# Chris Hein - Solo Strings Chapter II - Solo Viola



## Chris Hein (Oct 28, 2016)

After the successful release of CH-Solo Violin, I'm proud to present the second member of the CH-Solo Strings family:

*CHRIS HEIN - SOLO VIOLA*






CH-Solo Viola is available now for $/€ 179,-

Order before Nov. 4th, to get our *introduction offer $/€ 159,-*
http://www.chris-hein-shop.de/chris-hein-solo-strings-48-0.html

With exactly the same features and programming as the Solo-Violin,
the Solo-Viola has over 10.000 samples, 38 articulations, Phase-Aligned samples for perfect X-Fade,
and many unique features like Hot-Keys, Note-Heads, Key-Vibrato and much more,
to customize the sound and playability the way you want.

We recorded the Solo-Viola up to G5, so it can easily be used in the range of a Violin,
but with a much warmer and richer sound.

The CH-Solo Viola was again played by the fantastic Naomi Binder.
Here you can see and hear her *original live performance:*



Here you hear the reproduction of the same song by Majestro Przemek *using the CH-Solo Viola* virtual instrument: 





For more Infos and Demos check out the product site:
http://www.chrishein.net/web/CH-Solo_Viola.html

Hope you like my new baby. 

Chris Hein


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## Rob (Oct 28, 2016)

bravo Chris!
and brava Naomi, really fantastic player!


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## Hafer (Oct 28, 2016)

phew, that's quite impressive!


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## muziksculp (Oct 28, 2016)

A big round of applause Chris ! 

Beautiful tone, and unbelievable realism. I might add this to the CH-Violin in the near future. 

Hopefully... The CH-Solo Cello will be your next project


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## cadenzajon (Oct 28, 2016)

This really does sound incredible. Your variety of articulations is making even VSL look chintzy.  A couple questions:
* Is the reverb I'm hearing in the "Valse Emotionelle" built-in? Controllable?
* Do you have plans to do a II Violin or recommend a way to get a different sound/position from the I Violin without compromising the authenticity of the sound? I'm interested in quartet options.


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## ChristianM (Oct 28, 2016)

woow !!


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## SBK (Oct 28, 2016)

Loving this!!!


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## Przemek K. (Oct 28, 2016)

cadenzajon said:


> This really does sound incredible. Your variety of articulations is making even VSL look chintzy.  A couple questions:
> * Is the reverb I'm hearing in the "Valse Emotionelle" built-in? Controllable?
> .



The reverb in the Valse Emotionelle is a mix of the included body IRs within the CH Viola and a 2nd Reverb I used inside Cubase.
The built in convo reverbs in CH Viola are controllable ( you can assign a cc if you want more control over volume for example)


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## Raindog (Oct 28, 2016)

Bravo Chris and Prem (the first for the library the second for this nice valse). What I like about the viola apart from it´s timbre is the fact that there is no learning curve once you are familiar with the violin. Great work
Raindog


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## Silence-is-Golden (Oct 28, 2016)

one question that may have been covered by the previous violin release:

Is legato playing optional, selectable, or is it not part of the library?
I like the variety of useful playing styles but I may miss the connectivity from the legato.

Also no portamento available?

No critique intended , only want to know what the spectrum is and what is not there, so I can make an informed choice about it.

At first hearing it sounds attractive.


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## Przemek K. (Oct 28, 2016)

You can add legato to any articulation if needed. Portamento is also included.


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## Silence-is-Golden (Oct 28, 2016)

Ah, thank you for your confirmation Przemek.

Then I need to have a close listen again, because it is quite attractive.


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## Silence-is-Golden (Oct 28, 2016)

Oh, and lastly: is there a sordino emulation?


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## Przemek K. (Oct 28, 2016)

Yes, a sordino emulation is also there


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## Joe_D (Oct 28, 2016)

Thank you, Chris, for making another expressive and powerful instrument. As much as I appreciate the effort that went into to demos, this video demonstration of the articulations was much more impressive to me:



If you are at all interested in solo string VI's, I recommend watching the video if you haven't already.


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## desert (Oct 28, 2016)

Incredible


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## Hannes_F (Oct 29, 2016)

Joe_D said:


> Thank you, Chris, for making another expressive and powerful instrument. As much as I appreciate the effort that went into to demos, this video demonstration of the articulations was much more impressive to me:
> 
> 
> 
> If you are at all interested in solo string VI's, I recommend watching the video if you haven't already.



