# Best Piano & String Libraries



## GingerMaestro (Jan 24, 2019)

Hi
Having been away from the Virtual Instrument world for quite some time I'm starting to renew my interest in composing and am starting to work on new projects. In the old days I used Digital Performer, but think I'm going to transition to Logic as it seems much easier and now the industry standard.

I have been researching String Libraries and listening to many of them. I'm drawn to the Australian Cinematic Studio Strings Range (Full Strings, Solo & Brass) because they appear fairly straight forward to use straight out of the box and most importantly sound very good, with the minimum of programming for a beginner. 

I'm also looking for a very good Grand Piano Sample. Think Warm rich full and beautiful (Steinway, Bosendorfer, Mason Hamlin and maybe Yamaha) Does anyone one have a great suggestions ?

I would love to get peoples thoughts on the best sample libraries out there. I'm a professional musician (conductor and composer), so want to get good quality stuff (not beginners entry level) as I want it to sound great, however I'm essentially a beginner again to programming.

I don't have a massive budget, but figure better to spend on quality stuff rather than having to replace in the future

Any thoughts would be much appreciated
Thanks very much


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## FrontierSoundFX (Jan 24, 2019)

GingerMaestro said:


> Hi
> Having been away from the Virtual Instrument world for quite some time I'm starting to renew my interest in composing and am starting to work on new projects. In the old days I used Digital Performer, but think I'm going to transition to Logic as it seems much easier and now the industry standard.
> 
> I have been researching String Libraries and listening to many of them. I'm drawn to the Australian Cinematic Studio Strings Range (Full Strings, Solo & Brass) because they appear fairly straight forward to use straight out of the box and most importantly sound very good, with the minimum of programming for a beginner.
> ...



A lot of people seem to like EastWest Hollywood Strings. I have not purchased the Symphony Series from Native Instruments, but I've been looking at it quite a bit. The demos sound great, and I've been impressed with how simple it is to use. The strings have an auto-divisi feature, but only at the highest tier (Ultimate Collectors Edition). It still looks thin on some less common articulations compared to EastWest or some other libraries.


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## CGR (Jan 24, 2019)

GingerMaestro said:


> Hi
> Having been away from the Virtual Instrument world for quite some time I'm starting to renew my interest in composing and am starting to work on new projects. In the old days I used Digital Performer, but think I'm going to transition to Logic as it seems much easier and now the industry standard.
> 
> I have been researching String Libraries and listening to many of them. I'm drawn to the Australian Cinematic Studio Strings Range (Full Strings, Solo & Brass) because they appear fairly straight forward to use straight out of the box and most importantly sound very good, with the minimum of programming for a beginner.
> ...


I'll offer an opinion on sampled pianos. Given your background as a conductor & composer, I'd suggest any of these following sampled grand piano would serve you well for orchestral music:

1. Garritan Yamaha CFX Concert Grand Full Version - runs in the supplied Aria Engine plugin (Plogue sforzando)
2. Impact Soundworks Pearl Concert Grand (Yamaha C7) - Free Kontakt Player
3. VSL Synchron Steinway - Runs in supplied VSL plugin. e-license usb key required
4. Cinematic Studio Piano (Yamaha C7 from the same Sound Stage as CSS) - Free Kontakt Player
5. Galaxy Vienna Grand (Bosendorfer 290) - Free Kontakt Player

I own all of the above except the VSL Steinway, which is by far the most expensive and most taxing on computer resources (and arguably the most complete & comprehensive sampled Steinway available).

Garritan Yamaha CFX is popular amongst the classical players, and the full version has the wonderful ambience of Abbey Road Studios. Plenty of control over mic choices, saturation, imaging etc. and handles damper re-pedalling & half pedalling very well. Full set of multi velocity real Una Corda samples too.

Impact Soundworks Pearl Concert Grand is very realistic and rich, with 4 mic perspectives and multiple controls and tone shaping options built in. Also handles damper re-pedalling & half pedalling very well.
Una Corda is modelled/emulated (not real Una Corda Samples).

The Cinematic Studio Piano is the most basic of the ones I listed, and although it has 4 mic perspectives (which gives options for tone & imaging), there's only a basic on/off switch for pedal/mechanical noises, a simple reverb, no control over velocity scaling, and it doesn't have separate release samples, so is therefore limited with staccato-type playing. Works really well for romantic, legato-type playing and is still very dynamic, as you can hear in their demos & video walkthrough.

The Galaxy Vienna Grand is the oldest of the bunch listed above, but has clarity and a huge dynamic range well suited to orchestral music. Very well sampled. Good damper re-pedalling & half pedalling behaviour too, and an extensive set of controls are built in. Una Corda is modelled/emulated based on a small set of samples I believe. It offers just a single stereo mic mix of the multiple mics used in the sampling session, but works really well though in different mixes I've used it in.






Hope that helps steer you in the right direction.


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## CGR (Jan 24, 2019)

Also, I'd suggest checking out the TrueKeys Fazioli Concert Grand, which runs in the free UVI player engine. Very dynamic & clear tone with a powerful and clear bass. Plenty of control over mic choices, tone, imaging, dynamics etc. and handles damper re-pedalling & half pedalling very well. Full set of multi velocity real Una Corda samples and release samples too.

