New samples: Introducing Spitfire String Quintet

[JohnDonovan]

Fantastic! These are quite an improvement on previous offerings! I've already incorporated some into my "go to" programs in my NS3C and NE5D.

It is probably fair to say that strings weren't a strong point in Clavia's armoury - great to see this has now been addressed AND legacy products supported! Now, if only something similar could be done with Nord's biggest deficiency, brass...

In fairness to Nord, I've always thought doing Brass well was the achilles heel of any keyboard brand. It's just seems more difficult to nail - especially playing live. In the studio there are some great plugins for Brass/Saxes - but to get them sounding as realistic as possible you need to get into keyswitching etc to handle different articulations; which gets trickier to do in a live situation.

[maxpiano]

Fantastic! These are quite an improvement on previous offerings! I've already incorporated some into my "go to" programs in my NS3C and NE5D.

It is probably fair to say that strings weren't a strong point in Clavia's armoury - great to see this has now been addressed AND legacy products supported! Now, if only something similar could be done with Nord's biggest deficiency, brass...

In fairness to Nord, I've always thought doing Brass well was the achilles heel of any keyboard brand. It's just seems more difficult to nail - especially playing live. In the studio there are some great plugins for Brass/Saxes - but to get them sounding as realistic as possible you need to get into keyswitching etc to handle different articulations; which gets trickier to do in a live situation.

Yes, while strings are relatively easier to simulate also from a keyboard playing technique perspective (at least when playing pop/rock/soul... , maybe not if you are into playing them in a classical music or Paganini's cover band ), brass are more tricky due to the many articulation they use also in pop/rock and the basic timbres are also more complex to properly emulate.

I find for example that when I play the same brass patch alone vs doubling a real brass player (even just a single sax), the final overall result is totally different (in favour of the second case, of course), so bottom line when playing in a band I wouldn't struggle too much for the perfect brass or, if brass with more realism/articulations than what Nord can offer are really needed, I would not wait for any new Nord samples, as they will still be limited compared to what you can find on other keyboards (mainly workstations) or VSTi plugins

[Gambold]

>There is a world outside of your personal experience where people make a living playing cover gigs.<

That's...just not possible. I can't even go there...

[analogika]

>There is a world outside of your personal experience where people make a living playing cover gigs.<

That's...just not possible. I can't even go there...

[Gambold]

>I used two of the new string samples on a gig last Friday (using a paid NS4 btw. ) <

Just curious what songs you used these on. It's a String Quintet, it's not "strings" in the sense that I believe most people understand them or use them.

[Gambold]

I use strings live on almost every gig I play at some point. But in the contexts I primarily play in there are multiple keyboardists (sometimes up to 3.) For a piano-focused setup I generally prefer pads as opposed to strings, so if that is all someone does perhaps they won't care as much.
That being said I doubt I will load these. For a small section like this, multiple true round robin layers are very important to avoid hearing the same sample over and over. I am in the process of converting Spitfire Studio Strings over to my Prophet X and that will give way more flexibility for me, though that is not a quintet.
I'm glad they released these though -- it's not a sound that was available in the Nord library previously.

[Nordine]

I have tried SSQ again, and I think they are ideal for scoring at a smaller scale, or doubling and combining with a larger ensemble instrument to add movement to more traditionally static string libraries.

[ericL]

I downloaded most of these samples and loaded several to my NS3 several weeks ago. In my original band, I have great use for them in a couple of songs, just in time for a big reunion show this weekend. They even inspired me to update the parts I was playing, as the sounds are so inspirational and expressive!

I also use them in at least one cover band song (Drops of Jupiter by Train) and they really add an extra bit of goodness to this song. I will be adding some of these to other programs that call for a pad over time.