[shadowfax]

I've just bought Solid State strings from Indiginous for 50 Quid..it's awesome and a steal for the money..

as long as your not string purist then this is the biz for yer average pop mix. it's what I'll be using from now on for strings..,

definitely recommend it !!!

best, Kevin

forgot to mention that it's for Kontakt 5 so obviously that makes it more expensive..but not if you've already got Kontakt 5

just thought I'd let peeps know..

[tone]

Oooh interesting Kevin. Out of interest, what instruments/ articulations do you get for that?

[shadowfax]

Oooh interesting Kevin. Out of interest, what instruments/ articulations do you get for that?

good question..let me think for awhile ::)ooeerr??
I should have said Solid State Symphony actually..

I'm not a technicaly minded guy when it comes to music all I know is you get a full orchestra, it's not what you'd call a proper orchestra insofar as it's not recorded samples..but it certainly sounds good enough to use in yer average pop song...have a look at these...

best, Kevin

[Boydie]

Hmmm, these did not sound good to me 

It is always difficult to hear in these types of demo videos but they sounded very "synthy" to me - almost '80s synth strings

I couldn't see any articulations / key switches available

I agree that they would sit in a mix and be a good alternative to synth strings, but if you are looking for convincing "lush" strings (which is much more like current pop) then unfortunately I think you would need to look elsewhere 

I am on the lookout for a good string vst

For a few quid more (£89) these could be a good alternative:
http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/orchestral-cinematic/session-strings/

The demos are a bit ott but track 3 gives a good subtle use example

[tone]

Being a bit of a string purist, I would agree with Boydie - although I would say considering this instrument is a synth and not a sample, it's surprisingly good. If you're after a cheap sample the NI Session Strings are good value for money too. I've used them on a couple of demos, but when I was pitching to publishers, they picked up on the 'unrealistic' quality of my strings (their words), so I upgraded to EW Hollywood Strings. Quite expensive, but a big difference. The problem for me is, the more closely you listen, the less real they all sound, especially if you spend a lot of time listening to real strings.

I do think there's an art to making any sampled strings sound more realistic in your song mix - usually it's about writing convincing parts, and using the right reverbs. I'm still a noob to be honest, but it's a lot of fun learning it

[Boydie]

Good points TONE and I think I will need to just bite the bullet and get a pro sample set

Would you recommend Hollywood Strings?

For "Hornz" I did a lot of research (both for the VST itself and how to "play" and process them) for the Chris Hein Horns I got, which I am really happy with and wholeheartedly recommend

[shadowfax]

Hi guy's..if you want the real thing then you should look no further than Miroslav philharmonik version 2
I have this also and it is the dogs bollocks,,,
I just reckon the other one is good for background stuff..and yeah it's synthy because it's a synth..

best, Kevin

[tone]

Hi kev & Boydie. Actually, I use miroslav too, and I really like it. The strings are brilliant for the price and I prefer them to the NI stuff. But they do lack some of the 'epic' Hollywood feel a lot of publishers are looking for these days...

I don't know what you're looking for in terms of sound Boydie, but you can hear the EW strings here (sometimes blended with miroslav and logic for extra thickness) https://m.soundcloud.com/anthony-lane/sets/from-the-first-floor bear in mind my mixing skills need work...

[tboswell]

I have recently bought LA Scoring Strings lite, which wasn't exactly cheap but was small enough to run on the macbook and not exorbitant. I love strings and play the Viola in several orchestras. Knowing how to score strings and how to play them really helps using the synths.
I bought instead of Hollywood strings which is the other I was considering.

It doesn't do solo strings but does the big ensemble sounds well and has a fair variety articulations. You can hear an example here, most obviously in the second half:
https://soundcloud.com/t-j-boswell/your-name-on-my-tattoo

Best thing I can advise, is to double them with analogue sounds to get the best out of their use.

Tom.