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Checking Out: New Century Strings 2.0 Bundle by 8Dio

donbodin

donbodin

Senior Member
Contributor Raborn Johnson reviews New Century Strings 2.0 Bundle by 8Dio
“Almost three years ago, Century Strings instantly became my go-to string library. Since that time, 8Dio have continued to explore advanced scripting, and now the New Century Strings 2.0 Bundle has received the fruits of that exploration. With true polyphonic legato, new microphones positions, and the addition of polyphonic arcs, and incredible string library has only continued to cement its place as one of the best string libraries on the market today.”
Thoughts, demos, and official videos: https://bit.ly/36x9NXG




New Century Strings 2.0 Bundle normally sells for $598.00 from 8Dio: https://bit.ly/2fb8T9N
Click to read more...
 
Sordino sounds nice, but the main strings...hmmm no comment
I had no time to test the 2.0 update of the bundle, but i will...
For me, the century strings bundle was a mispurchase... Sure, the arcs sound great, but they are limited and only meant for a specific tempo... CSS for example has a rebow feature in the legato, which is more usable, then hard printed 2 bows, as in the Arcs of Century Strings...

At last, i don´t like your review, cause the demo lines, which are played, are static...no playing with the vibrato options or the dynamic layers...And everyone, who will see this review, will think... Century Strings? omg, they are sounding awful...sry my personal opinion...
 
Thanks for the review.

Kevinside said:
Sordino sounds nice, but the main strings...hmmm no comment
I had no time to test the 2.0 update of the bundle, but i will...
For me, the century strings bundle was a mispurchase... Sure, the arcs sound great, but they are limited and only meant for a specific tempo... CSS for example has a rebow feature in the legato, which is more usable, then hard printed 2 bows, as in the Arcs of Century Strings...
Click to expand...

Exactly that.

To be honest, I had no expectations in v2 after the BIG v1 disappointment. However, I really want to believe and bought the update... to finally confirm it was another wrong purchase. Sorry, I still don't like the dull sound of that "dead room", the basic scripting qualities and that static sample pool... a hope for v3 ;)
 
The new mixes are a great and important addition, but the samples are still the same, presented in V1...
And the legato is...everybody should make his own opinion...
I was naive, when purchasing that bundle, cause of the demos...
But this is typical 8dio... the demos are always bombed with choirs and other instruments to mask the real sound...I bought a lot from 8dio... Some libs are really good, but i think, i am done with 8dio..
 
Kevinside said:
The new mixes are a great and important addition, but the samples are still the same, presented in V1...
And the legato is...everybody should make his own opinion...
I was naive, when purchasing that bundle, cause of the demos...
But this is typical 8dio... the demos are always bombed with choirs and other instruments to mask the real sound...I bought a lot from 8dio... Some libs are really good, but i think, i am done with 8dio..
Click to expand...
I agree this library has some major problems, but I don't buy the notion that 8dio tries to mask the flaws of their instruments in their demos. Most of their products have walkthrough videos, which show you what the instruments sound like out of the box. Many walkthroughs contain improvisations which can give you a general idea of what the legato is like. In many cases, the demos playlist features demos with only that one instrument, without any effects. This isn't the case with Century Strings, but they hire a lot of outsiders to compose demos for them. I know one of these composers, and 8dio doesn't give him guidelines as to how to compose.

I think it's unreasonable to expect 8dio to dedicate special sections of their pages and walkthroughs to highlight their libraries' flaws. We live in a capitalist society.

So while I believe that 8dio libraries tend to have flaws that are not evident until you try the libraries yourself, I have no reason to believe anyone is intentionally hiding them.

I still buy from 8DIO because I've accepted that nearly all complex sample libraries will have some flaws, and one can often work around them. Some people will say that developers like CSS get everything right, but I strongly disagree.
 
An hour long review?? Gotta grab some beverage and watch later, thanks :thumbsup:

I skipped the black Friday but I'm still interested and will watch your review carefully. Not feeling confident after reading the user comments here. Is CS2.0 really that bad? Anyone skillful willing to share a few audio examples?
 
I haven't had time to test Century Strings 2.0 bundle, but those users that are complaining here, what's the problem ? what are you not happy with ? please be specific.

8dio spent more than 2 years working on updating these two libraries, are you saying it's not worth their time, and effort ?
 
