London Symphonic Strings for Kontakt - 40% Off First Violins OPENING SALE

[ARIA Sounds]

We are happy to announce the first part of our London Symphonic Strings - The first violins section. (Click here to go to official page)

Demos:

https://soundcloud.com/aria-sounds/sets ... st-violins

Absolutely full of techniques, articulations, true legato patches with more than one type of legato, plus the first user-controllable slide/glissando patch (see video at the bottom), string percussive effects, experimental sounds, and much much more...

Articulations:

Sustained long notes, with interchangeable fingered and bowed true legato intervals, conveniently displayed as you play on the easy to read/use user interface, as well as four crossfadable dynamic layers beginning with a beautiful sounding soft pianissimo, up to a full and powerfull fortissimo.

Spiccato - Short notes, for all your essential driving string motifs, with 3x round robin with multi dynamic layers for up to six variations per note

Sordino sustained long notes, with crossfadable dynamic layers and true legato intervals

Molto Sul Ponticello - The raspy and hollow sound when players bow closer to the bridge, bringing less of the fundamental note out, and more of the naturally occuring harmonics. This patch also has crossfadable dynamic layers and true legato

Sordino Spiccato - Spiccato played with mutes on, 4x round robin variations with multi dynamic layers for up to eight variations per note.

Harmonics

Glissando/Slide - the first user controllable slow glissando patch to exist! Slide between any two notes with this new fantastic scripting technique without any synthesized or artificial pitch bending. 100% recorded genuine slide between notes. Higher velocity = faster slide. See Demo Video below.

Colle - Short note where players start with the bow on the string and lift off, causing a harsh scratch at the beginning of the note. With 4x round robin variations per note and multi dynamic layers, you have up to eight variations per note.

Martele - Intense, slightly longer detached notes using more of the bow. 2x round robin variations.

Pizzicato and Bartok pizz - Players pluck the strings, as well as "Bartok pizz" where the pluck is hard enough to cause the string to snap back against the fingerboard. 2x round robin per note, with three dynamic layers, for up to six variations per note.

Col Legno - striking the strings with the back, wooden side of the bow. 2x round robin variations per note.

"Violin Concerto" - Leading soloist playing loud with vibrato, over the rest of the section, who play softly with mutes. Yet another addition to the possible colour of sound you can give your score.

String SFX - Variety of string effects, clusters, percussive sounds, experimental sounds, noises, builds etc.

Tech specs:
Samples are 24 bit at 48000HZ wav files
4.8 GB of Content The full version of Kontakt 4 or above is required to run this software. It will not run on the free version of Kontakt player.

http://ariasounds.com/symphonic_strings ... lin_1.html

Glissando demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHTVOIb-w_A

[topaz]

I asked on FB but again is there any useable demos of the portamento ?

ie, shorter ?

[ARIA Sounds]

Hi Topaz,

I'm not too sure what you mean by portamento? We have sampled legato fingered and bowed intervals, but not portamento intervals.

[topaz]

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109 ... -Porta.wav

[ARIA Sounds]

Yes, we don't have portamento transitions - we have fingered and bowed legato without a slide - but our walkthrough soon will show everything up close so you can listen to the transitions

[Roman Empire]

Dear Aria Sounds,

I just purchased this one and this is what I have to say about it:

On the plusside, I´m very happy to have something that gives me glissandos for strings - always been missing that!
I do find though that they sound unnatural at the point where the glissando morphs into the destination tone, but I still have to see how it´ll be in an arrangement with other instruments.. maybe it´s not so significant then.
And I´m missing a way to make the glissandos really fast. No matter how hard I hit the key, it still is a pretty slow glissando that I get.
Btw, do you know how to quickly switch quickly between the different instruments so that I won´t have to load 10 instances of it for each variation of the strings? I´m not a superindepth Kontakt user, so this may be a very basic thing to do - just not something I ever did..

Thanks!

Best Regards

Roman Empire

PS: Topaz, I suppose this is what you´d call portamento. If you press lets say C4 and then G4, then it will "glide" between these two tones, from C to G.

[topaz]

Yes, fingered portamento.

[loachm]

...this is pure speculation here, as I haven't tried this instrument nor have I dealt with these techniques before, so I'm just asking out of interest.

I guess, the point where it sounds unnatural is, when the destination sample is faded in and the starting sample is faded out. I guess, this could be avoided, if the destination sample itself is bent to its original pitch from the starting sample's pitch. However, to avoid phasing issues while crossfading between these two, these samples have to be phase-aligned. Would this be the right way to do it and is this how it's done here? I believe, it isn't?

[Roman Empire]

...this is pure speculation here, as I haven't tried this instrument nor have I dealt with these techniques before, so I'm just asking out of interest.

I guess, the point where it sounds unnatural is, when the destination sample is faded in and the starting sample is faded out. I guess, this could be avoided, if the destination sample itself is bent to its original pitch from the starting sample's pitch. However, to avoid phasing issues while crossfading between these two, these samples have to be phase-aligned. Would this be the right way to do it and is this how it's done here? I believe, it isn't?

Try looking at the glissando demo. Already there I think it´s obvious that there´s an unnatural feeling to it. Does that confirm your "theory"?

Best Regards

Roman Empire

[flugel45]

Re: Glissando speed.... IIRC the demo vid said that the speed is based on velocity - the harder you hit, the faster the gliss. Did you try experimenting with that?

Tech quirkiness aside, I really like the overall sound of these strings. I'm sold.

And at this intro price, I'm grabbing the solo bundle as well!

[Roman Empire]

Re: Glissando speed.... IIRC the demo vid said that the speed is based on velocity - the harder you hit, the faster the gliss. Did you try experimenting with that?

Yes, that´s why I´m saying that regardless of how hard I hit the key, the glissando is pretty slow. It does change the speed though, but it would be nice if it could be more than just variations over slow glissandos, but also serve us when we need a quick one.


Best Regards

Roman Empire

[loachm]

Try looking at the glissando demo. Already there I think it´s obvious that there´s an unnatural feeling to it. Does that confirm your "theory"?

...I did - that's why I asked.

[Roman Empire]

Try looking at the glissando demo. Already there I think it´s obvious that there´s an unnatural feeling to it. Does that confirm your "theory"?

...I did - that's why I asked.

Sorry pal, didn´t realize tha you were also commenting on the video.

Best Regards

Roman Empire

[Roman Empire]

Perhaps the OP has an opionion about the matters being discussed here?

Best Regards

Roman Empire

[beeny]

Yes, I was initially excited by the idea of this, but that glissando video just sounds a bit odd.
Definitely not unusable (as an oddity) but if that's what they're leading with it doesn't bode well.