks of mine using Kontakt's strings, Solo String and String Theory:
http://www.enter.net/~diogenes/music/downloads/dysamoria%20-%20singularity%20-%20formerly%20titled%20no%20one%20loves%20anyone%20else.mp3 (using Kontakt's lovely strings very subtly)
http://www.enter.net/~diogenes/music/downloads/dysamoria%20-%20solo%20on%20a%20string.mp3 (using Solo String, where the title's inspiration came from, hah, and String Theory)

Also, if you can get a hold of Computer Music Issue 79, they gave away a set of 169 Garritan string samples (i have the issue - violin, viola, cello and bass - i made Akai S6000 patches out of them all so that they would be ready for use). They're excellent (which means the Garritan String VST is likely to be good, too). Actually, there are two samples with errors in them, but it's still a great give away if you have the time and patience to set them up in a sampler. (this is the same issue that had LimeLite Solo)

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ianweb123 - Sun Nov 12, 2006 3:05 am

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I have always taken every opportunity to say that reverb is essential for Stringz. I didn't include it as part of the structure by default as I guessed that most people would have better reverbs already than anything that I could include in SE.

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Jace-BeOS - Mon Nov 13, 2006 9:45 pm

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and that's a perfectly reasonable and sensible choice. it just took me forever to try it and realize how much it helps certain sounds. same goes for my Yamaha TX802 FM synthbeast

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spacedad - Tue Nov 14, 2006 5:03 am

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that sounds wicked!got all those squeaky nuances.very clever.

btw ian;just got a nice pizi sound from stringz,tweaked tc's piky preset.added xoxos's choral+sweetboys reverb+stereostretcher.sitting nicely in the mix.
(thought about posting it,but it's all personal,and don't feel like getting a slagging atm.)

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knockman - Tue Nov 14, 2006 5:27 am

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those tracks are beautiful especially the second "solo on a string". so much so that i completely failed to listen attentively to the string examples, which was what i had intended. wonderful. got any more?

regards

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There are 85 posts in this topic.