Best String Vst Plugins

[Kassim Sin]

Bringingmusic to life through the use of VST instruments has become a reality within your very own computer. As a composer and musician, the option to work on music through a DAW, or Digital Audio Workstation, has become very appealing.

It is important to adapt to this technology as many directors, developers and other clients expect a good quality audio recording for a demo of your composition. Projects may not cover the expansive budget costs of a live orchestra, so you may have to rely on your best-sounding VSTs when crafting the final product.

VST instruments offer a variety of options for your recording needs. You may not own a string instrument, or you may want to broaden your sound palette with different strings samples as well as experimenting with other instruments.

You can use your digital piano as a MIDI controller, allowing you to play in notes in a piano fashion, and have your computer output this as other instruments such as a violin section via the use of VSTs.

If you only wish to use a few samples for different sounding drums, you can just work on a single computer or laptop and will not need a lot of RAM to do so (at least 16GB is recommended but 8GB will suffice for less intensive usage).

With an audio interface, you will be able to connect and record instruments and microphones to your computer and are not limited to a piano as your controller within your DAW. This recording works by converting an analog, electrical signal from your instrument/microphone into a digital one.

Most orchestral strings VSTs are of excellent quality and each library I find tends to get approved by a lot of my clients. Many of them prefer high-quality sounding pieces over music that may be well-written but used with poor samples.

Some libraries are similar in sound yet have their own individual perks. With research, every composer is capable of choosing an appropriate strings library that will enhance their compositions depending on their creative requirements. I have met colleagues who prefer certain libraries over others and vice versa.

Orchestral Tools Berlin Strings is a string library held in high regard by its users. This library is one of the industry standards when it comes to orchestral strings and is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

The samples were recorded at the Teldex Scoring Stage in Berlin, where the Berlin, Vienna and New York Philharmonic Orchestras have recorded in, as well as many pop artists including Celine Dion, Alicia Keys and Britney Spears.

Imagine playing an instrument, such as a cello, and playing two identical notes, one after the other. Although the pitch is the same, the second note is unique in how it was played at a microscopic level.

There are numerous legato expressions in Berlin Strings that are triggered by the keyboard velocity. Legato patches create soft attacks at low velocity and accented sustains at high velocity; portamento slides are activated at high velocities. It is worth noting that legato is a very important articulation in string playing. It causes strings to sound lush and full in an orchestral piece.

The expression is most difficult to get right (as opposed to recording shorter articulations like staccato or pizzicato) which is why the various legato expressions in Berlin Strings is a powerful tool for getting your virtual compositions to sound natural.

Berlin Strings also commands high-quality short articulations. Each of the articulations recorded have a very broad dynamic range, from soft to expressive fortissimo. Some articulations in the library include sustains, double stops, trills, and many more useful articulations.

Something that Berlin Strings does a little differently than others is their trills orchestrator. To define if you want a whole or half trill, you simply play the two notes together and the sample will play these notes as a trill. For example, if I hold down C on my keyboard and D right above, it will automatically play the whole step trill. If C and Db are played, the sample will play a half trill.

You can use a CC (Control Change or Continuous Controller) of your choice to activate different vibrato expressions: without, romantic (for a subtle vibrato) or strong (for a wider vibrato). The sustain CC can also be used to insert a gentle fall off on a phrase.

Orchestral Tools has meticulously studied and implemented the idiomatic orchestration behind string instruments. They have programmed blurred articulations similar to when a string section plays a fast passage so that the intonation seems meshed rather than perfectly defined.

Berlin Strings by Orchestral Tools is a high-quality, industry-standard strings library backed by many composers and musicians including the likes of David Newman, Junkie XL, Harry Gregson-Williams, Jeff Russo and Richard Harvey.

It is one of the more expensive options but a name most composers and musicians know and talk highly of. The sound is impeccable and very realistic. The library is an investment for any serious musician and can be purchased through the Orchestral Tools website.

Orchestral Tools have just released a new strings library: Berlin Symphonic Strings. The library focuses on large string sections capturing cinematic, rich string compositions that maintain the renowned characteristics of the Berlin series.

Berlin Symphonic Strings instruments play in a broad range of articulations including various legato specialties, tremolos, trills and shorter articulations including staccato, pizzicato and marcato.

The strings were recorded at the Teldex Scoring Stage in Berlin and are sampled in situ, with players in the traditional strings seating arrangement with violins on the left, violas in the center and celli and basses on the right. This seating arrangement helps create a natural, homogenous blend.

The mic positions are worthy of mention here as you can create specific positioning across the ensemble. Due to the number of microphone positions, such as two different spot mics, ambience, and tree mics, it is easy to experiment with the stereo soundscape.

A close mic positioning may have a completely different effect on a wider mic position even on the same composition. This is definitely a tool worth playing around with and experimenting on your string arrangements.

TIP: In an orchestral setting, spot microphones are usually never used on their own. Always use spot mics blended with room mics when creating an orchestral setup. The main room mic in Berlin Symphonic Strings is the tree mic.

Pattern Legato is suited for ostinato passages where round robin is utilized to eliminate the machine-gun robotic effect. The mode applies three samples for each transition which varies the sound of repeated notes and aims for a more natural sound.

Berlin Symphonic Strings also features the Adaptive Legato feature from Berlin Strings, where the type of legato will adapt to what you are playing. If it is a slow passage, it will lean towards the melodic legato whereas when you are inputting a fast passage, the sample will program rapid legato. This makes creating ostinato passages with various rhythms a breeze.

There is a slider on the left panel of the UI where you can adjust the vibrato intensity from more expressive to more subtle. This can be adjusted by using the modulation wheel on your MIDI controller as you play.

Hollywood Strings is co-produced by Thomas Bergerson, known for his cinematic music from Two Steps from Hell, and engineered by Sean Murphy, known for his recording and mixing of the Star Wars franchise among many other large scale projects.

There are also Divisi folders where string instruments typically share a stand (two players on one stand) which achieves a different sound than one player per stand creating a separation and clarity between the left and right player.

Long expressions include legato slurred and with bow changes, portamento, detache and sustains; and short articulations include pizzicato, col legno, bartok pizz, marcato, ricochet, spiccato, staccato, staccatissimo.

In the center display there is an articulations window which lists each articulation in use of the loaded patch and contains information such as its keyswitch note, whether or not it is activated (uncheck to save on CPU resources if not in use) and the knob,which adjusts the loudness of the selected articulation while not affecting any of the others.

Because there are so many different expressions within the Hollywood Strings library, it may be helpful (especially those unfamiliar with writing or playing string instruments) to view this video explaining different bow strokes:

It is also a good idea to check out the manual which has a more in-depth explanation of many orchestral techniques including finger positions on each instrument and definitions for many of the expressions available including col legno and Bartok pizz.

Overall, EastWest Hollywood Strings is an enormous library full of everything you could possibly need in a traditional orchestral strings setup. The powerful scripts that implement many techniques and finger positions are what makes Hollywood Strings an industry-standard choice for composers.

The UI is a little more complex to use than some others listed but it is worth acquiring if you can decipher it. For those looking to incorporate the true sound of Hollywood, this library is a great pick.

LASS is well-known for its flexible string sections from tutti to divisi. This is different to other libraries where if there are 16 particular violins playing one note and 16 different violins also playing another note, this would unrealistically create a sound of 32 violins.

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