Ultimate Vintage String Synth Comparison
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- The Ultimate String Synth Comparison.
I’ve got my hands on some of the best stringers ever and decided to give you a little side by side comparison. I played three different excerpts with seven different string synths - ”Basic strings”, ”Full strings” and ”Dark strings”. You can easily compare the sound character of each synth.
The first two excerpts are pretty straightfoward, but the ”dark strings” involved a little bit more sound design to see if the synths can be pushed to produce more mellow kind of pad sounds straight out of the instrument.
The samples are not complete dry but they all have the same amount of delay and reverb.
The instruments are (in the order of the audio track) as follows:
-Korg Delta
-Korg Trident (mk1)
-Korg Lambda
-Roland RS-505 Paraphonic
-Arp Solina SE-II by Eminent
-Roland RS-09 Organ/Strings
-Waldorf Streichfett
Unfortunately I couldn’t include the Yamaha SK-20 here because I sold it before recording these. It has quite a unique sound character among these vintage stringers. Of course there are other string synths too, but I never owned them.
The Streichfett is the only modern and digital instrument here and it shows, in a bad way - it sounds flat, lifeless and characterless in comparison. The notes don’t blend well within a chord and the root notes dominate the balance in a nasty way. I’d pick any analog stringer over it in a heartbeat.
My personal ranking list for these instruments would be as follows:
1. Korg Trident
2. Roland RS-505
3. Korg Lambda
4. Korg Delta, Roland RS-09, Arp Solina
x- Waldorf Streichfett
My opinion is based on knowing the instruments and not only based on these sound clips.
"Basic Strings"
0:11 Korg Delta
0:40 Korg Trident
1:12 Korg Lambda
1:44 Roland RS-505
2:08 Solina
2:39 Roland RS-09
3:04 Streichfett
"Full strings"
3:30 Korg Delta
4:07 Korg Trident
4:45 Korg Lambda
5:27 Roland RS-505
5:57 Solina
6:36 Roland RS-09
7:09 Streichfett
"Dark Strings"
7:43 Korg Delta
8:23 Korg Trident
9:07 Korg Lambda
9:50 Roland RS-505
10:29 Solina
11:08 Roland RS-09
11:48 Streichfett
Thank you.
My favorite is the Korg Lambda. What tone, character and movement. Followed up by the Roland RS-505. The tone makes it sound like a live castle performance. Bottom end was amazing too, like the video stated.
What kind of genius makes a video like this??
graineefort membleston
I second that notion
Oh my God that Trident through the flanger... the way it oscillates through the harmonics, marvelous 🥰. Still love the quirky and weird Solina though, and that through the flanger still kills me
Why’s nobody talking about the Rolands? They’re so 70s sci-fi sounding, I love it.
The Solina is so detailled and so present, high mediums and highs are amazing
All of the solina is amazing - especially the bass. The solina always comes thru really bright and powerful regardless of bass usage hence why it's my fave
The buzz of love.
this video really shows that the taste for sound is a very personal thing. I think the Delta sounded abolutely marvelous. And the Streichfett is not half bad. In a real life situation you must also weight in your budget and how you will actually use the machine. Being in a rock band and hauling around gear constantly the Streichfett would be the most practical and realistic option for me.
Must admit. I liked the Delta. ❤
Yup. Sometimes the "cheaper" option just makes the most sense. And I also really enjoyed the delta strings. Just put a nice phaser and maybe a bit of delay and what more do you need?
The Delta sounded glorious! Amazing job by WilliamSamela putting this video together! I love that we can all agree there isn't one obvious winner, they each shine in their own right!
I thought the delta sounded amazing too!!!! Nothing cheese about it.
I agree with regards to Strechfett. It is the most versatile of the bunch, returns some unique sounds, is super portable, and you can pass it through an analog filter, or through the signal of an analogue synthesizer and give more body to it. I have a digital rompler, programmed a vintage strings with virtual analog saw waves, and I pass it through my minilogue. The minilogue controls it by midi, and modulates its audio. It sounds sublime, and bypass the minilogue polyphony's limitation. I'm considering serious purchasing a Streichtfett and use it mostly that way, to complement my minilogue and add a vintage string to my palette.
"Full strings" of RS-505 gave me instant goosebumps, probably thanks to the low end.
I like "full strings" Solina!
same, my soul was shivering!
Its basic strings are so eerie tho
I like the Trident the most (full strings)
Sounds almost like a Taurus bass pedal!
That Lambda just melted me. I'd never heard one before.
Yeah wow such an iconic beautiful sound so lush
Then listen to this video. Give the Lambda some effects and it will sound absolutely fantastic:
ruclips.net/video/fSyX1h6EL_8/видео.html
The "dark strings" of the Lambda was just pure bliss to me
I sold mine and I still wonder why :(
That’s my feeling too
Lambda and Trident are so damn good, solina is the classic but man those two synths are straight from heaven
The Streichfett fared much better than I expected. I tend to favour more raw, unrealistic sounding string synths though. The Solina here sounded very good for that. My personal favourite is the very rare SLM Concert Spectrum, used on early ELO albums.
Nice. My fav here is the RS-505 and than the Lambda. My favorite stringmachine ever is the Logan String Melody 2.
Hey RetroSound!
no love for Trident?°
The Delta spoke to me the most - a very pure sound. They all sounded amazing!
I could listen to this on repeat all day.. such nice textures.. String synthesizers of this time period add such a cool spaced out vibe to a track.. The Waldorf modern equivalent sounds nice also. I didn't know about these old Korg units until seeing this - dark strings on the korg lambda and of course the solina are my favorites here. The trident with the flanger at the end sounds just like Richard Wright
The Trident demo with the full strings is insane, sounds like a chilling synth intro played by Don Airey.
The ARP Solina is instantly recognizable, aggressive, cheesy, but an absolute classic. I love, love the Korgs synths. The Trident is simply fantastic. The full strings on the Lambda sound quite similar to the gorgeous Yamaha CS80. Heaven! Roland made some fantastic synths, but to my humble taste the ones featured here sound cold and thin compared to the Korgs. The Waldorf has that brittleness to it, but not bad at all. Thanks for the time travel!
What set the Paraphonic RS-505 as well as the VP330 apart was that chorus/ensemble effect in a organ type divide down technology. Some of these old machines were not much more than electronic organs but once they introduce a filtered oscillator with envelop control it was a game changer. My vote is the RS-505 which I played to death from 1979-89 until traded up to the VP-330 to get the vocoder and great choir sounds. Elka Rhapsody is worth a look and Logan machines were top of the line too back in the day.
I was keyboard manager at Guitar Center San Jose, for about a year starting in 1980, so we had almost every instrument listed either new or used. Plus a few not listed. I loved the Roland RS O9, it had a phase shifter that if you put it on and put the keyboard to slow attack if made a beautiful sound! Also the Lamba, was beautiful instrument but never really figured out how they were trying to market it. I think they thought churches and homes would buy it. With it, there was some kind of chime sound. If you played it, while putting the strings on slow attack it was very beautiful! They all sounded good, though, but by 1980, interest in string machines was already fading, maybe because so many people already had one by then. The main interest then was getting good string sounds out of the Prophet and OBX and similar machines. Had an old Freeman, that Greg Rollie traded in when he got two Prophets!!! It sold for $300.
The rs-505 and the trident are my favourite string synths. In my opinion, the 505 is one of the best string synths ever made.
The Sreichfett sounds for me greatest. It´s brilliant.
Yes, damn, it sounds gorgeous!
all examples?.. or which one particularly?
Likewise. Each instrument has its own strengths and weaknesses but for a good, versatile option I'd go with the Streichfett. Also, I gig so I'll choose a reliable digital synth over a vintage analog any day.
full strings rs 505 is just on another level, such a powerful synth, been wanting to play one for ages
Omg the Lambda!! I know this sound, im a huge Queen fan, im sure they used this keyboard to do string parts and pads in their later albums.
