Best library for solo string (classical chamber music)?

[jancivil]

I'm liking the looks of Berlin Orch Tools Expansion E, which is "FX strings", a very extensively articulated (18GB) kind of deal.

[woggle]

I'm liking the looks of Berlin Orch Tools Expansion E, which is "FX strings", a very extensively articulated (18GB) kind of deal.

great sounds, getting in to the Spitfire territory. I would rather create those effects eg clusters - myself from individual lines. I worry that libraries like this become too much like a phrase library where you are stuck with their notion of what a cluster is or what an aleatoric section is. But I have no experience with advanced libraries like this so maybe there is more control and flexibility than I am assuming

[jancivil]

I sure wouldn't buy this based in the clusters. The so-called Ligeti clusters are just semitone clusters and the idea is to get thicker with what you have rather than sort through them. Crossfade with the vibrato version or I suppose tremolando.

I'm into the glissandi and harmonics. I do have to say that I've already bought the VSL Synchron FX Strings Vol I which has a lot more control than anything like this. For clusters, and the clusters 'loops' are a LOT more interesting than this. But that library is very out-there and stuff like regular or normal glissandi isn't really its thing. Albeit there are some lovely pads which don't do anything crazy. But here's the chief thing about this kind of lib. for me, is they are recording things you cannot get near without recording the things; an ensemble doing 'spherical and swarm/character swarm/half trem' and now you xfade via CC into full trem like a dream or into vertical trem (that's right!) + harmonics seamlessly.
We have the budget for it or we don't, and I am not likely to in this incarnation.

The Berlin OTOH is generally just discrete articulations, so it's not apples and oranges comparison at all; it has the Gettato articulation for all the strings, and these kinds of things. I think it probably has a better sound than XSample, or from demos that's my impression.

[woggle]

I think it probably has a better sound than XSample, or from demos that's my impression.

agree re sound (although the xsample demos I have listened to don't do the library justice)

I think your strategy of having one excellent albeit expensive library like VSL (or Chris Hein / Berlin etc) is the way to go.

[djanthonyw]

I really like the sound of CineStrings Solo.

[R_A]

Thanks guys, I'm going to do some heavy research on:

Solo Violin: Joshua Bell Embertone
Solo Cello: Blakus Embertone
Solo Violin: Chris Hein
Solo Cello: Chris Hein
Solo Strings: Cinematic Studio