I tried the BEST Solo String libraries so you don't have to!

The best String libraries for 2023. Played live. Simple :)
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[@johnrcreations]

2:35 Tina Guo 4:39 Vienna Sync Strings 9:04 Cinematic Studio Solo Strings 12:50 Nocturne Cello and Violin 15:12 SWAM Strings 17:40 CineStrings 20:28 Chris Hein Strings 23:10 Joshua Bell violin 25:45 Emotional Violin and Cello 28:10 Taylor davies Solo Violin

[@fabio.nivaldo]

Thanks

[@Mr.MusicalSharma]

Thankyou

[@PlazDreamweaver]

Thank you.

[@Sashman077]

Great showcase of libraries. I really like your no bulls**t approach and passion for music. At the end, it is not a contest between libraries, but a matter of what inspires us. What a great keyboard player you are! Keep up the good work with your channel. You are an inspiration.

[@TorstenHannig]

I use and love the Cremona Quartett (Part of NI Komplete Ultimate). Needs much RAM on the system but sounds incredible.

[@JamesTG1]

Bohemian Violin is the best one. Flexible toggles and with its last update much more articulations. The second one is Native Instruments Stradivari Violin.

[@JamieR]

Joshua Bell is one I've had my eye on for a while now. It's so expressive and seems to do exactly what you want (most of the time). Sounds very authentic. I feel it will accompany Tina Guo very well for when you just want a stunning solo in any style of music.

[@darotm7628]

My Joshua bell kontakt gets reset to default patch every time a project is loaded, do you have this problem also?

[@Dan-kb2oz]

Can't believe you didn't have any Virharmonic Bohemian series in this video!!! Criminal! Virharmonic have been updating Bohemian Violin & Cello for free for years and they don't just suit one style but have "Moods" called Improv, Emotive, Assertive, Classical and Sprightly for different styles. Amazing libraries which should be in this video, Dom!

[@DomSigalas]

I had to actually remove several libraries as the video was 90minutes long initially! 😢 maybe I need to do a part 2!

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

​​@@DomSigalas pls review the muse score violins as well 😂

[@Dan-kb2oz]

@@DomSigalas Haha, fair doos. That'd be great if you did!

[@jeranx1]

@@DomSigalas For sure, Dom.

[@sergioflores5565]

Love your videos, but have to agree on this. The Virharmonic Bohemian Violin is the most expressive and "human" sounding solo violin I ever played.

[@jc_compto]

Thank you for a fabulous presentation on all of these wonderful libraries.👏🙏 Exactly what I was looking for to use on a follow-up of sorts of our Appaloosa 1969 recording,🙏

[@FlorentCOMBE]

The Chris Hein are awesome :O

[@CinderellaVasia]

Grabbing coffee and ready for another awesome video! Woohoo!

[@palmal3542]

Love this video...even just to admire your playing skills! As a Double Bass player, thanks for covering the Contrabass ❤

[@theknotsewsuite]

Gigastudio! Haven’t heard that name in a while! I used to play shows with a rolling workstation with a tower computer, CRT monitor and a midi controller using Gigastudio strapped to it!

[@amusik7]

You are such virtuoso, because you can play all these instruments and you also do producing and mixing. You might have made a video about your story, but I love to hear it in detail how you've developed to such level of mastery in so many different domains.

[@LichtKrieger8]

Thank you so much Dom ! This expression and sadness in the Joshua Bell Violin ! Just amazing ! I would appreciate to see a Video from you . Tina Guo is also a fantastic dramatic sound for emotional lines. Thx for all your engagement. Learned so much from you

[@jeranx1]

Me too for the Joshua Bell. Thx

[@aldo34]

Same - I have the Joshua Bell library and it's amazing. Shout out to the makers Embertone - top quality libraries. Their Blakus cello is spectacular. I also love their 'Sensual Sax', which has it's own 'SEX' button :-/

[@jeranx1]

@@aldo34 😜😜

[@cultserpent4501]

Joshua is clearly the best solo violin. I cant imagine what their next solo violin could do. Its surreal.

[@eugenephillips481]

I do not have Cinestrings, but I so much prefer their velocity based approach to triggering articulations. I have to check it out. Thanks, Dom!

[@MahlonBouldin]

Very nice comparison and playing. And come on y’all, 48.5 thousand views and 1.6 thousand likes? Give this man some appreciation. This was one of the better head to heads.

[@kamalhasan694]

More than the quality of libraries the way you experience the sounds and setting you made to the raw sounds make it great. Thanks for everything

[@DomSigalas]

Thank you for the kind words Kamal ❤️❤️❤️

[@henri.lisboa]

Good evening Dom Sigalas. Thanks for your tips, I'm Brazilian and with your library tips I bought my controller and with your choir video I made the right decision, I follow all your videos which are very good thank you

[@_inspiritandintruth]

This entire video is phenomenal! You’re incredible!

[@snasartandmusic3053]

I love your passion when you play these libraries.

[@LeeGee]

Monogram is a great controller but took many months to ship. Don, thanks for the video, just what I was looking for.

[@GregoryDumont2]

Tina Guo wins the day for me. I just love the sound of an emotional cello! Have you ever tried any of the 8Dio solo strings instruments such as Deep Solo Violin or Deep Solo Cello?

[@anthonylc5138]

Emotional Violin is easier and faster to get a nice sound, emotional sound. Ornaments keys helps a lot. This library is unique for that reason. I'd like they make an orchestral string section too.

[@andrewholcroft.1945]

I'm going to dedicate on of my old controllers to have a dedicated page for this.

[@pascalschwaller7573]

Thank you so much for the amazing video! I really like the Tina Guo and Joshua Bell libraries, they sound so realistic! And shout out to you for your amazing playing skills!

[@alainpatry]

Ooo! Would love to see you sneak in the violin solo from Mi Mancherai (Josh Groban) when demonstrating the Josh Bell Violin! Also, the last one (Taylor Davis) reminded me of the sound from Céline Dion's "To Love You More". Would love to see you play that solo too! ;)

[@ShaniArshadMusic]

I think Joshua Bell Violin is the best solo violin library till date. I like Tina Guo its very expressive specially the legato patch but its limited.

[@BIG_PASTA]

Definitely do a review of the Joshua Bell violin pleaseeee :) Awesome video, thanks!

[@Harrysound]

I have cinematic studio solo strings and they are great but hard to work with some times. The native instruments Cremona Quartet I think is stunning. Infinitely playable and stunning sounding but they are a little on the sterile side.

[@abhishekamar2697]

Exactly Stradivari and Guarneri are my favourite 🔥😍, for solo and live playing don't think anyone can beat them..

[@stanleyzofastonovich1626]

Another informative and positive video from a humble teacher.

[@mottrecordz880]

I love this guy, chilled out, supper musical, got awesome Gear too

[@nomorebushz]

I do have Vienna Solo Strings which are amazing. I'm an oboist so I'm maybe more familiar with articulations than most non orchestral musicians. Hundreds of articulations are a bit daunting but with time and patience I've produced some excellent musical sounds such as Benjamin Britton Fantasy for Oboe Violin Viola and Cello, the reason I desired to own Vienna Solo Strings. All the other "lush" sounding libraries are great in their own unique ways depending on the sound that works the best for your particular orchestration sound and arrangement. Are we all familiar to the different sound of a chamber orchestra vs a symphony orchestra vs an orchestra that needs more strings like a sparse community orchestra, or a classical symphony blending many extra string desks with 200 voices for Beethoven 9th?

[@mrdali67]

Really like the expressiveness of those Swarm instruments. I really wish you could combine the tonality of the sampled libraries and the swarm instruments expressiveness. The swarm instruments doesn't sound as close to the real thing as sampled libraries, but the controlability makes up for this. If you can use it well they sound so close to how a real musician would play the instrument. They are also very expensive, and imho physical modelling still have a way to go to sound exactly like a real instrument. But the expressiveness ... amazing.

[@russellcameronthomas2116]

I use SWAM instruments by Audio Modeling. In my experience, they *require* automation of the performance parameters to sound real and expressive -- bow pressure, speed (expression), bow position, vibrato depth and speed, and various parameters that control attack. Also tasteful compression and reverb can make a huge difference unless you have the ear of an audio engineer. Also -- most people don't explore all the instrument models under each instrument, which have noticeable timbre and dynamic differences. You also need to think like a violinist (or trumpet player, etc.). All together, I'm a big fan.

[@mrdali67]

@@russellcameronthomas2116 Exactly, and at least for the wind and horn instruments you can get a pro breath controller today. I have only tried an old Yamaha bc-1 years ago and it was basically just the same as aftertouch when it was introduced in the DX-7. I havn't seen a "bow controller" 😄unless you can get one of those Yamaha Silent instruments with build-in midi 🙂

[@russellcameronthomas2116]

@@mrdali67 I don't even try to control all these parameters in real time. Or at least not yet. I have some cool multi-controllers, and would like to get a Linnstrument for that purpose, but for now it is sufficient for me to automate the performance parameters in my DAW after recording the MIDI notes. Some people hate working this way, but I am very comfortable with it, and I am getting faster. I realize that most people want "free + fancy lunch": very realistic and expressive solo instruments + simple keyboard playing w/ few or no additional controllers. I don't believe that is possible for real-time instruments. (Might be possible with 2-pass batch processing with AI software. I might even write software for that purpose.)

[@mrdali67]

@@russellcameronthomas2116 Ya, I know you really have to have some leet skills if you have to control either multiple articulations with key switching or all the possibilities you have with those swarm instruments. Some of the libraries DOM showcased here do have some pretty good coding for figuring out from how you play which articulations to use. I have always been pretty impressed with how fairly easy it is to get the Yamaha SA sounds found in the Tyros/Genos/Montage/ModX line by just "playing" and it automaticly selects artulations and only 2 buttons to control special art dependent on the sounds without taking up imense memory space. Gets a little harder with these Libraries that have tons of different articulations. Pretty close to impossible to do that live without a backing where you have the key switches and cc changes prerecorded if you want it to be perfect.

[@thomasandmegumilichtenstei7573]

Very nicely done! Great playing and info. I have several of these libraries that I rarely use but I’ll go back and try them again.

[@slohcine612]

I had not heard the Joshua Bell library. I liked that for performance, especially for a library built on Kontakt 5. Agree with another comment on velocity switching. Dom: would like to have heard some phrasing with double stops. Maybe for a follow up?

[@reziahamed6654]

Unbelievable Intro Dom... Loving your content more & more.. Thanks so much for this eye opener...🤓👍🎉

[@EdFicante]

Right, Just going to grab that coffee before I continue, it's been a watch Dom Sigalas day today 🙂

[@stefanrajkovic-im8ik]

no cremona quartet and virharmonic easily best solo libraries,you should try it.

[@mikehall5835]

Great video. Very useful to hear direct comparisons. The J Bell instrument is outstanding.

[@JustPlayitc00l]

Awesome content as always sir... You play gloriously BTW😊

[@DomSigalas]

Thank you my friend ❤️

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

I like that you go exactly on the topics and problems that hurts ; )

[@hikkomori.official8640]

You are a genius! Wonderful playing

[@polinalevchenko_creator]

Thank you for your content! This is very useful information! Your channel deserves to have a lot more subscribers on it!

[@mrdali67]

I really dug those Chris Hein Solo Strings. Which one of these libraries would you recommend for playability without having to learn 10-20 keyswitches ? Like you said all of these libraries sound good. Give me all of them if anyone would donate the money 😂

[@tdcmusicnow5312]

Thanks for all that you do 😎

[@gabrielforsberg8744]

Day 1 of asking Dom to do a part 2 video about mixing the Tuyo cover with Iro from a while ago. The Streets need it Dom. Do it for the streets!

[@TiagoNugentComposer]

11:00 you can play fast stuff much better if you switch to the marcato legato! it's designed for fast runs and that sort of playing.

[@rickomuzik]

Been using the Tina and Taylor the last year+ excellent libraries.

[@fridafeline]

Thank you so much! This was great.

[@SeleDreams]

Since you were using mostly kontakt libraries, i expected to see the cremona quartet from the komplete bundle

[@messageandmusic]

Hi Dom! Thank you for your wonderful demonstration! In you video: Get Crystal clear mixes EVERY TIME - tell me, what song is it? And who is the wonderful singer?

[@messageandmusic]

PLEASE tell me!!!!

[@patrickalphenaar]

Hmmm Great libraries! I got a few too. Did you ever considered to use a Touché by Lie? That controller if used with for example Swam is simply awesome! Just to add a more true human feel rather than just midi controllers……. It amazes me how good and easy you can switch and plays those instruments so easily!! Pretty awesome! 😊 Cheers

[@aleksamrkela831]

CSSS is an amazing library! Just have to read the manual in order to use it to its maximum potential! :D

[@code222220]

Thanks for sharing!For my experience Swam violin and Joshua violin are the best solo violin,Swam violin would require a lot of cc works but it comes out really the best.But Swam Cello and Bass on the other hand,sounds relatively fake for me.For cello I think Tina Guo is best for emotional pieces,and I like first chair Lass Cello for the beautiful legato sound.Chrishein solo cello also sounds really nice in their demo,but I haven't tried yet.

[@celineetdanygilbert4258]

thanks. what do you think about cremona quartet form NI (stradivari violin, stradivari cello, amati viola and guarneri violin) ?

[@keyboardtek]

I bought the Emotional Cello and was disappointed. When holding any of the sustain legato programs, there is a very noticeable dropout where the loop begins. They also sampled many very unmusical cello noises. I thought maybe I had a corrupted download. The response from their tech support was it is what it is. Basically live with it.

[@AbdiPianoChannel]

This is the plug in you play alone in a room with out reverb. It is the best stress medication.

[@bhavearth]

Great video ! Thanks 🙏🏽

[@DavidMaurand]

Though I don't like these walkthroughs because this is not how strings are played, *once again* I think you've surfaced a library I can put to use. (I don't do comps or movie themes, my pieces will be played live in somewhat intimate context by organizations with modest budgets, thus my mockups will need to be believable from that smaller point of view.) A previous demonstration you did sold a library that has completely transformed my audio environment, a bit of hardware, along with your mission of constantly upgrading our Cubase chops.

[@jrettetsohyt1]

Thanks! So useful! There are multiple cellos and violins from Chris Hein; can you demo the others? Thanks! Another video idea would be to play each library with a backing track to demo how they’d sound n could be used in context. But soloing them as you did here is the most useful!

[@jcrain85]

Thank you for this content Dom! Those are incredible libraries and you play them all so well! Is it possible to get a video on good chamber string libraries?

[@limageurpublic]

Hi, Why you don't talk about Bohemian Violin/cello UVI Falcon wich expressions are so natural like no others...kind regards from France.

[@reziahamed6654]

Hi... Can't agree more... UVI stuff is REALLY next level yet really underrated... Bohemian stuff is a killer ! 🤓

[@DomSigalas]

How many libraries can I fit in one video 😂😂😂 30 minutes and the YouTubr police is already coming for me!

[@limageurpublic]

@@DomSigalas lol...I'm a rookie, I apologize

[@limageurpublic]

@@DomSigalas your channel is a great tool for me teaching ...you helped me upgrade my skills...many thanks

[@reziahamed6654]

@@DomSigalas 🤣🤣🤣 So Grearful for all of your efforts Dom.. Always.. Forever..🤓👍👍

[@djsuvy]

Great video Dom 👍. If you need violin for country genre try Indiginus - The Fiddle. It's amazing!

