Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

"Best-sounding" solo strings

I'm about to pull the trigger on 'Bohemian Violin', but thought it curious that I didn't see (or I simply missed) even one mention of 'Chris Hein Solo Violin' - any thoughts?
 
I'm losin' it.

Thanks very much, Paul (next, I'll need someone to read it to me as a bedtime story...).
 
Last edited:
Another +1 for Bohemian violin. With Exp 1 it's amazing and so fun to play.

Also a +1 for Emotional Cello which is also fantastic. I'm keen to put it up against Chris Hein and maybe CSSS.
 
zacnelson said:
Yes, with Boho Violin you can do the keyswitch to rebow, but you still are left with a situation where the rebow happens very soon after you strike the initial sustained note; whether you manually rebow with the keyswitch or use the auto re-bow, the same problem occurs, whereby the note sounds abnormally rebowed too soon. Please note, I am a huge fan of BV and would never use anything else. Although those Chris Hein demos on their website are REALLY impressive!
Click to expand...

You can use the whole note legato key switch then you won't get that quick rebow soon after -the engine automatically chooses the half note legato but I think it depends on the "mood" you choose, I believe the Emotive mood automatically uses the whole note legatos.

Just to repeat what has been said already here many times about the bohemian violin and the latest update, it is truly beautiful and very convincing as well as very inspiring. The best solo violin I've used so far. Like someone else said, I can and have played with it for hours. Their bohemian cello is also very lovely sounding though is a work in progress right now I feel with only a couple round robins and a limited selection of articulations and legatos but I am certain the first update will bring it right up alongside the violin in terms of size, sheer beauty and playability.

Sorry to the person who posted the sample modelling clips, they don't sound convincing at all, very synthy.
 
It's my understanding that the CH solo violin requires a lot of midi-fiddling (pun intended) after recording in order to insert the many available articulations. Anyone here have experience with this VSTi - enough to either confirm or dispute this assumption?

IMO, it does indeed sound very good. But it also just looks 'complicated' as hell precisely because of all the articulations available. I'm sure this is due to me not being as 'advanced' at this as many of you seem to be. No use getting something with all the bells & whistles, if you're going to be too overwhelmed to ever employ them (been there....).

That being said, I would like something that "automatically" applies at least a modicum of artulations to 'get me started'; hence my attraction to Bohemian Violin.
 
SchnookyPants said:
It's my understanding that the CH solo violin requires a lot of midi-fiddling (pun intended) after recording in order to insert the many available articulations. Anyone here have experience with this VSTi - enough to either confirm or dispute this assumption?
Click to expand...

The keyswitching/articulations aren't difficult at all. You even have some pretty darn firm control of vibrato speed, shape, everything...definitely more than, say, the still really good Friedlander.

As long as you're willing to bone up on the judicious application of reverb, you stand to be very impressed with the Hein SV. If you're looking for something immediate, look elsewhere.

I should mention also, though it gets bizarrely little to no mention here, the recent Hollywood Solo Violin is very good. I recommend taking it out on at least a test run. It's not something to be dismissed, same for the Cello.
 
Parsifal666 said:
The keyswitching/articulations aren't difficult at all. You even have some pretty darn firm control of vibrato speed, shape, everything...definitely more than, say, the still really good Friedlander.

As long as you're willing to bone up on the judicious application of reverb, you stand to be very impressed with the Hein SV. If you're looking for something immediate, look elsewhere.

I should mention also, though it gets bizarrely little to no mention here, the recent Hollywood Solo Violin is very good. I recommend taking it out on at least a test run. It's not something to be dismissed, same for the Cello.
Click to expand...

hmmm.. hollywood solo strings? that's the opposite i've been hearing from people who own it.
 
ctsai89 said:
hmmm.. hollywood solo strings? that's the opposite i've been hearing from people who own it.
Click to expand...

The old Solo Violin was unbelievably hard to manage, however the most recent one has its uses, and the Cello is definitely no joke. . I just wanted to dispel some of the unfair (wrong) rumors about that. If someone was just starting out and had nothing but those, he or she could do one HECK of a lot worse (inert worse here).

To be completely forthright though, the Hein, Emotional, Adagio, and Friedlander get more use. The Hollywood solos have a very good sound (the onboard reverb is "gasp" actually useable!)...just less control than the Elite in the field.
 
Forgive me, but I can't let this go. If anyone out there is doubting that studying up on things like reverb, especially when applied to strings but far from just...you are cheating yourself. Check a couple of videos, read up Computer Music magazine/Music Radar, perhaps take some courses. You will be thankful many times over in your career for having learned that stuff early on...it's endlessly rewarding to you in your endeavors.
 
... As long as you're willing to bone up on the judicious application of reverb...
Click to expand...

Parsifal666 - Could you elaborate on what you mean by this? I tend not to use the reverbs included in inidividual Kontakt instruments, preferring rather to send all to an individual VST (usually VOS's 'epicVerb').

And I prefer a rather light touch, depending on the desired presence of a particular instrument.
 
SchnookyPants said:
Care to share what turns you off to 'Bohemian Violin'?
Click to expand...

the latest mendelssohn demo just don't sound like it's played by a real player. The legato transitions seem to have some "brake" in it. A bit too jerky. And it's extremely bright on the lower notes on E string (because they're not playing a higher position. Anyways I'm a string player so you might not notice the things that bother me and those things might not bother you either. If you like Bohemian Violin, go for it because not everyone will listen to the details as much as or the same way I (and other string players that aren't too old yet, yes if you're over 50 your ears can't hear the higher frequencies) do.
 
I too noted lower E string notes being brighter than it (perhaps) should be. Otherwise I liked Bohe very much and am looking for a possible workaround.

Note: I am not a string player.
 
The latest version of Bohemien Violin sounds much better than previous versions. It still has some performance quirks, but it continues to improve with no added cost. Very fun to play considering it's picking articulations for you (just pick a mood and play). The sound is smother than many demos indicate. Chris Heins just takes more tweaking to get to sound great, where BV is close out of the box and will continue to improve. Impressed me enough to consider the cello also.
 
SchnookyPants said:
Parsifal666 - Could you elaborate on what you mean by this? I tend not to use the reverbs included in inidividual Kontakt instruments, preferring rather to send all to an individual VST (usually VOS's 'epicVerb').

And I prefer a rather light touch, depending on the desired presence of a particular instrument.
Click to expand...

You just elaborated on what I said, my friend. That was pretty much what I meant.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom