# Hollywood Strings vs some of the more recent string libraries



## Chris Hurst (Apr 5, 2015)

Hi everyone.

Just looking for people's experiences with Hollywood Strings compared to some of the more recent string releases, as it was released a few years ago now.

The Diamond version is part of an Easter sale they have at the minute (for Hollywood Orchestra Diamond) so wanted to see how it fared in people's experience, against things like Spitfire Audio Mural, 8dio Adagio etc. The online reviews are all positive (but say it is resource heavy), but again they are from a few years ago.

I'm sorely tempted, but hear negative things about Play etc and have been leaning towards going all Spitfire as I have the Albions, but the current sale is great value for money and may change things!

Any thoughts at all?

Thanks,

Chris


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## passenger57 (Apr 5, 2015)

I have most of the strings libraries out there. I think Hollywood strings still stand up pretty well and sound great in the mix. I've never had any recent problems with Play. I host it on a separate PC via VEP. The current deal looks great. I paid a heck of alot more for it when it first came out.


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## Lawson. (Apr 5, 2015)

Hollywood Strings is (IMO) the best string library out there. They made it future-proof, for sure. The sound quality and tone is just lovely, and there's enough articulations to do pretty much anything.

It is very resource intensive (a full template with it is about 25GBs) and you definitely need SSDs for it. That being said, PLAY has never given me a problem on both Mac and PC, standalone and through VEP5.

10 stars out of 5. :mrgreen:

P.S. A close competitor (and the next string library I want to get) is Berlin Strings. I have Exp. A + B (sul tasto and sul pont) and they sound wonderful and are extremely playable (unlike HS, which requires a ton of tweaking). Layering them sounds great as well.


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## PeterKorcek (Apr 5, 2015)

I have only HS Diamond and Symphobia 1, and listend to many demos of other string libraries , which are excellent as well, in that they sound a bit different, with varied tone and accessibility.

But still, HS sound amazing to my ears, beautiful sound and many possibilities with so many articulations - I have them on PC slave accessing them via VEP5 and did not have problem with the engine at all. Downsides is the CPU intensive samples and tweaking the arts to get proper sound you are after. Symphobia is older library, but sounds amazing as well 

That said, I probably will get some other library for layering at some stage, been looking mainly at Cinesamples and Spitfire libraries, but leaning more towards Cinesamples


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## Guffy (Apr 5, 2015)

I have HS Gold, and i still love it. The legatos are terrific and the sound quality is top notch. I've never had a problem with PLAY either.

I run HS from a 7200rpm without issues, but if you go for diamond, an SSD is probably a good idea.


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## JohnG (Apr 5, 2015)

I love HS, but I also have Sable and LASS, and might some day get Mural.

Use it on a medium powerful PC with SSDs. I put VE Pro up and have both Kontakt and PLAY in it -- works fine.

[note: I have received free products from East West]


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## Dave Connor (Apr 5, 2015)

I just did a string arrangement for a very popular international recording artist (singer.) The other two arrangers (the best in the business) also did arrangements which were recorded with live strings. In my case they used my mockup done with Hollywood Strings. The producer/engineer could not possibly be more demanding about sampled strings particularly when they are on a record with all live strings. HS passed with flying colors. You have to know how strings behave and may even have to tune some of the patches up a little but not many libraries can do that I would think.


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## Chris Hurst (Apr 5, 2015)

Thanks for the feedback so far.

So it sounds like they are a fantastic library then...which all the reviews suggest too.

Bundled in with the rest of the orchestra in the current deal (Hollywood brass, wood winds and percussion) is making it hard to resist...!


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## Brendon Williams (Apr 5, 2015)

I absolutely love Hollywood strings. I've gotten to use some of the other recent libraries, and though many of them are great, nothing beats the sound of HS for me. The number of included articulations is staggering, and it's highly flexible. My only complaint is how system intensive it is, but it's worth it to me for the sound. 

It's also worth mentioning that I've used it with live strings, and it blends perfectly, which makes it perfect for those sessions where you can afford live players, but not a full section. I'd be happy to share if you're curious.


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## pmcrockett (Apr 5, 2015)

My impression both from using HS and from reading other people's opinions about it is that pretty much everyone agrees that it still stands up against other newer libraries in terms of sound and that any complaints people have with it mostly have to do with PLAY and the library's high system resource load.


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## jamwerks (Apr 5, 2015)

HS is still imo one of the best string libraries out there. The knowledge about string technics & writing of the producers really shows. "On the string" stacc. articulation (for example), there are things you can do with HS that would be impossible on most (all) other libraries.

Same thing for HB, great stuff!


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## Dave Connor (Apr 5, 2015)

It is important to realize the computer resources necessary to run Play and Hollywood Strings. So you have to figure that cost in if you don't own a pretty serious PC.

I have Sable for divisi. I haven't had a chance to use them much but I definitely will. Mural sounds very good to me as well but I haven't pick those up yet.


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## constaneum (Apr 6, 2015)

I have to agree that East West's sampling quality is still top notch. Even though i personally didn't own any of the Hollywood series and still using and still loving the sound of Symphonic Orchestral Gold, i'm still able to confidently say that their orchestral instruments are still one of the best out there in the market, articulation wise and sound wise.


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## mohurwitzmusic (Apr 7, 2015)

I'm also thinking about picking up HS but I am curious about how well the short notes have been edited. On my current string libraries I'm having tons of problems where straight sixteenths become swung sixteenths simply because the sample start is late. It drives me absolutely crazy because I have to go find each offending note and nudge it into place.


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## holywilly (Apr 7, 2015)

You can't go wrong with HS diamond for short articulation, it's the deepest sampled library IMHO.


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## Stradibaldi (Apr 7, 2015)

Check out this video comparing Hollywood Strings, LASS, 8dio Adagio and Berlin Strings:



Or you can check out *this thread* for another comparison, so far between LASS, 8dio, and VSL Dimension Strings (but hopefully more libraries soon!)


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## Chris Hurst (Apr 7, 2015)

Thanks for the feedback so far.

Today's the last day, but I think I'm going to pass, as it sounds like t might tax my system a bit much at this point. I'm sure the sale will come around again at a later date, so might have another look then.

