# My review of Strezov Afflatus Strings



## Vik (Dec 17, 2018)

I'll post a review of Strezov Afflatus Strings ("SAS") in January.

I didn't plan to post anything yet, but in case someone should be interested - or have suggestions/questions/comments before I post the actual review: here are my preliminary conclusions so far.

*Main strength:* You can build your own section sizes by combining presets, and this lib offers a tone (especially in the 'Lush' and 'Scene d'amour' sections) which is hard to find in other libraries I have used/am aware of.

*Signal chain:* The recording chain has generally been "Neumann M150 for Decca Tree, U87 for the celli, basses, violas, Schoeps MK4 for the high strings, all amped through Millenia HV-3D and going in Apogee Symphony I/O".


*Pros: *
This is actually four libraries: Full ("Lush"), Chamber, Minimalist and 'Scene d'Amour'
First Chairs will come in a free update
I really like the tone of the instruments (possibly except the basses), which is rare for me
Divisi, auto-divisi
Polyphonic legato
SAS comes with many ensemble patches
It is modular, in the sense that you eg. can achieve any number of unique players between 2 and 15 by combining other sections (using violas as an example)
Simple and easy to use UI
Longs, legatos and divisis are all available in one Kontakt instance.

*Cons:*
I sometimes miss round robins when repeating long notes
No portamento
No dedicated vibrato control
Confusing divisi wording (Full Section Only, Use All Samples, Half Section Only)
"Fake" Sordinos don't sound as good as they do in eg Berlin Strings or CSS
Shorts and longs are separated in different Kontakt instances.
The lowest note (which don't have vibrato on string instruments) is also used for the note next to it, meaning that that note doesn't get vibrato either. 

*Price*: It lists for €799, which is good for four libs + First Chairs, but would possibly have been more attractive if sold as two or three separate products (Main lib, Ensembles, Expansion Kit 1)?

Also: Low dynamic levels have little vibrato, which can be good or bad, but generally means the it can be hard to get 'soaring' playing in the low dynamic range.

*Conclusion: *This library is definitely something that potential buyers of other major string libraries should check out before making a decision, and could serve as a good additional library for those who need more string options.


The following is 'stating the obvious', but nevertheless: I have received a review copy of the library from Strezov, but that doesn't affect my viewpoints.


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## Bill the Lesser (Jan 3, 2019)

Thanks for that direct, very concise review.

I like the sound of the Minimalist section. Well designed features like the divisi and immediate playability make it even more attractive. But the other sections are simply not my style.

As you mentioned, I wish I could buy just Minimalist or something in that genre separately, as the current price is a bit too much for me to justify the purchase of the whole package. For example, Sonokinetic handles that a la carte concept pretty well in its product line.


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## Vik (Jan 27, 2019)

Thanks, Bill - I'll post the full review in early February (edit: after the 1.2 release). Meanwhile - since there has been some discussion about vibrato/dynamic levels in Afflatus, here are some examples showing how one long note develops over time (circa 7 seconds) when the dynamic level is increased. CC1 controls both dynamics and vibrato.



Here's the order of what you hear:







This list shows the V1 sections and how many dynamic layers they have (and their range).
Note that the two main sections, # 4 and #5 in the audio file (Lush Violins and Chamber Violins) both have three dynamics layers and therefore will perform better, dynamics wise, than the others in this example. The spiccatos and pizzicatos also have three dynamic layers.


- Chamber Violins I (3 dyn), G2 – D6
- Lush Violins I KS (3 dyn), G2 – D6
- Violins I Pizz (3 dyn x 6RR), G2 – E5
- Violins I Spicc (3 dyn x 6RR), G2 – A5

- Impressionist Violins I (2 dyn), G2 – G5
- Minimalist Violins I Harmonics (2 dyn), G2 – C5
- Minimalist Violins I Legato (2 dyn), G2 – D6
- Minimalist Violins I Tenutos (2 dyn x 2RR), G2 – D6
- Scene d'Amour Violins I Legato (2 dyn), G2 – D6
- Scene d'Amour Violins I Tenutos (2 dyn), G2 – D6

Should any of you have more questions before I finish the review, please let me know.

ETA: Here's another clip showing how Afflatus currently handles very fast runs, in comparison with some other well known libraries:





Some more details:



Lush:
*12 V1 plus divisi*
10 V2 plus divisi
8 Va plus divisi
8 Cellos plus divisi
6 basses plus divisi

Chamber Strings:
6 V1
5 V2
4 Va
4 Cellos
No basses, but there's a bass first chair

Minimalist:
6 V1 plus divisi
5 V2 plus divisi
4 Va plus divisi
4 Cellos + divisi
2 Basses

Scene d'Amour:
5 V1
4 V2
3 Va
3 Cellos
No basses, but there's a bass first chair


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