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

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Hi Guys,

Don't know how extensively this has been covered already. When I did a search I didn't find any direct results.

I'm wondering if there are any good free orchestral samples out there. I haven't really come across any yet that are free that I really like much. I know that Sampletank has a violin but from the demos I heard, it wasn't anywhere close to realistic. In some of the other free samplers, UVI workstation, Independence, Kore it doesn't seem they have the orchestral or volin stuff.

I haven't tried Kontakt's factory selection. Is there anything in there worthwhile that in Kontakt's Factory Selection that is not in Kore (not gonna use bagpipes and I'm happy with the piano already)? I am happy with the drum and bass samples and I have a couple of snyths I like. I'm assuming there's no orchestral stuff in the free factory selection. Is this correct?

Maybe the only viable alternative is ponying up for a commercial library for this kind of stuff. Thing is I don't use the orchestral/stringed instruments enough for me to want to spend a lot of money. I had no problem splurging on top drawer drum samples because of how often I use them but I find it hard to justify spending on stuff I'll only use on occasion. Oh well. Love to hear your perspectives. I figured I'd ask here because KVrians really seem to know their stuff when it comes to sample content.

Thanks.

AC

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Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra:
http://sso.mattiaswestlund.net/

Here's the KVR thread:
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=309373

HTH

NMG
ABLETON LIVE 12 & PUSH2
Soundcloud: Nation of Korea vs Shitty Dog

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Thanks!

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Embertone Intimate Strings http://embertone.com/freebies/intstrings-lite.php - a whole strings quartet.
pocketBlakus http://www.asinusadlyram.com/pocketBlakus/ - probably the best free cello.

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Embertone Intimate Strings http://embertone.com/freebies/intstrings-lite.php - a whole strings quartet.
pocketBlakus http://www.asinusadlyram.com/pocketBlakus/ - probably the best free cello.
Wow, sorohanro, what a find! I had heard about many of the other freebies beforehand, which are very nice to have for free and its very gracious of those that have made theirs available, but I couldn't see myself using most of those options.

These embertones and pocketblakus sound very natural sounding. With a lot of the others I've heard including the commercial Vienna Symphony Orchestra, they sound good for what they are but you can tell they are samples. Kudos to you.

Thanks again mcnelson. I'll have to give those sonatina's a shot too. Amazing variety and very generous of the developer That was a great thread you referred me to and I'm glad there is a Kontakt converted sample as well.

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Danny Elfman uses VSL when he needs more strings than he has in the budget (which is typical). I bet you not one person in the audience noticed.

But if you don't use strings hardly and you're that impressed with a simple one that loads one articulation at a time you probably are wise to not spend at this time, or until you have more understanding.

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I often read KVR on my phone, but displaying the full width of the page makes the font too small so I tend to zoom in on the posts column, meaning I don't see who is responsible for each post.

The only place I don't do this is on the Music Theory forum because it would mean running the risk of accidentally reading a post by jancivil.

But now I come across her (his?) instantly recognizable style in the Samples forum. One must admire the skill it takes to weave dismissiveness and self-aggrandisement so intimately into so short a space. The consistency of tone across the posts of hers I've read is also impressive: the suggestion that, painful though it is for jancivil to countenance the follies of lesser mortals, it is nonetheless her scholarly duty to rouse herself and correct them.

Then there's the username, which is very clever indeed. Jan may be needling, terse, patronising and passive-aggressive, but she never descends to language coarse enough that one could accuse her of being uncivil - that is providing one considers the letter of the word's definition rather than the spirit.

AC222, you seem like a lovely guy (girl?) You asked your question politely and thanked the people who helped you. I'm guessing you're a rock/pop guy with an occasional use for strings with a raw, heartfelt sound where accuracy plays second fiddle to emotion. I like pocketBlakus for that too sometimes, despite owning KH Concert Strings 2 and LASS First Chair 2. But even if you are a n00b or a certified moron, I don't think you deserve jancivil slapping you down.

Not that you need someone to fight your battles for you - I'm just explaining why I'm muting jancivil from now on, and can safely return to zooming in on the posts column without fear of encountering the kind of drive-by bitterness that makes everyone except jan's day a tiny bit worse.

Oh, and sorohanro, thanks for the Embertone link. I didn't know about it and look forward to playing with it later.

