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Poll: Which solo violin libraries are you really happy with? (old thread)

Which of these virtual *violins* are you most happy with?

  • Spitfire Artisan Violin (2015)

    Votes: 7 10.0%
  • OT Nocturne Violin (2015)

    Votes: 8 11.4%
  • Viharmonic Bohemian Violin (2015)

    Votes: 36 51.4%
  • Simple Sam Samples Signor Paganini Solo violin (2013)

    Votes: 3 4.3%
  • Chet Singers Serenade III Reaktor Ensemble

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Chris Hein Solo Violin (2016)

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • Garritan Stradivari Violin

    Votes: 3 4.3%
  • 8dio Adagio Solo Violin

    Votes: 5 7.1%
  • Auddict Virtuoso Violin (2016)

    Votes: 2 2.9%
  • Fluffy Audio - Solo Violin

    Votes: 8 11.4%
  • Embertone Friedlander (added to the poll september -16)

    Votes: 3 4.3%

  • Total voters
    70
  • Poll closed .
Hi jieff, I remember you said you voted for it, so there must be something in there you really like - in spite of the reservations you have. Thanks for useful info.
 
Not in the poll, but at least worthy of discussion: Embertone Friedlander violin, EW Hollywood Solo Violin, and Kirk Hunter Spotlight Strings solo violin.

And while it is a one trick pony, the Signor Paganini Solo Violin does the fast stuff brilliantly and is a bargain.
 
I've seen many people expect a LOT from virtual instruments, like achieving stunning results in a single pass....

For any kind of complex part, I don't think that is a realistic expectation. Heck, with a difficult part even a good real violinist might need a second pass.
 
It's still my favorite (now along with the Bohemian Violin). But those are minor things that bug me a little [...]
Hmmm... if an instrument contain several notes you avoid because they almost sound as if they come from another instrument, that sounds kind of major to me. (The same goes for being disappointed with all but 4 articulations – which makes me wonder what exactly it is it that your Nocturne violin can do which your Bohemian cannot...)

ETA: I found a couple of live performances on YouTube:

 
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Not in the poll, but at least worthy of discussion: Embertone Friedlander violin, EW Hollywood Solo Violin, and Kirk Hunter Spotlight Strings solo violin.

And while it is a one trick pony, the Signor Paganini Solo Violin does the fast stuff brilliantly and is a bargain.
Sorry, I must have missed that post. The products which weren't mentioned in the "overview thread" wasn't included, so please vote for these other libraries my posting a message instead, and as mentioned earlier: I had this 10 vote limit, so I couldn't include more than that anyway. But this thread/poll is only about dedicated solo violin VIs - Kirk Hunter and Signor Paganini is mentioned in the other thread/poll which is about string quartet/first chair products, here:

https://vi-control.net/community/th...raries-you-are-really-happy-with.54967/page-2

Re. my decisions, I have a feeling that I need to get at least three of the violin products, and based on feedback from others and demos, OT First Chairs, CineStrings Solo, OT Nocturne, Virharmonic Bohemian violin and the Chris Hein violin are my favourites, but I really like the tone of a few others too, for instance the East West Gypsy.

Btw, if someone here needs to waste 10 minutes, I could PM them a one track MIDI file which would be great to hear with any of the solo/FC instruments. I'll gladly return the favour in one way or the other.
 
Still no EW Gypsy. I'll pass.
I think poll-maker.com may be a free service, so anyone want who wants to create a new poll with both all the products from the two current polls and those others who have been mentioned in the threads could be included... ;) And I agree that EW Gypsy should be in there, it really has something to it's sound that the others don't. Maybe one even should include some of the products which aren't released yet, but which we know is being worked on (like eg Emotional Violin)?
 
Btw, if someone here needs to waste 10 minutes, I could PM them a one track MIDI file which would be great to hear with any of the solo/FC instruments. I'll gladly return the favour in one way or the other.
I've already gotten files with the Bohemian, Cinestrings Solo Violin, Embertone Friedlander and Trio Broz Solo Violin. Thanks a lot. Maybe I can, post these to this thread, if I get permission. Anyone who wants to give OT Nocturne a try? It should work well in theory, because the MIDI file I want to try out is the file behind this Berlin Strings test track:

A lot of portamento (portamenti?), I know... remember, it's only a quick test file. :) Thanks again.
 
