I am a recent graduate in commercial music/film scoring. I cannot express how much I appreciate and trust your videos above every other composer and content creator. Your honesty and just like. Straightforward "what you use" "what you don't use" makes so much practical sense compared to other composers I've watched. Thanks so much
Thank you for sharing with us all this informaton so brilliantly! Coming from someone who is a composer, your perspectives seem highly convincing! Your videos are among the absolutely very best out there!
Hey Anne, I spoke with CineSamples about your concerns with the CineStrings library, and they informed me that a major update is coming - "As for CineStrings Core - we actually do agree that there are many things about the library that are in desperate need of improvement. Because of this, I'm excited to let you know that we are working on a significant update for the library, CineStrings 2.0, with redone patches and a new user interface. This update will solve many of the problems and issues you're experiencing with the library. In addition, any current users of CineStrings Core will receive the update for free."
I don't know how I have somehow missed your presence, but THANK YOU for your tutorials. Strictly first rate, organized, and collectively something other composers are charging a fortune to access. I wish you continued success and please keep your tutorials coming !-
I've heard "travel far and wide" from the claus family soundtrack so many times that I immediately recognised the shorts at 3:33. Absolutely incredible and my fav piece you've written :D
Wow!!! This will be the most important episode of the series... I’m really excited to what I’m going to see!.. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your priceless information.
I truly love the way you used the Cinematic Studio Strings samples for your musical demo. This is a rather underrated music library and I glad I have it.
Thank you Anne... indeed, finding sample libraries that actually work well via MIDI, have decent intonation and don't sound like feral cats in heat, is difficult -very difficult. If not for a couple of Spitfire things, I would have given up. Thanks for this! You're awesome :)
Thanks for making this video! Finding a good String Library is always very Hard. I also have Cinematic Strings 2, And i love the sound of its medium sized instrument sections, it works well with other libraries as well.
I love cinematic solo strings because of the warmth. Personally I love layering those with LASS and Spitfire’s Albion One, but honestly you’ve hit the nail on the head with Cinematic strings. They are gorgeous 💛 Thank you so much for making these videos and giving back to the scoring community, you have a true genuine heart for it! 🙏🏽
I considered Orchestral Tools and Cinematic Studio Strings, but went ahead with Audio Imperia, later with Spitfire Audio and now I finally found home in Vienna Symphonic Libraries.
If I could go back in time, I'd have shelled out the 4K for the Vienna Borg Cube and called it a day. I do like Audio Imperia. Pan it however you want. Mix it with whatever you want. Areia and Jaeger just sound great. No Talos for me until trumpets get recorded.
thanks so much for taking the time to not only give your valued opinions but to add the sound samples as well. This will really save me a lot of time and option paralysis
Wonderful breakdown. Honest, straightforward and professional. As someone with very limited experience from composing dating back more than ten years, I've found it impossible to make sense of discounts and products when seeking to buy string libraries for this black week/day/month/whatever. I do find the sound of Tundra very appealing, but I'll hold off on that investment for now. Thank you for this, very helpful!
Thanks so much for your comments on string libraries. I also work with Cinematic Studio Strings among others, love the sound, but feel that with faster cues the short strings are not too accurate. I always have to add other strings, especially when I combine them with quantized percussive rhythms.
I must have checked out every string library OTHER THAN Cinematic Strings before seeing this, but this really opened my eyes to what I've been missing... Even the old legacy version STILL sounds better than most of the more expensive libraries out there.
Thank you for all the honest and straight-forward library reviews, Anne! I just bought Berlin WW, Cineperc, and going to buy Cinematic Studio String series! I’ve spent so much money on some expensive libraries like HZ strings, Olafur Arnalds series, and Albion Series. I personally like them and really like their creative libs like London Contemporary Orchestra series, but didn’t use for my projects that much, because Spitfire libs sounds unique and it’s hard to blend with other companies’ libs. I’d like to get more core, practical, and fundamental libs: great sounding, CPU-light, expressive, and easy-to-use. I think those libs above that I purchased or will purchase are great choices! Thanks a lot for help again, Anne! Your videos ROCK! :)
I'm glad these were helpful to you. I think you'll have a great time with your new libraries - they really are the bread and butter of my template and are featured in all of my productions. You'll also find these 3 to blend very nicely, despite having been recorded in different rooms, and they are not too taxing on the system.
