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Hollywood strings or Cinematic strings?

TomMartin

Member
Ok this is probably an old topic but the recent sale puts a new twist on it I think.

At the 50% off sale price, hollywood strings diamond can be had for near as makes no difference to me, the same price, and I feel like splurging!

So given that price isn't an issue, which is the more attractive product?

Perhaps consider 2 scenarios.

In the first one, the hardware requirements and the issues with play din't exist, so just consider the sound.

Which one do you prefer?


And in the 2nd scenario, lets be realistic about the hardware requirements and the issues with play.

Does this change the choice from the first scenario?
 
I've been considering this exact same purchase decision myself, so I'd be very interested in hearing what others think about this who have experience with the software.

After checking out both, from what I've seen, I think I'm slightly leaning towards CS2 at the moment, as I'm really impressed with their interface. I could still be tempted by Hollywood Strings, which sounds great too, but the sheer size of it might be a bit much for me, and combined with potential issues with Play leaves me leaning towards CS.

Having said that, pretty sure I'm going to be tempted by HWB, especially with Cinesamples only offering $50 off Cinebrass. Now to decide between Gold & Platinum..! ;)
 
I have both and my vote goes to .....CS 2. Yes, Play and performance are factors, but I can also get the sound I'm after faster with CS2.
 
I have and use HS Diamond and I'm seriously considering CS 2 after viewing the demos last night. Sure, HS is massive (I have an entire VEP 5 slave devoted to it) and offers a ton of options and sounds. But man, is it difficult to use. I guess it really depends on your workflow.

If I'm programming existing orchestrations I'll turn to HS for the gritty details, and it really sounds great. But I've found it to be cumbersome and de-inspiring to compose with it. I spend *way* too much time dealing with Play, finding a patch that is close to what I'm looking for only to discover an error in the scripting/sample that renders it unusable.

Honestly, I'm looking for a library that is easy to use out of the box and sounds really great. I've found I don't really need 40 different sustain patches. I usually stick to the 3 or 5 that I know well and can manage without breaking my creative flow.

CS 2 sounds really great and I think I'll take the plunge. Plus, it's on Kontakt.
 
I've been wrestling with a similar decision so it's great to see posts from folks using both libs. I was set on CS until the EW holiday deals were announced (damn them!!). Now I'm wavering on HS Diamond, or maybe going with HS Gold + HB Gold for more variety. The complexity factor of HS definitely concerns me, as one of the big selling points of CS is the elegance and straightforwardness of the interface (aside from the gorgeous sound).

Any CS users feel like they're missing out on the extra articulations in HS? Is there enough variation achievable through the interface design to cover a full range of composing situations? I was hoping to use CS as my core string library and supplement/layer with articulations from EWQLSO if needed.
 
you'll find very quickly that you'll need both.

Nothing beats CS2.0 for bread and butter strings. When you need good sounding strings to do basic string lines. But, HS has some patches and can do some things well that no other library can touch.

Add LASS in there and you'll be set!
 
you'll find very quickly that you'll need both.

Nothing beats CS2.0 for bread and butter strings. When you need good sounding strings to do basic string lines. But, HS has some patches and can do some things well that no other library can touch.

Add LASS in there and you'll be set!

Check out the reviews on both https://www.soniccontrol.tv (www.soniccontrol.tv) and https://www.professionalorchestration.com (www.professionalorchestration.com) as many issues are covered.

I have HS and HB Gold. HS has about the most complete set of string bowings available giving you a lot of flexibility for effective string writing. HB for brass is simpler than HS and has brass recorded so that you van create very effective brass voicings.
 
Hi Peter, on the topic of HB Gold, do you find the single mic position limiting? I will probably get the Gold edition (from your store ;)) but would be interested to hear your opinion on Gold vs. Platinum.
 
Hi Peter, on the topic of HB Gold, do you find the single mic position limiting? I will probably get the Gold edition (from your store ;)) but would be interested to hear your opinion on Gold vs. Platinum.

My error. I have HB Diamond. But for now I use the same mic position as Gold so it blends with other libraries. In that sense, no I don't find it limiting because you have the same brass articulations - which is a lot to master. Mastering the library in one mic position FIRST is a faster way to learn then trying to learn the library AND three mic positions. My learning and teaching approach is this- orchestration first technology second.

Orchestration is about music, 3 mics is about production and mixing. Two separate skills. Multitasking and trying to learn both at once lengthens the learning curve/training time.
 
you'll find very quickly that you'll need both.

Nothing beats CS2.0 for bread and butter strings. When you need good sounding strings to do basic string lines. But, HS has some patches and can do some things well that no other library can touch.

Add LASS in there and you'll be set!

I can see this being true...I already have LASS, and hoped that would be me set for strings, but HS was always in the back of my mind...

I never considered CS2 but I listened to the demos a couple of days ago and well.... they couldn't possibly do a better job of selling it could they?

HS would have to be diamond for me, it's worth noting that in gold you get one mic position, and it isn't a pre mixed version of the other mics, it's just one position....I would be much happier going with gold if they offered a mix setting like CS2
 
Hi Peter, on the topic of HB Gold, do you find the single mic position limiting? I will probably get the Gold edition (from your store ;)) but would be interested to hear your opinion on Gold vs. Platinum.

