The Sound Board

Hi,

8Dio has just released their new Intimate Studio Strings Library.

* Intro-Price: $188 (goes $298 1st of November)

* 113 GB compressed to 45 GB of content

https://8dio.com/instrument/intimate-st ... cart=94791

Your thoughts about it ?

Cheers,
Muziksculp

Not interested in the least. The recording is well enough, I suppose, but do I really need another library that I have to play with and learn an obtuse GUI, and try and figure out how to make it sound musically appropriate?

And, sonic wise, there's (once again) this hollow boxiness which I keep hearing in more recent libraries. It's like the engineers want you to hear the early reflections. UGH. Either put it in the scoring stage space, or be studio dry. Not this weird hybrid.

I have more than enough string libs. I've already retired LASS and HS diamond. And, I still haven't dived into Session Strings (?) from Komplete Ultimate. I'm good for now.

Mike

Farkle wrote: ↑Sep 29, 2018 10:34 pm ...I've already retired LASS and HS diamond.

Excuse the brief tangent, but ooooooh do tell....mind me asking what made it into your template? Berlin?

I bought the library. Here is a quick technical review:

(1)
You can either use the all-in-one patch or individual articulation patch. Good!

(2)
Samples are not chromatically recorded. It is mostly in whole tone.

(3)
Articulations are fully consistent. Finally the library has the same dynamic bowing articulations across the band.
Editing consistency also seems fine, but I can't make a strong assertion since I only spent a few hours.

(4)
There are sul pont/trem sul pont! I like it.

(5)
I believe sections are recorded at the same time and summed. Official description says the new technology to isolate signals between instruments and I hear the same noise in viola, 2 violas and 3 violas.
On a related note, viola/violas close mic contains a great amount of the body sound compared to other instruments. Some may find it a little too "boxy".

(6)
Instruments are all centered and close mic sounds very mono. However, as you will expect from 8Dio, the room mic's stereo image is all over the place. It goes left and right.

(7)
There are bow change-ish legato and portamento legato, triggered by velocity.

(8)
For some reason you can't timestrech dynamic bowing articulations (I guess you can manually add TM).

(9)
Sustains dynamic range is p-mp-mf-f. Legato is mp-f only and timbre change in the p range is simulated by EQ.
Marcato is p-mf-f.
Con sordino sustain is p-mf.
Staccato/Spiccato/Pizzicato are 6RR and sampled p-mp-mf-f.

(10)
There is no vibrato crossfade. Instead you have sustains nv and sustains vib. There is no molto vib.

(11)
Staccato is very short (almost as short as the spiccato articulation provided). Bowing is clearly different from spic but I wouldn't call it staccato.

(12)
Overall, the library doesn't sound like it has a lot of performance baked in. A bit surgical. Obviously, that can be good or bad depending on your needs. One of the demo songs is an imitative mockup of Viva La Vida, which had what I would describe as a surgical, monotonic but non-intrusive pop strings (which in text sound bad, but it is not). The library is clearly designed for that particular kind of stuff.
You will be disappointed if you are looking for lush soaring scoring strings or emotional solo quartet. Similarly, lack of molto vib could be an issue for creating an emotional line or happy fiddly performance. That's the library's limitation.

(13)
If anything, the most overlapping library I can think of is NI Session Strings. Both libraries have a minimum amount of baked-in performance and some "disco" articulations.

Edit: (8) was about dyn-bow articulations, not bow change legato.

@Stakk,

Thanks for the helpful review/feedback, and Welcome to The Sound Board Forum.

Stakk wrote: ↑Sep 30, 2018 1:06 am I bought the library. Here is a quick technical review:

Stakk, thanks for this thorough and very useful review. And welcome to The Sound Board! Excellent first post

Thanks. Hopefully you are not bothered by my obnoxiously long first post :-]

On the contrary. Brilliant entrance. Thanks. And welcome!

_

jneebz wrote: ↑Sep 30, 2018 12:50 am

Farkle wrote: ↑Sep 29, 2018 10:34 pm ...I've already retired LASS and HS diamond.

Excuse the brief tangent, but ooooooh do tell....mind me asking what made it into your template? Berlin?

Sure, man, and I'm not saying I have the best string sound by any stretch. The other part (that's taking forever) is that I have to reprogram (or actually, program) them in Kontakt. Right now, I'm programming/using:

Bread and Butter Strings: Sonic Implants
Ensemble for Layering: Symphobia 1
Extra "character strings: Adventure Strings

Berlin certainly sounds great, as does Spitfire Chamber Strings... I'm just determined to not spend any more money until I milk every bit of goodness from what I have.

