Sonic Implants Strings vs. VSL pro Strings ?

[kid-surf]

VSL has an edgier sound. Sometimes I find SISS too soft sounding for certain applications. VSL cuts through the mix better, especially if you\'re mixing it with electronic sounds. My opinion.....

I felt I needed both.

[leogardini]

On http://www.projectsam.com/demos.html (\"http://www.projectsam.com/demos.html\") \"Summon the Trumpets\" Simon used both (layered) and I think it sounded really great. Maybe this is a good combination!!!

[muziksculp]

Hi,

I wonder how the Sonic Implants Symphonic Strings Collection Library, compares to the Vienna Symphonic Library Strings Pro-Edition as far as timbre, sound quality, character, and applications.

I own the SISS library in Giga format, but I am
considerintg the VSL in Exs24mkII format.

Your feedback is Welcome.

Thanks.

[Joanne Babunovic]

Hi,

Good question. We heard so much about SI when it was brand new. And wouldn\'t you know it, there\'s no black and white answer with respect to how it compares to some of the newer libs. Apparently, it depends on the application, AND because of SI\'s softer presence, is not a competitor, but a good lib to compliment VSL! Although anyone with a fair amount of time and talent can likely take any of the newer libs and get what they need, psychologically, there is much to be said about the confidence that comes with knowing you have every library on god\'s earth. So, I\'m thinking of a strategy that gives up on trying to select certin libraries here and there, and simply resign to buying everything.

Did you know that you could deliver Pizza\'s for Dominos in the evenings after your normal day job and clear about $1300.00 extra a month?

I\'ve been practicing:

\"Would you like to hear our specials today\"?
\"Will that be regular or thin and crispy crust\"?

[Alexcremers]

Click with mouse on link for further information.

The Ultimate String Ensemble (\"http://emusician.com/ar/emusic_ultimate_string_ensemble/index.htm\")


------------
Alex Cremers

[Rich Pell]

Originally posted by Alexcremers:
Click with mouse on link for further information.

The Ultimate String Ensemble (\"http://emusician.com/ar/emusic_ultimate_string_ensemble/index.htm\")


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Alex Cremers <font size=\"2\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">Too Bad this article is missing QLSO Strings. images/icons/smile.gif Rich

[Nick Batzdorf]

Do people agree with him that the VSL strings sound close-miked or that there\'s some room build-up when you use several samples?

[filmtvbiz]

Originally posted by Rich Pell:
</font><blockquote><font size=\"1\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">quote:</font><hr /><font size=\"2\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">Originally posted by Alexcremers:
Click with mouse on link for further information.

The Ultimate String Ensemble (\"http://emusician.com/ar/emusic_ultimate_string_ensemble/index.htm\")


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Alex Cremers <font size=\"2\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">Too Bad this article is missing QLSO Strings. images/icons/smile.gif Rich </font><hr /></blockquote><font size=\"2\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">In this article, (page 6 of 8) he says the following.....

\"........If you\'re in a hurry, the full-range Ensemble programs sound great all by themselves. The day I received the library, I immediately used the Ensemble Con Sordino R(elease) bank on a quick string arrangement for a pop ballad. I didn\'t even call up the muted sections individually — I just duplicated the one bank on four separate MIDI channels and blazed ahead........\"

Would someone mind elaborating on what \"he\" means by duplicating the one bank onto 4 seperate midi channels? Of course, I know how to duplicate midi channels, but what\'s in question is why he did this and what did he do thereafter?

Thanks

frankii

PS I got that demo mp3 file (VSL tools) from Craig Dukerschein and will create a link to it shortly (see understanding VSL Legato tool post)

[Alexcremers]

Four different midi channels with the same patch, the full range ensemble. One for violins, one for violas, one for cellos, one for double basses.

I like to do this too. It helps to have the full range at your disposal while composing.

------------
Alex Cremers

[filmtvbiz]

Originally posted by Alexcremers:
Four different midi channels with the same patch, the full range ensemble. One for violins, one for violas, one for cellos, one for double basses.

I like to do this too. It helps to have the full range at your disposal while composing.

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Alex Cremers <font size=\"2\" face=\"Verdana, Arial\">Well then, I must be mis-understanding, how I\'m taking this to mean one patch (from the ensembles) loaded 4 times in giga, and then 4 midi tracks selecting this patch which translates to 4 of the same patch.

