# Hans Zimmer Strings - demos welcome here



## artomatic (Mar 28, 2018)

If you're already up and running, care to share a demo or two of HZS? Even just a tidbit will do (especially showcasing legatos). Some of us are not fortunate enough to have fast internet speed. I guess I'm not patient enough!

Thanks in advance!


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## Pontus Rufelt (Mar 28, 2018)

I second this. Any quick, rough example would be great. Paul demonstrated the legato so briefly in the video.


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## SyMTiK (Mar 28, 2018)

artomatic said:


> If you're already up and running, care to share a demo or two of HZS? Even just a tidbit will do (especially showcasing legatos). Some of us are not fortunate enough to have fast internet speed. I guess I'm not patient enough!
> 
> Thanks in advance!


I plan to throw together a quick demo track tomorrow, just got it downloaded now and so far it sounds excellent! I was hoping for a bit more legato options rather than just one, but I think the other things this library is capable of make up for it. To me it seems the focus was more on the unique sounds such a large ensemble is capable of, namely the super quiet stuff. Dont be fooled though it definitely does loud VERY well haha. When loading all sections including the galleries, there are some incredible sounds you can get. it is an immersive sound, like an ocean of string texture.


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## artomatic (Mar 28, 2018)

SyMTiK said:


> I plan to throw together a quick demo track tomorrow, just got it downloaded now and so far it sounds excellent! I was hoping for a bit more legato options rather than just one, but I think the other things this library is capable of make up for it. To me it seems the focus was more on the unique sounds such a large ensemble is capable of, namely the super quiet stuff. Dont be fooled though it definitely does loud VERY well haha. When loading all sections including the galleries, there are some incredible sounds you can get. it is an immersive sound, like an ocean of string texture.




Thanks for that encouraging "first look". Can it be run on VEP? Is the new player a cpu hog?


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## quantum7 (Mar 28, 2018)

I generally like my strings smaller and more intimate, but HZ Strings is still tempting me. Can anyone who has had some time with it see HZ Strings used in more intimate music such as New Age or Ethereal?


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## MillsMixx (Mar 28, 2018)

quantum7 said:


> I generally like my strings smaller and more intimate, but HZ Strings is still tempting me.



Me too! But someone on this forum (or in a video I can't recall which) used the word g_ranular_ when describing these strings. Christian mentioned the basses sounded like Welsh monks in his walk-though and you can definitely hear the interesting artifacts in these strings which give them a unique character with so many players in a beautiful hall. One of the reasons I added LCO Strings to my palette was because of it's unique quality. The number of players sets it apart. My first impression when it came out on day one was _"ah well, just another string library"_. after some deeper listening this one seems to have some character. I still wanna hear a few demos or even better some more video walkthroughs so I hope we see a few before the the intro price ends.


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## muziksculp (Mar 28, 2018)

Hi,

Given that HZ-Strings are not your normal Orchestral Size strings, it is a bit of _a new sonic territory_ for us, as to what they will be really good for in our musical scenarios ? When would I need them ? i.e. Do we blend them with the more intimate strings ? do we use them as is for epic tracks ? do they work better for synthetic based music, or maybe more atmospheric, ambient music, or ... ? ... etc. or maybe all of the above, and more ? or ... ? i.e.. would it be classified as a luxury, once in a while to be used library ? or a more utilitarian library that will be called upon in many scenarios of orchestral music applications.

Basically, what are they really good at ? and when/why would we need to use them compared to a more intimate, or standard size string sections ? or maybe I could achieve a similar sound by layering a standard string section with a synth-pad type sound ? or ... ?

These are the type of questions I'm asking myself before I purchase HZ-Strings, and that is why I feel more demos, and videos showing the various scenarios, versatility, and potential of this library is quite important for me to decide if I should buy them or not.

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## Lee Blaske (Mar 28, 2018)

Just got finished installing it (the process was very smooth).

Really liking the library so far. I do think that this will be one library where you'll need to manage the releases, perhaps going for a slightly longer release than you would using a library with smaller, tighter sections. When you're dealing with samples of huge sections, a quick cutoff makes things sound very artificial. An instant tip-off to the listener that it's a sample.

So far, I'm also really liking the new plug-in. Very elegant and capable. The appearance is beautiful. I also get the feeling that all the things there might be things that I actually use. Lately, I've been wondering if some plug-in designers are perhaps going off the deep end, giving us too much control capability. I sometimes get that feeling with VSL instruments (and especially with MIR). Those tools are amazing, and the possibilities are endless. Unfortunately, they often leave me with the thought: "I can't possibly be using this right, or getting the best sound I could possibly get, because there are so many parameters and possibilities that I don't completely understand."

It will be interesting to see if my opinion of the new Spitfire plug-in changes after I'm more familiar with it, but at this point it strikes me that they've found a way to deliver the power and capabilities you want and need without overwhelming you with way too many things that can be endlessly tweaked.

I've certainly got a huge investment of money and time in Kontakt based instruments, but I don't think I'll be complaining if Spitfire switches over to this new plug-in for their future products. Actually, I wonder if they'll be porting older products to it, eventually. It's pretty obvious that Spitfire is a big enough fish to do a great job with their own, proprietary plug-in.


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## Rey (Mar 28, 2018)

Post some simple demos would be appreciated. hows the legatos


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## Christof (Mar 29, 2018)

Rey said:


> Post some simple demos would be appreciated. hows the legatos


Legatos are not the strength of this library, but everything else is spectacular so far, I am just scratching the surface now.


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## Rey (Mar 29, 2018)

Christof said:


> Legatos are not the strength of this library, but everything else is spectacular so far, I am just scratching the surface now.



thanks man. keep us posted


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Mar 29, 2018)

Christof said:


> Legatos are not the strength of this library, but everything else is spectacular so far, I am just scratching the surface now.



Can you maybe post a quick example of the legato?


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## Christof (Mar 29, 2018)

AlexanderSchiborr said:


> Can you maybe post a quick example of the legato?


Sure here is a small test, from basses up to cellos, violas and violins, at the end all together, I only used the mod wheel for dynamics.
Violins and especially violas are buggy yet, don't know why, it happens randomly, maybe it's the new engine, I just played the legato test violins again and it was smooth, but in the demo below it's quite disturbing.

Legato test all sections
Legato test violins


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Mar 29, 2018)

Christof said:


> Sure here is a small test, from basses up to cellos, violas and violins, at the end all together, I only used the mod wheel for dynamics.
> Violins and especially violas are buggy yet, don't know why, it happens randomly, maybe it's the new engine, I just played the legato test violins again and it was smooth, but in the demo below it's quite disturbing.
> 
> Legato test all sections
> Legato test violins



Thank you. I listened to both examples. Hola die Waldfee. Some strange stuff is going on there. No to so obvious with the Cellos / DB, but a lot with the Violas and Violins. I guess there is something with sample cutoffs during the transitions playback maybe? I mean overall the tone is very nice though. Very lush as I am used to the sound of Spitfire with strings. But in such state I couldn´t write one line with that if the output result behaves like in your examples. Hope they fix that.


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Mar 29, 2018)

Probably the reason why they didn´t featured any legato videos.


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## marcotronic (Mar 29, 2018)

Christof said:


> Sure here is a small test, from basses up to cellos, violas and violins, at the end all together, I only used the mod wheel for dynamics.
> Violins and especially violas are buggy yet, don't know why, it happens randomly, maybe it's the new engine, I just played the legato test violins again and it was smooth, but in the demo below it's quite disturbing.
> 
> Legato test all sections
> Legato test violins



WTF??? Those bumps/jumps in volume are just ridiculous, especially in the violins demo. How can they call this production ready and release the lib?!


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## Christof (Mar 29, 2018)

marcotronic said:


> WTF??? Those bumps/jumps in volume are just ridiculous, especially in the violins demo. How can they call this production ready and release the lib?!


Well, I am waking on thin ice here, someone could say that I did bad midi programming, but all I did was to play the thing out of the box, I am sure they will fix those bugs.


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## OleJoergensen (Mar 29, 2018)

Christof said:


> Sure here is a small test, from basses up to cellos, violas and violins, at the end all together, I only used the mod wheel for dynamics.
> Violins and especially violas are buggy yet, don't know why, it happens randomly, maybe it's the new engine, I just played the legato test violins again and it was smooth, but in the demo below it's quite disturbing.
> 
> Legato test all sections
> Legato test violins


Thank you for sharing. It is a wonderful sound!


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## Rctec (Mar 29, 2018)

OleJoergensen said:


> Thank you for sharing. It is a wonderful sound!



Just quickly, because it’s been a looong day... Of course Spitfire will sort out the quirky and pesky problems that will come to light as quickly as possible. But they have to find out about the bugs first from a user...But it’s one reason I’ve nerver released my custom sampler in public. Not because I want to stop people from having a superior tool, but because Mark, who writes the code, can be very, very specific about the computer, etc. it’s written for. You all seem to have very different hardware setups; macs, PC,s - which makes it hell to de-bug. And I don’t think you’d want us to tell you to throw your systems out and having it work on just one very tested and optimized piece of hardware. No, Spitfire don’t release a flawed product and use you as your beta testers. But -as an example -we really didn’t know that people wanted to run this on something as old as win7...until someone told us...
This has been too hard and big of a project to not make it as good as possible.

Best,

-Hz-


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## fiestared (Mar 29, 2018)

Rctec said:


> Just quickly, because it’s been a looong day... Of course Spitfire will sort out the quirky and pesky problems that will come to light as quickly as possible. But they have to find out about the bugs first from a user...But it’s one reason I’ve nerver released my custom sampler in public. Not because I want to stop people from having a superior tool, but because Mark, who writes the code, can be very, very specific about the computer, etc. it’s written for. You all seem to have very different hardware setups; macs, PC,s - which makes it hell to de-bug. And I don’t think you’d want us to tell you to throw your systems out and having it work on just one very tested and optimized piece of hardware. No, Spitfire don’t release a flawed product and use you as your beta testers. But -as an example -we really didn’t know that people wanted to run this on something as old as win7...until someone told us...
> This has been too hard and big of a project to not make it as good as possible.
> 
> Best,
> ...



Rome was not built in a day


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## BL (Mar 29, 2018)

Can't wait for my download to finish. I've been waiting for this since they first announced Hans Zimmer Percussion. Hans Zimmer Piano is a gem and my go to for pianos. It just sounds right.


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Mar 29, 2018)

Actually I don´t feel that this is a problem with that bugs, but still I am curious why they don´t take the time to fix that prior release. I mean..probably they thought to address that bugs before release and it is more difficult than it seemed first? I mean there is no rush to release such library, is there? I am pretty sure they would still sell this product when releasing it a couple of weeks later instead. I mean I would do that just avoid confusion about that potential buyers might get a wrong impression of the quality of their product, especially considering such big branded name products like in this case. I would probably delay the deadline and would have told: Sorry folks, there are some things we still need to do and so we move the release on whatever date later.


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## Christof (Mar 29, 2018)

This happens all the time, think about Dorico or Synchron Strings, they are becoming adult after release which is fine for me because they listen to us users and it is interesting to see how things get better.


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## Alex Fraser (Mar 29, 2018)

It's a brand new library running in a brand new sample player, so bugs are to be expected I guess. I'd imagine they're pouring over code and hooked up to coffee drips at Spitfire HQ right now. I've faith it'll be sorted.


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Mar 29, 2018)

Christof said:


> This happens all the time, think about Dorico or Synchron Strings, they are becoming adult after release which is fine for me because they listen to us users and it is interesting to see how things get better.



Yes, sure, I think they will. Actually I can understand better now why they avoided the legato demos here.


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## Lassi Tani (Mar 29, 2018)

More demos needed, especially using the library with other instrument sections such as brass. And not just long texture sweeps, I've heard mostly those in the demos.

About the bugs: Sometimes I wonder, why some bugs can't be found before a company releases a sample library. Don't the companies have big product testing period with different platforms and hardware before the product is released? I work in an IT company, and we're selling a product, which is nightly tested in tens of different setups. It's strange if this is not the way testing is done in sample world.

Also wouldn't a beta program have helped?



Rctec said:


> But -as an example -we really didn’t know that people wanted to run this on something as old as win7...until someone told us...


In my opinion, then Spitfire should engage more with the users in the beginning of a new development or even before it. I was using win7 still this year, and I know many won't move to win10 for different reasons.


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## kavinsky (Mar 29, 2018)

Christof said:


> Sure here is a small test, from basses up to cellos, violas and violins, at the end all together, I only used the mod wheel for dynamics.
> Violins and especially violas are buggy yet, don't know why, it happens randomly, maybe it's the new engine, I just played the legato test violins again and it was smooth, but in the demo below it's quite disturbing.
> 
> Legato test all sections
> Legato test violins



this is ridiculously bad. :/
sounds like something is not working right in the new engine.
I had similar kinds of sample cut-offs with other non-optimized engines


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## ludini (Mar 29, 2018)

Christof said:


> Sure here is a small test, from basses up to cellos, violas and violins, at the end all together, I only used the mod wheel for dynamics.
> Violins and especially violas are buggy yet, don't know why, it happens randomly, maybe it's the new engine, I just played the legato test violins again and it was smooth, but in the demo below it's quite disturbing.
> 
> Legato test all sections
> Legato test violins



Man, that sounds like it'd be hard to work with. Hopefully, spitfire can sort this out quickly. The tone is lovely, though. Very rich and absolutely unique, imo.


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## FriFlo (Mar 29, 2018)

I guess guess slowly ... people do finally understand what Native Instruments was good for ... 
Cheers to all beta testers! This was exactly what I was afraid of with a new player. And that is why I am glad I did not fall for this release during promo.


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Mar 29, 2018)

sekkosiki said:


> More demos needed, especially using the library with other instrument sections such as brass. And not just long texture sweeps, I've heard mostly those in the demos.
> 
> About the bugs: Sometimes I wonder, why some bugs can't be found before a company releases a sample library. Don't the companies have big product testing period with different platforms and hardware before the product is released? I work in an IT company, and we're selling a product, which is nightly tested in tens of different setups. It's strange if this is not the way testing is done in sample world.
> 
> ...



Hmm, can it be that they were aware about that problem prior release as it seems so obvious bug? Considering also no legato demos at all would be an indicator that those issues were probably known. That is just an assumption, so I don´t know.


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## Alex Fraser (Mar 29, 2018)

FriFlo said:


> I guess I guess slowly ... people do finally understand what Native Instruments was good for ...
> Cheers to all beta testers! This was exactly what I was afraid of with a new player. And that is why I am glad I did not fall for this release during promo.


I dunno. A £150 saving for early buyers seems a fair enough deal in exchange for a few bugs.
Besides, in the other thread SF have said a legato fix on the way. Early days yet.


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## kavinsky (Mar 29, 2018)

This public beta-testing nonsense gotta stop. especially when the issues are so obvious.


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## FriFlo (Mar 29, 2018)

Alex Fraser said:


> I dunno. A £150 saving for early buyers seems a fair enough deal in exchange for a few bugs.
> Besides, in the other thread SF have said a legato fix on the way. Early days yet.


You can see it that way of course ... but you could also say that intro pricing is only good if that means the product will never - or at least for a very long time - be sold for a similar or even lower price. There are a few developers where that actually is the case, but spitfire is not one of them. Usually, you will get almost the same price within a year. I think you should ask yourself how much marketing has fooled you into believing that kind of nonsense.
A beta software can be publicly released in case it is clearly labelled as such. If I buy a software, I am expecting it to work from day one. Sure! There can be some bugs on particular systems! I get that it is probably impossible to sort out EVERY possible malefunction before a release. But that certainly does not look like that in this case. This is not against spitfire. It is rather a very common thing today to release stuff before it is ready. Which is why I was sceptical towards an in-house player right from the start. I am not against it at all. I just think nobody has ever released one that was actually ready. If you want to be part of that testing process that is great, but I just don't want to and would appreciate developers to be honest about it.


