
- Kontakt 5 action strings full#
- Kontakt 5 action strings pro#
- Kontakt 5 action strings software#
- Kontakt 5 action strings trial#
US company EastWest, one of the original sample-library pioneers, scored a hit in 2003 with the EWQL Symphonic Orchestra. VSL’s strings are available as individual collections, discounted bundles and in cut–down Special Edition volumes (see ‘Mixed Orchestral Instruments’ below for details on the latter).
Kontakt 5 action strings trial#
The latter option is installed along with the standard samples and remains active for a 30–day trial period, after which it can be unlocked by paying extra. Libraries are available in Standard (commonly used articulations) and Extended (extra articulations) versions. For more experienced users and control freaks, VSL’s ambitious Dimension Strings collection features 24 string players recorded in sections of eight violins, six violas, six ’cellos and four double basses, using individual microphones on every instrument and giving extensive, detailed control of each player’s performance.Īll these samples were recorded from one perspective in VSL’s Silent Stage, a custom–built facility with a controlled studio acoustic to simulate a traditional orchestral hall sound, you’ll need to add reverb. Though less lush than the Appassionata Strings, these ensembles perform a far greater range of articulations, and their aggressive sforzatissimo delivery outguns other VSL string titles. The most versatile of the Vienna string libraries, Orchestral Strings I, includes 14 violins and 10 violas, while Orchestral Strings II adds eight ’cellos and six double basses. Each of these three libraries has a second volume containing muted con sordino articulations. Tailored for lush, romantic Hollywood–style scores, the Appassionata sections have a big, beautiful sheer sound and an expressive vibrato if you need a lighter, more intimate and austere timbre, the small ensembles in VSL’s Chamber Strings work well for pop arrangements, or for adding detail to a larger ensemble. All feature the trademark Vienna legatos and a huge menu of articulations covering virtually every orchestral requirement, so mock–ups can be realised in forensic detail.
Kontakt 5 action strings full#
VSL have five full string collections, ranging in scale from Solo Strings’ quartet of solo instruments to the 56–piece Appassionata Strings.
Kontakt 5 action strings pro#
Vienna Instruments Pro adds more playing slots, convolution reverb, user–definable instrument ranges, a pattern sequencer and an auto–voicing feature. VSL libraries are powered by the Vienna Instruments sample player, which features a large, user–configurable patch–switching matrix and intelligent performance detection of legato intervals, note repetitions and playing speed. Since 2002 the company have churned out over two million samples and countless instruments, winning a reputation for musical depth, detail and precision. We’ll start with Vienna Symphonic Library, the world’s most prolific developer of orchestral sample libraries. In order to make effective comparisons, single–instrument libraries which don’t comprise the whole strings family are excluded. We’ve also included all–in–one symphonic products which feature strings along with other orchestral instruments. This round-up focuses on stand–alone strings libraries dating from 2002 onwards, most of which incorporate ‘interval legatos’ and round robins (see the ‘Legato Revolution’ box for an explanation of these terms). We hope our analysis will help you decide which orchestral strings library is best suited to your music and budget!

The majority of these titles have received in–depth SOS reviews, which can be read online via the links in the ‘SOS Reviews’ box. To throw some light on the subject, we’ve compiled a selection of the current sample libraries and virtual instruments which feature orchestral strings, and analysed their contents and characteristics.

As a result, deciding which library to buy can be a bewildering experience, and (as with all commodities) it’s sometimes difficult to separate fact from advertising hyperbole. While these format shifts have greatly inconvenienced some users, they’ve done nothing to stem the flow of new strings sample libraries, a product line which has proliferated in recent years.
Kontakt 5 action strings software#
Gigastudio is now defunct, a software success story turned sour nowadays, sample developers tend to favour the ubiquitous Kontakt sampler format, or they use proprietary player software which works only with their products. The ’90s saw a steady trickle of Akai–format orchestral libraries, but with the advent of the PC–based Gigastudio in 2000, the trickle turned into a torrent. When Miroslav Vitous released his Symphonic Orchestra Samples CDs in 1993, no–one could have predicted the avalanche of similar products that was to follow. The quality and variety of orchestral string libraries continues to grow.
