Spitfire Audio Originals | Epic Strings | Cinematic Power 

That would be very cool 😎 Thanks so much for watching and supporting the channel. I am excited about what is ahead for us in the New Year. All the best.

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You are so right Christian. I found this video as Im looking online but don't like any of the videos. This is fantastic. Thank you Simeon.

It is my pleasure. Thank you for the kind words of support and encouragement.

It is my pleasure. Someone mentioned changing the name of my channel to “Happy little keys 🎹 “ 🤓 Thanks so much watching, and your kind support. All the best!

Apt comparison!

Aaron Bird agreed! And love your icon, lol!

@@JPDC624 Sweet! Yeah, your icon is awesome!

Thanks so much, that is so very kind of you. Joyfully!🎹

It is indeed a great joy to be able to have the opportunity to share on this platform. I love having these beautiful sounds under my fingers and it is like they are taking me where they want to go, it is very interesting when it happens. I am also very grateful and will never forget to acknowledge the gifts that I have been given, as each day I realize more and more how precious they truly are. Thanks so much for watching and for the kind words of support, they really mean a lot. All the best.

Of course, it is my pleasure. I really appreciate you all and want to help whenever there is a question or request for more information.

Simeon is the only demonstrator I know that can make a pile of tin cans sound like a percussion section

Well, eventually you will want both of them ;^) The main difference is punch or subtlety, 60 or 35 players. Thanks so much for watching.

That is a blessing to hear. I am so glad you enjoyed watching and that is why I love to do things live to share my initial experiences as well as capture some special moments that would otherwise be missed. Thanks so much for the encouragement. Wishing you all the best.

@@PraiseTracks I've been wanting to do the same, sharing sonic experiences, and after watching you I might! Thanks for sharing who you are! Your joy playing moved my heart!

That is what I enjoy as well, the immediacy of being able to play an instrument without a lot of tweaking. Also loading this up in UNIFY opens up even more possibilities when creating live performance layers and such, it is amazing. Thanks so much for watching.

@@PraiseTracksThanks for the reply Simeon, I don't have Unify (I use Ableton clips to layer sounds) but I'll definitely check it out!

It is one of my favorites as well, such power, reverence, and awe, but with all of that a sense of peace and security. Thanks so much my friend, He is the rock that will never fail.

Agreed - I got goosebumps just hearing the first few notes. Beautifully played.

Much appreciated.

Oh yes, the muted strings really affect me somehow. There is just such a richness in those types of articulations that is just so moving.

My pleasure! Thanks for watching and your kind encouragement. 🤓

Thanks so much. I agree the low end is stunning and powerful. My thought is the sample split and stretch points have something to do with how the upper range is being perceived. Your kind words and feedback are much appreciated. All the best.

I am a non-commissioned spokesperson 😂 That is a great idea and I will look into seeing how I could do something like that. Thanks so much for watching.

You are so kind. I am so glad you enjoyed watching. You know, I just get caught up in the sounds that I experience when working with these libraries, it is so amazing to have these incredible tools to create the music that our hearts sing. Thanks you so much for watching and again the kind support.

My pleasure. This collection is such a great value. Thanks so much for watching and for your kind words of support. All the best.

Thank you so much, I appreciate the kind encouragement. It is amazing to have something that sounds this good for $29, Spitfire is really nailing it with their Originals series. Joyfully!🎹

My pleasure, I think I will add just a touch more garlic to my mix. 😂 Thanks for watching. Joyfully!🎹

Thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed watching. I will say it again, the Originals Series really surprised me with the absolute Bang for your buck, epic sound that you are getting.

My pleasure. Maybe no videos today, as my wife and I are going to see The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary at the theater. So hard to believe it was that long ago and far away. All the best!

Intimate Strings is one of my favorites, and then you have Cinematic Frozen Strings. Each one serves a different purpose in the tonal and expressive palette 🎨. Thanks so much for watching, I am so glad you are enjoying the channel.

Terry, It is my pleasure. I so appreciate your kind support.

That is so kind. Thanks for watching James and so glad you enjoyed the experience. Joyfully!🎹

Thanks so much Tim. I say this a lot but the sounds are what pull things out of me. There is something about the textures that trigger chords, memories, songs, emotions, that is the power of these wonderful tools we have available to us. I appreciate your kind support, it fuels the fires of encouragement. Joyfully 🎹

@@PraiseTracks oh yes, couldn't agree more!!

