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Kirk Hunter - Spotlight Strings 4D?

I’ll be buying this library for sure this weekend, having been a long time user and lover of the KH libraries.

Why?
- playability; I’d rather spend time playing in parts rather than spending my life programming key switch /CC control knobs. Going back to the Diamond library, I love being able to just play the instruments with minimal key switching and dickering around
- real world usability; I’ve had people ask what orchestra I’d hired to play certain projects. In real-world use I’ve had to do (documentaries that have been on PBS and played at national parks, some clients movies played back on big screens, and lots of music for use in big arena-like shows played over great sound systems) the KH libraries give an orchestral sound that evokes some emotion.

No sample libraries will ever replace real living musicians! It’s pretty futile to ever try to do that.

But the KH sound just works for people’s ears... and has more playability which is pretty inspiring. That’s the bottom line for me... life’s too short to spend it all programming CC knobs and wishing you had 3 hands just to play very convincing musical line into the computer.

Looking forward to the upgrade!
 
Oh... must add... the beautiful thing about the KH libraries is that he gives us choices.

Different string instruments for different musical requirements; chamber style, large orchestra, baroque, etc .

If you want to spend the time, you can play in very convincing “approaching human replacement” pieces. (... I’m not an advocate of that!)

But I’ve scared a real cellist friend with some work!
 
I registered for a different reason yesterday, but i might as well use the opportunity.
i read this forum for years and learned a lot about string libraries i would never heard about otherwise.
I am not a composer and know nothing about realistic orchestral registrations, i only use strings for some pop music recordings.
Besides this spotlight strings 4D , I also have light & sound chamber strings and Hyperion strings elements.... more than adequate for all my purposes.

Is this Kirk Hunter library not popular ? There are hardly comments or reviews about it.
I personally greatly prefer it to light&sounds chamber strings because that one is not really playable from a keyboard.
For a background string line that doesn’t immediately scream ‘synth’ from a keyboard, this Kirk Hunter does exactly what it promises.

Anyone else has something additional to say about this library ...both good and bad ?
 
Hi!

Yes, Kirk Hunter does not seem to be very popular on this forum - if you search, you find some older threads that highlight why and that the opinions on his samples seem to be very divided.

Most people on this forum have many many string libraries, so they compare the libraries to the best that are available. Furthermore, many people here seem to not focus primarily on keyboard playability, but do most of their work in the midi editor (which is required in order to achieve very detailed and as "realistic" as possible results. There are many sample libraries that are almost unplayable on a keyboard, but that have e.g. the best legatos available etc. When keyboard playability is important to you, you have to be very careful with some of the advice given here with regard to "the best" string libraries, because, as mentioned, many people are either lousy keyboard players and thus input their midi in the editor (nothing wrong with that, but sometimes it seems that they are not able to comprehend the different necessities for a keyboard player), or they are very advanced composers, and then a lot of midi massaging is necessary anyway, so playability is not a very important factor.

I can only speak for my personal experience / taste.

Like you, I come from a piano / keyboard background in pop music and playability is very important for me. I bought many many string libraries that are "the best" in certain aspects, but are not suited to the task of live playing at all.

I bought the 4D spotlight strings just last week, because I also read that they are very playable. Indeed they are, but compared with others they did not convince me sonically, I was disappointed. But this is only because I immediately compared them to much more expensive and expansive flagship products. If they were the first string samples after my hardware keyboards / workstation days, I would have been full of excitement and joy.

So I believe that for your task of adding strings to pop music arrangements, they are perfectly fine and even very well suited. They react with almost no latency, they are dry (not much natural hall, so you can mix them easily), and offer a large palette from solo via chamber to full symphonic ensembles. Perfect for your task!

To summarize: They are perfectly fine for your purpose if you like the tone, and I think that the reason they are not loved by many here is because there are better options for detailed mockups / compositions of e.g. classical music (more dynamic layers etc.) and also a bit of "snobbery" in some cases.

Good luck!

By the way, L&S Chamber strings are highly regarded by many as very good chamber strings option, maybe one step below the real top notch (but much more expensive) candidates like Spitfire Chamber Strings. Some even prefer them, due to their more "raw" character and drier recording. But as you, I also find them not very well suited for "keyboard strings".

One library I can really recommend for adding orchestral flavor to pop productions in the not expensive segment is Amadeus Symphony Orchestra, and there especially the "symphony" patch. It's the bomb also for live playing. Or if you have Omnisphere, there are some extremely good string patches included.

Good luck!
 
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Thanks for your reply ! Much appreciated.
Never heard of Amadeus Symphony Orchestra, will look them up tonight.
And i don’t have Spectra Sonics Omnisphere, to large a library with a few thousends presets..... sounds awesome though....
Till now i have like 20+ top piano libraries ( addicted to piano libraries) and for all other categories i have a few i bought after reading everything i could read about it in reviews, forums , blogs and sound examples.
Like guitars from orange tree, HammondB5 from AS etc....
Works pretty well, only strings seem the outliner because most gorgeous sounding mock ups are ( like you said) midi based.
Therefor my need for a playable string library.....

