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Cinematic Studio Series © 2016-2024 Alex Wallbank
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25 Nov–5 Dec
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Cinematic Studio Solo Strings
Beautifully detailed, intimate and expressive solo strings
With Cinematic Studio Solo Strings, we’ve taken the simplicity, workflow and authentic sound of the Studio Series and applied it to solo violins, viola and cello to create an incredibly realistic solo strings sample library, for Kontakt and Kontakt Player. The whispering harmonics and tremolos, emotional legatos and portamentos, and biting staccatos and staccatissimos of Cinematic Studio Solo Strings will give you the tools you need to truly bring your music to life. CSSS is both a perfect “first chair” complement to blend with our hallmark Cinematic Studio Strings library, and an extensive standalone library that brings a classy, vibrant and elegant string quartet section to your productions.
- Reflections (quartet) Alex Wallbank 2:10
- Masquerade (fast passages) Alex Wallbank 1:30
- Falling Leaves (1st chair) Alex Wallbank 2:22
- Tokyo Sunset (full ensemble patch) Alex Wallbank 2:03
- Killing Time (various articulations) Jack Midworth 1:50
Features at a glance
PRESENTING CINEMATIC STUDIO SOLO STRINGS
Cinematic Studio Solo Strings is the perfect complement to Cinematic Studio Strings. CSSS brings you solo violins 1 and 2, viola and cello to add a tantalising new dimension to your musical creations. We spent more than 120 hours recording Australia’s finest string players in a world-class scoring stage, using a unique combination of microphones to capture the individual character and charm of each instrument. The result is a stunning package of playable, realistic solo strings that stands out from the crowd either on their own, as an exquisite quartet, or as first chair for the full-section strings.
INTUITIVE, EASY TO USE GUI
The GUI is streamlined and efficient, with a minimal number of patches making it quick and easy to learn. The layout is functionally the same as for Cinematic Studio Strings, so you can double the solo instrument patches with their section counterparts (eg Solo Violin I with 1st Violins), and play them at the same time on one MIDI channel. This first-chair functionality serves to reinforce the sound of each section, with the lush sound of the section bolstered by a 1st-chair solo patch. This blending together of the two libraries creates an even smoother, richer sound.
VIRTUOSO SOLO, QUARTET OR FIRST CHAIR
Cinematic Studio Solo Strings brings all the emotional depth and virtuosity of an outstanding quartet to your fingertips, making it the perfect compositional tool for exposed lyrical solo or quartet passages. And because we maintained positional accuracy and recorded the same diverse range of articulations, CSSS provides a vibrant first-chair accompaniment to our full section library Cinematic Studio Strings. This allows you to seamlessly transition between writing for solo strings and full sections.
UNPARALLELED REALISM
Cinematic Studio Solo Strings are expressive, emotive and powerful, with a smooth realistic sound that gives any melody that elusive human touch. Every sample was tuned by ear, and carefully edited and programmed to ensure that delicate balance between consistency, playability and realism. All of the dynamics have been preserved in their natural state, and as with CSS, no EQ or reverb was applied to the demos, so what you hear is the pure, out-of-the-box sound.
COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF ARTICULATIONS
Cinematic Studio Solo Strings features a comprehensive list of playing articulations and styles, including true long-form legato for enhanced realism, portamentos and marcato. There is an excellent range of short notes, as well as tremolos, trills, and col legno. The articulation list, dynamic layers and keyswitch layout of the library match Cinematic Studio Strings in order to provide a perfect first-chair accompaniment.
Compatible with free Kontakt Player
Cinematic Studio Solo Strings is fully compatible with the free Kontakt Player, and will work as a standalone product with no need to purchase additional software. Kontakt Player is available as a separate download from Native Instruments and can be downloaded free of charge by clicking here. CSSS is also designed for use with the new exciting range of NKS Keyboards. Information on adding your new library to Kontakt can be found here.
Articulations
- LEGATO, INCLUDING LEGATO REPETITION AND PORTAMENTO
- SPICCATO
- STACCATISSIMO
- STACCATO
- SFORZANDO
- PIZZICATO, INCLUDING BARTOK SNAPS
- COL LEGNO
- HARMONICS
- TREMOLO
- TRILLS (HALF AND WHOLE TONE)
- MEASURED TREMOLO (TREMOLO SYNC AND FREE SYNC)
- MARCATO/FAST RUNS
- CON SORDINO EMULATION (WHOLE LIBRARY)
Videos & Tutorials
INTRODUCTION
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click here for MIDI file
TECHNICAL WALKTHROUGH
ARTICULATION DEMO
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click here for MIDI file
LEGATO INTRODUCTION
CLASSIC LEGATO DEMO
FIRST CHAIR TUTORIAL
Essential information for using our libraries
Yes, the library is available by direct download, as this is the cheapest and most environmentally friendly way to distribute CSS. And thanks to our Advanced Download Manager, you can be assured you’ll get your library as quickly as your internet connection will allow.
