:No, show me one library that sounds like a real string orchestra? I certainly hope this one will." - Mcarnes

That is total bullshit. To say that Appassionata Strings and Dimension Strings - let alone Chamber or Orchestral - sound like a "synth" is outrageously false and utterly ignorant of the actual sound of real strings. I am an orchestral player as well as composer with 35 years experience playing in live orchestras and ensembles and am blown away by the realism and beauty of the VSL strings. If you can't make such great sounding libraries sound good YOU are incompetent and blaming the library for your own lack of ability. Listen to any of the string demos here - you are saying those sound like a "synth"? What are your qualifications for trashing the VSL strings in this way? Who are you and what have you done musically to make such sweeping dismissive statements?

William Kersten

www.williamkersten.com

@William said:

 I am an orchestral player as well as composer with 35 years experience playing in live orchestras and ensembles and am blown away by the realism and beauty of the VSL strings.  If you can't make such great sounding libraries sound good YOU are incompetent and blaming the library for your own lack of ability. 

Well, after listened to the music on your website now I'm curious what kind of live orchestras and ensembles you are playing with...

I played in the Reno Philharmonic as a contract player, the Reno Chamber Orchestra, the Nevada Opera Orchestra, the Nevada FEsitval Ballet Orchestra, the UNR Symphony, various chamber ensembles for specific concerts, as well as ensembles not including strings such as concert bands, symphonic band, brass choir, brass quintet and many different college groups  However I am now focusing specifically on sample musicwhich is what is featured on my website.

I want to hear from  "Mcarnes"  who said VSL strings sound like a "Synth."  

Who are you?  What do you do?  Where is your music? I want to hear it since you are discerning enough to decide that all VSL strings sound like a "Synth."  I never thought that, from the First Edition til right now.  And yet you dismiss the entire library that way.  So I need to ask you to clarify things by posting a link to your music.

“Synth” was the wrong word to use of course, I’m sorry. What I meant was synthetic, and it’s not so much about the sound per se but the expression, to hear even if it's a large ensemble, that there are different musicians playing different violins etc, and to feel more that the bow is touching the string, and is moving. Just to be clear, I think no one is as close to realism than VSL’s Strings, and I hope that Synchron Strings will make it possible to get even closer especially when it comes to performance expression. There’s a huge difference from VSL and synths so I admit it was a silly comment by me. I’m just starting out myself but I’d be happy to share some music in the future, hopefully with Synchron Strings.

Hi, has anything been posted about divisi options for Synchron strings? With 16 V1s (which easily sounds like 32, I guess, when crossfading between dynamic layers?), I'm a little concerned about everthing sounding too large for my personal taste.

Also, where can I read about the difference between Synchron Strings I and the planned SS II? Not that I need to know what comes with SSII as such, but I'd like to know more about what's not included with SS I, especially if I should go for the early bird offer. I have gone for similar offers ealrier (not from VSL), and been surprised about things I took for granted in any string library that was missing (and missing for a long time). Not trying to be negative here, by the way: Synchron Strings looks promising; very promising actually, especially if there will be an easy way to disable some of the dynamic layers and have the remaining ones spread over the whole CC value range. Having to always have 80 variations loaded per key could easily cause problems on my aging Mac Pro. 

Hi Zen

OK I am not a VSL-Official, but the Synchron-Strings II will very likly have a large Set of muted variants and presumably the sul tasto /sul ponticello harmonics patches which seem to be not yet part of SynchronStrings I

Be sure on the longrun, VSL will not leave any important articulation be not included in the Synchron-Series, meanwhile the project just starts, in any case you need patience as we all do.

Synchron Strings STANDARD-Version seems to be short before RELEASE!

Bestservice has raised the Std.-EB-Price to Full-Listprice and the Extended Library from early Bird to Intro-Price.

Means, we'll get the Std.Version first.

@LAJ said:

 

Synchron Strings STANDARD-Version seems to be short before RELEASE!

Bestservice has raised the Std.-EB-Price to Full-Listprice and the Extended Library from early Bird to Intro-Price.

Means, we'll get the Std.Version first.

@LAJ said:

 

Synchron Strings STANDARD-Version seems to be short before RELEASE!

Bestservice has raised the Std.-EB-Price to Full-Listprice and the Extended Library from early Bird to Intro-Price.

