More String Choices

[fusilierb]

When I checked this out, the thought of having to buy a new computer was very sobering. (Or maybe it was time for a drink or two.) But as I sit here night after night, year after year, fussing and fiddling with constant articulation loading and unloading, having all sounds and articulations available at once would be well worth the cost. And as Mazz mentioned, this company is coming out with other orchestral libraries, so there's a lot to look forward to.

Richard

Amen! Just the loading is such a pain in the arse. If this thing really loads all in one shot, I don't even care how long it takes to load, but the custom built solution says solid state drive which mean FAST. Imagine having a stage of sting player loaded at once that can do anything string players can do. What? I'd pay twice that much if the package delivers as "advertised".

[mazz]

That's the reason I got a Receptor, just to have all my strings loaded and at the ready at all times. I haven't put that together yet but that's my next project.

This library is great for all the reasons you mention and yes, the solid state drive will make it load wickedly fast!

Just remember that the way it does it's thing is very controller heavy. Controllers are the key to getting a great sound out of any library. You still have to know what you want to write and how to get the most expressive performance of that using controllers.

Go for it! How much is your time and music worth?

[Len911]

When I checked this out, the thought of having to buy a new computer was very sobering. (Or maybe it was time for a drink or two.) But as I sit here night after night, year after year, fussing and fiddling with constant articulation loading and unloading, having all sounds and articulations available at once would be well worth the cost. And as Mazz mentioned, this company is coming out with other orchestral libraries, so there's a lot to look forward to.

Richard

Richard, sounds like you are talking about the cubase expression maps. One track, all sounds and articulations available at once, either add them to the score editor or draw them in the key editor.

[matto]

This thing has been on my radar since it was first announced several years ago. Then I saw the price and the fact that it needed several dedicated computers...

Now, with the huge price drop and the fact that it can run on a single i7 with room to spare, it's certainly much more of a contender.

The idea of having each desk be a separate sample has always appealed to me as it allows you to control the timing and pitch spreads which are a large part of what makes a real string section sound "real". If you listen to the "Don't Go In The Attic" demo and realize it was done without any special effects samples it gives you an idea of the power that's available.

Of course, even with all that power, there are still spots in most of the demos that sound distinctly "fake" to me...I think most of those could probably be improved upon by more tweaking though.

One thing that I would say is that to my ears, the demos of LASS sound warmer, more human and more three dimensional than the DVZ ones, which sound a tad sterile IMHO. I wonder if that is due to their proprietary reverb engine, if it's the samples themselves, or if it's only the demos. Anybody else feel the same/different?

It's an instrument that happens to have the ghost of greedy Microsoft on it only for the time you see the boot up screen.

Take the time to compare the corporate profiles of Microsoft and Apple as they apply to charitable giving and you might come to prefer the "ghost of greedy Microsoft" on your desktop over that "spoiled rotten Apple" . And I'm not even talking about Bill Gates personally, whose immense financial support of innumerous causes from fighting poverty and world hunger to education make him one of the biggest philantropists of our time. By comparison uber cool Steve Jobs' name cannot be found on any list of major charitable donors...

Sorry if this sounds political but it had to be said...

...and btw this message was "sent from my iPad"...

[remmet]

One thing that I would say is that to my ears, the demos of LASS sound warmer, more human and more three dimensional than the DVZ ones, which sound a tad sterile IMHO. I wonder if that is due to their proprietary reverb engine, if it's the samples themselves, or if it's only the demos. Anybody else feel the same/different?

I was wondering about that too. It would be nice to know if proper tweaking could provide that warmth and dimension to the DVZ sound.

Before hearing this, I had been leaning toward Hollywood Strings, but now with at least 3 good choices available, it's an interesting decision to make. Fortunately (well, unfortunately actually), since I can't afford any of them at this moment, I have time to think about it for awhile.

Can't wait to hear the brass and winds.

Richard

[Len911]

If you go to the lass website faq, they say they don't use reverb on the samples, just the demos.
http://www.audiobro.com/html/faq.html

The 70dvz site says they used Neumann M50 and Telefunken 251 mics.

I would say samples of this caliper, you probably don't want to limit them by adding or even recording too much room ambience in them.
Of course if you made demos without the reverb they would sound flat and lifeless and no one could "hear" their potential.
There must be a reverb included in the 70dvz strings since you are able to move the players around.
I don't know what percentage of "acoustic" instrument's sound or good sound actually comes from the reverb or ambience, probably a whole lot, so they will be probably sound great with a great reverb unit, and not so hot with a poor one. If I had to choose between these two products, I think I would choose based on features and less on the actual samples, as the reverb probably has more to do with the sound than the actual difference between their sample quality. Just my 2 cents.