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mcnelson wrote:Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra:
http://sso.mattiaswestlund.net/

Here's the KVR thread:
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=309373

HTH

NMG
+1

This with SForzando.

You will never go wrong. :)

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matthewlyon wrote:I often read KVR on my phone, but displaying the full width of the page makes the font too small so I tend to zoom in on the posts column, meaning I don't see who is responsible for each post.

The only place I don't do this is on the Music Theory forum because it would mean running the risk of accidentally reading a post by jancivil.

But now I come across her (his?) instantly recognizable style in the Samples forum. One must admire the skill it takes to weave dismissiveness and self-aggrandisement so intimately into so short a space. The consistency of tone across the posts of hers I've read is also impressive: the suggestion that, painful though it is for jancivil to countenance the follies of lesser mortals, it is nonetheless her scholarly duty to rouse herself and correct them.

Then there's the username, which is very clever indeed. Jan may be needling, terse, patronising and passive-aggressive, but she never descends to language coarse enough that one could accuse her of being uncivil - that is providing one considers the letter of the word's definition rather than the spirit.

AC222, you seem like a lovely guy (girl?) You asked your question politely and thanked the people who helped you. I'm guessing you're a rock/pop guy with an occasional use for strings with a raw, heartfelt sound where accuracy plays second fiddle to emotion. I like pocketBlakus for that too sometimes, despite owning KH Concert Strings 2 and LASS First Chair 2. But even if you are a n00b or a certified moron, I don't think you deserve jancivil slapping you down.

Not that you need someone to fight your battles for you - I'm just explaining why I'm muting jancivil from now on, and can safely return to zooming in on the posts column without fear of encountering the kind of drive-by bitterness that makes everyone except jan's day a tiny bit worse.

Oh, and sorohanro, thanks for the Embertone link. I didn't know about it and look forward to playing with it later.
Hi matthewlyon,

Wow, that was an interesting post! I think you made a lot of right assumptions on my current situation. I am a rock/pop guy with only occasional use for strings to supplement the overall sound and am grateful for all the responses I've gotten. To be honest, I did check out Kirk Hunter stuff and LA Sessions and thought they were both quite amazing. If I were composing or producing regularly with orchestral instruments, I wouldn't hesitate to buy either of these. I thought the Kirk Hunter stuff was very pleasant and organic sounding and to my untrained ears (for symphonic music) could easily be fooled into thinking they were taken from live recordings. The LA Sessions seemed simply put were breathtaking!

I didn't mean to come off as dismissive of the VSO stuff as I did. I probably wrongly based my judgments on a lot of the clips I had heard on the internet that quite frankly didn't impress me. Again, I fully admit I could use ear training for this style of music, but a lot of clips I came across from others using VSO sounded unnatural to me. Things like the attack coming into slow or the release happening too fast that I found distracting. I wish I kept track of those examples but those were the impressions I got that were probably user specific. And regardless of the behavioral aspect, I found the KH and LASS fuller sounding to me. But in any case, it seems lot of it comes down to learning to use Kontakt more effectively.

Danny Elfman indeed has done great work and they must be quite useful enough and convenient for someone of his caliber to use them. However, I still wonder if he would actually use them as a full replacement in situations versus blending and supplementing. But it does put a different perspective on the usability of the libraries.

I'm still enjoying the accessibility and for me usefulness of by the pocketblackus and embertone offerings for someone looking to expand his toolset. For someone that is more of a layman at best in this vicinity, what steps would you suggest for fine-tuning my listening skills? Thanks everyone for your input.

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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.

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matthewlyon wrote: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

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Pocket Blakus Spiccato patch:
http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtop ... 86#3669286
For people who put in balance expensiveness of a library with the amount of knowledge, really, is more about how you use your tools:
http://soundcloud.com/jdrcomposer/scher ... -cello-and

Also might be useful for people on tight budget the Papelmedia soundfont. I like the choir and the brass but maybe the rest of the instruments are usable also:
http://download.cnet.com/Papelmedia-GS- ... 57440.html

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Awesome... Nice to see some options for brass as well. Thanks again sorohanro!

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Sometime back an acquaintance was commenting on how the solo violin was not included with the fairly useful instruments in Logic Studio 9. I recall that he mentioned having used one available for free from the University of Iowa (http://theremin.music.uiowa.edu/MIS.html).

I've not tried any of them but from what I saw they appear to have a fairly nice collection. Might be worth checking out. :wink:

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