I write music for film and tv, lots of "tension cues". A lot of my music is receiving comments like great structure, good musical ideas, well engineered etc, BUT the reason they don't pick it for the project is they say the strings sound "stagnant". OR dated And that one was after hours and hours of working on different articulations to try and avoid that! I have East WEst Ultimate strings and The Aria instant orchestra, as well as Expand2 which I believe came free with Pro tools, I use those two less frequently.
What I need isome suggestions for orchestral or even just strings that are hot right now! I need that sound that I hear in in CSI, the blind spot etc. Any suggestions?

EastWest Hollywood Strings Diamond.

There are soooo many string libs out there right now, and they all have their strengths, and they all have their weaknesses.

What you need to bear in mind, is that it isn't really about the lib; it's about you. Your ability to coax and massage your MIDI data, and your ability to orchestrate, FAR outweighs having "the best" lib. Of which, there is no such thing anyway.

Sure, you want to start with a good lib - CineStrings, Mural, LASS, Hollywood Strings, etc., will all give you the ability to get really good sounding virtual strings. But the libs don't write, arrange and polish MIDI info - you do. I have heard some people say, "oh - lib x sounds synthy to my ears!" People who say that either have an agenda, or are clueless. Libs don't sound synthy, dated, stagnant; people do.

Cheers.

Search button would help! So many similar threads. Or Google search! These libraries try to make themselves easily found, they want your money! It's really all a matter of opinion and dependent on the project.

If it's in your project's budget- Try to use real players! It could be cheaper then you think if you're just going to use a small ensemble.

You also have some romplers that have outstanding strings. The one that comes to my mind is the Korg Kronos.

There are tons... a good starting point would be to get all of these...

https://cinesamples.com/products

https://www.spitfireaudio.com/shop/i...nts/orchestra/

Hollywood Orchestra

https://www.projectsam.com/symphobia

Vienna Instruments Collections

LASS Full 2.5

https://8dio.com/instrument-category...ral-ensembles/

and so on and so forth...

In order to do midi orchestra well, you have to have A LOT of tools in your palette to cover your bases. You never end up using just one library for anything. You'll start to notice certain libraries work better for certain articulations... and certain libraries combined and layered start to sound better and more realistic than just one by itself.

There is a lot to it. Don't be fooled by thinking that doing everything in the box is "cheaper" or "faster" than hiring a live orchestra to do it. The only difference between the two really is how much time you personally spend on it and how much you feel your time is really worth.

Most guys don't realize that by the time you have collected all the "good" sample libraries, you could easily spend upwards of $20k to $40k. Then it might take you 12 to 16 hour days for months on end in the beginning to learn how and when to use all these tool to the best of their abilities in a variety of styles and situations... Then when start actually working on a paid project, you are doing everything yourself in the box. you end up being composer, orchestrator and midi programmer all in one... and then music editor and mixer too. That is A LOT of work on top of the financial investment. Most of which you are really not getting paid for.

Also just FYI... shows like CSI and The Blind Spot usually record live orchestra around LA... I'm friends with the music mixer for Penny Dreadful, Revenge, Fargo, Resurrection, etc. They would all record live orchestra every week or every couple weeks. So if those shows were, I'm sure CSI and the Blind Spot are. they may not list that they do because they might be doing it non-union, but they are. I also know one of the string players that plays on almost every episode of Supernatural. A lot of the shows on TV are using live players for the score every week. It's not just sample libraries.

I'm beginning to wonder if there's anyone you DON'T know...

I'm actually very happy to learn though this is still a thing. Albeit, it's probably reserved for the big budget network shows, but still, that's a nice thing to know.

Lol! I know right! If you work in this business long enough the pool of people working at or above your level gets smaller and smaller and so you just end up crossing paths with most people. If you look at the panelists that are on my PMC panel this year, you'll know who the mixer is.

The string player I can't mention any names because of the Union. I don't want to get anyone in trouble.

And yes, the live orch dates are for the bigger budget shows. But that is part of the problem! The smaller shows and newer producers don't realize what they want to hear costs $$$$. It happens all the time unfortunately.

ORCHESTRAL TOOLS

You're 2 years late with your recommendation.

And that website....that might be the best orchestral VSTi's for very cheap, but it's most definitely not the best.

