I would not call CSS a specialty library. It's simply a decent and solid core strings library.All I was hoping for were strings that had the AROOF sound, bread and butter articulations and scripted in a way that provided the flexibility most Spitfire libraries do not. It's delivered on all three fronts for me.
Still baffled as to why people were expecting the over-the-top romanticism of CSS and Pacific out of a general purpose string library. Y'all realize those are specialty libraries, right?
Spitfire Audio : Abbey Road 1 Modular Orchestra - Speculation Thread.
- Thread starter muziksculp
- Start date
Vladimir Bulaev
Senior Member
Still baffled as to why people were expecting the over-the-top romanticism of CSS and Pacific out of a general purpose string library. Y'all realize those are specialty libraries, right?
jbuhler
Senior Member
Again, if you aren't hearing what you want (or you are hearing things you actively dislike), then I would say you shouldn't buy it. You almost certainly won't be happy with it.
ALittleNightMusic
Professional Amateur
Waiting for the folks who state this is overpriced to point to another library with the same dynamic layers, the same articulation set, and the same mic flexibility for a lower price.
Yes, particularly the first two demos which sound a bit thin and resonant.
I've watched the walkthrough and played along with CSS Cello patches to see the differences/similarities. Surprisingly, I found the legatos with mix 1 very similar to CSS in tone.
In the shorts the difference is bigger as you can hear the room much more in AR.
I don't think I'll be in the market for these strings before they are all released and I don't think they are a step up for what's already out in the market. What they are is a major step up for Spitfire in the legato department because everything seems much more consistent since Appassionata.
However, the whole package seems very promising together with Foundations. Having everything recorded in such a beautiful studio will probably save a lot of mixing time and I'm looking forward to hear the mockups when everything is released.
andrewfreib
Active Member
I a
I was actually playing SDS cellos while watching the ARO walkthrough, and didn’t hear a tonal or dynamic difference that induced any FOMO, but at that moment of the demo where Paul discovers his highest available octave, I did suddenly notice that the ARO cellos have an extra octave over SDS up to E5 at the top, which could arguably be useful.
I’m away from my main rig, but I also have MSS on this computer, and even that only goes up to C5, not E5. Of course, it’s rare for a whole cello section to be up in that viola/violin range but it could happen, I guess. That said, it’s not something I’d pay a premium for, and the nice thing about SDS is that you can get intense enough with the B Stage ensembles to simulate stratospheric celli using violas!
I was actually playing SDS cellos while watching the ARO walkthrough, and didn’t hear a tonal or dynamic difference that induced any FOMO, but at that moment of the demo where Paul discovers his highest available octave, I did suddenly notice that the ARO cellos have an extra octave over SDS up to E5 at the top, which could arguably be useful.
I’m away from my main rig, but I also have MSS on this computer, and even that only goes up to C5, not E5. Of course, it’s rare for a whole cello section to be up in that viola/violin range but it could happen, I guess. That said, it’s not something I’d pay a premium for, and the nice thing about SDS is that you can get intense enough with the B Stage ensembles to simulate stratospheric celli using violas!
Petrucci
Senior Member
Or you can stretch the range up in Synchron Player a little, often works good!)
OP
OP
muziksculp
Senior Member
andrewfreib
Active Member
I was wondering if that was possible! How do you do that actually? - sorry I’m new to Synchron Player!
Petrucci
Senior Member
andrewfreib
Active Member
Many thanks! That’s very useful (and very convincing).
Francisco Lamolda
Active Member
There was a guy who made a reverb of the room using AROOF percussion. It would be interesting to try it with CSS to see if the tone is similar on the shorts.
Simon Ravn
Senior Member
Sounds a bit nasal, doesnt it? I wasnt impressed with the overall tone and I think the cello section actually sounds too big in a way where expression and details are lost and it gets closer to the huge section sound of HZ strings. Not what I had expected/hoped for. Maybe it can be tailored more with mic mix and EQing of course.
ridgero
Senior Member
The market for sample libraries, especially for orchestral instruments, is simply saturated.
I think that a library can't be seen as overpriced. At the end of the day, every company and every buyer has to decide for themselves whether the price is justified. SA is probably a bit unlucky because the cost of production has probably increased significantly and the sample library hype is no longer as great as it was 3-4 years ago.
The added value of the latest and most expensive libraries may no longer be as noticeable for many users, because there are simply already such incredibly good alternatives from their own ranks, but also from other manufacturers. For example, I personally don't hear the added value of AR compared to the Legatos from Appassionata Strings, at least it will not be worth 2000,- to me. The differences in sound quality and expressive possibilities become more subtle with each new generation. This "breakthrough" they keep talking about in the videos just doesn't register to my ears, but that's subjective.
This does not mean that the expensive libraries lose their justification, but it does mean that the benefits for the individual buyer are weighed up more carefully and the decision increasingly becomes a question of personal need.
The only thing I find very negative about Spitfire Audio right now is this pre-order story. It may be a very effective strategy, but for me it gives a very greedy impression. As I said, in the end everyone has to decide for themselves what they like. But with this current pre-order approach, they have definitely lost me as a long-standing customer. As long as it's just one customer, it's fine
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jbuhler
Senior Member
Honestly the preorder itself doesn’t bother me, so long as they have the walkthrough ready. SF has also been distributing the library to some reviewers, which I think is helpful. I do question the policy of not having any sort of intro pricing after release. That seems very counterintuitive and if sales on the violin 1 were under their target I’d say that was as much to blame as anything.The only thing I find very negative about Spitfire Audio right now is this pre-order story. It may be a very effective strategy, but for me it gives a very greedy impression. As I said, in the end everyone has to decide for themselves what they like. But with this current pre-order approach, they have definitely lost me as a long-standing customer. As long as it's just one customer, it's fine
Land of Missing Parts
Grumpy Monkey
You aren't the only one. I don't understand the rationale behind a four day pre-order and no intro price after release. It's forcing a quick decision about a lot of money in an information vacuum.
