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Rick Rubin had a good analogy way of putting this. When you have that guitar wall of sound/symphonic sized string section/etc, what you are hearing is a mass of instruments. When you have smaller string sections/individual players/one guitar track, you are hearing the musician’s performance. They are different sounds for different purposes
I’m 65 and my first piano arrives tomorrow, in anticipation i’ve watched more than a few tutorials online ultimately i would like a recording setup. The keyboard i ordered has recording facility and to be honest it looks a bit daunting, i play guitar so have a basic understanding but this is a whole new game . Thanks for the videos and will try to get involved as much as possible 👍
Great video Guy! I love my East West-libraries. I own several expensive libraries, like HZ Strings, BBC and VSL, but for some reason I find especially the "Symphonic Orchestra" library inspiring and great to compose with.
A personal experience as a violinist. I've been recording strings sessions for more then a decade, many times with real crowded orchestras or chambers, some times just me and my violins. Interesting fact, the best sounding violin section recs I've experienced when analyzed closely in solo the players where at about a range of 20ms away from each other, making It 40ms from the earliest to the latest, I've seen a bigger range of more than 70ms, which depends on the musical phrases. I also noticed that intonation is never perfect. This one is pretty controversial, but I can tell you, if you open up Hilarity Hann, Joshua Bell, Vengerov or Perlmann playing some Bach Sonara on Melodine spectrum you'll find almost of all notes fall at range of 20 cents up or down and still sound pretty good! For studio sessions, anything on that 40 cents range around 0 will sound pretty in tune. Also, dynamics very a bit from one violinist to another. As a music producer, I've been into Virtual Instruments for the last 3 years (this is why I follow Guy), and never found a legato that totally satisfies me. The over-tuned strings really bother me. They're over processed in so many ways. Vibrato isn't just a matter of pitch modulation as the sampled ones; when on vibrates on a violin, viola or cello the instrument shakes along, mixing a natural tremolo fx (I mean, the same kinda tremolo guitar players do, the one that intermittently cuts the sound at a particular speed), bow also gets to bounces a bit as result, even on long legato notes. The most satisfying results I got I mixed a bunch of solo violins (like CSSS, spitfire and hyperion), detuning them by -10, -5, +5 and +10 and so on...dequantizing them apart a bit and making slightly different expression performances. I'd actually play them a different take on a keyboard. Then to finish, would use only the a bit of room from one of these popular virtual strings to glue them together and add some ambience. For the short notes, pretty much any intermediate evaluated string library does a decent job.
Since their subscription service is so affordable, this is finally a lib i can try out just like that! Im mostly not a fan of subscription services for digital goods, but honestly, for huge sample libraries it's a very good idea.
East West makes great stuff! Some are hit and some a miss but overall composer cloud + is totally worth it. And Guy first of all thanks a lot you’ve thought me a lot about writing orchestral music you’re always so interesting to watch and you every time I watch a video of yours I get a spark of inspiration! You’re truly a blessing! Thank you:) I also wanted to ask you a question Are you using MIR 3D PRO and Vienna Ensemble 7? If you do than how often? And if you don’t, why is that? (I want to buy both next month but it’s so expensive…) Thanks again:)
why does no one give Tokyo Scoring Strings and impact soundworks more love.. that guy is my favorite dev for sure. Andrew is a very nice caring person. one of the best in the industry.. Tokyo Scoring Strings 2 are about to come out too. You really should get it and try it.. it's amazing.
I haven't used the TSS library, but I'm a huge Shreddage fan since version 1. I couldn't produce music without them. ISW definitely needs more love, and Andrew is a cool guy as well!
reminds me of TSS, Tokyo Scoring Strings a abit honestly.. TSS is much much nicer sounding to my ears anyway.. TSS 2.0 coming out very very soon. keep an eye out for it.
Hi Guy, how do you pan your string section, or orchestra on your DAW? Do you pan how they would actually sit in reality in the orchestra, in an arc, or centre them all, or just a case of finding the best panning spot for each instrument (trial and error), depending on the music? Ta.