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## procreative (Mar 29, 2018)

I think the only time it becomes furstrating is when shortly after downloading a large library, a bug fix appears need a large partial or full redownload.

But I suppose thats better than certain other developers that never address them or take 2-3 years...

I leaned my lesson from Hollywood Orchestral Woodwinds not to buy something on presale with little in the way of full demos.


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## fretti (Mar 29, 2018)

straight out of the box, no effects, just the standard patches when loading an instrument (so tree mics). 
I am no pro, so excuse me if it doesn't sound really good, but I wanted to know what the shorts and legato violins sound like, so here you go...


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## Cinebient (Mar 29, 2018)

Well, i just hope whatever it is, it will not need a full download or big junk of the samples since i f.e. can´t download these large files and just order always hard drives for this.
We will see.
But it seems to sound really good for me (still waiting for mine to deliver).


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## Cinebient (Mar 29, 2018)

fretti said:


> straight out of the box, no effects, just the standard patches when loading an instrument (so tree mics).
> I am no pro, so excuse me if it doesn't sound really good, but I wanted to know what the shorts and legato violins sound like, so here you go...




I like it, thank´s. The strings seems to have a wonderful large but still detailed body and sounds to my amateur ears really really good.
Oh man.....these basses....


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## Pontus Rufelt (Mar 29, 2018)

fretti said:


> straight out of the box, no effects, just the standard patches when loading an instrument (so tree mics).
> I am no pro, so excuse me if it doesn't sound really good, but I wanted to know what the shorts and legato violins sound like, so here you go...




Very helpful demo! Thanks for sharing, would love to hear more but with more close/spot mics.


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## fretti (Mar 29, 2018)

Cinebient said:


> I like it, thank´s. The strings seems to have a wonderful large but still detailed body and sounds to my amateur ears really really good.
> Oh man.....these basses....


Thanks!
Yes especially the low end of this library (when Celli and Basses play together) is unbelievable powerful and still clear...pure magic imho


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## fretti (Mar 29, 2018)

Pontus Rufelt said:


> Very helpful demo! Thanks for sharing, would love to hear more but with more close/spot mics.


Thanks!
Here are two different versions of the exact same song (again no effects) but one time with close mics and once with spot mics, so you can directly compare how different they sound:
Hope it helps!


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## artomatic (Mar 29, 2018)

FriFlo said:


> I just think nobody has ever released one that was actually ready. If you want to be part of that testing process that is great, but I just don't want to and would appreciate developers to be honest about it.



Totally agree. I think this will be a short-term fix, unlike VSL's Synchron Strings and yet-to-be released player. I agree why there was silence with the legato demo we've asked for. But then again, weren't the legatos used throughout Andy Blaney's "MONTAIGNE" from here?


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## SyMTiK (Mar 29, 2018)

I personally dont find the legatos to be as bad as some are claiming, I just think you have to do a bit of tweaking to get them to sound good, and there are certain specific uses in which they sound great. They sound excellent at maximum dynamics and serve well for some soaring string lines, but I have some issues with them at lower dynamics and the dynamic fading tends to cause some problems. I have faith that spitfire will fix this. The samples themselves sound great, just the dynamic fading is causing some hiccups and awkward jumps when modulating from lower dynamics to higher ones. I think the best thing people can do is report some of the issues they are having so Spitfire knows exactly what to fix. For the most part I am very happy with the sound, and the few little errors I have found have been minor and easily remedied. 

I am finishing up a short demo right now that showcases a good amount of the different articulations, tried to have some contrast of soft and extra loud to give an example of the dynamic range the library is capable of. I will post it in context with other instruments, and a version with just the Strings.

Hopefully my amateur abilities don't get in the way of showcasing the library


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## Craig Sharmat (Mar 29, 2018)

It has a nice full heavy sound in Frederik's demo. SF Symphonic strings can also have a very deep sound in it's shorts and i was wondering how they compare. Though it might take a little work as there are no ensemble patches in HZ Strings I have a created a quick test with SFSS here.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/heh5rteuawh5fj5/Heavy Strings.m4a?dl=0

and have a midi file here

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f6e9ycokhllr3d1/Heavy Strings.mid.zip?dl=0

If anyone wishes to use that it would be interesting.

Thanks!


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## quantum7 (Mar 29, 2018)

SyMTiK said:


> I personally dont find the legatos to be as bad as some are claiming, I just think you have to do a bit of tweaking to get them to sound good, and there are certain specific uses in which they sound great. They sound excellent at maximum dynamics and serve well for some soaring string lines, but I have some issues with them at lower dynamics and the dynamic fading tends to cause some problems. I have faith that spitfire will fix this. The samples themselves sound great, just the dynamic fading is causing some hiccups and awkward jumps when modulating from lower dynamics to higher ones. I think the best thing people can do is report some of the issues they are having so Spitfire knows exactly what to fix. For the most part I am very happy with the sound, and the few little errors I have found have been minor and easily remedied.
> 
> I am finishing up a short demo right now that showcases a good amount of the different articulations, tried to have some contrast of soft and extra loud to give an example of the dynamic range the library is capable of. I will post it in context with other instruments, and a version with just the Strings.
> 
> Hopefully my amateur abilities don't get in the way of showcasing the library



I cannot wait!


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## quantum7 (Mar 29, 2018)

Craig Sharmat said:


> It has a nice full heavy sound in Frederik's demo. SF Symphonic strings can also have a very deep sound in it's shorts and i was wondering how they compare. Though it might take a little work as there are no ensemble patches in HZ Strings I have a created a quick test with SFSS here.
> 
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/heh5rteuawh5fj5/Heavy Strings.m4a?dl=0
> 
> ...



Nice! That reminds me of the strings at the very end of The Exorcist (when the end credits begin).


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## SyMTiK (Mar 29, 2018)

Heres the short little demo track I threw together this morning, sorry if the mixing isn't the greatest, just wanted to get something out there as I know people are eager to hear some examples of the library in action. I really appreciate the dynamic range the library is capable of, and some may have different feelings about this but I personally really love the breath of the hall you can hear when you release the quiet notes. sounds excellent imo and really adds some personality.

The strings themselves only have a minor bit of eq'ing on some of the patches, mainly to cut some low end rumble, and added a light eq to the high end of the legato patches.

Here's the track in full: 

and here it is with just the strings:


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## quantum7 (Mar 29, 2018)

SyMTiK said:


> Heres the short little demo track I threw together this morning, sorry if the mixing isn't the greatest, just wanted to get something out there as I know people are eager to here some examples of the library in action. I really appreciate the dynamic range the library is capable of, and some may have different feelings about this but I personally really love the breath of the hall you can hear when you release the short notes. sounds excellent imo and really adds some personality.
> 
> The strings themselves only have a minor bit of eq'ing on some of the patches, mainly to cut some low end rumble, and added a light eq to the high end of the legato patches.
> 
> ...




It sounds nice, but there is a lot of noise at the background at the beginning....not necessarily bad though. What Mic settings are you using?


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## SyMTiK (Mar 29, 2018)

quantum7 said:


> It sounds nice, but there is a lot of noise it the background at the beginning....not necessarily bad though. What Mic settings are you using?



mixture of close tree and ambient, there definitely is a good amount of noise on a lot of the quieter articulations. I personally kind of like it, but I can see why some may not!


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## NoamL (Mar 29, 2018)

I would be willing to bet that the problems are sampler side (as a bunch of people anticipated before release).

There are samples popping in and out inappropriately, but it doesn't seem like there is a problem with the samples themselves.

The actual musicians sound great. It's interesting because with the demos released by Spitfire, I thought the whole library was aimed at a sweeping ambient "oceanic" kind of sound, but the tone is considerably more precise than that. It ended up sounding more like Albion x5 than the String EVOs x5 or Tundra x5. It's still _so much larger_ than standard strings that I'm kinda nonplussed by it and not sure how I'd use it, but if the sound inspires you then go for it!

PS. Really nice writing Craig. EIS influenced?


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## quantum7 (Mar 29, 2018)

Thanks to everyone who has or will be posting user demos. I'm teetering back and forth on weather I should purchase this, and your demos will be very valuable to my final decision.  So far though, I like what I'm hearing, but will need to compare it to my current favorite string library, 8dio's Century Strings, which is a smaller ensemble.... which I more often than not compose for.


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## SyMTiK (Mar 29, 2018)

NoamL said:


> I would be willing to bet that the problems are sampler side (as a bunch of people anticipated before release).
> 
> There are samples popping in and out inappropriately, but it doesn't seem like there is a problem with the samples themselves.
> 
> ...



Thats the only issue ive been running into thus far is inconsistencies in sample playback. to remedy this I would freeze files until I got the performance that sounded the best with the least amount of weird sample playback problems, but I think it is something that should be (and im sure will be) fixed in a coming update. A lot of it seems to be stemming from modulation for me, i played around a lot with adjusting the modulation after recording because there were points where it would trigger a new dynamic layer, and would cause a sudden and noticeable jump up or down in dynamics causing an un-smooth performance.


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## Craig Sharmat (Mar 29, 2018)

quantum7 said:


> Thanks to everyone who has or will be posting user demos. I'm teetering back and forth on weather I should purchase this, and your demos will be very valuable to my final decision.  So far though, I like what I'm hearing, but will need to compare it to my current favorite string library, 8dio's Century Strings, which is a smaller ensemble.... which I more often than not compose for.



century is a chamber size orch...the sound is immediate and present...I love it...Zimmer is almost the exact opposite, large and lush, which is why you might want it, little sonic cross pollination.


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## fretti (Mar 29, 2018)

Craig Sharmat said:


> It has a nice full heavy sound in Frederik's demo. SF Symphonic strings can also have a very deep sound in it's shorts and i was wondering how they compare. Though it might take a little work as there are no ensemble patches in HZ Strings I have a created a quick test with SFSS here.
> 
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/heh5rteuawh5fj5/Heavy Strings.m4a?dl=0
> 
> ...



https://www.dropbox.com/sh/42hofulpay6qhy1/AAAtOE95JynKt95EHQAR-RXOa?dl=0

Hope the links work


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## quantum7 (Mar 29, 2018)

ka00 said:


> I have a feeling a lot of people are going to listen to this track and be blown away by how great HZS sounds, until they read further and realize it's SSS, a library they maybe already own. That's what I did.



Oh Snap!!!


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## quantum7 (Mar 29, 2018)

Craig Sharmat said:


> century is a chamber size orch...the sound is immediate and present...I love it...Zimmer is almost the exact opposite, large and lush, which is why you might want it, little sonic cross pollination.



You definitely read my mind!


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## quantum7 (Mar 29, 2018)

fretti said:


> https://www.dropbox.com/sh/42hofulpay6qhy1/AAAtOE95JynKt95EHQAR-RXOa?dl=0
> 
> Hope the links work



I actually like the SSS better, but they both sound great. I will have to try that MIDI file on Century Strings.


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## Celestial Aeon (Mar 29, 2018)

Not demo tracks yet, but here are two short streams (a bit chaotic but hope you get something out of these)


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## Craig Sharmat (Mar 29, 2018)

NoamL said:


> PS. Really nice writing Craig. EIS influenced?



Almost everything I write has some EIS influence, or at least it helps correct me when I go off.

Thank you Fretti for doing that!

SSS has way more definition as it should, the low end is punchier too, but the lushness of HZS is fantastic. HZS is probably not as good for this example as SSS because of the agility factor, and I wrote to it's strengths, something I can't do for HZS yet, but the sound of HZS in comparison for other things convinces me to buy it which is what I'll now do....bastards!...


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## fretti (Mar 29, 2018)

Craig Sharmat said:


> Almost everything I write has some EIS influence, or at least it helps correct me when I go off.
> 
> Thank you Fretti for doing that!
> 
> SSS has way more definition as it should, the low end is punchier too, but the lushness of HZS is fantastic. HZS is probably not as good for this example as SSS because of the agility factor, and I wrote to it's strengths, something I can't do for HZS yet, but the sound of HZS in comparison for other things convinces me to buy it which is what I'll now do....bastards!...



Totally agree, also I think that the Heavy Strings example would sound very cool with chamber strings as it is a very reallistic sounding Library... could probably achieve the punchiness with Playing around with effects and different section sizes (i took 60 Violins and 60 cellos) and their mic Positions


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## Lionel Schmitt (Mar 29, 2018)

Daniel James live with HZ strings :D


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## ashtongleckman (Mar 30, 2018)

Here's a short cue I wrote using the library. Would love to year your thoughts!


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## JasonTse (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a short cue I wrote using the library. Would love to year your thoughts!



Really enjoyed this piece and just listened to it a good few times . Would love to see a walkthrough of this in the future!


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## N.Caffrey (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a short cue I wrote using the library. Would love to year your thoughts!



Nice one!


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## Pontus Rufelt (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a short cue I wrote using the library. Would love to year your thoughts!




Excellent. To me this shows how much the library DOES sound like Zimmer.


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## RiffWraith (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a short cue I wrote using the library. Would love to year your thoughts!


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## mouse (Mar 30, 2018)

Pontus Rufelt said:


> Excellent. To me this shows how much the library DOES sound like Zimmer.



Same! I'm more interested in buying it after hearing that track actually


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## PeterJCroissant (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a short cue I wrote using the library. Would love to year your thoughts!



Yep... that’s pretty awesome...


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## nulautre (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a short cue I wrote using the library. Would love to year your thoughts!





I'm pretty sure you now hold the "most Zimmer-like demo" award. Nicely done!


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## kimarnesen (Mar 30, 2018)

Rctec said:


> we really didn’t know that people wanted to run this on something as old as win7
> 
> -Hz-



I hope it runs well on my Commodore 64.


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## Karma (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a short cue I wrote using the library. Would love to year your thoughts!



Nice work Ashton!


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## blougui (Mar 30, 2018)

Hlw old are you Ashton?
You seem to have understood the library at 1st look.Great atmosphere, top production, classy...


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## ashtongleckman (Mar 30, 2018)

JasonTse said:


> Really enjoyed this piece and just listened to it a good few times . Would love to see a walkthrough of this in the future!



I'll be taking a look at it in-depth for the Inception BTS, lots of great ostinatos and huge strings in that score. Stay tuned! 


blougui said:


> Hlw old are you Ashton?
> You seem to have understood the library at 1st look.Great atmosphere, top production, classy...


Thanks! I turn 18 this August.


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## blougui (Mar 30, 2018)

Gosh !
You have plenty of time ahead to hone what sounds like an already professional sound and composition chops (I’ve watched some of your reviews, as well as your short film, etc).


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## Garry (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a short cue I wrote using the library. Would love to year your thoughts!



This is really incredibly Ashton, congratulations. As you may have seen from another thread, I asked Christian to make available the Logic files from his demos, or if not, at least the midi files. I'd like to use these to try to compare the demo he made, to how it would sound if I substituted other Spitfire libraries (such as Albion/Tundra, which Daniel James compares HZS to in his video). It would also help others who own the library (I don't), to get a hands on feel for how experts such as yourself, and those at Spitfire, are taming this beast.

Christian replied positively, and felt it was good idea, and will discuss internally with Paul - all credit to him.

I know that you do this on your YouTube channel, which I'm a big fan of. In the interest of helping the community here, would you also consider this (indeed, maybe you already have)? The more of these we have, the better the larger community, who don't have the skills you guys have, will benefit from this as a very practical learning tool. So, whatd'ya think?


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## ashtongleckman (Mar 30, 2018)

Garry said:


> This is really incredibly Ashton, congratulations. As you may have seen from another thread, I asked Christian to make available the Logic files from his demos, or if not, at least the midi files. I'd like to use these to try to compare the demo he made, to how it would sound if I substituted other Spitfire libraries (such as Albion/Tundra, which Daniel James compares HZS to in his video). It would also help others who own the library (I don't), to get a hands on feel for how experts such as yourself, and those at Spitfire, are taming this beast.
> 
> Christian replied positively, and felt it was good idea, and will discuss internally with Paul - all credit to him.
> 
> I know that you do this on your YouTube channel, which I'm a big fan of. In the interest of helping the community here, would you also consider this (indeed, maybe you already have)? The more of these we have, the better the larger community, who don't have the skills you guys have, will benefit from this as a very practical learning tool. So, whatd'ya think?