As a matter of fact, I'm rather baffled by the recommendations of Garritan and Miroslav. Those were good 10+ years ago.
A list without the mention of Spitfire, Orchestral Tools, Cinesamples, 8dio, East west, VSL, Cinematic studio or AudioBro can really not be taken seriously.

<mod edit - agreed! thats why i took it down...>

hmm... tension cues and CSI or drama tv shows have a different sound. tension cues seem to be for reality tv. it not only has a different sound but also a different arrangement. its subtle. I would look into other reality tv shows that match yours and match their sound and arragement. Normally reality tv show tension cues is all about VSL strings. those dry up stacc that sound very present so they are on top of more modern sounding elements. but i think using something like spitfire chamber strings wll get that sound or better/different one. also.. its not about best/good vs worst/bad. for your line of work those libraries work or dont work for what your are doing. a carpenter is not going to say a bad hammer or good hammer, some hamers will work better for some nails and some dont. i suggest layering strings like vsl (even the ones that come with kontakt) and another library so you get a mix of dry and room. and since its two string sections then it sound larger and more hyper real which also a thing for that style of music as well as trailer music.
but its a very subjective thing so it depends on what you are going after and how you work them. for me hollywood strings is the best bang for the buck and sound very cinematic but i woudnt use it for tencion cues unless im doubling much dryer sounds. again.. a matter of taste..
and also, if your publisher, producer is asking for CSI or cop drama or to sound like rihanna or beatles or whatever... they really dont mean that. they want it to sound like reality tv show tension drama but maybe add something to give it that cop drama egde, or rihanna or whatever but still within the genre of reality tv show music.

Not in my world. VSL has no place. I do probably 150-200 minutes of tension cues a year. Zero VSL.

Spitfire, Symphobia, Cinematic Strings, Orchestral Tools, etc. get the nod here. Recently, I'm liking the 8Dio Sordino's.

But the bottom line is that if you know how, you can do tension cues with virtually anything.

true.. but you used to right? like a decade or two ago?

I was going to recommend East West but I see you already have one of their libraries.

Spitfire Albion I package is a great place to start.
Then slowly you can add their more specific libraries, ie: solo violin, chamber, etc.

Had you thought of adding a live layer on top of your samples, Might be a worthwhile investment for your next Tension Album

Don't know that they're the best, but certainly very capable and great sounding are United Strings of Europe by Auddict. On sale right now for $169 at vstbuzz.com

It would be very hard to find something as comprehensive in that price range, especially one with legatos that don't sound like ****e.

United Strings of Europe hasn't been on my radar, but with Vita recommending the library I'll certainly check it out. I can recommend Light & Sound Chamber Strings highly. Often on sale for 149$. A wonderful, transparent sound. Good legato patches. It doesn't have many options for short notes, but at that price you really can't complain. I use this library a lot. For a darker, lusher tone Cinematic Studio Strings are great.

This thread might be a couple years old but the hunt for great string libraries seems to be never-ending with composers, and for good reason, they're tricky and utterly crucial. The earlier comment that mentions the importance of configuring the MIDI performance so that a library actually sounds convincing and not "synthy" is really spot-on, and even the most high-quality and expensive library can sound quite fake if the execution isn't done right.

A friend of mine is a really prolific composer and producer in NYC who works with huge names and has tens of thousands of dollars worth of sample libraries. I spent a day at his place a while back trying out basically everything out there, and the clear winner for me (and for him) was Spitfire Symphonic Strings. The sampling is great, but the MIDI control options are also very organic and make performing parts convincingly in real time much more easy and effective, even with articulation changes (arco to pizzicato to spiccato etc).

He also had some tracks he'd done with Vienna Strings that were absolutely stunning, and if you can afford them, they're clearly a great way to go too. Interestingly, though, in every case he layered an Omnisphere string sound under the sampled strings because it helped everything feel better in the mix: the Omnisphere patch doesn't sound "real," exactly, but when blended with the realistic strings it just made everything feel "right." I've been doing that in my projects ever since then (even just with NI Session Strings as the sample) and it helps a ton, to my ear.

just rented the month to month library..... very surprised as to the age of these libraries... if you are into billy idol and old miami beats, etc, this is for you.. if you are looking for something pre 2000's i say this is for you, but anything beyond that, its a waste... there is a reason they are renting out these libraries... they are bunk . try kontakt.