I'm not looking to compose a symphonic masterpiece, just need something that sounds convincing for modern pop/rock music

 

maybe, Native Instruments Symphony Series String Ensemble

 

LASS... those details and air is unbeatable!

It all depends on what you need, Session Strings from NI are also great because they are recorded in small sections, so they have that ultra close feel and they stand up in the busy mix more easily...
Also you can try with every string library with close mic settings

 

Last edited: Apr 25, 2018

all of the above,

+ symphobia ( old but still good enough to do the job imo )

spitfire or berlin strings if you have enough HD room & RAM.

 

NI Symphony Series (or Essentials) is great, but Session Strings and Intimate Strings are good, too – depends upon the context/sound of the other instruments and style of the song. Embertone Intimate Strings is good for "section" sound, but the Embertone soloist libraries, and the Kirk Hunter Spotlight Strings, are good for "string quartet" backing. Often overlooked, in general, is the Kontakt Library collection. Although it hasn't been significantly updated in a long time, the samples and articulations are generally pretty good – the oboe is pretty good, and I use its electric bass guitar often.

 

In the Kirk Hunter collection you also have the "PopRock Strings"
Native Instrument "Action Strings"
Bigfishaudio Funk/Soul Collection "Vintage Strings"

 

Some great suggestions mentioned above and below, thank you very much!

 

Last edited: Apr 25, 2018

this.

EDIT: I made this piece using strings from ROLI' Equator (kicks in at 0:51 roughly), but I'm afraid it's accessible to Seaboard owners only:

 

Last edited: Apr 26, 2018

Is it there such a thing as a string library for pop/rock music? Any of the available libraries that allow you to manipulate its sounds in order to achieve the characteristics of pop/rock strings will do. Specially, if they have been recorded "dry". Another thing to consider is your budget. Price varies from a couple of hundred to close to a thousand dollars.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Apr 25, 2018

ik multimedia Miroslav Philharmonik 2 has everything you need with low latency, ni symphony and session series are slow and have latency

 

Roland Cloud SRX Orchestra. Convincing? I don't know about that but it sounds great and there is a cool sound for pretty much every situation.

 

Session Strings Pro is NI's premium contemporary string library and will cover all your pop/rock/soul etc needs with its 11 piece string ensemble, 29 articulations and the built in arpeggiator (animator). For more power, pair it with NI's Emotive & Action Strings libraries which are mostly phrase players but very handy for production work, and you 'll be able to lay down realistic string parts in no time.
Cheers

 

If you want strings that sounds good and realistic with great attack, for pop and rock, i will go with NI Session Strings Pro or Big Fish Vintage Strings (if you are doing something more in the line of Motown or Disco), both mentioned already.
The rest are awesome two, Berlins and Spitfire, both those are more suitable (at least for me) for scoring, or any classical music. Those have for detail, and are recorded in huge rooms so they have more ambiance.

 

This is turning into a good thread, lots of great info which is much appreciated

 

Hello @Zenarcist ,not your typical string library but as another option also check Spectrasonics Omnisphere,there are some gems in there

 

to be more effective regarding your question and what's been answered :
- if you can play, you want a generic soundbank ( symphonic series, LASS, symphobia, spitfire audio, berlin strings... )
special arpeggios & chords can be played through their built-in engine ( spitifre, LASS )

- some of the mentioned above ( action strings, emotive strings, big fish audio, fayez sawadi etc... ) are good libraries, but very specific, and often with pre-recorded phrases - which can or cannot fit your composition

- dronar, output analog strings, or even heavyocity NOVO, are more synthetic - less realistic

so, a generic soundbank should do the job. most of them have enough articulations, but I'd go with the NI symphonic series or session strings, depending on if you need more playing effects such as runs, scales, etc...

 

session strings pro 2!