You can sometimes pick this up on the second-hand market on some of the music forums. Here's some rough playing of mine, messing around with a tune from the film composer Craig Armstrong to give you an idea:

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/tk-italian-lexicon_armstrong-02-mp3.18064/][/AUDIOPLUS]


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## GingerMaestro (Jan 24, 2019)

Thank you all so much for this information. This is so useful and providing me some great listening this evening. Anyone with more thoughts on the Cinematic Studio Strings would be great. I'm looking for a really realistic Library. I've also been listening to the Joshua Bell Violin samples from Embertone, which I have to say I think sounds pretty impressive.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Jan 25, 2019)

I own Cinematic Studio Strings 2, and it's a great sounding easy-to-use library. My only complaint is that the samples are too noisy for quiet passages. I heard that CSS is really good, but not as big and lush sounding as CS2. I have been using Hollywood Strings Gold from it's initial release, and honestly I have not come across a better sounding, more realistic string library...especially at that price point (I still think Spitfire strings sound to unrealistic IMHO). I highly recommend a trial of EW Composer Cloud, where you can try Hollywood Strings, Brass, Woodwinds, Percussion, Symphonic Orchestra, and the piano collections (Steinway, Bosendorfer, Bechstien, Yamaha), etc. Shameless plug, but you can hear a lot of these on my website, as I use EW orchestral instruments for about 90% of my work.....and have done so for the past ten years (just pardon the music, but yo can hear the instruments quite well).


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## GeneraStudios (Jan 28, 2019)

I actually made a blog post of my personal 'Best Kontakt Libraries in Each Category' on my website.
I list my favorite Bass, Sound Design, Ambient/Atmospheric, Synth, Orchestral, Percussion, and Piano Kontakt libraries - there are also runner-ups for categories if you don't like my main pick. The emphasis of the list was on 'if you could only buy one of each category of Kontakt libraries, which should you buy?'.

https://www.generastudios.com/blog/best-kontakt-libraries-in-each-category


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## marclawsonmusic (Jan 29, 2019)

This is a difficult topic because what is 'best' for one person might not work well for you.

I have found this particularly true with pianos... I probably own 15 sampled pianos (I was never satisfied) and finally settled on the Galaxy Vintage D as an all-around workhorse. I also like Pianoteq a lot (playability is very good), but some argue that the sound is a bit 'sterile' (it is a modeled instrument).

Then, there are character pianos... I like the Spitfire Felt Piano and Woodchester for more of the up-close-and-intimate sound.

For strings, I own several, but recently settled on Cinematic Studio Strings. I love the sound and also feel the workflow is very easy. PS - I think Wolfie2112 is referring to Cinematic Strings 2 in his post above. I agree that those samples can be a bit noisy - especially when in an exposed setting. 

You will probably get a 1000 opinions on which strings are 'best', but I have heard a lot of people say positive things about Spitfire Chamber Strings - even though it's a smaller section size, the sound is great and they are very playable. YMMV of course.

Good luck in your search.


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## Parsifal666 (Jan 29, 2019)

Piano: CFX is my favorite (can't get enough of the Thomas Newman preset), but I use Gentleman, Arks, Alicia's, GPO.

Strings: EWH, though the Bernard Herrmann get used quite a lot as well.


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## Maxfabian (Jan 29, 2019)

Hi! 

No one mentioned the Ravenscroft 275 yet.. so I do. I like it a lot and it fits perfectly for orchestral music. I am a Jazz pianist and it works pretty nice for that as well. For strings I would recommend the Cinematic Studio Strings. I have them and the CSSS as well and they are really brilliant and sounds wonderful together (obviously). Here is a little orchestral piece I did where I use the instruments mentioned above. 

 

Cheers


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## marclawsonmusic (Jan 29, 2019)

Maxfabian said:


> Hi!
> 
> No one mentioned the Ravenscroft 275 yet.. so I do. I like it a lot and it fits perfectly for orchestral music. I am a Jazz pianist and it works pretty nice for that as well. For strings I would recommend the Cinematic Studio Strings. I have them and the CSSS as well and they are really brilliant and sounds wonderful together (obviously). Here is a little orchestral piece I did where I use the instruments mentioned above.
> 
> ...




Lovely!


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## vmishka (Jan 29, 2019)

If you would like to hear piano examples of classical music played on a digital piano but rendered with a virtual instrument, I use Garritan CFX Full in all of the videos I have made for my YouTube channel (linked in my signature). The one exception is the Mozart Piano Concerto K.537 "Coronation" in which I used Ivory II Italian Grand. The two Mozart piano concertos were mixed with Music Minus One recordings. The other videos are solo performances.


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## GingerMaestro (Jan 29, 2019)

Marc, Thanks so much for this information. Like you say, I think I just have to listen to all the options and then go with my ears and get stuck in and start working with some of these sounds. I will figure out what I like as I go along. Thanks again, some great listening options.


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