@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Thanks, Anne! I an sure I will be super happy to put them in my template and play under my fingers! :) My another agony has been this question: How can I get rid of EW Composer Cloud subscription? Excpet the Hollywood Choir, Symphonic Choir, and several ethnic libs, I don’t feel much merit about it. And it takes so much room in my main drive and backup drive even though I don’t use most of the outdated sound and browsing/control concept. I’ll might get Fluffy Audio’s Dominus Choir standard, EW’s Silk. Ra, and Voice of Passion before the Cyber Monday sale will be over this week. Blessings to your music, business, health, and life, Anne!
Absolutely agree with you about CSS and CS2 - they've been my go-tos ever since they came out. One feature of CS2 that I really love is Runs Mode, which blends staccatissimo with half-tone trills to create a surprisingly believable 'blurring' effect, making fast runs and arpeggios come alive - great for those Harry Potter moments, and you're not restricted to pre-recorded runs. CSSS (solos) also provide excellent first chair 'focus' when carefully layered with CSS. I've also experimented layering CSS with Audio Modeling's SWAM solo strings. It's a lot more work to make them sit well - you can't just copy/paste parts like you can with CSS and CSSS, but with a fair wind (and a lot of patience) the results can be very good. Not ideal if you need to work quickly, though!
Danke für die Videos über die Kontakt Libraries und die Lord of the rings Mockups. Man spürt das sie das was sie tun mit Freude machen. Musikalitaet gepaart mit technischem Verstaendnis. Sie sind sehr talentiert. Wow!!! Good VIbes aus der alten Heimat!
CSS is king. :D They have it all! Same goes for CSSS, natch. Another neat set of libraries are Adventure Strings and Soaring Strings from Musical Sampling. They're very well programmed and don't take up too much hard drive space, which can be a bonus for some!
Thanks for watching and for chiming in! I haven't had the opportunity to try out Adventure Strings and Soaring Strings but it's good to know they are also well programmed and not resource heavy. Thank you for the additional info!
What an amazing video! Thank you so much for sharing all these! have been looking for different libraries and this helped so much! i truly appreciate all the videos are you positing. they are helping me greatly to discover more than i could imagine! thank you! :)
I eyed CineStrings Core closely when it was released so many years ago, yet always avoided it for the allure of other string libraries. In the end, I wound up buying CineStrings Core and it turned out to be love at first sight. I just love the performances captured during the recording sessions for that library, warts and all. With an extra gold star for the "Spot" mics.
I actually want to give the latest update another test run. I've always liked the airy sound quality of it. My main gripe was always playability and the fact that it's such a heavy library.
@@AnneKathrinDernComposer I wanted to say thank you for your amazing, professional and honest review videos. They were really helpful in helping me come up with a roadmap of what to eventually get. NI is having a Cinesamples sale for the next 11 days and this was what brought me here as I was wondering who to go with for Strings, Brass and Percussion. Luckily you answered my questions. E/W is also releasing their next big update to their Play engine and Hollywood orchestra called Opus on the 20th of April so I was trying to figure out whether going the Composer Cloud route was a good option as well. Plus now there are also libraries like Abby Road by Spitfire and BBC Complete. Plus vendors like 8DIO have a bunch of stuff now as well. The market is getting kind of crowded. I've been trying to figure out what would be the best libraries to invest in to get as close as possible to that traditional Williams, Jerry Goldsmith or Basil Poledouris (Conan the Barbarian) epic score (but not trailer music) "feel". I've heard BBC and Abby Road are good for this but then I saw the Cinesampels sale and wasn't sure which direction to go in. Anyway thank you again for your informative videos and honest industry retrospective. I really appreciate it.
I had initial woes buying LASS in 2020. Then I ran it through C2 Audio's Precedence and that made it sound like it was playing from further away in a bigger room. Took the edge off the 1st violins. Working with it some more I found that it really shines with certain articulations like Marcato. And of course, it sounds much better, and IMO on par with the best libraries when sent to a really good hall reverb like Altiverb. You can mix it with anything and make it sound like almost anything. Haven't encountered any of the reported tuning issues in 2.5. One of the very few libraries that sounds at all good in mono because of the phase coherent recordings. I actually give Audio Imperia props for that as well. Areia is a wonderful library. Shorts in their all in one, Jaeger are supreme. I'm looking forward to Modern Scoring Strings, especially since I get a huge discount for owning LASS. MSS seems to have better performers than those who recorded LASS, with hopefully the same attention to detail regarding scripting and mic positions.
