Sonokinetic Orchestral Strings (with A/B divisi)

[Piet De Ridder]

Sonokinetic have uploaded their annual 'Focus Feature' which, this year, is a mock-orchestral extravaganza called "Scary Christmas" showcasing many of Sonokinetic's libraries.
Sonokinetic state that all the strings were rendered with the upcoming Orchestral Strings but attentive viewers of the video (which I haven't linked to in this post but which is the first thing you encounter when visiting the Sonokinetic website) have spotted other Sonokinetic strings being used as well. Be that as it may, I guess it's safe to assume that, say, 95% of the strings in this piece come from the new library.

I can't sit it out though. The piercing, high-mid heavy and excessively bright sound of this mix wears me down completely long before the piece has finished. I've made it to somewhere around the two minute mark, and then I had to switch it off. Couldn't stand it any longer.



_

[Muziksculp]

Looking forward to Performance Samples : Pacific Strings, expected release : September.

UPDATE: Pacific Strings release has been delayed. It won't be released in September.

[Guy Rowland]

I can't sit it out though. The piercing, high-mid heavy and excessively bright sound of this mix wears me down completely long before the piece has finished. I've made it to somewhere around the two minute mark, and then I had to switch it off. Couldn't stand it any longer.

Danny Elfman's legal representative is never short of work, is he?

That aside, the arrangement sounds pretty good to me. The strings aren't always subtle - some of the sawing is grating - but in some of the faster sections the connectivity sounds pretty darn good here. Its all a bit overhyped on HD-25s, but not grossly offensive I think...

[Linos]

Can't say much about the strings from this demo. But I do agree with Piet that the mix is bright in an unpleasant, tiring way.

[Muziksculp]

Finally Released !

https://www.sonokinetic.net/products/cl ... l-strings/

[Piet De Ridder]

Weird idea of them to post all their tutorial videos with a mono sound.
(Something must have gone wrong though, because I can't imagine that was intended. Makes no sense at all to do a 'Mix' tutorial in mono.)

_

[Linos]

Apparently a problem with the Vimeo conversion that they are trying to fix, and not a voluntary decision. Should be uploaded in stereo soon.

In the demos, I am hearing mixed things (sorry for the pun...). The overall sound is a bit brighter than I'd like. Not so bright as some other libraries though. A few problematic passages for me in the 'Terra' demo. Those repeated chords in the violins at 1:20 and on don't sound good to me. Might be the users fault, and not the library's. The ostinato passages in 'Telltale' beginning at 1:08 sound pretty good to me. Definitely something that sample libraries tend struggle with. I thought I heard the room dropping out at some points in a demo, but can't find it again.

Overall, I hear enough that I like that, at the intro price, I am buying.

[Malachistos]

For a strings library with legato and divisi, the price seems ridiculously cheap. So I am asking myself whats wrong with these strings? It has all the articulations + extras. I am confused. Because of the looming performance samples strings and tokio strings?

[Guy Rowland]

For a strings library with legato and divisi, the price seems ridiculously cheap. So I am asking myself whats wrong with these strings? It has all the articulations + extras. I am confused. Because of the looming performance samples strings and tokio strings?

Yeah - I guess Sonokinetic have always been at the lower end, price-wise. But even with another 12,000 string libraries to choose from keeping people like me from considering it, I wonder if they've slightly undersold themselves, it's a very big feature set. The divisi is only 2 part, but still.

On the basis of the teaser (tutorials still mono), I can see that the sound might be fatiguing though. Kinda surprised they didn't stick a softer eq over it somewhere along the line.

[Lawrence]

For the VERY reasonable price, I'm VERY curious what user demos sound like. I owe myself a treat this year, and I can't think of anything stupider than buying ANOTHER string library. If anyone goes for this, please post something.

[Muziksculp]

Weird idea of them to post all their tutorial videos with a mono sound.
(Something must have gone wrong though, because I can't imagine that was intended. Makes no sense at all to do a 'Mix' tutorial in mono.)

_

They have fixed most of their Vimeo videos. They had some technical issue when they uploaded them. Not sure what happened, but they were aware of it.

