# LA Scoring Strings - user experiences?



## Chris Hurst (Aug 25, 2015)

I have just recently become aware of LASS and it seems to be a very highly thought of string library.

I was just wondering if people have any experience with it - as in, it looks pretty deep from some of the videos, so is it fairly easy to use? I'm looking at the ARC system and do you use the Stage & Colour part of it at all. That seems pretty clever for the videos on the website.

It certainly sounds good to my ears, but I don't really want to have to spend too long tinkering before being able to get ideas down, which I'm sure isn't the case, but the options are there to tinker with should you want to I guess.

Any experiences you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks


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## bryla (Aug 25, 2015)

If you've just come across I suggest you search this forum. I believe it came out in 2010 and since then there has been plenty of user experiences shared here.


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## Chris Hurst (Aug 25, 2015)

OK Thanks.


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## muk (Aug 25, 2015)

And check out Guy's fantastic walkthrough about his LASS setup:



This should give you a pretty good idea of how the ARC works and how it can be configured.


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## Chris Hurst (Aug 25, 2015)

That is really useful - thanks!


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## Chris Hurst (Aug 25, 2015)

In particular - what are your thoughts on the short notes? I can't seem to find too many examples of those in the videos.


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## Hanu_H (Aug 25, 2015)

exitsounds said:


> In particular - what are your thoughts on the short notes? I can't seem to find too many examples of those in the videos.



One of the best. LASS is still the only library I use for strings.


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## sinkd (Aug 25, 2015)

Another very happy and (nearly) exclusive LASS user here. The default ARC templates make it very easy to set up and have access to individual smaller sections as well as the full sections with Auto Arranger (which is brilliant).

DS


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## Kejero (Aug 25, 2015)

It's my number one string library, although it takes some processing to make it sound good. Which is what the stage and color is there for, but I've never really used it (played around with it, but never actually used it). I use my own EQ settings (FabFilter Pro-Q 2) and a reverb combo (several QL Spaces). I've used ARC for years but I've found myself moving away from keyswitches more and more lately, so I've dropped my Arc'ed instruments from my template recently, and replaced them with seperate tracks for each articulation. Never got the Auto Arranger to play nice, but I do make use of the divisi sections, which are incredibly nice. The shorts are simply great, especially when you use the eh arpeggiator-like thingy (repetition page?). You also get some first and second chairs which can really make your strings shine.
It's not my only string library, I'll often layer it with Symphobia or Adagio, and for some specific sounds I'll use other libraries, but it's definitely the go-to library for me.
LASS Sordino is a nice addition too.


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## Chris Hurst (Aug 25, 2015)

This is all great feedback. Thanks chaps. I'm leaning towards getting at the minute...!


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## Studio E (Aug 25, 2015)

I have LASS and Hollywood Strings, as well as the older EWQLSO platinum. Although each has it's strengths and weaknesses, if I had to only use one, I could certainly get by with LASS. The shorts are amazingly tight which I love, and the expressive quality is really the best in my opinion. I often ride the mod and a foot pedal at the same time when recording lines, and I just feel that I can be way more expressive with it than the others.

I do think that it benefits from eq (to each his own) and I really love how it sounds in conjunction with Spaces reverb. If you are interested, I did this piece with LASS exclusively for strings.


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## LHall (Aug 25, 2015)

LASS is absolutely superb. I agree with all the comments above re: EQ, etc. The playability could hardly be better or more intuitive. The legato function including portamento and glissando is amazing for emotional lines and fast runs, especially when you use the divisi sections. And I highly recommend getting the Sordinos as well especially if you'll be doing any jazzy Jenkins/Costa/Riddle type arranging. 

Last year, one of my pieces was being played in a control room and some local orchestra members were overheard trying to figure out who was playing in each of the sections. That's about the best endorsement I could give it!


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## Farkle (Aug 25, 2015)

Really nice work, Eric. I really enjoy how you were able to remove the up-front quality of LASS, and sit it more comfortably into a warm, velvety space. If I may ask, is that basically the result of judicious use of Spaces? I'm currently working with VSS 2 to get LASS to have more room and velvet, and you've definitely accomplished that with your reverb settings!

