Hi,

I’m looking for some high quality solo strings libraries for a wide range of musical styles from classical to pop.
I notice Native Instruments currently have a sale on their Cremona Quartet for £179 and I’m tempted to pick this library up. However, are there any alternatives that you would recommend above this collection around this price?

What are your thoughts/experiences with the Cremona Quartet?

No experience with that, sorry.

Embertone does strings really well in general. The Joshua Bell VI is outstanding.

8Dio's strings in general are great also IMO; I don't have their solos, but I got their Anthology strings and IMO they are excellent. Wait for sales though (they tend to have them often).

For this price I don't think you gonna have better one.....

Thanks for the suggestions. I've just been offered a deal on the Cremona Quartet for £90 which does seem like a bargain! I've also just found the CineSamples CineStrings Solo for £157 which also includes a bass.

Has anyone had any experience with both of these?

I have no experience with either of those products. But you missed the Sample Modeling solo strings.
Truthfully I have not found any better solo strings, and I have Audio Modeling's solo strings, NI Session Strings
pro, Virharmonic Solo Violin, Chris Hein solo violin, Embertone Joshua Bell violin, Friedlander solo violin,
and Expressive E's Arche solo strings. None of them
beats Sample Modeling's strings.

Here's what I love about them. Play one note, the strings are mono legato. Play two notes, they become polyphonic.. no need to press a key on your controller to change the articulations. The strings "sense" what articulations are called for based on your playing. It's automatic.

https://www.samplemodeling.com/products

I have no experience with either of those products. But you missed the Sample Modeling solo strings.
Truthfully I have not found any better solo strings, and I have Audio Modeling's solo strings, NI Session Strings
pro, Virharmonic Solo Violin, Chris Hein solo violin,
and Expressive E's Arche solo strings. None of them
beats Sample Modeling's strings.

https://www.samplemodeling.com/products

They never sound well triggered by a piano keyboard, but with something lik Roli Seaboard you can be more expressive.

I have the Cremona quartet and think it’s fantastic - very well done and very expressive…easy to play

Disagree. You don't need a Roli Seaboard to get expressive with ANY string VI. You just need to be a good keyboard player and use your wheels, foot pedals, and aftertouch wisely. And you need to know how to play idiomatically..in other words, how a string player plays their instrument, what they can and cannot do.

An MPE keyboard allows you to express vibrato polyphonically, for example. But a real violin player cannot
apply vibrato to just one string if they are playing a two or even three note chord (and string players rarely play triple stops). So in the case of a violin or cello, polyphonic aftertouch controlling vibrato is pointless, u don't need it.

While MPE keyboards such as the Roli open up more
ways of expression for the player, they are certainly expensive and can be out of reach for people on a budget.