The GPO solo strings were, I believe, the first ever available in an affordable orchestral program which allowed both section sounds, or individually built ensembles, from duet, trio, quartet onwards. Further, they were the first to be capable of use directly from notation. It is also true, however, that the solo strings were comparatively thinly sampled. Some said, with justice, that the advantages of the technique of producing seemless dynamic changes by cross fading samples with the mod wheel, also produced a synthetic tinge to the sound. The biggest disadvantage was that the vibrato was integral to the sample and could not be varied or dispensed with in any circumstances. The Strad was a giant leap forward because it produced a densely sampled instrument with complete control of all aspects of tone, including portamento and vibrato. The selling point was that it was optimised for live play on a keyboard. Fortunately, for those who do not use midi-controllers, every aspect of tone could also be manipulated in a sequencer (or notation programme like OV4). A minor nuisance (but still a nuisance) was that the default articulations optimised for real time keyboard playing sounded too aggressive when applied to notation. Meticulous edits however solve the problem. The Gofriller resolved many of these irritations and also allowed a degree of tone differentiation reflecting that of a note played in different positions on different strings. Basically it is an outstanding program in every respect. The hope of some (many?) Strad users was that some of the Gofriller progress would be made available as an upgrade to the Strad, and also, of course, applied to the promised completion of the series with a viola, alternative violin, and double bass. For reasons that have not be satisfactorily explained, the series has been ditched and better GPO solo strings promised in a future development. Time will tell. But in the meantime, if you do manage to get hold of a Strad or Gofriller from secondary retailers, my advice would be to go buy quickly. It is difficult to see how what the Strad and Gofriller achieved could be readily improved upon within a cross-fading sample approach, remembering that each in size equates to size of the entire GPO sample library including piano, wind, percussion and organ. It is easy to imagine how the promised new set could turn out to be second best by a long chalk. The world of sample library programming is volatile and technology moves rapidly. But I suspect the Strad and the Gofriller could soon become collector's pieces, and perhaps aready are.
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Originally Posted by ab53
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