Means, we'll get the Std.Version first.

That's weird. VSL said there would be an intro-price after the release. If I remember correctly, it was supposed to be € 446 for the Standard Library.

@LAJ said:

 

Synchron Strings STANDARD-Version seems to be short before RELEASE!

Bestservice has raised the Std.-EB-Price to Full-Listprice and the Extended Library from early Bird to Intro-Price.

Means, we'll get the Std.Version first.

That's weird. VSL said there would be an intro-price after the release. If I remember correctly, it was supposed to be € 446 for the Standard Library.

Still is:

If you check any other retailer, prices are already set to non-promo (jrr, audiodeluxe etc.). As I've seen, only ilio (but they have huge lag, and they still write about November release ;)) and VSL have early bird offer now. Which might mean that:

1) indeed we are close to release - hopefully!

2) something is not right and if you are out of luck you will pay full for unreleased product (Best service has this info on SS I site "release date: 12.10.2017 " )

Anyways I'm a bit tired of that "early bird". I was planning to buy other string library which was actually on sale during black friday, but suddenly early bird came and, because of my trust to VSL and love to workflow, I decided to wait. Still waiting people, no worries, no more 50% cheaper strings ;)

Anyways I think that VSL decided to kick in with that early bird to pump up income in last Q of year. But it is going rather akwardly for customers...

With the new voucher offer (4 for 3) and not knowing how long the Early bird offer would last, I couldn't wait anymore and got Synchron Strings for € 317 :)

@McArnes said:

With the new voucher offer (4 for 3) and not knowing how long the Early bird offer would last, I couldn't wait anymore and got Synchron Strings for € 317 😊

Yepp! This is indeed the best deal. If I had known about the delay, I had waited for this deal too 😞

“Synth” was the wrong word to use of course, I’m sorry. What I meant was synthetic, and it’s not so much about the sound per se but the expression, to hear even if it's a large ensemble, that there are different musicians playing different violins etc, and to feel more that the bow is touching the string, and is moving. Just to be clear, I think no one is as close to realism than VSL’s Strings"  - Mcarnes

I am glad you said that.  

Btw - what you are describing "bow is touching to string and is moving" - that is DIMENSION STRINGS already.  This is the most sensitive and intimate string library.  It is not only bow touching strings, but each player's individual bow touching strings.  And each player is compeltely different, and yet they play perfectly together.  This is the kind of musical technological achievement of VSL with the Dimension Strings which is unmatched by anything else - let alone their other great sounding strings.  But this is not to take away from Synchron strings which will probably be the best ensemble string library of all.

I'm on the verge of talking myself into this (I was going to wait and see, but the lure of €100 discount via a voucher plus the early bird offer is causing my resistance to crumble). Only thing I'm wondering is - is there anything to be gained from buying now, rather than waiting for the demos? Can anyone confirm whether the official line is that some demos will definitely be released before the early bird offer ends?

Hi,

Demos will be released before the early bird offer ends 😊

Best, 
Paul

@Zen said:

Hi, has anything been posted about divisi options for Synchron strings? With 16 V1s (which easily sounds like 32, I guess, when crossfading between dynamic layers?), I'm a little concerned about everthing sounding too large for my personal taste.

Good questions, and I share your concerns.  I've been a DS user for a long time, until about a year ago when I started using Spitfire Chamber Strings for most of my work.  One of the problems with them is that you can't split the sections into divisi like you could with DS.  I've purchased the Synchron Strings and I'm waiting for them with much anticipation like everyone, but I am concerned about writing realistic intimate divisi lines, and not ending up with that "Hollywood Blockbuster" sound, which I am most definitely NOT interested in. 

I'm hoping that the Synchron Strings and the new Synchron player provide an opportunity for ranges of musical expression and not just "cinema strings"...

I don't think they will be divisi.  It is too labor intensive to do all the velocity layers etc.  Also - that is the whole point of Dimension Strings.  

One of the things I always did for divisi prior to Dimension Strings (which totally solves all divisi problems even to the level of Debussy numbers divisi) was to use Chamber Strings for a divisi of Orchestral, and Orchestral as a divisi for Appassionata.  This works beautifully even though the numbers don't match exactly.  

I don't think you'll be able to do this with Synchron.