Thanks again.


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## jonathanwright (Apr 8, 2015)

You've made your decision, so I'm a bit late to reply but I'll contribute anyway!

HS Diamond was the first serious string library I purchased, since then I've become a string library whore.

I actually find myself going back to HS more than any other library. Yes, it's very intensive (I use a very old PC slave which works just fine) but the sound is fantastic.

I find it has a very 'clean' sound, without being harsh or dry. It's also very versatile, being useful for many genres of music.


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## renegade (Apr 8, 2015)

Lawson. @ Sun 05 Apr said:


> ...(unlike HS, which requires a ton of tweaking)



I actually don't find HS that bad in terms of tweaking. There are a lot of patches though, and it takes time to figure out what you can do with them all. So maybe a little longer learning curve than other libraries.


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## 5Lives (Apr 8, 2015)

Might I suggest you look into the Spitfire BML range - they're having a pretty impressive sale right now. I have Sable - unbelievably great sound and flexibility, but very, very playable as well. And Kontakt-based. Running smooth as butter on my Macbook Pro.


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## handz (Apr 8, 2015)

HS is still a great library IMO, HS, Cinematic Strings and BSS are my top, BSS is a huge monster and CS lacks lot of stuff HS have great tone and lots of articulations. Only downside is a PLAY - not that it is crashing, it is just much much slower than contact, but samples itself and usability HS is still top - for sale prices it is a steal.


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## Rex282 (Apr 8, 2015)

Stradibaldi @ Tue Apr 07 said:


> Check out this video comparing Hollywood Strings, LASS, 8dio Adagio and Berlin Strings:
> 
> 
> 
> Or you can check out *this thread* for another comparison, so far between LASS, 8dio, and VSL Dimension Strings (but hopefully more libraries soon!)




Thanks for the link (and video if that was you).

If I heard this before I bought my main strings library I would have got something different(one of these).It would take this kind of back to back auditioning to get a feel which is not possible right now with buyers policy.My new choice library from this video has some of the same strong attributes I have in my current library but more.On that note...I'm sure I'll end up getting it..... it's the 1,000 strings are never enough syndrome !! _-)


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## dcoscina (Apr 8, 2015)

JohnG @ Sun Apr 05 said:


> I love HS, but I also have Sable and LASS, and might some day get Mural.
> 
> Use it on a medium powerful PC with SSDs. I put VE Pro up and have both Kontakt and PLAY in it -- works fine.
> 
> [note: I have received free products from East West]



I have a pretty big PLAY template with all Hollywood Orchestra libs on it using VE PRO in DP. No issues whatsoever as well. Really great sound. The Silver library is a steal. I personally find it pretty responsive and the longs are very usable.


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## eljodon (Apr 10, 2015)

I just purchased Hollywood Orchestra Diamond because the price was $599 for the strings,brass, woodwinds and percussion. I already own Hollywood String Diamond, but since it was a good price I decided to purchase them. I might have to invest on a PC since my slave is a Mac Pro 2.66gHZ 12 core with 48 gigs of Ram with 4 600 gig WD Velociraptors and an Areca 1213-4 6Gb/s SAS RAID controller which is giving me around 525 mb/sec write and 515 read so I don't know if that would be enough.


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## jlefkowitz (Jan 29, 2017)

Anyone have spitfire symphonic strings? Im looking to get them. I currently have hollywood strings diamond and just wanted to know if it'd be a good idea and if SSS can do things HS can't do. I do mostly comedy, thriller & action scores if that helps. I also do trailers but not as often.


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## Parsifal666 (Jan 29, 2017)

It's resource-greedy, the Play engine (for me) is still not-so-great, and the Albions are far better for sketching (or just plain splatting ideas on the fly). But for final mockups, it's HS all day long.

May I suggest getting an SSD drive and buying the library? For that price you can afford it, and you might regret it seriously in the future if you don't (then again, there's always Composer Cloud, super cheap and great).

HS might be old, but just look at all the enthusiasts here, in particular the intimations that East West was really looking ahead when they recorded those samples. Just think of all the string libraries that have come out since...and are still not eclipsing the King.

It's one of the best libraries, period, and that goes for HW Brass as well. To me, those two are essential.

Still waiting for free products from East West (cracking up).


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## JohnG (Jan 29, 2017)

jlefkowitz said:


> I do mostly comedy, thriller & action scores if that helps



Hi there -- I have both. They sound quite different, as you can probably hear from the demos and walk-throughs. They also have some different articulations.

In reading the style of projects you work on, however, it's not clear that what HS doesn't have is going to be supplied by Spitfire in large quantities. The articulations that HS doesn't have but that Spitfire does are more (not all) on the softer side of things or on the subtler side. Not really sounds that I miss in chase scenes or helicopter-after-me scenes. Or in broad comedy either. Or thrillers. For the latter, you might take a look at their wild UIST Albion library, if you haven't already.

I have HS, Spitfire and LASS in my template and they all serve very well.

So, should you get SSS anyway? Spitfire's updated legato is pretty dreamy -- a huge leap compared to their BML strings legato and something that I think is a lot of fun. That said, I don't really use legato all that much in mockups except for particular situations where it's super-exposed.

SSS sounds very different from HS and for that reason I love having it. I disagree (gently) with some of the characterisations of those differences, which I think are down to the size of the room, the mics and other choices in the recordings, not some kind of cheesy commercialism inherent in America vs. England. For example, I don't think Spitfire sounds "more classical" or "more traditional" or anything like that. HS can sound lovely and sweet and does not sound more "Hollywood" as such -- after all, HZ records many of his scores at Air studios where Spitfire recorded its library. But it [HS] also can deliver plenty of power, as you know from using it. Spitfire also has muscle, only it is a different sound. Moreover, some of [Spitfire's] more feathery articulations, absent in HS, are really superb to have.

So, bottom line, if you're really focused on making money from composing, HS does the trick very nicely and there's no urgent need for another string library, at least for action, comedy, and thrillers. But if you love strings and the range and sound of what they can do, you gotta get Spitfire's library too. It's just too much fun.