[Linos]

For the VERY reasonable price, I'm VERY curious what user demos sound like. I owe myself a treat this year, and I can't think of anything stupider than buying ANOTHER string library. If anyone goes for this, please post something.

Working on a mockup right now. I'm fighting a few quirks, and I need to get to know the library better. But I will share when and if I get something decent out of it.

[Muziksculp]

For the VERY reasonable price, I'm VERY curious what user demos sound like. I owe myself a treat this year, and I can't think of anything stupider than buying ANOTHER string library. If anyone goes for this, please post something.

Working on a mockup right now. I'm fighting a few quirks, and I need to get to know the library better. But I will share when and if I get something decent out of it.

[Lawrence]

For the VERY reasonable price, I'm VERY curious what user demos sound like. I owe myself a treat this year, and I can't think of anything stupider than buying ANOTHER string library. If anyone goes for this, please post something.

Working on a mockup right now. I'm fighting a few quirks, and I need to get to know the library better. But I will share when and if I get something decent out of it.

Outstanding, Anders. What are you thinking so far?

[Linos]

It's too soon to say much. I need to properly adjust all the parameters to suit my workflow first. When working on the mockup I was a bit let down at the beginning, as I didn't like how everything sounded. After putting in some time and cleaning up the midi data etc. I now start to really like it. Definitely a sound signature that I like, and the library seems to be pretty versatile with what it offers. Haven't tried the divisi too much just yet, but on first impression I like it. There are some slight tuning differences on some notes, and I really like that. Sounds very good when it all comes together.

Here is a first mockup in a very rough state. It's just the library out of the box. No additional anything. No eq, no reverb. Only a limiter to bring up the volume a bit. I'll adjust the dynamic range of the library to get a bit more dynamic contrast. Haven't gotten around doing that yet.


https://app.box.com/s/t3mkwmj1tpb5s64p74v6g9kt7vbmplh6



PS: I'm Dom. Anders is active on this forum too I think. Just to avoid confusion

[Guy Rowland]

https://app.box.com/s/t3mkwmj1tpb5s64p74v6g9kt7vbmplh6

Sounds very promising! And not hearing that harshness here - are you mainly in the lower CC register a la LASS?

[Linos]

Yes, it's mainly the lower half of the range. Below 70 or so. Only briefly venturing into higher cc ranges for the tutti crescendo in the second half of the piece. And when a section should cut through. That little call and answer between the celli and first violins in the second half is with both sections almost at their top dynamics. The other sections being well below that at this point.

[Guy Rowland]

Yes, it's mainly the lower half of the range. Below 70 or so. Only briefly venturing into higher cc ranges for the tutti crescendo in the second half of the piece. And when a section should cut through. That little call and answer between the celli and first violins in the second half is with both sections almost at their top dynamics. The other sections being well below that at this point.

Interesting, thanks. It does seem to have a bit of a LASS thing going on then...

[Muziksculp]

It's too soon to say much. I need to properly adjust all the parameters to suit my workflow first. When working on the mockup I was a bit let down at the beginning, as I didn't like how everything sounded. After putting in some time and cleaning up the midi data etc. I now start to really like it. Definitely a sound signature that I like, and the library seems to be pretty versatile with what it offers. Haven't tried the divisi too much just yet, but on first impression I like it. There are some slight tuning differences on some notes, and I really like that. Sounds very good when it all comes together.

Here is a first mockup in a very rough state. It's just the library out of the box. No additional anything. No eq, no reverb. Only a limiter to bring up the volume a bit. I'll adjust the dynamic range of the library to get a bit more dynamic contrast. Haven't gotten around doing that yet.


https://app.box.com/s/t3mkwmj1tpb5s64p74v6g9kt7vbmplh6



PS: I'm Dom. Anders is active on this forum too I think. Just to avoid confusion

@Linos,

Thanks for sharing the demo.

It sounds great, very rich timbre, and quite expressive, the legatos are super smooth, given you didn't use an EQ, or Reverb, I'm sure it would sound even better if you did do some additional audio cosmetics to it. But as a raw render it sounds wonderful.

[Linos]

Interesting, thanks. It does seem to have a bit of a LASS thing going on then...

