Better sounding strings
I've been doing a lot of work with MIDI in the last month. I have concentrated on producing string arrangements with a low end SoundBlaster Live card.
I've found the most important part of getting as best a sound as possible, as realistic as possible, is confining the voices of the instruments very, very tightly with respect to thier range.
Stay within the 'heart' of the instruments range. The further you go up into the instruments range, the faster the quality falls off with each additional step up. The same is true when you go to low.
I found each instrument really has a range of about an octave or less where it sounds decent at all. The trick is to find that octave or group of consecutive pitches where the sounds or samples sound the best, the 'natural heart range' of the instrument sound.
EXERCISE : (cakewalk using general MIDI)
I created six tracks.
01. SE_violin
02. SE_viola
03. SE_cello
04. Solo_violin
05. Solo_viola
06. Solo_cello
The 'SE' in the names of the tracks 01-03 stands for 'String Ensemble. 'Solo' stands for a single instrument sound.
Patch assignments for the tracks as follows :
01. String Ensemble 1
02. String Ensemble 1
03. String Ensemble 1
04. Violin
05. Viola
06. Cello
Clef 'layout' assignments for the tracks as follows:
01. Treble
02. Alto
03. Bass
04. Treble
05. Alto
06. Bass
Now in each track, pencil in a scale starting at the bottom of the instruments range and continuing to perfect fourth above the highest string. Yer gonna have to learn the open string names of these instruments to do this, and their ranges, I ain't gonna tell ya !
Use whole notes for nice long scales at about 50 on the metrognome. This will allow you to really listen to each pitch as the scale proceeds. What you are doing here is listening to the natural range of the instruments to determine which pitches produce the best and most realistic sound of the solo instruments AS WELL AS what the 'string ensemble' sounds like.
Listen quietly, then sing or hum with the scales, listen carefully ... what sounds like real violins and violas and cellos ... where does it start to sound fake ? Make notes.
Secondary observation :
Mixing the instruments together of course gives you a chorused string sound. You will get a much, much better ensemble sound if you mix the solo instruments together, (and tweak their various parameters), and then pad them out with an additional track of the 'string ensemble' patch that best fits that range.
Another trick is just to use the string ensemble patch to begin with and then brighten it in the right sonic position with one of the solo instruments.
The reason you are using the clefs here ... and you don't have to read music well to do this ... is to stay within the lines and spaces when testing the sounds for their quality range up and down the scale. Just staying within the staff for that instrument will help you find the 'heart notes' that sound best. This is true for both the 'solo instrument sounds' and the 'string ensemble sounds' for that clef range.
Also ... staying in the heart ranges of the instruments just makes sense if you are looking for realistic sounds. When you exceed the range of one of the instruments, (if you are playing really high cello sounds), move that to the viola, and when to high for the viola, cascade those notes up into the violin. The same applies coming down, don't go to low for the bow, move it on down the row, (oh stop that!).
Now, adhering to this method too closely may give you a mix that is heavy duty midranges, and that can compete with an alto or tenor vocalist. But it can really fatten guitar work big time ! You must decide how tastefully you can step out of these 'heart ranges' of the instruments as the quality of the samples or MIDI that you have permits.
Having a few obviously, (to your now trained ears), phony or 'out of range' sounds can work slightly to your advantage as the really good parts that you become expert at crafting really shine. In other words, throw them a little bone, and they can really savor the meat.
Good luck with all of your string arrangements.
