Any Good Free Orchestral/Strings/Violin Samples Out There?

[bigcat1969]

Well awesome find then, since I wouldn't have known about it without you.
Also since I don't have to risk offending you, I'll note that the .nkis default to the standard envelope. This can make the instruments work a bit funny. My trick is to load up one of the instruments in kontakt and then find NI's similar instrument's envelope and copy it over matching Attack, Decay, Release etc... I started doing that with converted Gigasample stuff and it really helps them sound like a native kontakt instrument.

[idfpower]

Well awesome find then, since I wouldn't have known about it without you.
Also since I don't have to risk offending you, I'll note that the .nkis default to the standard envelope. This can make the instruments work a bit funny.

Yeah, fortunately there are still plenty of generous folks that are willing to share their work for free. I have deep respect for such guys.

As for this library, tbh I haven't tested it thoroughly. I've just loaded it and checked the instruments to see if they load & make a sound and then I've transferred it to my software deposit vault since I don't normally use orchestral arrangements in my music...

One day maybe I'll finally understand how the whole process of creating a Kontakt instrument works and then..

[Per Lichtman]

Hi AC222,

I'm by no means an expert and would hesitate to give advice advice about how to listen to strings. Fortunately, Per Lichtman really is an expert, and he discusses the fine details of different strings sample libraries in a recent post you may have missed. It comes near the bottom of the following page.

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... sc&start=0

My only caveat to what he says is that I wouldn't dismiss LASS First Chair so easily. Yes, there are tuning issues, but you can pitch-correct the worst of them, and for me, they're part of what makes the library sound so warm. Admittedly if I want everything to sound orchestrally polished, I switch over to KH, but for rock/pop, I quite like LASS's... let's call it "organic" tuning. And I find it easier to use than KH, which is extremely versatile but does not feel very intuitive to me.

Thanks Matthew! That looks like a great thread. I will definitely read up on this...

AC

Thanks for the kind words, guys - much appreciated.

I just wanted to let you know that I've been writing a lot more about strings and solo strings at http://www.soundbytesmag.net (ranging from free to low-price to higher-priced offerings). In fact, we're aiming to cover practically every major string library (we've got over 23,000 words on 11+ string products for the July and September issues alone) and if you've got another product you'd like us to cover either PM me or contact the developer of the product and ask them to get in touch with me.

In addition to the reviews themselves, I've started the massive task of creating comparison tables of the products as well: how many round-robins are used for each articulation, which articulations are included, etc. Hopefully the first of these tables will be done in time to include in the September issue, but November is also a possibility.

[Chris-S]

Bump!

Is Sonatina still the best free sample lib (SFZ)?

I'm trying to get in the ballpark of this one (Ableton factory):

https://youtu.be/e4Nyo2jc7_g?t=24m45s
(@24:45)

[Per Lichtman]

If you need it pre-formatted in SFZ and free, then Sonatina is probably still one of the best. I still use some old Soundfonts from time to time that have a good sound (Squidfont etc.), though you may want to double-check the sourcing. The best free solo strings are for the full version of Kontakt (though you can use them with the free Kontakt Player if you’re willing to re-load the patch every few minutes) with pocketBlakus Cello and the Performance Samples solo violin being the two that stand out the most, but Embertone Intimate Strings Lite being possibly the closest to what you’re looking for.

If I was strapped for cash, but picky about sound, I would take Sonatina or Squidfont and layer it with one or more of those free Kontakt libraries, using the re-load and render method.

If you’ve got $70, you could Orchestral Companion Strings, skipping the sampler issue altogether. Or if it’s for a shorter project, just rent the Composer Cloud from EastWest for $30/month for the project, then end the subscription when you finish - that gives you some really good strings.

[Chris-S]

Thanks, I will evaluate the EmbertoneLite Strings.

[DSmolken]

Bump!

Is Sonatina still the best free sample lib (SFZ)?

I'd say this is now the best, it's basically Sonatina with more recent samples added where that would be beneficial: http://virtualplaying.com/virtual-playing-orchestra/

[Per Lichtman]

Thanks, I will evaluate the EmbertoneLite Strings.

Yeah, it’s a small ensemble so you can easily add some detail to one of the free larger ones. Works well with some added reverb.

[Chris-S]

Yes, and the samples are in wav format, so I already created a SFZ for this.

[Per Lichtman]

If you haven't checked this comparison before, I suggest listening to it and checking out whichever of the three free libraries catches your fancy.

https://soundcloud.com/j_e_f_f_g/mars-shootout

Unfortunately, it doesn't include Virtual Playing in there - but the creator of Sonatina does suggest both VSCO and Virtual Playing as spiritual successors. Note that VSCO 2.1.1 is a year newer than the demo above and should be in better shape.

Virtual Playing includes some of the Sonatina, The No Budget Orchestra, Others and VSCO content, but VSCO 2.1.1 is over 3GB of content when uncompressed (1.6 GB compressed in the download I'm dealing with) vs. a ca. 500 MB Virtual Playing Download or the ca. 600 MB No Budget Orchestra Download.

If copyright is a concern, VSCO and Sonatina (among certain others) come with clean licenses and have no claims against them, while some of the others mentioned here may (or may not) contain copyrighted samples. It's been a point of discussion, so it's worth noting.

[evilantal]

In addition to VSCO mentioned in the post above, I'd look at the Kontakt libraries from The Alpine Project.

He uses available free samples and upgrades them with new interfaces and better scripting. Especially legato scripting.