I'd like to hear SStS used for something like this...
tl;dr - It takes a lot more work to do this than CSS does.
Here is my attempt at recreating that demo (just an excerpt) First half is with my reverb, second is library out of the box (dry). I used the Stereo Mix 2 option since the CSS demo used the Mix mic.
The strengths I'm finding so far are what most of you already know which is the extended techniques and colors you can't find in most "All purpose" libraries like CSS. I've noticed now, with Spitfire at least, that their Spiccatos and other shorts are becoming less "tight." This is okay in some cases but the main patches (8,6,6,6,4) don't have very tight shorts. To be clear, they don't hold up rhythmically on the grid. The samples aren't edited very well on the front end which makes them harder to use for fast ostinatos. This was the case with HZ Strings as well. They sound great but not for fast stuff. Now, the Divisi sections do have a much better short spiccato sound and hold up much better than the main patches do on the grid at least.
Based on just trying to mimic that CSS demo, I'm finding that I prefer the sound of the divisi sections the most. I used the Divisi sections on this demo but had to use the main sections for the Trills and Measured Trems. I did this so you can hear that the differences of using the two divisi sections layered together and jumping back and forth between the main section doesn't sound different at all, not in a mix at least.
This also used two tracks per instrument + keyswitches to accomplish. With Expression maps in Cubase, I'm sure you could cut this down to a single track if you are one of those people who prefer to work that way. In trying to accomplish this short demo, I didn't notice anything buggy. I just have that preference for a tighter front end edit of the samples. The tightness control doesn't help it enough in my opinion and I honestly don't want to have to rely on the Time Machine patches for something so simple.
Additional thoughts are all subjective of course. I wish they had some more Hairpin samples because the ones included are very long. I wish they did some short, medium, and long length versions. The phrases and Runs seem like a random after thought. They are not tempo locked so they seem pointless to me. We could have substituted those for some good Staccato or SFZ samples. I also suspected and can confirm that the Legato lacks the ability to play fast runs. It works great for lyrical stuff but nothing good with 1/16th notes at 110 and above.
Okay, I need to go to sleep now. I hope my initial thoughts are helpful.
Best,
C
[Note: Spitfire sent me an NFR of Studio Strings for review. I will actually be reviewing it along side the forthcoming Studio Brass and Woodwinds after they are released. As I continue to work with this library, I will come back to the critiques I've laid out here as I'm sure some updates will occur between now and the time I release my full review of this new series.]
