String Quartet Sample Library

[mikehalloran]

Barbara Day Turner, conductor of the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, …
I can put the two of you in touch. Just sayin'…

I'd love to meet her. I'm relatively new to the SJ area, and any good musical connections would be fantastic!

Happy to help.

Don't know how to arrange an in-person till churches open back up, then it's really easy. I was the choir director who hired her 44 years ago. Now she has my old gig and hired me to work with the praise and youth bands there. I think The Twilight Zone Theme plays in the background whenever I'm on campus.

Anyway, that church is one of the hubs of the local serious music scene with connections to Opera San Jose and the silicon Valley Symphony etc. Henry Mollicone (probably the most performed living opera composer) is a frequent attendee and their organist, Michael Touchi, is an outstanding keyboard player and bassoonist. Barb has connections to just about everyone and if she doesn't, I probably do.

PM me and we'll swap contact info. This will be fun!

[Gravity Jim]

For the video games scores I'm producing, we don't have the budget for an orchestra like the triple-A console games. So I use LASS, CineWinds, CinePerc, CineBrass and the afore mentioned cello and violin libraries, to build final productions. It's a challenge to produce the sweep of a big orchestra, but I get close enough for earbuds.

[bkshepard]

I went ahead and bought the Sacconi String Quartet. It's downloading as I type. After I've had some time to work with it, I'll post an update.

[waterstrum]

I went ahead and bought the Sacconi String Quartet. It's downloading as I type. After I've had some time to work with it, I'll post an update.

I remember hearing about this library a while ago.
Was always curious about it.
I'm still seeking a cohesive string quartet virtual instrument that sounds believable.
Sure wish I could afford to hire my favorite string musicians and record them together in one space.

I'd appreciate your opinion when you've had time to evaluate the SSQ.

[bkshepard]

I remember hearing about this library a while ago.
Was always curious about it.
I'm still seeking a cohesive string quartet virtual instrument that sounds believable.
Sure wish I could afford to hire my favorite string musicians and record them together in one space.

I'd appreciate your opinion when you've had time to evaluate the SSQ.

At first blush, it's really impressive. Like most complex sample libraries, there are a lot of variables and controllers that can be used to modify the sounds and they will take some getting used to. Out of the box, though, a few initial impressions:

• For each of the instruments there is a "Playable" version and an "Individual" version. The playable allows you to just play the passage and it interprets your note speed, articulation, velocity, etc. into a pretty realistic interpretation as long as all you need is standard bowing types of sounds. It uses real legato where the intervals are actual samples. It even uses different articulations for fast notes in runs. Playable mode only works for monophonic stuff. If you want multiple-stops or any of the other articulations like pizz., harmonics, flautando, etc., you need to use the individual version which uses keyswitching to select articulations.
• With many of the solo string libraries, there is a lot of expressiveness that can be too much when placed in an ensemble situation. Although these instruments have a fair amount of expressiveness in them (and it can be controlled with MIDI), their default settings are more than what you would expect from an orchestral player, but less than a solo player. They work quite well together in an intimate chamber style.
• All four instruments are recorded exactly the same way with the same articulations and playing style. They are also recorded from their traditional playing positions. Thus, they all complement each other nicely, and if you are using one of the stereo mix mic combinations, you get a wonderfully natural sound. Because of the uniformity in recording, the various MIDI controls have an almost identical outcome with each of the four instruments. For instance setting the same Expression controller value for each instrument creates a nice uniform volume level across the quartet.
• There are six different microphone positions, so you can really spend a lot of time going down the rabbit hole of sonic possibilities. Or, you can just use the close mic and use your own spatial software.
• In many string libraries you create a slurred or bow-change articulation by either overlapping the notes or leaving a little bit of space between them. SSQ actually has several different types of articulation that are done with both overlap and note velocity. If you don't overlap the notes, you get a "new" articulation that has multiple layers of attack based on velocity. If the notes are overlapped, low velocity produces a portamento, medium velocity produces a slurred articulation, and high velocity produces a bow-change articulation that is much closer to what actually happens in the middle of a phrase. Other than the quality of the articulation on non-overlapped notes, velocity has no effect on loudness. That's handled through combinations of ModWheel, Expression, and Volume. I still am not comfortable enough with my playing technique to do all that, so I spend a lot of time in the MIDI edit window fixing things.
• Like most good string libraries, they have captured the beginnings of the notes, so if you play a note exactly on the beat, it sounds late. They have included an option to tighten that, but it sounds less natural. You need to either play ahead of the beat, or just move the notes in the edit window after you've recorded them.

Like I said, I'm still learning this library, but my initial impressions are quite good. and the one project I'm working on currently sounds much more natural than anything I had done before.

[mikehalloran]

I went ahead and bought the Sacconi String Quartet.

I remember hearing about this library a while ago.
Was always curious about it.
…
I'd appreciate your opinion when you've had time to evaluate the SSQ.

At first blush, it's really impressive. Like most complex sample libraries, there are a lot of variables and controllers that can be used to modify the sounds and they will take some getting used to. Out of the box, though, a few initial impressions:

• For each of the instruments there is a "Playable" version and an "Individual" version. The playable allows you to just play the passage and it interprets your note speed, articulation, velocity, etc. into a pretty realistic interpretation as long as all you need is standard bowing types of sounds. It uses real legato where the intervals are actual samples. It even uses different articulations for fast notes in runs. Playable mode only works for monophonic stuff. If you want multiple-stops or any of the other articulations like pizz., harmonics, flautando, etc., you need to use the individual version which uses keyswitching to select articulations.
  …
  Like I said, I'm still learning this library, but my initial impressions are quite good. and the one project I'm working on currently sounds much more natural than anything I had done before.

Ooooohhhh…

Sounds like something to explore when I retire. I've promised myself that I'd explore Dominus Pro but it looks like I should add this to my list.

Waitaminute! Wondering why, if I no longer have a day job, I am so busy… ok, back to editing online church choirs and bands… Oh yea… That.

[bkshepard]

Ooooohhhh…

Sounds like something to explore when I retire. I've promised myself that I'd explore Dominus Pro but it looks like I should add this to my list.

Waitaminute! Wondering why, if I no longer have a day job, I am so busy… ok, back to editing online church choirs and bands… Oh yea… That.

Yeah, I've spent the better part of 40 years writing for live musicians, and hope to again when we come out of this mess. In the meantime, for my own enjoyment...

[waterstrum]

Hey Brian,
Thanks for the excellent info!
Much appreciation for your detailed report.
Seems like a very cool solution to the virtual string quartet quandary.
Very hard to create the soundscape of a living breathing quartet, but seems like it could work as a stopgap.

Hey Mike,
I salute you for keeping your business going!
Sounds like you are working harder than ever.
No doubt because you are producing great results.
Kudos!