Absolutely helpful review and thoughts. I especially like your comparisons between various aspects of these libraries. Articulations, resonant characteristics, emotional and interpretive aspects of their sonic qualities, etc. etc. You definitely helped me to choose the library I've been looking for. Thanks for all these real-life examples. They definitely helped as well. Subscribed !
Not to be That Guy, but genuinely VSL string libraries are top-notch. The pianissimo sound in Strings Pro is my go-to texture for almost anything that needs spicing. They have authentic legato for an octave up and down for each note. Dimension Strings can specify which string to play on, and have individually mic'd players. To this date, my biggest gripe with string sample libraries overall is that none of them have authentic double stops. One day, one day... ALSO! All VSL libraries in VST3 format using their free Synchron Player, together with Studio One, have pioneered a new standard in plugin communicating with the DAW, so it auto-populates ALL articulations into the DAW, so you can just select a bunch of notes, right-click, and then change the articulation for them, without awkwardly adding MIDI keyswitches, or manually importing them into the DAW.
I am using CSS and CSSS too, hollywood strings and th whole Olafur Arnalds ... and I am agrree with all that what you said here, abolutely. Anne-Kathrin, thanks a lot for this Video!
I love Cinestrings solo. Did a violin solo in verse 2 for a tune I have as part of my reel...Sounds damn good...(Egyptian inspired...perfect for this).
Danke sehr Anne-Kathrin, I am enjoing every of your video! Such a deepness of technical and musical skills, a clearness of explanation, and a very kind art of presenting it! Wonderful! I would pay you to have some lessons about Cubase and all the themes correlated with virtual instruments compositional workflow. Only looking at your videos I have seen so many little details on your setup that helped me very much to understand many things that was waiting for an answer a long time :-) Thank you very much and keep the good work and most important stay safe. Christian
I use most of the time Afflatus by Strezoz Sampling and it's, to me, by far the best sounding and playable string library. And it sounds a bit warmer and brighter than Cinematic Studio Strings but so close to it! Great video and comparisons ;)
I mean... if you or others love those and make them work, then go for it! I'm not here to tell anyone what to use. I've heard great results achieved by either one, I just don't enjoy using them myself, especially on tight deadlines.
Great stuff! But I am quite puzzled by the statement that divisi does not work in LASS. To my ears, it sounds absolutely beautiful, and the playability is the best of any library I own.
Thank you for sharing your invaluable insights - and as always for your tongue in cheek comments ;). Gorgeous examples, by the way. Gosh, I'm already fully invested in Spitfire as I have their Symphonic and Chamber Strings. So easy to get lured into buyer's remorse when listening to the other stuff. But I've made a vow to make that which I own work - before I get another string library. Oops, Black Friday coming up... 😁
Ha... the famous buyer remorse feeling 😂 I have 63 strings libraries (I made a comparison on my channel for about 50 of them) and my most used is still SSS layered with SCS. Because they are easy to program, and of course, the sound of Air Studios. Added to that, they blend perfectly with the rest of the Spitfire Symphony Orchestra whereas CSS requires a ton of work to blend nicely.
@@composingtips Hach, thanks Nico, already feeling much better. 😅 60 libraries?! Goodness gracious! But then, I am beginning to understand how that happens with time. Some people collect old cars - this is still cheaper (and more fun).
@@martinbacker7677 It's mainly a question of taste and workflow. I wouldn't say AIR is a massive selling point for me if the library is too flawed. It also never plays well with others since AIR has so much character of its own. I always have that problem as well when I record there. Much harder to blend with other stuff than say Abbey Road. So it's not the other libraries that don't blend, it's in fact Spitifre / AIR that doesn't blend. I haven't had issues blending CSS or CS2 with literally any other library that I own. But always bear in mind that I'm coming from the perspective of someone who needs their tools to work well in a real life setting. A lot of libraries can sound great if one spends plenty of time on their programming but most professionals don't really have that kind of time on a production. I also wouldn't say that one needs a large collection of libraries. My collection is fairly moderate - I only buy what I love or need - and I'm 100% booked until spring 2022 so there's not really a requirement to have a massive tool collection to be a professional. I also don't recall a lot of studios I worked at to always use the latest shiniest toy. They would often get that stuff for free but it wouldn't necessarily find its way into their templates if they already had tools that they liked and that worked.