[note: I have received free products from East West]


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## Fleer (Jan 29, 2017)

Absolutely love Hollywood Strings. Using them with Albion One and Embertone Intimate Strings.


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## JohnG (Jan 29, 2017)

Parsifal666 said:


> It's resource-greedy, the Play engine (for me)



I think it's HS that's resource-greedy, more than the PLAY engine as such. On a normal computer today, the distinction is more down to the way HS works. If you use EW's other libraries I think you'll find that PLAY, while possibly marginally grabbier, isn't really the story. HS, for the "Powerful system" patches, does use a lot of resources and you definitely want an SSD.

But then I find I want SSDs for almost all my more recent libraries.

[note: I have received free products from East West]


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## Parsifal666 (Jan 29, 2017)

Fleer said:


> Absolutely love Hollywood Strings. Using them with Albion One and Embertone Intimate Strings.



I'm a huge enthusiast of combining the Albions with HS, it's a terrific sound (dry and room-y at the same time), and I find plenty of room for the Embertone and Hein solo string instruments in the mix!


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## Parsifal666 (Jan 29, 2017)

JohnG said:


> I think it's HS that's resource-greedy, more than the PLAY engine as such. On a normal computer today, the distinction is more down to the way HS works. If you use EW's other libraries I think you'll find that PLAY, while possibly marginally grabbier, isn't really the story. HS, for the "Powerful system" patches, does use a lot of resources and you definitely want an SSD.
> 
> But then I find I want SSDs for almost all my more recent libraries.
> 
> [note: I have received free products from East West]



I actually kind of boo-boo'ed, I don't have anywhere near as much trouble with Hollywood Strings as the Brass or Woodwinds. I also won't stop using them anytime soon (granted, the WW don't quite rank with the other two overall imo, still really good for my music).


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## jlefkowitz (Jan 29, 2017)

My business partner uses Hollywood brass and I don't love them. I personally use spitfire symphonic brass and love that. But I also own spitfire symphonic woodwinds and HZ1 so getting the strings would complete my main spitfire collection. I don't own any of the Albions though.


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## Fleer (Jan 29, 2017)

That's one of the major advantages of the entire Hollywood Orchestra, as well as Hollywood Solo instruments: made to blend together.


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## ctsai89 (Jan 29, 2017)

jlefkowitz said:


> My business partner uses Hollywood brass and I don't love them. I personally use spitfire symphonic brass and love that. But I also own spitfire symphonic woodwinds and HZ1 so getting the strings would complete my main spitfire collection. I don't own any of the Albions though.



I would love spitfire brass as well only if they updated the solo patches to include highest dynamics in the legatos. Also do you notice that the a6 trumpets cuivre are softer than the solo trumpet longs at the highest dynamics? it's just such a confusing library to me, at the same time very beautiful sound though.


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## jlefkowitz (Jan 29, 2017)

ctsai89 said:


> I would love spitfire brass as well only if they updated the solo patches to include highest dynamics in the legatos. Also do you notice that the a6 trumpets cuivre are softer than the solo trumpet longs at the highest dynamics? it's just such a confusing library to me, at the same time very beautiful sound though.



Oh its by no means perfect! But when its mixed into the rest of my orchestra, it just sounds so beautiful. But yeah, theres some confusing aspects about it when it comes to modulation data


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## ctsai89 (Jan 29, 2017)

jlefkowitz said:


> Oh its by no means perfect! But when its mixed into the rest of my orchestra, it just sounds so beautiful. But yeah, theres some confusing aspects about it when it comes to modulation data



it's quite a dissapointment to be honest. I hope they update it soon. I'm using Chris Hein library to replace trumpets trombone horns for now. But i've been trying to match the chris hein soloes to spitfire soloes in volume (decibels) and noticed that the spitfire solo trumpets may be too loud out of the box compared to everything else so it wouldn't be a good idea to match anything to it. Just these things that holds me back a bit from recommending SSS along with SSO, other wise, i 100% recommend it.


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## konradh (Feb 9, 2017)

I have Hollywood Strings Diamond (and Gold), all the Vienna Special Editions, Vienna Dimension Strings, Berlin First Chairs, and a number of smaller libraries (like the London Symphonic). Like most studio people, I also have several keyboards with good on-board strings. The point of that intro is that, right or wrong, I have developed some opinions.

I almost never use Hollywood. It is good, but it is too hard to use. While a single Vienna patch allows a matrix of all articulations selected by keyswitch, Hollywood requires loading a number of patches and using different instances or MIDI channels. (There are keyswitch patches but with limited articulations.) There are many patches that seem almost the same, and it takes quite a bit of study to understand which to use. The patches do not all use the same methodology (e.g., whether loundess is controlled by mod wheel or velocity, whether vibrato is or is not controlled by mod wheel, whether or not playing style controls legato transitions). Also, I could not use Hollywood at all until I loaded it onto a high speed SSD drive.

HS does offer a separate section for second violins. That is not a problem for me with Vienna, but it is a consideration. Hollywood does have a great, full cinematic sound. I prefer the more pristine and always accurate sound of Vienna, but that is a personal choice. There is an argument to be made that Hollywood's minor tuning variances and such add to the realism and fullness. When I have listened to tracks I did in the past, I was not always sure if I had used HS or VSL, so the perceived size of the section is not as big a deal as you would think. (VSL does make a big cinematic option like HS called Appassionata for movie scoring people. I have a sample of it with a few articulations so I can't comment on it)

If you buy ANY large string library, a 1TB or larger SSD--like a Samsung Pro--will change your life. Many libraries only load the start of a sound into memory and then stream the rest from disk. With a spinning drive, this can make the library almost worthless.

- In summary, Vienna is much easier to use.
- Vienna Dimension Strings have fewer players, but don't sound any smaller than a standard symphony. It's perfect for symphonic, theatrical, or pop/rock/country. For pop/country, I split the violins into two groups so I have firsts and seconds.
- For a large film sound, Hollywood is great--but be prepared for a steep learning curve and serious latency from a spinning drive.

If I had to make a recommendation, I would always suggest Vienna because I know the buyer would not be disappointed.

I just got Berlin First Chairs and will get back to you after I use it more, but it is obviously not a consideration if you want an orchestral section: it is just a string quartet, although an awesome one.

