# Slow strings cue with LASS



## bluejay (Jul 28, 2009)

Ok, gang ... here is my very first mockup using LASS.

I want to preface this piece with some fairly strong caveats.

LASS arrived yesterday and took 3 hours to install so I only had a couple of hours to put this together.

This is an existing mockup (actually a cue from a movie I'm scoring) that was previously scored using VSL Appassionata, Symphobia and SISS. Whilst I have tried to rework this for LASS I have missed some aspects. Notably I am using CC11 and not CC1 so I am not taking advantage of the layers properly.

I am only using one full-section sustain patch for the basses. The other sections have 4 tracks each (1st chair and divisis A-C) but then only one articulation per track. I'm using a mixture of legato and sustain samples.

These are only the 16-bit samples, not the 24-bit samples.

So why even post? Well mostly because I think it shows the quality of the sound of these strings. 

http://www.jamessemple.com/music/lassdemo.mp3


I'm using two reverbs: Vienna Suite convolution for room sound and then Altiverb for a desk reverb. After that I'm running through VSL Mastering Equalizer and Waves L1.

The piano is ArtVista Virtual Grand.

Enjoy and please be gentle!


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## Hal (Jul 28, 2009)

nice composition that i beleive will be very emotionel with real strings or better expressive performance with LASS
u didnt show much of LASS capabilities in this one.


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## Thonex (Jul 28, 2009)

Nice one Bluejay!

I'm glad you're enjoying LASS!!



> Notably I am using CC11 and not CC1 so I am not taking advantage of the layers properly.



Yeah.. using CC1 to take advantage of the real dynamic layers will help breath new life into this kind of track. I like the writing.

The way I work is, I have my CC11 fader right next to my CC1 fader.. so I can ride both together (if need be).

If I could suggest what fader/CC assignments to keep accessible, I would arrange them as follows:

*CC1* (dynamic layers)
*CC11* (volume)
*CC83* (Speed of ports and glisses)
*CC111* (Legato on/off and Velocity Attenuator on A.R.T. patches)
*CC110* (chooses the various A.M.G. Anti Machine Gun modes)

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,

AK


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## Hans Adamson (Jul 28, 2009)

I listened through laptop speakers and love your writing - very "classical". LASS sounds good too... 8)


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## lux (Jul 28, 2009)

i have to say that i'm very positively impressed by this

Thanks for sharing James


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## schatzus (Jul 28, 2009)

Nice composition James! LASS sounds real sweet...


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## re-peat (Jul 28, 2009)

_> i have to say that i'm very positively impressed by this _

To be honest, I'm not. I really don't like the sound of this. Agreed, there's an instantly pleasing 'out-of-the-box' quality to the LASS strings which you don't find anywhere else, but on the whole, I find the stringsection in this particular example rather unpleasant sounding: nasal, boxy, tiresome and quite lifeless. I'm aware that James didn't use the power of CC11 yet - which is a pity - and it's early days for LASS users of course, but on the whole, this effort sounds rather synthetic and unconvincing to my ears, I'm affraid.

Actually, that was the first thing that struck me when browsing through the LASS instruments yesterday evening: this is going to be a pretty difficult library to master and, precisely because it is so powerful and extremely delicate at the same time (as all good instruments are), it will require - more so than many other libraries - thorough study, the finest musicianship and some expert orchestration skills to make the most of it. Its exceptionnal and uncompromising qualities also make it a very unforgiving collection of samples and instruments, it seems to me. 

_


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## George Caplan (Jul 28, 2009)

To be fair I think it sounds better than that. I'm hearing this through cheapo Edirol computer speakers but it sound OK to me.


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## George Caplan (Jul 28, 2009)

To be fair I think it sounds better than that. I'm hearing this through cheapo Edirol computer speakers but it sound OK to me.


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## bluejay (Jul 28, 2009)

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm glad that most of you liked the writing.

Thanks Andrew and Hans for your comments, really appreciated 'cause I'm using your libraries here.

Re-peat, I appreciate the honesty there. It's a shame you didn't like the cue overall. I did use CC11 but I needed to use CC1 to change layers. I only discovered that this morning unfortunately. You are right about how sensitive it is ... which is definitely a good thing.

I have some time to work on this tonight so I'll start really working on it and see how much I can improve it.


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## dcoscina (Jul 28, 2009)

I think the CC1 would be more effective in changing the timbre of the sound as opposed to an expression or volume change. I usually employ mod wheel changes to DXF or whatever type patch because it not only increases the volume but the timbre of the sound accordingly.


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## Ashermusic (Jul 28, 2009)

re-peat @ Tue Jul 28 said:


> James,
> 
> I don't think I said anything about the cue itself (the composition, I mean), in fact, I'm sure of that, I was solely referring to the sound of the string ensemble.
> You know, I tried some pieces myself late last night - I'm right in the middle of a project and I'd love to LASS-ify it - but I found myself ending up with the exact same sound as you have ... and I don't like it. Several of the official demos more than prove that LASS is capable of totally irresistible beauty, but it seems to me that the library requires some serious courting and undiminished dedication before it wil reveal itself completely to us, novice users. That's all.
> ...



Mail LASS right out to me then Piet 

I'll buy you a copy of Kirk's Ruby since I know how much you love that also.


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## Colin O'Malley (Jul 28, 2009)

This is probably a stupid and obvious thing, but something I ran into when initially using LASS during beta testing which is different from other libraries. I find that I generally keep cc1 below 80 or so. I consider that forte. Most of my writing for mf-f passages (which seems to be the meat of what I do with LASS) is cc1 30-80. I go above 80 very sparingly for broad expressive lines. If I do it's always as an arc up and down, never steady up there. Once I made that simple adjustment I found I avoided some of what I think I'm hearing in this cue. 