Great video Guy! I really love your content and your personality! 🙂 However it kinda baffles me that HWS2 is getting such a great review. I think they sound unrealistic as heck. Every demo I heard so far was just screaming MIDI.
Do people load different articulations on different tracks just to save on computer/RAM/disk performance? Is that the only reason why Guy doesn’t use the key switch tracks? HS2 loads bout 12 or 16 articulations etc
As you say Guy, your music you are writing in this demo, is generic like all your demos are, but that's how it goes to hear what these libraries sound like when gelling together. The only EW libray I bought was Fantasy Voices, and they're ok to a point. I love my chamber orchestra ,so much more clarity to build on.
Hi great uncle Guy Did you know that Less Guy is More Sad but More Guy is less sad! Strange phenomena but true. So in some cases Less isn’t more and in this case More is just More awesome! None the less , More can do without less but less can’t do without more. Happy Friday you and we know there will be MORE to come!…..More or less 😄
What's your take on HWS 1 vs. 2? I've heard from other people that HWS 2 isn't nearly as good, especially for the money, and they regretted buying instead of just sticking with the first version library.
Guy, please please can you do an appraisal of the new Legacy Horn by Streamtech Music. It sounds superb for the price but would be great to get your opinion for us orchestral novices. 😎
I watched your videos on IMDB where you are conducting. You would have ended up with a much more dynamic performance from the orchestra if you had hired an actual conductor. The problem with many composers is that they focus on just getting the notes when in reality the key to capturing the audience lies in the performance.
Dude, I have so many string libraries already. And every year, everyone says, "We have the best libraries." It's like advertising for diapers. Every year, someone says, "Our diapers are the best." I've been seeing this since the 70s. It's hilarious.
No it is really good - but it is up against VSL Duality SS Chamber Strings Berlin - and these are top end libraries BUT HS2 is available on subscription which makes it available to loads of composers who couldnt afford the other alternatives
Sound better is kinda subjective, but I'd argue that out of the box, Hollywood Strings Diamond remains an undisputed champion even being more than 10 years old. It's huge because of uncompressed samples. That's hard to beat.
If nothing sounds realistic to you yet, I doubt AI will change your mind, CSS is one of the most realistic string sounds I've ever listened to in walkthroughs.
MASTERS DEGREE OPEN DAY: SIGN UP HERE. thinkspace.ac.uk/postgraduate/open-day-july-2024/
Join us on July 6th and learn all about our online postgraduate degrees. Meet the team, chat with working professionals and students. Learn how our unique master’s degrees can turbo charge your career.
Rick Rubin had a good analogy way of putting this. When you have that guitar wall of sound/symphonic sized string section/etc, what you are hearing is a mass of instruments. When you have smaller string sections/individual players/one guitar track, you are hearing the musician’s performance.
They are different sounds for different purposes
How about combining the two sounds? Edgy attack and huge sustain shouldn't sound too bad.
I’m 65 and my first piano arrives tomorrow, in anticipation i’ve watched more than a few tutorials online ultimately i would like a recording setup. The keyboard i ordered has recording facility and to be honest it looks a bit daunting, i play guitar so have a basic understanding but this is a whole new game . Thanks for the videos and will try to get involved as much as possible 👍
Dude!!! I can't believe you got into two steps from hells' studio!! THAT'S INCREDIBLE!! I'm a huge fan of their work. thank you for sharing this!
Great video Guy! I love my East West-libraries. I own several expensive libraries, like HZ Strings, BBC and VSL, but for some reason I find especially the "Symphonic Orchestra" library inspiring and great to compose with.
A personal experience as a violinist.
I've been recording strings sessions for more then a decade, many times with real crowded orchestras or chambers, some times just me and my violins.
Interesting fact, the best sounding violin section recs I've experienced when analyzed closely in solo the players where at about a range of 20ms away from each other, making It 40ms from the earliest to the latest, I've seen a bigger range of more than 70ms, which depends on the musical phrases.
