Avoiding synthy strings

maxman65

maxman65

Member
Hi I'm using spitfire chamber strings . Done a piece which I guess is quite orchestral . Upper parts sound quite nice and react well to dynamics . Maybe the lower sustained mids sound a bit synthy . Are there any tricks to get out of this problem ?
 
Sometimes, if I'm doing a string section, I'll record each instrument individually. Yes, it's tiresome. Yes, it can take ages. But so does a drive to Scotland from England yet when you get there, the joy of the time you'll spend in Scotland far outweighs the drudgery of the lengthy drive. In the same way, the result of your recording will live forever. The process by which you got that more authentic sound will not.
 
it's way too big - stick up an mp3. Lots of it really is down to playing the individual parts, with expression, then it sounds like real players - chords don't really work.
 
Ok but I find legato also a bit odd on these libraries . Basically I used an ensemble patch played in real time then overlayed a legato for the melodic line . I've no idea how to convert to mp3
 
try saturation.

with the right plug, you can automate it, to bring up the saturation during just the lower sections,
or just break the track out and apply it where it's appropriate.

i use Waves Magma BB Tubes plug for this purpose.
 
I've got a gazillion string samples and if the idea is to make them realistic, then it's playing individual tracks as in playing like melodies - while saturation is a sort of add to a synth string effect. I work on the principle that Native, Spitfire, Crow Hill etc would add a saturation knob if they needed it? They don't.
 
This track was a sort of ideas mockup for a recent client - brief mentioned Elizabethan progress, mud, rain, horses, wagons soldiers. A 'progress' was what the move of a court from a to be was called back in Tudor days - the kings and queens would go from London to another part of the country, and it would take weeks, sometimes months and the huge number of people, animals and goods required would go on foot or horseback in all weathers. They're going with a different version, so won't matter if I share this. Sort of a sketch book to pitch. It had to be done in the video studio and the computers here don't have all my samples - this was done with Musio which I got recommended and had never heard of. It seems pretty decent.
 

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I use spitfire and like grim said, I record each instrument individually. The start stop times vary a bit, each instrument can be EQ'd individually and each one can be tweaked in the plugin. To me that's what makes them sound authentic. Also, I don't have all of the strings playing at the same time. I will bring certain ones in and out like a real string section does.
 
Yes I'll try splitting the parts record bass cello violins and violas however I still feel that legato patches as such aren't hugely consistent to deal with
 
Another method is to capture a performance on the ensemble patch . This lends an organic feel in terms of tempo and dynamics and serves as a guide to then overlay legato in the melodic line to smooth over transistions. Realistically I still don't think legato in these libraries is quite right anyway
 
Throwing a real string instrument along with sampled strings can help.
You could approximate to that approach, by using a solo sample with a string section sample.
I have a huge selection of string samples in my Roland Integra 7.
Using a solo voice you can add plenty of expression with the expression wheel.
Cellos are very good this way.
 
Yes I've been thinking this recently have a real cello underpinning it . Theres session player sites classically trained musicians would figure out the part pretty quick I reckon
 
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