Thanks so much for those kind words of support. I can tell you those expressions are very genuine, I will be playing something and then find myself somewhere else, the sounds just carry you. I really enjoy using Spitfire products and hopefully one day can test drive some of their larger libraries (Hans Zimmer Piano anyone). 🤓 All the best and stay tuned 📺

it is my pleasure! Joyfully!

It is my pleasure. I am so glad that you have been enjoying watching the channel. All the best.

Jung, I am so blessed that you enjoyed listening. Thanks so much for your kind words and sorry for the delay in responding. Joyfully!

@@PraiseTracks No worries at all! Thank you for your excellent playing and review. I ended up getting these strings thanks to you, I love them. All the best!

So glad you enjoyed watching. Orchestral music has such richness and at times some brilliant intertwined harmonies and counterpoints. It is a great source of inspiration to take you into some wonderful new musical places.

For me it has a lot to do with visualization. The notes, tones, and textures paint these amazing film like moments that take me into them. I try to see the string section and how they might be moving and bowing. One of the pitfalls, especially for a keyboard player is voicing chords that sound, well, like a keyboard. That is why I enjoy stretching out with my left hand to reach the more open voicing that create that very powerful low end space that can be filled in with the right hand playing the higher strings. I also look at each finger as a player or section that can move inside of a chord or specific line. The mod wheel and expression pedal help to execute the overall dynamics as well as key velocity. It is indeed like conducting an orchestra in real time which is such an amazing experience. Thank you so much for watching, along with your kind encouragement and support. Joyfully!🎹

My pleasure as always. Yes this series is an amazing value for the quality of the content that is presented. Thanks as always for the support.

I'm pretty sure Albion One includes the samples from Albion Classic (which Epic Strings uses) in a folder in the Kontakt interface, you should check if you already have these sounds in Albion One! Please forgive me if I'm wrong.

@@Vode_ika Thanks for the info - will look for them!

Yes, it does. There is a folder called Albion Legacy (or something like that).

Found them - thanks!

Thanks so much for watching and for those kind words, much appreciated. Joyfully,🎹

These are so powerful, especially for the cost. Thanks so much for watching and the kind support.

It is my pleasure, I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying the channel, that means so much. All the best.

It is my pleasure, I am so glad you enjoyed it. I think they took the original source material and if I understood correctly, they also remastered them to adapt to the custom Spitfire player. The Originals are truly a wonderful and extremely cost effective way to have access to this material. Thanks so much for watching and your kind words of encouragement.

Thanks so much. There is just something that I cannot explain that happens to me when I experience these instruments, they transport me into so many different places.

I am so glad you enjoyed watching. What you see on the screen is the result of a lifetime of wonderful musical experiences. It always amazes me what comes out when I am exploring these instrument libraries, they just touch on so many different areas. It does give me an opportunity to really think about how I could possibly translate things in such a way it would make sense and help other musicians. Thanks so much for watching as well as the great feedback and kind words!

@@PraiseTracks So there is no chance of a tutorial video of any kind? Lol. I mean, you play very well and I really envy how you do it so easily.

@Daniel Rennie, I would not say never 😎 Thanks again for your kind support.

@@PraiseTracks Thanks again for all! Have a blessed day!

Thanks so much, I am so glad you enjoyed watching. Wishing you all the best for the New Year.

Yes, thanks for the feedback. So the strings in Epic, Intimate, and ALBION were all recorded at AIR, so they have that acoustic DNA, and BBCSO has a different signature. Sometimes these videos are like flying over the Grand Canyon, you have just enough time to admire the overall beauty but as you say, it takes a bit longer to venture into the details and discover even more treasure there. I think the Originals series gives someone who might not have a full blown larger library a very wonderful and affordable entry point to have some of the larger libraries signature sound. Thanks once again for watching and the kind support, I really appreciate it. Joyfully!🎹

@@PraiseTracks I'm well aware about the halls all those libs were recorded. I just wished that in 1h+ video you'd show me more precisely the differences, especially between the Epic & Intimate, because they seem to have much overlap. But you are a dreamer not an engineer, and I love it. The thrills you spread are worth more! 😀

It is my pleasure. I have not tried this yet, but it does sound interesting. The Epic Series was recorded in the more reverberant while BBCSO Core has a slightly tighter sound so it would stand to reason that adding the Originals libraries would add an interesting depth to things. I might try it out and get back to you. 🤓 Thanks fir watching and I wish you the very best.