Yes, I'd always advise people to layer string libraries in general, especially when going for a more produced "beefy" sound as you say. Thanks for watching and for chiming in!
Been looking forward to this one! Great in-depth video. CSS and CSSS definitely my go-tos. I don't have CS2 but for me Berlin Strings serves a similar role in blending with CSS as Berlin is brighter and is perfect for making parts stand out. I also like Berlin Special Bows. :) Albion V and Olafur Arnalds are great! Don't have Symphobia but I use Metropolis Ark I to layer in forte stuff and Ark 2 is great for quieter low dynamic layering. The only one I'd still love to try someday is Afflatus by Strezov.
Yes, I can see Berlin Strings fulfilling the role of CS2. I remember them being rather on the bright side. I also haven't tried Afflatus but it has been recommended to me several times. Would love to try it but then again, I really don't need yet another string library, haha. :-)
Hahaha, I'm in the same boat as you. This year my purchases were dedicated to little artisan instruments though which thankfully don't cost an arm and a leg.
At first, Anne, I have nothing to disagree with your comments on all those libraries. CSS is my main Strings library. I had the opportunity to experiment with all the other "BIG" libraries you mentioned, but they simply didn't work, for the exact same reasons you expressed in the video. Berlin is also pretty well programmed but you don't have the simple velocity control on legato speed as you have in CSS. Beyond that, I think price difference and the extra EQing and extra MIC mixing to add some warmth in Berlin Strings, is what made me go with CSS. Personally, a good programmed legato library is my main thing in all orchestral libraries. And CSS is the best out there in my opinion. I have only one complain about CSS. Basses sound SO BAD comparing them with the rest sections of the same library. I needed to build a fixed EQ just for Basses applied in every project while other sections stay untouched. Secondly... Since you have worked and know a lot about programming libraries, I have a question in my mind and you are some kind of a "Genie" for me since I found your channel. So, before asking you the question let me introduce my thinking that creates my question. As far as I understand, Round Robin is a mechanism where, when you hit a layer of velocities lets say between, 40 and 60 in a "staccato" patch, there's a group of samples, let's say 8, that play in random or straight one after the other, in order to help the quality of repetitions. Can't be done the same with legato passages? I mean, when you play in legato mode, 2 notes C, D, C, D, C, D... without changing velocity layer or modwheel, you always hear the same legato transition even at CSS and in every other string library that I have tested. Is RR technique, apliable in legato transitions so we could avoid that fake repetition between legato passages? Excuse me in case I repeated my self. :D
I agree the celli and basses in CSS can sound a bit boomy but since I EQ every section anyway, it doesn't bother me too much. They do sound fine in lower velocities so I just try to not go too high and use high velocities in the other libraries I use. As far as round robins for legatos go - it's possible in theory but I don't see how that would work in practicality. It's about recording time, consistency, Kontakt limitations, script limitations, pricing, etc. - I can get into that in more detail in my next Q&A since this would be very difficult to explain in a RU-vid comment. I do understand what you're saying, although it hasn't really bothered me all that much (probably because I'm layering so many libraries). Then again, in a live context, the legatos would be very similar as well since the players wouldn't be moving their finger positions. I think the effect you're hearing might be less of a round robin problem but more of a programming issue since three samples kick in at any given time with crossfades which makes it a bit fake sounding in quick succession. But I'll try to address this in more detail since people have had questions about legatos in general.
@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Dear Anne, thank you for that great respond. You gave some time for that reply and I really appreciate it. Yes. Layering many libraries could sound better in that scenario. And it's true that player's finger won't change position, but that slightly different movement on legato transitions, I strongly believe that could help a lot. Combining RR on bow sustains, we could have a richer playability.
Die Steigerung ab 3:22 ist der Hammer - mit diesem Atmen/Break immer wieder, ziemlich genial, bevor es dann Wagner wird - das hätte ein eigenes Stück verdient, das sich noch weiter steigert, statt zu früh "zu kommen".
Hello Anne, amazing vidso as usual...! I would suggest to try the new Spitfire libraries.. I fully agree with your remarks about their older string libraries.. But the new ones? I think they did a really good job at making strings so realistic with so much control on almost everyrhing
I'm still watching and ive just listened to the first and second strings libray. Gosh!! I really liked the second Cinematic studio strings! The realism of the string instrument samples is so really good!! It felt like they were real violins and the other sections playing! I wish i had these type of libraries!!😭. Lol. Still watching. Great video!! :) Just curious, if you can, would love to hear a mockup of Elgar's 'Nimrod' with Cinematic studio strings (the second one you used). If it's not possible that's ok. I like the Cinematic studio solo strings, based on what i heard. I noticed there was quite an amount of vibrato to each (maybe if it was reduced it would be cooler. (Just my thoughts). Keep up the great work! :)
@@erhankolaycompositions Thank you. I've listened to that particular mockup. But i dont know, i maybe wrong, but there were some notes i didn't hear in the beginning that i expected to hear based on the original music. I can be corrected if i'm wrong. Thank you for sharing. I appreciate.
It's a shame there's no sound example with layering CS2 and CSS. Same with the brass video where you mention layering CineBrass and CSB. I'd love to hear those layerings, how it sounds :) Apart from that, love your videos & love your voice also!
Additional information: When Anne talks about BML Mural (30:02) => this is now Spitfire Symphonic Strings. (BML) Sable is Spitfire Chamber Strings now. I have both. Tuning issues are present here and there but not as serious as in Spitfire Symphonic Brass in my opinion. I love the warmth of the ensemple patch in Spitfire Symphonic Strings and often layer it with Berlin Strings.
thanks for the nice comparison Anne. I might point out that Spitfire BML is an old library and has evolved to Spitfire Symphonic Strings. It sound great and has a very cool "performance patch" where you do not need to trigger the articulations but interpretes it from your playing style which is a great timesaver imho. So worth mentioning :-)
Yes, I'm aware of all of their current and discontinued libraries (and re-packaged libraries) but I can't comment on what I haven't tried. As mentioned before, I'm only going over what I have in my template currently and what I have used in the past as an assistant at other studios. People wanted to know what I use so I'm showing them before going over my template.
I use Hollywood Strings high, Symphobia low, and Mural for shorts/pizz. Works like a charm and sounds more realistic than CSS. I have it and don't touch it.
Vienna Symphonic Library is in a league of their own and the benchmark I judge all other orchestral sample libraries to regarding quality and realism. Audiobro’s new Modern Scoring Strings and Brass are amazing too. I agree with your thoughts on Spitfire. Their traditional sample orchestral libraries ( e.g., Symphonic, Studio, BBC, Abby) are ok, but nothing special. However, their specialty libraries like Alternative Solo Strings, London Contemporary Series, Fragile Strings, etc., are outstanding.
Hast du die Stradivari Solo Violin von Native Instruments? Ich hab vorher immer die Solo Violin von EastWest benutzt (ich hablt das ganze Hollywood Orchestra inklusive der Solo Harfe, des Solo Cellos, der Solo Geige und der Chöre obwohl ich die Symphonic Choirs immer noch mehr als die Hollywood Choirs mag, gekauft und bin auch sehr zufrieden), aber seit ich die Stradivari Solo Violin habe benutze ich keine andere Solo Geige mehr. Ich kann dir nur empfehlen dir mal das ein oder andere Review oder den ein oder anderen Demo Track anzuhören, mich würde deine Meinung sehr interessieren! LG Levi
Thanks for taking the time to make these excellent videos. You make a compelling case for CS2, CSS & CSSS. I've watched so many string library comparisons and I'm still on the fence about what to add to my setup. Can you share how you deal with the significant legato delays in CSS? Alex says that the Slow Legato is off 300ms, the Medium 200ms, Classic 150ms etc. I've also read that the short notes will feel off, too, because he purposely includes the very start of the note prior to reaching its peak. Your thoughts?