VSL Solo Violin.

However, you left it out from the poll...
Hi! I didn't actually leave it out of the poll, this poll is about "solo (etc) violins that can be bought as a separate products". There's also a poll here, about "first chairs"/quartets etc: https://vi-control.net/community/th...ir-libraries-you-are-really-happy-with.54967/ VSL Solo Strings are in that poll.

The real problem is that the forum software still can have max. 10 response options, so the poll needed to be divided. But - check out the last 3-4 posts in this thread.
 
I've already gotten files with the Bohemian, Cinestrings Solo Violin, Embertone Friedlander and Trio Broz Solo Violin. Thanks a lot.
And here are the files. This isn't a "serious" comparison, for instance because stuff like portamento and slow/fast attacks aren't at all identical between the files. But still - they give an impression of the differences, in terms of the basic sound of each of these four violins has.

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/cinestrings-solo-violin-1-mp3.6093/][/AUDIOPLUS]

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/trio-broz-solo-violin-mp3.6094/][/AUDIOPLUS]

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/embertone-friedlander-violin-mp3.6095/][/AUDIOPLUS]

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/bohemian-violin-mp3.6096/][/AUDIOPLUS]
 

Attachments

  • Cinestrings Solo Violin 1.mp3
    1.5 MB · Views: 1,829
  • Trio Broz Solo Violin.mp3
    1.4 MB · Views: 1,755
  • Embertone Friedlander Violin.mp3
    1.5 MB · Views: 1,655
  • Bohemian Violin.mp3
    1.5 MB · Views: 1,852
I did a quick first impression listen and embertone sounds fanstatic!

And here are the files. This isn't a "serious" comparison, for instance because stuff like portamento and slow/fast attacks aren't at all identical between the files. But still - they give an impression of the differences, in terms of the basic sound of each of these four violins has.

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/cinestrings-solo-violin-1-mp3.6093/][/AUDIOPLUS]

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/trio-broz-solo-violin-mp3.6094/][/AUDIOPLUS]

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/embertone-friedlander-violin-mp3.6095/][/AUDIOPLUS]

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/bohemian-violin-mp3.6096/][/AUDIOPLUS]
 
I have almost all of EWs solo violins and Embertone's Friedlander. I'm not happy with any of them in terms of getting a realistic mockup. EW's Gypsy has the best tone IMO though. My complaint with Friedlander is that it sounds clunky and can be difficult to get smooth sounding lines. I then getting it to sound expressive/passionate is chore too. Just my experience.
 
In these particular clips, the Embertone has too much vibrato IMO. And most of them are using only one single dynamic layer (Embertone is one of them). I'm not sure which of the libraries that come with multiple dynamic layers. Besides, Bohemian doesn't have portamento or fast runs (yet), so it sounds a little stiff. But in general I like the tone of it compared with the other three audio clips, except that the beginning of the notes sometimes sound a little... insecure.
 
Friedlander is superb imho, though it really does take quite a bit of tweaking to get right. It's difficult to just play a part with it that sounds good; a lot of post-performance midi cc is necessary to make it shine - requires alotta fiddlin' around if you will.

Dad jokes aside, I love it, incredibly versatile.
 
I don't have Bohemian... yet. But I definitely like what I hear. Out of the libraries I own, VSL solo strings is my favorite. Here is (an overly compressed) cue I did years ago featuring VSL solo violin:

 
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Out of the libraries I own, VSL solo strings is my favorite. Here is (an overly compressed) cue I did years ago featuring VSL solo violin
This definitely sounds like a good violin, and (IMO: unlike some of the other libraries) the tone somehow reflects some of the passion a real violin sound has at best.
But what are the reasons to have have other libraries than VSL for solo violin? Does it have several dynamic layers, multiple mic positions, a believable rebow etc? Crossfade between vibrato layers (not that that always is something one would want to use, especially for a solo instrument)?
 
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