The project file is already attached in the pinned comment.


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## Garry (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> The project file is already attached in the pinned comment.


Sorry to be dumb, but I don't see it - I only see the YouTube video you posted. I must be missing something - please could you clarify?


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## ashtongleckman (Mar 30, 2018)

Garry said:


> Sorry to be dumb, but I don't see it - I only see the YouTube video you posted. I must be missing something - please could you clarify?


If you go to the YouTube link, the link to the download is in the pinned comment.


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## ashtongleckman (Mar 30, 2018)

Garry said:


> Sorry to be dumb, but I don't see it - I only see the YouTube video you posted. I must be missing something - please could you clarify?


Here's the link: http://bit.ly/2pRqXJX


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## Garry (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> If you go to the YouTube link, the link to the download is in the pinned comment.


Ah, I see. Cubase users should grab hold of this, and really learn how to use this library as you have.

Sadly, I'm a Logic user. Do you also have the MIDI files, so that the non-Cubase users can import them?


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## ashtongleckman (Mar 30, 2018)

Garry said:


> Ah, I see. Cubase users should grab hold of this, and really learn how to use this library as you have.
> 
> Sadly, I'm a Logic user. Do you also have the MIDI files, so that the non-Cubase users can import them?


Sure thing, here you go: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fv87my8i4194ynt/HZ Strings Demo.midi?dl=0


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## artomatic (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a short cue I wrote using the library. Would love to year your thoughts!





Thanks for sharing Ashton. Much respect, young man!!


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## MaxOctane (Mar 30, 2018)

@ashtongleckman You rock, your track rocks, and you posting the project file rocks!!

We should ALL post project files whenever we can. Don't be shy, folks!


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## Garry (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Sure thing, here you go: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fv87my8i4194ynt/HZ Strings Demo.midi?dl=0



Much appreciated, thank you Ashton. How wonderful that you're not only as talented as you are at your age, but also as generous with your gift too.

Will be watching your YouTube channel with interest as you take advantage of this library.

This is obviously a more difficult starting point from the midi files only, but it would be great if a Cubase user could take Ashton's Cubase file, and see how close they can get with substituting Albion One/Tundra patches. If HZS lives up to the promise, there should be really no comparison, and this would be a great demo to work with, because as others have said, this has to be the most Zimmeresque demo out there at the moment.

Thanks again Ashton.


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## amadeus1 (Mar 30, 2018)

artomatic said:


> If you're already up and running, care to share a demo or two of HZS? Even just a tidbit will do (especially showcasing legatos). Some of us are not fortunate enough to have fast internet speed. I guess I'm not patient enough!
> 
> Thanks in advance!


I did a video overview of Hans Zimmer Strings which talks about the Violins, Violas, and Basses, as well as Cellos. 
The link is :


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## Kony (Mar 30, 2018)

MaxOctane said:


> @ashtongleckman You rock, your track rocks, and you posting the project file rocks!!


+1

@ashtongleckman , your behind the score videos are very good, polished and pro! Much respect


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## Rctec (Mar 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a short cue I wrote using the library. Would love to year your thoughts!



Bloody Marvelous! I’ve been trying not to chime in on Daniel’s thread, out of respect for him and me liking the sense of anarchy he brings to the table. Nor have I had the time to watch his video... but, by reading some of the comments, you seem to get how I use strings: if you want action, you need tight, small sections, front desk, playing aggressively with agility. Like a squadron of Spitfires . If you want a broad, epic, wide, girth and depth to your sound, use a large section. Lancasters over Berlin. It’s quit simple: you need to move massive volumes of air evenly. (Look up the physics paper on what the “Greatful Dead” did with their P.A. In the 70’s: hundreds of very high quality speakers as a wall, none of them driven into distortion...) That’s why Brass is so efficient at being loud and epic.
But I’ve moved on from a lot of those “Batman” days, even though it’s all part of an ongoing experiment and search for ‘The Sound’ I hear in my head. But that was 16(!) Years ago...
That “Batman” score is very much two complete string sections: one for the Long notes to give it size (never playing more than an mf+), and a more close-mic’ed agile section for the ostinatoes, accents and action bits. The ‘bite’ comes from the low Brass and Horns. ...by the time of, I think, “Dark Knight”, there was a gaggle of contra bass bassoons and bass clarinets hidden away with the Basses. But if you really have a good, analytical listen, you’ll always find two orchestras serving different roles (and different perspectives) in the action stuff. The excitement comes from the percussion, the synth and soloists. The emotional depth comes from the large amount of players playing at a quite restrained dynamic. I said it before: you need to find out where the Sweet Spot in an instrument is. And it’s never at the fff end of things. The rest is up to orchestration, recording and mixing chops. I didn’t come to being a composer from the normal channels of music school. I started out as a sound-designer (it was called “Synth-programmer” then) for other composers like Stanley Myers, Michael Kamen, George Martin, Christopher Gunning...So I developed a sense of production (especially with Trevor Horn) and Sonic Landscapes...
But if you want that “Pirates” sound (please don’t - it’s soooo old), you have to remember its 50% samples. The same goes for things like “Gladiator”, which we did 18 Years ago.
But we live in a time where you can truly experiment with sound like never before, especially with the scale of things. There is no reason to write like Beethoven and use that (then) revolutionary size orchestra any more. Our way of projecting the notes from the instrument on stage to the ear of the listener has changed tremendously since the time of Mahler (one of my favorite orchestrators...). All the “tricks” he had to pull, like, for example, the ‘offstage’ brass playing quite forcefully - and therefore ‘unnaturally’ against a single flute solo in the 2nd Symphony - we can do with recording and amplifying and specialization of the sound (Space! That’s what it’s all about for me... building perspectives that might be realistic or take poetic license...). I think it serves no one to try to emulate the “classical” orchestra (other than as an exercise). The old masters wherent old then, they where the revolutionary young things, and Strauss and Stravinsky had riots because they didn’t sound like what had come before. Equally, I don’t think louder or bigger is better. But... a solo violin has an unmistakably different timbre than a violin section. A single drummer has a different sound than turning them into a section as we did on “Man Of Steel”...
So no, this was never thought off as the ‘All-Purpose’ string library. Those all exist, in one form or other. What Paul, Christian and I are interested in is expanding the range of possibilities beyond the constraints of architecture and 16th century technology. This library can play loud. That’s easy with that many players (sidebar - twice as many players is not twice as loud), but to be able to find the hidden, the quiet nuance, the most beautiful shimmer in the air...that’s what I’m interested in - at the moment. Next year, or maybe even tomorrow, I’ll be hunting down some other sound...
But honestly, wouldn’t you rather create a riot than try to emulate the past? ...I know Daniel would!


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## amadeus1 (Mar 30, 2018)

artomatic said:


> If you're already up and running, care to share a demo or two of HZS? Even just a tidbit will do (especially showcasing legatos). Some of us are not fortunate enough to have fast internet speed. I guess I'm not patient enough!
> 
> Thanks in advance!


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## amadeus1 (Mar 30, 2018)

Pontus Rufelt said:


> I second this. Any quick, rough example would be great. Paul demonstrated the legato so briefly in the video.


Is this what you're looking for?


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## Daniel James (Mar 30, 2018)

Rctec said:


> Bloody Marvelous! I’ve been trying not to chime in on Daniel’s thread, out of respect for him and me liking the sense of anarchy he brings to the table. Nor have I had the time to watch his video... but, by reading some of the comments, you seem to get how I use strings: if you want action, you need tight, small sections, front desk, playing aggressively with agility. Like a squadron of Spitfires . If you want a broad, epic, wide, girth and depth to your sound, use a large section. Lancasters over Berlin. It’s quit simple: you need to move massive volumes of air evenly. (Look up the physics paper on what the “Greatful Dead” did with their P.A. In the 70’s: hundreds of very high quality speakers as a wall, none of them driven into distortion...) That’s why Brass is so efficient at being loud and epic.
> But I’ve moved on from a lot of those “Batman” days, even though it’s all part of an ongoing experiment and search for ‘The Sound’ I hear in my head. But that was 16(!) Years ago...
> That “Batman” score is very much two complete string sections: one for the Long notes to give it size (never playing more than an mf+), and a more close-mic’ed agile section for the ostinatoes, accents and action bits. The ‘bite’ comes from the low Brass and Horns. ...by the time of, I think, “Dark Knight”, there was a gaggle of contra bass bassoons and bass clarinets hidden away with the Basses. But if you really have a good, analytical listen, you’ll always find two orchestras serving different roles (and different perspectives) in the action stuff. The excitement comes from the percussion, the synth and soloists. The emotional depth comes from the large amount of players playing at a quite restrained dynamic. I said it before: you need to find out where the Sweet Spot in an instrument is. And it’s never at the fff end of things. The rest is up to orchestration, recording and mixing chops. I didn’t come to being a composer from the normal channels of music school. I started out as a sound-designer (it was called “Synth-programmer” then) for other composers like Stanley Myers, Michael Kamen, George Martin, Christopher Gunning...So I developed a sense of production (especially with Trevor Horn) and Sonic Landscapes...
> But if you want that “Pirates” sound (please don’t - it’s soooo old), you have to remember its 50% samples. The same goes for things like “Gladiator”, which we did 18 Years ago.
> ...



I'm not sure which you are implying there but my aim is not to just emulate the past, its to take what the past has brought into the language of composition and use that to take things in a direction of my own.

Its why we still use techniques from innovative composers of the past, its why we hear hints of Holst, Wagner in film scores done by modern legends like a Hans Zimmer or a John Williams. They brought into existance a new concept, a new technique something which shook up the game. Thats what I wanted from Hans Zimmer strings! You are an innovator Hans and you have brought into the vocabulary of music Big Ostinato pirates themes, you gave us the batman divis 16th feeling, you gave us the Divisi Code..... I wanted the library to be a library that makes it easy for me to achieve the techniques you brought to the game so I can try something with them you didn't, take something awesome and build from it....like how you have been inspired by the techniques of composers of the past. Almost like a package of Zimmerisms from which we can try to shake things up our own way.

And feel free to comment on the other thread, Its all good.

-DJ


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## Jdiggity1 (Mar 30, 2018)

Daniel James said:


> ... the Divisi Code ...
> -DJ


HZS Expansion?


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## Rctec (Mar 30, 2018)

amadeus1 said:


> Is this what you're looking for?



Actually, that’s a bit of a weird example, since he’s not moving the dynamics controllers. You have to play the dynamics as much as the notes to get a sense of what it is....


----------



## artomatic (Mar 30, 2018)

Rctec said:


> Bloody Marvelous! I’ve been trying not to chime in on Daniel’s thread, out of respect for him and me liking the sense of anarchy he brings to the table. Nor have I had the time to watch his video... but, by reading some of the comments, you seem to get how I use strings: if you want action, you need tight, small sections, front desk, playing aggressively with agility. Like a squadron of Spitfires . If you want a broad, epic, wide, girth and depth to your sound, use a large section. Lancasters over Berlin. It’s quit simple: you need to move massive volumes of air evenly. (Look up the physics paper on what the “Greatful Dead” did with their P.A. In the 70’s: hundreds of very high quality speakers as a wall, none of them driven into distortion...) That’s why Brass is so efficient at being loud and epic.
> But I’ve moved on from a lot of those “Batman” days, even though it’s all part of an ongoing experiment and search for ‘The Sound’ I hear in my head. But that was 16(!) Years ago...
> That “Batman” score is very much two complete string sections: one for the Long notes to give it size (never playing more than an mf+), and a more close-mic’ed agile section for the ostinatoes, accents and action bits. The ‘bite’ comes from the low Brass and Horns. ...by the time of, I think, “Dark Knight”, there was a gaggle of contra bass bassoons and bass clarinets hidden away with the Basses. But if you really have a good, analytical listen, you’ll always find two orchestras serving different roles (and different perspectives) in the action stuff. The excitement comes from the percussion, the synth and soloists. The emotional depth comes from the large amount of players playing at a quite restrained dynamic. I said it before: you need to find out where the Sweet Spot in an instrument is. And it’s never at the fff end of things. The rest is up to orchestration, recording and mixing chops. I didn’t come to being a composer from the normal channels of music school. I started out as a sound-designer (it was called “Synth-programmer” then) for other composers like Stanley Myers, Michael Kamen, George Martin, Christopher Gunning...So I developed a sense of production (especially with Trevor Horn) and Sonic Landscapes...
> But if you want that “Pirates” sound (please don’t - it’s soooo old), you have to remember its 50% samples. The same goes for things like “Gladiator”, which we did 18 Years ago.
> ...



Just now able to play around with this library. Truly love the sound/texture and the countless possibilities, especially after watching CH's new walkthrough. So excited to start using this on my upcoming projects.
Much respect to you! And thanks for your thoughts, inspiration and insight.


----------



## ashtongleckman (Mar 30, 2018)

Rctec said:


> Bloody Marvelous! I’ve been trying not to chime in on Daniel’s thread, out of respect for him and me liking the sense of anarchy he brings to the table. Nor have I had the time to watch his video... but, by reading some of the comments, you seem to get how I use strings: if you want action, you need tight, small sections, front desk, playing aggressively with agility. Like a squadron of Spitfires . If you want a broad, epic, wide, girth and depth to your sound, use a large section. Lancasters over Berlin. It’s quit simple: you need to move massive volumes of air evenly. (Look up the physics paper on what the “Greatful Dead” did with their P.A. In the 70’s: hundreds of very high quality speakers as a wall, none of them driven into distortion...) That’s why Brass is so efficient at being loud and epic.
> But I’ve moved on from a lot of those “Batman” days, even though it’s all part of an ongoing experiment and search for ‘The Sound’ I hear in my head. But that was 16(!) Years ago...
> That “Batman” score is very much two complete string sections: one for the Long notes to give it size (never playing more than an mf+), and a more close-mic’ed agile section for the ostinatoes, accents and action bits. The ‘bite’ comes from the low Brass and Horns. ...by the time of, I think, “Dark Knight”, there was a gaggle of contra bass bassoons and bass clarinets hidden away with the Basses. But if you really have a good, analytical listen, you’ll always find two orchestras serving different roles (and different perspectives) in the action stuff. The excitement comes from the percussion, the synth and soloists. The emotional depth comes from the large amount of players playing at a quite restrained dynamic. I said it before: you need to find out where the Sweet Spot in an instrument is. And it’s never at the fff end of things. The rest is up to orchestration, recording and mixing chops. I didn’t come to being a composer from the normal channels of music school. I started out as a sound-designer (it was called “Synth-programmer” then) for other composers like Stanley Myers, Michael Kamen, George Martin, Christopher Gunning...So I developed a sense of production (especially with Trevor Horn) and Sonic Landscapes...
> But if you want that “Pirates” sound (please don’t - it’s soooo old), you have to remember its 50% samples. The same goes for things like “Gladiator”, which we did 18 Years ago.
> ...


Thank you for taking the time to listen, and for the thoughtful response Hans!


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## SyMTiK (Mar 30, 2018)

Rctec said:


> So no, this was never thought off as the ‘All-Purpose’ string library. Those all exist, in one form or other. What Paul, Christian and I are interested in is expanding the range of possibilities beyond the constraints of architecture and 16th century technology. This library can play loud. That’s easy with that many players (sidebar - twice as many players is not twice as loud), but to be able to find the hidden, the quiet nuance, the most beautiful shimmer in the air...that’s what I’m interested in - at the moment. Next year, or maybe even tomorrow, I’ll be hunting down some other sound...
> But honestly, wouldn’t you rather create a riot than try to emulate the past? ...I know Daniel would!



