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CSS or Spitfire Studio Strings as HS replacement

Thanks to everyone for all the helpful information. I opted for CSS this time around, and so far I am not disappointed that I did. Overall, it feels more consistent and immediately usable than HWS, and I feel that I can get some really good emotion out of it without spending too much time tweaking CCs. On the Spitfire side I have SSW, and I feel that the legato there is more difficult to use, so I'm very much looking forward to adding the rest of the CS family (hurry up CSB!).
 
Hollywood Strings is great, but you know what's even better?

Owning even more string libraries. A human being can go weeks without eating, you know.

i have acclimated to 48 hour fasts, hmmm...

food for thought.

i went with CS2 (hence the crossgrade price) - i thought it had better overall tone for blending.

Hein for solo.
 
Midis are same. I did it on purpose, because it shows how each library plays.

I totally disagree with the statement, "it shows how each library plays." On the contrary, you can never cut and paste midi data from one library to another without tweaking it substantially, if you want to show it off.

Are the velocities all the same?
 
C'mon its pretty obvious that level of programming/editing is far superior in CSS.
based on the demo ysnyvz posted
Its as clear as day who is the winner.
CSS sounds like great players, SSS sounds drunk.

If you like random unpredictable sloppiness with low RR count, get SSS.
 
Yeah, I've got this Casio digital piano that sounds much better than the Steinway I played, and the keys on the Steinway were so much heavier & harder to hit....
 
If the velocities are adjusted for one library and not for another, then it's a false test.

You optimised the velocities for one library but not for another -- that's not a realistic comparison.
It seems like you don't even read what I post. If you could, you would see I wrote several times that the library is inconsistent. I didn't optimise midi. I just played it. While CSS plays great whatever I throw at it, studio strings struggles with even basic things like spiccato.
Of course you can disagree. But my impression is you only came to this thread to disprove me. Because as you said you don't even have it. Topic is "CSS or studio strings" here as OP asked. I can never compare them as I want? Is that a law? Spiccato is a simple articulation to sample. It's just a few dynamic layers and round robins. It's not my fault if a developer can't make a proper patch for it.
 
Do the orchestral spitfire libraries need to be put on SSD hard drives in order to run smoothly or will they work fine running on regular hard drives? HS definitely needed to be put on an SSD to run fairly well, that's for sure.
 
Do the orchestral spitfire libraries need to be put on SSD hard drives in order to run smoothly or will they work fine running on regular hard drives? HS definitely needed to be put on an SSD to run fairly well, that's for sure.

I run EWHS off an m.2 stick.

Zero issue.
 
It seems like you don't even read what I post. If you could, you would see I wrote several times that the library is inconsistent. I didn't optimise midi. I just played it. While CSS plays great whatever I throw at it, studio strings struggles with even basic things like spiccato.
Of course you can disagree.

No need to get huffy because someone disagrees with you.

I read what you wrote and I disagree with your method, that's all. If anyone writes a passage on one library, then applies the same midi to a different library, one is bound to "work" and the other won't.

You said that not all the velocities are the same; had that been the case I think you'd have convinced me immediately.

That doesn't mean I disagree with your conclusion or preference of one library over another. I like CSS and am happy to have it.
 
No need to get huffy because someone disagrees with you.

I read what you wrote and I disagree with your method, that's all. If anyone writes a passage on one library, then applies the same midi to a different library, one is bound to "work" and the other won't.

You said that not all the velocities are the same; had that been the case I think you'd have convinced me immediately.

That doesn't mean I disagree with your conclusion or preference of one library over another. I like CSS and am happy to have it.
I didn't get huffy. I'm pretty calm actually. I've been using sample libraries long enough to know how different they can be. So I know what you mean. But I was trying to point out inconsistencies of studio strings patches in itself. Even if you only listen the parts played by SStS you should hear things that's not supposed to happen in a pro library. It even ruins the rhythm a few times in a quantised midi. So I think it's pretty clear and yes same things happen when all velocities are same.
It was a cheap library. But it's made by spitfire which I didn't have any problems with their other libraries I own. For me the worst thing about this kind of purchases is not the wasted money but losing trust to people you once admired and supported. It also happened with 8dio and their adagio strings and I stopped buying from them.
 
It also happened with 8dio and their adagio strings and I stopped buying from them.

I never used adagio strings but when they released them there was a lot of hype around them. I went to go check out the demos and while I was listening to the demos, my fiancee, who's a first chair flutist with a number of prominent NYC orchestras, comes walking into the room and says without even hesitating, "Why the hell are you listening to a high school orchestra for?"

Lol I mumbled some half ass excuse about a tab popping up and closed the browser before she could ever see. I don't think I've ever looked at another 8dio product since that day.
 
I never used adagio strings but when they released them there was a lot of hype around them. I went to go check out the demos and while I was listening to the demos, my fiancee, who's a first chair flutist with a number of prominent NYC orchestras, comes walking into the room and says without even hesitating, "Why the hell are you listening to a high school orchestra for?"

Lol I mumbled some half ass excuse about a tab popping up and closed the browser before she could ever see. I don't think I've ever looked at another 8dio product since that day.
Their Agitato Strings is what did it for me several years ago. I’ve stayed clear of them since.
 
Their Agitato Strings is what did it for me several years ago. I’ve stayed clear of them since.
Bought Eric Whitacre from Spitfire the other day. Vowed not to buy anything from them again. Always sounds great on demo. Till you buy it and realize....youre never gonna use it.

Their really know how to market their stuff. They get these big names under their products, and your average joe thinks that now it MUST sound great now. False.
 
Bought Eric Whitacre from Spitfire the other day. Vowed not to buy anything from them again. Always sounds great on demo. Till you buy it and realize....youre never gonna use it.

Their really know how to market their stuff. They get these big names under their products, and your average joe thinks that now it MUST sound great now. False.


I've become extremely unwary of any sample company that doesn't allow resales. I've come to realize that there's a reason that they don't let you demo it and don't offer refunds and sales. I've gotten burnt on $100 libraries. There's no way I'm dropping $600 or $700 on a sample library from ANY company that doesn't let you demo or doesn't offer refunds or resales. I'm done funding other people's incompetence.

What kills me is that isn't demo functionality built into Kontakt? If you drop an unregistered library into it, can't you play with it for like 15 minutes until it locks down? That's all I need to know if a library gels with me or does what I need it to do. Even if library companies offered a reduced range or a smaller version/less layers or articulations version of their libraries to download and play it for the 15 minutes, that would be fine.

The fact that so many sample library companies refuse to use the technology when it's already available and built into the player is very telling.
 
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I've become extremely unwary of any sample company that doesn't allow resales. I've come to realize that there's a reason that they don't let you demo it and don't offer refunds and sales. I've gotten burnt on $100 libraries. There's no way I'm dropping $600 or $700 on a sample library from ANY company that doesn't let you demo or doesn't offer refunds or resales. I'm done funding other people's incompetence.

What kills me is that isn't demo functionality built into Kontakt? If you drop an unregistered library into it, can't you play with it for like 15 minutes until it locks down? That's all I need to know if a library gels with me or does what I need it to do. Even if library companies offered a reduced range or a smaller version/less layers or articulations version of their libraries to download and play it for the 15 minutes, that would be fine.

The fact that so many sample library companies refuse to use the technology when it's already available and built into the player is very telling.

Love 'em or hate 'em, VSL is pretty great with 30 day refunds (I've never returned a purchase, can't confirm), and resales (only bought 2nd hand, never sold).
 
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