I'd like a Berlin Strings user to jump in because maybe I would love it more than VSL. So far, I love First Chairs but there is one minor and disappointing feature.

DISCLAIMER: If you buy Vienna Dimension Strings, you have to buy the Vienna Pro Player to use all the features. It is not extremely expensive, but it made me mad that I did not know that in advance. It is worth the money, but I thought it was annoying to spend more money after buying an expensive library. Still, I'd do it again. The Pro Player really is cool.

I am sure others will disagree and that's why there are a dozen top-drawer choices out there.

Konrad


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## Ultra (Feb 9, 2017)

konradh said:


> I'd like a Berlin Strings user to jump in because maybe I would love it more than VSL. So far, I love First Chairs but there is one minor and disappointing feature.



what is the disappointing feature ?


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## konradh (Feb 9, 2017)

Hi. Maybe disappointing was not the right word. I meant that I wish I could use the legato from the single articulation in the multi. *If* the legato in the multi is as good as the one in the single articulation, then I am not disappointed; but I read on this forum that the multi legato is not as good as the one in the single articulation. Thanks!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 9, 2017)

Mighty Konrad, are you loading the keyswitch patches? They're really easy to use, and they're a great starting point for HS even if you decide to set things up differently.

***

You know, there's a tendency to think that because a library is new it must be better.

Not necessarily. Sure developers have existing libraries to shoot at, but usually they just have something different to offer - as you can tell from the posts in this thread.

The truth is that most streaming sample libraries that were really good when they came out are still really good, especially ones after VSL introduced legato transitions in... I think 2003? Scripting has advanced, and of course computer resources are far less restricted, but the basic techniques haven't changed. Why would a good string library become obsolete?

Actually, it goes much farther than that. There are some RAM-based programs that stand up today. I still have a couple of DX-7 programs I like to use. And I'm still knocked out by my Yamaha VL1 from the early '90s (as long as you don't use it for cheesy emulations).

People knew what they were doing a long time ago!


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## Ashermusic (Feb 9, 2017)

konradh said:


> I almost never use Hollywood. It is good, but it is too hard to use.
> 
> 1. While a single Vienna patch allows a matrix of all articulations selected by keyswitch, Hollywood requires loading a number of patches and using different instances or MIDI channels. (There are keyswitch patches but with limited articulations.)
> 
> ...



1. A non- issue for me with an articulation switcher. I have actually come to _prefer_ that to KS patches.

2. True.

3. True.

4. True for Diamond, not true for Gold.

For me though, it is still my preferred library usually, because it is dry and therefore gives me more sonic control and the ability to blend well with others. Plus it is just nice to play. But I will admit Cinematic Studio Strings is right beside it for me, if only it gave me more control over the vibrato. Love them both. And darned if I still don't still like the Kirk Hunter for adding grit and Sonic Implants strings for smaller stuff.

Just don't care for VSL strings, although I admire VSL. The sound is just too sterile and clinical for me.

Horses for courses.


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## dreamnight92 (Feb 9, 2017)

Still great library, tha sound and the articulation is still comparable with modern libraries. 

For comparison, modern libraries in my opinion have better scripting that allows you to get the same results of Hollywood Strings with less work. 

Hollywood Strings really need lots of practice and lots of midi work, that was my only complain about the library.


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## Goldie Zwecker (Feb 10, 2017)

Just for general knowledge, the HO is 680GB. Is that compressed or uncompressed? I think for example, at its core, the Spitfire Symphonic Orchestra is about 320gb installed but nearly twice that much before compressed. 
Not the most critical thing when choosing/comparing libraries but just interesting to know.
So, someone knows?


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## konradh (Feb 10, 2017)

I still use a JV-1080 on tracks.  Over Christmas, I was walking in the mall and, as happens sometimes, I heard a Christmas song I had recorded years ago. It was done with some pretty early samplers, but the orchestra sounded pretty good in the mix. I was surprised.

I do like HS, but find Vienna's system better for me. All the major companies makes superb libraries.


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## konradh (Feb 10, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> 1. A non- issue for me with an articulation switcher. I have actually come to _prefer_ that to KS patches.
> 
> 2. True.
> 
> ...


Interesting! VSL *IS* very sterile, but my OCD personality likes that!


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## novaburst (Feb 10, 2017)

I believe HS becomes apart of the family and play a very important part in mock ups.

weather it is at the front or strengthening other string library's it plays its part very well.

a delight to use and to be a part of any musical composition.


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## robgb (Feb 10, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> because it is dry and therefore gives me more sonic control and the ability to blend well with others.


This.


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## Parsifal666 (Feb 10, 2017)

The legato HS combined with the longs in Albion Legacy and/or One are great stuff, especially when I mess around with the mics.


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## ctsai89 (Feb 10, 2017)

Parsifal666 said:


> The legato HS combined with the longs in Albion Legacy and/or One are great stuff, especially when I mess around with the mics.



doesn't HS have some kind of delay in the legato? so you record them separately? or do u drag the midi delay to negative after u copy one instrument to another immediately after recording one


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## Parsifal666 (Feb 10, 2017)

ctsai89 said:


> doesn't HS have some kind of delay in the legato? so you record them separately? or do u drag the midi delay to negative after u copy one instrument to another immediately after recording one



I don't hear that delay, sounds great to me! Applying reverb can be tricky, but that goes for a lot of East West's instruments.

I really don't inspect the articulations or compare them to others much when they're performing my work well. I typically just want to keep writing whenever I'm working EWHS, so I really don't have an interest in closely scrutinizing ...at least not the way many members here seem to (no offense meant in the slightest). But that's just me.

Would I rather have a string orchestra at my command? It would be nice to always (not just rarely) have that at my disposal. But the EWHS sound good enough for me to want to write more and better for them. Probably one of the highest compliments I can give any library.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 10, 2017)

To me a modern library is one released since Giga.


