Adagio cellos - your thoughts?

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Per Lichtman wrote: Here's the first:

Embertone Friedlander Violin
http://soundbytesmag.net/embertonefriedlanderviolin/
In fact, the only other interval sampled legato available for less than twice the price of Embertone Friedlander Violin is QL Solo Violin for $99.
That's not right. If you want a solo violin, there's http://www.vsl.co.at/en/211/261/2065/2073/1758.htm

I'm also working on reviews of SimpleSamSample Signor Paganini
The spiccato library or do they release another library?

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@Melody Shine I should have said "chromatically sampled interval legato", then it would have been an accurate statement. :)

To put it simply, originally I did not look at VSL SE Sections Vol 1 Strings since the appropriate library (in my view) to compare to was VSL Solo Strings I (since some of the same articulations are less extensively sampled in SE Vol 1 than they were in their GIGA library Horizon Series Solo Strings back in 2004 in regards to dynamic layers and chromatic sampling). Embertone Friedlander Violin is the top of the line solo violin product that Embertone has available and is fully chromatically sampled. And tthough it has far fewer articulations than VSL SE Strings Vol 1 SE, it does have both non-vibrato interval slur, and bow-change legato (chromatically sampled), neither of which are included in VSL SE Sections Vol 1. Strings. But you are right that at least some interval legato samples are available at a lower price than I specified.

Comparing VSL prices can sometimes be tricky for me because of the difference in MSRP vs street price as an American customer. For instance, here are the MSRPs from the respective manufacturer websites, with Google's current exchange rate in USD.

Embertone Friedlander Violin: $110.

VSL SE Sections Vol 1 Strings: $196.43

In other words, Friedlander costs around $86.43 less (not $110 less as I worded it). So if we include that product, then I was close, but not quite right. If you spend the extra on the VSL product, you'll get a greater variety of instruments and a lot more articulations. You don't get chromatic samples, 8x round robin staccato, alternating bow-change legato samples or the same level of vibrato control.

My original statement in the article was not in any way meant to be dismissive of the VSL solo strings products - I'm still using their very first release nearly a decade after I got them and from what I understand the newer version is a huge improvement if you get the full extended version. I'm considering contacting ILIO about doing a review of the newer version.

As far SimpleSamSamples, right now it's just the spiccato library. They are working on a lot of other content that I do not have access to at this point. :)

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Major Adagio violin & cello updates are coming this month. :)

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angelinni wrote:.
Finally, at sound factory there're proteus packages in multiple formats, which includes virtuoso, which is orchestral sounds. Not very realistic, btw
One can't really compare DSF soundpacks in the current medium of players to Emulator/Proteux X environments. Even with the newere "High Def" releases. I always enjoyed MSO from WMU but it wasn't returned to DSF (probably a licensing issue)

Synful was supposed to be the great leap forward in physical modelling for strings. Often I think the great leap forward should be about hardware. The most impressive to date is Linnstrument.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmcdrsloCNo

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Here's another awesome solo cello library just released if you are still looking! http://www.sampleism.com/scott-f-thomps ... s-65?sk=kt

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Just wanted to update that I'm finally getting to put together a more comprehensive picture of solo strings at http://www.SoundBytesMag.net to go along with my notes here. If you have things you'd like included or products you'd like us to get to beyond what's mentioned below, please send me a PM.

I've already covered pocketBlakus (along with some writing tips for it), Friedlander 1.0, Signor Paganini Solo Violin and XSample Chamber Ensemble - and all except Friedlander were for the July issue. The September issue will also feature VSL Solo Strings I Full, Embertone Friedlander Violin 1.5 and Blakus Cello, 8Dio Adagio Strings Bundle as well as Prague Solo Strings v1 (unless V2 is available before publication). Between the July and September issues, there's over 23,000 words of ensemble, solo and other string coverage.

Other developers have been contacted and may be included in the next three issues as well, but those are all confirmed.
Last edited by Per Lichtman on Sat Jul 26, 2014 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Per Lichtman wrote:
VSL offers extensive controller customization options via the optional VI Pro interface and a lesser degree of control via the included VI interface. The user can easily choose a lot of different ways to switch and control these things. It may be a minor point, but in my last look through the VI Pro interface, I did not find an easy way to boost signal level on the libraries, only to attenuate it (in contrast to both Play and Kontakt, for instance).
No, in the matrix there is a level control that defaults to 0dB and you drag it up or down, up to 6dB. Matrices at left.

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Thanks @jancivil - I'll update my post to reflect that right away!

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You can double-click and type in there as well.

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@jancivil Thanks! By the way, I have a much more in-depth review coming out September 15th at http://www.SoundBytesMag.net and (to the best of my knowledge) and it has an easier time with such details since I was able to spend a lot more time with the library. Honestly, I hadn't thought about that part of the post in a long time. :)
Last edited by Per Lichtman on Sun Jul 27, 2014 3:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Thank you for the heads-up with that Spitfire Solo Strings video. I did not know that and I hadn't seen that walkthrough. That is actually a total deal-killer for me; I think their three mic thing is not for solo instruments. The spot mic has a lot of the room to begin with. I would rather not have all of that room except for certain things.

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In the January issue of www.soundbytesmag.net there'll be a review of the 8Dio Agitato strings bundle reviewed and I'll cover VSL Dimension Strings (lots of individually controllable players) and. So far 8Dio's opted to not include solo strings for this Agitato (just divisi and ensemble) but that could change in the future.

I also wanted to mention that all the reviews promised for the September issue of www.soundbytesmag.net have been included (that's 11 string libraries between the July and September issues and one string FX plug-in) and the November issue just came out today. My reviews in the issue are Orchestral Tools Berlin Strings and EastWst Hollywood Orchestral Percussion. Berlin Strings has no solo strings, but does feature a "concert master" mic option for the first violins to highlight the concertmaster more. More importantly, OT has soloists on the roadmap for a future expansion (as do CineSamples).

In addition, reviews for the Kirk Hunter series strings (including three solo strings libraries) are under consideration and I'm looking into reviewing additional solo string libraries from 4Scoring, CineSamples, Spitfire Audio and Strezov-Sampling. If you guys let me know which ones your most interested in, I'll try to give them priority in getting coverage.

Also, feel free to leave more notes on what you like or don't like in the solo strings coverage and I'll do my best to respond. :)

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I've put up a ton more solo and ensemble string reviews for the magazine at http://soundbytesmag.net/reviews-sound-libraries/ and there's many more on the way.

There's been a lot, lot, lot of solo string libraries coming out, and some surprisingly powerful ones are made by new developers. There's definitely more options now than in my earlier posts.

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