I knew this was the vision! And exactly why I bought it and have been pleased with the result. Thank you for your work with Spitfire to help create such an inspiring tool.

At the end of the day, I think people should always seek out new sounds and ideas, and look for a tool that will help progress their sound and inspire them in the process. Your sound atleast as I see it has always been about trying something new, and that mindset is something I think everyone should try and have, and I believe HZ Strings as a product carries that message with it. 

The day after HZ Strings came out (my day off from classes luckily!) I couldn’t leave my computer I was playing with the sounds all day, I was writing and playing with all the sounds and eagerly wrote a cue to show other people how awesome I thought the library was (and that it does indeed have usable “normal” articulations too since so many were worried about that) you could find it earlier in this thread, though definitely nowhere near as good as Ashtons track though! Truly an excellent job of showcasing the library.

This is what I think the library is about and I think all libraries should do, is to inspire, and try and get people to try something new. If you aren’t getting a tool with the thought of it progressing your sound in some way or inspiring you, whats the point? Why would people have wanted yet another standard string library with the same tried and true articulations?


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## MaxOctane (Mar 30, 2018)

Simple question for people who have HZS and either SCS or SSS: does this significantly expand the palette?


----------



## NoamL (Mar 31, 2018)

Rctec said:


> I think it serves no one to try to emulate the “classical” orchestra (other than as an exercise).



Am I reading this right, you think that writing non-striping-oriented orchestration is a dead cliche?  I must be misunderstanding what you mean by "emulating the classical orchestra." There are still lots of composers out there who build their sound from one orchestral pass _plus_ a bunch of synths and sound design.


----------



## jononotbono (Mar 31, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a short cue I wrote using the library. Would love to year your thoughts!




Really good track man! Can't wait till I buy this library!


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## Consona (Mar 31, 2018)

The only thing this whole situation's missing is the Mike Verta review of this library.


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## ashtongleckman (Mar 31, 2018)

MaxOctane said:


> Simple question for people who have HZS and either SCS or SSS: does this significantly expand the palette?



I have SCS, CSS, CS2, Mural (SSS) all of which are great traditional string libraries. They all sound really nice, legato is well programmed, they have all the essential articulations, and they’re overall well done. But even with the wealth of string libraries out there (including larger orchestral libs such as Met Ark, Albion, Majestica, Jaeger), I really do think that HZS brings something fresh to the toolkit.

Lots of people have been comparing the softer end of the library to Albion V, but in terms of timbre, Albion V isn’t as wide and lush as this one, it doesn’t have the vast array of mics and sonic possibilities, the sheer size and scope and layout, and this library has traditional strings as well, which A5 doesn’t have. This isn’t to demote A5, it’s a brilliant library. But there’s a certain beauty you get when you have that many musicians playing soft. It really has a certain personality, powerful but quiet, light but heavy. In my demo I tried to show the contrast of what I think the library can achieve, loud and intense, and quiet and delicate. I think this library will be great for both writing and layering.

The thing that I think is quite new and revolutionary in HZS besides the incredible amount of players is the vast array of mics. Geoff’s mic positions literally give you full control over the sound of the library. You can shape it in anyway you want. Which is something that can really be said about those other libraries I mentioned.

Hans Zimmer Strings is like Christian put it, using the manual setting on a camera versus the automatic. You can get a great result, but it might take a tad bit more work. There’s a slight learning curve and I’m still familiarizing myself with it.

To conclude though (pardon my rambling  ), this library really has an incredibly wide and unique sound. I haven’t heard anything like it to date.


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## Dr Belasco (Mar 31, 2018)

Tambre is a comune in the Province of Belluno, Italy. Been there.


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## blougui (Mar 31, 2018)

A learning curve of only a few days, well that’s not bad !


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## muziksculp (Mar 31, 2018)

For those who have put some time using HZ-Strings, how is the efficiency of the new HZ-Strings Player on your system ? Any issues ? ...basically some feedback on the new Player's efficiency, stability, ..etc. would be helpful.


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## fiestared (Mar 31, 2018)

muziksculp said:


> For those who have put some time using HZ-Strings, how is the efficiency of the new HZ-Strings Player on your system ? Any issues ? ...basically some feedback on the new Player's efficiency, stability, ..etc. would be helpful.





fiestared said:


> I use an iMac late 2013 with 32 GB of ram, intel 3.5 GHZ i7, the lib is on a SSD, and I must say I have no prob at all with drop out, click, or else, I was a bit afraid by this, but it's cpu friendly for me. The sound is... HUGE, wide, clear and airy, I think we'll have to learn how to musically use this lib, "no more full hands of notes", for me it will be the release point of my tracks, a kind of cherry on the cake. I feel ok with the interface, my only small prob is I would prefer to have all the mics together(maybe in a floating window), for the mics, I prefer the non "advanced" and use the close and far slider, very useful and easy. After one hour of pleasure, I've got the feeling, I'll have to learn a lot to use this "baby" as it deserves, this is probably where our friends at Spitfire will have to help us...


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## ka00 (Apr 2, 2018)

Don't be shy now, friends. Let's hear some more demos. Bunny rabbits and family can wait.


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## artomatic (Apr 2, 2018)

A wonderful demo by @Tatu can be found here.


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## Consona (Apr 2, 2018)

Rctec said:


> I think it serves no one to try to emulate the “classical” orchestra (other than as an exercise).





NoamL said:


> Am I reading this right, you think that writing non-striping-oriented orchestration is a dead cliche?  I must be misunderstanding what you mean by "emulating the classical orchestra." There are still lots of composers out there who build their sound from one orchestral pass _plus_ a bunch of synths and sound design.


Yea, that line cought me off guard too. Well, not that much hearing it from mr. Zimmer, who admitted even the non-synthy Pirates were 50% samples , but at the end of a day, a living, breathing, organic body of an orchestra is still the best instrument mankind came up with. I realized it when listening to this...



I have to say Mike Verta's classes made me really appreciate orchestra as a thing, as an self-balancing entity where all those players play off each other, where you have to care about not using the same colors too much, you learn how to develop ideas through orchestration, how to make sound massive or soft not by pushing faders, and all the other delicate stuff, all those things sample music makes us not care about.

And it really shows. I mean compare the 8 minutes of Dunkirk's Supermarine to The Wrath of Khan's 8 minutes of Battle in the Mutara Nebula or any 8 minutes from the Return Of The Jedi's The Battle Of Endor action music. Not saying one style is better than the other, I'll leave that to everyone's tastes, but the difference is night and day.

On one hand, it's quite silly trying to emulate that living body with samples, in fact, it's a ridiculous notion by definition. But I've realized treating sample orchestra as a real one helps me write better. Changing colors so the piece is more interesting and fresh, listening how classical composers or hollywood old-schoolers develop pieces using orchestra, how they manage those long-form pieces helps me develop me my own music in ways I couldn't even imagine.

I think both approaches have their place. I'm glad Man of Steel sounded epically larger-than-life, but the sound of the classical orchestra never gets old. Nor the craftsmanship of composing for it.



Btw, here are the pieces...


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## fish_hoof (Apr 2, 2018)

Here is a demo I did with Hans Zimmer Strings. Enjoy writing with this library so much if i'm honest. Still some things I need to figure out and work on but all in all... love it... the ending was fun to just experiment and make huge with all the different options.


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## MaxOctane (Apr 6, 2018)

Moar demos please!

I've still not handed over my credit card. I've already invested in SSS, SCS, Tundra, Loegria, BHCT... HZS seems like it will sound gorgeous by itself, but not radically improve on the combination above.


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## Saxer (Apr 6, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Here is a demo I did with Hans Zimmer Strings. Enjoy writing with this library so much if i'm honest. Still some things I need to figure out and work on but all in all... love it... the ending was fun to just experiment and make huge with all the different options.



Great build up! HZS works great here!


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## fish_hoof (Apr 6, 2018)

MaxOctane said:


> Moar demos please!
> 
> I've still not handed over my credit card. I've already invested in SSS, SCS, Tundra, Loegria, BHCT... HZS seems like it will sound gorgeous by itself, but not radically improve on the combination above.



I know there has been a ton of discussion on it, but for ME, its now my number one library. The violins for high sustaining notes to me, are the best i’ve ever heard. For once, i can actually “feel” the power of the strings i play. Its like playing an amp moduler vs. real tube amp. Theres just a power and feel there. Some might and will disagree but for me, i am genuinely excited when i sit down to play. Haven’t felt that way since my first PRS and Mesa Boogie.


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## MaxOctane (Apr 6, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> I know there has been a ton of discussion on it, but for ME, its now my number one library. The violins for high sustaining notes to me, are the best i’ve ever heard. For once, i can actually “feel” the power of the strings i play. Its like playing an amp moduler vs. real tube amp. Theres just a power and feel there. Some might and will disagree but for me, i am genuinely excited when i sit down to play. Haven’t felt that way since my first PRS and Mesa Boogie.



I was also impressed by the high violins, in a different demo / patch-walkthrough.

@fish_hoof Any chance of posting just the strings from your track? Curious to hear it naked.

Great track too, btw! That guitar is *solid*.


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## fish_hoof (Apr 6, 2018)

MaxOctane said:


> I was also impressed by the high violins, in a different demo / patch-walkthrough.
> 
> @fish_hoof Any chance of posting just the strings from your track? Curious to hear it naked.
> 
> Great track too, btw! That guitar is *solid*.



Thank you so much friend. Yes, I for sure will. Just finishing up a separate project tonight and then I will do that one too and just do a naked string only.


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## tehreal (Apr 6, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> [...] The violins for high sustaining notes to me, are the best i’ve ever heard. For once, i can actually “feel” the power of the strings i play. [...]



More powerful than SSS? SSS is pretty powerful in that regard.


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## tehreal (Apr 6, 2018)

MaxOctane said:


> Moar demos please!
> 
> I've still not handed over my credit card. I've already invested in SSS, SCS, Tundra, Loegria, BHCT... HZS seems like it will sound gorgeous by itself, but not radically improve on the combination above.



This is one of the reasons I passed as well. Plus with SSS and SCS you have even more articulations available. HZS just doesn't fill any gaps for me. It would just be a layering library at this point and certainly not worth the $600-$800.


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## fish_hoof (Apr 6, 2018)

tehreal said:


> More powerful than SSS? SSS is pretty powerful in that regard.



To me, yes... but SSS is tremendous, but just different. Probably has to do with how things were recorded. The 60 violins are incredible and the cellos and bass together hit me in my chest. I know some will disagree, just like some will say one guitar amp is bigger sounding than the other (not sure why i am on this guitar kick tonight...).


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## fish_hoof (Apr 6, 2018)

MaxOctane said:


> I was also impressed by the high violins, in a different demo / patch-walkthrough.
> 
> @fish_hoof Any chance of posting just the strings from your track? Curious to hear it naked.
> 
> Great track too, btw! That guitar is *solid*.



Here is a strings only version.



And the original one to hear the whole thing.


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## Jetzer (Apr 7, 2018)

Found this on YouTube, sounds really cool:


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## blougui (Apr 7, 2018)

tehreal said:


> This is one of the reasons I passed as well. Plus with SSS and SCS you have even more articulations available. HZS just doesn't fill any gaps for me. It would just be a layering library at this point and certainly not worth the $600-$800.



I don't know if anyone recalls it : but Mural Vol 1 was a hefty 500 €.And that was just a small amount of articulations.Not a lot of people seemed to bother much. There wasn't a lot you could do without vol2.


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## PeterN (Apr 7, 2018)

Saxer said:


> Great build up! HZS works great here!



Me thinks that was horrible, but with so many likes around, hopefully one dislike can match in. No offense, sounded like synth strings from 90’s put in background on a common 4 chords progression. Just had to say this loud, cant pretend that was good.


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## fish_hoof (Apr 7, 2018)

PeterN said:


> Me thinks that was horrible, but with so many likes around, hopefully one dislike can match in. No offense, sounded like synth strings from 90’s put in background on a common 4 chords progression. Just had to say this loud, cant pretend that was good.



Non taken. Don’t expect everyone to like my stuff.


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## fretti (Apr 7, 2018)

Jesse Heslinga said:


> Found this on YouTube, sounds really cool:



Is here anybody who knows how big the Orchestra (specifically the string sections) in the original score was? Haven't digged in so deep to find it myself yet, except that it was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and stated that a "massive orchestra" was used (so I guess about 16,14,12,10,8 strings or so)...just want to know so I can compare this remake better with the original


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## PeterN (Apr 7, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Non taken. Don’t expect everyone to like my stuff.



Thanks man, good attitude.


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## rmoat (Apr 7, 2018)

I am definitely loving this new library. It can do fast, it can do big/epic, and also slow with huge swells. As of recently I've been thinking of humanity and how at times we tend to lose our humanity (world-wide), and then come together once again when something tragic comes along.
I'm not the greatest composer (so you may hear something that I could have done better on, but I'm continually trying to improve and learn--and I do have a lot still to learn. ); however, I did put together a piece using only Hans Zimmer Strings entitled "Humanity".


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## MaxOctane (Apr 7, 2018)

rmoat said:


> I did put together a piece using only Hans Zimmer Strings entitled "Humanity".




Beautiful!

Is this straight out of box, or did you add eq/reverb?


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## rmoat (Apr 7, 2018)

MaxOctane said:


> Beautiful!
> 
> Is this straight out of box, or did you add eq/reverb?



Thanks so much! I just used Hans Zimmer Strings default reverb since it sounds so wonderful. I did add eq using iZotope Neutron 2 and Ozone 8. Neutron 2 to glue the HZS ensemble tracks together using an orchestra bus preset (Meant to take the edges off a sampled orchestra. May not even be needed for HZS but I usually add that to my sampled libraries), and then Ozone 8 to make it better for streaming quality (since some of the long articulations are very quiet). I also just re-uploaded the video probably just right before you had listened, because there were some crazy bass frequencies that Ozone 8 enhanced that I missed in the first video. I just cut out some of the bass using EQ.

Other than that, that was it.


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## s_bettinzana (Apr 7, 2018)

Jesse Heslinga said:


> Found this on YouTube, sounds really cool:



Cool? Maybe ... but it is far from the original score where you can clearly hear each instruments section. This one is a mess for me. It hasn’t definition and clarity.


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## NoamL (Apr 7, 2018)

Jesse Heslinga said:


> Found this on YouTube, sounds really cool:




Eh, I hate to slam a demo that clearly took hours upon hours of work (and one of my favorite pieces that HZ ever wrote), but the cello melody is really buried here.... at least on YouTube... I wonder about the section balance in this library.

For what it's worth the legato seems to be working fine, the vibrato is very appropriate to this piece and its emotions, and there isn't anything terribly wrong with the programming of each section, it's just not adding up for some reason..

@fretti I quickly counted 8 basses & 12 cellos (notice the interesting seating!), working up from there it looks like a symphonic sized section of 60 or so. Seems like you could get closer to the "real" proportions by using SSS which has for instance 8 basses and 10 cellos.


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## tehreal (Apr 7, 2018)

blougui said:


> I don't know if anyone recalls it : but Mural Vol 1 was a hefty 500 €.And that was just a small amount of articulations.Not a lot of people seemed to bother much. There wasn't a lot you could do without vol2.



And cell phones used to cost $1000. What's your point? Competition (and advancements in related technologies) drives prices down. Adapt or die.


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## fish_hoof (Apr 7, 2018)

Here is a quick cue I did for a project. Feel like i'm getting better at honing in the sound I want. One thing I really noticed is how the 60 violins can really cut through with the french horns. 

Full Mix



HZS Strings Only


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## markleake (Apr 7, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Here is a quick cue I did for a project. Feel like i'm getting better at honing in the sound I want. One thing I really noticed is how the 60 violins can really cut through with the french horns.
> 
> Full Mix
> 
> ...



I agree with @ka00... in the HZS only mockup, that violin line really doesn't sound good. Not to my ears at least. I would be swapping it out for something nicer sounding, or looking at it to see what was wrong with it (dynamics, etc). At the moment that line doesn't sound like violins at all, if that was the intention. :(

Edit: I should add, I like the rest of the track.