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## Ashermusic (Feb 10, 2017)

Parsifal666 said:


> I don't hear that delay, sounds great to me! Applying reverb can be tricky, but that goes for a lot of East West's instruments.
> 
> I really don't inspect the articulations or compare them to others much when they're performing my work well. I typically just want to keep writing whenever I'm working EWHS, so I really don't have an interest in closely scrutinizing ...at least not the way many members here seem to (no offense meant in the slightest). But that's just me.
> 
> Would I rather have a string orchestra at my command? It would be nice to always (not just rarely) have that at my disposal. But the EWHS sound good enough for me to want to write more and better for them. Probably one of the highest compliments I can give any library.



Pretty much how I feel about it as well, Parsifal.


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## dreamnight92 (Feb 11, 2017)

ctsai89 said:


> doesn't HS have some kind of delay in the legato? so you record them separately? or do u drag the midi delay to negative after u copy one instrument to another immediately after recording one



They actually have delay for legato (that's the way true legato work!), you need to compensate it by ear.


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## Ashermusic (Feb 11, 2017)

dreamnight92 said:


> They actually have delay for legato (that's the way true legato work!), you need to compensate it by ear.



Yes, but not as much as some others.


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## dcoscina (Feb 11, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> Yes, but not as much as some others.


Other than VSL legato, I find EW to be the fastest and most responsive. There is negligible delay when playing in the realtime (ok, LASS is also pretty speedy). The other developers have nice legatos but they are much more sluggish and as such require a more tweaking to ensure the timing is right. But then again, I love the SUS patches on pretty much all my libraries. I think for exposed part writing, legato is still the way to go but honestly, the sus patches are what I use more. They sound great, especially in the EW libraries. My 2 cents


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## JohnBMears (Feb 11, 2017)

Even after having CSS, CS2, ALBION, and some OT stuff, I still find the longs/legato of HWS to be my favorite thing. I really wish the shorts were more consistent and not clipped off for sake of buildup. I find myself replacing or layering the shorts of HWS with CSS or CS2. I still think the 'raw product' that HWS is could be retooled into a library that would top anything new if it was given some touching up here and there.

The spiccatos in HWS don't agree with my ears and are iffy on velocity mapping, and staccatissimo isn't on Vln2. Staccatos are good and Stac On Bow is really useful.


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## novaburst (Feb 11, 2017)

Parsifal666 said:


> It's resource-greedy,



I think there are ideal situations to use play with its orchestral products the best situation is in a server this can take care of ram or CPU greed.

not sure if play will be that great on a single machine inside a daw and also using many other library's I think this will present some issues and you may not get the best out of play.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 11, 2017)

novaburst, have you tried the new Play? It's really good.


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## novaburst (Feb 11, 2017)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> novaburst, have you tried the new Play? It's really good.



Yes I think its great much better loading times, I am still on 5.0 never bothered with 5.1, but with all the SSL I think its a great job, but still believe you should be using it in server, esp if you have many other library's in use at the same time.


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## Goldie Zwecker (Feb 11, 2017)

Goldie Zwecker said:


> Just for general knowledge, the HO is 680GB. Is that compressed or uncompressed? I think for example, at its core, the Spitfire Symphonic Orchestra is about 320gb installed but nearly twice that much before compressed.
> Not the most critical thing when choosing/comparing libraries but just interesting to know.
> So, someone knows?


Bump. 
So does anyone know if these 680gb are after they have been compressed from a larger size using loosless sample compression - or 680gb are simply 680gb (and if compressed it probably would have been something like 340gb)?


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## JohnG (Feb 11, 2017)

Goldie Zwecker said:


> Bump.
> So does anyone know if these 680gb are after they have been compressed from a larger size using loosless sample compression - or 680gb are simply 680gb (and if compressed it probably would have been something like 340gb)?



over 600 makes sense, given the size of HS is (if I remember right) over 300. But your figure for Spitfire seems low -- does that include percussion?


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## Rohann (Feb 11, 2017)

Another chime-in: it's a well-developed library but certainly does take some learning to use properly -- I didn't/don't find it intuitive when it comes to articulations and control of dynamics/vibrato and frequently refer back to the manual. The more I learn to use it, though, the better it sounds.

It does sound large though, and likely because of the full sections, the vibrato and legato don't sound terribly intimate in comparison to CSS or SCS, but I don't think that was ever the point. Despite my desire to pick up other string libraries for smaller sounding pieces, it really does sound unbeatable for a clear, full and loud orchestral sound. Two Steps From Hell is a great example of its usefulness for big "trailer" music.


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## Mike Fox (Feb 12, 2017)

I havent touched HS since I purchased CSS, though I should probably find a way to incorporate it into my projects. I hate spending money on a library only for it to collect dust.


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## Ashermusic (Feb 12, 2017)

mikefox789 said:


> I havent touched HS since I purchased CSS, though I should probably find a way to incorporate it into my projects. I hate spending money on a library only for it to collect dust.



The sound of the two together when you want a really lush sound is beautiful.


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## Mike Fox (Feb 12, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> The sound of the two together when you want a really lush sound is beautiful.


I bet they compliment eachother beautifully. It's something I definitely need to try.


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## Rohann (Feb 12, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> The sound of the two together when you want a really lush sound is beautiful.


Ooh I bet that would sweeten up strings beautifully. HWS does have a rather "intense" dynamic range at times.


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## konradh (Feb 12, 2017)

Hey, guys. I wrote a long opinion post on Hollywood earlier , and then all the discussion here got me interested in working with it again. I had a project in the works using Vienna Dimension Strings, and, as an experiment, I replaced all the parts with Hollywood. (Of course, Dimension Strings has much smaller sections, so it was not a fair A/B comparison: I just wanted to play around and see which fit the track better.)

I was able to get a superb sound with Hollywood and overall it produced a beautiful, epic sound. I did experience some latency even though I have Hollywood installed on a very fast SSD. This could be a Sonar buffering issue and I will work with it a bit more.

One question for you Hollywood experts:

If you want multiple articulations for a part (for example, staccato, legato, and tremolo for 1st violins), do you typically install several patches in one instance of Play and assign those different patches/articulations to different MIDI channels?

Thanks. --Konrad


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## Ashermusic (Feb 12, 2017)

konradh said:


> One question for you Hollywood experts:
> 
> If you want multiple articulations for a part (for example, staccato, legato, and tremolo for 1st violins), do you typically install several patches in one instance of Play and assign those different patches/articulations to different MIDI channels?
> 
> Thanks. --Konrad



Yes, and in my case, I address them on one Logic Pro track with Peter Schwartz's SkiSwitcher to switch between the articulations.