Colin


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## lux (Jul 28, 2009)

re-peat @ Tue Jul 28 said:


> _> i have to say that i'm very positively impressed by this _
> 
> To be honest, I'm not. I really don't like the sound of this. Agreed, there's an instantly pleasing 'out-of-the-box' quality to the LASS strings which you don't find anywhere else, but on the whole, I find the stringsection in this particular example rather unpleasant sounding: nasal, boxy, tiresome and quite lifeless. I'm aware that James didn't use the power of CC11 yet - which is a pity - and it's early days for LASS users of course, but on the whole, this effort sounds rather synthetic and unconvincing to my ears, I'm affraid.



well relistened it on better headphones, considering how much i have exteem of your ears, and, assuming it doesnt have much of a post sequencing tweaking and sonic mastering, the way the strings move sounds pretty natural and uncommonly flowing. Sonically i find it could benefit from the usage of more panning (expecially on the violins but i'm assuming this can be easily fixed) and a more spacial reverb setting. 

Instinctively i also feel, but could be wrong, that this is one of the libs that gets lot benefits from a good mastering and ambience shaping rather than suffering it like most actual libs out there do in my opinion.

but in general i have to confirm a positive overall impression and, most of all, potential.

Luca


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## dcoscina (Jul 28, 2009)

I like the composition but I feel as though the change in the timbre and attack between the groups and 1st chair would have evoked more "feeling". Even in Andrew's short demo of the legato, I could really get into how organic the library is. But, like any great instruments, you don't just pick it up and wail on it like a virtuoso. LASS sounds equivelant to that so it's not surprising that user demos will probably not soar as much as we would like them to until we all get used to all the details and parameters of the library. I'll post something (probably short articulations since I love those) once mine arrives (and is installed)

p.s. Andrew, will the lib run well on a Quad 2.66 Mac Pro in its entirety? I don't really have slave computers lying around..... I have 8 gb of RAM and 4 HDs (7200rpm) to load the library on. I could spread it across 2 HDs...


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## Thonex (Jul 28, 2009)

What Colin said!!!!

When CC1 is at 100%... you're hearing fff.. and we all know that fff is not very common in writing... CC1 at 75% is f. So, to breath more "real" life into your tracks, only go to 100% on CC1 when you really mean it.





dcoscina @ Tue Jul 28 said:


> p.s. Andrew, will the lib run well on a Quad 2.66 Mac Pro in its entirety? I don't really have slave computers lying around..... I have 8 gb of RAM and 4 HDs (7200rpm) to load the library on. I could spread it across 2 HDs...



You've be able to get a good amount of use out that computer with LASS, but f you're trying to do heavy divisi, you might run into some clicks and pops. Of course, you can raise the buffer to 512 and use 16 bit patches and Full mixes to further stretch your system.

Cheers,

Andrew K


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## bluejay (Jul 28, 2009)

Hi everyone.

Thanks for all of the useful advice and hints.

Here is the same music again but actually taking the time to use LASS properly!

http://www.jamessemple.com/music/lassdemo.mp3

I've also used a fair bit more reverb this time.


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## Mahlon (Jul 28, 2009)

ooooohhhh. Much better. So nice.

Mahlon


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## David A (Jul 28, 2009)

Nice. Keep em coming. Which piano are you using buddy?


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## paoling (Jul 29, 2009)

Awesome composition and string sound!


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## germancomponist (Jul 29, 2009)

Amazing great!


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## Christian Marcussen (Jul 29, 2009)

bluejay @ Tue Jul 28 said:


> Hi everyone.
> 
> Thanks for all of the useful advice and hints.
> 
> ...



Nice... Much better this time around. Kudos!


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## bluejay (Jul 29, 2009)

David A @ Wed Jul 29 said:


> Nice. Keep em coming. Which piano are you using buddy?



The piano is ArtVista Virtual Grand Piano. Use it all the time.

I think I need to do a couple of tweaks on reverb and perhaps again a couple of level changes but it's definitely taking shape. Learning new tricks with LASS all the time. 

Incidentally, this version was done with very few effects. The strings are going through Altiverb Todd AO and then a second Altiverb emulating a desk verb. After that there's only Waves L1. 

I have tried using Vienna Suite Mastering EQ and D82 Sonic Maximizer but I really wanted to get as natural a sound as possible for this mix. I'll keep tweaking it and refining it.

Anyway, thanks again for the kind words and extremely useful advice everyone.


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## careyford (Jul 29, 2009)

James,

The composition is really enjoyable. I like the way that you've structured it. 

As for LASS, I think the two versions together are really instructive. I didn't finish installing in time to experiment last night... The sound in the second is better and suits your writing on this piece well. 

Thanks for sharing!

Richard


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## bluejay (Jul 29, 2009)

Ok, updated this with a little more work but mostly changing the reverb settings and adding some proper production.

So, reverbs are Todd AO tails and the RT 60 from the Acousticas L300.

Then it's going through PSP Vintage Warmer and Waves L1.

http://www.jamessemple.com/music/lassdemo.mp3


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## Guy Bacos (Jul 30, 2009)

Mmm! Love that climax.


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## Leo Badinella (Aug 10, 2009)

So SISS is going away? :( Just kidding.

But seriously I've always enjoyed your cues when using SISS I'll be on the look out for how you make LASS sound.


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## bluejay (Aug 13, 2009)

Thank you very much Leo! 

I still may use SISS (and VSL App Strings and Symphobia) in my work but LASS is now first choice.


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## hbuus (Aug 13, 2009)

I like this very much. 

/Henrik


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