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String Sample Library Comparison: Spiccato

calebfaith

Active Member
I've begun a series comparing the string sample libraries I own. This first video takes a quick look at the Spiccato articulation. The libraries I look at are CSS, Spitfire Mural, 8DIO Majestica and EW Hollywood Strings. I haven't used any kind of processing etc. it's all the sound out of the box!

Here's the video:


EDIT: Here is all the examples from this thread compiled into a SC playlist. I wasn't able to download the clyp.it one though (I think it was Symphobia)

LINK
 
Last edited:
I've begun a series comparing the string sample libraries I own. This first video takes a quick look at the Spiccato articulation. The libraries I look at are CSS, Spitfire Mural, 8DIO Majestica and EW Hollywood Strings. I haven't used any kind of processing etc. it's all the sound out of the box!

Here's the video:


Cool comparison. Everyone single one has its charme. CSS has a lot of nice crips bite to it. A question though: Could you provide the midi? So I could give it a try with others sampler, also to see how the spicc behave in SSS.
 
Cool comparison. Everyone single one has its charme. CSS has a lot of nice crips bite to it. A question though: Could you provide the midi? So I could give it a try with others sampler, also to see how the spicc behave in SSS.

Yes good idea! Here's a link to the MIDI + a Reaper project file with the MIDI: https://calebfaith.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Sample-Library-Comparison-1.zip
 
Interesting, to be sure, and CSS did sound especially great here. Even 8DIO sounded better than I might have expected.

My only concern is that I'm not sure this was fair to Mural, since the volume was comparatively low at the start as compared to CSS (I know from personal tests that CSS has less dynamic range than other libraries), and because of the mic selection, which you haven't provided any details about, but it sounds like it could have been just the tree mics on Mural with no close mics. I would expect some close mics to give Mural at least a bit more bite.
 
Aw man, it would have been so cool to throw the Albion One Spiccato./Staccato patch in there. Love that one.
 
Interesting, to be sure, and CSS did sound especially great here. Even 8DIO sounded better than I might have expected.

My only concern is that I'm not sure this was fair to Mural, since the volume was comparatively low at the start as compared to CSS (I know from personal tests that CSS has less dynamic range than other libraries), and because of the mic selection, which you haven't provided any details about, but it sounds like it could have been just the tree mics on Mural with no close mics. I would expect some close mics to give Mural at least a bit more bite.

I actually normalised the volume of each library after I'd finished recording - mural just has a larger dynamic range. Also I used the Stereo Mixed Mics (the middle setting, can't remember which it is) for Mural to make it more fair as CSS was using a mixed mic. The only unfair one would be Hollywood Strings which was only the mid mic because that's all I have.

Aw man, it would have been so cool to throw the Albion One Spiccato./Staccato patch in there. Love that one.

Albion is on my very long list of things to buy :P

I think in this case using the time-machine patch with Mural would have helped

Yes I agree but the time machine patch really seems to eat up my CPU. My goal was more to look at the out of the box sound :)
 
I actually normalised the volume of each library after I'd finished recording - mural just has a larger dynamic range. Also I used the Stereo Mixed Mics (the middle setting, can't remember which it is) for Mural to make it more fair as CSS was using a mixed mic. The only unfair one would be Hollywood Strings which was only the mid mic because that's all I have.

Sounds right, thanks. I only have SSS rather than Mural, so I lack any mixed mic settings for Spitfire, but I would assume the mixed mic setting for Mural is more roomy than that of CSS, which has a relatively close and dry mixed mic by default.
 
I did like all the samples in the video to some extent, but Caleb let me heartily recommend to somehow check out the Spiccato/Staccato in Albion One. For me it hits a really sweet spot for rhythms, and to be forthright you can't go wrong with the first III Albions in general (IV and V are more niche).
 
SCS:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/65168053/scs.wav

SCS (x3 with transposition trick):

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/65168053/scs_transp.wav


[Note: I want to receive free products from Spitfire Audio]

It sounds really good! haha I'm dying for you note..
When you do the transposition trick, do you apply the same mics to all of them? let's say in V1 you have a bit of C, full T and some A, would you replicate that in the other patches?
 
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