GOS in future versions

[scottnorma]

I just posted this in another forum and thought I would post it again here for those who may find it of interest (and since this is the least active thread here at NorthernSounds). The original thread poses the question, to parphrase, "what do we still need", or "need to be done better" in future libraries. My comments below are not directly addressing GOS, but rather string libraries in general.

Original Post:

[SNIP]......

Also, I think in the area of fast articulations, especially the really fast ones, some that are less neat than the ones available now would be good. (And more choices of on-the-string vs. off-the-string vs. half-off, along with bowed near the frog, in the middle, or near the point would all be useful) When the players play these short notes in a "one-off" setting, they can make them very neat, but in real life, at the faster tempos with the faster notes, they are never that neat, and that is part of the inherent sound. And there need to be notes that are suitable for 16ths in very fast tempos - ultra short, and not terribly neat. Whether you're talking about the fast 16th note texture in the violins towards the beginning of A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture, the fast 16th string runs in Smetana's Bartered Bride Overture, the across-the-string arpeggios in Wagner and Sibelius, the inexactness of the execution in these and many other situations is a major part of the sound and effect.

[jc5]

I just posted this in another forum and thought I would post it again here for those who may find it of interest (and since this is the least active thread here at NorthernSounds). The original thread poses the question, to parphrase, "what do we still need", or "need to be done better" in future libraries. My comments below are not directly addressing GOS, but rather string libraries in general.

Original Post:

[SNIP]......

Also, I think in the area of fast articulations, especially the really fast ones, some that are less neat than the ones available now would be good. (And more choices of on-the-string vs. off-the-string vs. half-off, along with bowed near the frog, in the middle, or near the point would all be useful) When the players play these short notes in a "one-off" setting, they can make them very neat, but in real life, at the faster tempos with the faster notes, they are never that neat, and that is part of the inherent sound. And there need to be notes that are suitable for 16ths in very fast tempos - ultra short, and not terribly neat. Whether you're talking about the fast 16th note texture in the violins towards the beginning of A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture, the fast 16th string runs in Smetana's Bartered Bride Overture, the across-the-string arpeggios in Wagner and Sibelius, the inexactness of the execution in these and many other situations is a major part of the sound and effect.

Well put. Those arpeggiated passages simply cannot be reproduced in a fully satisfying way right now...
Furthermore, since these fast notes are short and take up little memory, one had might as well also have multiple versions in a round robin program to add even more variability and realism. Hmm... that is actually rather exciting!

[scottnorma]

Furthermore, since these fast notes are short and take up little memory, one had might as well also have multiple versions in a round robin program to add even more variability and realism. Hmm... that is actually rather exciting!
That's right. These are the least memory-intensive things you can sample, so more variations would be nice. I find myself combining short articulations from smaller sections from various libraries helps to make the fast notes sound less neat to be helpful.

[scottnorma]

And as long as I'm wishin', someone ought to figure out a way to make realistic, and I mean *realistic*, slurred string and woodwind runs. I've never found those upward and downward major and minor runs to be particularly helpful because they are tempo-dependent, they're usually a whole octave (you may need less or more), and you're obviously confined to the notes of the scale they sample. And I've never heard any attempt at slurred fast notes that didn't sound really, really, synthy.

[FredProgGH]

Good point. String libraries like GOS sound so good and world class- it's actually sometimes too much!! There are times when a little slop or imperfect intonation is actually called for. (I've been getting it by adding real strings... :D)