Can I just say that your base example that you used on these synths really bring out the beauty of every different synthesizer in general.. godspeed my man...
I'm totally in love with the Lambda sound! Great comparison, thanks for sharing.
Delta fans are rare here. I own one. It's an awesome big synth witch just works and stays in tune. The Looks are the best in my opinion. I love this video
These old machines sound so beautifully!
Goddammit, I've never even heard of a Trident and now I need one yesterday. Thanks a lot. 🤦🏻♂
This clip, and only this, made me buy Korg Lambda a year ago 😅
Solina's unmistakable raw complexity stands out.
Back in the day, we had a Korg Lambda, a micromoog, a piano, an ARP Odyssey, and a Roland SH-1000. We felt deprived because we couldn't afford a polysynth, but the Lambda combined with the micromoog covered a lot of sound territory!
My Favorite The Solina:
2:08 "Basic Strings"
5:57 "Full Strings"
10:30 "Dark Strings"
Sorry do you knew the Note of Dark strings ?
federico tardari no man sorry,
wow the trident sounds huge! I also liked the warmer, more lo fi approach of the Delta.
eeby deeby
Elka Rapsody and the Seil Orchestra should be in there. As string synths went the Italians had it nailed.
The Streichfett sounds SO hollow, not nearly warm enough for a string synth. Great comparison video!
The Solina, surely the least flexible of them all, does one thing very, very well: a shimmering which on a record would easily over-saturize every sound close to its sonic characteristics (graining away Kim Wilde's vocals, especially on 45's like View from a Bridge).
It sounded like a sentimental throwback even in the early 80's and though I didn't know what nostalgia was but I sure knew its sound: a slow polyphonic detuning; not to fatten up or go whacky but to emphasize a state of discomfort, vulnerability, humming neurosis, sarcasm or self deprecation.
The 505 and the Trident sound best to me in the safe middle, full, smooth and dependable with less focus on harmonic overtones and eroding frequencies I find useful to keep dwelling fresh and expressive.
For the latter I think the Logan String Melody II is very well equipped, with its 3 registers able to support organic subtleties evolving into either glorious salvation or heartbreaking moans to emphasize - or being surprisingly anti climactic leads.
Sliders of that size are a dream for their purpose, and intuitively located at the left side of the keys instead of above: the synth's layout tells you what it's best at and where to get it.
Slowly pushing the registers while holding one simple chord soon reminds of Vienna, earlier Brian Eno if you are disciplined enough to not slide away into a euphoric frenzy - again.
Very nice , no godwin string concert ! The most haunting of them all .
That Trident is truly heavenly. But I love the Solina too.
The RS-09 was much better than I thought it would be. I think it’s underrated tbh
Didn't realise just how much difference there could be, my favourite would be the Crumar Performer (ok that's strings and brass but blending the two can create some awesome sounds)
I can hear why people wanted Behringer to clone the Solina. It has a very unique sound.
Yeah it is a classic, but I think the Trident has it beat in the strings department, the full strings demo for it always sends chills down the spine.
On balance, the Solina 'spoke' to me most intimately due to its quite lively textures. I guess I like a more modulated sound.
The Flagship Machines are all really nice in their own way but the Streichfett is a brilliant ultra low cost introduction to the world of string machines for may of us youngsters who knew nothing about them back in their heyday ( and I just turned 52 ! ) I learnt from the streichfett specifically from the FX chain that it uses. Now in my Studio I have and use instead String Machine patches on my DSI Rev 2 and Nord Electro 6 and then process them through a Chorus, a Phaser and a Reverb unit and yes they defo beat out the Streichfett that taught me. Although I did find a use for the STreichfett in my new ultra compact mobile Synth rig setup so yeahy for the compactness of it.
Streichfett sounding boring and lifeless. But you own one so I suppose you needed to justify your purchase. I suggest Q-tips.