I will post some string examples as I finish programming these suckers, but it is taking a while.

Mike

This library reminds me of one of my first string libraries, Kirk Hunter Spotlight Solo Strings. Decent articulations choices, consistent across instruments, can build ensembles, a GUi I can quickly learn, and the same kind of boxy, flat sound. Quickly making it down my templete and out in just a few months. Using it a track the boxiness would stick out like a sore thumb. With some eq you could tame it, but it was always work ti fit it into a piece.

Now this may not be quiet as boxy as KHSSS, but it sounds to me like some (or all) of the groupings use the same players, so even though they are different samples and don’t phase, there is a stacking of the same tones which excentuates the boxiness and makes the tone seem a bit bland. I suppose building ensembles out of different instruments is key (I wonder if Chris Hein Ensemble Strings have any of the same problems).

For me $188 is tempting (pretty darn low for a new 8Dio product) but this makes me even more suspicious of what may be lacking (or lurking) in this library. I expect programming issues from 8Dio, but I’m assuming more issues are at foot since a) they want to get people buying before the word gets out and b) Troells demo has a piano covering the shorts as if the shorts didn’t have enough bite or punch for him.

I suppose regardless I’m in the same boat as Farkle. Realling liking all the strings I have and won’t add more unless It something exceptional. Even the PS solo violin I have to pass on. But for someone with nothing it might be an inexpensive start (the KH spotlight strings were on sale for like $54 for me ) but don’t be surprised if they exit your templete in a few short months.

As for boxiness, though 8Dio did not disclose where they booked the session it sounds like it was recorded in a moderately large room. The room mic doesn't contain much body sound, which is fine, but it has this stereo image issue which seems to be even more pronounced than Adagio/Adagietto.

There are a few things to note about this library in terms of the sonic character. It sounds somewhat pre-processed, a saturation in mid-hi and some gain compensation I suppose, rather than served-as-is like LASS/VSL. Since the library is just like any other 8Dio, geared towards pop rock/hybrid stuff that is understandable. It's done so that it won't lose too much edge in the middle of amped to the 11 instruments and big synths. Still, the library seems to be designed on the assumption that users would use some adjustments. In the walkthrough Troels used the transposition trick to adjust the timbre/formant (it can either make the sound silkier or harsher).

To me "intimate" seems a bit misleading. I won't say epic or bombastic neither since the library comes with a very tame vibrato in the first place and it doesn't do anything more than f. However after playing a bit "pop rock strings" or "EDM backdrop strings" (EDM is a pure buzz word but I am talking about Big Room House, Future Pop and maybe Trap) quickly came to my mind.

Thank you, Stakk. Your review covered pretty much everything I wanted to know.

This will never happen (from 8dio) but what would be useful would just be a collection of dynamic patches covering most dynamics, nv/vib variations, lengths and bowings for solo strings.

I forgot to mention, but you may find the absence of an adequately long staccato disturbing (is this a trend or something? Recently released Spitfire Studio Strings was completely staccato-free). It's shorter than usual staccatissimo!

Personally, I am looking for the eventual full release of Soundiron's Hyperion Strings for a more complete set of bowings/variations for gritty-saturated hybrid pop strings.

If I didn't already have VSL Solo and Dimension Strings in a blended small ensemble specifically for this purpose, I might be tempted. I'm happy to see more libraries heading in this more intimate direction.

not going to lie, those solo legato patches sound pretty good to me

something I didn't expect

The cello in this demo sounded awesome! It's from ISS too...
[soundcloud][/soundcloud]
strangely it wasn't played in the official walkthrough, which was surprisingly limited. None of the violas, cellos - but the solo bass!

The demos also don't give away more... most 8dio products have 8-12 or more demos by different composers. This one, not at all, excluding the "exposed" versions.


Looking forward to more independent walkthroughs and demos.

Yes, more demos, and detailed independent walkthroughs are badly needed, to better evaluate this library.

Yes, the legato is pretty consistent and playable (both bc and port). In fact editing/programming is pretty well done in this library. I can't speak for anyone's situation, but at the price of $188, the library seems competitively priced (not very much at the full price though) for what it is.

Heads up, they released the new update for the library today.

• Chordal (Polyphonic) Legato
• Polyphonic Time-machine based Dynamic Arcs & Measured Articulations
• Advanced Chaos Effects 4.0 with over 140 impulse responses including luscious halls, custom sound design, and our host sync'd rhythmic convolutions
• General Improvements
• Optimization for Kontakt 5.8

IMO this is a likeable library with a consistent editing, tone and good coverage of articulations generally needed for pop strings (though I wish there was a not-too-short staccato). Thumbs up to 8Dio for this one.