# Equng Lass to get Hs sound



## Christian F. Perucchi (Aug 23, 2011)

Hi to everyone!!!
i want to know if anyone have tried to do this,
i tried with match eq, but i dont know very well how to use it, i downloaded the wav demos from ew page and analized them.
also i tried to eq, but im a composer not an audio engineer so i tried to low 5k and 2k freqs about 8 db.
Maybe is because im using the divisi b and c of every section?
wrog use of altiverb todd ao?
thanks to all of you!
Regards
Christian


----------



## EastWest Lurker (Aug 23, 2011)

Ain't gonna happen. The two sound nothing alike.


----------



## noiseboyuk (Aug 23, 2011)

EastWest Lurker @ Tue Aug 23 said:


> Ain't gonna happen. The two sound nothing alike.



I tend to agree, at least for the moment. The LASS Sordino Legatos sound a little closer, actually - very silky smooth. You can take some of the edge off the basic LASS, mind, but it won't give you that particular sound. And yet...

I can't wait to hear the Stage and Color feature in LASS 2.0 which uses impulse response to shape the timbre - Andrew K says you get results that are amazing and impossible with conventional EQ. That'll be very interesting.


----------



## rJames (Aug 23, 2011)

its a bit ironic... but I've been getting a richer sound by putting LASS through East West's "Spaces".

It is really nice through the Hamburg 3 sec impulse (in the string section). But is also helped (and I'm now using) the EW studios or Hollywood soundstage with short (1.7 or so) impulses. The Hamburg sounds great but is a little too long and wet since I put a tad of long reverb on my output to help blend everything.


----------



## Patrick_Gill (Aug 23, 2011)

Christian F. Perucchi @ Tue Aug 23 said:


> Hi to everyone!!!
> i want to know if anyone have tried to do this,
> i tried with match eq, but i dont know very well how to use it, i downloaded the wav demos from ew page and analized them.
> also i tried to eq, but im a composer not an audio engineer so i tried to low 5k and 2k freqs about 8 db.
> ...




Hi Christian,

You don't really want to be EQ'ing one library to try and get it to sound like another. If you prefer the sound of HS, or if the LASS sound is not working for you, then just buy Hollywood Strings.

From an engineering perspective, it would be more beneficial for you to use your favourite film scores as a reference and then try to emulate the frequencies you like on the instruments for your own mock ups.

Good luck!

Patrick.


----------



## germancomponist (Aug 23, 2011)

Patrick_G @ Tue Aug 23 said:


> Hi Christian,
> 
> You don't really want to be EQ'ing one library to try and get it to sound like another. If you prefer the sound of HS, or if the LASS sound is not working for you, then just buy Hollywood Strings.
> 
> ...



+1

Very well said! This is the best way to go!


----------



## EastWest Lurker (Aug 23, 2011)

germancomponist @ Tue Aug 23 said:


> Patrick_G @ Tue Aug 23 said:
> 
> 
> > Hi Christian,
> ...



+2.


----------



## synthetic (Aug 23, 2011)

What sound are you trying to get from LASS? Most of us are getting great results. I don't agree that you have to give up and buy Hollywood Strings, even if EW Employee thinks that's a good idea.  If you're looking for a more "distant" sound, the three tricks I use are:

- Reverb, obviously. Sometimes two reverbs (long and short). I prefer algorithmic reverbs to convolution. Valhalla Room is great and only $50. 
- Roll off some high frequencies. I usually do this a bit on the LASS violins. 
- Roll off some low frequencies. This is also good for making things sound a bit further away


----------



## stevenson-again (Aug 23, 2011)

> I don't agree that you have to give up and buy Hollywood Strings



no i don't either. if you have another library, such as symphobia, LASS sounds fantastic blended together.

reverb is crucial - you must use one of the ER settings - the darker ones are good for richness.

and i agree with synthetic regarding algorithmic reverbs...add a nice deep hall behind the LASS eq'd and ER reverb.

the eq is the most important part. as much as i/we love LASS there is no denying that it was recorded a bit harsh. roll off plenty around the 6.5 - 7.5k area, and dip a little at around 300-400hz, there is a bit of boominess there. i like to add a little bit of low freq boost for the basses but mix the volume down a bit. also at the top end, add a some hi end air at around 10.5 k to recover some of the hi frequencies lost in rolling off the upper mids.

LASS is a really intimate direct sound - it's not a huge sounding band and actually i really like that for a lot of applications. so adding in other libs particularly symphobia can get you the size you need, but with the clarity you get with LASS. in fact i do this with live recorded bands as well, i often mix a bit of symphobia if i feel that the strings weren't beefy enough. it's quite a common technique. try floating some other libs in behind LASS subtley, mixed back with perhaps a little more reverb. see how that feels to you.