Tayla, so glad you enjoyed watching. I love these Spitfire Originals.

My pleasure. Thanks so much for watching.

Thanks so much for the kind support, much appreciated and I hope you continue to enjoy the content. Feel free to let me know if there is anything you would like to see on the channel. Joyfully! 🎹

@@PraiseTracks You welcome - I'm mainly an "hardware" user - I use to play the Tyros 4 - But i'm very interested with softwares and demos of great sounds like yours! Regards from France - Mysterio.

OK, I see in the manual that it is based on playing "style" not on key velocity. I believe that what they mean is that short presses will trigger short notes and long presses will trigger long notes.

@@alfredohuerta5688 , That is a great point of clarity. So I just pulled it up and it does seem that it does respond that way. I guess my feeling at the time was of course the more aggressive SHORTS were coming out more when played at the higher velocities.

Alfredo, thank you for the kind encouragement, it inspires me in return when I know that you are also bein inspired. Inspiration is a circle where you inspire someone and they are able to carry that forward to others and in one way or another it seems to come back to you. All the best.

I agree, the highs could be a result of stretching the sample.

love the intimate strings

Unfortunately no legatos, only longs. I probably was able to approximate something that sounded like legatos using the sustain pedal and overlapping the notes. These $29 treasures are really amazing, they have a lot of potential and do sound wonderful. Thanks so much for watching , and the kind support. All the best.

My pleasure, I am using a Yamaha FC7. Thanks so much for watching. More Originals coming soon. All the best.

So that is where things get complicated. It is not just a matter of doubling an instrument or even a voice to make things sound bigger, it is the interaction of several different players who are playing together and those differences are what make things sound richer, more animated and fuller. Now you could layer a different string library playing a similar technique and get a little closer but then you would have the issue of matching the sound of the room. The punch would definitely not be there are the technique of Intimate Strings is based on a variation of the Con Sordino, a Flautando which by nature is muted and glassy. You just do not get the attack that comes from Epic Strings. One thing that I have done in Unify is combine Intimate and Epic together so at low velocities it triggers the Intimate Stings and when I lay into the keyboard, it triggers the Epic Strings, now that is fascinating. Thanks so much for watching and for the great feedback. All the best.

@@PraiseTracks Wow that was fast. Thank you for the detailed explanation. Looks like I'll be purchasing both. Now the only question is which one first lol

It depends on if you want bold and aggressive (Epic) or softer, and more emotional (Intimate).

Hello Eugenio, Epic Strings uses the Spitfire Player plugin that runs inside of a DAW (Digital, Audio, Workstation), or other hosting software (UNIFY for instance). The library comes as A VST, or an Audio Units Plugin if you are using a Mac based music production application. I am using it along with the FREE Cakewalk by BandLab DAW which is a full featured music production application for Windows. I hope that helps, thanks so much for watching, and please let me know if you had any further questions.

hello, so far ok, I am fascinated and amazed by your way of playing the keyboard by prolonging the sounds, while you play more. make use of some pedalboards to help you, both with expression and sustain etc..etc .. 'Thank you so much for having awakened in me the desire to ... imitate you, and use this instrument to express my musical feelings hidden in Me. Sorry for my translation but I also use google translate to help me. Hi

I would say that Originals are a fast and economical way to add some very well done orchestral components. A package like BBCSO CORE is great because it has all of the sections so it is a good foundation that you can layer the other ensemble tones and textures over to fill things in if needed.

Oh yes, been there and done that 😎 Here is a video I did a little time after featuring intimate and Epic Strings. I am using Unify to accomplish this and it is really a game changer as the possibilities are staggering. I am just touching the surface. They are working on something epic regarding using Unify with BBCSO Discover and more. check it out. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CjvV0Nv3OlM.html

The key is in bein gable to have the ability to create complicated multi velocity layers where Intimate Strings could be on the softer side of things and you could get the dynamic edge when you play harder switching to Epic Strings.

@@PraiseTracks wow, very cool, will check out the video! Thank you for your elaborate replies ;)

My pleasure!