Windows / Mac
Windows 7+ or MacOS 10.10+, Quad Core CPU, 16GB RAM, 41.7GB Hard Drive space.
Please note – when downloading, some Mac users may receive an erroneous “Disk full” error. If this occurs you will need to download the library to an external HD.
Please feel free to contact support with any questions.
Keyboard controller with mod wheel required.
Kontakt 5.6.8 or Kontakt Player 5.6.8 or later is also required.
Cinematic Studio Solo Strings should be used with a fully 64 bit system.
All of our libraries run inside the Kontakt sampler (full or free version), and therefore you require a good understanding of how Kontakt works before purchasing any of our libraries. Usually Kontakt is run as a plugin within a DAW such as Cubase or Logic (it runs inside all major DAWs). If you are new to Kontakt you can download the free version (Kontakt Player) here. Just download “Komplete Start” and you will get instructions for installing Kontakt Player as well as factory library with 2,000 sounds and 6 GB of content. This is a great way to familiarise yourself with the platform, and once you’re comfortable with how Kontakt integrates into your setup, using our libraries should be a straightforward progression from there.
You should be comfortable with MIDI sequencing and editing, and although our libraries work without a MIDI keyboard, we thoroughly recommend using one. We are a small team and I’m afraid that while we support our products we cannot provide MIDI tutorials and tech support for Kontakt, various DAWs etc. Please inquire via the Support button if you’d like any further clarification – prior to purchase.
There is an installation guide in the email you received at the time of purchase. If you cannot find this email, please check your spam folder to make sure it isn’t there. After downloading the library please consult this link if you are unfamiliar with adding third party libraries to Kontakt.
CSSS isn’t designed to work with notation software such as Sibelius, Finale or Dorico, etc, and we cannot provide assistance if attempting to use CSSS with these programs. The library relies on an intricate keyswitching and expression system which notation programs often don’t support. There are some 3rd party programs which aim to make Kontakt libraries compatible with notation, but we do not officially endorse these efforts.
Latency / Delay: All of the libraries in the Cinematic Studio Series have been designed to maximise realism, especially when playing legato. To achieve this, we incorporated a delay system, whereby each new note you play in a legato phrase will be delayed by up to around 1/4 of a second. This requires practising playing your melodies slightly ahead of the beat, which will become natural after a short while. We feel that it’s worth the effort; this is a fundamental aspect of the library, and will not be changed.
Tuning: Throughout the entire production process of every library we create, great care has been taken to make sure the tuning of each instrument is as realistic as possible. To do this, we left much of the natural performance of each instrument largely intact. While auto-tuning is always an easy option, we opted instead to tune the entire library manually, by ear, rather than stick rigidly to perfect tuning. It is this focus on realism, combined with simplicity, that makes our libraries stand out from the crowd.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Yes, the library is available by direct download, as this is the cheapest and most environmentally friendly way to distribute CSS. And thanks to our Advanced Download Manager, you can be assured you’ll get your library as quickly as your internet connection will allow.
Yes, if you purchase Cinematic Studio Solo Strings you can later receive a coupon for $100 off the full-ensemble strings, CSS ($299), Brass US$299, or Woodwinds (US$299) through our loyalty discount program.
Yes, the library is available by direct download, as this is the cheapest and most environmentally friendly way to distribute CSSS. Thanks to our Advanced Download Manager, you can be assured you’ll get your library as quickly as your internet connection will allow.
Sorry, we do not provide refunds under any circumstances. Please choose carefully; feel free to ask any questions prior to purchasing.
The advertised price is exclusive of tax. If tax is payable in your jurisdiction then it will be collected by our payment service provider FastSpring and passed directly to your government.
Yes, there are no commercial restrictions placed on music created with the library, even if you have applied for an Educational Discount. See our product Terms and Conditions for more information.
Yes, provided both machines are owned and used solely by you for the production of music. The best way to install CSSS on another machine is to copy the CSSS folder from the first to the second computer via an external HD. Once you have done that, you will need to run through the same installation process as you would have when you originally installed it, i.e. click “add library,” and then locate the CSSS folder. You will also then need to click “authorise” and enter your serial number, so your second installation will be registered in our database.
Sorry to hear that! The download links provided at the time of purchase remain active for one week before automatically deactivating. We recommend backing up your files by simply copying the entire “Cinematic Studio Solo Strings” folder to an external backup HD. Then to re-install, simply copy the folder back to your preferred location and re-add the library in Kontakt if necessary. In case of an emergency, we will re-activate your links for a fee of $7.50 to cover bandwidth and admin costs.