----------



## EastWest Lurker (Aug 23, 2011)

synthetic @ Tue Aug 23 said:


> What sound are you trying to get from LASS? Most of us are getting great results. I don't agree that you have to give up and buy Hollywood Strings, even if EW Employee thinks that's a good idea.



Didn't say that you cannot get good results from LASS and you know it. Never said it. Never will.

What I said was if you want the HS sound, you can't get it by EQing LASS, and I stand by that. I would also say, to be fair, the reverse is probably true.

They sound very different. If you want the Hollywood Strings sound, you should buy it. If you want the LASS sound, you should buy it. If you want both and can afford both, you should buy both. If you cannot, you will have to make a choice and make the best sounding music you can. Either way, you are buying a fine library, just different sounding.

Can I be any clearer than that?


----------



## choc0thrax (Aug 23, 2011)

EastWest Lurker @ Tue Aug 23 said:


> What I said was if you want the HS sound, you can't get it by EQing LASS, and I stand by that. I would also say, to be fair, the reverse is probably true.



So what you're saying is if you had to buy one you'd definitely go for HS because you can't get the HS sound with LASS but it could be possible to get the LASS sound with HS?


----------



## David Story (Aug 23, 2011)

The LASS shorts are great, but HS has the legato and sustains that sound closer to right. Referencing live sessions and favorite scores.

After a year of wrestling with the harsh sound of LASS, I regret getting it. I knew HS requires a PC to run properly, and I didn't have the $$$. 

There are a handful of people, interestingly several posting in this thread, who have the technique to tame LASS. Most others don't, imo.

To be fair, the LASS sordinos are much better, and I'd get those, but I'm saving for HS 

(If I had a bigger budget I get both, plus the VSL strings package)


----------



## Christian F. Perucchi (Aug 23, 2011)

*Re: Equing Lass to get Hs sound*

Thanks for all your kind responses!
Well, i wasn´t very clear, im trying to get the famous hollywood sound with lass, cause they sound too edgy for the kind of work im doing now, i love the playlability they have, but i wanted to know if i could get something similar to hs sound, or how to eq to get a sordino sound with lass.
i own also vsl opus 1 and 2 and other giga libs.
thanks again 
ill try the eq settings posted by stevenson-again
Regards
Christian


----------



## gsilbers (Aug 23, 2011)

David Story @ Tue Aug 23 said:


> The LASS shorts are great, but HS has the legato and sustains that sound closer to right. Referencing live sessions and favorite scores.
> 
> After a year of wrestling with the harsh sound of LASS, I regret getting it. I knew HS requires a PC to run properly, and I didn't have the $$$.
> 
> ...



me too. but it sucks u cannot sell it. if its legit you should be able to.


----------



## EastWest Lurker (Aug 23, 2011)

choc0thrax @ Tue Aug 23 said:


> EastWest Lurker @ Tue Aug 23 said:
> 
> 
> > What I said was if you want the HS sound, you can't get it by EQing LASS, and I stand by that. I would also say, to be fair, the reverse is probably true.
> ...



No I am saying EQ will not make LASS sound like HS and EQ will not make HS sound like LAS so buy what you like best. 

You _really_ didn't get that from my post or are you doing your class clown thing that you like to do?


----------



## noiseboyuk (Aug 24, 2011)

I do think LASS Sordinos is the best answer here if you prefer the LASS workflow / Kontakt. It's only $249 for existing LASS users. Just put up a cue where all the strings are LS (and first chair) - http://www.box.net/shared/xgq20sg5izmtr5uny1u7 - not intended to emulate HS as such but I think it sounds warm and nice.


----------



## Daniel (Aug 24, 2011)

noiseboyuk @ 24th August 2011 said:


> I do think LASS Sordinos is the best answer here if you prefer the LASS workflow / Kontakt. It's only $249 for existing LASS users. Just put up a cue where all the strings are LS (and first chair) - http://www.box.net/shared/xgq20sg5izmtr5uny1u7 - not intended to emulate HS as such but I think it sounds warm and nice.


the link is not working
Edit: --working--

Wow it is nice composition Guy. May I know what sound is the piano,,and all strings is all LASS LS (besides First Chair) ? Time 02:02 nice Hi-Strings. The low strings just like Albion. THe harp sounds nice. Thanks for sharing this.