I also noticed that intonation is never perfect. This one is pretty controversial, but I can tell you, if you open up Hilarity Hann, Joshua Bell, Vengerov or Perlmann playing some Bach Sonara on Melodine spectrum you'll find almost of all notes fall at range of 20 cents up or down and still sound pretty good! For studio sessions, anything on that 40 cents range around 0 will sound pretty in tune.
Also, dynamics very a bit from one violinist to another.
As a music producer, I've been into Virtual Instruments for the last 3 years (this is why I follow Guy), and never found a legato that totally satisfies me.
The over-tuned strings really bother me.
They're over processed in so many ways.
Vibrato isn't just a matter of pitch modulation as the sampled ones; when on vibrates on a violin, viola or cello the instrument shakes along, mixing a natural tremolo fx (I mean, the same kinda tremolo guitar players do, the one that intermittently cuts the sound at a particular speed), bow also gets to bounces a bit as result, even on long legato notes.
The most satisfying results I got I mixed a bunch of solo violins (like CSSS, spitfire and hyperion), detuning them by -10, -5, +5 and +10 and so on...dequantizing them apart a bit and making slightly different expression performances.
I'd actually play them a different take on a keyboard.
Then to finish, would use only the a bit of room from one of these popular virtual strings to glue them together and add some ambience.
For the short notes, pretty much any intermediate evaluated string library does a decent job.
This is a great idea and I've often wondered what would happen if I layered several of my solo strings libraries!
Thank you for taking the time to write this up. This is really useful information for someone new to this.
Thank you so very much for all your videos! Hello from Texas USA! God bless you and yours!
Youre welcome
Downloading it right now!
Since their subscription service is so affordable, this is finally a lib i can try out just like that!
Im mostly not a fan of subscription services for digital goods, but honestly, for huge sample libraries it's a very good idea.
Great stuff - love your videos.
Great Tutorial and thank you for sharing this!👍🙏
East West makes great stuff!
Some are hit and some a miss but overall composer cloud + is totally worth it.
And Guy first of all thanks a lot you’ve thought me a lot about writing orchestral music you’re always so interesting to watch and you every time I watch a video of yours I get a spark of inspiration! You’re truly a blessing! Thank you:)
I also wanted to ask you a question
Are you using MIR 3D PRO and Vienna Ensemble 7? If you do than how often? And if you don’t, why is that? (I want to buy both next month but it’s so expensive…)
Thanks again:)
Guy is such a positive role model. I wish i was like this. Music is better than trading, investing, and anything. music is life.
why does no one give Tokyo Scoring Strings and impact soundworks more love.. that guy is my favorite dev for sure. Andrew is a very nice caring person. one of the best in the industry.. Tokyo Scoring Strings 2 are about to come out too. You really should get it and try it.. it's amazing.
I haven't used the TSS library, but I'm a huge Shreddage fan since version 1. I couldn't produce music without them. ISW definitely needs more love, and Andrew is a cool guy as well!
Sounds lovely
Yes it does
reminds me of TSS, Tokyo Scoring Strings a abit honestly.. TSS is much much nicer sounding to my ears anyway.. TSS 2.0 coming out very very soon. keep an eye out for it.
I waited for so long thinking it was AROSS, but it turned out to be HWS2!
I like when he hit the "Melissa In Detroit" chord
Hi Guy, how do you pan your string section, or orchestra on your DAW? Do you pan how they would actually sit in reality in the orchestra, in an arc, or centre them all, or just a case of finding the best panning spot for each instrument (trial and error), depending on the music? Ta.
4:23 The moment you stopped, I knew immediately what you were going to say. Three colors 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Hey Guy, hope all is ok sir, thanks once again for your hard work. :)
Yes all good
Great video Guy! I really love your content and your personality! 🙂
However it kinda baffles me that HWS2 is getting such a great review. I think they sound unrealistic as heck. Every demo I heard so far was just screaming MIDI.
