Decent String Samples?

[Bassomatic]

...that won't break the bank?

I'm working on a thing with faux string quartet (even using -gasp! - pencil and staff paper) and my Proteus 2000 ain't cutting it. That said, I'm broke at the mo, so it can't be too much $$.

Doesn't have to be ultra-convincing, as it's going in an electronic piece.

[LSchefman]

I have a wonderful sets of string samples that I can loan you, if you have the right sampler formats, or Mach 5, or Gigastudio. No charge, happy to do it.

Or...you can do them in your proteus, create a MIDI file, and I'll play the file back with my samples, and record it for you.

[Bassomatic]

Les-

You're a pal.

Being a control freak (and still tweaking my parts, etc.), the former approach would prolly be more feasible.

I've yet to purchase a soft sampler for this project, but i'm leaning towards the NI's Kompakt or Kontakt. What formats are your samples?

[LSchefman]

They are Akai, Roland, and Kurzweil. email or call me and I'll tell you what I have.

[MichaelK]

BTW, one way to record a "quartet"on the cheap is to hire a violinist and a cellist. Write the viola part within the upper end of cello's range and record them in two takes. A good violinist can play each violin part with a different feel.

Highly recommend having them play together rather than individually tracking.

[Bassomatic]

Boys-

I'm realizing just that, reflecting back to my collitch days when i hired a damned good quartet to 1)rehearse 9at their discretion and 2) *perform* a string quartet for $50 bucks a head! And that was some rather gnarly music, rhythmically speaking....

In this here 5 college area, i figger i can snag a string trio for not much more, for less than an hour of recording (these are easy, easy parts, if quite dissonant in spots - intonation is the only danger, here).

That sed, i would still love to hear things a bit more properly while i'm editing/finishing the thing.

[pennylink]

The UK-published Computer Music magazine that's out currently comes with a free CD that contains a collection of good-quality string samples in WAV format (Garritan’s acclaimed Orchestral Strings).

The magazine costs around $14 in the US and can be found at Tower Records and better bookstores.

Of course you would need a sampler to play them. I use Kompakt, that I'm very happy with. Not as much tweaking opportunities as with Kontakt, but it comes with a very good and comprehensive set of sounds, including strings, at a very reasonable price.

[enharmonic]

Bassomatic,

One other alternative would be the Garritan string library. I've heard nothing but great things about them. My old boss uses them a good bit, but I do not have direct experience with them.

The string library can be had for around $200 if you Froogle :D

http://www.garritan.com/

Good luck! Strings are tough. Another thought which I believe has been mentioned earlier, would be to hire a chamber string ensemble, and layer their work with a string patch. I've done that before and obtained excellent results.