Mike


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## TintoL (Aug 25, 2015)

Great piece Eric. I liked it a lot.
LASS is a great library. And ARC is what makes it so good. Is the best implementation of a divisi setup up to date in any library. The sound of lass used to be an issue just like it is for vsl. But, the stage and color feature really fixed that problem. Lass is so flexible that you are not limited to divisi in violins or cellos etc. You can set up a violin + viola setup with arc and it will split the parts for you. Even the same setup for a violin + viola can give you options for smaller ensambles of the same combination. When you set this up is like learning orchestration while setting up arc in your template.The same for a cello + bass line. I set up a whole template like that so I can have this stuff on the fly. If you are getting lass you mainly want it to customize the tracks like that. There is a learning curve, and setting all this up takes time. BUT IS WORTH THE TIME.

Now, it also has weak parts. And this is where I find (IMHO) lass can not be your only string library. I find lass to be great for melodic sensible lines and for action short base lines. But, it lacks in fast legato and runs capabilities. You can cheat it a bit with cc automation, but, it will never get close to what Sable or Berlin Strings can do in this area. Lass can do such divisi setup because is more simple in articulation library. It doesn't have the deep articulation dictionary that Sable or Berlin strings has. That's why I feel that If I were audiobro guys I would concentrate on getting a fast and runs expansion for LASS rather than doing LADD. Lass still can be soooo much more.


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## Studio E (Aug 25, 2015)

Thanks guys. I'll reopen the project and see what I used at the time. I think it was spaces, but I'm also a bit of a reverb whore, lol, so I'll need to look. I will try to check at lunch.


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## jason.d (Aug 25, 2015)

I love LASS, count another vote here too. The main thing with LASS is that it's a dry library (which is a good thing mostly). If I had to come up with a negative to this library, it would be the lack of that big room sound and the acoustics that make orchestra strings sound like orchestra strings. Obviously you can't have it both ways...so if you were to get a second string library later down the line...I would recommend going for a wet string lib like either Mural/Sable, Cinestrings, etc. Then you can really have it both ways


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## pderbidge (Aug 25, 2015)

LASS is wonderful! even for a beginner like me. Here is a video clip of a Duet I did with my daughter for extra credit in her 7th Grade Choir class. I mainly just used the First Chairs for this, which worked out really nice. I don't think many could tell the difference between this and the real thing. The Cello plays for a brief moment in the beginning at about 1 min. and then comes back in on the second verse at around 2:50. I have two more projects I used LASS in recently that I hope to post soon, one more cover song and another original song. I keep going back to LASS. I tried to use other string libs I have but LASS just keeps taking the top spot even though the others did do a good job. In the end I preferred LASS for it's versatility. Stage and Colour makes all the difference in my opinion and worth the extra money in LASS full for this feature.


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## jeffc (Aug 25, 2015)

I think LASS is still the best, most flexible library out there and still the bulk of my template. The shorts are second to none. The legato is great. I personally like that it's a bit drier, especially for the shorts. I've got Mural, Albion and all that and they sound really nice on the long stuff, but the large room works against all the shorts in my opinion, just by the way they build up, unlike a real orchestra would sound. I really don't think you can go wrong with Lass, and if even in doubt, just start with the LASS Lite and you can upgrade to the real deal later...


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## Cowtothesky (Aug 25, 2015)

I use LASS all the time. I love ARC. Very easy to use and once you get your reverb setup, it sounds amazing. It is incredibly versatile and sounds good with almost every other sample library.


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## Studio E (Aug 25, 2015)

Ok, so I looked to see what I was doing on that piece and yes, it is indeed a judicious amount of Quantum Leap Spaces and also Valhalla Vintage verb.


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## Chris Hurst (Aug 25, 2015)

Thanks everyone. Great feedback and the general feeling seems to be that it is worth going for...which is a good job as I just have!


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## Rodney Money (Aug 25, 2015)

pderbidge said:


> LASS is wonderful! even for a beginner like me. Here is a video clip of a Duet I did with my daughter for extra credit in her 7th Grade Choir class. I mainly just used the First Chairs for this, which worked out really nice. I don't think many could tell the difference between this and the real thing. The Cello plays for a brief moment in the beginning at about 1 min. and then comes back in on the second verse at around 2:50. I have two more projects I used LASS in recently that I hope to post soon, one more cover song and another original song. I keep going back to LASS. I tried to use other string libs I have but LASS just keeps taking the top spot even though the others did do a good job. In the end I preferred LASS for it's versatility. Stage and Colour makes all the difference in my opinion and worth the extra money in LASS full for this feature.