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## Sopranos (Apr 7, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Here is a quick cue I did for a project. Feel like i'm getting better at honing in the sound I want. One thing I really noticed is how the 60 violins can really cut through with the french horns.
> 
> Full Mix
> 
> ...



Sounds killer to me! Very Zimmer-esque. 

What's the perc (snares) used in this?

I quite like it and the strings sound good to me.


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## MaxOctane (Apr 7, 2018)

@fish_hoof The composition is great. I agree with the other guys that the HSZ longs sound off. Abrupt attacks and the tone is somehow synthy. Your earlier piece, too (with the awesome piano and guitar) -- great piece of music, but HSZ was not super convincing as a real orchestra.

I don't get that problem in the piece from @rmoat above. He's very clearly riding the cc fader on every note. Maybe you're not sweeping up enough on the expression/dynamics?

Heh, I'm torn on this one. It's not a slam dunk improvement over the other top Spitfire libs.


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## fretti (Apr 7, 2018)

> @fretti I quickly counted 8 basses & 12 cellos (notice the interesting seating!), working up from there it looks like a symphonic sized section of 60 or so. That is, assuming they didn't overdub to make the strings sound larger! But I doubt they'd need to do that? Seems like you could get closer to the "real" proportions by using SSS which has for instance 8 basses and 10 cellos.


Thank you very much! Yeah that‘s what I was assuming with the size...
Knowing HZ (at least from the masterclass and some other threads here) I guess he combined the strings with synths and maybe even a few string samples, Rest would be Mixing.
Definitely, also experienced in the last few days owning HZStrings that when you take an allready made project and
replace your original strings with HZS the whole Balance one tried to achieve before is (for obvious reasons, given the section sizes) a complete mess and takes a lot of remixing and midi programming ti achieve something close to the Original...but as in the Video above I think if you can and have achieved such a massive sound with less players (and with better clarity etc.) the point of replacing it with up to 344 players from HZ Strings is a little missed (as it doesn’t really work, at least for me). Like the example I posted a few pages ago from SoundCloud was originally written for and with ChamberStrings from SF, wich is for obvious reasons much more flexible comparing a player count of 16 vs 104 (i think I dind‘t Took the whole 60 violins and celli)...
Therefor it works best for me right now writing a part specifically for HZString as than one can take care especially for the strenghts of HZS and for mixing balance from the beginning...(imho)


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## ag75 (Apr 8, 2018)

It was a demonstration of the new HZ string library that he graciously put up for us to hear. Your comment was rude. 


PeterN said:


> Me thinks that was horrible, but with so many likes around, hopefully one dislike can match in. No offense, sounded like synth strings from 90’s put in background on a common 4 chords progression. Just had to say this loud, cant pretend that was good.


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## artomatic (Apr 8, 2018)

I’m wondering if adding vibrato to the longs will perhaps make them not sound too sterile? Just a thought.


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## blougui (Apr 8, 2018)

tehreal said:


> And cell phones used to cost $1000. What's your point? Competition (and advancements in related technologies) drives prices down. Adapt or die.



Top notch smart phones still are 1000€.
Flaws and all.
Mural isn’t an ancient product. Air and british musicians are at a premium. I’m surprised people might expect something cheaper than 600€. Btw, I find SA brilliant at adapting and not dying, don’t you ? With now almost 50 employees well, high prices do them good (I know they have sales, now).
Anyway, I don’t have enough cash to fork out that much. 
But I don't care.


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## Living Fossil (Apr 8, 2018)

I have to say (aside from the overly heated debates about expectations and bugs) the fact that strikes me most whenever i hear HZ strings demos so far is how synthetical it always sounds.
The sound reminds me more of a Solina String Ensemble than actually a giant string section.While often there are some beatiful moments on held long notes the magic comes to an end as soon as melodies are played. 
Probably such giant sections of musicians would require a lot more real interaction with the music they play...

I guess this library shines when it's combined with real musicans and/or other libraries.
(Said that i think HZ strings for sure is a great library after all)


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## PeterN (Apr 8, 2018)

ag75 said:


> It was a demonstration of the new HZ string library that he graciously put up for us to hear. Your comment was rude.



Yea, it was a bit rude, but it was there to balance all the cheering and applauds. I do appreciate fish_hoof took the effort to do short piece and upload it., and its great he wasnt angered by my comment. I mean, if its really off then better say out loud, I think that was so off that it could even have been a fake demo to make the strings look bad. Sorry again.


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## MaxOctane (Apr 8, 2018)

PeterN said:


> Yea, it was a bit rude, but it was there to balance all the cheering and applauds. I do appreciate fish_hoof took the effort to do short piece and upload it., and its great he wasnt angered by my comment. I mean, if its really off then better say out loud, I think that was so off that it could even have been a fake demo to make the strings look bad. Sorry again.



FWIW I thought the comment was about the strings (i.e., the HSZ sound) and not about the composition itself.


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## PeterN (Apr 8, 2018)

MaxOctane said:


> FWIW I thought the comment was about the strings (i.e., the HSZ sound) and not about the composition itself.



Yea, more or less so. Anyway, Im not that important, but just had to say that loud as there were quite a few cheerings.

Anyway, its just one opinion among others.


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## Consona (Apr 8, 2018)

s_bettinzana said:


> Cool? Maybe ... but it is far from the original score where you can clearly hear each instruments section. This one is a mess for me. It hasn’t definition and clarity.


My thoughts exactly. I'm so baffled by the youtube comments saying they cannot recognize that from the original, etc. What? It sounds nothing the original mix-wise, it's so muddy.


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## Jetzer (Apr 8, 2018)

NoamL said:


> Eh, I hate to slam a demo that clearly took hours upon hours of work (and one of my favorite pieces that HZ ever wrote), but the cello melody is totally buried here. It seems like mostly a MIDI programming issue but perhaps also an issue that there is so much low mids going on in this mix. Like @s_bettinzana said this lacks a lot of clarity and presence compared to the reference track. It's not just HZS either, the brass feels very far away.
> 
> For what it's worth the legato seems to be working fine, the vibrato is very appropriate to this piece and its emotions, and there isn't anything terribly wrong with the programming of each section, it's just not adding up for some reason..



True. But it does have something that other covers of the same piece lack, can't quite put my finger on it. Like the others had almost to much clarity. The original one has a certain smoothness.


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## fretti (Apr 8, 2018)

As it seems to be still a relatively big discussion around this forum I decided to make another quick demo (took me about 30mins to make so please don't hate it )
Critique is always welcome as long as it is appropriate/impersonal:



If there is any popping at some point it is because my (shitty) computer or logic can't bounce it correctly (as there are a few instances of HZ Strings opened)...


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## fish_hoof (Apr 8, 2018)

Some s


markleake said:


> I agree with @ka00... in the HZS only mockup, that violin line really doesn't sound good. Not to my ears at least. I would be swapping it out for something nicer sounding, or looking at it to see what was wrong with it (dynamics, etc). At the moment that line doesn't sound like violins at all, if that was the intention. :(
> 
> Edit: I should add, I like the rest of the track.



I can see that. I didn't do as much dynamics with the violins as it was more of a driving piece. Especially towards the end, but I can see how keeping it less dynamic gives some that vibe. Might experiment with it, but just don't want to loose the power. Appreciate the feedback.


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## fish_hoof (Apr 8, 2018)

Sopranos said:


> Sounds killer to me! Very Zimmer-esque.
> 
> What's the perc (snares) used in this?
> 
> I quite like it and the strings sound good to me.



Used V8P's percussion, as well as HZ Perc and Albion ONE.


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## fish_hoof (Apr 8, 2018)

Living Fossil said:


> I have to say (aside from the overly heated debates about expectations and bugs) the fact that strikes me most whenever i hear HZ strings demos so far is how synthetical it always sounds.
> The sound reminds me more of a Solina String Ensemble than actually a giant string section.While often there are some beatiful moments on held long notes the magic comes to an end as soon as melodies are played.
> Probably such giant sections of musicians would require a lot more real interaction with the music they play...
> 
> ...



One thing I am noticing with this library, is it takes a bit a of work to get the sound you are after. Which is good a believe, because it becomes YOUR sound but takes time. Demo's I did today won't sound the same a month from now as I've come to know the library more. I think some might say it sounds synthy because its a wall of sound and perhaps not as many mic options chosen... I mean its 60 cellos, so it will sound powerful, but less defined like 8 cellos... thats just a fact. If I recorded two guitar cabs vs. 50 guitar cabs, it has potential to sound like a wall of sound, unless you do some digging into the mixing, which is what I am learning and enjoying with this library. 

So I guess what I mean for potential buys, its a beautiful library, that takes some time, enjoyable time, to craft a sound you love and enjoy. Its more about achieving a custom sound using HZ's techniques and much less Project Sams Symphobia instant Hollywood string section that everyone can pick out in an instant. (Not bashing PS, love that library, just making a point). Hopefully that helps some.


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## Living Fossil (Apr 8, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> One thing I am noticing with this library, is it takes a bit a of work to get the sound you are after. Which is good a believe, because it becomes YOUR sound but takes time. Demo's I did today won't sound the same a month from now as I've come to know the library more. I think some might say it sounds synthy because its a wall of sound and perhaps not as many mic options chosen... I mean its 60 cellos, so it will sound powerful, but less defined like 8 cellos...



Personally i don't have much use for 60 celli playing the same thing, that's just not a sound that i like very much.
But i'd be really interested in hearing more stuff from the divided sections (i.e. 20 players), and if they are able to sound realistic....


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## fish_hoof (Apr 8, 2018)

Living Fossil said:


> Personally i don't have much use for 60 celli playing the same thing, that's just not a sound that i like very much.
> But i'd be really interested in hearing more stuff from the divided sections (i.e. 20 players), and if they are able to sound realistic....



My demo contains all of it but its hard to narrow down. Let me do something with the smaller sections


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## fretti (Apr 8, 2018)

Living Fossil said:


> Personally i don't have much use for 60 celli playing the same thing, that's just not a sound that i like very much.
> But i'd be really interested in hearing more stuff from the divided sections (i.e. 20 players), and if they are able to sound realistic....


Depends on your definition of realistic and what kind of music you want to make with it I guess...
E.g. fast melodies or fast turns in long/legato notes don't really sound realistic to me personally (even though I haven't heard 20 or even 60 celli playing live, so maybe they actually sound like that doing it...?!), but when you take some slower build up it sound very realistic to my ears.
When it comes to shorts I think especially with this library opinions couldn't differ more: the music Daniel James writes for example (like his great Jaeger demo) require really short on the point notes (I think spiccato or staccatissimo); where as people who try to write classical music with runs that need to sound like a player actually works with his left hand and therefor can't play every note as short as possible without sliding to a different position on the "board" (or what is actually called in english...no cellist either so excuse me if the terminology isn't right in every aspect; also I don't know how fast a professional cellist can actually play spiccatos/ up to what bpm) and by that it gets a little blurry... in that (short) aspect I'd say HZ Strings Celli can sound realistic, but really don't fit every music/al (writing) style...gotta play around with all the mic positions and 3rd party effects.
In my demo above I doubled the shorts with the First Chair Spiccatos from Berlin Orchestra Inspire to get a little more of that "in your face" sound that comes from close (single) players hitting their strings with the bows...without the doubling it wouldn't have quite that bite I wanted to get, also heard on some other threads that a similar thing was done in Pirates oC to achieve a more "aggressive" sound
The melody is obvious a solo Cello with Violins in the background as even 60 celli couldn't stand out with the melody like it does now.
Without any demo right now at hand for only 20 celli I hope that kind of helps...


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## BradHoyt (Apr 8, 2018)

It's you're still using Window 7, you're asking for trouble; Microsoft ended mainstream support for Win7 back in 2015 and will stop adding security updates after 2020. Software developers should rightly not support their software in Windows 7 these days. That's my opinion anyway...


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## fish_hoof (Apr 8, 2018)

Here is a demo of the longs and the smaller sections. It is a prior piece i did to save time  @Living Fossil 

Just focusing on the legatos
20 Violins Left
20 Violins Right
20 Violas WIDE
20 Cellos Right
24 Basses

Mic choices - Center, Tree, Gallery, Spots, Close (close or spots, whichever option it gave me, some don't have both) and 808F

Full Piece



HZS Only



Original piece using Century Strings. Personally, i like the HZS strings much better for this... to me there is that power again BUT this isn't about knocking other developers as i do LOVE century strings. Its just what i used before on this piece and then HZS came out. Just felt it fair to give context and a comparison.


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## iobaaboi (Apr 8, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Here is a demo of the longs and the smaller sections. It is a prior piece i did to save time  @Living Fossil
> 
> Just focusing on the legatos
> 20 Violins Left
> ...




I really liked this piece, well done! I agree that HZS shines for this kind of work, so much power on tap there. 

Great sound with the rest of the track as well, I like the subtle use of guitar. Piano really shines, which library did you use?

Brayden


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## Living Fossil (Apr 9, 2018)

Thanks a lot, @fish_hoof for providing this!
Indeed, the HZ strings take the piece to another level of sublimity. I guess we're approaching a sweet spot here...
What i like more about the Century version is that it seems there is more dynamic interaction.
Would it be possible with the HZ strings to get more crescendi - decrescendi on the held notes ?
(that's something i really like when working with real musicians, the dynamic interaction... It's something that's usually kind of a compromise with samples...)


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## fish_hoof (Apr 9, 2018)

iobaaboi said:


> I really liked this piece, well done! I agree that HZS shines for this kind of work, so much power on tap there.
> 
> Great sound with the rest of the track as well, I like the subtle use of guitar. Piano really shines, which library did you use?
> 
> Brayden



Thank you so much friend! I use HZ Piano... people are probably going to think i work for Hans or Spitfire (i wish) truth be told i just love the tone. I used 8dio 1928 scoring piano for the longest time but then had a chance at christmas time to buy it at a discount. Not unhappy with my choice as i use piano a lot.


----------



## fish_hoof (Apr 9, 2018)

Living Fossil said:


> Thanks a lot, @fish_hoof for providing this!
> Indeed, the HZ strings take the piece to another level of sublimity. I guess we're approaching a sweet spot here...
> What i like more about the Century version is that it seems there is more dynamic interaction.
> Would it be possible with the HZ strings to get more crescendi - decrescendi on the held notes ?
> (that's something i really like when working with real musicians, the dynamic interaction... It's something that's usually kind of a compromise with samples...)



Thank you friend! I am liking the smaller sections a lot, and realize the bigger will have their place for certain situations. Here is something interesting i am noticing with HZS and dynamics, seems like i have to get real drastic with the mod wheel for it to get noticable... not sure if that makes sense. With Century, going from the mod wheel cc info 30-60 makes a big difference, HZS seems like i need to go maybe 30-80 but then in a shorter amount of time... don’t now if that made sense. The dynamic controls are beautiful and noticable, but just not as touchy with the modwheel.... let me know if you need further clarification.


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## iobaaboi (Apr 9, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Thank you so much friend! I use HZ Piano... people are probably going to think i work for Hans or Spitfire (i wish) truth be told i just love the tone. I used 8dio 1928 scoring piano for the longest time but then had a chance at christmas time to buy it at a discount. Not unhappy with my choice as i use piano a lot.



I was worried you were going to say that! I’ve had HZP on my distant wish list for a while, I already have too many pianos. This contextual demo makes it even harder to resist! 

Do you use it as a writing piano as well? I’ve heard some complain about the playability.


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## fretti (Apr 9, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Thank you so much friend! I use HZ Piano... people are probably going to think i work for Hans or Spitfire (i wish) truth be told i just love the tone. I used 8dio 1928 scoring piano for the longest time but then had a chance at christmas time to buy it at a discount. Not unhappy with my choice as i use piano a lot.


