Best Orchestrial Strings VST

Captain Whisky

New member
Hey folks, been a while since I've been on here. I was wondering if anybody could advise me on some decent String VST's, mostly looking for realistic, warm, raw, emotional strings but preferably a great all rounder would be ideal. There seems to be a lot of them around and they are pretty pricey so I'm hoping somebody could give me some advice on the subject? Thanks in advance.
 
As someone who ended up being an orchestral junky (oh, woe is me): Really too general a question!
How much $$$?
Synth pads/patches or samples?
Simple patches, articulated samples, phrases, or loops?
What type of string/orchestral section are you after (citing a song or piece would be helpful)?
Solo, ensemble, sections?
Do you have Kontakt? UVI Workstation? SampleTank? Engine? Etc. (a sample player)?
What type of music will you be composing?
How will the strings be used in your compositions (featured, solo, background, ambience, etc.)?

Good news and bad news: You can go from free to thousands and thousands of dollars. Knowing exactly the sound you want, e.g. Moody Blues, T.S.O.P, Dvorak, Beethoven, Copeland, cinematic, Mellotron or Motown, can save you a lot of time and money. Also be aware that, in a piece that is not completely classically orchestral, there are myriads of synth pads/patches that sound great in the mix (and on their own).

You're going to have a lot of interesting fun checking out your options.

Paj
8^)
 
Garritan Personal Orchestra. Not amazingly expensive, and I also have the Garritan jazz band now for the extra brass and basses. I still have the old Colossus sampler I bought three computers ago, and that has a good selection of strings that compliment the Garritan.
 
A couple of others that I have bookmarked are LinPlug (although I can't get their web page to come up?) and Synful. I've no experience with either one, but I've heard good things about Synful from someone who uses it.
 
Garritan Personal Orchestra. Not amazingly expensive, and I also have the Garritan jazz band now for the extra brass and basses. I still have the old Colossus sampler I bought three computers ago, and that has a good selection of strings that compliment the Garritan.

+1. I have GPO and I like the staff editor and the sounds.
 
This is going to sound really stupid - but Staff Editor? All I've ever used them for from day ones to drive them as a VSTi from Cubase - Feeling even more stupid - I always wondered what when you select a sound it gives an option for notation or otherwise. Have I totally missed some really useful features by simply never playing with it, just selecting sounds and using them?
 
Just recently got Euphonic Strings from propellerhead--$49. Has several layers I've yet to peel back, but so far I love the sounds, the plethora of playing styles. I love the multi-sample setup (1, 2, 4 or 8 different randomly played samples per note per velocity range) that makes it sound like a real string section playing. Currently cannot get into Reason to play with it, but so far I've really liked what I've heard.
 

Good places to start. Aria makes some inexpensive stuff. That aforementioned StringWERK package sounds good enough to be a reason to own Reason.

East-West has a great subscription offer that allows you to drop in and out.

It's a shame that the OP never responded, but some good info is appearing here.

Paj
8^)
 
I think the reason companies like to give away free players is because often the free sounds that come with the free players are either just so-so sounding or limited in selection, so you end up having to buy sound sets anyway. :) But I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing, because then you can buy the specific types of sound sets that you're interested in!

Regarding notation editing, it seems that some people just prefer to create music in notation form rather than using a piano roll editor, I guess because that's what they're used to from the days of pen and paper. :) If I have a melodic phrase running through my head, I like to crank up a notation program so I can "jot it down" and save it before I forget it. On the other hand, I generally don't use the notation option when I'm inside a DAW, although it's nice to have that option.
 
Best Service has a special on boxed-media versions of East-West products because they are moving to a download and/or subscription model. So, you can get Hollywood Strings Gold for $99 (half of good street value). The catch is that this 50GB library installs from a shipped, internal SATA hard drive, so you need a bay (either internal or external). The capabilities of this package look outstanding. Maybe someone could comment?

Hollywood Strings Gold | EN


I did order the East West Symphonic Choir from Best Service a few weeks ago. It came as DVDs and took about 10 days (with apologies) from Germany but the price was well below anything that I had ever seen for this package. Definitely worth the wait.


Also, can anyone comment on the Vienna libraries. It would seem from their website soundfiles that this is a series that will do virtually any orchestral style.

Paj
8^)
 
You're welcome! Keep in mind that they don't give away their best stuff for free, so you still might want to look for a module to buy, but the free goodies can help tide you over. :)
 
You're welcome! Keep in mind that they don't give away their best stuff for free, so you still might want to look for a module to buy, but the free goodies can help tide you over. :)

it looks like only grand piano is for free. was hoping for some strings. yeah i'll have to put down some $ soon for them. i am not too thrilled about the size of the download (500MB) or the fact that NI likes to create "hubs" for their products. I'd rather insert a VI into my DAW.
 
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