Jay,
As a former orchestral player, i oftem found the live strings version of 'A440' to be quite thick, hence the lush sound. I think VSL haven't neccessarily been too accurate, but the section tuning is very precise, and it's my view that the prception of thin strings comes from this. My tiny collection i use whilst travelling was recorded years ago by friends and has a 'thicker' sound. But that's 4 violins quadrupled in a mix, so the odd wide tuning sits out a little. I would rather a precise tuning method, then be able to manipulate it from there, so i'm kind of in VSL's camp here. I have a question at this point, and you're certainly the fellow to ask. Would the sound improve in 'width' if you were to record the current section strings by 4, detuning, and varying expression for each, then pulling the lot together, with an adjustment in dynamics for the increased number of players?
I mean it doesn't really matter that much if you're using '56' sampled players if the end result sounds like a normal string section, full and complete, does it?
Maybe we're thinking in a related orchestral way about this, instead of concentrating purely on the validity of the sound, and almost ignoring how we put it together. For example, i often 'ghost' a flute with the strings if i want the sound a little brighter. That's not a notated flute, merely a sound enhancer. And if i want a slighty more fluid sound, i 'ghost' a clarinet, un notated the same. almost at zero in volume, just a whisper really.
I'd be interested in hearing something like the quadrupled section, just to establish some sort of benchmark of how much is too much.
Regards,
Alex.
As a former orchestral player, i oftem found the live strings version of 'A440' to be quite thick, hence the lush sound. I think VSL haven't neccessarily been too accurate, but the section tuning is very precise, and it's my view that the prception of thin strings comes from this. My tiny collection i use whilst travelling was recorded years ago by friends and has a 'thicker' sound. But that's 4 violins quadrupled in a mix, so the odd wide tuning sits out a little. I would rather a precise tuning method, then be able to manipulate it from there, so i'm kind of in VSL's camp here. I have a question at this point, and you're certainly the fellow to ask. Would the sound improve in 'width' if you were to record the current section strings by 4, detuning, and varying expression for each, then pulling the lot together, with an adjustment in dynamics for the increased number of players?
I mean it doesn't really matter that much if you're using '56' sampled players if the end result sounds like a normal string section, full and complete, does it?
Maybe we're thinking in a related orchestral way about this, instead of concentrating purely on the validity of the sound, and almost ignoring how we put it together. For example, i often 'ghost' a flute with the strings if i want the sound a little brighter. That's not a notated flute, merely a sound enhancer. And if i want a slighty more fluid sound, i 'ghost' a clarinet, un notated the same. almost at zero in volume, just a whisper really.
I'd be interested in hearing something like the quadrupled section, just to establish some sort of benchmark of how much is too much.
Regards,
Alex.