Or did he load Con Sordino R(elease) for Violin, Cello and so forth?

Thanks for the reply.

[MikeGraybill]

Looks like a good article, thanks for the link, Alex. Personally (and I really don\'t think I\'m alone here in this) from the first moment I heard VSL 1st edition strings layered with the SI, I\'ve used both concurrently. With a bit of EQ, the VSL strings really strengthen the SI and fatten up the smaller sound. I find that I tend to compose with the SI, get everything layed out and arranged, then go back over it all with VSL. For the most part a cut and paste job, though some tweaking really makes it happen. Damon has some wonderful tips regarding EQ and general approach if you do a search for them.

Especially useful is simply stacking the VSL legato strings with SI. I find myself leaving SI as the more prominent of the two, but the note-to-note transitions of VSL just make it all come together wonderfully. I couldn\'t imagine only working with one or the other anymore, but if I had to pick one, I\'d say SI... though in fairness I should point out that I am not using the Pro Edition, so take that for what it\'s worth.

In any case, as far as a comparison goes, I\'d say they are more complimentary than comparable. You wouldn\'t be going wrong adding VSL strings, that\'s for sure.

MikeG

[Bruce A. Richardson]

The former. The full-range ensembles are sketch instruments, but very good ones. You just load them up and spread the same full-range patch across four separate channels. Later, you can replace it with the full-sampling individual instruments.

Nick--I don\'t agree that the VSL sections sound close-mic\'ed or that they don\'t get a nice spread when combined. Just the opposite in my experience, that the soundstage spreads out VERY fully when you pan the individual sections out.

I think SISS is a really fine library, and I like the small section sizes VERY much. The sordino strings are lovely. You can read more elaborate comments here:


Sonic Implants Symphonic Strings--Prorec.com (\"http://www.prorec.com/prorec/articles.nsf/3fbdd95be86013f1862567f30025b305/146310d79b62e65086256ca8000badfc?OpenDocument\")

There are so many considerations in picking a string sound for a given work, one can barely scratch the surface of it. I don\'t think any negatives can be attached to the VSL strings--they are really very complete and well played and recorded. You can always take some edge off. Very difficult to put it back on!!

[muziksculp]

Thanks for the feedback, I have no doubt that VSL pro edition strings would be a great and complementing addition to SISS, but to be more descriptive, what would you say VSL will add to SISS ?

Two of the main points I got from your feedback is that VSL, has a more edge to the sound (if it is needed), which I think is a good thing, and can be made less edgy by cutting some of the mid and high frequencies, via EQ/filtering,, plus the smaller, more intimate sound of SISS vs. the larger, or bigger sound of VSL (two flavors to choose from, or blend together.

If we were to get into a little more of the details, I know that VSL has the Performace Set, which SISS lacks, plus I think VSL pro-edition Strings is a much larger volume of samples, which might mean more variety to choose from, but if the focus was on what are the main strenghts, of the VSL pro-edition strings, what would these strenghts be? Any specific sounds that might stand out in the collection, and would be the ones you would use right away ?

For example, a lot of SISS users like the con-sordino strings of SISS, and tend to use them when a muted string section sound is needed. I also like the fact that SISS has provided a simple way to adjust the attack and release of the envelopes of some of the patches via CC#16, and 17, and the String Ensamble patches are very useful to speed up the writing process, I also think the Bases of SISS are very nice.

Thanks.

[Bruce A. Richardson]

I really go to the VSL strings a lot now. At first, I wasn\'t used to working with them. I think their strengths are obviously the performance tools and the detail of sampling. But I also like the way all of the VSL instruments jump right out into the room instead of sitting behind the speaker plane. It\'s just a difference in concept. They\'re bolder. I also like them because you can make them ridiculously wet without washing their focus away. Those are the things I\'d say they bring to the table. I also really like the pizzicatos, they are very meaty and bold, and have great sustain. All around, VSL is exactly the kind of sound I\'d want to hear on a studio-session track. In comparison, I\'d say that SISS is a little more conservatively mic\'ed, and wants to spread out and recede a bit more. That\'s why they\'re so often mentioned in the same breath by people who have used both. Separately, the two collections give you a particular sound, together, they give you interesting blending options. For instance, blending Performance Legato VSL with SISS Legato results in a really LARGE sound that has the legato mojo of VSL with the serendipity you get from the four layers of velocity in SISS.