# Expressive Arche



## DerGeist (Jan 21, 2019)

Hi all, a quick review of the new Expressivee Arche modelled violin, viola, and cello. These can be run as standalone instruments but are really meant to be used with Expressivee’s Touche controller or at the very least a controller with at least one touch slider. I have the Touche controller and will be reviewing from that perspective.


Things start of rather poorly with the install. I am installing on Windows so maybe things are better in the Mac world. After starting the installer, Windows throws up a do-not install no certificate type warning which you have to override. Not a big deal but unnecessary. The program then lets you choose the VST install directory. The trick is, the installer ignores your selected directory and then installs the VST wherever it wants to. You then have to hunt down the DLL and move it manually. This took some time to figure out. If I recall I had the same problem installing the Touche software.


Once you (finally) get it installed things work pretty smoothly. You load the instruments in the your host of choice if you have no Touche controller or in Expressivee’s Lie VST if you have a Touche. The Touche allows you to control things like vibrato etc. smoothly in real time. They key feature is that it allows you to simulate bowing by moving you hand up and down the controller. Since the controller is also pressure sensitive you can change change bow pressure while bowing. This works remarkably well once you get the technique down which takes a little while. Being able to change bow speed and direction is pretty amazing and has a huge effect on your sound. You can also tap the controller to get spicatto/pizzicato type effects. The transition between bowing and spicatto/pizzicato is pretty seamless and honestly pretty amazing. You can play a variety articulations in real time with very little fusing.


How does it sound? Goodish. I prefer the violin to the viola and cello. I find the violin worked really well in a solo Romani style. The viola is nice in this context as well. The cello I find less convincing but I’m still learning to play it. Learning to play the instruments with the Touche is key as it really brings them to life (or turns them into a dumpster fire) depending on how you play. It helps to be a decent keyboard player (or string player) as a decent amount of right and left hand coordination is needed for best results. The overall sounds is pretty good once you get your playing in order. They won’t stand up to micro scrutiny and probably aren’t what you need to finally finish your symphony but they sound nice and the playability is a huge plus. They sound great in a pop/hip-hop context and worked really well in a 80s cop show intro style theme that I am working on.


The intro price is $100 which is a pretty good value. If you have a Touche it is almost a no-brainer. If you don’t have a Touche it is still not a bad price for three well modelled instruments. N.B. I believe modelling is the future, so I’m always happy to support people who move the goalposts.


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## robgb (Jan 21, 2019)

I listened to the demos and to my ear they sound like electric versions of the instruments rather than acoustic. But I do think with some violin, viola and cello IRs added to the sound chain they might sound very good.


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## DerGeist (Jan 21, 2019)

They would probably sound great through a dirty amp sim. With the viola and an amp sim you could do some cool John Cale type things.


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