Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

8DIO's Adagio strings worth it?

Oxborg

Oxborg

Member
Hi,
This is my first post on this forum and I apologize beforehand for any faults I am doing.

I was looking for a new strings library to mostly complement my Albion strings with a bit more scratchy sound and more articulations on the short notes (Marcato and different types of Spiccato) and I found 8Dio's Adagio strings.

It really sounds like the type of strings I am looking for, however, when looking for some reviews and posts on this forum, I got a bit scared of buying it since I read that sometimes its a bit out of tune and sometimes a bit off timing.

What I mostly want for my libraries is an out of the box sound. Off course some tweaking and equalizing is needed but I don't want to reprogram the instruments.
Please help me! Is there any other libraries that sounds like this one? Is 8Dios strings as bad as I have read that they are?
Click to read more...
 
Oxborg said:
What I mostly want for my libraries is an out of the box sound. Off course some tweaking and equalizing is needed but I don't want to reprogram the instruments.
Click to expand...
What you'll find is that there's no sustaining legato patch (there is a stock modwheel controlled sustained patch), rather a number of different types of legato articulations (a huge number of them all with different character) that you have to weave in and out of. So a melodic line or phrase essentially is built through all of these different articulations/keyswitches that you move in and out of; that's where I think it really shines but it's a different way to write/program for a lot of people. You can always opt to play the entire line using the stock modwheel Sustain instead...but that's not why it was created. They really had a vision to move away from static-sounding samples and create something that had more breathe and bow.

There have been reports of tuning issues and things being out of time (particularly with short notes). I don't know how much of that was fixed with it all moving to Anthology (I didn't upgrade). Some have reported these problems as making the library completely unusable for them; others have said they strangely rather enjoy *some* of those imperfections. I've come across some of these as well but it never really deterred me from using the library. I just found my way around the issue (or reached out to Colin).

My personal favorites of the Adagio series are the violas and cellos but I don't use these libraries much anymore as I've moved to Agitato and Century at this point mostly; sometimes Adagio to help fill things out more if needed.

Check out the videos and SC demos if you haven't already. Keep in mind that in the hands of Colin or Troels or Antongiulio Frulio that THAT is essentially the best it's going to sound. It just might not be as easy to get there versus other libraries.

Hope that helps!
 
Thanks a lot for the answers! I start to think that this library is not for me since I am one of those that does not "enjoy imperfections". However, I am still looking for some good sounding strings, particularly with that brushing/scratching sound with many short notes (would really like some marcatos).

Light and Sound was not really what I was looking for. I will mostly use the strings for epic/cinematic type of music.
How are the other string libraries from 8DIO? You mentioned Century strings, are those the same as Adagio?
How is the Adagietto VST holding up?
 
I have Adagio....worst $399 I ever spent on a VST (and that was 40% off at the time). I like the sordinos, but that's pretty much all I found useable. have you checked out Cinematic Strings 2? They are a great, easy to use library, and take up a small footprint.
 
Wolfie2112 said:
I have Adagio....worst $399 I ever spent on a VST (and that was 40% off at the time). I like the sordinos, but that's pretty much all I found useable. have you checked out Cinematic Strings 2? They are a great, easy to use library, and take up a small footprint.
Click to expand...

I have looked up Cinematic Strings 2 in the past but chose something different back then but now I took a look again and I was actually quite impressed and they seem exactly like someone like me wants; easy and fast to program and it got a decent amount of articulations. How is the tuning and the timing on these strings? What kind of music have you use these strings for?
 
I would suggest you look a Hollywood Strings. I really like the tone and it has a large amount of articulations. You can give them a try with a 14 days composer cloud trial.
 
Oxborg said:
I have looked up Cinematic Strings 2 in the past but chose something different back then but now I took a look again and I was actually quite impressed and they seem exactly like someone like me wants; easy and fast to program and it got a decent amount of articulations. How is the tuning and the timing on these strings? What kind of music have you use these strings for?
Click to expand...
Check Berlin Strings from orchestral tools. Enormous collection of articulations and The Sound. And no imperfections.
 
Oxborg said:
How are the other string libraries from 8DIO? You mentioned Century strings, are those the same as Adagio?
Click to expand...
Adagio (and Agitato?) was recorded in a church with larger sections (I believe) whereas Century was recorded either in a hall or soundstage with smaller sections (I believe). While they are sort of different beasts (having a different sound) but they do accomplish things in a similar manner. Century gives you the ability to use a xfade sustain patch as well as fully sustaining legato patch along with a bunch of other articulations to weave in and out of. In terms of comparison with grit of sound between the two I'm not really sure as I've not tried that comparison. Again, a similar design in workflow.

Adagietto is basically a 'best of' from Adagio with some added things like a sustaining legato patch for each section, full ensemble xfade sustain (non-legato), and ensemble swells for both natural and muted strings. 'Best of' for all of the sort articulations as well.

In the middle of all of that is the Agitato series which is probably more of the golden age Hollywood sound. It's limiting with articulations however so I don't think you can just get by with that (and there's no Agitato for basses).

There are lots of other great options out on the market now, too.
 
Oxborg said:
I have looked up Cinematic Strings 2 in the past but chose something different back then but now I took a look again and I was actually quite impressed and they seem exactly like someone like me wants; easy and fast to program and it got a decent amount of articulations. How is the tuning and the timing on these strings? What kind of music have you use these strings for?
Click to expand...

I find the tuning and timing really good. My only minor complaint is that there's some ambient noise in the sustain samples (especially the tails), but it's not a show-stopper by any means. I blend them with Hollywood Strings, and include them in all types of cinematic music. They are especially good for big, lush romantic pieces.
 
I have Adagietto and the Agitato Sordino strings and I love both. I think 8Dio's string libraries have a kind of rawness to them that many libraries don't have, and at the new discounted prices, you can't really beat your bang for the buck. You may, however, discover some tuning and glitch problems. I found some with Adagietto. In that case I had to go under the hood and fix a few problems, but it was relatively easy to do. Despite these minor problems I still say 8Dio's strings tend to be pretty great.
 
Thank you everyone for great answers! I have not really decided about whether i should go for Cinematic Strings 2 or maybe Metropolis 1, but I will not be going for any 8dios strings. Even though they sound amazing, I am the kind of composer who rather just wanna have a "good to go" kind of strings than something I could easy get frustrated with. Thank you for all the help and for the warm welcome for someone who is new on this forum.
 
Why Adagio when there's Century, or a bunch of other different string libraries out there? I have Adagietto, and I never use it. It's just kinda...meh.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom