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Berlin Strings vs MSS (For Me - Black Friday Decision)

coprhead6

Active Member
Hey everyone,

I'm struggling to decide between Berlin Strings and Modern Scoring Strings... I have been using SSS and SCS almost exclusively and would like a different flavor for my next workhorse library. I find that my Spitfire libraries lack agility and aggression in the shorts. The overall character is SO lovely, but quite tame. Also the legato leaves something to be desired but I picked up Vista recently and love how well it blends. Of course, it is also very wet.

I've been eyeing Berlin Strings for a very long time, but MSS seems like it has taken scripting to the next level. The recent updates seem awesome (legato is more realistic and the lookahead feature looks like a huge time saver).

- I already have BB and BWW so it would be great to complete my OT collection ( I could pick up Perc on sale as well ).
- I'm a string player and appreciate the divisi of MSS.
- Berlin shorts sound so awesome to me! They can get very aggressive - Spitfire can't touch them.
- The shorts of MSS have a pretty real sounding ostanato tool.


Anyway, I'm just looking for opinions from people who have one or both. MSS seemed to get a lot of mixed reviews here when it came out but I haven't heard much since the updates.

Thanks!
 
This is a really tough call because on the one hand I feel like MSS is a little more reliable, consistent, and can really do anything, and the legato is so flawless, but on the other, Berlin Strings is a really great library and gives you the whole orchestra in one room and I'm pretty crazy about the sound that comes out of having all sections playing together. I hate to say "just get both" and I'm not usually the one pressuring people to buy everything but in this case that's how i feel. MSS would give you the smoothness, actual divisi, warmth, consistency, precision, and BS would give you the crunch, detail, authentic matching room sound and some soaring quality
 
Hey everyone,

I'm struggling to decide between Berlin Strings and Modern Scoring Strings... I have been using SSS and SCS almost exclusively and would like a different flavor for my next workhorse library. I find that my Spitfire libraries lack agility and aggression in the shorts. The overall character is SO lovely, but quite tame. Also the legato leaves something to be desired but I picked up Vista recently and love how well it blends. Of course, it is also very wet.

I've been eyeing Berlin Strings for a very long time, but MSS seems like it has taken scripting to the next level. The recent updates seem awesome (legato is more realistic and the lookahead feature looks like a huge time saver).

- I already have BB and BWW so it would be great to complete my OT collection ( I could pick up Perc on sale as well ).
- I'm a string player and appreciate the divisi of MSS.
- Berlin shorts sound so awesome to me! They can get very aggressive - Spitfire can't touch them.
- The shorts of MSS have a pretty real sounding ostanato tool.


Anyway, I'm just looking for opinions from people who have one or both. MSS seemed to get a lot of mixed reviews here when it came out but I haven't heard much since the updates.

Thanks!
Berlin Strings :)
 
Tough decision.

One thing I can help you with is, I wouldn't skip Berlin Strings. They are fantastic :)

I don't have MSS, mainly because of the timbre, or character of this library, I might need to evaluate it in more detail, I just got LASS 3 upgrade from LASS 2.5 (didn't install yet), so It might make sense to have a closer look at MSS. but I'm not able to decide on it yet, especially with Performance Samples Pacific Strings release, most likely next month.
 
especially with Performance Samples Pacific Strings release, most likely next month.

Want me to do a lot of trash talk about how it's been delayed so many times and how there's NO WAY it can come out in December, so that we trick the God of Jinxing into reading my comments and saying "oh well now the library has to come out in December so Cas looks like a total idiot"? It worked for the Berlin series on SINE!
 
Want me to do a lot of trash talk about how it's been delayed so many times and how there's NO WAY it can come out in December, so that we trick the God of Jinxing into reading my comments and saying "oh well now the library has to come out in December so Cas looks like a total idiot"? It worked for the Berlin series on SINE!
LOL .. Yeah if that will help it get released in December, please go for it, and trick the God of Jinxing.

See, we got the Berlin Orch. Mains in SINE now. It works :laugh:
 
I'm not sure this comment will be helpful, but I've had both SSS and Berlin strings since they were first released and I almost always reach for SSS or CSS for all my heavy lifting. Berlin is third on that list by a long shot. Its a fiddly library with a few gems but overall has been a little more trouble than its worth perhaps. (I do love the Arks and the special bows tho). So if you're looking for a solid new flavor that has the chance to be better / more interesting / as inspiring as what you're accustomed too, I might say go for modern scoring strings although I don't know much about it yet. MSS might be in my future.
 
I'm not sure this comment will be helpful, but I've had both SSS and Berlin strings since they were first released and I almost always reach for SSS or CSS for all my heavy lifting. Berlin is third on that list by a long shot. Its a fiddly library with a few gems but overall has been a little more trouble than its worth perhaps. (I do love the Arks and the special bows tho). So if you're looking for a solid new flavor that has the chance to be better / more interesting / as inspiring as what you're accustomed too, I might say go for modern scoring strings although I don't know much about it yet. MSS might be in my future.
Did you get Berlin Strings in SINE, or still using the Kontakt version ?
 
I did just install the free update sine versions and have been checking them out little by little. I also picked up Berlin symphonic strings and am looking forward to putting that to use. It feels a little more consistent perhaps, but also not nearly as versatile with way less articulations and transitions etc.
 
I did just install the free update sine versions and have been checking them out little by little. I also picked up Berlin symphonic strings and am looking forward to putting that to use. It feels a little more consistent perhaps, but also not nearly as versatile with way less articulations and transitions etc.
I find Berlin Strings in SINE not fiddly, and actually better sounding than the Kontakt version. Quite an impressive Strings library. :thumbsup:

BSS is another great OT Strings Library, less versatile compared to BS, but it sounds very good.
 
I find Berlin Strings in SINE not fiddly, and actually better sounding than the Kontakt version. Quite an impressive Strings library. :thumbsup:

BSS is another great OT Strings Library, less versatile compared to BS, but it sounds very good.
I haven't run into that fiddliness yet in kontakt. Maybe I've just learned to anticipate the quirks of OT libraries this past year. I think I'm going to upgrade to SINE across the board and just embrace the future. The legatos might not be quite as strong as kontakt with the Pixelpoet adjustment, but they still sound really good. I'll keep the kontakt stuff though for the sake of things that weren't ported over or didn't translate well for my tastes. I'm just way less disappointed by SINE than most
 
I find Berlin Strings in SINE not fiddly, and actually better sounding than the Kontakt version. Quite an impressive Strings library. :thumbsup:
Cool good to hear, I need to give them some good soak time still. Some weird choices… like the tremolos we’re not included in the main group of core articulations, and also the playable glissandi are gone which was a super useful patch that I have turned to often. Also it seems that the cool intelligent legato needs to be programmed from scratch using the polymap feature to get the alternate attack types on velocity unlike the kontakt version where it’s baked in.
 
Cool good to hear, I need to give them some good soak time still. Some weird choices… like the tremolos we’re not included in the main group of core articulations, and also the playable glissandi are gone which was a super useful patch that I have turned to often. Also it seems that the cool intelligent legato needs to be programmed from scratch using the polymap feature to get the alternate attack types on velocity unlike the kontakt version where it’s baked in.
I'm mostly excited about all the new ideas we can come up with using polymaps. I'd still recommend buying the kontakt library any time it's available.
 
I think the BS Legatos are very good, and sound very realistic.

Lengthening the legato transitions further might make them sound more fake/odd.

String players play their legatos as fast as possible most of the time, to make them as transparent as possible, and make sure the transition is very smooth, and not audible as much as possible, the objective is to blend the played note into the target note very smoothly. I find the tinkering around with legato transitions to make them longer/slower can lead to less realistic legato bowing results.
 
Why is that important ?
There are some articulations you'll only find there - nothing I felt was vital, but cool to have I suppose.

Mainly, Kontakt gives you the ability to edit each instrument according to your needs. One reason would be to fix small problems at the sample level. Other reasons would be to make mods like @Casiquire mentioned with the pixelpoet trick or Adachi (which I still can't believe was released for free). You can't do that in SINE, although if they develop polymaps more it might not be necessary for simpler concepts.
 
There are some articulations you'll only find there - nothing I felt was vital, but cool to have I suppose.

Mainly, Kontakt gives you the ability to edit each instrument according to your needs. One reason would be to fix small problems at the sample level. Other reasons would be to make mods like @Casiquire mentioned with the pixelpoet trick or Adachi (which I still can't believe was released for free). You can't do that in SINE, although if they develop polymaps more it might not be necessary for simpler concepts.
Yes, a few things you can do since you can go under the hood of Kontakt, and not of SINE, but I still don't think it is a must to have the Kontakt version for the Berlin Main Collection, if you have the SINE versions, plus the SINE versions occupy less than half the space the Kontakt versions require, so if SSD space is not valuable, then by all means have both versions Kontakt and SINE, for me that doesn't make sense. SINE is great enough for my needs, and I would rather write music, than be a sample library mechanic, after I have paid the developer for all the mechanical work.
 
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