[@hiongun]

love it. thanks.

[@sebazvideo]

Great showcase, but you missed one of the best solo strings out there, the Cremona Quartet with a Stradivari violin and cello, sampled in Cremona where the mayor closed several streets around the museum/studio, and asked all its residents to keep it quiet in the month or two that it took to sample them.

[@dennisramirez1989]

Dom is always. 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@rgferreira78]

This is a great review, so much quality in your judgment. So, as a newbie, I say: THANK YOU. By the way, I hear an excess of the 1st harmonic in the Emotional violin???? it's almost like if it was "octavized"; it happens the same on the viola...

[@DannyCaruzo]

Super video Dom , I enjoyed it very much . I have two questions though, what library would you recommend for some kind of oriental strings? And what library would you recommend for that "Godfather" / "Italian Mafia" sound? I think you know what I mean. Greetings and thanks for your awesome videos !

[@oussamaboulazhar1255]

Nocturne violin is unmatched

[@CesenaticoOfficial]

The winner is the Cremona quartet ❤

[@kamalhasan694]

Great Work sir

[@SonoraOndaLatinaOficial]

Great! please create a video regarding latin percussion and latin brass like trumpets & trombone

[@DavidMaurand]

Thanks!

[@DomSigalas]

Thanks so much for the support David ❤️

[@samcollins8330]

Joshua Bell Violin❤ 24:30

[@steph1918]

Take a look at Maxime Luft's 'Iconic Violin' library.

[@user-eh1vp3ev3c]

A lot of people use computer composition as an excuse to let the computer do the work rather than getting skilled at instruments... Not this guy, really shows what the libraries can do when you play them like real instruments.

[@user-vp9ub1fm8y]

Cinesamples 4 sure.Probably the most powerfull solo strings library.

[@keanu_siganoff_]

Joshua Bell takes the cake

[@Wedontwantnowarnomore]

This is good info, as always when it comes to Dom. But! I now, and probably many Cubase users with me, searching plugins in Cubase that can be exchanged with Waves. For me it’s the abbey road collection. Renaissance is also a good plugin n Waves. So, that’s my wish. Thank U 🙏

[@nawrasodda9966]

I have used Joshua Bell from day one. Unfortunately tech wise it is very buggy and unstable. But worth the fight every time.

[@LBJedi]

Listened to this while making my wife and my breakfast; great way to spend a Saturday morning😊 I’m going to be working on a solo cello heavy score soon, so I’m grabbing that Tina Guo library right away. Just curious, why did you not include Spitfire Soli Strings?

[@themidimachine]

I haven't tried many of these. I've been using LA Scoring Strings for many years. But recently, I'm going for SWAM for solo strings because its just so easy to set up and use live. Sample libraries seem so clunky in comparison. I don't think its the best sounding strings, but it is good, very expressive possibilities and any deficiencies in pure sound quality are lost within the context of a mix.

[@EdFicante]

All very nice but I especially love the Joshua Bell Library, that is on my list now. Like you I have Montage, I have found some of the string options to be very good, do you ever use Montage for strings in production? Great vid as usual, really enjoyed that one. I love the expression with which you play.

[@user-vx4kh2my4l]

I veered off to a different field to make a living and recently came back to pursue my music passion (hobby) and I found all these tools! It's amazing, but also I can't help feeling the most important thing is still missing - creativity in melody. All music sound fantastic, thanks to the technology. Just no real genius in their work.