My error. I have HB Diamond. But for now I use the same mic position as Gold so it blends with other libraries. In that sense, no I don't find it limiting because you have the same brass articulations - which is a lot to master. Mastering the library in one mic position FIRST is a faster way to learn then trying to learn the library AND three mic positions. My learning and teaching approach is this- orchestration first technology second.

Orchestration is about music, 3 mics is about production and mixing. Two separate skills. Multitasking and trying to learn both at once lengthens the learning curve/training time.

Agreed, good point.. I have studied orchestration quite intensely and continue to do so, but even so I think Gold is probably a good place to start for me.. can always upgrade at another time. Back on topic, I think this is another reason why Cinematic Strings is so good, it allows you to focus much more on the writing side of things :)
 
Ok this is probably an old topic but the recent sale puts a new twist on it I think.

At the 50% off sale price, hollywood strings diamond can be had for near as makes no difference to me, the same price, and I feel like splurging!

So given that price isn't an issue, which is the more attractive product?

Perhaps consider 2 scenarios.

In the first one, the hardware requirements and the issues with play din't exist, so just consider the sound.

Which one do you prefer?


And in the 2nd scenario, lets be realistic about the hardware requirements and the issues with play.

Does this change the choice from the first scenario?

What is your hardware?
 
Ok this is probably an old topic but the recent sale puts a new twist on it I think.

At the 50% off sale price, hollywood strings diamond can be had for near as makes no difference to me, the same price, and I feel like splurging!

So given that price isn't an issue, which is the more attractive product?

Perhaps consider 2 scenarios.

In the first one, the hardware requirements and the issues with play din't exist, so just consider the sound.

Which one do you prefer?


And in the 2nd scenario, lets be realistic about the hardware requirements and the issues with play.

Does this change the choice from the first scenario?

What is your hardware?

i7 2700k @ 4.5 ghz
32gb ram
couple of ssd's

so lets be realistic, if i cant run HS diamond, then who can?!

but the issue is (or may be) that i run a fairly large template, and not just 1 string section.
 
Ok this is probably an old topic but the recent sale puts a new twist on it I think.

At the 50% off sale price, hollywood strings diamond can be had for near as makes no difference to me, the same price, and I feel like splurging!

So given that price isn't an issue, which is the more attractive product?

Perhaps consider 2 scenarios.

In the first one, the hardware requirements and the issues with play din't exist, so just consider the sound.

Which one do you prefer?


And in the 2nd scenario, lets be realistic about the hardware requirements and the issues with play.

Does this change the choice from the first scenario?

What is your hardware?

i7 2700k @ 4.5 ghz
32gb ram
couple of ssd's

so lets be realistic, if i cant run HS diamond, then who can?!

but the issue is (or may be) that i run a fairly large template, and not just 1 string section.

On my less powerful PC with 24 GB from one SSD, I run HS, HB, and HOW, with 1 mic position of HS & HB, 2 of HOW with app 5 patches for each instrument.
 
you'll find very quickly that you'll need both.

Nothing beats CS2.0 for bread and butter strings. When you need good sounding strings to do basic string lines. But, HS has some patches and can do some things well that no other library can touch.

Add LASS in there and you'll be set!

I can see this being true...I already have LASS, and hoped that would be me set for strings, but HS was always in the back of my mind...

I never considered CS2 but I listened to the demos a couple of days ago and well.... they couldn't possibly do a better job of selling it could they?

HS would have to be diamond for me, it's worth noting that in gold you get one mic position, and it isn't a pre mixed version of the other mics, it's just one position....I would be much happier going with gold if they offered a mix setting like CS2

I use HS Gold and HB Gold. For Brass you get the main mics, I've never missed other mic positions.

For HS you get the midtree mics. At first I thought that they were a little thin sounding. Most people I know prefer this mic position for HS. After researching the mics they used for mid tree I came the the conclusion that they needed to be raised in volume by about 2db and a little EQ in the lower mids around 500 to boost the room tone. Just a tad. Once I did that the strings filled out nicely and the tone is spectacular.

So I've opted to use CS and HS gold rather than get HS diamond.

I haven't gotten LASS yet. I've always felt bad about that fact. But, I'm hearing some stuff on TV that I know is LASS and it sounds really good, detailed, lighter string sound, would work well for so many things.
 
Darnit. I was just about to order CS2 for a Chrimma present to myself. Then I see the 50% off. I go and listen again to HS again (which originally, I had not even considered due to the complexity everyone seems to talk about. I've got LASS and that's complex enough for me -- well interface and track wise.) and damn, HS sounds great in the demos.

Jose is probably right in that you will really want to have both in the end.

And then, I think... CS2 plus LASS....

Argh.

Mahlon
 
I went with CS2. No regrets :)

Although I'm sure I'll end up with Hollywood Strings too, but that's just how I am...

I have LASS, EWQLSO, Albion and now CS2 for strings so it'll be a while before I make another strings purchase I think. I demo'd Symphobia and thankfully I'm convinced I wouldn't use it...so that's good for the bank account!
 
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