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## Rohann (Feb 12, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> Yes, and in my case, I address them on one Logic Pro track with Peter Schwartz's SkiSwitcher to switch between the articulations.


Oh good to know. Haven't heard of that program before, how does it work?
Edit: Nevermind; search box and all.


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## Ashermusic (Feb 12, 2017)

Rohann said:


> Oh good to know. Haven't heard of that program before, how does it work?



Lots of threads here about it.


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## Rohann (Feb 12, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> Lots of threads here about it.


Was literally just about to edit that comment with the realization of the obvious haha.


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## Vastman (Feb 12, 2017)

looks really nice but I don't use Apple/logic 
would love something like this for us pc/sonar users...


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## novaburst (Feb 13, 2017)

konradh said:


> If you want multiple articulations for a part (for example, staccato, legato, and tremolo for 1st violins), do you typically install several patches in one instance of Play and assign those different patches/articulations to different MIDI channels



For any string library this is a great way to handle articulations, is to have them in there own individual track lane as it gives you control over volume, your personal reverb, eq and so on

Perhaps the downside is a lot more lanes in your Daw to cope with, ESP if your layering your articulations with other strings,

But it all depends on the sound your looking for and the end result you want. 

How far you go with this I guess it's up to your imagination,


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## FriFlo (Feb 13, 2017)

I have recently bought the EW HW Orchestra for a price I just couldn't resist.
The reason I bought it was primarily the dryer sound which gives me some layering (or alternative) options in addition to Berlin Strings and SCS, dryer but still in-situ and not to close. I really like the sound, so far. But the patches take some time to get used to, I suppose. I am still trying to get accustomed to all the different legato patches and what those are good for ... the sound of the transition is very goo IMO, but most of them react very strangely to the played notes, meaning, they sometimes don't really follow the actual tempo you played them.
To all long-time users of HS Strings: is there a good resource (maybe a VI Control thread) which explains the usage better than the manual?


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## Niah2 (Feb 13, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> Just don't care for VSL strings, although I admire VSL. The sound is just too sterile and clinical for me.



WOW years ago you crucified me for saying that ! Glad things have changed


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## FriFlo (Feb 13, 2017)

Niah2 said:


> WOW years ago you crucified me for saying that ! Glad things have changed


Are you talking to me?


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## Parsifal666 (Feb 13, 2017)

FriFlo said:


> Are you talking to me?



Yo!


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## FriFlo (Feb 13, 2017)

Parsifal666 said:


> Yo!


Now, I am even more confused ...


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## Parsifal666 (Feb 13, 2017)

FriFlo said:


> Now, I am even more confused ...



I never stopped lol!


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## Ashermusic (Feb 13, 2017)

Niah2 said:


> WOW years ago you crucified me for saying that ! Glad things have changed



I have always maintained that about the VSL stuff, to the best of my memory. Really well recorded and consistent, but sterile sounding. Back in the day when I got the Sonic Implants Symphonic Orchestra and Kirk Hunter Diamond, the VSL stuff left my templates forever. And even before that I preferred the Garritan Orchestral Strings.

Now if you said it about the Hollywood Orchestra, no doubt I went at you, for sure.


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## FriFlo (Feb 13, 2017)

Uh ... now I get it!  When you ignore the content of a member, you don't see their quoted content, either. Confusion is cleared!


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## Parsifal666 (Feb 13, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> I have always maintained that about the VSL stuff, to the best of my memory. Really well recorded and consistent, but sterile sounding. Back in the day when I got the Sonic Implants Symphonic Orchestra and Kirk Hunter Diamond, the VSL stuff left my templates forever. And even before that I preferred the Garritan Orchestral Strings.
> 
> Now if you said it about the Hollywood Orchestra, no doubt I went at you, for sure.



East West rules!

(Dreaming of the day I receive free products from East West...oo yeah, Spitfire while you're at it, please  )


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## Fleer (Feb 13, 2017)

Yep. My main libraries, next to Albion and the Embertone Solo Strings (now on sale at a crazy price).


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## novaburst (Feb 13, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> And even before that I preferred the Garritan Orchestral Strings.



oh man! come on, now I have dropped my biscuit at the bottom of my cup of tea. 





Ashermusic said:


> I have always maintained that about the VSL stuff, to the best of my memory. Really well recorded and consistent, but sterile sounding



Yes correct, I have heard this statement many a times, this is perhaps why there are some amazing compositions
with VSL esp strings and brass, being sterile does have its advantages one of them is you can dress it how ever you feel,

one thing I do find with VSL is there does seem to be a jump in quality in sound when used, you will not find the odd unusable patch, background noise, note cut off, or any inconsistency in there instruments, this is a quality that is extremely difficult to find in any other library on the planet.

they will not give you instant gratification and they may not work for some as I have seen a lot of VSL used library's up for sale on this very forum, but where it does not work for some others excel with VSL.

I have seen a trend for the baked in sound library's it does make some sense since the need for speed is on a lot of composers mind, with VSL you will need to work and know what sound you are looking for

I guess its one of those things you either love them or hate them, I for one love them.


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## ctsai89 (Feb 13, 2017)

novaburst said:


> oh man! come on, now I have dropped my biscuit at the bottom of my cup of tea.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



yea but dont' they have templates with presets on their site once you become member and own the vienna instruments pro?


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## Przemek K. (Feb 13, 2017)

FriFlo said:


> I am still trying to get accustomed to all the different legato patches and what those are good for ... the sound of the transition is very goo IMO, but most of them react very strangely to the played notes, meaning, they sometimes don't really follow the actual tempo you played them.
> To all long-time users of HS Strings: is there a good resource (maybe a VI Control thread) which explains the usage better than the manual?



FriFlo, in case you missed it, TJ wrote on soundsonline forum a guide/explanation for HS. Here is the link to the whole thread, maybe this will help you a bit.
http://www.soundsonline-forums.com/showthread.php?t=29010
http://www.soundsonline-forums.com/showthread.php?t=29010


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## novaburst (Feb 13, 2017)

ctsai89 said:


> yea but dont' they have templates with presets on their site once you become member and own the vienna instruments pro?