@@mistermyxpyx well, I own far better than that these days after it taught me more about string machines and the order of FX to make the most of them but my original comment still totally stands in the context of how it was written .... nuff said
.......... and in the context of other gear it cost bugger all really and so I`d totally call it out for the money if I felt that it deserved it
Solina is most recognizable, but only does one thing well. The Trident would be my choice of the bunch. Sounds amazing, looks beautiful, lots of sonic control. That's incredible that you had all of them in your possession. Thanks for the comparison!
Solina is immediately associated with Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Solina! The benchmark on which other must follow and my favourite..it's for that "Eminent sound
For me the RS-505 and Solina, the others sound good but those two I like most.
BTW got a Behringer VC340 myself, love it.
That behringer sounds incredible! I really love the way all of its presets sound and I really want one. I’ve been trying to make sounds like it on my deepmind 12 since I got it!
Cool. Lovely old synths. But the Waldorf is affordable 👍🏼
Back in the 80s I had a Lambda. Sold it. Big mistake. Then I got a Trident. Sold it too. Another big mistake. Couple of years ago I got another Lambda. I can die happy now. Great video!
I actually can't say which one is the best, they all have their own personal character and fit in for different purposes.... But I was really blown away by the Korg Trident, somehow it touched my heart for the most, besides the Solina (which I own)... and also the Roland 505 (but I also love the very raw string sound of the VC 330), which sounds amazing, too (you see how difficult it is...) ! And then there are still so many others... e.g. I very much love the Italian string machines in general, as well (like Crumar, Elka, Farfisa, Gem.... they all have such a fantastic sound)!!!
This is pure ear-candy. I have a Korg ES-50 ("Lambda") myself, and a Solina String Synth(not Ens(; ).
And also an Elka organ with built- in dual Rhapsody 610.
Hi, may I ask you how the solina string synth sound like? is it as good as the solina string mkI or mkII?
theyre all fantastic-rs505 for me tho,all magical
Sad that noone really makes a solid string synth anymore. The streichfett and vc-340 are about all we got.
I know I'm late here, but Waldorf stvc is pretty awesome string synth. And it has more silky sound quality than Streichfett
Makes me think back to the 80's and my friend's "Crumar Orchestrator"
Nice and beautiful chords....Great information and sound comparison.
Believe it or not when I heard the dark strings on the Korg delta I caught the vibe, I love it, the sound is so pure 😭😭😭 I know people think they’re lacking but to me something about it so warm and true and pure and not pretentious at all - so much character to me ! What chords are you playing?? I think I’m going to buy one now and I wanna try it out 😭😭😭 much love from NYC! Thanks for making the video!!!
All these instruments are wonderful,including the Waldorf which i own.I agree it sounds different though
I like the "full strings" examples. The prior set didn't set me on fire but, it only got better.
I was waiting for a bonus track with all of them layered on top of each other!
I like the clean direct sound of the Roland RS series - and would be a great addition to their Roland Cloud lineup! Thanks for posting.
NIce to see the Roland RS 09! great little synth by its own.
The ARP Solina is the most signature 70's sound. But the ARP Omni is a close 2nd.
Lambda dark is tops on the goosebump scale for me.
I bought a Delta in 1980 and it was a workhorse and sounded great. Very reliable. Sold it for $350 years later. Wish I still had mine.
I'm shocked at how good the RS-09 sounds! I always discounted them because they never seem to get as much attention as the others on the list, but now I want one!
Also the organ section is its secret weapon-ability to thicken up the basic string waveforms to taste
Conclusion: I want them all. No, need. I need them all !!
I own and have owned many great classic synths, including some stringers. I almost nabbed a Solina in 97 for $100 and the fact that I barely missed out on it haunts me to this very day...
I have the same story. In 2003 I was buying my first synth and I knew nothing about them. I played a Solina at Music Go Round that was listed for $200. I absolutely loved the sound but everyone in the store convinced me to buy a Roland XP-50 instead for $500. I went back a few days later to just get it after dreaming of that Solina non-stop, and it was gone. I didn't even know what I missed for another 10 years. I only found out when watching a video like this and seeing that awesome synth I almost bought. At least I learned to trust my ears.