Do you see a huge difference between HZ Piano and other Piano libraries?
Don‘t really have a use for multiple mics at once, but do the single mics have a difference sound each? And also what can you say to the number of velocity layers (as that would be most imported to me) as I guess Spitfire did a rally good job in the lower dynamics?!
Got an EDU code allready but wasn‘t able to buy it yet.


----------



## Living Fossil (Apr 9, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> With Century, going from the mod wheel cc info 30-60 makes a big difference, HZS seems like i need to go maybe 30-80 but then in a shorter amount of time... don’t now if that made sense. The dynamic controls are beautiful and noticable, but just not as touchy with the modwheel.... let me know if you need further clarification.



Thanks again for answering, let me ask one more thing 
With the dynamic controls, does it give the impression of a ongoing filtering in the samples or that of a real change in texture?
In my opinion Spitfire did a great job in their dynamic crossfades in SSS, while i don't like the dynamic aspect that much in LASS (there i have always the impression to hear a filter...)


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## fish_hoof (Apr 9, 2018)

@iobaaboi - I use it all the time for write. My style is using the more soft patch, less dynamics i think which is fine but the lows are nice and powerful as you can hear. I haven't used the full patch much but from playing with it, it feels more concert piano type style than film scoring, could just be me though... perhaps someone would use it in the appropriate piece. There are a ton of different dynamics in that patch.

@fretti - Its a big difference between the scoring piano from 8dio. i'm not as familiar with other libraries like East West Pianos. I just know i liked the sound of this one from some of the demos. Gets me closer to that Thomas Newman like feel i've always enjoyed. Seems like if you want to play classical piano though, with the main patch it can be done, as heard in one of the demos on spitfires site. 

One thing for this library though that some might not like, is the pedal damper is loud... and when you hold it down you get a lot of room tone and hear things. To me, i like this, as it makes it feel real and warm... some might not... there is also no ability to control that, so its something to consider. 

Does this help?


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## fish_hoof (Apr 9, 2018)

Living Fossil said:


> Thanks again for answering, let me ask one more thing
> With the dynamic controls, does it give the impression of a ongoing filtering in the samples or that of a real change in texture?
> In my opinion Spitfire did a great job in their dynamic crossfades in SSS, while i don't like the dynamic aspect that much in LASS (there i have always the impression to hear a filter...)



I know the dynamic controls you speak of. The dynamics in this are very good... the more i work with the library the more i get a sense to how it works. It feels real... i think maybe what i'm experiencing is the room tone carries a lot of sound, so those subtle dynamic changes might not sound very prominent, even though they are there.. don't know if thats a real thing or just me, or if that even makes sense... just continuing to explore more. Again, its a very different beast from any library i've used...


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## fretti (Apr 9, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> @iobaaboi - I use it all the time for write. My style is using the more soft patch, less dynamics i think which is fine but the lows are nice and powerful as you can hear. I haven't used the full patch much but from playing with it, it feels more concert piano type style than film scoring, could just be me though... perhaps someone would use it in the appropriate piece. There are a ton of different dynamics in that patch.
> 
> @fretti - Its a big difference between the scoring piano from 8dio. i'm not as familiar with other libraries like East West Pianos. I just know i liked the sound of this one from some of the demos. Gets me closer to that Thomas Newman like feel i've always enjoyed. Seems like if you want to play classical piano though, with the main patch it can be done, as heard in one of the demos on spitfires site.
> 
> ...


Yes thank you very much. East West couldn‘t convince (tried that a few times with composer cloud). Just got the one from Cinematic Studio (together with CSS it was like 30€ or so) and therefor it sounds really good! But was really curious if one directly sees a difference between the „normal“ piano libraries with 6-20 GB (are the most I think) or if that hefty difference in size really only comes because of the mic positions...


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## fish_hoof (Apr 9, 2018)

fretti said:


> Yes thank you very much. East West couldn‘t convince (tried that a few times with composer cloud). Just got the one from Cinematic Studio (together with CSS it was like 30€ or so) and therefor it sounds really good! But was really curious if one directly sees a difference between the „normal“ piano libraries with 6-20 GB (are the most I think) or if that hefty difference in size really only comes because of the mic positions...



Yea there is only 4 mic positions to select from, 2 of them you’d use all the time and the other two add more of that room ambience and fullness. Scoring piano is pretty nice to be honest, along with some of 8dios other pianos. For me and my style, i like HZPiano especially with the discount. Comes down to those recording techniques that get that extra something special... at least thats how i see it.


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## NoamL (Apr 10, 2018)

YFM said:


> I have every single flagship strings library, none of them can do what this library can.





YFM said:


> Quite frankly, almost every public string library sounds vaguely like shit



I was inspired by this comment to try to mock up a bit of CdS with my "shit public string libraries" 



It's a room perspective of CSS+S mixed with some ambience/gallery from Mural Vol 1. Could probably be mixed better... that's where I'm constantly struggling to improve right now. However, I just love the expressive legatos of CSS


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## mac (Apr 10, 2018)

NoamL said:


> I was inspired by this comment to try to mock up a bit of CdS with my "shit public string libraries"
> 
> 
> 
> It's a room perspective of CSS+S mixed with some ambience/gallery from Mural Vol 1. Could probably be mixed better... that's where I'm constantly struggling to improve right now. However, I just love the expressive legatos of CSS




Nice. I do wish you had HZS too for a direct comparison. That way we could get a better idea of how much of the sound is the library, and how much is the persons midi manipulation skills.


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## NoamL (Apr 10, 2018)

I spotted an embarrassing mix error so I took the liberty of reuploading.

MIDI data is shared here for anyone who wants to try it. (but keep in mind this is an arrangement, not an authoritative transcription). And nothing is on the grid because of CSS, so don't expect good results unless you make it work for whatever library you all are using.


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## quantum7 (Apr 10, 2018)

NoamL said:


> I was inspired by this comment to try to mock up a bit of CdS with my "shit public string libraries"
> 
> 
> 
> It's a room perspective of CSS+S mixed with some ambience/gallery from Mural Vol 1. Could probably be mixed better... that's where I'm constantly struggling to improve right now. However, I just love the expressive legatos of CSS




Nice! I like this one better than the HZ Strings version I heard earlier. I used Sable a lot on my last album and still use it all the time.


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## YFM (Apr 10, 2018)

NoamL said:


> I was inspired by this comment to try to mock up a bit of CdS with my "shit public string libraries"
> 
> 
> 
> It's a room perspective of CSS+S mixed with some ambience/gallery from Mural Vol 1. Could probably be mixed better... that's where I'm constantly struggling to improve right now. However, I just love the expressive legatos of CSS



I could probably do an even better version than my first version if I used the strengths of every library I have together, but the point was to use just one.

Also, it is less about 'manipulation' and more about just knowing the basics of music production.


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## muziksculp (Apr 10, 2018)

I actually prefer the HZ-Strings version that YFM posted. It has a certain character / timbre that is unique, and better suited for specific types of tracks, like this one.


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## germancomponist (Apr 10, 2018)

I do not get it. If u think you have all libraries for you needs, okay, stop buying more. Be happy with what you have, and yes, this is absolutely ok! I can only speak for myself, and I am a sound fetishist. For me it is very clear, that I will buy the HZ-Strings, solely because of the sound and the mic positions.


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## germancomponist (Apr 10, 2018)

NoamL said:


> I was inspired by this comment to try to mock up a bit of CdS with my "shit public string libraries"
> 
> 
> 
> It's a room perspective of CSS+S mixed with some ambience/gallery from Mural Vol 1. Could probably be mixed better... that's where I'm constantly struggling to improve right now. However, I just love the expressive legatos of CSS



In my head, I can listen how this will sound with my old EWQLSO Platinum library, and it sounds not bad at all. But different! Maybe I will have some time next weekend to do this for your ears .... .


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## tmhuud (Apr 10, 2018)

Gunther, I knew you had a fetish lurking out there somewhere.


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## germancomponist (Apr 10, 2018)

tmhuud said:


> Gunther, I knew you had a fetish lurking out there somewhere.


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## YFM (Apr 10, 2018)

germancomponist said:


> I do not get it. If u think you have all libraries for you needs, okay, stop buying more. Be happy with what you have, and yes, this is absolutely ok! I can only speak for myself, and I am a sound fetishist. For me it is very clear, that I will buy the HZ-Strings, solely because of the sound and the mic positions.


Yeah. As for me, I'm always looking forward to the next new technology.


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## germancomponist (Apr 10, 2018)

I wish everyone had a well-edited room where music sounds best. Then certainly many people would discuss otherwise!


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## muziksculp (Apr 10, 2018)

Hi,

With the clock ticking as we approach April 11th, when the Intro Price of HZ-Strings expires, it would be very helpful if more demos of HZ-Strings used in tracks of various styles, and even mixed in with other libraries get posted here to help those of us who are still undecided about buying it, get a clearer picture of what this library can offer in various scenarios. 

Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## Vik (Apr 10, 2018)

Are there any demos out there of the HZ legato/portamentos, one instrument at a time? I've read through many posts about HZS in various threads, but can't remember having seen it. Here's a midi file representing a violin comparison I made a while ago, in case someone has some time to waste and want to try/post it with HZS.



EDIT: Apparently, I can't attach a .mid file ("not supported"), but this should be easy to recreate: it's G, G#, B and D repeated over several octaves.


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## Cinebient (Apr 11, 2018)

So...anyone want to hear how HZ legatos sounds from an amateur who doesn´t know much about orchestra yet? 
I just started to explore it at all and to make it easy i just used the same mic settings on each here for a short legatos test.
50% Close, 100% Tree and 30% Amb in this case.
The legatos are still not fixed in general but it´s much better since the latest update.
I picked the ones i think are working good mostly (there are others which works and some which doesn´t do good at all...like the 60 violins, especially at higher dynamics) which are in this example the 20 Violins LHS, 20 Violas Wide, 60 Cellos and 24 Basses.
The levels are not matched well and i just played some random/improved things and copied it to each to play the same solo and at the end they all play together the same midi (just transposed the basses -1oct and the violins +1oct).
No automation, no dynamic changes here at all. I used the HZS intern reverb on each at 20%. Otherwise no FX etc.
So think about that a lot of you here could do it much much better and i will too if i explored it more after some time.
I don´t own much huge string libraries so i have not much overlap also and i´m quite happy with HZS so far.
Have a nice day:


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## N.Caffrey (Apr 11, 2018)

Cinebient said:


> So...anyone want to hear how HZ legatos sounds from an amateur who doesn´t know much about orchestra yet?
> I just started to explore it at all and to make it easy i just used the same mic settings on each here for a short legatos test.
> 50% Close, 100% Tree and 30% Amb in this case.
> The legatos are still not fixed in general but it´s much better since the latest update.
> ...




Thanks for posting. I'm not sure any library would sound good playing this, don't want to offend anybody it just feels very random and hard to judge listening to this.


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## muziksculp (Apr 11, 2018)

Let's hear more HZ-Strings demos, Please. 

Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## NoamL (Apr 11, 2018)

YFM said:


> I could probably do an even better version than my first version if I used the strengths of every library I have together, but the point was to use just one.
> 
> Also, it is less about 'manipulation' and more about just knowing the basics of music production.



Whoops just saw this... The reason I layered libraries was to try to get the 60-80 player sound of the original recording, not to "beat" HZS. CSS+S only has 39 players, Mural has 60, that's why I mixed in some Ambient and Gallery mics of Mural behind CSS+S.


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## fretti (Apr 11, 2018)

Cinebient said:


> So...anyone want to hear how HZ legatos sounds from an amateur who doesn´t know much about orchestra yet?
> I just started to explore it at all and to make it easy i just used the same mic settings on each here for a short legatos test.
> 50% Close, 100% Tree and 30% Amb in this case.
> The legatos are still not fixed in general but it´s much better since the latest update.
> ...



Reminds me a little of the twelve tone technique concept of austrian componist Arnold Schöneberg:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-tone_technique


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## fretti (Apr 11, 2018)

muziksculp said:


> Let's hear more HZ-Strings demos, Please.
> 
> Thanks,
> Muziksculp






Threw HZ Strings and Cinematic Studio Strings 2 over a midi-file for He's a pirate a few days ago.
Only the strings (Harmonic on the second repeat of the beginning seems a little odd/off, but isn't my file, so didn't want to edit the whole thing).
I think the bass sounds more powerful with HZ, whereas the Violin melody stands more out with CS2. No mixing, no effects, just the strings.
Obviously don't own the rights for the original music, but as a recreation I think there should be no problems(?!)


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## muziksculp (Apr 11, 2018)

@fretti ,

Thanks for the demos, I think the HZ-Strings version could be improved with some midi customization, CC automation, ..etc. but it still sounds good, given you just used a pre-existing midi file for the tracks. The CS version sounds cleaner, but that's expected.


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## muziksculp (Apr 11, 2018)

Hi,

Oh.... I just went ahead and purchased *HZ-Strings* 

I will start having a bit of fun with it this weekend. and post some feedback about it. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## Sopranos (Apr 11, 2018)

HZ strings sounds better imo on this Pirates theme. Overall warmer and just more realistic to me.

Thanks for the comparison and samples!

BTW - where did you get the midi for that? I'd be interested in doing some comparisons of my own.

Cheers!


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## fretti (Apr 11, 2018)

Sopranos said:


> HZ strings sounds better imo on this Pirates theme. Overall warmer and just more realistic to me.
> 
> Thanks for the comparison and samples!
> 
> ...


Was actually a Piano midi file so had to edit it a little bit to fit the string sections...
Normaly I Go to:
https://musescore.com/ 
As my standard midi finder, they have a lot of things, but when it comes to scores you have to look a little bit around to find orchestra versions (helpful therefor is the left section of the site where you can change how many voices/instruments the sheet music should have). When you are registered/logged in you can download as many midi files as you want (also other formats such as pdf etc. Whatever you need).
For other classical stuff I tend to look here:
http://www.kunstderfuge.com/beethoven/variae.htm
I think 5 free downloads, but all the big names (Mozart, Beethoven etc. All have great midis here)
Other than that I often search google, but for many soundtracks there are sadly mostly piano files and no full orchestrations...


----------



## Tatu (Apr 11, 2018)

Sopranos said:


> HZ strings sounds better imo on this Pirates theme. Overall warmer and just more realistic to me.


Not sure if I'd say more realistic.. but more HZ.


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## fretti (Apr 11, 2018)

muziksculp said:


> Hi,
> 
> Oh.... I just went ahead and purchased *HZ-Strings*
> 
> ...


Hope you will like it and that it is useful for your music!


----------



## muziksculp (Apr 11, 2018)

fretti said:


> Hope you will like it and that it is useful for your music!



Thanks.

Yes, I hope so too. 

Actually, after a lot of head scratching, I came to the conclusion that HZ-Strings is a very unique strings library, it is not anything like other strings libraries, sooner or later I would want to have that super large string section sound, and the majestic sound it offers, which isn't easy to achieve with standard size string ensembles. I'm sure Spitfire Audio will sort out all the rough edges related to their new Sample Player (hope they find a name for it)  , but, that didn't deter me from going forward with buying this library.

I would love to see Spitfire Audio add a _HZ-String Expansion-A_ that adds a healthy amount of additional short articulations, and maybe some other interesting and useful articulations. Maybe Mr. Zimmer will convince them to do that. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## artomatic (Apr 11, 2018)

Would love to have had portamento - on the smaller sections, obviously.


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## prodigalson (Apr 11, 2018)

Tatu said:


> Not sure if I'd say more realistic.. but more HZ.



How dare you. It's well established fact around here that HZ Strings doesn't sound any more "HZ" than any other symphonic string library.


----------



## N.Caffrey (Apr 11, 2018)

muziksculp said:


> Thanks.
> 
> Yes, I hope so too.
> 
> ...


I look forward to your demos!


----------



## N.Caffrey (Apr 12, 2018)

fretti said:


> Threw HZ Strings and Cinematic Studio Strings 2 over a midi-file for He's a pirate a few days ago.
> Only the strings (Harmonic on the second repeat of the beginning seems a little odd/off, but isn't my file, so didn't want to edit the whole thing).
> I think the bass sounds more powerful with HZ, whereas the Violin melody stands more out with CS2. No mixing, no effects, just the strings.
> Obviously don't own the rights for the original music, but as a recreation I think there should be no problems(?!)



I personally think there's a bit too much reverb on the HSZ, it'd be interesting to hear the piece a touch dryer. Sound wise I prefer HZS


----------



## fretti (Apr 12, 2018)

N.Caffrey said:


> I personally think there's a bit too much reverb on the HSZ, it'd be interesting to hear the piece a touch dryer. Sound wise I prefer HZS


Don't want to spam anyone here with my Soundcloud, so I just made a little bit of space in my dropbox.
Now with a few other Libraries as well; personally I really like the Whole Ensemble from BOI because it has that kind of piraty touch and feel that makes the soundtrack so special. But the HZ Strings "doubled" with the First Chairs come in a close second (really liked that idea when I read/heard that Hans' tends/likes to do that doubling with close solo players, to get that more "aggressiv" attack and bow sound etc. from them), gives it a slightly touch (that when not mentioning I think I wouldn't even notice myself) that just pushes it (imo)...

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xy0nbq1qtgphfpz/AAC1SzB-htvnMLUINsyLW-yya?dl=0


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## NoamL (Apr 12, 2018)

Hmm, I think all these examples showcase why it can sometimes be bad to be locked in to only one length and style of shorts. Sometimes you gotta mix it up!

I was surprised by how close the CSS Stacc'smos came to the right attitude, now if you alternated in some of the Stacc, Sfz and Spiccato in there as appropriate you'd really have something feasible for a mockup. That being said it's also probably the furthest from the original tone of the movie's strings. It'd need some drastic EQing and exciting I guess, and still might not sound all that authentically "Zimmery," more like a cover.

The one with HZS close mics is much closer to the original sounds from the movies. The supersized strings are still kind of surprisingly nimble. But man, the one set of samples is really taking away from the rhythmic feel of the piece. It would no doubt be better with more appropriate note velocities than the one in the MIDI file. Rather than just throwing the same MIDI on every library which is inevitably going to arbitrarily favor one library at random.

(BTW of course there are errors in the MIDI transcription too. But I understand you just grabbed a file from the Net.)


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## N.Caffrey (Apr 12, 2018)

NoamL said:


> Hmm, I think all these examples showcase why it can sometimes be bad to be locked in to only one length and style of shorts. Sometimes you gotta mix it up!
> 
> I was surprised by how close the CSS Stacc'smos came to the right attitude, now if you alternated in some of the Stacc, Sfz and Spiccato in there as appropriate you'd really have something feasible for a mockup. That being said it's also probably the furthest from the original tone of the movie's strings. It'd need some drastic EQing and exciting I guess, and still might not sound all that authentically "Zimmery," more like a cover.
> 
> ...



I agree staccatissimo was the best type of short for the piece (but personally not sound).


----------



## fretti (Apr 12, 2018)

NoamL said:


> Hmm, I think all these examples showcase why it can sometimes be bad to be locked in to only one length and style of shorts. Sometimes you gotta mix it up!
> 
> I was surprised by how close the CSS Stacc'smos came to the right attitude, now if you alternated in some of the Stacc, Sfz and Spiccato in there as appropriate you'd really have something feasible for a mockup. That being said it's also probably the furthest from the original tone of the movie's strings. It'd need some drastic EQing and exciting I guess, and still might not sound all that authentically "Zimmery," more like a cover.
> 
> ...


100% agree, but I find it rather interesting how different libraries react to the same midi file; it really showcases that every library has it's own strengths and weaknesses; while one might come out great for a certain piece right out of the box, another one needs really much work with effects and midi programming. If taking another piece it can be the completely other way around.
Besides from me not having time or energy right now to make every library sound exactly the same as the original (wich is of course not possible), I think for comparison reasons it is a little better with having the same out of the box sound for every lib. That way every body can see wether it fits a certain playing style or needs a lot of effects and work; sure the example for the davinci code (posted somewhere) was sounding unbelievable great, but in the end most libs can be processed to sound that way. Therefor it is only from the sound perspective not a fair comparison anymore (imo), the one have to at least do a video where it is shown what process had to be gone through to achieve such a sound. 
But yeah totally agree with you, that midi programming would make a huge difference,maybe i'll try some things out when having a little bit more time next to my studies...(also then trying to really orchestra and not just put some midi file in there, maybe I can find some propper sheet music somewhere because I am not that good by ear)


----------



## Cinebient (Apr 12, 2018)

So. Not sure if it´s useful for anyone here but anyway.....
Demo of 21 single (out of 26 possible) mic settings from HZS.
I used 2 instances.
One where i layered all 60 cellos shorts. I turned tightness to 100%.
One where i layered all 24 basses shorts. Also tightness on 100%.
The cellos has 5 more mic settings so i just used the 21 which are also available for the 24 basses shorts.
I just played some random notes which triggers the 2 instances at the same time and doesn´t changed the levels etc. 
I just used only one mic at 100% at a time. Of course always the same in the 2 instances as well.
Reverb at 0%, off.
Maybe it can help someone...or not


----------



## Sovereign (Apr 12, 2018)

muziksculp said:


> Hi,
> 
> Oh.... I just went ahead and purchased *HZ-Strings*
> 
> I will start having a bit of fun with it this weekend. and post some feedback about it.


Let everyone know if you like 'em.


----------



## Ran Zhou (Apr 12, 2018)

Here's my mix of recording of live play on each string section (only common articulations used) and a little bit arrangement on patterns cross with Cello of Spitfire Alternative Solo


----------



## windyweekend (Apr 12, 2018)

artomatic said:


> Thanks for that encouraging "first look". Can it be run on VEP? Is the new player a cpu hog?


Running very nicely on VEP and Win7 here.


----------



## MaxOctane (Apr 12, 2018)

I don't remember these being posted before. Not mine.

HZS used inside a busy cue, so pretty hard to hear:


----------



## ridgero (Apr 17, 2018)

Here is my piece, I‘m still a noob with no musical background, but I listen alot to filmscores.

Feedback welcomed! Thanks

HZ Strings
Albion 1 Brass
HZ01 Percs


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## artomatic (Apr 19, 2018)

Blending HZS with smaller library.


----------



## muziksculp (Apr 19, 2018)

ridgero said:


> Here is my piece, I‘m still a noob with no musical background, but I listen alot to filmscores.
> 
> Feedback welcomed! Thanks
> 
> ...




Hi ridgero,

Thanks for sharing this wonderful track showing HZ-Strings. Very well done !

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## muziksculp (Apr 22, 2018)

Sovereign said:


> Let everyone know if you like 'em.



Hi Sovereign,

I finally installed HZ-Strings, and had a few minutes to play around with the patches, and discover the new SA Sample Engine.

I'm happy to report that I really like what HZ-Strings is delivering, the new sample engine is very responsive, and loads patches, and mic options pretty fast, and snappy. I'm on PC (Windows 8.1 Pro, using Presonus Studio One Pro 3.5).

I will post more feedback once I have spent more time with this library, and hopefully post a demo track to show more of what it can do. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## Jeremy Gillam (Apr 22, 2018)

Here is a piece I wrote with HZS that I shared in the Member's Compositions subforum. There were a couple questions about how I was using the library so I also included my Cubase project and a MIDI file on that page. I hope it's interesting or helpful to some of you.


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## muziksculp (Apr 22, 2018)

jrgillam said:


> Here is a piece I wrote with HZS that I shared in the Member's Compositions subforum. There were a couple questions about how I was using the library so I also included my Cubase project and a MIDI file on that page. I hope it's interesting or helpful to some of you.



Wonderful Track. So many beautiful string textures, and very nice buildup  

Thanks for sharing.


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## Zak Rahman (Apr 24, 2018)

Cinebient said:


> So. Not sure if it´s useful for anyone here but anyway.....



Extremely useful. I think these should be part of any library demonstration. Not saying they shouldn't tart up stuff, but a straight up demo like this is far more useful in many ways. Thank you.


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## ashtongleckman (Apr 30, 2018)

Here's a cue I recreated from the Dark Knight using HZ Strings. Other than one solo cello patch from Berlin Strings first chairs (as there's one in the original recording), it's 100% exclusively HZ Strings. I put the configuration settings in the description of the video. Would love to know what you guys think!


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## fretti (Apr 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a cue I recreated from the Dark Knight using HZ Strings. Other than one solo cello patch from Berlin Strings first chairs (as there's one in the original recording), it's 100% exclusively HZ Strings. I put the configuration settings in the description of the video. Would love to know what you guys think!



Awesome job! Incredible how you managed it to sound so accurate


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## Lionel Schmitt (Apr 30, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a cue I recreated from the Dark Knight using HZ Strings. Other than one solo cello patch from Berlin Strings first chairs (as there's one in the original recording), it's 100% exclusively HZ Strings. I put the configuration settings in the description of the video. Would love to know what you guys think!



You really channeled that wide and rich HZ sound very well! Great.


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## JohnG (Apr 30, 2018)

Here's one with only HZ strings -- no EQ, compression, reverb. Only the library (plus whatever Youtube does to it...).



Previously posted this in member compositions so it's the same piece.


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## fretti (Apr 30, 2018)

JohnG said:


> Here's one with only HZ strings -- no EQ, compression, reverb. Only the library (plus whatever Youtube does to it...).
> 
> 
> 
> Previously posted this in member compositions so it's the same piece.



Sounds great! Love how much emotion HZ Strings can deliver
With every load up of the Super Flautando I actually like this library and the possibilities it offers more and more...


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## MaxOctane (May 1, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a cue I recreated from the Dark Knight using HZ Strings. Other than one solo cello patch from Berlin Strings first chairs (as there's one in the original recording), it's 100% exclusively HZ Strings. I put the configuration settings in the description of the video. Would love to know what you guys think!




@ashtongleckman Great work as usual.

But it's hard to tell if HZS added something very special to the piece. What most stands out to me is the solo cello (doubled?), the underlayer, and the percussion.


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## fish_hoof (May 9, 2018)

Hey gang, 

Here are a few tracks I had fun doing over the weekend while between projects. Used the HZS Pizz and Con Sord in the first song, really enjoy this library the more I work with it.


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## Rctec (May 9, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Here's a cue I recreated from the Dark Knight using HZ Strings. Other than one solo cello patch from Berlin Strings first chairs (as there's one in the original recording), it's 100% exclusively HZ Strings. I put the configuration settings in the description of the video. Would love to know what you guys think!



Want a job?
-Hz-


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## fretti (May 9, 2018)

Rctec said:


> Want a job?
> -Hz-


After watching some of Ashton’s videos and hearing his music I think he would really deserve such an opportunity!


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## Jeremy Gillam (May 9, 2018)

Rctec said:


> Want a job?
> -Hz-


If you're hiring — my music is shit but I make great coffee.


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## fish_hoof (May 9, 2018)

Rctec said:


> Want a job?
> -Hz-



Chance to learn from HZ? @ashtongleckman take it my friend.. would love and jump at the chance to learn from his process, take that and apply it to your own music.. perhaps being the next HZ and create something new in film.


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## artomatic (May 9, 2018)

Hoping that the new update fixes most of the legato issues.
Loving this library as well. Adding a bit of vibrato is my pref. Great investment for moi!


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## PaulBrimstone (May 9, 2018)

Rctec said:


> Want a job?
> -Hz-


I'm Ashton! And so’s my wife!
Seriously, he deserves that job...


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## fretti (May 9, 2018)

artomatic said:


> Hoping that the new update fixes most of the legato issues.
> Loving this library as well. Adding a bit of vibrato is my pref. Great investment for moi!


Will see tomorrow, but the change log they posted seems promising to fix or at least better some serious bugs around HZS and enhance the performance


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## fish_hoof (May 10, 2018)

jrgillam said:


> If you're hiring — my music is shit but I make great coffee.



Funny thing is I almost spit out my coffee as it was the post after mine lol... then realized it wasnt for my music. Oh well, i do enjoy what i’m doing and whatever happens will happen.


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## MaxOctane (May 10, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Funny thing is I almost spit out my coffee as it was the post after mine lol... then realized it wasnt for my music. Oh well, i do enjoy what i’m doing and whatever happens will happen.



Awww. You were one post away from living the dream.


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## ashtongleckman (May 11, 2018)

Rctec said:


> Want a job?
> -Hz-


Absolutely! I would be honored.


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## fish_hoof (May 11, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Absolutely! I would be honored.



Pumped for you


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## PaulBrimstone (May 11, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Absolutely! I would be honored.


I can't believe the community isn't making more of this: what a dream turn of events for this talented young guy. And a classy move by HZ @Rctec. Congrats Ashton — this will be huge.


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## Saxer (May 11, 2018)

Yepp... well deserved!


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## Jeremy Gillam (May 11, 2018)

We will all be working for Ashton soon. Ashton, how do you take your coffee?


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## fretti (May 11, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Absolutely! I would be honored.


So where can I send my application as your assistant/man for everything?


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## fish_hoof (May 11, 2018)

Sorry for all the demos, I just enjoy sharing what this library can do as I keep learning it  

Strings are HZS only


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## Daniel James (May 11, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Absolutely! I would be honored.


Get in mate!

-DJ


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## Heledir (May 12, 2018)

ashtongleckman said:


> Absolutely! I would be honored.


How composed (*ahem*) of a reply.

See, I would be running around flipping my absolute shit, screaming and crying. 
But I have emotional problems. 
Probably.


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## Lionel Schmitt (May 12, 2018)

Heledir said:


> How composed (*ahem*) of a reply.
> 
> See, I would be running around flipping my absolute shit, screaming and crying.
> But I have emotional problems.
> Probably.


It's a theme. He generally is rather... composed upon rctec comments.
Maybe he just doesn't want to appear like a crazy fanboy. I hope so... lol, would hate to see someone who isn't all that excited in this situation, haha...


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## Heledir (May 12, 2018)

DarkestShadow said:


> It's a theme. He generally is rather... composed upon rctec comments.
> Maybe he just doesn't want to appear like a crazy fanboy. I hope so... lol, would hate to see someone who isn't all that excited in this situation, haha...



Hans Zimmer: Ashton, want to come work with me, son?
Ashton Gleckman: *casually leans back* Yeah, cool. Whatever.

Me: *RUNS AROUND HYSTERICALLY*


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## fretti (May 12, 2018)

I think the way he answered here just reflects his personality of being really polite and nice. Just the way he answered me personally when I had a question about "remaking" scores. "Modest"/"Humble" would probably be the better word for his statement...


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## Lupez (May 15, 2018)

Rctec said:


> Want a job?
> -Hz-



America, the land of opportunity. For real!


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## fish_hoof (May 19, 2018)

Had fun working on this. HZS with a little OA Chamber EVO (Not much, just subtle). I'm finding the 60 string sections seem to be used best when really trying to accentuate certain parts... at least for me. Using them in a full song might be too much, but in using the smaller sections first as the foundation and then use the bigger sections to really cut through a mix with a melody or accentuate something really does the trick. At least for me... not sure if it was designed with that in mind. Also finding this library is best when you have a ton of mic positions used... I think I used most of the mics for each part. 

Feedback is always welcome, appreciate you guys.


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## lucky909091 (May 19, 2018)

Yeah - this is cool, Kendall.
The way you integrated the HZ-Strings into your playback sounds really good.


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## fish_hoof (May 19, 2018)

lucky909091 said:


> Yeah - this is cool, Kendall.
> The way you integrated the HZ-Strings into your playback sounds really good.



Thank you so much. Super humbled by your encouraging words.


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## lucky909091 (May 19, 2018)

Come one, Kendall, this is your daily work....


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## fish_hoof (May 19, 2018)

lucky909091 said:


> Come one, Kendall, this is your daily work....