Excellent, that is how it should be done imho.
As a side note I happen to like the sound here better than in the other demos.


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## AllanH (Oct 29, 2016)

Very impressive. I really like the tone of the Viola. Some of my other Viola VIs easily sound "boxy" - this one is really lyrical and rich over a very large range. And I didn't even know that I needed a new Solo Viola VI!


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## tack (Oct 29, 2016)

Agreed with Hannes -- excellent demo. This looks like a pretty versatile instrument and except for a few moments with some of the high notes I rather like the tone.


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## Alatar (Oct 29, 2016)

These demos sound terrific.


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## ryst (Oct 29, 2016)

Yes, the demos are excellent. When I heard "Stardust", I thought for sure I was listening to Stéphane Grappelli.


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## wpc982 (Oct 29, 2016)

I've bought a lot of Chris's instruments. Not yet sure about this viola. Very 'soupy' in the defaults. I'm hoping it can be brought back in to a classical chamber music world. Do you really want your supporting voice to be exuding syrup? Still investigating.


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## Kara (Oct 29, 2016)

Another impressive solo string from Chris Hein.. The demos are also fantastic. Thanks.


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## EuropaWill (Oct 30, 2016)

wpc982 said:


> I've bought a lot of Chris's instruments. Not yet sure about this viola. Very 'soupy' in the defaults. I'm hoping it can be brought back in to a classical chamber music world. Do you really want your supporting voice to be exuding syrup? Still investigating.


You don't think you could EQ that out? If it has too much body for your taste, thin it out with EQ.


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## Raindog (Oct 31, 2016)

wpc982 said:


> I've bought a lot of Chris's instruments. Not yet sure about this viola. Very 'soupy' in the defaults. I'm hoping it can be brought back in to a classical chamber music world. Do you really want your supporting voice to be exuding syrup? Still investigating.



Before looking at equalising, first you can start with the different "body" IRs included within the Chris Hein GUIs. They already can significantly change the sound (maybe more to your liking). Second is to adjust the reverb to your liking. This is essential for all close miked instruments and the solo strings are no exception to this. The right amount of "room" or reverb changes can be a game changer (and definitely not only for Chris Hein´s libraries). Maybe the default reverb is too much for your taste but there a man others resulting in a more intimate "chamber sound".
Best regards
Raindog


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## wpc982 (Oct 31, 2016)

Raindog said:


> Before looking at equalising, first you can start with the different "body" IRs included within the Chris Hein GUIs. They already can significantly change the sound (maybe more to your liking). Second is to adjust the reverb to your liking. This is essential for all close miked instruments and the solo strings are no exception to this. The right amount of "room" or reverb changes can be a game changer (and definitely not only for Chris Hein´s libraries). Maybe the default reverb is too much for your taste but there a man others resulting in a more intimate "chamber sound".
> Best regards
> Raindog



Thank you! That makes a big difference. Nice feature, the abililty to change 'body'. Was able to get a sound much more to my taste by using some of the ones with shorter duration.


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## EuropaWill (Nov 1, 2016)

Is there a clip going through the various body IR's and the unique sound each produces?


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## constaneum (Nov 2, 2016)

Got this gem and it's really a great library. One thing which i'll hope to see in the coming update will be a minor improvement on the Legato Long. The portamento transition sound from first note to second note can sound kinda harsh even though i'm on a slow portamento speed transition. Besides that, everything sound awesome and very flexible !!!!


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## Przemek K. (Nov 4, 2016)

EuropaWill said:


> Is there a clip going through the various body IR's and the unique sound each produces?



I could post an example maybe later tonight or tomorrow.


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## elpedro (Nov 4, 2016)

Sounds great! Can't wait for the cello! Is there a release date for that?


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## Przemek K. (Nov 4, 2016)

elpedro said:


> Sounds great! Can't wait for the cello! Is there a release date for that?



Release date? Yes, there is


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## Przemek K. (Nov 4, 2016)

So, here is a preview of all 23 body IR's which are included in the CH Solo Viola.

