Best sound library for String Quartet?

[JFetter]

Hey guys,

The only sounds I have are those that come with N3. I'm wondering if anybody has done much comparing of the Solo String instruments that come with N3 versus those from other libraries we can use.

What would be really sweet would be an mp3 with the same motive played back to back from different libraries.

Probably the BEST samples I've ever heard are from the VSL Solo Strings set, but since those aren't compatible with N3 they don't really count.

[ajoe]

Probably the BEST samples I've ever heard are from the VSL Solo Strings set, but since those aren't compatible with N3 they don't really count.

VSL will work with any VST host, so why not with Notion3?

Also, Garritan Personal Orchestra 4 is good bang for the buck, but EastWest Samples is my personal favorite.

[dgriffee]

hmm... the very best solo strings, as in you make no mention of cost concerns so assuming you are prepared to pay serious $$$$?

You would be wise to wait until middle of January, so you can at least check out EWQL's much ballyhooed new "Hollywood Strings" just to be sure and hear if that may be the sound that makes your toes curl. Perhaps you may find that you like something else per your personal musical preferences, but when it comes down to the pursuit of perfectionism I'd place bets on those EWQL guys. When they determine to outdo all others on a particular instrument, they do tend to exceed all prior efforts with a kind of manic obsession. Wait a couple more weeks and see what they have come up with...

[dcoscina]

hmm... the very best solo strings, as in you make no mention of cost concerns so assuming you are prepared to pay serious $$$$?

You would be wise to wait until middle of January, so you can at least check out EWQL's much ballyhooed new "Hollywood Strings" just to be sure and hear if that may be the sound that makes your toes curl. Perhaps you may find that you like something else per your personal musical preferences, but when it comes down to the pursuit of perfectionism I'd place bets on those EWQL guys. When they determine to outdo all others on a particular instrument, they do tend to exceed all prior efforts with a kind of manic obsession. Wait a couple more weeks and see what they have come up with...

Hollywood Strings will not have solo strings. Neither will Miroslav's Strings. The only one that has solo instruments is LA Scoring Strings which is pretty amazing since there are 3 chairs plus solo for each section in the string choir. Amazingly real with the scripts too. Best short articulations I have ever heard from a sample library.

[Novatlan]

I'd suggest LASS, too, but only by word of mouth. This library is so far away from any budget imaginable to me...
Other than that, for Solo Violin I'd recommend the one in EW Gypsy.

[JFetter]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I'm new to all of this, but won't most of these mentioned libraries not work with N3?

For example, the VSL Solo Strings I mentioned above. N3 only mentions mapping for Vienna Special Edition and Vienna Special Edition Plus, and I'm pretty sure the VSL Solo Strings are part of VSL's Horizon series.

I was under the impression that this was not compatible with N3?


Btw- LASS sounds great!

[ajoe]

I was under the impression that this was not compatible with N3?

I think you might be confusing "compatibility" with "built-in presets".

Check out the VST Manager in Notion3. It will allow you to load and use most, if not all, VST plugins.

[JFetter]

I was under the impression that this was not compatible with N3?

I think you might be confusing "compatibility" with "built-in presets".

You're absolutely right.

1- So how does this work then - I can load the samples in, but there is a chance that articulations and whatnot will not be mapped with N3?

2- From what I've heard of VSL Solo Strings, amazing things are possible. You think I would be missing much by using this software with N3? I've never used any kind of software like this, and from screenshots I've seen, it looks daunting. (like it must be triggered with a midi keyboard and recorded with another piece of software??) I love the simplicity of N3, where I can simply notate a piece of music - I'm just looking for better solo string sounds.

Apologies for the silly questions, but I'd like to get a feel for what I'm getting into before spending $300+ for VSL.

[Novatlan]

There are two ways to get external instruments into Notion.

1) By the built- in presets: These automatically map all articulations, so if you i.e. enter "pizz", the playback will use pizzicato samples. This, as you noted, works for the VSE, EWQLSO and Miroslav. In due course other libraries will be supported like this.

2) By loading a VST (Virtual Instrument) by hand. This works with ALL VST instruments. In this case you have to load the correct VST (say, Kontakt 4) in the Notion VST manager. You then have to load the correct sample set (i.e. French Horn Ens Crossfade) from your library. Then you can record. You can still enter articulation etc , but Notion most of the time will not play it. To make it play back, you have to create a sequencerstaff linked to your instrument staff. There you can enter Keyswitches (which switch articulations), Modwheel data etc....

There is a very nice tutorial about all this by Lubo (Astinov, product manager of Notation) on the Notion youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEdAmh318Co

Hope this helps, if not do not hesitate to ask.

[wcreed51]

And hopefully the tutorial on creating our own instrument rules/pre-sets will be posted soon!