I laughed a little when you said you were dating yourself...I started scoring with 4 PCs running Gigastudio libraries 20+ years ago--now that's dating oneself! Nevertheless, I am glad I ran across your video as I am looking for a new orchestra library after being away from symphonic scoring for the past decade; and like you said, my EWQLSO library is dated and fraught with issues. I think CSS is what I am picking up. Now to watch your other vids for brass and woodwinds. Thx!
cs2 and css amazing libraries! But, Vln1 high position notes is so synthtic. It seems to be a phenomenon because vibrato is very small. I thought it would be better if I layer it in detail with the solo strings and that part is supplemented.
Hi Ann-Kathrin, would you like to do a video about how to deal with reverb when using multiple libraries? How to make all the instruments blend together? Do you use reverb on each individual tracks or do you put it on a buss? I would love to have some insight from you about that. 😚 Have a good one! 💃
Hi Anne-Kathrin, Thank You very much for making this super helpful video regarding Strings Sample Libraries. One of the best I have watched on RU-vid. I have a few questions regarding the use of CSS. Q1. Regarding CSS, which Legato mode are you using mostly, Standard, or Advanced ? and does the delay when playing the legatos bother you ? Q2. How do you deal with the multiple negative delay values you need to set for the legato notes that are tied to the notes velocity ? do you end up spending a lot of time editing/nudging the legato notes timing in relation to your DAWs grid ? Any helpful tips to use CSS Legato system would be very helpful and appreciated. Thanks
Thanks for watching! I'm glad this was helpful! As for your questions: Q1. I'm using the Advanced mode. I compensate for the delay by putting a negative track delay onto each track. Q2. No, I never nudge or edit individual notes to time them. That would be too time consuming and would create massive problems on a movie production where you have to constantly make MIDI edits and such. I simply settle on one legato type at the beginning of a cue. Usually a string section wouldn't vastly vary their legato speeds anyway unless a cue jumps a lot between tempo and character. There are very few instances where a cue demands varying legato speeds in which case I will need to move a few notes or simply create a duplicate set of tracks with a different pre-delay on them.
@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Thank You Very Much for your time to answer my questions. I will try using the Advanced Legato, with one type of legato, (I'm guessing this is Velocity-dependent, and set the recommended negative track delay for the track).
Imagine the great sampling work of the CSS people when they were allowed to record in a room like Abbey Road, if they would not have an exclusivity deal with Spitfire right now.
Yes, although I'm not entirely sold on the prestige halls for sampling. So many developers have managed to mess up their libraries while recording at the best halls, using the best players, and best engineers. Everything was stacked in their favor and they still created an inferior product. Then you have other developers that don't have those advantages but create the most pristine sounding and playable stuff. So where something was recorded is not even a selling point for me anymore.
@@AnneKathrinDernComposer Absolutely. CSS is a great example. I don't even know the hall where they record, but it sounds amazing. Therefore my point was, what would such a developer with such a passion for their product could bring out, when you put them in such an awsome sounding room.
Glad you like the channel. Yes, I've played with some VSL woodwinds a long time ago but found their dryness to be rather counterproductive to my workflow.
Hi there Anne, I'm really enjoying your videos. I'm a clarinettist and composer from Scotland - actually I recorded on several spitfire libraries including on Neo as the bass clarinettist and also do a lot of contrabass clarinet work... Anyway I'm getting into film scoring myself and having bought several of the Cinematic Studio Series libraries. I'm really getting frustrated with the delays and although I've read your answer in a previous comment I'm still not sure about this. When you say that you only use one type of legato - you choose - does that means you are very careful how you actually play in that part on the keyboard, as to not trigger a different legato speed? It seems somehow ashame to me, not to be able to use the full scope of the library offering 2 or 3 legato speeds. Also the first note is always out, and you say you never nudge, how do you get around this then? I read about a plug in called Thanos, do you know about this or any other options? Even if you programme in a negative delay on Logic, it doesn't seem to be consistent, and every time you start a new phrase the first note is out.....perhaps you know of some resources which explain all of this in detail? Thanks!!
I just watched her amazing videos on Lotr mockups, and she definitely mentions using only fast legato there. Regarding the timing issues, I recommend the VI control forums. People are very helpful there.