Best,


----------



## noiseboyuk (Aug 24, 2011)

Daniel @ Wed Aug 24 said:


> noiseboyuk @ 24th August 2011 said:
> 
> 
> > I do think LASS Sordinos is the best answer here if you prefer the LASS workflow / Kontakt. It's only $249 for existing LASS users. Just put up a cue where all the strings are LS (and first chair) - http://www.box.net/shared/xgq20sg5izmtr5uny1u7 - not intended to emulate HS as such but I think it sounds warm and nice.
> ...



Hi Daniel, cheers! Yes, the strings are 98% LS Sordinos / LASS first chair (and a bit of basic sordinos from the original LASS), only exceptions are the occasional pizzicato basses which are Symphobia, and a smidgeon of Symphobia Low strings at 2'25. Glad you like the tone, I really do and it's sooooo easy - that's the EQ out of the box, and all played in real time (no keyswitches or faff).

The piano is Goliath's Fazioli that I've always been partial to, and the Harp is Symohonic Orchestra gold.


----------



## Daniel (Aug 24, 2011)

Thanks Guy,, now I found LASS LS sounds really warm indeed. I like each sounds of this track : piano, harp, horn, cymbals, Symphobia, etc, all mixed well.

Best,


----------



## MichaelL (Aug 24, 2011)

EastWest Lurker @ Tue Aug 23 said:


> Can I be any clearer than that?



Perhaps with a touch of EQ.


Sorry, couldn't resist.

Cheers,

Michael


----------



## MichaelL (Aug 24, 2011)

noiseboyuk @ Wed Aug 24 said:


> I do think LASS Sordinos is the best answer here if you prefer the LASS workflow / Kontakt. It's only $249 for existing LASS users. Just put up a cue where all the strings are LS (and first chair) - http://www.box.net/shared/xgq20sg5izmtr5uny1u7 - not intended to emulate HS as such but I think it sounds warm and nice.



Hey Guy. Very nice composition! I've been holding off on LS, but you may have pushed me over the edge.

Cheers,

Michael


----------



## Patrick_Gill (Aug 24, 2011)

synthetic @ Tue Aug 23 said:


> What sound are you trying to get from LASS? Most of us are getting great results. I don't agree that you have to give up and buy Hollywood Strings, even if EW Employee thinks that's a good idea.




'East West Lurker' never said anything of the sort and just for the record I am not an employee of EW either. 

I also never said that you should give up and buy Hollywood Strings. Now it is completely up to you what you do [there are no rules], however my point was simply stating that it would be more beneficial for Christian to focus on working with the template he has... LASS offer a similar deal, so I'm sure with a bit of practice you can achieve great cinematic hollywood style results - which is the whole point in these products. Plus they are both at a similar price range.


Christian if you really really wanted to... [with certain articulations] you might be able to achieve some interesting results with LASS, by tweaking the EQ frequencies - ie less harsh, or maybe a more softer sound similar to that of HS.. however this won't transform your library and again why bother when you can emulate a professional score recording with your mixes ?. 

HS & LASS will never sound completely the same because they simply are not the same. So if you are trying to get both of these products to sound alike you're basically trying to fit a square peg into a round hole 

You have to remember both of these products were recorded in different halls with different mics, positions, engineers, experience, EQ, players... even an individual brand of instrument has it's own unique and natural resonance!.







Christian F. Perucchi @ Wed Aug 24 said:


> Thanks for all your kind responses!
> Well, i wasn´t very clear, im trying to get the famous hollywood sound with lass, cause they sound too edgy for the kind of work im doing now, i love the playlability they have, but i wanted to know if i could get something similar to hs sound, or how to eq to get a sordino sound with lass.
> i own also vsl opus 1 and 2 and other giga libs.
> thanks again
> ...





No problem!..

As Stevenson suggested, i'd try out with some different EQ and see what happens!... Again listen to the sordino reference you're after and tweak the EQ until it sounds close to what you need, or as close as you can get it. If i owned either LASS or HS i could probably give you a more precise reference to what you want, but the most important info myself or anyone could give you here to is trust your ears.. it takes years to master this.

If you're still not happy, you can always save up and have the best of both worlds with HS & LASS ?.. however I am convinced you'll do just fine with either because it's not what you use it's how you use it.

Good luck! 


Patrick.,


----------



## Mahlon (Aug 28, 2011)

Patrick's post above seems to be spot on from the get-go. I'll only add that, for me:

LASS = John Barry or Javier Navarrete.

Hollywood Strings = Shore's LOTR and anything needed larger than the above.

Mahlon

p.s. I don't think they will ever sound anything alike. But a bigger sound with LASS is achievable with some layering of other libraries. A smaller sound with HS... I don't know. Doesn't seem possible.


----------