It starts with body IR 21->20->19 and so on up to Room A and Room B.
I used the same level setting throughout this preview, but normally you would adjust the IR level to your own liking.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qnavf7yl1djk2xw/CH Solo VIola Body IR preview.mp3?dl=0

And here is a picture of the Body IR list:


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## elpedro (Nov 4, 2016)

Przemek K. said:


> Release date? Yes, there is


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## EuropaWill (Nov 4, 2016)

Przemek K. said:


> So, here is a preview of all 23 body IR's which are included in the CH Solo Viola.
> 
> It starts with body IR 21->20->19 and so on up to Room A and Room B.
> I used the same level setting throughout this preview, but normally you would adjust the IR level to your own liking.
> ...


Thank you very much! What this tells me though is that the body IR's don't really alter the timbre or color characteristics of the instrument but really just affects its own body reverb or early reflections. I was hoping that each body IR was a kind of body model that would in turn give the user the option to try out various viola's each with its unique color and timbre characteristics as i've seen in other physical models so I must have been expecting that this was a kind of hybrid sample/model when its not.


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## Przemek K. (Nov 5, 2016)

EuropaWill said:


> Thank you very much! What this tells me though is that the body IR's don't really alter the timbre or color characteristics of the instrument but really just affects its own body reverb or early reflections. I was hoping that each body IR was a kind of body model that would in turn give the user the option to try out various viola's each with its unique color and timbre characteristics as i've seen in other physical models so I must have been expecting that this was a kind of hybrid sample/model when its not.



Yes, the body IR is a placement tool. I guess the naming "body" is kinda confusing. But still, it's nice to have different options and the IR's included for both convolution units in the CH Viola are a nice to have.


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## constaneum (Nov 5, 2016)

I'm really loving this gem. Glad to have bought it as my birthday gift. I did some EQ to remove the lows and a bit of mid as well as adding a bit at the high side for this track.


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## SBK (Nov 7, 2016)

constaneum said:


> I'm really loving this gem. Glad to have bought it as my birthday gift.



Good playing man! Sounding so good


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## Chris Hein (Nov 7, 2016)

EuropaWill said:


> Thank you very much! What this tells me though is that the body IR's don't really alter the timbre or color characteristics of the instrument but really just affects its own body reverb or early reflections. I was hoping that each body IR was a kind of body model that would in turn give the user the option to try out various viola's each with its unique color and timbre characteristics as i've seen in other physical models so I must have been expecting that this was a kind of hybrid sample/model when its not.


Maybe its just a question of volume.
I have rendered the same phrase again, with all body convolutions at a much higher volume.
Much louder than I usually use them, but to demonstrate how they sound.
However, the first phrase is completely dry, so you can imagine what you could do with your own impulse responses.


Chris Hein


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## airflamesred (Nov 7, 2016)

Chris,
Am I right in thinking that with this phase alignment, that multiple nki's could be loaded without issues?


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## Chris Hein (Nov 7, 2016)

airflamesred said:


> Chris,
> Am I right in thinking that with this phase alignment, that multiple nki's could be loaded without issues?


The phase alignment only works for the six velocity layers of a note. Those are synced to enable a flanging free x-fade.
I don't know exactly what you mean. If you load multiple version of the instrument and play the same sone with articulation, the phase alignment would work the same way. but why would you want to do that?
If you play a second instance with a different articulation, you'll get an ensemble effects like multiple players playing.
Maybe I don't get you.

Chris Hein


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## airflamesred (Nov 7, 2016)

OK,
So, I know from both the Winds and the brass libs that you have an ensemble button. It works reasonably well, the only drawback being (and this applies more to strings, I think) is that a start, and end, offset is needed.


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## constaneum (Nov 7, 2016)

SBK said:


> Good playing man! Sounding so good


Thanks !



Chris Hein said:


> The phase alignment only works for the six velocity layers of a note. Those are synced to enable a flanging free x-fade.
> I don't know exactly what you mean. If you load multiple version of the instrument and play the same sone with articulation, the phase alignment would work the same way. but why would you want to do that?
> If you play a second instance with a different articulation, you'll get an ensemble effects like multiple players playing.
> Maybe I don't get you.
> ...



Chris. Looking forward to the next update with improvement on the Portamento like the one in the Solo Violin update. By the way, any possibility to share on the midi tracks for the demos on the featured instruments for us to have a better understanding on how to achieve the best result with the products? Thanks.


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