I own Adagio and have grown to like them a lot, flaws and all. When I saw Century come out I thought, oh boy, this is probably a next level up improvement and started getting roped into thinking I needed them. After watching some walkthroughs and sitting there with Adagio open, testing shorts, sustains, legatos etc against the Century walkthroughs I realized I had no need for it at all. Not saying it's bad, but how many versions of basically the same thing does one need? I did just pick up the Century Brass ensemble and solo bundle with a 65% discount and paid $140 for it. That was a deal I couldn't pass up.
 
jtnyc said:
how many versions of basically the same thing does one need?
Click to expand...
looks at my hard drive(s)...

...weeps.

My answer to that is: "an infinite number, as long as there is some measurable improvement or distinction between each iteration of the same concept." I mean, I could still be using the 16 CD set of Garritan Orchestral Strings that I purchased back in... um. I don't want to remember. I've bought a few string libraries since. They generally all contain violins, violas, celli and basses. At a point, it does seem like I'm paying for a 5% improvement or variation on what I already have... but if that 5% contains a sound that is useful to me and hopefully enables me to earn more money (or to enjoy my work more) then it's worthwhile.

To me, Century and Adagio are quite different in tone, consistency, overall approach. The Agitato line that was previously separate but I think sort of rolled into the current Adagio (I lost track) was also different and presented some unique and great sounds. Century is more agile than Adagio, but Adagio has some unique character patches particularly in the original release before they streamlined everything.

I bought the Century 2.0 upgrades, and I'm really glad I did. I like the tone more in these new mixes. One of my biggest gripes with the 1.0 release was that the marcatos were tied to the Speed control, which completely grated against my workflow and style and I considered them unusable. They changed that to a standard 'sample + release tail' in the 2.0 release, and I have to say I love how the marcatos handle now, and I find them to be fantastic for agile, emotional passages. I'm picky about marcatos, because they often have more dramatic flair than most articulations. These ones are just what I hoped for. The polyphonic arcs are really cool, too, and immediately turned that articulation from something I never used because of how limiting it was to a new color in my palette.

Taken on the whole, I think the Century Strings 2.0 release is very strong. If you don't like the tone of the strings, that's a preference that can't be argued. In terms of whether it offers enough articulations and options to enable the crafting of expressive musical lines, I believe that it does. There's always room for improvement, but I am quite happy with Century Strings in its 2.0 iteration.
 
I'm actually quite shocked at the negativity from some. However.... there are some issues, but I find them easy to address.

1. Out of the box, some have said the strings are bit thin. One thing to understand is the size of the ensemble. Bigger than a chamber, but not as big as a full symphony orchestra. Something you have to take into consideration. I find that the "A" mixed mic is too thin. The wider "B" mic is much better if you need the mixed mic. Even better is to use all the mics and just nudge the wide mic a tad higher. I find this thickens the whole ensemble beautifully.
If that isn't good enough, I find a little EQ to tame the sound just a little above 6000 will not hurt the integrity of the violas on the higher notes. Adjust that number accordingly for violins and cellos.

Same goes for the sordinos....and I haven't found better sordinos anywhere else.

2. The legatos. For the most part I have the speed button set to adjust in the midi. It's not CSS legato, but it's pretty good if you adjust the speed as needed. I'm fine with it.

3. The arcs. If you are going to complain about the arcs....no one can help you. 8Dio has no equal when it comes to recorded arcs and Century Strings 2.0 are no exception to that.

4. For those who say the sound is dull....don't use the mixed 'A' mic...It is a bit thin. Use all the mics and don't go cheap on the wide mic. The sound can be sculpted nicely with a little mod wheel.

With that said, I think 8Dio did a better job with Century Brass 2.0 then they did with Century Strings 2.0 in regards to the sound and tone, but that's a compliment because I really like the Strings too. The Brass just happens to be beyond exceptional.
 
Honestly, I was never a fan of 8Dio's strings (and woodwinds). They sound so thin.
 
Watched the hour long review and I don't know what the complaints are all about. I think Raborn did a good job showing Century Strings. I like the sound a lot and regret not buying it during the sale. @8Dio Productions please bring LOVEU55 and V8P discount back 🙏
 
I like the Century strings.
They also layer very well with SysPro, I prefer strings a bit lighter.

If you like stings a little darker in tone, like CSS, you will certainly have a harder time liking them.
 
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