As a father, this was beautiful. Thank you for sharing.


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## sinkd (Aug 26, 2015)

I will add that I get very good results using Vienna Suite and FORTI/SERTI impulse responses to process LASS.


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## Lex (Aug 26, 2015)

I have LASS since it was released, and been using it in pretty much every single thing I worked on in one way or another. At this point it's hard for me to imagine working on strings without it in my pallet. Oh, and I don't use the ARC version, I still use the old 1.5 (i think?) patches. 
If you can afford it, get it..

alex


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## Lassi Tani (Aug 26, 2015)

How does LASS Divisi compare to HS Diamond Divisi? How much does LASS need little tweaking for legato to work smoothly?


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## Saxer (Aug 26, 2015)

lass legato needs no extra tweaking.


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## emid (Aug 26, 2015)

I have been using Lass since it came out but not using ARC, still getting excellent results. But for that it requires very much fine tuning so I have VSS for each channel along with fabfilter Q to clear unwanted stuff. Strings bus again getting treated with some subtle saturation, a matching curve Eq of your choice and Cytomic - The Glue. Then everything goes into a reverb bus where I use excellent free bricasti medium hall IR and an eq at 350 and 10k in front. Recently, I have bought Waves Puigtec EQP1A and used it on the strings bus and found it giving very nice attenuation. If you think you can manage to find the 'sweet spot' you have always wished for in a string library, go for it.


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## gsilbers (Aug 26, 2015)

meh, I wish I could sell it. not to my taste. but what sucks extremely is that I cannot resell it.


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## pderbidge (Aug 26, 2015)

Rodney Money said:


> As a father, this was beautiful. Thank you for sharing.


Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.


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## Hanu_H (Aug 26, 2015)

sekkosiki said:


> How does LASS Divisi compare to HS Diamond Divisi? How much does LASS need little tweaking for legato to work smoothly?


You really can't compare it. LASS has real recorded divisi for all sections and no other strings library has done it the same way. Ok, Dimension Strings has the same kind of thing but only for solo strings. LASS legato is perfect, only thing that would make it even better would be a patch for runs with even faster legato with accents contolled by velocity.

-Hannes


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## pderbidge (Aug 26, 2015)

muk said:


> And check out Guy's fantastic walkthrough about his LASS setup:
> 
> 
> 
> This should give you a pretty good idea of how the ARC works and how it can be configured.




Thanks for sharing this. From 2013 and some how I missed it. I can't wait to watch it. I think Guy is a great teacher and a very articulate writer. His contributions on these forums have taught me a lot so I'm sure there are some great gems here for LASS users. Thanks again for sharing.


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## Chris Hurst (Aug 26, 2015)

All this info has been great. I've taken the plunge and am now working through setting it all up and getting a feel for it...


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## pderbidge (Aug 26, 2015)

exitsounds said:


> All this info has been great. I've taken the plunge and am now working through setting it all up and getting a feel for it...


Just curious, did you go for LASS Lite or the full version?


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## Chris Hurst (Aug 26, 2015)

pderbidge said:


> Just curious, did you go for LASS Lite or the full version?



Went for the full version (not the sordino yet though).

Very different to my other string libs (Albion & HS Gold) and really liking the sound and playability so far.


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## Guy Rowland (Aug 26, 2015)

Wow, thanks for such nice words pderbidge and others. Glad folks find it useful.



Hanu_H said:


> You really can't compare it. LASS has real recorded divisi for all sections and no other strings library has done it the same way. Ok, Dimension Strings has the same kind of thing but only for solo strings. LASS legato is perfect, only thing that would make it even better would be a patch for runs with even faster legato with accents contolled by velocity.



Totally agree with this. Maybe some new Timbral IRs too - in general it seems to work best with subtractive tones, but that can result in a sound which is just too muddy. It would be nice to hear some subtle new tones with a bit more air.


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## Lassi Tani (Aug 26, 2015)

Hanu_H said:


> You really can't compare it. LASS has real recorded divisi for all sections and no other strings library has done it the same way. Ok, Dimension Strings has the same kind of thing but only for solo strings. LASS legato is perfect, only thing that would make it even better would be a patch for runs with even faster legato with accents contolled by velocity.
> 
> -Hannes



Thanks Hannes. Yeah, accents controlled by velocity would be really nice to have, or did you mean that there's no such patch for runs? And that there is such a patch for longs?


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## Hanu_H (Aug 26, 2015)

sekkosiki said:


> Thanks Hannes. Yeah, accents controlled by velocity would be really nice to have, or did you mean that there's no such patch for runs? And that there is such a patch for longs?


Hey, Sekkosiki.

There is a marcato patch in the 2.5 where dynamics are controlled with velocity. But there is no such patch for legato or runs at the moment. Audiobro does amazing updates, but they always take their time and don't rush anything out. Maybe in the 3.0?

-Hannes


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## Gzu (Aug 26, 2015)

Hello everyone!!

In my opinion best strings Library... I've made a mix with the ARC Stage&color.
For example:

Fc - Dry
Div A - Psycho ( Stage& color preset but without Reverb )
Div B - Dry
Div C - Lost ( Stage& color preset but without Reverb )

With this you can smooth and shape a bit the harshness of the Lass Strings...
If you use Midi Cc 1 at the same time as Midi cc11 ( I have this Setup ) you can try too, to increase the " Layer Volume " in ARC , "CC Tables" page , because when you ate playing at very low dynamics,you will ear the sound of Strings a little bit higher, which by the way sounds so good!!!
In the end this Library worth every penny, euro, dollar..!!!
I had some time getting the sound I want, but after a few tweaks and trial error I manage to get " that " sound!!!
Ohhh, and using this Library with simplicity L96, its absolutely gorgeous!!!


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## pderbidge (Aug 26, 2015)

Guy Rowland said:


> Wow, thanks for such nice words pderbidge and others. Glad folks find it useful.



You are welcome and it's true. I try not to flatter but just say the truth. It's people like you, among others on this forum, that help people like me make more informed decisions so kudos to you for that.



exitsounds said:


> Went for the full version (not the sordino yet though).
> 
> Very different to my other string libs (Albion & HS Gold) and really liking the sound and playability so far.



Good Choice! I had LASS Lite for about a month and didn't get along with it right away, although I didn't give it much of a chance, but decided to take the plunge on the full version anyways and right away noticed how much of a difference the Stage and Color makes. Plus those First Chairs work just about as well as one could want for a solo string. It has certainly made it harder for me to decide on a Solo String library because they work so well. I did pick up Freidlander which I'm enjoying lately though.


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## pderbidge (Aug 26, 2015)

gsilbers said:


> meh, I wish I could sell it. not to my taste. but what sucks extremely is that I cannot resell it.


I agree with you that it sucks that there is no resale policy. I definitely appreciate the developers that allow this, or at least a policy like Output Sounds to have a money back guarantee. 

Just curious, and hopefully not taken defensively (given I'm an unabashed fan of LASS), but have you tried using LASS in a full composition or did you just try it out for a bit and decide you didn't like it without really putting it through its paces? The reason I'm asking is I'm having similar feelings towards Albion 1. I've tried to use it here and there but could never get it to work for projects I've been working on. I keep telling myself though that I just need to find a project where I can really put it through its paces before I write it off because the problem with Albion is likely the fact that I haven't learned all its ins and outs yet and/or I just haven't found the right piece for it. I hate to dismiss a library, especially one that everyone seems so in love with, because I just haven't taken the time to learn it better.


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## Lassi Tani (Aug 26, 2015)

Hanu_H said:


> Hey, Sekkosiki.
> 
> There is a marcato patch in the 2.5 where dynamics are controlled with velocity. But there is no such patch for legato or runs at the moment. Audiobro does amazing updates, but they always take their time and don't rush anything out. Maybe in the 3.0?
> 
> -Hannes



Thank you very much for the answer. I'd love to have such a patch for legato or runs. Gotta wait for an update then.


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