# Cinematic String 2 vs 8Dio Adagio vs Spitfire Albion I (vs Albion II)



## Bunford (Nov 1, 2012)

Looking to buy a new strings library. Which of these is the best all rounder?

Pros and cons to support statement would be useful too!


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## Ganvai (Nov 1, 2012)

Best "allrounder" would be in my opinion Cinematic Strings 2. Sounds really great, has cool Keyswitches and a great legato. Adagio is especially good for slow stringlines. But it has a very high learning curve and I'm not a fan of that deep sampling or however they call it that they take recordings with very loud noises.

So, I don't have Albion, so I can't say anything about it.


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## RiffWraith (Nov 1, 2012)

*Cinematic String 2 vs 8Dio Adagio vs Spitfire Albion I (vs Albion II)*

Different animals. CS is a full blown string lib, Adagio is just 1st Violins, and Albion has string sections, among other instruments. You therefore, can not make a comparison.

Cheers.


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## José Herring (Nov 1, 2012)

Bunford @ Thu Nov 01 said:


> Looking to buy a new strings library. Which of these is the best all rounder?
> 
> Pros and cons to support statement would be useful too!



You are trying to compare products that are very, very different.

Between these three, the only "all rounder" as far as strings are concerned is CS2.


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## MaestroRage (Nov 1, 2012)

I'm with Ganvai on this one. I don't have Albion so I can't make solid claims on them but between Adagio and CS2, it would be CS2 hands down for me. I have gotten 100x more mileage out of CS2 so far.


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## George Caplan (Nov 1, 2012)

albion doesnt really fall into a pure string library to my understanding. it does separate things outside of the usual violins i ii violas cellos basses. its a different thing to me altogether. my understanding is albion tries to fill in gaps.

having listened to most i would say cinematic strings sets out its sound and user system very well.


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## Resoded (Nov 1, 2012)

I don't think we'll hear what Adagio is really capable of until we have all sections available. Personally, even though I love the sound (especially combined with VSS), I wouldn't get Adagio Violins if I didn't plan to buy all the other sections as well. In some ways I find the Adagio to be a rough diamond. Great sound but some strange quirks on some of the patches. The Instinct and Village legatos are close to perfection, even though village legato suffers from having some imperfections being repeated a bit too much sometimes. I really hope that Troels and Colin keeps polishing the Adagios, and maybe add new feautures. I'm for example hoping for them to add, if possible, ambient mics similar to Spitfire libraries. Then you can mix the Adagios with the real reverb from that church.

I own Albion 2 and love the sound, the only problem is that everything is recorded in sections. I daydream of getting the AIR sound recorded in separate sections.


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## marclawsonmusic (Nov 1, 2012)

Cinematic Strings 2.0 is very CPU-intensive.

Don't buy it unless you have at least a quad-core processor and 8Gb of memory (on Mac). I made the mistake of buying this library without a good enough system (mine is dual core Intel + 12Gb RAM) and it not really even usable. :cry: 

So, do yourself a favor and check your system requirements before buying.


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## mark812 (Nov 1, 2012)

CS 2 is the best string library currently imo. 

Adagio is violins only and it's expensive. 

Albion has gorgeous strings (I prefer Albion I) - both regular and con sordino. Other sections are also fantastic.

BTW, didn't you get LASS like a month ago?


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## mark812 (Nov 1, 2012)

marclawsonmusic @ Thu Nov 01 said:


> Cinematic Strings 2.0 is very CPU-intensive.



I have older CPU and it's not intensive at all here.


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## marclawsonmusic (Nov 1, 2012)

mark812 @ Thu Nov 01 said:


> marclawsonmusic @ Thu Nov 01 said:
> 
> 
> > Cinematic Strings 2.0 is very CPU-intensive.
> ...



OK, what kind of system do you have?

I am trying to run it on an iMac from early 2011 (w/ the i3 processor). In general, it feels very sluggish in Logic (particularly when using Legato) and CPU usage frequently is in the red.

I also get pops in the audio when I bounce.

Their system requirements for Mac say quad-core Intel, so I assumed my issues were related to CPU.

Perhaps I missed something?
Marc


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## mark812 (Nov 1, 2012)

marclawsonmusic @ Thu Nov 01 said:


> OK, what kind of system do you have?



PC, X4 II AMD processor, no SSDs.


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## Bunford (Nov 1, 2012)

marclawsonmusic @ Thu 01 Nov said:


> Cinematic Strings 2.0 is very CPU-intensive.
> 
> Don't buy it unless you have at least a quad-core processor and 8Gb of memory (on Mac). I made the mistake of buying this library without a good enough system (mine is dual core Intel + 12Gb RAM) and it not really even usable. :cry:
> 
> So, do yourself a favor and check your system requirements before buying.



I have a Core i5 2500k quad core @ 4.4GHz and 16gb RAM, soon to upgrade to 32gb so should be fine in terms of hardware.


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## Bunford (Nov 1, 2012)

mark812 @ Thu 01 Nov said:


> CS 2 is the best string library currently imo.
> 
> Adagio is violins only and it's expensive.
> 
> ...



I've had LASS for ages, but trying to use it recently I had issues get a dark, bassy string sound out of them so just looking around for something maybe more versatile.


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## mark812 (Nov 1, 2012)

My bad then.  

Actually, dry nature of LASS's sound makes it pretty flexible. I'd advise you to watch Blakus' videos - he achieves fantastic sound with it.

But if you want to invest in new string library..CS 2 is top-notch. Be sure to check their videos too, fantastic stuff. They also offer extremely generous EDU discount. :wink:


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## Bunford (Nov 1, 2012)

mark812 @ Thu 01 Nov said:


> My bad then.
> 
> Actually, dry nature of LASS's sound makes it pretty flexible. I'd advise you to watch Blakus' videos - he achieves fantastic sound with it.
> 
> But if you want to invest in new string library..CS 2 is top-notch. Be sure to check their videos too, fantastic stuff. They also offer extremely generous EDU discount. :wink:



Yeah, I'm a student so already enquirer about the edu discount, which is very good to make it affordable for students!


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## germancomponist (Nov 1, 2012)

Bunford @ Thu Nov 01 said:


> I've had LASS for ages, but trying to use it recently I had issues get a dark, bassy string sound out of them so just looking around for something maybe more versatile.



LASS is a so very good and flexible library. If you are after a dark, bassy string sound you should learn how to use the library best and how to use the audio tools like eq's, compressors e.t.c. . 

Sorry if I sound harsh, but I just listened to your work here: http://soundcloud.com/originalsoundstudios 

..


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## mark812 (Nov 1, 2012)

Bunford @ Thu Nov 01 said:


> mark812 @ Thu 01 Nov said:
> 
> 
> > My bad then.
> ...



The price with EDU discount is ridiculous for such a fantastic library.


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## Jimbo 88 (Nov 1, 2012)

I think it depends on how you compose/orchestrate. If you do things the old fashion way with 5 different string parts Cinematic Strings 2 is the best. I really like how all the parts blend and sit in a mix. A reaaly fantastic sound. 

Albion is great also, has a great sound and is more of a "sweetener" for me. It gives real life to an Orchestra sound, but I see it as more designed for someone who composes at a keyboard. Or someone who is under tight deadlines and needs sectional sounds to be created quickly.


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## germancomponist (Nov 1, 2012)

Jimbo 88 @ Fri Nov 02 said:


> Or someone who is under tight deadlines and needs sectional sounds to be created quickly.



I read this over and over again. (a time saver e.t.c. ... )

Who is so often under tight deadlines?


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## Peter Alexander (Nov 1, 2012)

> . If you do things the old fashion way with 5 different string parts...



I'm sorry. Something must have happened between the time I left to go to Chipotle Mexican Grill and the time I got home. Is there now a _new_ fashioned way to orchestrate for strings?


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## Peter Alexander (Nov 1, 2012)

Bunford @ Thu Nov 01 said:


> Looking to buy a new strings library. Which of these is the best all rounder?



What do you want to write?


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## Jimbo 88 (Nov 1, 2012)

germancomponist @ Thu Nov 01 said:


> Jimbo 88 @ Fri Nov 02 said:
> 
> 
> > Or someone who is under tight deadlines and needs sectional sounds to be created quickly.
> ...




I am! I generally have about an hour per minute of music to compose. It's getting tighter and tighter....


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## Jimbo 88 (Nov 1, 2012)

Peter Alexander @ Thu Nov 01 said:


> > . If you do things the old fashion way with 5 different string parts...
> 
> 
> 
> I'm sorry. Something must have happened between the time I left to go to Chipotle Mexican Grill and the time I got home. Is there now a _new_ fashioned way to orchestrate for strings?



Yea Peter, Sorry but there kinda is nowdays...much to my dismay, but you need recognize these facts. 

There are people who compose and orchestrate string parts serperately much as they are read by string players...

...and there are those who compose orchestral sounding pieces to samples and patches. And make lots of money at it. (Daniel James comes to mind)

People can argue the pros and cons all day. Me, I'm going do whatever it takes to complete my client's next job. I've got mouths to feed.


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## organix (Nov 2, 2012)

If you look for a good string allrounder, than CinematicStrings2, LASS or Hollywood-Strings are really nice products.

CS2 is easy to use, very intuitive and contains most important articulations and sounds great out of the box.

LASS needs more attention on using and is overall more powerful. 

HollywoodStrings sounds very good, contains some really special articulations, but it's not very intuitive on use. Some people don't like that EW PLAY system.


Adagio isn't complete yet, but maybe it will become very powerful with the release of all sections. Currently only the violins are released, the cellos will come soon. Adagio's legato patches are wonderful, the different spiccato patches brings flexibility on short notes and the dynamic bowing patches are really nice and full of emotion. 
But, the Adagio is not easy to use and needs some experience on writing for string libs. I don't think that Adagio is a good allrounder, it's more a special string libs with features and sounds that can't find in the other libs. So Adagio is a very well addition to a good basic allrounder string lib, like CS2 for example.


Markus


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## jamwerks (Nov 2, 2012)

Peter Alexander @ Fri Nov 02 said:


> I'm sorry. Something must have happened between the time I left to go to Chipotle Mexican Grill and the time I got home. Is there now a _new_ fashioned way to orchestrate for strings?


 :mrgreen: 

Things change fast these days !

Couple of things I might add:
-OSR is a great compliment to all string libraries.
-Loven' Adagio and excited about their future, great compliment to HS
-Still interested in maybe buying LASS, depending on what articulations they add


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## mark812 (Nov 2, 2012)

Workflow is also an important consideration. Some people prefer 100 patches with separated articulations, but I love CS 2's 5 patches. I work much faster.

The tone is fantastic out of the box. Here's the short template test I did yesterday. 

[flash width=400 height=30 loop=false]https://www.box.com/embed/jci9vzo1svnrtra.swf[/flash]

I normally layer CS with Albion I strings (especially basses), but this is CS only.


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## germancomponist (Nov 2, 2012)

Wrong link...


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## mark812 (Nov 2, 2012)

germancomponist @ Fri Nov 02 said:


> Wrong link...



Corrected now.


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## scientist (Nov 2, 2012)

marclawsonmusic @ Thu Nov 01 said:


> mark812 @ Thu Nov 01 said:
> 
> 
> > marclawsonmusic @ Thu Nov 01 said:
> ...



have you been purging your kontakt instances? the first thing i do after loading any CS2 patch is to hit purge, otherwise there are a ton of samples sitting in memory not being used.


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## marclawsonmusic (Nov 2, 2012)

scientist @ Fri Nov 02 said:


> have you been purging your kontakt instances? the first thing i do after loading any CS2 patch is to hit purge, otherwise there are a ton of samples sitting in memory not being used.



I normally deactivate the unused articulations, but I haven't been using "Purge" in Kontakt. 

The memory drops dramatically when switch the articulations off, so I thought I had it right...

Let me try to purge and see if it makes a difference.