Richard, This would be all you would need to get started. It uses Spitfire's custom playback engine so you would not need any other plugin to get these to work in your DAW. The great thing about the Originals series is the amazing quality at an even more amazing price. I think once you start playing and getting into them that you will surprise yourself with what you come up with. Enjoy.

@@PraiseTracks Thank you so much for your quick answer. I was looking at Nucleus lite at first but the more I listened to it I got more and more skeptical, it sounds more synthetic then these strings. I rather have fewer options with better quality. I will buy em and probably the sentimental strings too. Thanks again :)

Hello, unfortunately Epic Strings does not include a Tremolo articulation, although that would be a nice thing to have. Thanks for watching.

@@PraiseTracks Thank you for quickly clarifying! I wasn't entirely sure if tremolo was classified as an articulation. Now I know! No problem, you have great content & skills.

It’s my pleasure, thanks for the kind support. Audio Imperia has Areia LITE which does have Tremolo along with some other bread and butter articulations. I think I have a video on that so you might take a look.

@@PraiseTracks I will take a look. Thanks again!

Yes, it is such a difficult thing to do, especially so if you are a keyboard player. I am always trying to find ways to disengage my keyboard brain in order to approach strings and other orchestral and acoustic instruments. Seeing how the actual players interact with their instruments helps me to get the slightest bit closer to translating things to the keyboard. Voicing, timing, dynamics all play a role. I am inspired each time I am able to see live orchestral performances, witnessing how the section players interact with one another. Thank you so much for watching.

Hello, wow, that is a very nice compliment to want to use the music in this way. If you could go to the channel ABOUT section and send me an email with more information about the project, I can take a look and see if that is something we could work on together. Thanks so much for watching. Joyfully! 🎹

So your description helped make the decision; Epic Strings. Intimate Strings have such a moving, silky, emotional quality to them, while also including half section presets. Epic Strings are in your face and can be very powerful. Both being recorded at Air Lyndhurst also brings a big room sound to them. I hope that is helpful. Thanks so much for watching. All the best.

You might check out my Intimate Strings vid as well, just to get a little more perspective of where the two libraries are coming from.

Man thanks for the time to answering me. Appreciate that. I just bought epic strings:D the last part of your video when it sounds mostly cellos and basses convinced me. Lets play with those

I will have to check to see what the potential differences might be.

On a different note, I have started to work a little with UNIFY. This plugin has amazing potential bringing multiple plugin instruments together, controlling them in so many ways. Check out Plugin Guru for more info. I will of course share any of my findings as well.

My deepest apologies. I just pulled up Intimate Strings again and you are right, there is not a "Live" Preset as I first thought. When you are working with libraries that interfaces look so similar, things tend to get blurry. This has me wanting to see if I can create something like this in UNIFY using two instances of Intimate Strings to create this articulation.

I have yet to try EWQL in depth but will definitely look into them. I have the Composer Cloud waiting.

Thanks so much for watching! 🤓

Yes, it can indeed fall into that trap, especially for keyboard players (guilty as charged). I think it is because when you are recording the entire section, and then playing it back on the keys, that magic of what happens when you are listening to a live string section suddenly gets lost. There is so much that happens inside of the string section that frankly is like capturing lightning in a bottle. I think ensembles work in certain applications, but the best way is to play in each section separately to at least attempt to create more of the interaction between the different sections. Thanks for watching and the insightful feedback. Joyfully!🎹

No, these types of things are not possible with this library. Thanks so much for watching.

@@PraiseTracks Really iam enjoy watching and ur touching play

That is so good to hear, thanks so much for watching, I so appreciate the support.

No separate attack setting. I think some of the attack is influenced by velocity and where the dynamic slider is.

Also the different articulations probably affect the attack. Spitfire's page says there are 11 articulations, but so far I haven't found a list of them.

This is the way ;^) Thanks for watching.

Hello my friend, I am someone who has been playing music since I was around five years old. I have had an interesting front seat so to speak, watching music technology advance over many decades. I am very blessed to have the opportunity to share my discoveries and love for music and technology with you on the channel. I also have a short bio in the "About" tab on the channel front page. Thank you so much for the support and please let me know if I can answer any questions or assist you in the future. All the best.

@@PraiseTracks 😍♥️