It’s always nice though when you get positive feedback


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## lucky909091 (May 19, 2018)

Yes, I like your work and your musical biography.


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## fish_hoof (May 19, 2018)

lucky909091 said:


> Yes, I like your work and your musical biography.



Thank you!


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## fish_hoof (May 21, 2018)

Also on a side note, huge shout out to @SpitfireSupport. They are unreal! While i’ve had some issues, they were on top of it and so kind. Thank you guys!


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## SpitfireSupport (May 21, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Also on a side note, huge shout out to @SpitfireSupport. They are unreal! While i’ve had some issues, they were on top of it and so kind. Thank you guys!


You're welcome!

Luke


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## luke_7 (May 21, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Also on a side note, huge shout out to @SpitfireSupport. They are unreal! While i’ve had some issues, they were on top of it and so kind. Thank you guys!


 
Yes, I agree with you, SpitfireSupport is the best ! It's one of the reasons why I love Spitfire Audio so much.


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## fish_hoof (Jun 5, 2018)

Hey gang, 

Did something a little different. Wrote a piece with HZS and then layered the close mics from Century Strings. Overall, I really like the results. When I was blending the two string libraries, seemed to be one of those "can't really tell its there, but can really tell if they leave the mix". Think it compliments HZS really well, at least the close mics do. Adds a little definition to that powerful sound. 



Appreciate you guys. Thanks!


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## fish_hoof (Jun 5, 2018)

Although now I kind of want to swap out century strings with the new Spitfire Solo library coming out... curious as to what that would sound like.


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## fish_hoof (Jun 14, 2018)

Was feeling super joyful this week and decided to write a song dedicated to my wife. Used HZS for strings and other libraries, as well as me playing guitar but again, just HZS for strings. Really like the vast selection of mics in HZS... some may not or feel like it's a lot of work, but for me, its pretty fun trying different stuff out. Much like messing with the settings on a new amp or pedal... just tons of possibilities. 



Thank you all!


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## fish_hoof (Jun 15, 2018)

On a side note, would love to hear from others using HZS and what your favorite mic setups are. I love using a lot of the spot and close mics mics mixed around 50-60% and then add in the tree, ambient, outer and gallery mics. Usually use the 808F and 808R too because... well why not.


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## fish_hoof (Jun 19, 2018)

Anyone? Thought there would be a few thoughts on all the different mics


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## rlw (Jun 30, 2018)

Here is a sound track suite I did using Han Zimmer Strings. I also used some small instances of Spitfire Symphonic Strings as well as a taste of Spitfire Olafur Arnalds Chamber Evo and Orchestra Swarm for a few measure. Any comments are welcome.


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## desert (Jun 30, 2018)

rlw said:


> Here is a sound track suite I did using Han Zimmer Strings. I also used some small instances of Spitfire Symphonic Strings as well as a taste of Spitfire Olafur Arnalds Chamber Evo and Orchestra Swarm for a few measure. Any comments are welcome.



nice mix


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## rlw (Jul 1, 2018)

desert said:


> nice mix


Thanks


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## fish_hoof (Jul 1, 2018)

@rlw thabks for sharing! Great stuff. What would you say are your favorite mics to use?


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## rlw (Jul 1, 2018)

On most of the HZ strings I used Tree and Outrigger with sometimes a taste of Mid X or Mid Y. But on many of the galleries VN patches I used Tree and Mid X while on Galleries Vc I used Tree and Mid Y. But on the Vn LHS I used Close, Amp, Out, Mid Y. Fortunately I have an iMac Pro 10 core with 128 gb of memory. I wanted to explore unconventional string placements such as Vc LHS and Vn RHS. I rarely use 60 Vn 60 Vc during this 10 min piece. I also limited my use of Reverb and chose to use the room ambiance when possible. The room noise could be and issue so I rolled all HZ String tracks at 42 cycles to reduce the room noise but I love the sound. The biggest challenge i had in large sections and used 28 tracks of HZ strings so I had to freeze tracks even though I have a powerful machine. Hope the helps @fish_hoof.


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## fish_hoof (Jul 1, 2018)

rlw said:


> On most of the HZ strings I used Tree and Outrigger with sometimes a taste of Mid X or Mid Y. But on many of the galleries VN patches I used Tree and Mid X while on Galleries Vc I used Tree and Mid Y. But on the Vn LHS I used Close, Amp, Out, Mid Y. Fortunately I have an iMac Pro 10 core with 128 gb of memory. I wanted to explore unconventional string placements such as Vc LHS and Vn RHS. I rarely use 60 Vn 60 Vc during this 10 min piece. I also limited my use of Reverb and chose to use the room ambiance when possible. The room noise could be and issue so I rolled all HZ String tracks at 42 cycles to reduce the room noise but I love the sound. The biggest challenge i had in large sections and used 28 tracks of HZ strings so I had to freeze tracks even though I have a powerful machine. Hope the helps @fish_hoof.



Thank you! Was interested in hearing how others used the different mics. I load up almost all the close/spot mics now and have the tree, ambient and gallery. Memory hog so i usually write with one or two mics, then load the rest and freeze... so far that work flow is perfectly fine and doesnt hinder me. Thanks for sharing.


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## muziksculp (Jul 1, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Hey gang,
> 
> Did something a little different. Wrote a piece with HZS and then layered the close mics from Century Strings. Overall, I really like the results. When I was blending the two string libraries, seemed to be one of those "can't really tell its there, but can really tell if they leave the mix". Think it compliments HZS really well, at least the close mics do. Adds a little definition to that powerful sound.
> 
> ...




Great sounding track, Yes, Century Strings Close-Mics blend very nicely with HZS to add a bit more defenition. 

Thanks for sharing.


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## rlw (Jul 1, 2018)

rlw said:


> Here is a sound track suite I did using Han Zimmer Strings. I also used some small instances of Spitfire Symphonic Strings as well as a taste of Spitfire Olafur Arnalds Chamber Evo and Orchestra Swarm for a few measure.





@fish_hoof, I liked your blend of string sound using Century Strings. Your blend was nicely done. On "The Test" suite, I doubled with SSS Db in a one of the Db ostinato parts to get the sound I wanted. I was surprised however, how just working with the mics I could get the sound I wanted. The galleries are awesome. HZ strings have really expanded my sound palettes.[/QUOTE]


fish_hoof said:


> Hey gang,
> 
> Wrote a piece with HZS and then layered the close mics from Century Strings. Overall, I really like the results.


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## fish_hoof (Jul 1, 2018)

muziksculp said:


> Great sounding track, Yes, Century Strings Close-Mics blend very nicely with HZS to add a bit more defenition.
> 
> Thanks for sharing.



Really appreciate your kind words. Thank you! I think i will be using century strings close mics going forward... seems to help add a little something extra.


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## fish_hoof (Jul 1, 2018)

rlw said:


> @fish_hoof, I liked your blend of string sound using Century Strings. Your blend was nicely done. On "The Test" suite, I doubled with SSS Db in a one of the Db ostinato parts to get the sound I wanted. I was surprised however, how just working with the mics I could get the sound I wanted. The galleries are awesome. HZ strings have really expanded my sound palettes.


[/QUOTE]

Thank you so much! Honestly, I love the huge amount of mic selections. Makes me feel like i have control and craft my own sound. Totally agree on the gallery mics! I use a few close mics and gallery mics for violas and the short violas articulations at soft dynamics sound so so good.


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## fish_hoof (Jul 4, 2018)

Here is a fun one where I felt HZS definitely added power to the track. Got some accordian action about 1:30 in which was fun. For me, I think I found sweet spot I like with the mics. Use about 8-9, which seems like a ton but I am very very happy with the results i'm getting. Great stuff @Spitfire Team! 



No other strings, just HZS. Other elements obviously. Appreciate you all!


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## N.Caffrey (Jul 4, 2018)

Really like the guitar as well! How do you treat guitars? I'm kind of struggling with it!


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## rlw (Jul 4, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Here is a fun one where I felt HZS definitely added power to the track. Got some accordian action about 1:30 in which was fun. For me, I think I found sweet spot I like with the mics. Use about 8-9, which seems like a ton but I am very very happy with the results i'm getting. Great stuff @Spitfire Team!
> 
> 
> 
> No other strings, just HZS. Other elements obviously. Appreciate you all!



Cool track. I just listened with head set and look forward to listening in my monitors later. Guitar worked with HZS nicely. Are you having to freeze tracks with that many mics. How many tracks of HZS did you use.


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## artomatic (Jul 4, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Here is a fun one where I felt HZS definitely added power to the track. Got some accordian action about 1:30 in which was fun. For me, I think I found sweet spot I like with the mics. Use about 8-9, which seems like a ton but I am very very happy with the results i'm getting. Great stuff @Spitfire Team!
> 
> 
> 
> No other strings, just HZS. Other elements obviously. Appreciate you all!




Sounds like you've gotten to know this library really well. Outstanding piece with the guitar!


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## kavinsky (Jul 4, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Here is a fun one where I felt HZS definitely added power to the track. Got some accordian action about 1:30 in which was fun. For me, I think I found sweet spot I like with the mics. Use about 8-9, which seems like a ton but I am very very happy with the results i'm getting. Great stuff @Spitfire Team!
> 
> 
> 
> No other strings, just HZS. Other elements obviously. Appreciate you all!



nice piece, those shorts drag quite obviously though. 
the timing is everything for me and this just sticks out


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## fish_hoof (Jul 4, 2018)

N.Caffrey said:


> Really like the guitar as well! How do you treat guitars? I'm kind of struggling with it!



Thank you so much friend! I hear you about guitars. Its something I constantly strive to make sound good as guitar is my main instrument. I don't necessarily treat it with anything specific, I can lend a little bit of my process and see if that helps guide you in some direction? 

1 - Find the tone I am going for. If thats amp modeling or mic'd amp. This track I used the PRS guitar plugin and honestly, its sensational. Really surprised. It's quick an easy too over getting the Mesa Boogie up and going. 
1a - sometimes I'll run a delay and then end with a reverb.. again just depends on the sound I'm going for. 
2 - Once I find that tone I want, I will record it, then if its a rhythm part, record a second rhythm track with a different amp and tone, but nothing too drastic. 
3 - after recording it, I'll pan one left and the other right (not hard left or right, just enough. Maybe -40 to -50 L and R respectively so its both even to my ears. 
4 - I'll then write the rest of the track and as I get closer to the end and get to mixing. I'll then throw an EQ (eq is your best friend with guitars I find) then sum the guitars output to one aux bus (I'm using Pro Tools) throw on a compressor, maybe a little more post eq on the combined guitars and then (this is important I have always found) use the Waves S1 Imager to widen the guitars. This helps them fill things out and sit nice in the mix. Watched a recording engineer in Vancouver do this with my guitars when recording an album and it stuck with me. 

I'm still learning and growing each time I write with guitars. PM me and we can continue to chat shop over guitar stuff and learn off each other. This is just a basic starting point process that I have always found worked for me and seems to get me where I want to be 95% of the time. 

Hope that helps friend.


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## fish_hoof (Jul 4, 2018)

rlw said:


> Cool track. I just listened with head set and look forward to listening in my monitors later. Guitar worked with HZS nicely. Are you having to freeze tracks with that many mics. How many tracks of HZS did you use.



I am freezing all the tracks. I actually write with just the close and tree mic, then as I get to the end I know I am done with the strings, I load up the mics preset I created and freeze it. For this track, I actually used all the strings except for 60 cellos and violas. So to clarify (cause I don't think that made much sense and I'm too tired to delete) Violins - LH Center RH Cello - LH Center RH Violas - WIDE Basses and 60 Violins - all with all the articulations loaded. its pretty fun to experiment and just write with this unconventional setup.. in the song I have LH and RH cellos doing shorts and bass and cellos center doing longs down the middle.. while the violins LH and RH are doing other stuff.... just really fun.


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## fish_hoof (Jul 4, 2018)

artomatic said:


> Sounds like you've gotten to know this library really well. Outstanding piece with the guitar!



I made it my goal to learn this library because it seems unconventional compared to other libraries. Thank you so much for the kind words about the guitar! Really appreciate it.


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## fish_hoof (Jul 4, 2018)

kavinsky said:


> nice piece, those shorts drag quite obviously though.
> the timing is everything for me and this just sticks out



What was time time position you were hearing? Nothing stuck out to me BUT doesn't mean its not there and appreciate that honest feedback so I can keep getting better and watch out for that on future stuff.


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## kavinsky (Jul 4, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> What was time time position you were hearing? Nothing stuck out to me BUT doesn't mean its not there and appreciate that honest feedback so I can keep getting better and watch out for that on future stuff.


the spiccatos from 2:00 onwards. Id just offset the track back by at least 100ms


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## fish_hoof (Jul 4, 2018)

kavinsky said:


> the spiccatos from 2:00 onwards. Id just offset the track back by at least 100ms



Ill check it out. Appreciate that!


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## Jeremy Gillam (Jul 19, 2018)

I used some HZS shorts and FX patches in this (also posted in Member's Compositions):


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## rlw (Jul 28, 2018)

I just completed a Soundtrack Trilogy Suite that features HZS strings. I also blended SSS and a small amount of OA Chamber Evos.  

Also 

taking-light-to-darkness-the-quest


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## fish_hoof (Jul 29, 2018)

rlw said:


> I just completed a Soundtrack Trilogy Suite that features HZS strings. I also blended SSS and a small amount of OA Chamber Evos.
> 
> Also
> 
> taking-light-to-darkness-the-quest




Enjoyed this! Loved the lows in the beginning with the winds. Very strong sounding. Which I feel is one of the best strengths of this library.


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## rlw (Jul 29, 2018)

fish_hoof said:


> Enjoyed this! Loved the lows in the beginning with the winds. Very strong sounding. Which I feel is one of the best strengths of this library.


Thanks for your comment. This time, I used a little more dynamic EQ'd on the cellos to reduce the harshness on the swells but I agree about loving the lows and how strong the HZS can sound. I'm learning more about getting the sounds I'm looking for. In the second piece of the trilogy (The Quest) I was able to explore more variation in the string color.


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## YFM (Jul 30, 2018)

I was told this library was only good for elevator music. Hold my beer guys..





Start at around 3:45 if you want to cut to some 'Hans Zimmer Strings' stuff immediately.


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## fish_hoof (Aug 29, 2018)

Love the Halo series and wanted to do a re-score of the Halo Infinity trailer. Used HZS and layered century strings slightly for cello and violins 1. Was a good fun exercise.



Here is the audio only if anyone just wanted to listen to it.



Thank you all!


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## fish_hoof (Aug 29, 2018)

Side note been debating Forzo... if purchased I may add it to this track at the end. Been debating that library all week!


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## rlw (Mar 8, 2019)

For those who are interested, I just posted HZ Strings featured on the 4th Movement of "Taking Light to Darkness Suite". All the movements use HZ Strings but for the movement, the ostinatos starting at 1:54 and 4:25 use Vn LHS, CTR and RHS strings section in a rotating faction. I only wish for broader selection of short articulationslike Marcato and Tenato. However, the different sound and miking of each section creates a more organic and convincing answer/response in lieu of panning the same VN section. The 3 Vn Sections traded Off in one and two 2 bar phases and in a couple places there are trade offs in the same measure. Eighty percent of all strings are HZ strings but there were a few phrases using SpitFire Symphonic Strings Vn and Db , LCO Vc and OA Chamber (bass wave) in addition to Spitfire Symphonic Woodwinds and Brass, HZ Pro Percussion.


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## artomatic (Mar 8, 2019)

Most excellent, @rlw !


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## rlw (Mar 8, 2019)

artomatic said:


> Most excellent, @rlw !


Thank you. I really appreciate your comment


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## fish_hoof (Mar 13, 2019)

Great stuff @rlw, job well done with this!


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## rlw (Mar 13, 2019)

fish_hoof said:


> Great stuff @rlw, job well done with this!


Thanks @fish_hoof. That means a lot .


----------