Thanks again for your comments and advise !!

Edit : this Amadeus Symphony Orchestra looks very promising ...good advise !!
 
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pianistje said:
Thanks for your reply ! Much appreciated.
Never heard of Amadeus Symphony Orchestra, will look them up tonight.
And i don’t have Spectra Sonics Omnisphere, to large a library with a few thousends presets..... sounds awesome though....
Till now i have like 20+ top piano libraries ( addicted to piano libraries) and for all other categories i have a few i bought after reading everything i could read about it in reviews, forums , blogs and sound examples.
Like guitars from orange tree, HammondB5 from AS etc....
Works pretty well, only strings seem the outliner because most gorgeous sounding mock ups are ( like you said) midi based.
Therefor my need for a playable string library.....

Thanks again for your comments and advise !!

Edit : this Amadeus Symphony Orchestra looks very promising ...good advise !!
Click to expand...

You are very welcome - glad if some of the above was helpful to you :)

Amadeus is not the epitome of sonic realism, but comparably cheap, and I really find the specific "symphony patch" to be very good for keyboard playing. You can have a look here, scroll to 13:25 to see it in action:



And I'm sure that also some of the rest might be suitable to find the way in some pop songs.
 
apropos keyboard playing and spotlight strings 4D: I assume you have already seen this - that's what convinced me that it is playable :eek:

 
Oxytoxine said:
You are very welcome - glad if some of the above was helpful to you :)
Click to expand...
Yes it was indeed ! and the Amadeus is certainly on my list, because it also adds a lot of things i would never buy in a solo library.....like harp and brass instruments.
At 13:25 sounds GREAT !!

And i had seen the Jordan Rudess video of the spotlight strings...but it was to much ''dream theater'' for my taste. That guy made the older Korg romplers sound like liquid gold :sneaky:
 
There's a rather cryptic notification on Audio Plugin Deals that states that Kirk Hunter plugins are 80% off on the official KH website for the last time before they will be discontinued.

I didn't find anything like that on the official KH page. Does anyone have any details about this?

I don't want to start a new thread with this. If it's only a rumor or an error on the APD site, it's better to not spread it unnecessarily.
 
Rumi said:
There's a rather cryptic notification on Audio Plugin Deals that states that Kirk Hunter plugins are 80% off on the official KH website for the last time before they will be discontinued.
Click to expand...
There was a sale like that some time ago when he was about to retire the older libraries, like Diamond.

Forum

www.soundonsound.com www.soundonsound.com

Pretty sure there was a thread on here too, but can't find it now. I think he also renamed the old stuff to Legacy (like Concert Strings, which I think includes the strings from Diamond along with 2 and 3). Doesn't really look like they were actually discontinued, but whatever...

I seem to recall Diamond having been unlisted for some time, while the Legacy ones are hidden, but obtainable through searching. The Diamond link also includes the terms "apd build" in the link.




Edit: https://vi-control.net/community/th...d-symphonic-orchestra-for-49-thoughts.116557/
 
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Kirk Hunter's libraries are, and have been, among the staple libraries of many composers 'making money' with this stuff.

They work 'in the mix', which is where it counts. They can be re-sized, re-reverbed, etc. etc. to suit your specific purpose. Large string sections, small string sections, soloists.

And for anybody who doesn't think they sound 'real'...get over yourselves. Many people (me included) have produced music that elicited great response for the client and other listeners. Zero complaints. Have never had a complaint about music produced with KH libraries as sound 'synthetic' or 'fake. Never. And that's with music where the end result is being played over large outdoor or indoor speakers for large events.

Like, have you ever played in an orchestra or sat beside a real string player? Been in a dry studio with a real string player? Kirk Hunter's samples are the real thing. You can hear the string, the rosin, and the unadulterated sound of strings without a plethora of mics.

Maybe that's what bothers a lot of people. They don't sound like you're an audience member sitting up in the hundredth row. A lot of people somehow seem to prefer that, though.

Best of all, though, is that they react great to keyboard playing and you're able to get some very realistic string playing with minimum of effort and time. You can't say that about a lot of orchestral libraries or chamber libraries.
 
WhiteNoiz said:
There was a sale like that some time ago when he was about to retire the older libraries, like Diamond.

Forum

www.soundonsound.com www.soundonsound.com

Pretty sure there was a thread on here too, but can't find it now. I think he also renamed the old stuff to Legacy (like Concert Strings, which I think includes the strings from Diamond along with 2 and 3). Doesn't really look like they were actually discontinued, but whatever...

I seem to recall Diamond having been unlisted for some time, while the Legacy ones are hidden, but obtainable through searching. The Diamond link also includes the terms "apd build" in the link.




Edit: https://vi-control.net/community/th...d-symphonic-orchestra-for-49-thoughts.116557/
Click to expand...
Thank you!
 
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