Excellent tutorial. Can't afford it, as with most of these libraries.
Do people load different articulations on different tracks just to save on computer/RAM/disk performance?
Is that the only reason why Guy doesn’t use the key switch tracks? HS2 loads bout 12 or 16 articulations etc
As a ewql subscriber i love all their plugins… especially orchestral
An N.I. Tut suggested using a macro for cc1 and cc11 on the modwheel.
New spitfire strings for Nord 4 keyboard is fantastic! Check it out! Recorded at Abbey Road. Sounds like Eleanor Rigby etc.
As you say Guy, your music you are writing in this demo, is generic like all your demos are, but that's how it goes to hear what these libraries sound like when gelling together. The only EW libray I bought was Fantasy Voices, and they're ok to a point. I love my chamber orchestra ,so much more clarity to build on.
It is not lighter on computer resources. My RAM usage in FLStudio jumped up 20GB.
Can you tell me why you prefer to have separate tracks for articulations rather than key switching on a single track?
Hi great uncle Guy
Did you know that Less Guy is More Sad
but More Guy is less sad!
Strange phenomena but true.
So in some cases Less isn’t more and in this case More is just More awesome!
None the less , More can do without less but less can’t do without more.
Happy Friday you and we know there will be MORE to come!…..More or less 😄
What's your take on HWS 1 vs. 2? I've heard from other people that HWS 2 isn't nearly as good, especially for the money, and they regretted buying instead of just sticking with the first version library.
They are developed focusing on different necessities, I think is not a natural comparison. Anyway, I love both.
Guy, please please can you do an appraisal of the new Legacy Horn by Streamtech Music. It sounds superb for the price but would be great to get your opinion for us orchestral novices. 😎
What library would you recommend for an intimate quartet type sound for using with acoustic / singer songwriter type music?
Question: how do you set the relative levels for each section? Is your demo using default gain?
Hey guy! When you play, do you use the sustain pedal?
How about a “Kontakt 7 in 20 minutes”?
How does this compare to SF Chamber Strings though?
Curious since I have the SF version.
No Abbey Road Strings walkthrough?
Didnt know it was coming out! I am finding out more
Give me good violas or else. Those are good bass pizz too. I never heard a sample viola I liked until maybe 5 years ago.
I watched your videos on IMDB where you are conducting. You would have ended up with a much more dynamic performance from the orchestra if you had hired an actual conductor. The problem with many composers is that they focus on just getting the notes when in reality the key to capturing the audience lies in the performance.
Takes forever to download this and some of the rest in what they do.
Dude, I have so many string libraries already. And every year, everyone says, "We have the best libraries." It's like advertising for diapers. Every year, someone says, "Our diapers are the best." I've been seeing this since the 70s. It's hilarious.
Doesn’t that apply to all consumer products though?
First. Love these videos.
well done
That's impossible. More is more, and will always be. At least if you're from Sweden hi hi hi
That's a joke only guitar players will get
Doesn't sound like you're really blown away by it 😅
Because it sounds really bad compared to other libraries on the market
No it is really good - but it is up against VSL Duality SS Chamber Strings Berlin - and these are top end libraries BUT HS2 is available on subscription which makes it available to loads of composers who couldnt afford the other alternatives
@ThinkSpaceEducation I agree, but I would say the market is oversaturated with string libraries.
why are you holding your hands to your head?
such huge amount of disk space this library takes up, I rather stick to simpler Kontakt libraries which also sound better
Its not as huge as the original HS!
Sound better is kinda subjective, but I'd argue that out of the box, Hollywood Strings Diamond remains an undisputed champion even being more than 10 years old.
It's huge because of uncompressed samples. That's hard to beat.
@@AudioArcturia Musio probably could argue with that
And still it sounds not realistic. Well I will just wait for the first A.I. orchestral plugin.
If nothing sounds realistic to you yet, I doubt AI will change your mind, CSS is one of the most realistic string sounds I've ever listened to in walkthroughs.