Am I the only one that thought the Trident's dark string sound was really good? It has a nice bottom end to it.
To me, it sounded more like dark church organ. But, anyways, great vibrating sound
Thank you for 14 minutes of listening to choirs of angels 🙏.
They all sound beautiful, I love the Solina because its in the music from my childhood.
Korg Trident or Roland RS-505. Both sound great... er than the rest. ^^ Trident with flanger is a 70's time machine.
The crumar performer can stand up to the trident and 505
Trident wasn't released until 1980
For some reason I really like the rawness of the Solina doing the "dark strings". It's a very haunting sound, and I feel inspired to use it in an alt-rock setting
Solina Top !
Streichfett is awesome
Salute to anybody who is into string synths. Mine are ARP Quadra, ARP Omni I, Polymoog Keyboard, Logan String Orchestra, Korg Trident, Korg PE-2000, Roland RS-202, Freeman String Symphonizer. Trident is actually my least favorite, at least as far as the pure string sound. Favorites are the Freeman, Logan, and Roland.
Me too
Awesome video, as an audio engineer (and synth nerd) i had goosebumps.
I own a Solina string ensamble, really a one of a kind, warm sound.
The only one i would have liked to see in the comparison is the Roland JD-800, it's also a string ''BEAST'' ;D and
high on my wishlist.
Thanks so much for making this video.
Nice to see the korgs here. Very much underrated keyboards of that era. Oh, and as far as stringers are concerned, i have three words for you: Logan String Theory....
Logan String Melody?
Trident and Solina my favourites ♥️ ... No mention of the Eminent 310
I never wanted this video to end! 🐱
Makes me wish I hadn't sold my RS09.
To my ears the Solina is (by far) the best. It has the true classic very vintage sound.
I get you claudio, its that 70's Oxygene, Equinox sound (even though he didnt use Solina on either album), I like the Solina too. Its the only one that tweaks my nostalgia senses.
@Rhizosphere that will explain it then. Similar circuitry. My ears never lie
Really? My impression upon hearing these for the first time is the third Korg sounded best. The first was pretty good, second really good, the third the Lamda, just blew me away. From there the Roland sounded rougher , The Solinda, 'sandy' and thin, though I did like the Roland rs 9 shaky pitch.
I've listened to this clip several times now. There's something good in every synth, but to me, the Lambda sounds most ethereal and vibrating, especially on the "full strings" part. To me, the most pleasing sound.
Trident sounds very good, too, although the sound reminds maybe more like church organ, not actual string sound.
Roland 505 has good low notes but it has a surprisingly harsh upper register. Maybe it sounds most "paraphonic" of the bunch.
Smaller Korg and Roland sound decent and Solina has... well Solina distinctive buzz that you either like or not.
Streichfett was not bad at all. My experience is that it can be very sweet and versatile machine with hand picked effects.
The RS-505 is my absolutely favourite stringer! I'm missing here the amazing EKO Stradivarius, the ultra rare Logan Vocalist, Logan Piano Strings Synthesizer, Moog Polymoog 203a, Crb Voco Strings, Farfisa Syntorchestra, Yamaha SK-20, Crumar Multiman-S or Performer and the wonderful Korg PE-1000.
Lambda sounds fantastic with some effects, the great Solina will come soon from Behringer, probably also the Trident and Logan String Melody II. I would buy them all for sure, because I'm full in love with these old string synths!
And don't forget the Korg EPS-1. I hope they all come back to us again!
Great to see you back William, was wondering what happened to you. :) Thanks so much for posting this comparison, it is so helpful. I agree with most of your findings, having tried a Trident, Lambda and RS-202 myself (yes, I realize its not a 505...).