Not aware of this,


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## artmanjam (Feb 13, 2017)

I know HS is very popular around here. Great and wide sound. But using legato, which I use every time, can be extremely time consuming and boring. I think we can forget about quantizing concept there ! I have to edit quite note by note to have it play more or less in the beat, or let's better say, "musically". I'm not talking about slow string pads or themes, I mean as soon as you have to record runs or harmonic patterns, hell begins... Furthemore untill Play5 it looks like it doesn't play twice the same way, notes which were more or less in the beat are out in the next play...

I just tried to load powerful legatos hoping it would change something maybe but I lost the monophonic behaviour then (and portamento), don't know why. Sometimes a patch becomes muted (Play5 in VEpro5), still don't know why, have to reload the patch.

Maybe I missed domething but as I'm using Close mics only, I have to reload these after loading the patch, and mute the main, no way to load directly the desired mics (but if ever somebody know about some tip, I'll enjoy and be grateful !)

Well, I'd say great sound for wide epic music but definitely not a base for real and precise orchestration imo. I'll have a look to Spitfire one day I think.


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## Ashermusic (Feb 13, 2017)

artmanjam said:


> . But using legato, which I use every time, can be extremely time consuming and boring. I think we can forget about quantizing concept there ! I have to edit quite note by note to have it play more or less in the beat, or let's better say, "musically". I'm not talking about slow string pads or themes, I mean as soon as you have to record runs or harmonic patterns, hell begins... Furthemore untill Play5 it looks like it doesn't play twice the same way, notes which were more or less in the beat are out in the next play...



Not having that here.


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## artmanjam (Feb 13, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> Not having that here.


Maybe you'll be my saver then ! It's late here, I'll try to post some simple examples tomorrow.


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## JohnBMears (Feb 13, 2017)

artmanjam said:


> I know HS is very popular around here. Great and wide sound. But using legato, which I use every time, can be extremely time consuming and boring. I think we can forget about quantizing concept there ! I have to edit quite note by note to have it play more or less in the beat, or let's better say, "musically". I'm not talking about slow string pads or themes, I mean as soon as you have to record runs or harmonic patterns, hell begins... Furthemore untill Play5 it looks like it doesn't play twice the same way, notes which were more or less in the beat are out in the next play...
> 
> I just tried to load powerful legatos hoping it would change something maybe but I lost the monophonic behaviour then (and portamento), don't know why. Sometimes a patch becomes muted (Play5 in VEpro5), still don't know why, have to reload the patch.
> 
> ...



It takes a little time, but you can re-save your HWS patches with different mics so that they load the way you want them.


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## Morodiene (Feb 13, 2017)

konradh said:


> Hey, guys. I wrote a long opinion post on Hollywood earlier , and then all the discussion here got me interested in working with it again. I had a project in the works using Vienna Dimension Strings, and, as an experiment, I replaced all the parts with Hollywood. (Of course, Dimension Strings has much smaller sections, so it was not a fair A/B comparison: I just wanted to play around and see which fit the track better.)
> 
> I was able to get a superb sound with Hollywood and overall it produced a beautiful, epic sound. I did experience some latency even though I have Hollywood installed on a very fast SSD. This could be a Sonar buffering issue and I will work with it a bit more.
> 
> ...


I do. I use Artz-ID to make each instance of Play into a keyswitching patch with whatever sounds I want for that track. It's really saved my bacon to reduce tracks and make a single section more playable.

I do, however, have some latency issues and CPU overload, but my computer is what it is. Freezing tracks seems to help.

I'm pretty new to HW, but I really like working with it. Yes, there's a lot of detail work, and since I'm pretty new to vi's in general, I wonder if with newer software can I get the same sound with less work, or is it trading one thing for another?

BTW, I think I've been able to get a pretty intimate sound, although it's not going to sound like a chamber orchestra, it doesn't have to be all epic to work well.


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## artmanjam (Feb 14, 2017)

JohnBMears said:


> you can re-save your HWS patches with different mics so that they load the way you want them.


Thank you John, I'll have a try.

About the KS point, I'm using Cubase Expression maps, one track for short patches, one for long ones. It allows to go to polyphonic in one click for legato i.e.


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## Parsifal666 (Feb 14, 2017)

Ashermusic said:


> Not having that here.



I've read a lot of guff concerning HS legati, and I don't get it either. Sounds great to me...

but then, I really don't go out of my way to pick apart the legato in sample libraries. Like some people do. Not here of course (lifts shield against defensive legato-analyzers).


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## FriFlo (Feb 14, 2017)

Parsifal666 said:


> I've read a lot of guff concerning HS legati, and I don't get it either. Sounds great to me...
> 
> but then, I really don't go out of my way to pick apart the legato in sample libraries. Like some people do. Not here of course (lifts shield against defensive legato-analyzers).


It does sound good to me, too, the only problem is, it doesn't really play in the speed I play.  for very slow lines I have to play the next note a bit earlier to compensate the delay of response. This I am used to with some libraries and I can live with it, if it helps the legato to sound good. But with a succession of many notes, the script seems to generate a completely different tempo. That makes it difficult to use to me. Note that I have studied the manual and know that velocity affects the transition speed on some patches. But maybe I need to try a little longer to find the right patch for every situation.


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## Parsifal666 (Feb 14, 2017)

FriFlo said:


> It does sound good to me, too, the only problem is, it doesn't really play in the speed I play.  for very slow lines I have to play the next note a bit earlier to compensate the delay of response. This I am used to with some libraries and I can live with it, if it helps the legato to sound good. But with a succession of many notes, the script seems to generate a completely different tempo. That makes it difficult to use to me. Note that I have studied the manual and know that velocity affects the transition speed on some patches. But maybe I need to try a little longer to find the right patch for every situation.



Forgive me for the presumption, but you've messed with the velocity thoroughly on your HS writing?


