This is a good video to answer some "which is the best library" questions.

The libraries in the video:
Spitfire Albion One
Spitfire Albion II Loegria
Spitfire Albion V Tundra
Spitfire Symphonic Strings
Spitfire Masse
Spitfire Chamber Strings
Spitfire Originals: Epic Strings
Spitfire Symphonic Strings: Ensemble CS Blend
Audio Imperia Nucleus
Steinberg Iconica Ensembles
Orchestral Tools Metropolis Ark I
Orchestral Tools Metropolis Ark II
Musical Sampling Adventure Strings
Musical Sampling Trailer Strings
Fluffy Audio Venice Modern Strings
Strezov Sampling Afflatus Strings
8Dio Agitato Sordino
Heavyocity Novo Essentials
Cinematic Strings 2
Cinematic Studio Strings
Sonokinetic Da Capo
VSL Appassionata Strings
EastWest Hollywood Strings Gold

 

I almosr never use strings but from what i can hear, on cheap pc speakers Albion One sounds best to me.
But i did like that combo he did at the end.
For me many have too much room sound or they are not that great at transitioning from one note to the next.
The small gaps. If u catch my drift.
The short articulations almost all sound okay.
Surprised at how bad that VSL sounded.

 

Useful video. Thanks @webhead!

 

My favs here are Spitfire Symphonic / Chamber Strings and Cinematic Strings 2.
I also love Audiobro LA Scoring Strings 2 and Orchestral Tools Berlin Strings but they are not in the video.
IMO you don't need any other library if you use these ones. You get very good results by blending them together, depending on your needs but all these libraries are very expensive...
God bless sister site

 

Last edited: Jul 7, 2020

23 libraries in 27 minutes? That's pretty quick. Did he adjust the programming to be optimal for each one?

 

He only uses ensemble patchs and yes he adjusted velocities and CC programming to "match" (not scientific though).
I did this kind of test myself a few months ago and came to this conclusion = Spitfire, Orchestral Tools, Cinematic Strings and Audiobro are the best. I don't like the 8Dio's (even the new one, only my opinion), FluffyAudio (ridiculous vibrato, so annoying), Strezov (so unrealistic). I have to mention that the old EastWest library works very well for "blending".
You can try Ben Osterhouse Cello Textures to add more life to your strings...

 

Last edited: Jul 8, 2020

I haven't used that many libraries that extensively but based on what I have used I agree with you pretty much all the way. Still want to check this out though when I have time...

 

Not trying to be polemical but that is the exact type of video that tells me nothing about a library.

 

you just cannot share your full experience with others, this one is just a shortcut to what you can end up finding by yourself in 320 hours. at least it gives you an idea of the "sound" of the strings, not getting into more complex settings. but what do you expect from a library? having a good sound or having settings (they are all the same btw)?

 

https://www.kvraudio.com/product/70_dvz_strings_by_audio_impressions

 

I agree but if I let you hear a couple of long and short notes of a piano or a violin, can you get an information of how good the instrument is? I think the answers is no. The nuances are what make a library different from the other and why you might choose it over something else unless your musical writing is only made up of long and short notes. Which I hope is not. xD

 

lol. yeah there were only two "articulations" here. the best solution is to test by yourself, but i've been there and come to the pretty same conclusions. my test wasnt based on long notes only
what are your favourites? i mean the ones you use

 

Straight away this video shows us the weaknesses of certain libraries, so I wouldn't say as @chopin4525 did that this type of video tells us nothing about the library. And I thought the comparison test was fair.
Admittedly, if there were another few vids for different articulations it would be more complete.
But this was still as scientific a test as it needs to be, and a simple challenge for anything purporting to be a string library.

 

Maybe I should mention the ones I don't use, lol!
I usually go for Berlin Strings, Symphony Series String Ensemble or LASS for cinematic stuff.

Care to provide any example of what you don't like and why in sustains and short notes?

 

Certainly. One glaring truth that I knew of already is, regardless of articulation, how static, lifeless and dry those Musical Sampling libs are!
To me, in context with the others, they don't sound like what I want to start off scoring with.
I tried them due to the small footprint but didn't like them. Doesn't mean they aren't useful, and they're great for people that can get away with spending less. Don't get me wrong.
So in this case it is irrelevant that they used sus and shorts, because it should be obvious that the whole lib has that sound.

I have Albion ONE yet I still don't know why. I don't even use it for a quick sketch because I know I'd eventually split it all into separate libs!

I don't believe any one lib can provide enough versatility, and I know we all blend this and that, and that every track requires something different. No lib has the answer.
But for me, the answer is found from the libs CSS/CS2, SF SS and Albion II, AB LASS. Love all the 8Dio Sordino stuff. I have some of the OT instruments and a lot of Chris Hein stuff for solo line parts.
Also some small Ostinato stuff from OT and Sonokinetic.

This vid is useful if u watch it with a certain listening criteria, imo.

 

I see. Thanks for elaborating your answer.

 

I agree with @Smoove Grooves . None of them has the answer for all situations. In addition to what you mentionned (Chris Hein, Sonokinetik), I sometimes use Emotive Strings and Action Strings (i'm so ashamed lol) but i absolutely HATE Symphonic Strings Ensemble. For Solo parts I highly recommand Embertone's Joshua Bell Violin (stunning) and the Intimate Strings Series. For the 8Dio libraries, i don't know why but I find them lifeless (as i said, even the new one (Anthology) which includes all previous adagio series)
Oh and i forgot the Evo Strings Series by Spitfire, they are soooo inspiring

 

Last edited: Jul 14, 2020

@WizzDome71 Agreed re. 8Dio, but that's why I only use their Agitato ensemble range, which is what I meant when I mentioned Sordino.
The NI stuff does work well, nothing to be ashamed of!
When I think of well optimised and coded, and nice to use and play, I don't think of Spitfire Audio!
I think of Cinematic Samples and AudioBro.

 

What I learned from this video is that ensemble patches suck and you shouldn't use them. I would have done his little cue in sections. With the ensembles poly patches the transitions just don't work.

 

AudioBro have the more realistic legato strings to me and they sound dry which is a good thing. There are many libraries that work very well for staccato.