Out those I'd say the Lambda for pure strings is the most "gooey" and stereo sounding, while the Trident has the fantastic spacey flanger and lots of sonic weight. The RS-202... well, if its good enough for Tomita, it's good enough for me! :)
Looking forward to more of your work and videos, always a pleasure to watch and listen. Thank you for uploading.
Thanks a lot!
I’m surprised you ranked the Trident first. Here on youtube it sounds like its underwater, the filter sounds much darker. I’ve always been partial to the solina, but the lambda was GORGEOUS.
Intrigued by the Korg Lambda full strings for quite a while. So I just bought one. We shall see.
Would certainly like a RS-505. A bit too expensive at the moment. I am pretty happy with the XILS 505 software version.
Thanks for the video. Made me spend more money. But I get to make cool sounds.
Nice to know that Behringer will copy the Logan and Trident. But I prefer the RS-505, because of it's bass.
It's not a coincidence that the Trident and the Solina are the most popular vintage string machines nowadays.
Korg Trident all the way.
Thanks for this comparison. I was about to buy a Delta and sell my RS-09. That would have been the wrong move for me. While the Delta has much more body, the RS-09 won on its ensemble chorus and top end (exactly what a phaser needs to take it to the next dimension), and even held its own with the Solina in the basic comparison.
Solina is THE sound of the late 70s (imo of course) and Behringer nailed the sound with their clone
You gotta try out a Crumar Orchestrator and an ARP Omni. Those are two of the very best. The bass on the Omni is absolutely incredible. Also, the trident sounds sooooo good. You really made it shine here.
Nothing will beat an ARP Solina Ensemble even though a Roland VP-330 isn't far off.
It sounds like it might have some kind of PWM going on or that might be a bucket brigade phaser effect I'm hearing.
The ARP Omni walks over the Solina.
Great video.
I got to like string machines and got a Behringer VC340 as of lately. Not the real deal but it sounds very good.
The thing you're hearing playing chords on the Streichfett might be that it doesn't phase lock. I noticed similar stuff on my Roland VP-03.
Event the little Streichfett can be usable and can create some nice sounds.
The Rs09 stands up well against the others, I sold mine recently and now im kinda regretting it
I like them all, including the Streichfett. Nice comparison.
Yeah, the Lambda is silky and rich. But you can’t beat the RS-505 in the low end and overall girth. Awesome video, thanks 🙏
girth lol. Yeah, I chose Lambda as my first and RS-505 second. Both of them have very unique character, but the sound quality on the Lambda just sounds better to me.
A lot of great stuff to be said about all of these synths (except for the Streichfett).
But I must say this: on those "Dark strings," the Lambda sings. What a beauty!
The Streichfett is easily the best sounding of the bunch, and has versatility none of the others possess. Plus, it's light to carry, small, and if it gets lost or damaged, cheap to replace.
they all sound great - but I could afford the Streichfett - and with a few effects pedals it does the job brilliantly.
I bought the Streichfett, was really disappointed. I also have Reaktor (the software synth), there is a wonderful simulation of the Solina in the Reaktor user library. Nowhere near as good as most of the synths in the video above, but way better than the Streichfett. In the end I sold the Streichfett and am happy to use Reaktor instead, until someday I can maybe afford one of those old hardware string synths.
First pass (basic strings), I preferred the Delta and the Solina … powerful.
Then, everything changed each round thereafter … You’d need a whole collection of these !! 🙄😉
Only a shame that there was no VP-330 in this great comparison! Thank you. 😎🙏🏼
Very nice video thank you.
You bagged the Delta pretty hard, but it sounded good to me, not quite as sweet as the Trident but pretty damn good.
It's made me want to dig out my old beaten up Delta and give it a play.
The Solina and the Roland RS !
I wonder what you would have made of the Roland M-SE1, a 1U rack mount module from the 1990s. Can be had for very cheap - possibly, for a reason.
All in all, though, I absolutely love the sound of string synthesisers. It has always baffled me why this rich, ethereal sound became unfashionable after the 1970s, and never came back.