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Cinematic Studio Series © 2016-2023 Alex Wallbank
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Cinematic Studio Strings
A powerful strings sample library for Kontakt Player
Cinematic Studio Strings is a library bursting with character. Featuring Australia’s finest musicians and meticulously recorded in a world-class scoring stage, CSS boasts a gorgeous sound, stunning true-to-life dynamics and a wide variety of articulations. With an intuitive and efficient GUI, CSS was created to meet the demands of working composers in today’s film, TV and video game industries. This outstanding orchestral strings library for Kontakt and Kontakt Player is available now at a very affordable price.
- New Dawn Alex Wallbank 1:42
- Parkour Alex Wallbank 1:21
- Savannah Alex Wallbank 3:06
- Last Walk Alex Wallbank 2:46
- Remembering Alex Wallbank 1:52
- Skyline Alex Wallbank 1:36
- Ringworld Alex Wallbank 1:32
- On The Run – New v1.7 Demo Alex Wallbank 1:57
- Together Again – New v1.7 Demo Alex Wallbank 3:01
- Beyond – New v1.7 Demo Alex Wallbank 2:38
- The Four Seasons - Spring in E Major, RV. 269: I. Allegro Vivaldi, mock-up by Arnaud Derhan 3:12
- Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Serenade In G Major, K. 525: I. Allegro Mozart, mock-up by Arnaud Derhan 5:41
Features at a glance
Introducing Cinematic Studio Strings
CSS features a Hollywood-style string section, recorded in position in Australia’s premiere scoring stage – Trackdown. From the soaring colourful vibrato of the high violins to the dark and woody textures of the low cello and bass notes, you’ll be instantly inspired. Our aim was to create an instrument that’s instantly playable, sounds great out-of-the-box and is backed up by speedy customer support.
Groundbreaking Interface
At the heart of CSS is its cutting edge GUI, building on our previous critically-acclaimed library Cinematic Strings 2. This means a short-but-sweet patch list, easily assignable keyswitches and MIDI CCs, and a full mixer with output routing options plus reverb. These features and many others are all accessible via the main GUI page, you’ll have CSS working alongside you on your latest project within minutes.
Realistic and Expressive
CSS features a stunningly realistic legato engine. We painstakingly recorded true legato transitions for each note, up and down, including a beautiful portamento. We also recorded ‘re-bow’ samples, meaning you can play repeated legato notes smoothly and with true-legato realism. Please check out the Legato Introduction video below. NEW: Powerful marcato articulation allows you to create highly realistic runs with ease.
Live sound, no reverb required
With smooth legato, punchy spiccatos, inspiring textural harmonics and con sordino, CSS covers a wide range of the sound palette afforded by a world-class string section. We’ve kept an authentic, human element in the sound, so you’ll feel like you’re at a live session. With this new level of realism, you’ll feel comfortable using CSS without reverb; in fact, we recommend it! All of our demos were created without reverb – all you hear is the natural air captured in the samples.
Fully Mixed - Load and play
We used a variety of beautiful ribbon and condenser microphones to record CSS at three distances, which you can combine to create your own unique mix either inside Kontakt or via the newly included output-routing option. Alternatively, you can use our pre-mixed combination of all 3 if you want a great sound with fewer resources. Full and Lite Ensemble patches optimise workflow and are perfect for sketching or filling out a track.
Compatible with free Kontakt Player
Cinematic Studio 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. CSS is also designed for use with the new exciting range of NKS Keyboards.
“CSS is an extremely expressive library, oozing quality with a Hollywood flavour. It has all the essential elements for creating detailed, realistic-sounding string arrangements, and is very quick to learn and easy to use.”
Nick MagnusSound on Sound 
“It is more and more difficult for a new ‘orchestral’ library to up the ante on sound quality and ease of use while elevating realism but somehow, Cinematic Studio Strings does just that.”
Don BodinSample Library Review
“If you were to only own one string library, this could well be the one to have”
Jay AsherAsk Audio
“Sometimes you need to reach for the tools that get the job done fast. The ease of use of Cinematic Studio Strings makes it one of my go-to libraries for instant results when I am on a deadline.”
Chris HarrisSamples Spotlight
“The sound is warm and the legato is lush. The trills programming is brilliant. No mod wheel up or down for major/minor. Simply play the interval you want on the keyboard. Love it!”
Jacob SheaPlanet Earth II
“Not only are these some of the best string samples around with an ample supply of critical articulations, but the interface in Kontakt is an epiphany of simplicity and intuitive ease for the busy composer. The price makes them a must for any serious media composer.“
Garry ShymanBioshock video game series
“This is a truly gorgeous sounding library that is a joy to use. Alex nails workflow with his libraries!”
Danny LuxGrey's Anatomy
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Articulations
- Legato, including same-note re-bows, portamento and vibrato control
- Spiccato
- Staccatissimo
- Staccato
- Sforzando
- Pizzicato, including Bartók 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
PRESENTING CSS v1.7 (released 30 August 2022)
(released 30 August 2022)
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, 48.6GB hard drive space.
(MacOS users: please note that during installation, you must have 125GB free on your system drive)
Keyboard controller with mod wheel required.
Kontakt 5.8.1 or Kontakt Player 5.8.1 is also required.
Cinematic Studio 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: https://www.native-
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 a detailed 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. If you have any further questions regarding installation please send us a support request via the button at the bottom right of this website.
CSS isn’t designed to work with notation software such as Sibelius, Finale or Dorico, etc, and we cannot provide assistance if attempting to use CSS 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 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 Strings you are automatically given the option to add Brass for US$279, Woodwinds for US$279, Solo Strings for US$199 and/or Cinematic Studio Piano for half price ($34.50). You can also receive these lower prices (for CSB, CSW or CSSS) at a later time 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 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.
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 CSS on another machine is to copy the CSS 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 CSS 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! But don’t worry – you can download Cinematic Studio Strings any time via Native Access. First, please make sure you download and install the latest version of Native Access, which you can find here. After installing, open Native Access and use the “Re-install” function (click here to see a brief video example of this process). However please note that CSS is the only library of ours available via Native Access, and so to re-download brass, woodwinds or any of our other libraries, you’ll still need to use our installer (please contact us for more info about that).