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## JohnG (Feb 14, 2017)

from Bergersen:

"1) Legato patches respond to VELOCITY. Some people are reporting that they find the legato somewhat slow. In HS, velocity controls the speed of your legato intervals, meaning the harder you play your legato phrases, the faster the transition samples will respond. For really expressive and slow legato performances, a velocity of around 51-60 will yield great results. For faster work, program your string parts to velocity 110-127."


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## JohnG (Feb 14, 2017)

and this was posted by somebody -- maybe Thomas, maybe Nick Phoenix, maybe another user:

"Here's some good advice for all HS users: 

1. Run an instance of PLAY in the sequencer for the tempo syncing patches such as the runs and the measured tremolos. 

2. Also don't forget the "Stac Slurred" short notes in the violins! They can add some more life to your fast staccato passages because of the pitch variance. 

3. The Repetitions For Runs patches are really good for fast ostinatos, and layered with the slurred staccs they can really breathe life into your strings passages."


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## Parsifal666 (Feb 14, 2017)

JohnG said:


> from Bergersen:
> 
> "1) Legato patches respond to VELOCITY. Some people are reporting that they find the legato somewhat slow. In HS, velocity controls the speed of your legato intervals, meaning the harder you play your legato phrases, the faster the transition samples will respond. For really expressive and slow legato performances, a velocity of around 51-60 will yield great results. For faster work, program your string parts to velocity 110-127."



This helped my using of those instruments tremendously, from the day I first read it.


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## ZenFaced (Feb 14, 2017)

I took the time to create a CC chart for how to control Hollywood strings, brass and woodwinds. Everything is summarized on one page for each section for a quick reference on how to use these libraries correctly. I would be more than happy to share with anyone who is interested. 

I don't see a way to attach it to this post so I could either give you a link where I posted it on another forum (if that's allowed) or you can pm me directly. If there is way to attach it here I will do that. I have it as a .pdf or microsoft doc


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## The Darris (Feb 14, 2017)

ZenFaced said:


> I took the time to create a CC chart for how to control Hollywood strings, brass and woodwinds. Everything is summarized on one page for each section for a quick reference on how to use these libraries correctly. I would be more than happy to share with anyone who is interested.
> 
> I don't see a way to attach it to this post so I could either give you a link where I posted it on another forum (if that's allowed) or you can pm me directly. If there is way to attach it here I will do that. I have it as a .pdf or microsoft doc


There is an image icon at the top of the message box, it looks like a mountain with the sun in it.


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## ZenFaced (Feb 14, 2017)

The Darris said:


> There is an image icon at the top of the message box, it looks like a mountain with the sun in it.



Yes but the image icon asks for a url - a link. It doesn't allow me to upload a document


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## The Darris (Feb 14, 2017)

ZenFaced said:


> Yes but the image icon asks for a url - a link. It doesn't allow me to upload a document


Oh, my bad, it's the "upload a file" button in the bottom right next to "post reply."


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## ZenFaced (Feb 14, 2017)

The Darris said:


> Oh, my bad, it's the "upload a file" button in the bottom right next to "post reply."



Holy shit!! LOL. That is messed up that I didn't see that!!! How many times have I hit "post reply" and I didn't see that!! I just wasn't expecting it there.


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## ZenFaced (Feb 14, 2017)

Okay I attached the files and hopefully they will upload correctly.

Each EW hollywood library handles the controls differently and even within each library there are differences on how certain patches are controlled. Because of this I always found myself treading through the manuals time and again looking for direction but it never fully sunk in. These libraries have so much potential and the samples were recorded so well that it is a shame that East West didn't do a better job with the Play software to make the interface for each section more user friendly with plug 'n play control, like other modern libraries. Staring down at all the articulations can be daunting, especially for a new user so I was compelled to organize the info in a more logical fashion

When preparing these charts I tried to make it as simple as possible for a quick reference guide and fit it all on one page for each section. I did my best so that this would serve as a complete reference for all patches. 

As you will see I put the general info on the top and then broke it down by Velocity, CC1 and CC11 which are the only 3 ways to control the articulations. Controlling the crossfades are essential to making this library shine but sometimes velocity plays a role as well.

In comparison, Strings had most information and Brass was the most simple. 

Woodwinds was also pretty simple and the CC1/CC11 combo is only used for the Full patches versus Strings where the CC1/CC11 combo is used for all longs except for the light patches. Compare this to Brass where there is no CC1/CC11 vibrato/dynamics combo and C1 controls both.


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## ZenFaced (Feb 14, 2017)

As a follow-up, these libraries sadly do not allow custom keyswitches and I am not an articulation per track kind'a guy. Without the ability to put all articulations on one track per instrument or section there is no way I would want to use this library. So with the advice of Jay Asher I purchased Peter Schwartz's SkiSwitcher which allows this to happen (BTW - Peter is a super guy who took the time to assist me today in getting version 3 up and running). So kudos to Mr. Schwartz!!


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## OleJoergensen (Feb 15, 2017)

Thank you for sharing your charts, its generous of you. 
I have reed many HS users saying the samples sounds good but the library is time demanding to get a good result and I agree. I was wondering if East West will do as Spitfire and 8dio, using old samples but update the scripting? Maybe it is what Play pro is about? It would be awesome .


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## Rohann (Feb 15, 2017)

So useful! Thank you, generous of you indeed.


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## ZenFaced (Feb 15, 2017)

OleJoergensen said:


> Thank you for sharing your charts, its generous of you.
> I have reed many HS users saying the samples sounds good but the library is time demanding to get a good result and I agree. I was wondering if East West will do as Spitfire and 8dio, using old samples but update the scripting? Maybe it is what Play pro is about? It would be awesome .



I wish


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## ZenFaced (Feb 15, 2017)

Rohann said:


> So useful! Thank you, generous of you indeed.



It's all about making music and the less time we have to fuss around with the technical stuff the more time we have for good stuff. I think it goes without saying that we should all help each other here in furtherance of that goal!!!


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## Rohann (Feb 15, 2017)

ZenFaced said:


> It's all about making music and the less time we have to fuss around with the technical stuff the more time we have for good stuff. I think it goes without saying that we should all help each other here in furtherance of that goal!!!


Couldn't agree more. Really value the community on this forum, it's been a great experience so far. I get the strong impression users here care about each other, and that's been expressed my way numerous times.


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