Thanks,
Marc


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## germancomponist (Nov 2, 2012)

Purge is a very good function and often overlooked.


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## zacnelson (Nov 2, 2012)

I purge at least once a day


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## marclawsonmusic (Nov 2, 2012)

scientist @ Fri Nov 02 said:


> have you been purging your kontakt instances? the first thing i do after loading any CS2 patch is to hit purge, otherwise there are a ton of samples sitting in memory not being used.



Hey scientist, that seems to have helped with the sluggishness a good bit. The memory usage went from ~300Mb to 0Mb and then crept back up to only 24Mb as I was playing. Great suggestion!

I am going to start a new topic on "Working with Cinematic Strings". I have some other questions related to using the mod wheel, x-fades, and legato that I'll post there.

Thanks again for your suggestion,
Marc


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## Nathan Allen Pinard (Nov 2, 2012)

I can't say anything about the other libraries as I don't own them, but CS works very well with any kind of Wind Controller or Breath Control. Preferably a Wind Controller.


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## marclawsonmusic (Nov 2, 2012)

Nathan Allen Pinard @ Fri Nov 02 said:


> I can't say anything about the other libraries as I don't own them, but CS works very well with any kind of Wind Controller or Breath Control. Preferably a Wind Controller.



That is very helpful... I think CC2 controls vibrato, right?

Here is a link to the new topic I posted regarding some other challenges I had with CS 2.0...

http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtop ... 06#3658806

Cheers,
Marc


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## alanbuchanan (Nov 3, 2012)

Is no one including Hollywood Strings in this comparison?

(from a devoted CS2 user)


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## Stiltzkin (Nov 4, 2012)

alanbuchanan @ Sun Nov 04 said:


> Is no one including Hollywood Strings in this comparison?
> 
> (from a devoted CS2 user)



I think people were generally sticking to the thread title  Hollywood strings looks amazing, but seems to be more concentrating on finalizing a project, rather than getting nice quick results like you can with CS2. (I've only had CS2 for like a month and I'm in love with it)

If you do go with CS2, I do recommend really taking the time to explore everything it can do, and you mentioned you wanted to create a smaller ensemble feel - depending on the style you were going for, you might be able to get away with using CS2 and adding a solo violin patch, it would probably be a little too thick textured, but as I say - it's mostly about the exact style you are going with


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## JPQ (Jun 7, 2017)

mark812 said:


> PC, X4 II AMD processor, no SSDs.


Old threadlooks its about half speed of mac mini 2014. makes me wonder is possible use it my computer even manufacturer talks quad core.


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## JPQ (Jun 7, 2017)

mark812 said:


> PC, X4 II AMD processor, no SSDs.



Saddly no way test it.


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## Parsifal666 (Jun 8, 2017)

Albion 1: generally a sketching tool (and a darn fine one at that), though there are times it sounds good layered with other libraries.

I was specifically warned off Adagio Violins by a couple of members here, but I've found their Violas and Double Basses to be really good, especially the solo instruments. 

Can't help on CS, I just use Hollywood Strings Diamond and the Albions for the most part (Spitfire Evo Grids 1 to 3 as well, but that's much more a niche instrument I think).


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## Mr Greg G (Jun 8, 2017)

Why digging up the dead? This thread is 5y old


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## ghandizilla (Jun 8, 2017)

Albion I and II are still top-notch libraries (IMO).


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## gsilbers (Jun 8, 2017)

Mr Pringles said:


> Why digging up the dead? This thread is 5y old



maybe someone can add some comments about cinematic studio strings. that im looking to get


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## MaxOctane (Jun 8, 2017)

Well, while this thread is active, I'll go ahead and add that I still love Loegria, and the Euphonium horns are ridiculously beautiful. If you need to add a few teardrops to your score, they'll get you there.

Quick euphonium samples:


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## Mike Fox (Jun 8, 2017)

I have the Albions, Ark 1, Hollywood Strings, Majestica, Symphobia, CS2, and some others. Out of those, combining Ark 1 and CS2 has been the sound I've always wanted.


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