[@MrDolphincb]

Please try to use a breath controller. Sensible one, best experience for solar strings I have with hornberg….. It’s expensive a little bit more difficult to program, but the most sensible. The TEC BITE and breath controller is suitable, not like the Hornberg, but less than half the price. Sorry for my English only want to give you my experience. I do a lot of composing and arrangements for TV… TKKG, Tatort, Bonnie Tyler, Kool & The Gang,…. Commercials …Bla bla bla If you want to reach a natural performance, you have minimum 4 controllers to control again sorry for my English. Volume cntrl 7, expression 11, attack release, mic distance (means instrument distance from mic……… this has to be programmed and rehearsed. Make your setup, best not to change controllers even by use of different libraries, feet, left hand and breathcontroller ….. I hope you understand and again sorry for my English

[@zipbob90]

Hey, great video! You really are an amazing pianist who has such an infectious passion for music! I was wondering if you might be able to point me to a synth that does something a bit unique, and ideally, a video of you demonstrating it? I'm looking for a good single-string [or something that can be isolated to a single string] VSTi with bowing control to make a sorta virtual tagelharpa having each string on a different track. Bowing control doesn't need to be fully one-to-one gesture-based, but the ability to control starting and stopping of bowing independent from the note selection is absolutely paramount to achieving the right sound! Any thoughts? Thanks!

[@podespault]

Amazing playing. I feel like most of them have a flute or clarinet like timbre, especially in the runs or trills. It's missing the grain and imperfections 😢

[@MikiMiki-oo8mn]

Please do Joshua Bell violin review.

[@eddygonzalez2328]

How does it sounds when the string instrument plays a double stop? I orchestrate, but the biggest problem is playing a chord. If you have multiple violins and they play divissi, the chord will sound all the notes as one. But a violin does not play all the notes of the cord at the same time. The bow have to go across the finger board to play al the notes. It's supose to sound like a broken chord, but I would need to rewrite the music so it sounds like it's supposed to. I've written a couple of pieces for violin, but the playback does not know the nuances of playing more than two notes at the same time.

[@samcollins8330]

Tina Guo❤ 3:00

[@iuliangogu6217]

Thanks for your very useful videos. What controller would you recommend for expression and volume? All the best

[@abletonproducer0014]

i love you mannnnn

[@andrewworld3681]

I have Bell and Emotional violin, but my dream is to buy Virharmonic :)

[@reziahamed6654]

Again... Stunning performance Dom... Could you please tell what are the libraries used for the INTRO of the video ... & your favourite picks... 🤓 Thanks....

[@DomSigalas]

Joshua Bell and Tina Guo :)

[@reziahamed6654]

@@DomSigalas Thanks millions dear Dom... Under your fingers whatever library will tell their story... 🤓👍👍🏅

[@thomasgreer467]

First of all, thank you so much for doing this. I’m in the process of choosing a solo library to go along with my chamber strings library. I’m curious if spitfire solo strings didn’t make the cut because it’s not up to par or you simply didn’t have a copy I’m not criticizing I’m just trying to choose the right solo pieces.

[@timdoring8571]

I would be curious how good you think the Native Instruments Libraries are (Stradivari Violin, Stradivari Cello, Guarneri Violin, Amati Viola)

[@dgcmusi]

Could you tell me the very best Mac computer to use with the Bohemian libraries…and the best keyboard controller?

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Plot twist: the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra calls Dom - the 1st violin seat just freed up, wanna join in? 😋

[@DomSigalas]

Hahahahaha 😂😂😂

[@frattuncbas]

Spitfire Gravis library? Really?

[@Drfresh1402]

Wow can’t believe no NI solo strings?! There latest ones are great.

[@HateHalonreal]

What you think about Spitfire's Solo Strings for example?

[@Bassryche]

Hey Dom, thanks for the video. However, i've got a question for you : Why choose a solo string library while you can have them all in a full string library? I mean what a solo library bring to the table compare to a solo instrument that you can find in a full string ensemble library?

[@DomSigalas]

They are more dedicated libraries with attention to detail and usually, they play effortlessly in real-time like I show on this video. Full string libraries most of the times if they contain a solo patch it feels more of an afterthought rather than a detailed instrument. Not always but it’s quite common :)