Cinematic Strings

I have heard from numerous composers that Cinematic Strings 2.0 is what they would describe as a “workhorse” string library. I have been looking forward to getting this instrument to see if it lives up to the hype.

I should point out that I haven’t played many string libraries, just some of the cheaper ones, so this is really my first look into a first rate pro string collection.

The interface in Cinematic Strings is where everything takes place. There are only 7 patches included: 1st & 2nd Violins, Violas, Cellos, Basses as well as Full & Lite Ensembles. All of the articulations, microphone choices and details are all selectable via keyswitches or on the interface itself.

So let’s dig in a little bit.

Articulations

The articulations included are: Arco, Tremolo, Half & Whole note Trills, Run Mode(more on this a bit later), Staccato, Marcato and Pizzicato. Turning select articulations off will purge the samples thus making the RAM burden a bit lighter.

While this list mat not be as extensive as some other libraries, it covers most of the ground of what you would need in a core string library.

Controls

Depending on the chosen articulation there are some extra controls for shaping the tone. When you are playing Arco, the knob to the right let’s you choose the playing position. Low will give a brighter and more energetic sound and High give a slightly more muted and mellower tone. It’s really nice to have this option available.

For the Staccato and Marcato bowings this knob turns into a selector for Staccatissimo or Staccato. The first being a shorter note and the latter being slightly longer.

The ‘Advanced’ tab right beside the ‘Matrix’ tab gives you further options for articulation. The middle panel gives you sliders for adjusting the lengths of the short notes: Staccato, Staccatissimo and Pizzicato. Moving the left sliders shorten the note while leaving the release intact. Moving the right sliders will shorten the releases. This cuts off the tail of the note so the natural recorded reverb starts getting omitted.

Off to the right side there are switches for Staccato Overlay, Vibrato Control and Releases. The Staccato Overlay adds a Staccato or Staccatissimo sample over the sustain articulations(Arco, Tremolo & Trills) when the velocity of the played note is 60 or above. Good for accents.

The Vibrato Control and the drop down menu below lets you map a MIDI CC parameter to the vibrato. Great feature allowing you to ‘play’ the vibrato in for more expression and realism.

The releases are automatically turned on and scripted in but you can turn them off here if desired.

Run Mode vs. Live Mode

There are 2 different ways that Cinematic Strings utilizes to make convincing fast runs, a staple technique in the cinematic style.

Run Mode is an articulation keyswitch that is basically a legato mode optimized for very quick transitions.

The other option, Live Mode, which can be turned on or off via a switch on the interface. What this mode does is add in trill samples when playing a fast passage in Staccatissimo Mode. This mimics the players of the orchestra not playing exactly in time or in tune during these fast runs. In the Advanced Tab you can adjust the intensity of the Live Mode. It works wonderfully well and adds another dimension of realism to your score.

Legato

Cinematic Strings has sampled the legato transitions of the sections and cleverly scripted them into the patches. You can turn the legato off via the switch to play polyphonically. It may not have the different types of legato articulations that some other libraries may offer, but it sounds quite nice. It adapts to the speed of the playing so it sounds natural in fast passages as well as slow.

Designing the Space

There are 4 different microphone mixes that you can load up and mix to suit your particular situation: Close, Stage, Room and Mix. You can load, mute and purge the samples as well as adjust the levels and panning for each mic. The Mix is a crafted mix of the close, stage and room mics that will probably work in most instances. Using this one will give you a nice cinematic sound while not needing to load up all the other mic samples.

There is also a big ‘Hall Reverb’ knob on the interface. This just controls the wet/dry mix of the sound. The reverb itself is a standard effect built into Kontakt, so if you’ve got nicer external reverbs or plugins you can turn the knob completely to the left to turn it off and use your own sends.

Conclusion

As I said earlier, I am not familiar with some of the other pro string libraries out there like LASS  and Hollywood Strings so I can’t really give a comparison, but I can say that this is a great option for a core string library if you don’t have one already.

The articulations included are limited but should cover most of what you might need on a daily basis. I really like that they are all keyswitches instead of loading a myriad of separate articulations. It keeps you focused on the part as opposed to breaking up your melodic line onto different lines in your DAW.

The sound is fantastic and very cinematic, and the features like Live Mode and Low and High playing positions add an extra dimension of realism. The independent vibrato control is really handy too.

I can see why a lot of composers call this their workhorse string library.

An excellent all-around instrument!