Yes, they might be similar in the handling. Soundwise they are quite different. Sonokinetic Orchestral Strings are on the wet side. I haven't made myself familiar enough with the mix options. I'll have to see whether a drier sound is possible with judicious use of the close mics. SOS are not as bright as LASS and have fewer bow noises and the like, so they sound less upfront than LASS.

[Lawrence]

Thanks Dom! (and sorry for the confusion with Mr lofi)

Your demo certainly sounds nice. Two questions:

1. Is there an option for a more soaring molto vibrato? Vibrato seemed minimal.
2. The languor of your piece makes it hard to know whether the legato allows for faster, agile passages-do you think it does?

Thanks for doing this!

[Piet De Ridder]

I was surprised to find how many Loyalty Points I had at Sonokinetic's. Didn't even know these things existed, let alone that I had any. So, that plus the fact that VAT needn't be included, meant that this library could be bought for just a little over €100.

A wet affair, isn't it? Makes even Spitfire's Lyndhurst recordings sound a bit on the dry side. I also have the distinct feeling this library isn't wholly finished as it is. Despite being postponed several times and for I don't recall how many months, this release still feels a bit rushed, I must say. (Maybe they absolutely wanted to release it this year, no matter what.) A few little things that aren't either working at all or behaving somewhat strangely. Nothing serious though (except the incomprehensible way the shorts respond, or hardly respond, to velocity), but a good first update can't come too soon.

Still, I see (or hear) some good uses for quite a few of the sounds. Background and supportive chores mostly though.

__

[Linos]

Rather wet, yes. I found a balance that I like at the moment, with the tree mic and the close mics a good bit quieter. Dry and intimate is not what these strings are about though. Not even for the smaller divisi section, which is close to chamber strings size (7-5-4-4-3).

Found some quirks and bugs too. The legato for the celli clearly is not as it was meant to be. The transitions jump out at you to be followed by a sudden drop in volume. Odd that this passed beta testing. Should be possible to fix though, and the transitions for the other sections are fine. The 'learn cc' function does not work with the transition volume knob for me. Even when the cc is learned and changes are sent, the value never changes.

The mixer page I would describe as quirky. It's an xy-graph where the y-axis changes the volume, and the x-axis changes width and panning. It's clumsy when you want to change one without the other. No values are shown, so you have to place the dots on the graph by approximation. On top of that, the graph might easily be confused as a representation of the stage, where you move the mics around. That is not so, of course. Still, not an intuitive nor a very practical solution for the mixer page.

Another problem is that the mic signals are treated to some widening effects out of the box. This induces some rather noticeable phase issues on the celli. You have to go under the hood to disable it - or change it via the clumsy mixer graph, where it is unclear on which settings the widening starts. Another unfortunate decision from the developer, I would say.

Luckily, Sonokinetic is dedicated to their products, and they seem to be listening to user suggestions. So I hope they will correct the most glaring bugs and quirks.

Apart from that, I do like the sound of the library. And it seems to be straightforward to work with. Good selection of articulations. The stacking and morphing option is great. I haven't delved into the separate divisi sections. They seem to offer nice options for various sized string orchestras, which is a nice bonus. Maybe not the most versatile library. But where the sound is a match, a very good library with workhorse qualities. You get a whole lot of very good content for the price.

[Muziksculp]

I'm waiting for the next Sonokinetic Strings Update before I go ahead with installing this library.

I'm sure the next update will iron out some of the issues/bugs reported in the initial release version.

[Linos]

If anybody is interested to hear the difference between the divisi groups, here is the beginning of the Larghetto of Elgar's Serenade for strings:

Divisi groups B only:

Sonokinetic Elgar Serenade Larghetto beginning.mp3

(729.75 KiB) Downloaded 665 times

Divisi groups A only (a few more players than with groups B):

Sonokinetic Elgar Serenade Larghetto A groups.mp3

(729.75 KiB) Downloaded 598 times

And the tutti version - both groups playing together:

Sonokinetic Elgar Serenade Larghetto tutti.mp3

(729.75 KiB) Downloaded 635 times

Personally, I like the version with groups B the best, because it has that smaller sound, almost chamber strings. But I was surprised to find that simply copying over the midi data to the other groups worked well. So that's very nice for the workflow.