I am writing for a live string ensemble of 14 String players. 4-4-3-2-1. and i need to write the music with that sound in mind not have my BBCSO samples make it into something huge then i get disappointed when the live performance doesn’t sound as big.
That’s why I’m looking for a good library that lets me specify at least how many players in a section. What I’m doing now is I’ve loaded individual String Leaders of the BBCSO Pro and formed the 4-4-3-2-1 Ensemble, but i tell you, even when offloading some articulations, It really kicks hard on the CPU. So, any suggestions?
Oh and any cheap alternatives would be highly appreciated!
Have a look to the Vienna Ensemle libraries. They have Chamber String libraries: 21 instruments (six first violins, six second violins, four violas, three cellos, and two double basses).
I don’t have the Strings Section library. On the other hand, I know Solo Strings instruments well having used them in a collaborative project with one of my good musician friends. The result was more than interesting.
Each solo instrument offers various violins, viola, cellos and double bass so that it is possible to have 2 to 4 (and more) violin scores with different violin tones, same thing for the other instruments. We had a ROLI Seaboard keyboard to control the instruments and the response was really good and quite realistic. You still have to take the time to get to grips with the environment, it wasn’t necessarily convincing from the start.
This same friend recently acquired the latest Yamaha Montage and the Swan String Section library. We’ll meet soon and I can’t wait to see how the Montage with its new GEX Action keyboard with polyphonic aftertouch will be able to handle this library.
To answer your first question about whether these libraries could meet your needs, it’s difficult to say… There are surely several libraries on the market that could meet your needs, but it’s also up to you to ensure that they can do it. Regardless of the libraries, the result will depend on you.
There are rarely any discount offers at Swan Engine.
I’d venture to say Spitfire Chamber Strings might be what you’re looking for at a 4-3-3-3 section size. I’m not a Spitfire fanboy, they have a lot of consistency issues, but this library might be one of their finest, albeit a bit pricey.
I’ll add that VSL allows trials and returns, while Spitfire does not.
Yes you’re right but i did find some consistency issues with the BBCSO Pro… The VSL seem too pricy even if they have a return policy. The SWAM seem to be somewhat very good given that i won’t be using them for production purposes and just to have a good idea about the size of the sound. They seem to be taking that into consideration well.